Entertainment

Meghan Markle opened up about the miscarriage she suffered nearly five years ago.

The Duchess of Sussex shared her experience on the latest episode of her Confessions of a Female Founder podcast, where she was joined by Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code and CEO of Moms First, reported People.

During the conversation with Saujani, Meghan spoke about the difficulties of continuing to “perform” while privately navigating the pain of a miscarriage.

“I’ll bring this up if you’re comfortable talking about it because I know you’ve spoken publicly about as you’re doing Girls Who Code, all the interpersonal things that are happening for you at that time and the miscarriages that you’ve experienced,” Meghan said.

“I’ve spoken about the miscarriage that we experienced,” she continued, adding, “I think in some parallel way, when you have to learn to detach from the thing that you have so much promise and hope for and to be able to be okay at a certain point to let something go, something go that you plan to love for a long time,” according to People.

Meghan shares son, Prince Archie 5, and daughter, Princess Lilibet, 3, with her husband Prince Harry, as per the outlet.

Back in November 2020, she revealed that she had suffered a miscarriage in July of that year.

In the personal essay of roughly over 1,000 words, Meghan recalled feeling a “sharp cramp” and dropping to the floor with Archie in her arms.

“I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second,” Meghan wrote. “Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few,” reported People.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

BTS member Jin made his Netflix debut in Kian’s Bizarre B&B. The variety show features the K-pop star alongside actress Jin Ye Eun and host Kian84. 

In the latest episode of Kian’s Bizarre B&B, Jin was seen enjoying curry and rice with his hands. Kian, who had already visited India, encouraged his co-stars to eat their curry and rice with their hands – no spoons, no chopsticks.

After getting the instructions, Jin didn’t waste a second and rolled up his sleeves to dig into curry-rice in Indian style. This particular clip from the episode went viral on social media, sending the Indian ARMY into a meltdown.

Jin and the guests eating curry with their hands bc it was the owner’s policy:

????: Next group will eat dinner with their hands too. Like we are. pic.twitter.com/Sbh5l2z1ma

— bts memeories⁷ (@btsmemeories) April 15, 2025

Kian’s Bizarre B&B is a reality TV series hosted by Kim Hee Min, also known as Kian84. The show’s concept revolves around Kian running a guesthouse. In every season, he is joined by new celebrity guests who play staff members and assist him in the job. 

Earlier, in a press conference, Jin opened up about the overwhelming response he is getting after Kian’s Bizarre B&B’s success.

The singer said, “I’ve never received this many messages in my life. Even when I win awards, I only get four or five messages. I don’t have that many friends, but over ten people messaged me this time to say the show was hilarious,” quoted Pinkvilla.

Expressing gratitude, Jin added, “I’m genuinely thankful. Maybe people didn’t reach out for other projects because they weren’t as accessible, but this show is different. I was really touched.” 

Besides appearing on Kian’s Bizarre B&B, Jin is also gearing up for his solo music comeback. The singer will release his second studio album, Echo, on May 16. This came after his first solo album, Happy, which was released in November last year. 

Meanwhile, as a group, BTS is expected to make a comeback sometime later this year. 

Nidhhi Agerwal and Pawan Kalyan in the film
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

“2025 feels like the year of resurgence,” Nidhhi Agerwal says in the course of the interview. “Imagine this is the second half of a film. The protagonist who has been bruised and beaten in the first half is ready to reclaim her position.” Her statements are not misplaced. She will soon be seen in Hari Hara Veera Mallu, the Telugu historical fiction drama headlined by Pawan Kalyan and directed by Krish Jagarlamudi and A M Jyothi Krishna. The film has been in the making for five years and a contract barred her from signing new projects. Eventually, she sought permission and signed The Raja Saab, a horror rom-com starring Prabhas and directed by Maruthi. It has been a long wait for the actor so see her work on screen.

The last leg of shooting for Hari Hara Veera Mallu, scheduled to release on May 9, is underway and Nidhhi does not hold back. “It was not easy. There were days I wondered if I had made the right decision. I turned to prayers, meditation, affirmations and journalling to keep my spirits up and look at the bigger picture. I believe that the universe has a plan. Even if I am not bothered about whether the audience will forget me, when those around me air such thoughts, it can alter the balance.” Reflecting, she adds, “I then remind myself that I am living my dream. As a child, I always wanted to be an actor. Everything else is a bonus; these unexpected delays are part of the journey.”

The pandemic altered the shooting schedule and later, Pawan Kalyan got busy with his political campaigning. The film’s shooting got delayed as he took on responsibilities as deputy chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. Nidhhi takes it in her stride, “I was different as a person and as an actor when I began the film. With the experience I have gained, I have become better at portraying emotions.” 

