Sonikka Loganathan

Culture, lifestyle and entertainment - THE HINDU

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Meet Rohan Gurbaxani, whose character stands up against colourism in ‘Made in Heaven’

“The greenest of green flags.” That’s one of the messages Rohan Gurbaxani received in response to his character in the second season of Made in Heaven. Gurbaxani, 26, plays Aman, a young man, who grew up in London, and fell in love with Sarina (Zayn Marie Khan), through an arranged marriage setup. In this episode, Sarina struggles with colourism, and desperately tries to lighten her skin in preparation for her wedding. When Aman realises what’s happening, he assures his fiancée that he thinks sh
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‘AP Dhillon: First of A Kind’ review: AP’s star power is undeniable, but singer keeps you guessing

There are some songs that you just can’t not bob your head to. There are some artists who almost exclusively make music like that. AP Dhillon is one of them. The 30 year-old singer, rapper and record producer emerged seemingly out of nowhere and blew up the world with his fusion tracks marked with high energy. AP Dhillon: First of A Kind, a four part docu-series, attempts to take a closer look into who Amritpal Singh Dhillon is. AP Dhillon’s rise is, as the docuseries repeatedly emphasises, unp
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Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju interview: On ‘Made in Heaven’ and representation of trans characters

“This character felt like a person, first and foremost. And then trans. I think that is what gives me that confidence to know that this is gonna work,” says Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju, a doctor turned actor and transgender woman. Gummaraju, 26, best known via her Instagram, @trintrin, where her posts centre around advocating for the LGBTQIA+ community, is making her acting debut in the highly-anticipated second season of Amazon Prime Video India’s Made in Heaven. She plays a wedding planner who h
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‘The Idol’ series review: A glitzy, chaotic sex and torture porn-packed look at absolutely nothing

“Are you still here?” That’s what Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), the troubled star at the centre of HBO’s epic failure of a show, The Idol, says to a heavily drugged-out Tedros (Abel Tesfaye, more commonly known as The Weeknd), who plays villain extraordinaire–lover, abuser, manager, muse, cult leader–despite not having any acting abilities. Shortly after the fourth episode released, HBO announced that The Idol, which has been laden with on and off-screen controversy months before its release, would
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‘Jacquemus’: Viral sensation Tesher’s latest single nods to Brazil, Bollywood and summertime

“I released a song called ‘Jacquemus’ because I went to a department store and saw some funny looking bags,” says Canadian-Indian artist Tesher, who released his third solo single on Friday. When he realised that Jacquemus was actually a luxury fashion brand, known for its handbags, things started clicking. “I wanted to paint the picture of a woman who was very fashionable — a scene stealer, a show stopper. What would make that happen?” He figured: probably a Jacquemus bag. Tesher says he wante
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Rare Beauty launches in Sephora India

For three years, Indian make-up enthusiasts watched influencers in the U.S. rave about the natural flush Rare Beauty’ Soft Pinch Liquid Blush gives, the radiant glow of the Positive Light Liquid Luminizer and the vibrant colour and comfort of the Lip Souffle Matte Lip Cream. But on June 15, the brand, founded by singer, actress and producer Selena Gomez, was launched in India. The products, available at Sephora, went live on Sephora.nnnow.com at midnight, although the site began hanging and the

‘Never Have I Ever’ Season 4 review: Devi blossoms into her truest self

If there’s one thing that Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher’s teen-comedy Never Have I Ever promises, it’s a carefully concocted mix of chaos, comedy and feels. In its final season, the show’s protagonist, Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), finally blossoms into the woman we’ve been rooting for her to become since the beginning. After three seasons of boy drama taking up a major amount of screentime, this season, Devi and her friends take a step back, choosing to look at things from a larger p
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Walkthrough of NMACC’s ‘India in Fashion’ exhibition

The ‘India in Fashion’ exhibition at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre showcases over 150 exhibits, all fully or partially made in the sub-continent. From India inspired collections by western brands such as Chanel and Dior, to India’s most renowned designers such as Sabyasachi and Manish Malhotra, the exhibit takes visitors through the eras. In this video, The Hindu Magazine takes a look at the exhibit, and speaks to Indian designer Sandeep Khosla — of label Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla — abou
The Hindu •

When East meets West: How singer SANJ brought desi R&B to Instagram

What happens when you combine your favourite Western pop artist with Bollywood? New York based singer-songwriter SANJ has the answer. Her Instagram page ‘xoxosanj’ is filled with mashups of popular English songs and Bollywood songs, melded together with sultry R&B-influenced vocals. After two years of posting these mashups on social media, and amassing over 33k followers on Instagram, the 26 year-old is set to release her debut album, “Nightingale,” on February 24. “Nightingale,” which is also
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Young singles campaign for politically aligned love on dating apps

Are you looking for a match? Try swiping in the opposite direction of your political views. With apps now being the most common way to date, filtering through people has become an increasingly easy, and necessary process. While basic filters (height, age, location, sexual orientation) exist, many apps have also added the option to show political alignment. Bumble and Hinge both have specific options where users can list their political affiliations. Tinder allows you to add specific interests t
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Indian-American singer Raveena Aurora on paying tribute to her motherland at Lollapalooza India

