Sonali's Society

Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Tangled in tinsel

At a star-studded film event in BKC on Monday, the peerless Vidya Balan proves that laughter is always the best accessory - even when her pose and pleats are perfect

Desert debrief

The dust has finally settled on Indio, and while the 2026 main stages at Coachella were sadly lacking an Indian headliner, Armaan Malik ensured we weren't just a footnote. On Weekend 2, our ‘prince of pop' proved that you don't need a setlist to own the desert - sometimes, a killer knit poncho and the right VIP wristband do the heavy lifting.

Aashna Shroff and Armaan Malik

And let's not ignore the soft-power cameo energy either - with his wife Aashna Shroff right there in the mix, the duo gave us equal parts fashion, calm confidence, and ‘we belong here' energy under those desert lights. On this occasion, their presence was the performance. Now let's manifest that 2027 slot.

Bappa before anyone else

The paparazzi have been permanently stationed at Siddhivinayak Temple for the last few days, and who can blame them? Between billionaire blessings and political heavyweights, Bappa's guest list is currently more exclusive than a SoBo gala.

Nita Ambani

First up, the Ambani clan descended in full force to celebrate Mukesh Ambani's birthday on April 19. In a crimson Jamdani saree and jewellery featuring an assortment of deities, Nita Ambani showcased a textbook temple look, while the rest of the squad also opted for traditional wear. Akash and Shloka were accompanied by their tots, while Anant and Radhika navigated their impenetrable security detail with a smile.

Next came Supriya Sule, who made a purposeful appearance with husband Sadanand, to offer their daughter Revati's wedding invite - securing that divine RSVP before Mumbai's elite begin to receive their save-the-dates for the June nuptials.

Supriya and Sadanand Sule at Siddhivinayak Temple

Between cricketers and rockstars, film faces and industrialists, Siddhivinayak continues to cement its place as the city's most powerful intersection of faith and influence - where the resident VIP calls the shots, no matter how formidable his visitors are.

Fielding the fallout

In the high-stakes theatre of Indian cricket, public sentiment is a fickle beast - vocal when you win, but merciless when the chips are down. As the Mumbai Indians struggle through a lacklustre 2026 season, captain Hardik Pandya finds himself in a blinding spotlight, largely of his own making. His penchant for ‘extra' PDA with girlfriend Mahieka Sharma - from on-field victory hugs to filmed Ferrari drives - has shifted from ‘celebrity goals' to a lightning rod for criticism.

Hardik Pandya and Mahieka Sharma

The latest flashpoint, a viral video suggesting the MI team bus waited 20 minutes for madam Mahieka recently, has drawn fire even from Lalit Modi in London, who slammed the breach of protocol as a "complete no-no," though he offered the hasty qualifier: "I hope this is fake news."

From those in the know, we hear the matter has been blown out of proportion with Mahieka being unfairly targeted in this sideshow. But when performance dips, personal indulgences are rarely forgiven - right or not, they are roasted as distractions.

Yet, every coin has a flip side. While some cricketing insiders scoff, the fashion world has swooned. Mahieka's recent turn at fashion week and her new role as a Kama Ayurveda brand ambassador prove that controversy is a potent currency. For her, the spotlight has translated into a line around the door for premium sponsorships. It's a classic modern paradox: the very visibility that fuels a sporting scandal is the same engine driving a commercial empire. Over the top? Perhaps. But in the world of high-society optics, even a sassy roast can be seasoned with gold.

The art of the pretty cry

We are fashionably late to this party, but even though the appetisers are cold, the plat de résistance still merits mention. In the March-April Indian edition of an Italian-born magazine, Karan Johar calls Kiara Advani the "most beautiful crier in the whole world" - a superlative so hyper-specific one would think it could only be birthed in a Dharma boardroom!

Kiara Advani

Now while most mere mortals may not know this, an unofficial sorority of ‘pretty criers' actually exists. Canonised by film obsessives, the list features Meena Kumari, Meg Ryan, Demi Moore in her Ghost era, and Aditi Rao Hydari. Their shared gift? Making heartbreak look composed.

Of course, membership to this unspoken club is neither accidental nor genetic. It's a craft - honed somewhere between good lighting, emotional restraint, and the precise calibration of mascara that refuses to run. The ‘pretty cry' lives in that narrow corridor between vulnerability and vanity, where the pain is palpable but never puffy. Just a trembling lip, a glistening eye, and that one perfect tear making its slow, Oscar-worthy descent. Less breakdown, more ballet.

Karan Johar

Meanwhile, many like moi unravel like damp tissue in moments of crisis - neither elegant nor intact, and certainly not beautiful. But then again, we were never meant to be captured in close-up.