Pageant route to cinema

Born in Hyderabad and growing up in Bengaluru, Nidhhi took the modelling route while studying at Christ University to enter cinema. “I took inspiration from Aishwarya Rai, Sushmita Sen and Priyanka Chopra and participated in a beauty pageant before I got the opportunity for my first film.”

In Telugu, she has films such as Munna Michael, Mr Majnu and Ismart Shankar to her credit. When Krish Jagarlamudi narrated the story of Hari Hara Veera Mallu, it was different from the work she had done before. “Krish sir is knowledgeable and has great clarity on the characters,” Nidhhi says, referring to his period dramas such as Kanche and Gautamiputra Satakarni. She recalls being “bowled over” by his story narration. “I prefer narration to reading a script; it gives me an idea of the director’s vision.”

Hari Hara Veera Mallu is described as an outlaw during the Mughal era in the 17th century. Nidhhi says the period action drama, while drawing from history, also takes creative liberties. “My character, Panchami, is fictional. So I relied on the brief given to me.”

Nidhhi Agerwal
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Horse riding was part of her training regimen. A trained Kathak and ballet dancer, she also learnt Bharatanatyam for a sequence. Nidhhi does not give away more, but cites the Baahubali films as a reference point. “When I stepped into the huge sets, wearing regal costumes and 35 kilograms of jewellery, I felt like a queen.”

Though this was her first larger-than-life film, Nidhhi says she was more excited than nervous. “Speaking on stage at audio release functions scares me more than film shootings,” she says with a laugh. “On the first day we began filming for the song ‘Kollagottinadhiro’. I felt like Alice in Wonderland; it was magical to start working on this big film.”

Dual schedules

The experience of Hari Hara Veera Mallu and then The Raja Saab, Nidhhi explains, gave her insights into life and career management. “I think I would know how to handle tough situations in future.” For about 10 days, she travelled between Hyderabad and Vijayawada, juggling schedules of both the films, catching up on sleep during travel. The adrenaline rush kept her going, and exhaustion crept in as she completed her work. She believes that the result will be worth all the effort. “I cannot reveal much but I can vouch that The Raja Saab will be an extraordinary film. It will present me in a different zone.”

Ask her how she broke the ice with both Pawan Kalyan and Prabhas on sets, considering that there were no script reading sessions or workshops, and Nidhhi says, “I have realised that the bigger the stars, humbler they are. They are aware of how their presence can make others feel intimidated. They go out of their way to make their co-stars comfortable.”

Nidhhi is confident that this year will mark the second phase in her career. “I cannot wait for the audience to see my work. I have also signed on something exciting, which will be announced soon.”

Khushi Kapoor is serving relationship goals – one post at a time. The Archies actress recently shared a few close-up shots of herself in which she can be seen wearing a pendant with the initials of V and K (V stands for Vedang Raina). In the pictures, Khushi Kapoor is seen wearing a  checked collared dress. However, the eagle-eyed fans were quick to spot her customized pendant, which confirmed her relationship with Vedang Raina. 

Sharing the pictures, Khushi Kapoor dropped a white emoji in the caption.

This is not the first time that Khushi Kapoor wore an ornament featuring her rumoured boyfriend’s name. 

Last year, Khushi went to the Maldives with her sister Janhvi Kapoor. Fans spotted that Sridevi’s younger daughter was wearing a bracelet, spelling out her rumoured boyfriend’s name. Khushi’s elder sister Janhvi also sported a pendant which had ‘Shiku’ written over it (Janhvi fondly calls Shikhar Pahariya as Shiku).”

Khushi Kapoor and Vedang Raina have been spotted together several times in recent months. On Karan Johar’s chat show, Koffee With Karan, Khushi Kapoor responded wittily to Karan’s question about her relationship rumours with Vedang Raina. She said, “You know that scene in Om Shanti Om where there’s a row of people just saying, ‘Om and I were just good friends’?” 

The rumoured couple walked the ramp together for designer Gaurav Gupta at ICW 2024 in August. They were spotted together at film screenings, parties and events.

Vedang Raina and Khushi Kapoor co-starred in The Archies. Vedang has been praised for his performance in Alia Bhatt’s Jigra, though the film didn’t work at the box office. Khushi Kapoor was last seen in Nadaaniyan with Ibrahim Ali Khan. 
 

Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s classic Chupke Chupke clocked 50 years recently. To celebrate the occasion, Sharmila Tagore reminisced the shooting days in an interview with Subhash K Jha. Before taking up the Chupke Chupke offer, Sharmila Tagore had worked in the director’s serious films (Anupama and Satyakam). Sharmila Tagore didn’t think twice when the offer of a such fun fun film came her way.

“We had a lot of fun shooting that one. I had done a lot of work with Hrishida before Chupke Chupke, but of a very serious nature, like Anupama and Satyakam, which were both with Dharamji (Dharmendra). These are not easy-viewing cinema. In one (Anupama) I hardly spoke. So when Hrishida offered to do a fun film, we all jumped at it.”

Giving the full credit to the director, Sharmila Tagore shared Chupke Chupke worked because of Hrishikesh Mukherjee.

“Hrishida knew exactly what he wanted us actors to do. We just did what he told us. I think all of us – me, Dharamji, Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan), Jaya (Jaya Bachchan), Om Prakashji, Asraniji, Usha Kironji, we were in it for the fun. In fact Amit and Jaya had very little to do. But they joined in the fun for Hrishida’s sake,” recalled the film veteran.

Chupke Chupke features an ensemble cast including Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Om Prakash, and Asrani. The story was inspired from Shakespeare’s The Comedy Of Errors. Sharmila Tagore has, recently, made a comeback to the Bengali cinema with Puratawn after 14 years.  In the film, she shared screen space with Rituparna Sengupta and Indraneil Sengupta.

Randeep Hooda got married to Lin Laishram in November 2023. The couple’s wedding took place in Imphal with traditional Manipuri customs. In a recent interview, the Jaat actor revealed that his family was initially against the idea of him marrying outside their caste.

While talking to Shubhankar Mishra, Randeep said, “There were complications. Like anyone else, my parents also wanted that I marry within the caste. That’s quite prevalent in Jaats. In fact, I’m the first one in my family to marry a non-Jaat. So everybody had a problem with that, but it gradually went away.” 

Reflecting on the past, Randeep Hooda shared that he never wanted to get married. “I used to be very sad in school. I would think that I wouldn’t like to bring another person into this world who’d go through schooling like I did. So I never had the intention,” said the actor. 

However, everything changed when Randeep met Lin, who made him reconsider his decision. 

“Somehow, our paths crossed, and I’m very happy that they did. I got a little late in getting married because I joke that I don’t have a government job,” the actor added.

Last year in November, Randeep Hooda and Lin Laishram celebrated their first wedding anniversary. On the special occasion, the actress shared an adorable anniversary wish for her husband on her Instagram Stories. 

The post featured a glimpse of both their hands on a piano.

The text on the image read, “Happy 1st anniversary to my classmate from piano lesson.”

She also tagged Randeep Hooda in the picture. 

Lin Laishram made her Bollywood debut alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in Om Shanti Om. Since then, she has appeared in films like Mary Kom and Jaane Jaan. 

On the other hand, Randeep Hooda’s film Jaat is currently running in theatres. The film features Sunny Deol in the lead role.

Anupam Kher’s first directorial was Om Jai Jagdish, which was 23 years ago. More than two decades later, he is back with his second film titled Tanvi The Great, and it is off to a great start as it will be premiering at Cannes 2025, this May.

Reacting to the same, as quoted on The Hindustan Times, Anupam Kher shared, “I did direct another film Om Jai Jagdish, 23 years back, but that was not my story. After that, I didn’t direct any film. I wanted it to come from within me, an Indian film for international viewing.”

Shedding light on why the film is meant for a theatrical release, the 70-year-old actor said, “The film has an Indian character but it’s a universal film. That’s why I am spending money, taking actors there (Cannes) – it’s a huge kharcha. But I want to put the film on a pedestal. Warna mujhe kya zaroorat hai New York jaane ki? I am not some Indian actor who also works in English films. You will not ask this question about whether the film will release in theatres or OTT to Martin Scorcese! I am not comparing myself to these greats, but when you are making the film with passion, uska jo marzi hashr ho, you make it for the cinemas.”

Speaking about how Indian films are always judged by their songs and dances, Anupam Kher emphasized on how it is much more than that.

He concluded, “It will be interesting to see the journey of the film from Cannes, and start the PR campaign with a bang.”

The year was 1998, and Lata Mangeshkar was recording the iconic song Jiya Jale for Dil Se in AR Rahman’s Studio. Dil Se had Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, and Manisha Koirala in the lead.

In conversation with O2india, Gulzar revealed how it wasn’t an easy experience for the late Lata Mangeshkar, who felt very isolated as she recorded the song.

Gulzar shared, “It was her first time working with Rahman. [In his studio,] the singer won’t be visible from where he is recording. Usually, we stand right in front of the singer (in another room adjacent to the recording booth), giving instructions through gestures. Back then, unlike now, Rahman did not understand Hindi that well either.”

