When we’d bumped into Hrithik Roshan last week, as we were leaving Sanjay Khan’s birthday celebrations where he’d dropped in to wish his former father-in-law, we’d commended the star on the recent clips he’d shared on social media of his sons Hrehaan and Hridhaan, demolishing some pretty daunting ski cliffs and slopes along with their super-fit dad, on a recent holiday in Europe. Clearly, the idea of machismo and courage runs in the family. Yesterday, Hrithik demonstrated just how the family’s men face other daunting cliffs and slopes, with a post about his father-producer Rakesh Roshan’s surgery, later that day. “Asked my dad for a picture this morning. Knew he wouldn’t miss gym on surgery day. He is probably the strongest man I know,” he’d posted on social media.
“Got diagnosed with early stage squamous cell carcinoma of the throat a few weeks ago, but he is full of spirit today as he proceeds to battle it. As a family, we are fortunate and blessed to have a leader like him. Love you, Dad.”
Not only did Roshan establish the standards of courage practiced by the Roshan clan, but he also proved that as far as social media communications go, Bollywood has stolen a march over others, when it comes to handling tricky health news, and that is, by being honest, upfront and human. It started when Irrfan Khan shared news of his Neuroendocrine tumour on Twitter; Sonali Bendre and Rishi Kapoor took things further by presenting an honest, unflinching and sanguine face in their social media posts, about their own health challenges. And now, with this buoyant portrait of father and son, both working out on the day of the former’s surgery, the message is being further strengthened. What’s more, this fortitude is not only for the general public. When we texted the star yesterday, conveying our best wishes for the operation and enquired about the senior Roshan, his response was prompt and as positive as ever: “He is doing super,” he said, most likely from his father’s bedside at the hospital. Phew, that’s grit!

Always The Bridesmaid?

Meher Tatna in a beige Bhagalpur hand-embroidered silk coat by Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla. (AFP PHOTO)

There was a perceivable Indian presence at the recently-concluded Golden Globes ceremony. Of course, not in the way of walking off with awards for Indian movies, (sadly, for all our productivity as the world’s most prolific producer of movies, we’ve still not crashed the international awards ball), but in other ways. Firstly, through our sartorial presence: Not only did President of the Hollywood foreign press association, which hosts the awards, Meher Tatna, choose to wear a beige Bhagalpur hand-embroidered silk coat by Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla, as she took to the stage at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, but she was also seen at the awards lunch dressed in an off-white Bharatpore coat by the same designer duo. What’s more, she was not the only AJSK flaunter, we’re told. Amatus Sami-Karim, wife of Golden Globe and Academy Award-winning actor Mahershala Ali, also chose to wear ‘the boys’, as they are referred to by their inner circle, wearing a ruffle top in green teamed with a black velvet skirt, while posing with her husband. And of course, one should also add that this year’s Best Actor award also had an Indian connection – though somewhat tenuous: Rami Malek, after all, won for portraying Faroukh Balsara, the Indian Parsi, who’d made good in the West!
Which brings us to the obvious point, when will India, the prodigious producer of films, cease to be the bridesmaid and become the bride at these events?
Your guess is as good as ours.

Tweet Talk
Akshaye Khanna as Sanjaya Baru
Vivek Oberoi as Modi
Ranveer Singh as Kapil Dev

Bollywood is REALLY pushing its luck in the “willing suspension of disbelief” department.
-Tweeted by journalist Nishtha Gautam

A ‘Yes’ To Life

Priya Dutt (HT Photo)

“I’ve had a great learning in these years. Being in politics has taught me so much about people and life,” said Congress leader, one-time MP and star-daughter Priya Dutt, yesterday, about her decision to not stand for elections as her party’s candidate in the next general elections. Her letter to party president Rahul Gandhi had cited her growing family duties as one of the reasons for giving up her chance of winning the seat. “There is more to life than politics and I also wanted the freedom to experience and explore other aspects of my life,” she’d written, in what many describe as her Sonia Gandhi ‘inner voice moment’ of 2004, when the leader had declined her party’s request to become the country’s Prime Minister after a stunning electoral win. To be honest, we’d seen this coming for some time now. Away from the hurly-burly of daily political life after she’d lost to BJP’s Poonam Mahajan in 2004, Dutt had appeared more relaxed and at peace than we’d ever seen her. The Dutt sightings had been varied, at a Blues concert, at an all-day women’s forum and once with her entire family, including brother Sanjay Dutt, sister Namrata and brother-in-law Kumar Gaurav, at the opening of a Thai restaurant at BKC. On those occasions, she’d spoken of feeling enriched by the break from daily political exigencies. But, as the daughter of Nargis and Sunil Dutt, both individuals known for their humane and philanthropic commitments, we were sure she’d continue working in that field even as her political career waned. “I have no regrets and I look forward to now exploring life in different ways with my kids and family, and with my work for the Nargis Dutt foundation,” she said. Proving what we’ve always believed: there’s more to life than politics!

First Published: Jan 08, 2019 22:30 IST