Backing from Bhaker?: There is already precedence of shooting stars who attain Olympic glory taking aim at political glory. Take Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, silver medallist at Athens 2004, who was a minister in the Modi cabinet and is currently part of the Rajasthan cabinet. The question in political circles now is whether Paris 2024 star Manu Bhaker will follow suit. Tongues were wagging after she returned to Delhi before the Games got over, with a schedule that included meetings with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi and MPs from Haryana. Bhaker then flew back to Paris for the closing ceremony. If the aforementioned wagging tongues are to be believed, Bhaker, 22, will have a key role in the Congress campaign for the Haryana polls | Illustrations by Jairaj T.G.

Channi’s comeback: Former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi had vanished from the state’s political scene following the Congress’s humiliating defeat in the assembly elections in 2022. He had made a surprise appearance during Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra and thereafter has been quietly working to emerge as the foremost leader of the party in the state. Now, following his spectacular victory in Jalandhar in the Lok Sabha polls, Channi has made sure he is in the public focus, be it his defence of detained MP Amritpal Singh or his verbal skirmish with Ravneet Singh Bittu in the Lok Sabha. While he enjoys tremendous support among dalit voters, he is also reaching out to the Jat Sikhs by being vocal on farmers’ issues.

Blood, pressure: The launch of actor-politician Vijay’s party—the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam—has the two major Dravidian parties visibly shaken.  There was also considerable impact on the family of former chief minister O. Panneerselvam. After the recent unveiling of the party’s flag and symbol, Panneerselvam’s son, O.P. Ravindranath Kumar, an ex-MP, expressed a desire to join Vijay’s party. He told his father that he would join the TVK during the party’s first public conference in September. But, Panneerselvam was terribly upset and is said to have told Ravindranath that such a decision would spoil the political future of the family. Ravindranath did not relent and the argument went on till his blood pressure shot up, necessitating a visit to the doctor.

Kim’s clone?: Netizens do not seem to be impressed with actor and social media personality Uorfi Javed’s recent Amazon Prime Video reality show Follow Kar Lo Yaar. According to a Redditor, the makers blatantly copied from Kim Kardashian’s Keeping Up With The Kardashians. From the sibling fights to the attempts to look younger (with Uorfi putting poop on her face while Kim goes for vampire facials), the show, they say, is a clear rip-off. Meanwhile, since the release of the nine-episode series, revelations have been tumbling out of Uorfi’s closet, like her crush on actor Arjun Kapoor. “My mind starts racing with all the things I’d love to do with him, things he can’t even imagine,”she said in an interview. The soap opera happening inside her head might just be worth a spin-off? | Gettyimages

Hip-hop with heart: Recently, Eminem’s daughter Hailie Jade admitted that she cannot stop the waterworks when she listens to her dad’s new album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace). The song that made her weep the most is ‘Temporary’, which the rapper wrote for Hailie for when he is no longer there. “A lot of people ask me, am I afraid of death?”Eminem sings in ‘Temporary’. “The truth is, I think what scares me the most is not being able to say all the things I wanna say to you/ When I’m no longer here.” Now, if that does not send your tear ducts into overdrive, we don’t know what will | Instagram@hailiejade

Angie’s symphony: How do you solve a problem like Maria? Well, if you are Angelina Jolie, then by preparing for six months working on posture, accent, voice, and even breathing. Transforming into opera singer Maria Callas was gruelling work, but who else could pull it off like Angie? After Spencer (on Princess Diana) and Jackie (on Jackie Kennedy), Maria completes Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain’s trilogy on iconic women whose fame masked a fractured existence. Jolie was apparently terrified about singing in the film, but practised so hard that in the end, Larrain stopped giving her instructions and just let the camera roll | Gettyimages

Kitchen confidential: If you thought a humble Hollywood star was an extinct species, you can still catch a rare sighting. Golden Globe-winning actor Matt Bomer was spotted recently at Chef Vikas Khanna’s New York restaurant, Bungalow. Khanna posted a picture of them together, describing how Bomer had shook hands with his kitchen crew when he first met Khanna in 2012. “And 12 years later, I could do a tasting of authentic Indian cuisine for this humble-brilliant-generous man again,” said Khanna, who himself might have some reason to preen, as Bungalow recently became the first Indian eatery this century to receive a three-star rating from The New York Times. After all, when it comes to Khanna’s shrimp balchao cones, no one can eat just one! | Instagram@vikaskhannagroup