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

Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds play grown-up (hopefully not worn-out), musicians in the upcoming movie Boy Band. Both men can sing. Both men can also move. We should have seen it coming, given that Reynolds seemingly dances to NSYNC’s Bye Bye Bye in Deadpool & Wolverine. Who else is cast? Are they pretty too?

Caught the Spotify ad with Ananya Panday and Jackie Shroff? Each pick up the other’s mannerisms, tone of voice, and tics. Of course, Shroff plays it high-pitch and snobbish (“Baaya, mere paani mei gluten hai kya?”) But when Panday, scarf around her neck, launches into Shroff’s Bhidu bhasha, it’s all over. The hashtag for this duo: #Baedu!

Amazon Prime’s Christmas present to us is here: Cartoon Network Rewind. There’s Johnny Bravo, The Powerpuff Girls, Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, Scooby Doo and more. It’s aimed at kids. But it’s us grown-ups who’ll be watching. The shows are from a time when life was simple, rent-free, drama-free, phone-free and Zoom-free. Can we unsubscribe from the adulthood package already?

Congratulate Selena Gomez on her engagement to Benny Blanco. Work out the price of her six-carat marquise diamond too ($225,000, BTW). But stop with the Finallys and Thank Gods. Hold the pity. Yes, she got hurt over her break-up with Justin Bieber. But let’s stop pretending like she’s been salvaged. If you think marriage is a rescue, you’re part of the problem.

Bryan Adams came to India to perform. Again. He dutifully posted photo dumps from his Mumbai and Delhi trips. Yawn. It’s his sixth time here, and he’s still going to Gateway of India, eating vada pao, and posting pictures of goats on the streets. Oh, we get it! “Still feels like... the firssst time togetherrrr.”

Is it too much to ask Bollywood to play musicians properly? Kareena fake strummed in Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon (2003). Salman’s electric guitar in O O Jaane Jaana (1998) wasn’t even plugged in! But to be careless in a show about music is unforgivable. Arjun Rampal’s cameo in S2 of Bandish Bandits is a treat for the eyes. Rampal is delish. But actual scenes of musicians at work – they feel like nails on a chalkboard.

Padma Lakshmi, model, activist, food critic, author, is totally everyone’s mom. In an Insta video with her teen daughter Krishna, they argue about the right way to wear jeans. Lakshmi takes the high-waist approach. Krishna rides low, Y2K style. Mum is horrified. Turns out, even cool moms want us to pull up our pants!

Of course, we’re talking about The Office. The gang can’t seem to quit the show either. We get regular Insta updates from the cast, especially from Angela Kinsey and Mindy Kaling. They hang out together often, have podcasts, give us so much BTS content. It helps that Kaling was also a writer on the show and has more control over what she can share.