Sonali's Society: Tendulkars unwind, Swara Bhasker speaks her mind, and more

The Masterrsquos tableBandra was anything but lowkey as cricket royalty turned a casual family brunch into a fullblown scene on Sunday Sara and Saaniya stepped out with their mums Anjali Tendulkar and Gaurika Chandhok while Sachin Tendulkar kept things relaxed mdash enjoying takoyaki at Tamari as a crowd collected outsideUnhinged AnniversaryIf there was ever a doubt that marriage is a longterm hostage situation masquerading as romance Atul Khatrirsquos 33rdanniversary post has settled the score Forget the lsquoroses are redrsquo routine mdash Atul went full botanicalerotica mourning the ldquonubile young flowerrdquo he once was before his wife Shaguna allegedly ldquodeplucked every virgin petalrdquo from his bodyAtul Khatri and wife ShagunaIn a tribute that oscillates wildly between a biology lesson and a bank statement he credits Shaguna for teaching him the essentials how to sip tea ldquowithout slurping on the saucerrdquo and why a marriage isnrsquot legal without at least six Louis Vuitton bags in her closet It seems the ldquobirds and the beesrdquo talk was just the appetiser for a life of luxury retail and domestic ldquoups and downsrdquo mdash most of which he cheekily notes happened ldquobetween bedsheetsrdquo Of course the real tragedy isnrsquot the deplucked petals mdash itrsquos the lost adult film collection sacrificed at the altar of her shoe spaceAs anniversary messages go this one is chaotic slightly unhinged and naturally ends with a ticket link After 33 years the man isnrsquot just wellmarried hersquos lsquoWell Trainedrsquo Grab your tickets people mdash clearly Atul needs to top up the LV fundWeight of expectationSwara Bhasker is officially done playing nice with the lsquoBounce Backrsquo brigade mdash a posse that treats a womanrsquos postpartum body like a public project in need of renovation Since welcoming her daughter in 2023 Swara has become a target for trolls who believe talent is inextricably tied to a dress size mdash especially for an actress As archaic as that notion is it remains pervasive and Swara is having none of itSwara BhaskerHitting her threshold this past weekend Swara delivered a masterclass in boundarysetting ldquoThe kind of rage and anger Irsquove encountered in the last few years because my body has changed after childbirth mdash and because I refuse to lose the weight on the timeline of strangers on the internet mdash is bizarre Womenrsquos bodies have more purpose than sexualization and being hangers for glamour After I had a baby I chose NOT TO BOUNCE BACKrdquo says the Tanu Weds Manu starBy refusing to prioritise a gruelling gym schedule over her life as a parent Swara is exposing the ldquounintelligent and nastyrdquo double standards of an audience that demands highlevel craft while obsessing over a silhouette She isnrsquot just defending her weight shersquos defending the right to evolve without apology Itrsquos a bold rebuttal to conventional beauty standards essentially telling the world that if yoursquore looking for her ldquoold selfrdquo shersquos moved on mdash and you should probably move on tooldquoThis is an argument to honour our bodies and stop forcing ourselves to remain in boxes wersquove outgrownrdquo says Swara We couldnrsquot agree more and wersquore not alone From Dia Mirza and Divya Dutta to Saba Ali Khan and Sandhya Mridul a cadre of feisty contemporaries is standing firmly in her corner Truth be told itrsquos time to stop measuring talent inversely by the inchOf robotaxis and rock legendsWhile hersquos back at his desk in Mumbai this morning wersquore still nursing a contact high from Milind Deorarsquos recent California tour As much of a diplomatic mission as it was a highfrequency collision between the silicon and the spiritual his itinerary took him first to San Diego mdash where he spoke at the United StatesIndia Strategic Partnership Forum West Coast SummitBillionaire and philanthropist Nicolas Berggruen with Milind Deora and SadhguruDone navigating trade corridors with the gravity of a seasoned statesman a ldquospecial coincidencerdquo followed at the University of California San Diego a brush with the Bangash brothers Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash The cosmic synchronisation was almost too neat mdash while Milind was with the maestros in Cali his wife Pooja Shetty was at a wedding in Mumbai with Ayaanrsquos wife Neema SharmaThe real crescendo however was a soireacutee in Los Angeles featuring the improbable trinity of Sadhguru Ringo Starr and The Police drummer Stewart Copeland Apparently nothing cements IndoUS relations like a Beatle and a Yogi sharing the same LA air Between catching his first driverless Waymo and rubbing shoulders with rock royalty Milind is cementing international ties with a mix of mystic wisdom and rockandroll rhythm And to that end hersquos already in the fast lane mdash no driver requiredThe way you make me feelThose who follow lsquoFreddy Birdyrsquo on Instagram were forewarned about Michael mdash a movie Irsquove been itching to see since it first made headlines in 2023 Calling the film a ldquotest in patience courage and endurancerdquo he lamented that the ldquoplot is thinner than a single roundel of Pringlesrdquo dragging the film to the point where we actually debated buying our tickets But with Michael Jackson you donrsquot stop rsquotil you get enough mdash and since you never really get enough off we went to the cinema on May 1Sajid NadiadwalaAt the risk of being called a ldquomoronrdquo by Farah Khan mdash who in her signature nofilter style has already branded critics of the film with that choice label mdash I have to be honest Michael is less a gritty noholdsbarred biopic and more a highbudget montage of recreated music videos It is sanitised to the point of being sterile and the narrative cuts to black exactly when you think theyrsquore about to be startinrsquo somethinrsquoI wasnrsquot the only one feeling the narrative thirst Roshni Chopra was right there singing along to every beat but looking just as shortchanged when the lights came up at PVR Juhu on Friday Even as we scrambled out spotting Warda and Sajid Nadiadwala in the crowd the question remained what did a veteran of the lsquobigticket blockbusterrsquo think of a film that had all the spectacle but none of the soulRoshni ChopraMy take Go for Jaafar Jackson who is genuinely haunting in his precision Go for the music But if yoursquore looking for the man behind the myth keep your expectations lower than a moonwalk Itrsquos a gorgeous tribute but as a movie this one is definitely not a lsquoThrillerrsquo