Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha recently addressed actor Taapsee Pannu’s remark about the portrayal of women in films. Speaking to Siddharth Kannan in an interview, the director shared his perspective on the debate around body representation in Bollywood and South Indian cinema. He also spoke about working with Taapsee and his past comment comparing her to Kangana Ranaut.

Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha recently addressed actor Taapsee Pannu’s remark about the portrayal of women in films. In an interview, the director shared his perspective on the debate around body representation in Bollywood and South Indian cinema. He also spoke about working with Taapsee and his past comment comparing her to Kangana Ranaut.Taapsee had earlier said that Bollywood is often “obsessed with cleavage” while South Indian cinema tends to focus on the midriff. Reacting to the comment, Anubhav said such portrayals are often shaped by what audiences find aspirational at a particular time.“Different film industries have certain body types that become aspirational for audiences at a particular time,” he told Siddharth Kannan. “What audiences see on screen is often shaped by what they find aspirational. That’s why certain body types dominate for a while before trends eventually change.”

‘Taapsee is a fantastic performer’

During the conversation, Anubhav was also asked about Taapsee’s claim that some male actors are reluctant to work with her despite her performances.Responding to this, the director said he cannot comment on the reasons behind such experiences. “I don’t know the exact reason. That’s her personal experience, and she would know better,” he said.Praising the actor, Anubhav added that Taapsee is a “fantastic performer” and pointed out that she has worked with some of the biggest stars in the industry. “One of the biggest stars in India has worked with her recently. So the situation is probably more complex than it appears,” he said.

‘I love her as a professional, actor and person’

Anubhav also spoke about his professional relationship with Taapsee, clarifying that the perception that they frequently collaborate is not entirely accurate.“Actually, the perception that we work together constantly isn’t correct,” he said. “After Mulk (2018), we worked again in Thappad (2020), and now again years later. I love her as a professional, as an actor and as a person.”

‘She’s not manipulative enough’

When asked if he relates to the way Taapsee speaks openly about issues, Anubhav said that she tends to be more straightforward than most people in the industry.“She’s not manipulative enough. I’m manipulative enough,” he said. “But I’m not afraid of the truth — I’m afraid of the manipulation of truth. So sometimes I choose not to participate in conversations where the truth may be twisted.”

On his past comment comparing Kangana and Taapsee

Anubhav was also asked about his earlier statement where he said Kangana Ranaut is a better actor than Taapsee and why he has never worked with her.Responding to this, the filmmaker said it simply came down to the lack of a suitable script. “I never had a script suitable for her,” he explained.He also noted that Kangana has been busy with other commitments in recent years. “In the past few years she has been active in politics and may have a different schedule. I’ve met her only once briefly,” he added.

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NEW DELHI: Facing a severe LNG (liquefied natural gas) crunch, govt on Monday invoked the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, to reallocate gas supply and slashed allocation for fertiliser and other industries, while seeking to ensure full availability for priority sectors such as domestic piped natural gas (PNG) for kitchens, compressed natural gas (CNG) for transport and LPG production.The decision came days after petroleum ministry insisted that supplies were comfortable, and it was seeking more flows from Canada and Australia amid outages in Qatar, the top source of LNG for India. Hours after the notification, PM Modi met petroleum minister Hardeep Puri and external affairs minister S Jaishankar for an assessment of the situation and its impact on energy flows.During a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day, Modi asked his colleagues to take stock of the situation in their respective ministries and interact with all stakeholders to ensure people do not suffer because of the conflict in West Asia.While fertiliser units, many of which are advancing shutdown, will be supplied 70% of their average consumption in the last six months, availability for industrial units will be 80% of the average for the last six months.

Govt in talks with several countries to import LNG through other routes

The notification added that the gas required to meet the needs of the priority sectors would be met through full or partial curtailment of gas supplied to petrochemical facilities and power plants, and by reducing gas allocation to refineries to 65% of their requirement.India imports nearly half of its natural gas requirements of around 190 million standard cubic metres per day (mscmd). More than 50% of the imported LNG comes from Qatar and the UAE through the Strait of Hormuz, which has effectively remained closed to vessel movement for nearly 10 days now. Officials said govt was in talks with several countries to import LNG through other routes, while refiners have made spot purchases to meet their requirements.Ministries such as shipping and road transport have held stakeholder consultations and are holding regular meetings to address concerns. Officials said inter-ministerial consultations were also taking place to ensure prices of essential commodities remained under control, considering that govt has enough buffer stock of rice, pulses and other items.

