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INTERVIEWS

The Times of India •

'Then bus conductors listened to our poems. City of Mumbai has changed, but so have I'

At 91, Gulzar has outlived at least two versions of the city, the one that destiny “deposited” him into in 1950, and the one he continues to observe and absorb. ‘Aamchi Mumbai’, his new collection of 36 poems and 25 stories, is not an attempt to explain Mumbai in 2026 but to preserve the city that lives inside him, populated by migrants and mill workers, eccentrics and survivors.
The Times of India •

Moonshine and blues are tied together in my memory: Morgan Freeman

Before the interview begins, Morgan Freeman starts talking about Ravi Shankar. ‘He played with The Beatles, and The Beatles were greatly influenced by the blues. Look at how it ties up,’ he says. It’s an apt prelude. For the Oscar-winning actor and lifelong son of Mississippi, the blues is a living history carried through cultures, an idea at the heart of Symphonic Blues Experience, which blends the genre’s 100-year journey with the grandeur of a symphony orchestra and collaborators from Memphis to Mumbai.
The Times of India •

'No place for FGM in a modern society, and now it’s not just a Bohra issue'

More than a decade ago, when Masooma Ranalvi first spoke publicly about being subjected to khatna (the local term for female genital mutilation or FGM) at age seven, she helped push the practice within the Dawoodi Bohra community in India into the national spotlight. As the SC resumes hearings in the long-pending case in which she is a petitioner, fresh evidence from Kerala is also widening the debate beyond the Bohra community.
The Times of India •

Trauma of displacement will always remain, especially for Manipur’s kids

Lakshmipriya Devi wears her BAFTA win lightly, speaking with the same disarming simplicity that runs through Boong, her debut feature that won the award recently. The film, about a schoolboy’s search for his missing father, wrapped just weeks before ethnic clashes erupted in Manipur. Devi talks about writing the story like her ten-year-old self and the joy of finally doing something for her state
The Times of India •

'I wanted to celebrate curves. We should thank Kim Kardashian for their return'

Easy’ isn’t a word one associates with Indian couture. Yet it’s at the centre of everything Tarun Tahiliani. That’s the way he wants his clothes to feel, and why he celebrates the sari. The designer, who just marked three decades of his label at a showcase in Hyderabad, talks to Mohua Das about the underbelly of fashion, and the fixation with Bollywood-inspired bridal wear
The Times of India •

‘Rs 20 worth of acid can destroy an entire life…glad SC has recognised the urgency’

Shaheen Malik was an MBA aspirant when jealous colleagues threw acid on her that left her blind in one eye with a lifetime of surgeries while her attackers roamed free. Malik, now 42, walked into the Supreme Court in Dec, to flag a blind spot in law that leaves a small but acutely vulnerable group of acid attack survivors — those forced to ingest acid — without support. Malik spoke about the long wait for justice and patchy safeguards
The Times of India •

My dad made us crack codes to find our Christmas presents: Dan Brown

At 61, Dan Brown is chasing his most ambitious puzzle yet — the human mind. On a video call from what he says is his library in New Hampshire though it looks uncannily like his protagonist Robert Langdon’s cryptic chambers, the author spoke about his first book in eight years. ‘The Secret of Secrets’ is built on the little-known field of noetic science or the mystery of human consciousness. In a chat, he spoke about bridging faith and science, his obsession with codes, and why the mind may be the next big frontier of hidden knowledge.
The Times of India •

Why music icons come knocking on this Beyonce collaborator’s door

The last time Robert Randolph set foot in Mumbai, a monkey stole his lunch. “At the Elephanta Islands,” he laughs. “Man, I had a great time. The food, the people… I bought a suitcase full of linen shirts and pants.” That was over a decade ago, when he first played at the Mahindra Blues Festival—guesting with Buddy Guy in 2012, then closing the festival in 2013. Returning for his third stint at the blues fest, “It’s gonna be a high-energy bluesy, rock and roll show,” he promises. “People should come ready to dance!”
The Times of India •

Rs 20,000 loan to luxe legend: Sabyasachi marks 25-year milestone

At 50 and on the cusp of celebrating 25 years in the fashion industry with a grand show in Mumbai on Jan 25, couturier Sabyasachi Mukherjee is refreshingly unromantic about his achievements. “A lot of people think I’m a big deal but for me, it’s like running any other business. I’m not an engineer nor a doctor. I don’t save lives or build bridges. I make clothes and get an undue amount of attention for that.”
The Times of India •

Even after a year on Ozempic and 20 kg lighter, I am still really conflicted about it

The protagonist of British-Swiss author Johann Hari’s recently released book ‘Magic Pill’ is Ozempic — the diabetes medication-turned-weight-loss marvel that helped him go from 92 kilos to 73 in a year. Yet, as 44-year-old Hari globe-trotted from Tokyo to Iceland, conversing with its makers, experts, and fellow users, he was left pondering if this hunger-slasher was indeed the answer to his lifelong struggles with food, weight, and body image. Hari talks about the promises and perils of Ozempic
The Times of India •

Met Museum Head Talks Art of Repatriation and Relevance

It’s not easy running one of the world’s largest museums with more than 1.5 million works spanning 5,000 years. And certainly not easy amidst heightened scrutiny over looted objects and mounting pressure for repatriation. Max Hollein—who took charge of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met), New York as director in 2018 and CEO last July—knows this all too well. Fresh from signing an MoU with India’s Ministry of Culture and ahead of delivering a lecture at the CSMVS, Hollein remained composed as he sat down for a chat about policing its art and artefacts with a problematic past, recent restitutions and keeping the museum relevant in an age of sensory overload.
The Times of India •

Gen Zer from genre town bagged Grammy with an old soul

It's an impersonal setting - rooftop of a five-star hotel in the heart of Mumbai's business district - but Christone ' Kingfish ' Ingram doesn't seem to mind when you try and tease the 'personal' out of him.The 24-year-old is being hailed as 'the heir to the Delta blues crown'. But blues, they say, is a dialogue, songs of the soul in pain. Ingram was only 20 when he released his first album in 2019. How did he channel those emotional depths and social insights at such a young age, we press on.
The Times of India •

Listened a lot to Zakir Hussain: Imagine Dragons bassist

Expect the unexpected from Imagine Dragons, the American pop-rock sensation that emerged on the global stage with its 2012 smash hit ‘Radioactive’. Looking past the cliches of dabbawala, rickshaw or the seminal vada-pav, their bassist Ben McKee says he’d like a serving of Indian vegetables when the four-piece band comes stomping Mumbai's Mahalaxmi Racecourse as headliners for Lollapalooza on January 28. Ahead of their maiden trip to India, TOI chatted with McKee about hitting the road again, a giant album in the time of singles, teaming up with President Volodymyr Zelensky and the mystery behind their name.
The Times of India •

At a time when LGBTQ books face bans, I hope this offers kids a voice, says author Moulik Pancholy

Moulik Pancholy says he was heartbroken when a group of school parents protested against his debut novel for its portrayal of a gay Indian American boy. The book went on to be banned from US school districts. But Pancholy of ‘30 Rock’ fame found courage in that backlash and whipped up another poignant tale, about a 13-year-old’s struggles for queer rights.
The Times of India •

How Bachchan’s empathy made KBC a big hit

It has been 22 years since a quiz show beamed into people’s living rooms and managed to touch and turn around lives ever since. If Kaun Banega Crorepati ( KBC ) was a game-changer for Indian television and the average viewer, it also changed the fortunes for its host, Amitabh Bachchan . Former producer-director of KBC Siddhartha Basu recounts Bachchan’s charisma, camaraderie and connect with the common man through 14 seasons of the show...
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