Kangana’s vitriol corrodes Bollywood reputation
The
Kangana Ranaut saga has upset and demoralised Bollywood. Already badly hurt by the Covid-19 pandemic that is depriving lakhs of their livelihood, the “drugs society” charge is hurting the entertainment industry further. Some former stars wonder why Kangana, an accomplished actress, is speaking with vengeance and making it look as if the drug menace is confined to film industry wallahs. Does it have to do with an ugly episode from Kangana’s own life when a superstar and other A-listers had cornered her badly?
‘Suzy’ Others
acknowledge that Bollywood cliques have occasionally concocted their own narcotic for personal consumption. These concoctions are given informal names. One mild drug was reportedly called “Suzy”. Who is Suzy? Is she some style trendsetter who habitually hangs out with other A-listers? Nobody knows for sure.
Desperately seeking Rajnath comes second
Kangana
Ranaut’s Mumbai visit was followed by her war of words with co-actresses such as Urmila Mantondkar. The media frenzy was so extraordinary that it even rattled BJP communication personnel who struggled to make space on TV news for defence minister Rajnath Singh’s important statement on China. Even some anchors and channels considered sympathetic to the ruling establishment were reluctant to run political news in place of the saucy Jaya Bachchan-KanganaUrmila saga.
They still love Sidhu
Shiromani
Akali Dal minister Harsimat Kaur Badal’s resignation from the Narendra Modi government over the new farming bill is sought to be underplayed. But informed sources say there is much more happening as part of the run-up to the early-2022 Punjab Assembly polls. While both the Akalis and the BJP have gone on record to say that all is well and that the SAD would continue in the NDA, in private conversation some BJP leaders say the SAD has become a political liability for the BJP in Congress-ruled Punjab. They recall that even in 2016, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah had contemplated breaking ties and going at it alone in the 2017 Assembly polls but Arun Jaitley had argued in favour of the SAD. Interestingly, some BJP leaders view Navjyot Singh Sidhu — who had left the BJP and is currently a disgruntled MLA in the Captain Amrinder Singh-led Congress in Punjab — as an asset for 2022. You heard this here first.
No more corridor scoops
For journalists covering the Parliament session, Covid- 19 is posing problems.
Incredible as it may sound, they and officials have to get their nose drilled for RTPCR and antigen tests on a daily basis, or each time they enter Parliament. At the functional level there are many handicaps. Senior scribes cannot meet ( or run into in Parliament’s corridors) leaders who used to provide valuable information, leads or just gossip.
Waiting for Sonia
During
the UPA era, Gurdeep Singh Sappal was everywhere. A political aide of former vice- president Hamid Ansari and heading Rajya Sabha TV, Sappal had wide access. Today, his independent TV venture, Swaraj Express, has conked without a trace. Sappal has not given up hope. He, like many others, is anxiously waiting for Sonia Gandhi to return and looking for a meaty role in the AICC media department or party’s “War Room” at 15, Gurudwara Rakabgunj Marg. Some Congress leaders feel that if failure and insignificance act in Sappal’s favour then he may bounce back.