There was a time I would argue into the night for an idea I believed in. I had a conviction that if I found the right words, in the right order, the other person would see what I could see. Then 2021 happened. Today, even with the people closest to me, I try once. Maybe twice. And then I stop. Because it doesn’t seem to matter the way it used to. Agreement, acceptance, applause… it’s all become strangely quiet inside me. I don’t know if this is better or just the sound of someone making peace… Probably both! Maybe it’s good :) Turns out you see more when you stop trying to make everyone see what you see! #musings
I’d tell you I’m looking toward a brighter dawn, but honestly, the light just hits the silver in the beard better at this angle. #just
Photo: @chaeljosephdsouza aka @photographybychael
The internet decided that May 13 is now a romantic holiday! All because “13 May” is Main Tera! Which apparently is all you need in 2026 to declare a national day of couple edits and music reels! I’ve been writing lyrics for long and have sat at midnight trying to find the one syllable that carries the weight of an entire emotion. And the internet just appointed a calendar date as a love song!
But I’m not surprised because most of us will find romance in a date, a vegetable… The heart doesn’t wait for perfectly written lyrics. But I have to say ‘May 13-Main Tera’ has left me feeling a little inefficient. #musings
Standing in an airport queue this morning, I counted roughly half the people around me gesticulating wildly, lost in animated conversation with invisible companions. Mostly boomers! Not Gen Z or millennials. People around my age and older. So we can put to rest the idea that this is generational! Twenty years ago, this would have been a concerning sight. A man in a suit waving his hands at nobody…You would be concerned! Today we just walk on! Which made me think, what is the “right thing to do” really in any situation? Is it the moral choice? The one that causes least harm? Or is it simply what enough people are doing at the same time? Not because it became right. But because it became common? And common seems a very effective disguise for right… What do you think? #musings
My closest friends have always chased happiness with a fervour I could never muster. They say “be happy” like you ask someone to turn left… I understand the concept. But I haven’t felt the map in my body. Not consciously! I’m perceived as someone who gravitates towards introspection… I’m preoccupied by the note I missed rather than the song I sang. They’re not wrong. But what I’ve realised is, I’ve been chasing something different entirely. I’m not a happiness hunter! I seek peace… They are not the same thing. Happiness is loud, arrives in moments. Peace is quieter. It’s just a the morning where nothing is wrong. It’s the sleep that comes without negotiation. I may have felt happiness many times and not known it. It’s possible! But peace? I always know when it comes! #musings
A dead man’s motorcycle starts granting wishes. You pray to it, offer it alcohol, your wish comes true. Word spreads and it becomes a business… Which then becomes a religion! This happened in Rajasthan and someone made a film about it! #DugDug premiered at TIFF in 2021 but has taken four years to find its way to Indian theatres… A big thanks to @anuragkashyap10@nikkhiladvani@motwayne and @vasanbala for deciding to bring it to us! No stars. No platform money. No glamour. Just people who still believe that a story is worth fighting for… I find this gesture more moving than most films! We all talk about the films we ‘need’ but these guys have actually backed it! Congratulations and all the best to the team!! #musings
I grew up on Michael Jackson. And so I walked into this film slightly afraid.
Afraid it would reduce or sanitise him. Or that I’d watch an impression. None of that happened. Because of Jaafar Jackson! None of us have met MJ or knew him. And yet, not for a single moment did I feel I was watching anyone else! Jaafar has something that can’t be taught. The film almost feels like a time machine into MJ’s life and that journey is extraordinary. The second half stretches. But you forgive it because of everything that came before! My one question was where was Janet? She was asked and apparently declined. Her absence creates a strange hole in the story of a family that was inseparable from his story. But it made me wonder… When you tell the story of a legend, whose version of the truth do you tell? The estate’s? The family’s? The fans’? #musings
I’ve been learning classical music for over 2 decades. And I still can’t answer one question honestly. Am I good enough to be heard? There are mornings during riyaaz when I think, “Yes… This is why I sing!”And there are mornings when a voice inside says, “You will never get there!At 58? Who are you kidding?” The only time I’ve sung without that voice was when I sang in memory of Ryan! There I didn’t need to be good. I just needed to say something… I haven’t been able to recreate it too many times. A 25-year-old throws all he has at the audience without thinking. At 58 you calculate the fall first. I’m still trying to find that place where expression matters more than ability. On some unexpected days I get close… #lifelessons #musings
P.S.: It’s taken a lot to keep the sound in this clip!
In 1997, John Travolta wrote a children’s book. Nobody optioned it. Nobody greenlit it. So he waited. And waited. And at 70, decided to direct it himself. Now he is opening the film at Cannes! Twenty nine years between writing something and showing it to the world! In the age of 48-hour content cycles and “post daily for the algorithm” it’s heartening to see this patience and doggedness! Your idea isn’t dead because it hasn’t happened yet. The things we make for love are what we carry the longest! Travolta carried his for 29 years. I have a few things I’ve been carrying myself. No spoilers. But watch this space! #musings
I’ve always been slightly sceptical of the Met Gala. A very expensive party where very famous people wear very unwearable clothes and the entire world pretends it’s a cultural event. Which it is. Sort of. On a good day!
Last night was a good day! Because two of my closest friends rocked that carpet. I’ve known @manishmalhotra05 and @karanjohar for over 3 decades… And yet… Watching them represent our country and our industry on that stage paused my scepticism! The Met Gala is many things. But last night it was also a canvas for two people I’m quietly very proud of… MET, you did good!!! #pride #love #musings
Three A-listers in designer outfits. A makeshift stage in a mall. A DJ playing the film’s item number at 3 pm on a Tuesday. Security managing a crowd that gathered mostly because there was a crowd! The stars look uncomfortable. The audience looks bewildered. And the producer’s cheque is clearing somewhere. What nobody asks is does it really work? Has it ever? A fan screaming at a mall promo was already going to watch the film. You didn’t convert anyone. You just found the converted and performed for them. The actual audience is at home. On their phone. Making a decision in 90 seconds based on a trailer, a review, or a reel that made them laugh. The mall shows up for the stars. The stars show up for the cameras. The cameras show up for the coverage. And the film shows up in theatres hoping this circular performance translates into tickets. And sometimes it does… But mostly by accident, I think.
P.S. The pictures used are purely representational. I have nothing against ANY film or stars… It’s the Tuesday afternoon mall stage I’m flagging…
There’s a theory among addicts that you never chase the substance. You chase the very first high. Everything after is just an attempt to get back there. Devil Wears Prada 2 release made me think of that... Very few sequels recreate the original rush. And even if they try, like the addict chasing the dragon, they almost never make it. I want to be wrong. I genuinely do. Because, the original was a cultural moment that shaped how an entire generation thought about ambition & compromise. I’ll definitely watch it. But in the way you watch someone you love attempt something dangerous!
P.S. I would trust #merylstreep with my life. It’s the sequel…. #musings
