Taara and the makers have been dropping promos about the show, viewers are excited to see the new show because of its intriguing plot and the lead actors. Starring Krushal Ahuja as Yuvraj and Kanikka Kapur as Taara, the show revolves around two individuals who belong to different societal status and develop a feeling of emotional connection which later transforms into love. Taara is a story of resilience, friendship and the changing dynamics of relationships along with social divides.
Kanikka Kapur returns to TV after a long gap
Kanikka Kapur, who plays Taara, recently shared her experience working on the show and the excitement that it is finally reaching the viewers.
She said, “I’m extremely excited for Taara to finally reach the audience. Television has the power to create a real impact, and this show carries many meaningful messages within its story. Taara herself is emotionally very strong and wise beyond her years because she has seen hardships since childhood. She wasn’t born with a silver spoon, and those struggles have shaped her resilience, while her faith in God gives her the strength to keep going even in her toughest moments.”
The actress also spoke about her bond with Yuvraj, a relationship that is seen evolving with time.
“Her bond with Yuvraj is beautiful because they have practically grown up together. Taara’s nani works in his house, so their friendship is built on years of trust and comfort. As they grow older, that friendship begins to evolve into something deeper. Through Taara’s journey from being born in a basti to where life eventually takes her, I hope the audience feels inspired, finds strength in her story, and perhaps even begins to break the barriers of class divide.”
On her return to TV
Speaking about her association with the channel, Kanikka shared that this project holds a special place in her journey. She said, “I was a contestant on the acting-based reality show India’s Next Superstars on Star Plus, so in a way this isn’t my first association with the channel. That show truly marked the beginning of my acting journey, where I was trained and groomed by acting coaches who taught me the craft of acting. I’ll always be grateful to Star Plus for being the platform where my journey began.”
Taara is a heartfelt story of love and passion despite social differences, portraying a relationship that challenges the barriers of society.
A 35-year-old model, Garima Tiwari, has filed a new complaint in a Kanpur court against her husband, IPL cricketer Amit Mishra, and his family, accusing them of dowry harassment, assault, and abetment to suicide, officials said on Monday.Tiwari filed the complaint in the court of an Additional Civil Judge (Senior Division), alleging that she faced continuous physical and mental abuse from her husband and in-laws after their marriage. Besides Mishra, the complaint also names his mother Beena Mishra, father Shashikant Mishra, brother Amar Mishra, sister-in-law Ritu Mishra, and sister Swati Mishra.
India’s T20 World Cup win sparks celebrations | Rajeev Shukla, Tharoor & others react
Tiwari said she and Mishra, now a Reserve Bank of India officer, met on Instagram in 2019, dated for nearly three years, and got married on April 26, 2021, at Kanpur Club.
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Soon after marriage, she alleged that Mishra and his family pressured her family for a Honda City car and Rs 10 lakh as dowry. Her family managed to give Rs 2.5 lakh, but the demands continued, as per news agency PTI report.She claimed that Mishra assaulted her when drunk, verbally abused her, sometimes kept her without food, and took away money she earned from modelling. He allegedly also threatened her with divorce, which led her into depression and forced her to quit her career.Tiwari said she even attempted suicide once by consuming phenyl and was hospitalized. She added that she approached the police multiple times, but no FIR was registered, allegedly due to Mishra’s influence, prompting her to move the court.Her lawyer, Karim Ahmad Siddiqui, said the complaint was filed after the police failed to take action.This is Tiwari’s third legal case against Mishra. Earlier, she filed a domestic violence case on April 21, 2025, and a maintenance petition on April 23, 2025, seeking Rs 50,000 per month and Rs 1 crore as compensation.
Joining the list of newcomers making their acting debut in 2026 is Vir Hirani, son of filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani. If things go as planned, the new kid on the block may appear on screen as early as this summer. mid-day has learnt that Vir’s maiden series, ‘Pritam Pedro’, which also marks the filmmaker’s first web offering, is being lined up for a May release on JioHotstar.
