12 March,2026 09:24 AM IST | Mumbai | Sonali Velinker Kamat
Pic/Atul Kamble
Glowing in a vibrant yellow ensemble on Wednesday, Malaika Arora stepped into Sweeney, Khar, to launch her new lifestyle accessories line, Maejoy - and yes, the restaurant happens to be hers too. Two birds, one very stylish stone
The internet will tell you Malishka Mendonsa is an Indian radio personality. Having known her for nearly three decades - we went to college together - I can assure you the operative word in that description is the last one: personality. âMumbai ki Rani' Malishka is less a job title than a full-blown presence. Her wit is quick, her laugh quicker, and her switch to âon' appears to have been permanently installed sometime in the early 2000s.
Take, for instance, her social media tell-all from a spa session on Tuesday. Alongside the picture we've reproduced here, Malishka writes, "Me trying to get my payment app to open through face recognition while getting a facial⦠Access denied. Skin aglow."
Peak personality. And then - because she can't resist - she tops it off with a message to me when I ask for the image: "Babe, when you finally decide to write about me, you're going to use this picture where no one can see my face?" Some people have good timing. Malishka, naturally, has the last word.
One of my early lessons in journalism - and easily the one I remember the best - came from the brilliant Bachi Karkaria. Her point: people care far more about the dead dog on their doorstep than a war on the other side of the world. It's been ages, so forgive the paraphrase, but the lesson sticks.
Vikas Khanna
Underscoring that sentiment this week is chef Vikas Khanna. In a yet-to-be-released podcast with Vir Sanghvi, Vikas recounts his journey to stardom, peppered with tales of racism and despair, all with one message: "Let's turn this pain into purpose." Mission accomplished, clearly, because these days the Michelin-starred chef is fielding calls from Jeff Bezos, who wants to know how one scores a reservation at NYC's Bungalow - Vikas's East Village eatery.
But back to our main mudda. In August 2024, Bungalow was awarded a prestigious three-star rating by The New York Times. Apparently, it marked the first time in nearly 25 years that an Indian restaurant has received such a high honour from the publication. Understandably excited, Vikas rushed to share the news with his mother in India. "Mumma ne sidha bola ki Punjab Kesari mein toh aaya nahi," the chef recalls. Perhaps this piece, published closer to home, will finally deliver the news to her doorstep.
Celebrity brand ambassadors don't always put their money where their mouths are, but that can't be said of Sachin Tendulkar. Literally walking the talk in Ten x You sneakers, Sachin showed up to support son Arjun during a practice session at Bandra's MIG Cricket Club last month. No planned press conference, no staged photo op - just Sachin being Sachin, and yes, actually wearing his own brand.
Sachin Tendulkar. PIC/SHADAB KHAN
This kind of commitment is commendable, especially since it isn't the norm. We find local ambassadors for Louis Vuitton or Gucci wearing their brand one day and Dior or Hermès the next - as evidenced by ample airport looks. Perhaps there's an aspect of good sportsmanship to it, because another cricketing icon showed the same sort of commitment during a photoshoot with yours truly some years ago. Yuvraj Singh is the man in question, whom I had kitted out as a Keanu Reeves-inspired Matrix hero.
Fashion designer Narendra Kumar Ahmed was tasked with getting the ensemble on point (which he did with aplomb), and that left us to match Neo's signature Matrix micro-sunglasses. Chuffed to have found the perfect pair, we were met with pandemonium on set when Yuvi refused to wear anything but Oakley because he was associated with the brand at the time. No amount of cajoling worked and eventually we went with what he wished. Because in a world of flexible brand loyalties, that kind of consistency is its own quiet heroism.
Vijay Deverakonda
Baroda royal Radhikaraje Gaekwad is a custodian of culture and a connoisseur of the arts. She wears legacy with a lightness and grace that makes her relatable, but don't mistake that ease for ignorance - this maharani knows her history. Which is precisely why she had an unexpected observation when actor Vijay Deverakonda popped up on her Instagram feed, dressed in a regal Falguni and Shane Peacock ensemble for his recent sangeet ceremony.
Radhikaraje Gaekwad
While the internet fawned over Vijay as the season's best-dressed groom, Radhikaraje clocked something else entirely: the cape. To her trained eye, the look carried echoes of royal wardrobes from decades past - the powder-blue silk cape recalling the very cloak Maharaja Sayajirao wore in 1919, when the British Empire awarded him one of its highest honours. For everyone else, this was just another stylish celebrity moment. For the Maharani of Baroda, it was proof that fashion has a long memory. And to us, a reminder that a royal eye sees what the crowd cannot.
