This week, veteran actresses Zeenat Aman and Neetu Kapoor are all set to grace the couch of Karan Johar’s talk show.

In the promo, Neetu Kapoor introduces Zeenat Aman as the “style aur sexiness ki dukaan” and Zeenat Aman in turn describes Neetu as “lovely and vivacious.”

In the promo, during the rapid-fire round, Karan questions Neetu about a Bollywood heartthrob from her era who was her secret crush. Surprisingly, Neetu names Shashi Kapoor – Rishi Kapoor’s uncle. This revelation leaves Karan amused, and he jokingly asks, “You had a crush on your uncle?” to which Neetu responds with a simple “yes”.

Karan asked about Zeenat Aman’s personal life and asked her to disclose the wildest thing she did in the 70s. The experienced actress admitted, “I really did not party but when the floodgates burst, they really did.” She chose not to comment when Karan inquired about a specific man entering her life during that time.

Neetu also shared a hilarious incident involving Zeenat. She said, “She (Zeenat) goes to the mandir and she shuts her button and says, ‘Hey bhagwan mujhe maaf kardena humare yaha mandir jane ka system he nahi hai.’”

Neetu Kapoor and Zeenat Aman shared the screen in Yaadon Ki Baraat, Dharam Veer, Heera Lal Panna Lal and more.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Zeenat will soon be seen in Manish Malhotra’s Bun Tikki, co-starring Shabana Azmi and Abhay Deol.

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In an interview, Vijay Sethupathi shared his disappointment regarding the non-selection of Super Deluxe as India’s official entry to the Oscars. Despite the film’s national and international acclaim, including his own National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor, it was passed over in favour of Gully Boy, starring Ranveer Singh.

Expressing his feelings during the promotion of his upcoming film Merry Christmas, Vijay mentioned feeling shattered by the decision. He refrained from delving into the reasons behind it, attributing the outcome to politics in the film industry. Regardless of his involvement, Vijay emphasised that he would have wished for Super Deluxe to represent India at the Oscars due to its merit.

Super Deluxe, released in 2019 and directed by Thiagarajan Kumararaja, features a narrative entwining four different stories on a single day. With a stellar cast including Fahadh Faasil, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Ramya Krishnan, the movie garnered 19 wins out of 33 nominations, securing accolades like Best Movie of the Year at the Critics’ Choice Film Awards and Best Actor at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.

Vijay Sethupathi, primarily recognised for his work in Tamil cinema, has also ventured into Bollywood. Following his role as an antagonist in Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan, he’s set for the release of Merry Christmas, co-starring Katrina Kaif.

On a day Maldives’ President Mohamed Muizzu landed in Beijing to sign bilateral agreements, China’s state media in an editorial referred to India’s diplomatic row with the Maldives, and called for an “open-minded” approach to looking at South Asian issues.

The Maldives government has suspended three ministers over their derogatory comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Lakshadweep, India’s smallest Union Territory.

The Maldivian government has distanced itself from the “insulting” comments by the three ministers, and called the matter their “personal opinion that do not represent the views of the government”.

Ties between India and the archipelago nation in the past few months, however, have been strained after Mr Muizzu came to power. Seen as a pro-China politician, Mr Muizzu had defeated his India-friendly predecessor Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in the presidential run-off held in September.

The editorial by Global Times says China has always treated the Maldives as an equal partner and respected its sovereignty.

“It also respects the friendly and cooperative relationship between the Maldives and India, fully aware of the importance for Male to maintain good relations with New Delhi. Beijing has never asked Male to reject New Delhi because of the conflicts between China and India, nor does it view cooperation between the Maldives and India as unfriendly or a threat,” the Chinese state media editorial said.

“It (China) is also willing to carry out trilateral cooperation between China, India and the Maldives. New Delhi should stay more open-minded, as China’s cooperation with South Asian countries is not a zero-sum game,” it said.

Mr Muizzu’s predecessors in the recent past visited India first, considering the wide-ranging bilateral ties and the Maldives’ proximity to India, followed by China which has expanded its influence in the island nation by investing in major infrastructure projects there.

“Under normal circumstances, when a new leader comes to power, they arrange their visits based on the importance and urgency of the matters to be dealt with. President Muizzu broke tradition by visiting Turkey for his first official overseas visit instead of India,” Global Times said.

Mr Muizzu, accompanied by wife Sajidha Mohamed, visited the Xiamen Free Trade Zone in China’s Fujian province today, news agency PTI reported. Representatives from the Xiamen Free Trade Zone presented an introductory video.

Mr Muizzu is due to hold talks with Chinese President Xi and sign several agreements, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin. “The relations between China and the Maldives now stand at a new historical starting point. We believe that through this visit, the two heads of state will provide strategic guidance for the bilateral relations to reach a new height,” Wang told the media on January 5.