A source revealed, “The cyber crime thriller was originally mentioned in the streamer’s 2025-26 slate. But as work on the series went on for long, it is finally arriving this May.”
‘Pritam Pedro’ sees Arshad Warsi portray an old-school cop, compelled to team up with Vir’s young officer, who is a computer geek and uses technology to solve cases. Rajkumar, who serves as the co-producer and showrunner, had originally cast Vikrant Massey in the role of the young cop. The actor, however, had to exit the project. “Vir wasn’t supposed to be launched with ‘Pritam Pedro’. But during casting changes, Hirani felt Vir could fit in as a young tech geek,” said another insider.
Arshad Warsi plays a cop in the show; (right) Vikrant Masseys
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Vikrant Massey was initially supposed to lead ‘Pritam Pedro’ alongside Arshad Warsi. However, the actor had to exit the project
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced a cash reward of Rs 131 Crore for the Indian team after their historic win at the T20 World Cup 2026. This is the highest reward ever announced, surpassing Rs 125 Crore given by the board to Rohit Sharma and his team for winning the 2024 T20 World Cup. Before that, India`s Champion Trophy-winning campaign was rewarded with a cash prize of Rs 58 Crore. The Indian Women`s World Cup-winning team were presented with a reward of Rs 51 Crore.
BCCI released a statement congratulating the team and announced a record prize for the Suryakumar Yadav-led team. India defeated New Zealand in a record fashion to cement their place as white-ball masters.
“The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced a cash reward of INR 131 crore for Team India following their triumphant campaign in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. India lifted the prestigious trophy after defeating New Zealand in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, successfully defending the title and becoming the first team in the history of the tournament to retain the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.” The Press release said.
India`s cricketing board further congratulated the team and the support staff for their efforts before wishing them further success.
“With this victory, India also became the first team to win the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup three times, further cementing their place among the most successful teams in the history of the format. The Board congratulates the players, support staff and selectors once again on this historic achievement and wishes them continued success in the future.” The release added
Records tumbled as India defeated New Zealand in Ahmedabad
India brushed aside New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final by 96 runs to win a record third T20 World Cup title. Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma starred with the bat, and Jasprit Bumrah was the Player of the Match for his magical display with the ball.
With this victory, India became the first team ever to successfully defend their T20 title. This was also the first time a host nation had won the tournament since its inception in 2007. Captain Suryakumar Yadav joined an exclusive list of Indian skippers to win the World Cup, alongside Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni and Kapil Dev.
Rapper Doja Cat is not really pleased with actor Timothee Chalamet. The rapper thinks that the actor has a lot to learn.
The 30-year-old rapper took to TikTok to respond to the 30-year-old Oscar-nominated star’s controversial comments, saying “no one cares” about ballet and opera, reports ‘People’ magazine.
In the clip, which was subsequently deleted from TikTok, the rapper appeared to be getting ready while wrapped in a towel.
“Hey, by the way, opera is 400 years old, ballet is 500 years old”, Doja Cat, whose real name is Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, said. “Somebody named Tim-oh-tay Cha-lam-et had the nerve, big guy, by the way, had the nerve to say, on camera, that nobody cares about it”.
As per ‘People’, the Grammy-winning artiste went on to highlight the etiquette and respect surrounding ballet and opera.
“I’m sure you can walk into an opera theater right now, seats will be filled out and nobody’s saying a word as the performance is going because everybody has that much respect for it”, she said. “There is an etiquette around opera. There is etiquette around ballet. It is amazing. It’s an amazing theater medium. It’s f****** beautiful and people go there everyday to the dance studio”.
Referencing Chalamet’s comments about the performing arts mediums struggling, Doja Cat added, “It doesn’t matter if the industry is having a tough time at any time, which a lot of industries have a tough time. Your industry has a tough time, my industry has a tough time. Doesn’t mean people don’t care about it. People care. The dancers care, the singers care, the audience cares. There’s still an audience”.
She concluded with a message for Chalamet, saying, “People give a f***. You show up in a nice outfit. You sit the f*** down and shut the f*** up. That’s the usual etiquette around those things. Maybe learn something from that”.
