Return of king of good times: Mallya to appear on big screen soon

That’s right. Beleaguered industrialist Vijay Mallya will appear on the big screen soon. Word is that a documentary is in the works on Mallya and his life, complete with anecdotes and points of view from those who knew him well. That includes voices of employees, fellow industrialists, and senior members of his management team. Siddharth Mallya, his son, will likely be involved in the film and recently registered his name with the Los Angeles Screen Actors Guild. While it isn’t clear when the documentary-style movie will be released, what is certain is that it will be launched on Netflix and talks are on with the OTT player. Neither Netflix nor Mallya’s press team commented on the movie. Mallya, who left the country in 2016 to live in the United Kingdom, faces extradition.

Fine'tuning' strategy

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) pick for Bhopal, Pragya Singh Thakur, ensured a charged up campaign in which much bitterness was exchanged between her party and the Congress, which fielded Digvijaya Singh against her. What neither of the two sides would have imagined was a musical and somewhat harmonious end to the campaign outside a counting centre where electronic voting machines (EVMs) are kept in the constituency. As a bunch of supporters from each side gathered to “guard the EVMs against manipulation”, they thought a game of antakshari would be the best way to pass time. Bollywood numbers from various decades began to flow. And as it happens often these days, a video of the episode soon found its way to Twitter, prompting one user to comment that democracy was a great leveller.

From hotels to bhawans

Lok Sabha Secretary General Snehlata Shrivastava on Wednesday said the newly elected members of the Lower House of Parliament would no longer be put up in hotels but in state bhawans or Western Court, a transit hostel for parliamentarians, and its annexe building. With the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha polls scheduled for Thursday, the newly elected members are expected to start arriving in the capital from Friday. MPs were often lodged in hotels earlier; sometimes they stayed on for months while their bungalows were renovated, stressing the exchequer. “The Lok Sabha secretariat has done away with the system of transit accommodation in hotels,” Shrivastava said.