Stargazer: Janhvi Kapoor, Richie Mehta and Mehdi Dehbi
Pavilion Glam
At Wimbledon this summer, Ananya Panday made heads turn when she wore a blazing red Ralph Lauren dress in a sea of whites and blues. This week, it was the turn of Janhvi Kapoor to shine at Lord’s Cricket Ground for the India-England match. Kapoor stood out in a Ralph Lauren double-breasted blazer and trousers. It seems that a bit of desi stardust does wonders for selling expensive English tickets with side orders of chilled Pimm’s beer, strawberries and sunshine.
Phoolan Redux
Richie Mehta is bringing back Phoolan Devi on screen with his new film. Based on her autobiography, ‘Phoolan’ centres on a brutal 48-hour siege where she was surrounded by armed men and will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Earlier, Mehta had directed the first season of Delhi Crime (Netflix) and Poacher (Prime Video). In 1994, Shekhar Kapur’s film on Phoolan, Bandit Queen, put him on the global map though his depiction of her gangrape drew criticism from many, including Mala Sen who wrote India’s Bandit Queen and adapted the screenplay.
Lost in Casting
In an age of diversity casting, it is odd to see a Belgian actor playing an Indian character named Krishna in the forthcoming film, ‘Prisoners of Paradise’. Mehdi Dehbi tries hard to look Indian, with his long hair and coffee-hued skin, but appears to be imperfectly cast. The plot follows Lucy Gladwell (Ellie Bamber), an orphaned English girl sent to live with her uncle in Mauritius in the 1920s. She falls in love with Krishna, a local labourer. The film is based on Booker-nominated author Romesh Gunesekera’s 2012 novel The Prisoner of Paradise.