Chalamet has been under fire since his February 24 comments went viral with former co-star Matthew McConaughey.
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Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. is on the lookout for acquisitions as the billionaire Uday Kotak-backed lender seeks to deploy its excess capital to scale up amid a transformation of India’s financial industry.
Despite being an outsider, Kotak Mahindra Bank CEO Ashok Vaswani says that having the founder, Uday Kotak, available as a sounding board gives him an advantage over many banking chiefs. (Bloomberg)
India’s fourth-largest private sector bank by assets is open to evaluating potential targets that would advance its strategy, according to CEO Ashok Vaswani. The firm has the capacity to do jumbo deals, he said in response to a question on whether transactions above $1 billion are possible.
“Kotak today carries significantly more capital than what regulators require,” he said in an interview. “We’re not going to waste that capital.” Vaswani began his role in January 2024 after spending decades overseas in top positions such as heading Barclays Bank UK and Citigroup Asia Pacific.
The Mumbai-based bank looks at three criteria when studying M&A—whether it adds to its agenda, if the valuation makes sense and the cost of management distraction, according to Vaswani.
His comments come as consolidation gathers pace across India’s financial sector. Japanese and Middle East buyers are expanding in the world’s fastest-growing major economy, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is pushing to strengthen state‑backed lenders and also courting private and foreign capital.
Kotak Mahindra Bank had a capital-to-risk ratio of 22.6% at the end of December, well above peer levels and regulatory requirements, signalling it has ample firepower for potential takeovers. Vaswani said that while the financier will always remain “opportunistic” on inorganic expansion, internal growth is its primary focus.
The lender has struck deals including buying a personal-loan portfolio from Standard Chartered Plc and acquiring micro lender Sonata Finance in 2024. Most recently, it expressed interest to acquire a $8 billion stake in IDBI Bank Ltd. but didn’t pursue it further. Separately, the firm is among the suitors for Deutsche Bank AG’s India retail assets, people familiar with the matter have said. Vaswani declined to comment on the interest in Deutsche Bank’s assets.
Analysts said that Kotak Mahindra Bank had found it challenging in recent years to deploy its extra capital. Lenders in India must maintain a minimum capital of 9% of their risk-weighted assets, as per regulatory norms.
“The bank has cherry-picked deals and has not been taking on incremental risks to grow its book aggressively,” said Amit Khurana, head of equities at Dolat Capital. “While there may be scope to deploy excess capital to grow organically, we see limited opportunities and targets available for making jumbo deals.”
Vaswani’s appointment was a break from its financier founder, who had led the bank since its inception as a shadow lender in 1985.
It hasn’t been an easy journey for Vaswani. Some senior executives of the firm left after he took charge. A few months later, it was barred from adding new online customers due to technology shortcomings. Stress in the broader microfinance industry also forced the bank to rein in growth.
“I feel good about where we are now,” Vaswani said. “We didn’t try to put lipstick on the pig—we actually fixed the issues.” The ban on onboarding new online clients was lifted after nearly 10 months.
Despite being an outsider, Vaswani said that having the founder available as a sounding board gives him an advantage over many banking chiefs. “I see many CEOs spending millions of dollars on consultants and even more on coaches and mentors. In my case, I have someone who is extremely knowledgeable, very smart and has built an incredible business,” he said. “If I’m thinking about something on a Sunday afternoon over tea, I can call him and bounce an idea off him.”
Kotak is Asia’s richest banker with a net worth of $14.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and owns more than 25% of the lender as of end-December.
Vaswani said the arrangement works because the founder has “tremendous skin in the game”. The two bring complementary strengths, he said, referring to Kotak’s prowess as a dealmaker and his abilities to build processes and drive automation across the bank.
Refreshing the leadership bench has also been a priority for Vaswani.
Rather than extending tenures for senior executives, the lender opted to build what Vaswani described as a “younger, hungrier and leaner” leadership team to steer the next phase of growth. At the same time, the financial services behemoth unified its brand and sharpened strategy around four customer segments: affluent clients, mass-market consumers, small and medium enterprises, and institutional customers, he said.
