The Brunch round-up: The week and how it made us feel

Haters are criticising Mrs. (the Zee5 film based on The Great Indian Kitchen) for being too shrill and on-the-nose. Granted, the 2021 Malayalam OG was subtle, all low-key domestic drudgery (until THAT climax). But that the story has to be retold, louder, is exactly the point. So many people don’t listen the first time. So a point is made over and over, until it lands. Then, haters say we’re nagging. Sigh. There’s no winning this!

Why speed date when you can speed hate? Mumbai-based events company 3 Art House helped anti-romance supporters flip the script on Valentine’s Day. Paying participants gathered to gripe about exes, dating apps, annoyingly mushy couples, and relationship fails. Sit this one out, Cupid. We’re busy.

Quietly, a biopic about Robbie Williams got released late last year. No, they didn’t call it Let Me Entertain You. They went with Better Man, and got a CGI chimp to play Williams. Why? Because the singer (who named his 1999 album The Ego Has Landed) believes he’s less evolved than other people. Critical success. Commercial dud. Viewers are… lovin’ angels instead.

It’s 50 years of Saturday Night Live this week. Gosh, Lorne. Where did the time go? The sketch comedy show has given us Mom jeans (thanks, Tina Fey); Lonely Island hits such as Motherlover; and killer impersonations of Justin Bieber, Sarah Palin, Trump and more. We’ll happily watch for another 50 years, if America upholds free speech.

Serena Williams danced to Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us at the Super Bowl halftime show - a rap song that’s actually a Drake diss track. Imagine Drake seeing his onetime crush vibing to a song that calls him out. Ouch! Meanwhile, Karla Sofía Gascón has been publicly shading Selena Gomez. And there’s another twist to the Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni drama. What a time to be alive!

At Paris Couture Week ‘25, Gaurav Gupta unveiled a collection inspired by his life partner Navkirat Sodhi’s near-fatal burn accident. Sodhi walked out in a white dress that revealed her scars. The designs had metal breastplates that looked like they were on fire, and a Twin Flame gown that symbolises their connection. Katniss who?

For years, we blatantly disregarded Uno rules and stacked Draw 2 and Draw 4 cards while playing. Uno fought it, but caved. Their Indian version, Show ‘Em No Mercy, has a ruthless Skip Everyone card: You can take another turn while your friends stare in helpless despair. And if you hoard more than 25 cards now, you’re out. Let’s play!

London-based insurance agency Samphire Risk already insured celebrities and top execs against extortion, kidnap, hostage crises, terrorism and travel to dangerous countries. Now, it will also insure against being cancelled. Drunk tweets? They have a 24/7 hotline to minimise damage. Sus retweets? They offer 60-day clean-up against negative publicity. Keep an eye on who’s signing up. They’ve probably done something stupid already.