He added, “So imagine this, Lata ji was inside the recording booth, ready to deliver another masterpiece, but there was no one in sight. No familiar faces, no silent nods or reassuring smiles from behind the glass. Just machines and silence. After a while, she asked, a little unsettled, “I can’t see anyone in front of me; who am I singing for? I feel very awkward because there’s absolutely no contact (with anyone)’, you cannot sing or even recite a poem alone.”

Gulzar then revealed the solution he came up with to make the situation a tad bit better.

He said, “I explained this to Rahman and told him that I will sit on a stool in front of the door, which is visible to both of them. Thus, she managed to get some sight of me, and that’s how she completed recording the song.”

From the cinematography to the incredible way the song turned out to be, Jiya Jale was penned by Gulzar, with music by AR Rahman and vocals by the late Lata Mangeshkar.

Some of the other chartbusters from Dil Se were Chaiyya Chaiyya, Dil Se Re, and Satarangi Re, which continue to be some of the most loved songs from the bygone generation.

Soha Ali Khan is currently making headlines for her performance as the antagonist in the recently released Chhorri 2. She essayed the role of Daasi Maa, alongside the protagonist Nushrratt Bharuccha.

During an exclusive conversation with NDTV, Soha spoke about how she was made aware of her mother, veteran actress Sharmila Tagore’s expansive filmography across languages.

Reacting to how having such a prolific actor as her mother impacted her, Soha shared, “I think growing up actually to be honest, I wasn’t so aware of all the incredible work that my mother had done. It was only after I joined films and then I became interested in films. And I do remember, especially when I was invited to go to Harvard to speak about cinema. After Rang De Basanti was released, my mother and I both went and at that point, I remember in a couple of months I saw maybe 50-60 films, and at that time I saw a lot of films.”

Soha added, “Of course, I then remarked upon how versatile she’s been bridging languages, and being a part of such path-breaking cinema at such a young age and having had the opportunity to work with such a visionary filmmaker like Ray. So that’s when I became aware of the work, and I’ve seen a lot of it since. My favourite is Devi, just for being so disturbing, especially that last image of the girl running into the fields and you’re not sure how it ends and it leaves you feeling very uncomfortable and some of the issues they dealt with even then so many years ago. Still plagues us, and we’re still not able to capture it with such subtlety and with so many nuances, and to make such impactful cinema today.”

Sharmila Tagore was a reigning queen at the cinemas in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Particularly her extensive work in Bengali cinema with Satyajit Ray such as Nayak: The Hero, Aranyer Din Ratri, Devi, and The World Of Apu, to name a few have left an irreplaceable mark in the world of exceptional cinema.

On being asked about the one advice that her mother has ever given her, Soha shared, “The most memorable piece of advice that she has given me to date, has been never to marry an actor. I think the concern was that, you know, actors, emotions and feelings go up and down every Friday, not just depending on their success, but depending on the market. Other people’s success and the hit and success of another film, and things might get volatile, and it might be tiring.”

She added, “But as we all know, I did choose to marry an actor and I think that because my personality is quite constant, I think that we find the right balance.”

Nitesh Tiwari’s ambitious adaptation of Ramayan continues to remain one of the most talked-about projects in Indian cinema, not just for its scale and cast, but also for the buzz around its casting process. While the film already boasts of big names like Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, and Sunny Deol as Hanuman, it has now come to light that acclaimed actor Jaideep Ahlawat was also approached to play the role of Vibhishan, Ravana’s righteous brother.

Known for his intense performances in films like Raazi and An Action Hero, and the web series Paatal Lok, Jaideep was reportedly quite keen on being part of the mythological epic. However, due to scheduling conflicts and prior commitments, the actor had to turn down the offer. Sources close to the production reveal that the makers were eager to bring him on board for the key role, but the dates simply didn’t align.
Interestingly, Jaideep isn’t the only name that was in the running for Vibhishan. Last year, there were strong rumors suggesting that celebrated Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi was also in talks to take on the role. However, those discussions eventually fell through.
The film’s production is progressing in phases, with many actors yet to begin their shooting schedules. Just a few days ago, Sai Pallavi was spotted filming her portions as Sita. Yash, who plays the antagonist Ravana, has also shot for some of his scenes. However, Sunny Deol, who steps into the mighty role of Lord Hanuman, and Kunal Kapoor, who plays Lord Indra, are still to commence filming.
As anticipation builds for Ramayan, the makers are leaving no stone unturned in assembling a powerful ensemble. While Jaideep Ahlawat’s exit is certainly a loss, fans remain eager to see who will finally take on the layered role of Vibhishan in this grand retelling.