Kotak Mahindra Bank currently ranks behind private sector rivals such as HDFC Bank Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd. and Axis Bank Ltd. Even as it seeks to expand, the bank is prioritizing profitability and Vaswani said its growth must remain disciplined. “Scale for the sake of size is not exciting. What matters is scale with relevance.”
Rinku Singh with his father Khanchand Singh (Pic credit: Rinku Singh’s Instagram post)
NEW DELHI: Indian batter Rinku Singh shared a deeply emotional tribute to his late father after India’s triumphant T20 World Cup campaign, revealing the pain of celebrating the biggest moment of his career without the man who inspired his journey.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Taking to Instagram, the left-handed batter posted a heartfelt message remembering his father, Khanchand Singh, who passed away during the tournament after battling stage-four cancer.
Sanju Samson opens up on T20 World Cup journey, and title win
“Aapse baat kiye bina itne din kabhi nahi nikale. Mujhe nahi pata aage ki zindagi aapke bina kaise chalegi… par mujhe har kadam par aapki zaroorat padegi,” Rinku wrote in Hindi. He added that his father had always taught him that duty comes before everything else.“Aapne sikhaya tha ki farz sabse aage hai… toh field par bas aapka sapna poora karne ki koshish kar raha tha. Ab aapka sapna pura ho gaya hai… toh bas yahi lagta hai ki kash aap mere paas hote,” he continued, expressing how he wished his father had been there to witness India lifting the trophy.Rinku said every moment of happiness would now remind him of the void left behind. “Har chhoti badi khushi mein aapki kami khalegi. Bohot miss karunga aapko Papa… bohot zyada.”His father passed away at a hospital in Greater Noida. The funeral was held in Aligarh, where a large number of people gathered to pay their final respects. A grief-stricken Rinku was seen giving a shoulder to his father’s mortal remains during the funeral procession.
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Earlier in the tournament, Rinku had rushed back home after his father’s health worsened following India’s first Super 8 match against South Africa. He later rejoined the squad ahead of the clash against Zimbabwe.Though his World Cup numbers were modest — 24 runs in five innings — the tournament became a deeply personal journey for Rinku, who ultimately fulfilled the dream his father had cherished: seeing his son become a world champion.
Back in June 2025, when Sitaare Zameen Par hit the screens, it created a lot of chatter. Partly because of Aamir Khan`s firm decision that the film would not be released on OTT after its theatrical run, a move that sparked a debate. Even in the weeks that followed, the superstar maintained that the film would skip an OTT release and announced plans to stream it directly on YouTube instead. However, now, months after the release, Aamir has seemingly turned back to reconsider that decision
Sitaare Zameen Par OTT release
On Monday, Aamir Khan Productions announced that Sitaare Zameen Par will be released on the OTT platform Sony LIV. The film released in June last year, will be heading to streaming eight months after its theatrical outing.
According to the statement from the streaming platform, “the release marks a special milestone for the platform, as Sitaare Zameen Par becomes the platform’s first Hindi theatrical film to premiere on the service.” Although the date of the film’s digital premiere is not out yet, the platform shared the update, saying that it will be “released soon.”
When Aamir Khan refused to release the film on OTT
To refresh the memory, the release of Sitaare Zameen Par had sparked the theatre vs OTT debate as Aamir said that the film will never be released on any streaming platform. He instead opted for a pay-per-view model on YouTube.
Aamir also stirred strong reactions when he spoke against the OTT release of the film before 6 months after its theatrical release, but ended up releasing it digitally on YouTube in 6 weeks. The film was available for rent on YouTube for Rs 100 from August 1, after its June 20 theatrical release.
In July, Aamir held a press conference in Mumbai to state that Sitaare Zameen Par will skip OTT release and be released directly on YouTube. The actor had even apologised for lying about it for weeks during the promotions of the film. He even defended his stance on pay-per-view vs subscription models.
He said, “I fold my hands and apologise because I lied when I said Sitaare Zameen Par wouldn’t be released on YouTube. I did it because I had no other choice. I had to protect the film’s theatrical business. I am very loyal to theatres; my life began with cinema. So, I have always strived to protect the theatrical business of my films. Still, I apologise because I had to lie. Otherwise, my dreams for this film would’ve ended there.”
A suspected Iranian attack on a high-rise residential building in Bahrain’s capital of Manama has killed a 29-year-old Bahraini woman and injured several others.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka—The initial notification that a U.S. submarine had sunk an enemy ship for the first time since World War II came in the form of a brief 5 a.m. email from the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command to Sri Lanka’s maritime-rescue agency.
Sri Lankan Navy personnel assist Iranian sailors after responding to a distress call from their ship, IRIS Dena.
A ship was in distress about 20 nautical miles off the coast of the city of Galle.
It will deliver an Iranian missile frigate IRIS. By the time rescue workers reached the scene at 6 a.m. last Wednesday, it had slipped beneath the waves, leaving the 32 survivors and dozens of bodies floating in a layer of oil, many of whom had mysteriously broken leg bones.
Twelve hours later, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth filled the void. The Iranian warship was hit by a Mark 48 torpedo launched from an American submarine, bringing an explosive end to the relatively low-key visit.
Two weeks ago the crew – many of them cadets – had gathered in their summer white uniforms on a beachside promenade in the Indian port city of Visakhapatnam, enjoying the sun as part of a celebratory gathering of global navies that also included Russia and the US.
He toured the Taj Mahal, visited museums and posed for selfies with visitors.
The speed with which Dena reached the firing line shows how quickly the war in Iran escalated, spreading thousands of miles from Iranian nuclear facilities, which the US says were its primary targets. It also serves as a reminder of American military power and the Trump administration’s willingness to use it.
“I want to remind everyone that this is an incredible demonstration of America’s global reach,” said Gen. Dan Kaine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “Hunting, finding, and killing an individual deployed out of the region is something that only the United States can do on this type of scale.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that America has committed atrocities and the example it has set will be deeply regretted.
As far as the Sri Lankans were concerned, they already had an idea of the path they would have to walk after the Trump administration rewrote the rules of global power politics.
Dena departed for India in mid-February despite the American military buildup near her home shores. India has invited the frigates to take part in its biennial military exercises with participants from dozens of navies. This year, Visakhapatnam was combining the exercise with a public fleet review chaired by Indian President Draupadi Murmu.
The festivities included a city parade, where a Dena sailor, speaking to Samson Sagar, a freelance journalist, was surprised by the taste of biryani, an Indian rice dish that he tasted. “very spicy!” The sailor said covering his face.
The hosts had arranged for the Iranian contingent to visit local sites. A highlight was INS Kursura, a Soviet-built, 300-foot submarine commissioned by the Indian Navy in 1969 that was converted into a museum ship. About two dozen of Dena’s sailors emerged through a temporary door cut into the side of Kursura’s hull, passing through a forward compartment equipped with six compressed-air launch tubes and a storage rack containing additional bright green torpedoes.
The naval gathering itself was a relic of an earlier era, when rival armies could co-exist under the protection of a global order that prioritized stability above all else. Admiral Steve Kohler, Commander, US Pacific Fleet, attended and met Indian leaders. The US sent a P-8A Poseidon spy plane but decided not to send a destroyer as before. Dena was part of Iran’s regular navy, not the more ideological Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy.
The program ended on the morning of 25 February. The next day, the Iranian Embassy in Sri Lanka, 800 miles south, asked for permission to dock Dena and two other naval ships for a goodwill visit beginning on 9 March.
The ships were already close to Sri Lanka’s maritime border, raising concerns among some officials in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo. Given the strong possibility of conflict breaking out between the US and Iran, the request for a goodwill visit from the ships seemed potentially risky to the island nation.
“We all know that there was a certain build-up in the Arabian Sea and the region,” said Sri Lankan Defense Secretary and retired Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyakontha. “It’s a very complex situation.”
