Stargazer: Kirti Kulhari, Avijit Dutt and Kartik Aaryan

Calling the Shots

After playing powerful roles in movies such as Pink (2016) and shows such as Four More Shots Please! (2019), Kirti Kulhari has now turned producer with her labour of love, ‘Kinare’. Set to premiere at this year’s Dharmshala International Festival, ‘Kinare’ tells the story of Amina (played by Kulhari), whose life revolves around her home and caring for her elderly parents. But a surprise visit from her cousin (Azam Quadri) after 15 long years disrupts her life and equilibrium. The film is written and directed by brothers Akbar and Azam Quadri and also stars Kulhari’s partner Rajeev Siddhartha.

Father Figure

Avijit Dutt is a staple of Indian theatre and it was only a matter of time that the world discovered his talent. He plays the ghost of Hamlet’s father in the South Asian adaptation of Shakespeare’s most humane play. Riz Ahmed plays Hamlet in the movie directed by Aneil Karia and written by Michael Lesslie. Made in 2025, it is finally available on JioHotstar. Dutt is not only a master of the arts but also director of Enable, a CSR advisory firm that has among other things built toilets across North India.

Another Love Story

Now that he has won a National Award, perhaps Kartik Aaryan believes he can let his hair down. He has shaggy hair and a long beard in Anurag Basu’s untitled new film about doomed love with co-star Sreeleela, in whose face he keeps blowing smoke. Its release has been announced for April 2027, after many postponements, and reprises the hit song ‘Tu Meri Zindagi Hai’ from Aashiqui, the 1990 film directed by Basu’s mentor Mahesh Bhatt.