With a fairy-like twirl and a twinkle in her eyes, Raveena Aurora floats on stage at Lollapalooza India, in Mumbai this past weekend. In an iridescent, shimmery dress, with her hair tied in a wavy ponytail, the 29-year-old Indian-American singer, holds onto a mic covered with pink and purple flowers, and croons one of her most popular songs, “Honey...,” her dreamy voice washing over the crowd. For Raveena, performing in India is a dream come true. Her music exists in between genres, pulling inf
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Lollapalooza India enthrals Mumbai, to return in 2024

When Imagine Dragons’ lead singer, Dan Reynolds, looked out at the hundreds of fans surrounding the main stage at Lollapalooza India on Saturday night, he appeared to be holding back tears. As the crowd sang along to the Grammy award-winning band’s hit songs, Reynolds promised that Imagine Dragons would come back to India again. This was one of the many high points of the Chicago-originated Lollapalooza music festival which made its India debut over the weekend. India is Lollapalooza’s eighth d
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Lollapalooza: What to expect from India’s biggest music festival

Mumbai is getting ready to host one of the world’s biggest music festivals, Lollapalooza, for the first time in Asia. With the lineup boasting 40 international and Indian acts, including 26 award nominees, and seven award-winning chart-toppers, performing music across genres, the festival promises to bring world-class entertainment to over 60,000 fans. But Lollapalooza is more than just a concert – it’s an experience. Spanning across the massive Mahalaxmi Race Course, music fans have access to
The Hindu •

Beyond the pay cheque: what India’s young workforce wants

Miriam (name changed on request), 24, is a liberal arts graduate who works remotely for a Mumbai-based NGO; she had quit her previous job in November of 2021, but believes that this was a premature decision. “That’s a learning that I apply now,” she says, explaining that while she doesn’t see herself working at her current company long-term, she’s not quitting because, more than financial security, she needs a routine. “I need that kind of structure in my life.” Also read:Corporate heads share
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From ‘Euphoria’ to ‘Abbot Elementary,’ how mothers came-of-age in 2022

The role of the mother in a story is often undeniable, and even inescapable. We see this in how this additional character is forced into the storyline for it to make sense, like in the case with teen dramas where the protagonist’s childhood affects them in the present. But we seldom see the mother break through to be more than a burdensome necessity; her character is always just developed enough for the viewer to acknowledge, but not care. This year, however, the mother stepped away from the st
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‘The Sex Lives of College Girls’ Season 2 review: Goes beyond sex to reveal what’s underneath

As winter hits Essex College, the location of Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble’s comedy The Sex Lives of College Girls, our four protagonists remain just as raunchy as ever, but with a twist. If season one used sex to explore power dynamics, season two uses it as a medium through which these young women explore themselves. While having a lot of fun, of course. In this season, the women waste no time disrobing, be it to participate in a nearly-naked winter run or to sell their eggs, as was the case
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The homogenisation of music: of TikToks and viral reels

There was once a time when everyone, generally, listened to the same English-language music. It was the era of pop music dominance, with stars like Katy Perry, Usher, Justin Bieber and Rihanna constantly playing wherever music plays, be it on the radio, or in waiting rooms. The dominance that this era of pop music had is still visible today, with many of these songs still being played in clubs and restaurants in India, making it an immediate way for late millennials and Gen Z to connect; many gr
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‘Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me’ review: A raw, relatable look into the mind of a star determined to heal

“Who says you’re not perfect, who says you’re not worth it?” the actress-singer-philanthropist sings, in a packed concert hall, stopping when the crowd’s singing overtakes her, and she’s overcome with emotion. For anyone who grew up watching Disney Channel in the 2000s-early 2010s, Selena Gomez is a household name, and her song Who Says is a self-love anthem, tied to that era, but nevertheless evergreen. But in the new documentary, Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me, directed by Alek Keshishian (who
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‘Midnights’ music album review: Taylor Swift showcases her pop prowess, but...

In an age of ghosting, situationships and several phone calls with my girlfriends about dating in 2022, the one thing that we held on to was the knowledge that Taylor Swift would soon give us a space to really get into our feelings. Prepared to get into my feelings and draw obscure connections to my date from her lyrics, I hit play on Friday morning. After nine studio albums, the most recent ones being a flirtationship with different genres (I say flirtationship because the success rate here wa
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‘Don’t Worry Darling’ movie review: Florence Pugh desperately tries to save this sinking ship

During the press conference for the highly-anticipated, drama-fuelled Don’t Worry Darling, cast member Harry Styles said, “my favourite thing about the movie is, like, it feels like a movie… like, you know, ‘go to the theatre’ film movie.” I fully disagree. You can save yourself a trip to the theatre. After you peel back the many layers of controversy surrounding this film (extreme tension between cast member Florence Pugh and director Olivia Wilde; Harry Styles appearing to spit on cast membe
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