The Sri Lankans stopped for time. The Iranian ships had been loitering – “loitering”, in the words of Sri Lanka’s Deputy Foreign Minister – since the US and Israel launched their first strikes on 28 February. Thuyakontha said Sri Lanka told the Iranians that Sri Lanka would abide by the 1907 treaty, which states that neutral parties should allow warring naval vessels to dock only if there is an emergency on board the ship.
The three Iranian ships started running here and there to find safe harbor elsewhere. The next day, India approved Iran’s request to dock the three ships, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said.
Did not go to give. For unknown reasons, it was still trying to make port in Sri Lanka till last Tuesday.
Early the next day, an American nuclear attack class submarine launched a 21-foot, 3,700-pound torpedo with a 650-pound warhead toward Dena. Due to this collision, the hull of the ship broke and a plume of water spread about 100 feet in the air. Shortly thereafter, the Sri Lankan people received an email from the US Army.
International law requires belligerents to render aid to sailors of ships injured or damaged in battle. Submarines can claim exemption if they are in danger from the surface or the number of people requiring rescue is very large, but in that case they must provide for rescue by other means.
Sri Lankan Air Force helicopters flew over the water to look for signs of life. The US email did not say that the ship was attacked, but the footage found by rescuers points to one scenario.
Defense Secretary Thuakontha said, “Clearly this is an attack.” “But we didn’t know whether it was a torpedo or an airstrike.”
The Sri Lankan Navy evacuated survivors to nearby Galle, famous for its 16th-century Dutch fort. Ambulances with police escorts roamed the streets, taking the injured from the beach to the local hospital, where doctors and nurses rushed out to receive the injured, said one person who was there.
As night fell, three cargo trucks brought more than 80 bodies wrapped in white plastic to the hospital. Employees wearing hazmat suits removed the bodies under the supervision of a medical officer. When a large number of dead people gathered from the mortuary, local people brought ice to the hospital.
Religious leaders of the local Muslim community came forward to help. MZAS Mohammed, 76, head of the local branch of the body of Sri Lanka’s main Muslim theologians, had traveled to Iran years ago and was familiar with Iranian tastes. He knew the wounded sailors would want familiar food – not spicy Sri Lankan food – and lots of meat.
That night at 11 o’clock he arrived at the hospital with rice, 40 portions of chicken and a simple salad of cucumbers and onions.
Roshan Mawsoon, a member of the Galle Municipal Council, arranged clothing for the Iranians after the hospital director called to say that the sarongs and shirts donated to the hospital were not good for the Iranians, who were older than many Sri Lankans.
“They need XL, XXL,” he said.
Leaders in Colombo were concerned about how to handle the survivors.
Officials said the key priority was to send them back to Iran, but some were concerned how that could complicate the island’s relations with the Trump White House, weakening a fragile economy already hit by US tariffs. Sri Lanka’s Defense Secretary said that the country is obliged to ensure that the Iranians now under occupation do not get involved in the war.
When one of the Iranian ships accompanying Dena, the Bushehr, asked for permission to land in port on the day of Dena’s sinking, officials in Colombo discussed how to respond while maintaining Sri Lanka’s goal of remaining neutral in the conflict.
After Bushehr reported engine trouble, Sri Lanka allowed the ship to enter Colombo, where authorities picked up more than 200 sailors on Thursday.
Of the 32 sailors who survived the sinking of the Dena, 10 are still hospitalized, while 22 others have been discharged and transferred to a military base near Galle. The sailors from Bushehr are being kept at a separate base near Colombo. Sri Lanka on Sunday said all rescued sailors would be given one-month visas on humanitarian grounds.
A State Department spokesperson said, “What to do with the Iranians in its custody is for Sri Lanka to decide in accordance with its domestic law and international legal obligations.” He said the US’s ultimate goal is to reduce the risks posed by Iran.
“I think it’s too early to predict what will happen,” said Kaushalya Ariyaratne, Sri Lanka’s deputy information minister. “But I honestly want it to be over soon. I mean, oh God, I’m praying for it.”
