A week that saw the resurfacing of Timothée Chalamet’s hare-brained cultural provocation — opera and ballet are “obsolete,” “no one cares” — The Times of India’s magical musical, Tesseract, answered not with a clapback, but with choreography: an elegant, assertive inclusion of ballet, so ravishing it felt less like rebuttal, and more like revelation.Tesseract reframed legacy as living organism, not museum piece, placing ballet where it has always belonged: in the bloodstream of the present. Art demonstrates what argument cannot.The evening’s spell began at the threshold: Interstellar music seemed to bend the entry hallway into a time tunnel, and a galaxy of TOI headlines and archival material unfolded: premonitory whispers that we were entering a theatre of multiple dimensions. Within minutes, I lost the ordinary measure of time; three and a half hours dissolved, with the hush and rush of a lucid dream.

I am writing after days of reflection and dreaming: reflecting… like the shards and mirrors of the ‘Man in the Mirror’ sequence; dreaming… like Sophia, the protagonist, whose journey, and her alter ego’s, formed a double helix of identity. Their oscillation was so seamless, I often felt the flame flicker between two bodies of light, two musics of intention; a quiet triumph of performance craft and directorial design.Satsang: Association with truthWhat lingered were not effects, but after‑effects: layers that adhere to the mind’s inner surfaces, and keep releasing meaning. That peeling and unpeeling have not stopped. My spirit felt stirred; my imagination conscripted; new quadrants of thought opened, new coordinates for feeling were revealed.Even when the show vaulted into spectacle, what gleamed most was restraint: the discipline that makes technology serve emotion, not smother it; that lets light reveal, rather than blind; that turns movement into syntax, rather than ornament.Tesseract was the most exquisite narcotic for the soul. The benevolent kind, the satsang kind. It had the unmistakable charge, vibrations, and high, of a congregation gathered to listen for truth, to dwell in the company of those who have made a life of seeking it. In this sense, the show became a civic ritual: a room of seekers aligning, for a few hours, around questions that are older than the nation‑state, and younger than each new dawn.It entered my sleep the way good art does — in rapid succession of dreams and visions; a reminder that inner archives can be as unruly (and as luminous), as outer ones.And then the finale: like origami, each crease and fold converged, until the very idea of the tesseract revealed itself; not as a stunt, but as the geometry of a thought (and truth) that had been, quietly, forming all night.The eye for detail was relentless. The section on beauty and art, in particular, pinned me to my seat with its tenderness; it was an aria about what makes us human, and why the aesthetic is not indulgence but oxygen… a skein of beliefs, mythologies of meaning, turned into a theatre of belonging.Spotlight: Shining light on the truthThe stagecraft, from sets to lighting and automation, was cutting‑edge in the only way that matters: ideas first, then electronics. Tesseract felt pioneering: rooted in Indian ethos, yet speaking fluently to the world; interweaving journalism’s archive with theatre’s alchemy, and technology’s sleight of mind. The show assembled global expertise, and integrated live performance with large‑scale LED, AR environments, illusion design, and a sweeping sound architecture... the kind of interdisciplinary rigour that does not imitate “international standards,” but sets them.Threaded through it all was an Indic grammar of courage: the old vow that truth is not a decree, but a discipline. Our epics remind us that the boldest journeys are often into ambiguity, and that to “know” is not to arrive, but to abide in inquiry. I found myself wondering — heresy though it may be to a masthead I love — whether TOI ’s signature line might graduate from “Let Truth Prevail” to “The Geometry of Truth.”After all, what is “prevail” if the unasked question is ‘what is truth?’, and ‘who gets to officiate it?’ A quest into origami-like geometry invites us to seek, to question, to listen, to platform polyphonies of approach and opinion.Stardust: Tryst with truthIf there is a roadshow destiny, Tesseract must meet it. Tour the country. Cross oceans. Reach for the stars.May Act 2 bloom into Part 2, with the “future of the planet” chapter dilated into its own deep meditation. Imagine a movement from archival intelligence, which we now shorthand as artificial intelligence, into an epoch of planetary intelligence; where biodiversity, species empathy, and humananimal kinship are re‑lit, as central plotlines, rather than footnotes.Carol Hanisch, a second-wave feminist, is credited with popularising the slogan “The Personal is Political”, through her influential 1969 essay of the same name. Tesseract seems born from the same transmutation: the rare and inspirational ability to take the personal, make it political, and then sublimate it into art. This, too, is why it moved me so much: it insisted that love scale into responsibility, and pain transform into purpose.As a work of language and light, Tesseract oscillates between surrealism, pop art, and Kafkaesque narratives, visuals, motifs.It is a composograph of cosmic intelligence; its architectonic, symbolic, haptic, figurative elements gather into a grammar of grandeur.It is a show tinged with the aura of spiritual reverence, and multi‑sensorial engagement.It is saturated with and by illusion and illumination; pulsing with a transcorporeal rhythm and murmur that recalls the oldest theatre there is: the human body and mind, convincing itself it can hold more truth than yesterday.And finally…the sprinkling of stardust. In Meera Jain’s opening invocation of her son and grandson, the evening disclosed its lineage: pregnant with poise and panache; and yet, nine months of gestation for a vision like this feels, in hindsight, inevitable. A theatre‑child born of travel, agency, care, curiosity, beauty, empathy, love, and familial imagination.Not perfect, but pure. Not bound, but beautiful. Not tangible, but true.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) suggested that countries facing fuel shortages during the ongoing war with Iran should either buy oil from the United States or take stronger steps to secure supplies, going to the Strait o Hormuz, themselves. Speaking in a prime-time address at 9 pm EDT from the White House’s Cross Hall, Trump said, “To those countries that can’t get fuel, many of which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion: Number 1, buy oil from the United States. And Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just take it, protect it. Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done, so it should be easy.”Meanwhile, after Trump’s address, oil prices jumped almost 4%. WTI Crude jumped to $103.9, rising 3.80%, while Brent Crude soared to $106.0, up 4.74%. Before the speech, prices were down by more than $1, with Brent crude futures falling $1.16, or 1.15%, to $100 per barrel by 1204 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures also declined, slipping $1.41, or 1.41%, to $98.71 per barrel. Both benchmarks had already ended lower in the previous session as markets waited for signals on whether Washington might scale back its involvement in the conflict. The US President further added that once the flows resume, gas prices will come down rapidly. Wall Street is also set to see gains once the crisis is over.Trump’s speech was aimed towards updating progress on Washington’s stated war goals, dismantling Iran’s missile production and naval strength, preventing its proxies from destabilising the region, and ensuring Tehran does not secure a nuclear weapon.Trump described the past month of military action under Operation Epic Fury as decisive, saying Iran’s “ability to launch missiles and drones is dramatically curtailed, and their weapons factories and rocket launchers are being blown to pieces.” He claimed the country’s “navy is gone, their air force is in ruins,” and said its leaders “are now dead.” He also added that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “is being decimated as we speak.”More than a month after the United States launched strikes alongside Israel, US President Donald Trump delivered his first prime-time address since the operations began.His remarks come as the Middle East crisis enters its second month, with Iran continuing to tighten its chokehold over the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting energy flows globally. The conflict has continued to intensify through this period, with Iran carrying out attacks on Israel and countries in the Persian Gulf, even as airstrikes have struck Tehran.

‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ has been a huge box office hit since its release in theatres on March 19. This spy thriller, directed by Aditya Dhar and starring Ranveer Singh, is getting lots of praise from fans and stars on social media. Joining the list of stars singing praise of the film and the performances was ‘URI’ star, Vicky Kaushal who took to his Instagram stories to heap praise on the director and his leading man.Dhurandhar 2 Movie Review

Vicky Kaushal praises ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’

Taking to his Instagram story, Vicky reviewed ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ and wrote, “#DhurandharTheRevenge @adityadharflims !!! I’m so shook, so proud and in absolute awe of the craft, hard work and sincerity with which you have made this film. Nothing short of gold standard. You deserve every bit of this success. @ranveersingh you inspire me brother: Your finesse and flare as an actor is unmatched. Hosla Eendhan Badla.. @actormaddy Sir you were a joy to watch! @therakeshbedi Sir tussi kamaal ho. Big hug! @mustala_thebull_ahmed swaad aa gaya! @shivkumarpanicker genius editing, your toughest and best work till date. @shashwatology I’m a fan! @oficialjiostudios #yotiDeshpande @dhar_lokesh ©b62studios Hat’s off and mubarakaan! Each and every department. the whole team… kudos! Aap sabhi Dhurandhar ho!”

Vicky Kaushal praises ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ box office success

A few days ago, Vicky attended the inaugural International Film Festival of Delhi (IFFD) 2026, where he spoke about ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ and said, “I’m just very happy to see how Dhurandhar is working. I loved the first part. I’m yet to watch the second part. But Aditya is a great filmmaker. He got a great cast together. And I’m so happy that everyone is loving the film so much.”See More: ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ box office collection Day 13: Ranveer Singh and Rakesh Bedi starrer crosses Rs 900 crore India net; eyes for Rs 1,500 crore worldwide

‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ details

‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ is the sequel to the 2025 blockbuster ‘Dhurandhar’, released last December. The original film followed Hamza as he infiltrated a Baloch gang in Lyari, Pakistan, to dismantle a terror group. The sequel explores the backstory of how Jaskirat becomes Hamza amid tough circumstances. Ranveer Singh, Sara Arjun, Arjun Rampal, R. Madhavan, Rakesh Bedi, Danish Pandor, and others reprise their roles.The first ‘Dhurandhar’ grossed Rs 1300 crore worldwide.

Vicky Kaushal upcoming film

Meanwhile, on the work front, Vicky Kaushal will next appear in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Love & War’ alongside Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt.