Bhatt Saab, it’s been seventeen years since Jannat released? Seventeen years. It feels like yesterday—and yet, a lifetime has passed. On May 16, 2008, Jannat walked into our lives—not with fanfare, but with that quiet confidence some stories carry when they know they’ve touched something true. Now, as I look back, what comes to me is not the success, not the applause—but a moment. A face.

Whose face? I was in Gurgaon, at a friend’s home, when his wife—a middle-class woman draped in ordinariness but lit from within—was serving me hot chapatis. With a quiet intensity in her eyes, she said, “Jannat is about the war inside every man. Between the hunger to grab everything in the shop window—and the strength to walk away.” She didn’t speak of Arjun and Zoya as characters, but as mirrors. She had seen the film not just with her eyes, but with her life.

That just about sums up Jannat? Zoya, she said, was the true hero. Because when the man she loved broke under the weight of his own desire, she chose to endure. She chose dignity. And that one moment—her son returning a toy because his mother couldn’t afford it—cut deeper than any scene I’ve ever staged. In that simple act, a generation turned. The father who once smashed windows to steal what he craved was gone. The child had chosen another way. That, to me, was Jannat’s true victory.

Kunal Deshmukh was pretty impressive in his directorial debut? Kunal Deshmukh—young, unscarred, unafraid—took a gamble with this film. His first. He wove a tale of cricket betting and love, yes. But beneath it all was the seduction of sin and the price of surrender. He didn’t just direct a film. He lit a fire.

And your favourite, Emraan Hashmi? Emraan Hashmi… What can I say that hasn’t already been felt in a million hearts? His character Arjun was flawed, but Emraan gave him a soul. We rooted for him even as we knew he would fall. Because inside all of us, there’s an Arjun—burning, wanting, losing. And Sonal Chauhan, as Zoya, brought a rare grace—a quiet rebellion, a refusal to let life harden her.

The music of Jannat is remembered to this day? And then there was the music. Pritam gave us not just a soundtrack, but an ache. Zara Sa, Haan Tu Hain, Jannat Jahan—songs that felt like diary entries from a time when love hurt in the best possible way. KK, who is no longer with us, lives on in those notes. His voice was the shadow under our dreams.

Your closing thoughts? Jannat was never just a movie. It was a parable. A whisper in a noisy world. A reminder that every choice leaves a mark—and that sometimes, the strength to hold back makes the loudest noise of all. To Kunal, to Emraan, to Pritam, to Sonal, to that woman in Gurgaon who saw more clearly than most critics ever could—and to you, the audience, who’ve kept this story alive in your hearts—thank you. Jannat lives not on screens, but in memories. And memories… don’t age.

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Ananya Panday is no stranger to scrutiny, but the actress is now speaking out with honesty and introspection about the toll of unrealistic beauty standards and how they impact young women — including herself.

In a heartfelt conversation with popular YouTuber Lilly Singh, Ananya recalled the early days of her career when she was just 18 or 19 and how the criticism she faced was deeply personal. “I was really skinny, you know, and everyone used to kind of make fun about that. They were like, oh, you have chicken legs, and you look like a matchstick, and you don’t have t**s, and you don’t have an a**,” she said. “So that was what it was first.”

Even as her body changed and she grew in the public eye, the commentary didn’t stop. “They were like, oh, there’s no way she’s got her b*** done, or she’s got this done. So you can never win. People will constantly have something to say and criticize that,” she added, noting how such commentary disproportionately targets women. “That’s something that I’ve seen, especially with women. I don’t feel like they do that to men at all.”

The 25-year-old actress also took a moment to reflect on the role that the film industry plays in shaping public perception, admitting, “I feel like it’s our fault also, because we have set unrealistic beauty standards in the films that we’ve… You know, I, as an actress, feel like sometimes I do put that messaging out there in the films that I’ve done or the songs that I’ve done — that, oh, you’re all beautiful, you wake up in the morning, and your hair’s done, and it’s not true.”

Trying to counter the filtered perfection seen on screen, Ananya emphasized the importance of authenticity. “You kind of have to balance that out somewhere. You have to talk about it, and you have to tell people that that’s not the reality. We also don’t look like that. And I try to balance that out, maybe, by not being like that when I’m, you know, off-camera.”

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On the work front, Ananya is gearing up for Chand Mera Dil, a romantic drama under Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions. The film pairs her with Lakshya and is already generating buzz. Along with that, the actress is also expected to return as Bella aka Bae in her popular web series- Call Me Bae for Season 2 on Prime Video.

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Raj how did your first project materialize? It took us almost four or five years to get that film going because we were new to Mumbai. It was the first time we had landed in the city, and we didn’t know anyone. All we knew was that we could write a script. So, we wrote 99, Shor in the City, and Go Goa Gone, I think. As engineers aspiring to be filmmakers, we thought that if we wrote three scripts, at least one of them might get made. More scripts meant better odds. 99 was our first one. But again, we didn’t know anyone.

How did you convince a producer to back 99? Just making contacts, approaching any actor or producer—it was all taking forever. And we had zero clue how to go about it. Plus, we looked like we were from another world. We didn’t look like we belonged in Mumbai. People didn’t know who we were. But they did say the script was fun, fresh, and something they hadn’t read before.

So, 99 had no reference point? Right. That kind of proved to be tough and good at the same time because there was no precedent. We couldn’t say, “It’s like that film.” That made it harder. The only person we knew was Anupam Mittal, the CEO of Shaadi.com. He was a friend before we made the film. One day he said, “I’ll produce a film,” and that’s how it started.

Was it tough getting that impressive cast without any experience in feature filmmaking? Absolutely. We had no connections and no way to prove we were filmmakers. So we decided to make a short film based on Shor in the City. We had a full script, but we picked one part of it and shot it over a weekend. That short film came out really well. It became our calling card. It went to a bunch of festivals, and we started showing it around in Bombay to see who would bite. Based on that, we began casting. And before we knew it, we had a really cool ensemble: Kunal Khemu, Vinod Khanna, Boman Irani, and Cyrus Broacha—who was doing a feature film for the first time, I think. It was really fun.

Was it tough putting 99 out there? The release was another big pain point. We had no money for marketing. I don’t think we even had newspaper ads. Just ten hoardings in the city—that was it. No TV spots, no radio promotions. It just opened... and sat there.

The opening must have crushed you and DK. We thought it had sunk on Day 1 because nobody knew about it. It opened just about okay. We felt low on Friday and gave up. But by Sunday, things turned around. We visited packed theatres, and it was a relief. Word of mouth was strong, and the film ended up running for several weeks. We experienced all kinds of emotions in that one release.

So, a happy ending? Yeah, in the end, it was a happy one in terms of how the film ran. It had a great afterlife too. People still fondly remember it. Every time the anniversary of 99 comes around, we get sweet messages. The trailer had a great line: “The difference between 99 and 100 is one. Just one—but it’s a big one.” That really sums it up. So much happened on that set, and we learned a lot. We grew as a team.

You had quite a team. Yes, DK, Sita Menon, and I came together. And we’ve remained a team since. Filming was great fun. 99 is the only film we shot on Super 35 film stock. Even though digital was already mainstream, we wanted to shoot on film—because we felt it might be our last chance. It was so cool. We didn’t know the “rules” of filmmaking. We just made what we wanted to make.

You really carved your own space with that film. We realized there wasn’t really a crime comedy in Hindi cinema back then. So we said, let’s do something that’s not out there. Hence, 99. It was kind of a historical fiction in a weird way. We created a backstory that linked it to the real-life betting and match-fixing scandal. It was an original idea. A lot of fun to make.