The fact that availability of PNG and CNG impacts millions of people in India has forced govt to invoke the Essential Commodities Act and categorise them as priority sectors along with LPG production to ensure there is no shortage of the fuel.Though the fuel is also used as feedstock for fertilisers, petrochemicals, tea industries, manufacturing and power generation, among others, the gazette notification considered it necessary to regulate production, sector-wise allocation and diversion of LNG supplies. The notification said this was done to ensure equitable distribution and continued availability of natural gas for priority sectors.GAIL (India), in coordination with Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, will manage the supplies of natural gas to implement the directives.

One of India’s most legendary cricketers and a former World Cup winner, Sunil Gavaskar, has marked a startling resemblance between Indian superstar Sanju Samson and West Indian legend Sir Vivian Richards.

Sanju Samson helped India seal a victory in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Though everyone made their contributions, which made it a famous victory, had it not been for Samson, India would not have made it to the semi-finals and, secondly, would not have been able to put 250+ runs on the board in the semi-finals and the final.

This was something that Sir Viv Richards, one of the greatest ever cricketers in the world, had done for a long time for his national side. He not only won games for them but also made the opposition tremble out of fear whenever they saw him coming out with the willow.

Your daily dose of cricket!

Reminiscent of Viv Richards at his powerful best-Sunil Gavaskar

Former Indian great Sunil Gavaskar praised Sanju Samson for his extraordinary outing in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. He heaped praise on the Kerala star who helped India clinch their consecutive title in the shortest format of the game.

Talking about his explosive batting in the T20 World Cup, where he scored runs with a strike rate of 199.37, Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar that his strokeplay, especially the pull shot, reminded him of West Indian legend Vivian Richards.

“His pulling off the fierce pace of Jofra Archer was reminiscent of Viv Richards at his powerful best, though most of his batting is more like the Sri Lankan stylist Mahela Jayawardene,” noted Sunil Gavaskar.

Gavaskar praised Sanju Samson for playing quality cricketing shots in T20Is

Gavaskar continued, saying the purity of batting is not something in common with the modern batters, especially in the shortest format of the game, but Samson showed how runs can be scored through orthodox ways. This was quite similar to India’s very own Virat Kohli, though.

“Purity of batting is generally a virtue in the longest format of the game, Test match cricket, and occasionally in the 50-over game, but hardly ever in the ultra-short format of the game,” wrote Gavaskar.

“Samson provided that in all his three fifty-plus innings in playing classical cricket shots, along with some of the most imperious pulling and hooking seen in recent times,” he continued.

Both openers…justified the trust show- Sunil Gavaskar

India not only backed Sanju Samson by making him return to the Indian side, but also backed Abhishek Sharma despite the left-hander struggling with very poor form.

However, the southpaw returned to good form in the final and returned the faith with a quickfire half-century that gave India the perfect start with 98 runs off 43 balls for the first wicket.

“In the final, Abhishek Sharma came good with the quickest half-century in the T20 World Cup. Both the openers had, with their performances when it mattered most, justified the trust shown in them by the team’s brains trust,” said Gavaskar (via the aforementioned source).

ALSO READ: Ex-India star launches brutal attack on Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir for mishandling Sanju Samson

