Outgoing Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan congratulated his successor “hardworking friend” Mohan Yadav who was named by the BJP today, ending days of suspense after the party swept the Hindi heartland state.

In a Hindi post on X, Mr Chouhan – whose welfare schemes helped his party tap the women votes – expressed confidence in Mr Yadav to “create new records in the field of public welfare” under the “guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.

कर्मठ साथी श्री @DrMohanYadav51 जी को भाजपा विधायक दल की बैठक में मध्यप्रदेश का मुख्यमंत्री मनोनीत किये जाने पर हार्दिक बधाई।

मुझे विश्‍वास है कि आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी के कुशल मार्गदर्शन में आप मध्यप्रदेश को प्रगति एवं विकास की नई ऊँचाइयों पर ले जायेंगे तथा… pic.twitter.com/NkVo2PrV9x

— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) December 11, 2023

Mohan Yadav, who was a cabinet minister in the Madhya Pradesh Government headed by Mr Chouhan, was picked for the top job at a key meeting in Bhopal.

“I am a small worker of the party. I thank all of you, the state leadership and the central leadership. With your love and support, I will try to fulfil my responsibilities,” the Ujjain South MLA said.

Mr Yadav will have two deputies – Jagdisgh Devda and Rajesh Shukla.

The BJP – which had been battling close to 20 years of incumbency in the state – won a resounding mandate bagging 163 seats while the Congress finished a distant second at 66 seats.

Mr Chouhan’s ‘Ladli Behna’ scheme was considered a coup de maitre tilted voters in the BJP’s favour.

The BJP on Thursday announced three central observers – Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, K Laxman, National President, OBC Morcha and Aasha Lakda, National Secretary for the state – to pick the next Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister.

The party made central observers last time in the state in 2005 when former Chief Minister Babu Lal Gaur left the post. After that, Shivraj Singh Chouhan took the oath for the first time as Chief Minister of the state in November 2005.

Since then, no central observers have been appointed in the state. During the state assembly polls in 2008 and 2013, BJP remained in power and Chouhan continued to be the Chief Minister.

During the 2018 assembly polls, the Congress returned to power with veteran leader Kamal Nath taking the oath as the chief minister but a political upheaval rocked the state in 2020 after then Congressman Jyotiraditya Scindia, along with 22 loyalist MLAs, switched over to the BJP camp.

The Congress government fell after being reduced to a minority and the BJP formed the government, with Shivraj Singh Chouhan returning as chief minister.

But this time around, the party announced central observers for the state, sparking buzz that the BJP may bring a new Chief Minister face in the state.

On the late legendary Dilip Kumar’s 101st birth anniversary, veteran actress Saira Banu shared a heartfelt post. The emotional post is a compilation of clips from Dilip Kumar’s past birthdays that feature Bollywood A-listers including Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, the late Rishi Kapoor and others.

Taking to her Instagram handle, Saira Banu shared a touching video along with old birthday cards. She penned a long note that reads, “Once more it is December the 11th, the day of days when the skies are blue with a smattering of dreams like puffy white clouds that seem to be dancing in the skies with happiness and exaltation. The whole house used to be flooded with so many flowers…that it seemed as though we had stepped into the ‘Garden Of Eden’. Now the Birthday greetings and cheer keep pouring in with messages of love and remembrance in a million ways, be it through offerings of beautiful Sketches, Cards, Paintings and umpteen messages of love and dedication that give me emotional goose pimples.”

Check it out here:

She added, “Being wed to the Shahenshah himself was akin to living a dream of my childhood; he proved to be the most wondrous husband one could ever entreat. I recall Sahib would often scribe short notes to me, and in response to his endearing gestures, I would reciprocate via notes. Now imagine waking up from a deep slumber and discovering a handwritten note that said, “Saira, I shall return in 45 minutes, Love Yousuf.” I wonder what an absolute delight it was to express love to your significant other in the times when mobile phones did not exist. I have lived and experienced an eternity full of love and warmth with Dilip Sahib while he was around, and to this day, the essence of his love surrounds me in the best way possible.” 

She concluded, “On Sahib’s birthday, I would procure the most exquisite and carefully selected greeting cards to honour his special day. As a man as remarkably extraordinary as Dilip Sahib, he deserved nothing less. I always tried to be a devoted wife to him, and I found immense joy in his chivalrous nature, which unfailingly filled my life with happiness. Happy Birthday Yousuf Sahib!”

Saira Banu and Dilip Kumar tied the knot in October 1966. Banu often shares glimpses from their time together, keeping the late star’s memories alive.

Sofia Coppola has a way of masterfully portraying isolation that you can almost feel off the screen. Joining her catalogue of lonely female characters from The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette is Priscilla. Based on the late singer Elvis Presley’s ex-wife, the film starring Jacob Elordi and Cailee Spaeny, follows the life and times of Priscilla Presley and her extraordinary relationship with the King of Rock n’ Roll. On a roundtable interview attended by Filmfare, Sofia Coppola opened up about Priscilla, working with Elordi and Spaeny and more.

Opening up about the art of bringing loneliness to the big screen, Sofia Coppola revealed that she could relate to Priscilla. She said, “That period in her life felt so isolating. She seemed to be living this fairytale life. She had this beautiful life with Elvis Presley. It all seemed like a dream but the reality was that she was left at home. He didn’t take her with him and she wasn’t allowed to have friends or work. She struggled with that and it’s very understandable how that must feel. I can imagine and relate to how that might be. I tried to show that in the quiet moments of her alone.”

Talking about the juxtaposition of the character’s scenes alone and the scenes with Elvis, Coppola added, “I also tried to show the contrast there. When Elvis is home his house is full of energy and excitement. When he’s gone, she is alone and is expected to be fulfilled by that. She feels she can’t complain or tell anybody because he wants everyone around to be positive. So I could really feel her struggle from what she wrote in her book and I tried to find a way to bring that out with the actress. The editing and the sound are a big part of that. You feel the energy change when she’s alone and when she’s with him. You can tell.” 

The director revealed that she was clear about the kind of representation she wanted for both Elvis and Priscilla. Offering a peek into her conversations with Elordi and Spaeney, she said, “They both did a lot of research. Caliee met with Priscilla and spoke with her. She got a lot of her voice quality from those conversations. For me, it was more important for them to have the essence of the character. I didn’t want it to be an impersonation, especially with Elvis. I made it clear with Jacob and we worked on his voice and movements. I didn’t want it to feel like a caricature. It helped that they learnt a lot about them but put that aside and focused on their human aspect and saw them as a couple in a relationship and not think too much about how the world saw them. I think they did a good job of making them human and turning them into multidimensional characters. It is definitely challenging. They needed to feel real instead of just public figures.”

The film which arrives a year after Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis starring Austin Butler, aims to uncover an untapped side of Elvis’ love story with Priscilla who was only 14 when she first met the music icon at a party. They tied the knot in 1967 and separated in 1973.

Priscilla is set to release in theatres on December 15, 2023.