It couldn’t have been easy cracking such a sensitive idea. Like walking on grass? Yes, it took a long time to crack the script. We were basically writing our first real Hindi feature film, and we had to figure out structure, climax, all of it. It was very satisfying. Interestingly, while we were working on 99, we started jumping between scripts—we don’t know why, but it turned out well for us. So, 99, Shor in the City, and Go Goa Gone were all being developed at the same time, in various stages.

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Darsheel, May 14 marks 15 years since your first post-Taare Zameen Par release. Wow—15 years of Bumm Bumm Bole! Time really does fly. Shooting for it right after Taare Zameen Par was such a memorable experience. I was still quite young, and everything felt new and exciting. I wouldn’t say I got “star treatment” in the typical sense—but yes, there definitely was a sense of familiarity and warmth from the crew after TZP. I felt looked after, and that made a huge difference. 

What was it like being directed by Priyadarshan? Working with Priyadarshan sir was a complete learning curve. His energy and pace on set were infectious, and he had such a clear vision of what he wanted. I remember how precise he was—even with emotions. We hardly wasted any time. He made sure we stayed natural while still hitting the right emotional notes. It’s always amazing to work with and be in the same room as someone as experienced as Priyan sir. 

Do you remember the spunky girl Ziyah Vastani, who played your baby sister? Of course, I remember Ziyah! She brought so much spunk and energy to the set. She really felt like a little sister to me during the shoot—I enjoyed annoying her! Spending so much time with her made me more caring and loving toward my own sister, whom I was always teasing. We had a blast working together. 

Did you get a chance to watch the original film by Majid Majidi? Yes, I watched Children of Heaven before and during the shoot. It’s such a beautiful, heartfelt film. Knowing that Bumm Bumm Bole was inspired by it was humbling. I felt proud to be part of something that echoed such a touching story. Some conversations I had with the writer and director during that time sparked my curiosity—and eventual love—for filmmaking. 

What are you working on now? Right now, I’m working on a few exciting projects—two films and a web series that I recently wrapped. It’s a fun mix of genres, and I’m super excited to share them with you soon!

Also Read: Subhash K. Jha speaks on Bumm Bumm Bole

Actress Mrunal Thakur recently opened up about her personal and professional aspirations in a candid chat with Cosmo India. While reflecting on a goal she recently checked off — sending her brother to study filmmaking in the U.S. — Mrunal gave a peek into what’s next on her evolving bucket list.

“Currently, I am focusing on my bucket list, which includes sending my brother to America to study filmmaking at a place I would have liked to go,” she said, noting how fulfilling it was to live that dream vicariously through him.

Looking ahead, Mrunal's ambitions reflect both a desire for personal growth and a deep commitment to her craft. “I want to travel with my family to America, London, and Europe — basically, take them everywhere,” she shared, adding that one of her broader goals is “to change the definition of how Indian women are perceived” and to embrace motherhood along the way. “I think I’ll be a good mom. I just don’t know with whom, so that is something that I’m working on,” she said, candidly.

On the professional front, Mrunal isn’t limiting herself to the industries she’s already conquered. “I want to explore acting — not just stay limited to Telugu, Hindi, and Marathi films, but also debut in Tamil, Malayalam, English, and Spanish films,” she said, emphasizing her intent to expand her horizons, one step at a time.

The actress also shared her dream list of filmmakers she hopes to collaborate with. “I want to work with filmmakers that I have grown up watching — those who have inspired me to be in this industry. I loved the adaptation of The Namesake by Meera Nair,” she said. “Then, of course, I want to work with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, because who doesn’t love him? Imtiaz Ali, Anurag Kashyap — the list goes on.”

Coming to the work front, the 32-year-old actress is currently busy shooting Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, co-starring Varun Dhawan and Pooja Hegde. Interestingly, it is reported that Mrunal will be sharing the screen space with Siddhant Chaturvedi in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s next project.

Also Read: Mrunal Thakur says she’s the “first girl in the family to own a Mercedes” as she recalls promising her mother a “crazy car” at age 12