Pilibhit: A pothole on Bareilly-Haridwar NH-74 turned out to be a blessing for a 50-year-old woman from Uttar Pradesh, reviving her, quite literally, after there was clinically “no sign of life in her”.Declared ‘brain-dead’ by doctors and discharged from a Bareilly hospital with almost “no hope of survival”, Vineeta Shukla was being brought back home by her mournful husband, Kuldeep Kumar Shukla, on Feb 24, when the ambulance struck upon the pothole-riddled stretch of the highway. Then, a sudden, violent jerk did the unthinkable.“I told my family to prepare for her last rites. She was not breathing, there was only a sinking heartbeat. As the ambulance reached Hafizganj, it struck a large pothole and the vehicle moved violently,” her husband told TOI on Tuesday.The next moment, Kuldeep said, was nothing short of a miracle. “My wife started breathing normally again… I immediately informed my family to suspend all the funeral preparations,” he said.Conquered her death: UP woman’s husbandKuldeep then rushed her to Neurocity Hospital in Pilibhit. There, after undergoing critical medical care, she returned home on Monday, “conquering her death,” Kuldeep, Vineeta’s husband, said, adding, “she is now not just awake, but talking to us…”Dr Rakesh Singh, neurosurgeon at Neurocity Hospital, went through a thorough inquiry procedure about the patient’s physical condition and medical diagnosis from his counterparts at the Bareilly hospital before starting her meticulous treatment.Based on the medical information, Singh told TOI that the brainstem reflexes of Vineeta were found absent in the Bareilly-based hospital, while her Glasgow Coma Scale dropped to three points against the normal level of 15 points, indicating complete unresponsiveness.“The examination of her eyes showed mydriasis (dilation of pupils), indicating the death of her brain and constantly sinking signs of life in her. During a series of quick medical tests, heavy neurotoxins were detected in her bloodstream and lymphatic system. The diagnosis and consequent treatment helped remarkably in her recovery,” the neurosurgeon said.According to her family, Vineeta, who was a senior assistant in the copy section at judicial courts in Pilibhit, suddenly fainted on the evening of Feb 22 while managing her household work.Her family took her to Autonomous State Medical College in Pilibhit, from where doctors referred her to an advanced medical facility in Bareilly.

NEW DELHI: SC Tuesday agreed to test correctness of a Bombay HC judgment striking down amendments to Information and Technology Rules that allowed Centre to set up fact-check units to flag fake social media content that would make it obligatory for intermediaries to take down the content or lose ‘safe harbour’ protection. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta told SC Centre does not intend to block social media platforms but limit the harm caused to individual, institutional and national reputation through fake social media posts, which could be curbed through FCUs.

Fake news can damage nation’s reputation: CJI

Opposing Centre’s argument, senior advocate Arvind Datar told a bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justices R Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi the govt already is empowered to issue take down orders and a social media platform or intermediary is bound to remove or take down such content within 48 hours of receiving the notice.CJI Kant said if a fake post demolishing the reputation of a person is allowed to remain active for 48 hours, that person’s dignity and reputation would be sullied beyond repair.“Look at the way some of these platforms are behaving. Some of the illustrations put on record by the govt shows how dangerous these are. Such fake news can damage the reputation of the nation and institutions as well. We will examine all these issues,” the CJI-led bench said and asked the petitioners before the HC — Kunal Kamra, Editors Guild, News Broadcasters and Digital Association and Association of Indian Magazines — to respond to Centre’s appeal in four weeks.However, the bench refused to accede to SG’s plea for a stay on the Bombay HC judgment, which would have revived the FCUs.The CJI said there is no question of staying the judgment. “It is better to hear the petition and decide the matter once for all,” the bench said. It also declined SG’s request for issuing notice on the Centre’s application for stay of the HC decision.A division bench of Bombay HC comprising Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale had delivered a split verdict, Justice Patel striking down FCU while the latter upholding the validity of the Rules. It was referred to the umpire judge – Justice A S Chandurkar, now a SC judge, who had agreed with Justice Patel.In its appeal, Centre said, “the rule is in compliance with Article 19 and, in fact, reinforces the right of the public to have access to true and accurate information about the functioning of central govt. Article 19 confers no right to engage in deliberate spreading of misinformation and as such, regulation of such misinformation by the Rule does not result in any chilling effect on free speech.”It said the rule, struck down by HC, needs examination from this angle too.

