Report from Ground Zero: Insider's view on Pakistan's economic crisis

A symbol-ic jibe: With the ruling Congress winning all three seats in the recent Karnataka byelections, state party president D.K. Shivakumar turned poet. Referring to the three party symbols, the deputy chief minister said that the ‘lotus’ (BJP) deserves to be in the slush, the ‘crop’ (Janata Dal (Secular)) is better suited in the fields and the generous ‘hand’ (Congress), which has given the people five guarantees, should be in power for the larger good | Illustrations by Jairaj T.G.

Hitting the right note: Suresh Gopi, the fiery action hero of Malayalam cinema, is known more for his punchy lines than for lip-syncing to soulful songs. Yet, the Union minister of state for tourism has always nurtured a deep love for music. In fact, he has a few devotional songs to his credit, and his inner singer came out recently in Vijayawada. He was there for a ministry event to promote music tourism and, seizing the moment, sang a few classical songs to applause from the audience. The superstar described the experience as “humbling”.

Saffron meets red tape: Lucknow Mayor Sushma Kharakwal thought it a good idea to take all the councillors to see The Sabarmati Report. She was following in the path of, among others, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who not only watched the film, but also declared it tax free. Kharakwal’s decision, however, has led to a stand-off with the finance authorities at the municipal corporation. They say a theatre visit is not covered by any budget head, and so the Rs46,000 spent on 200 tickets cannot be reimbursed.

Spidey goes desi: Andrew Garfield and Shraddha Kapoor was a cross-pollination waiting to happen. Both were photographed together at the Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia. Garfield, most famous for essaying Spider-Man in the superhero films, described Kapoor as “kind, gentle and lovely”, calling their interaction brief but pleasant. A few days ago, Garfield was bonding with filmmaker Zoya Akhtar over their mutual admiration of the film RRR at the Marrakech International Film Festival, where they were both jury members. Looks like there is an Indophile lurking beneath this Spider-Man’s superhero suit | AFP

Two-way praise: Amitabh Bachchan and Allu Arjun could have formed a mutual admiration society, with each praising the other’s work. When Arjun called Bachchan his inspiration from Bollywood, the latter responded, “You give me more than I deserve.... We’re all such huge fans of your work and talent.... May you continue to inspire us all.”To which Arjun replied, “You are our superhero.... Listening to words like these from you is surreal.”Any more sweetness and we could get diabetes. Meanwhile, Arjun’s Pushpa 2 continued to dominate the box office, minting Rs900 crore worldwide. It seems business is good for everyone’s favourite sandalwood smuggler | AFP

A winning tune: It seems a drug lord who wants to transition into a woman is more Golden Globe-worthy than Barbie with her fake eyelashes and size zero perfection. With 10 nominations, the Spanish musical Emilia Perez, starring Karla Sofia Gascon as the drug lord, became the most nominated comedy or musical film in the history of the awards, beating Barbie and Cabaret, both of which had got nine nominations each. The film—about a cartel leader who hires a lawyer to stage her own death so that she can live as her true self—had won the Jury Prize at Cannes in May. Barbie had ultimately won six Golden Globe awards and Cabaret, seven. Whether Emilia can hit a higher note remains to be seen. The Golden Globes will be held on January 6, with the Oscars following on March 3 | Shutterstock

Slice of home: Chef Vikas Khanna added another feather to his hat when his New York restaurant Bungalow won the Michelin 2024 Bib Gourmand Award. “While I’ve previously received the Michelin Star eight times, today felt different,”he said. “I felt that it was for some higher purpose, it was like a tribute, it was like a promise to my land and to my people,”said Khanna. Several celebrities like Isha and Mukesh Ambani, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Shah Rukh Khan have dined at Bungalow, which reimagines classic Indian dishes in a way that “takes you home, and still surprises you”, as comedian Vir Das described it during a recent visit.