Mumbai: A six-page suicide note left behind by a 24-year-old dentistry graduate from Antop Hill who was pursuing her post-graduation while working part-time, led to the arrest of her former boyfriend on Tuesday.The note said the former boyfriend, whom the police identified as Fuzail Ahmed Khan (34), would insult and humiliate her.Khan, who works as an insurance broker, was arrested for abetment to suicide. Produced before the Kurla court, he was remanded in a day’s police custody.The police denied any communal angle and said it was a fallout of a failed relationship. They said that according to the suicide note, the woman’s friends knew about her troubles with Khan and would often joke and say, “We don’t want to see you in the fridge,” a possible reference to a recent criminal case where the body parts of a woman living with her lover in Delhi were found stuffed in a refrigerator.The deceased woman lived with her parents and sister at Rawali Camp in Antop Hill and was pursuing her master’s in dental surgery (MDS) from a Navi Mumbai dental college. She also worked part-time at BYL Nair Hospital.The police said her father, who was retired, lodged the complaint at the Antop Hill police station after he found the suicide note written in English from the victim’s bedroom.In his statement, the father told the police that on Sunday evening his daughter went to her room around 7 pm and refused to come out for dinner despite being called by the family. The next morning, when she did not open the door of her room, the family forced the door open and found her hanging with a white nylon rope. She was taken to Sion hospital, where doctors declared her dead before admission at 11.18 am.The police registered an accidental death report (ADR) and during the spot panchnama recovered the six handwritten pages that they said they were treating as the deceased’s suicide note. After verification, it was confirmed that the handwriting was that of the deceased.Based on the complaint filed by her father, the police on Monday registered an offence of abetment of suicide.In the suicide note, the woman wrote about her relationship with her former boyfriend, whom she met on a dating app. She became friends with him and was in a relationship with him for one and half years. In the note she alleged that her former boyfriend humiliated and insulted her, which resulted in her suffering severe mental trauma.“However, over the course of time the duo realised that their relationship will not last and due to various reasons they cannot go ahead and hence decided to break off and be just friends,” a police official said.The police said they learnt that another man had entered the woman;s life, which did not go down well with Khan, following which there was a scuffle between her and Khan. In a fit of rage, Khan allegedly used some derogatory words against her, which affected her mentally and which she mentioned in her note, said the police.

India’s Lakshya Sen (AP Photo)

NEW DELHI: When Lakshya Sen took on Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen in the 2022 All England Open final, he could only take 10 and 15 points from the Dane, respectively. In 2024, after securing a long-lasting UK visa, the Indian shuttler joked he would win the title there 3-4 times and reach the finals at least eight times. Last Sunday, the 24-year-old added to the finals tally, but the titles column remained at nought as he went down 15-21, 20-22 to Lin Chun-Yi of Taiwan.A foot blister played a role, as did the fatigue of playing a 97-minute semi-final hours ago. In all, he had occupied the court for 91 minutes more than his vanquisher, Lin. Shoulder fatigue made it a physically one-sided affair even before the feather met the strings.

“The semi-final I played took a toll on my body, with the cramps I had. I did everything I could to recover well and come back fresh for the final, but it was tough to get back to 100%,” Lakshya said on Tuesday during a media interaction.“The whole week had been demanding with long matches from the very first day, and the muscles got tired. Even during the semi-final, I was cramping a lot, and the fatigue was still there in the final,” Lakshya added. “Of course, my opponent was also playing his fifth match of the week, but I just tried to give it my all and do my best.”The 24-year-old repeated feeling “disheartened” to not walk away with the title while acknowledging the physical duress on his body. Yet, he did what any athlete does: accept that both players started on an even footing, having played five matches in the week.Sen’s week included wins over top seed and World No. 1 Shi Yu Qi; former World No. 6 Angus Ng Ka Long, and sixth seed Li Shi Feng with only one match, barring the final, finishing in two sets.The difference between the Lakshya Sen of 2022 and that of 2026 is in the level of expectations that he attaches to himself. The heartbreak of missing out on the 2024 Paris Olympics medal has made him a more resolute player, too.“I feel the first time when I played the finals of the All England, I was probably still dreaming that whole week that I am playing in such a big event and I have reached the finals. I was enjoying and playing without any expectation, but here when I could reach the closing of the tournament, the semi-finals, the quarter-finals. I was better prepared in certain ways to know what’s coming and how to play in these pressure matches where I have played big events now and was just trying to focus on playing my best.