Particularly the three names from the Indian entertainment industry, which have surfaced in the Epstein Files, have rather remote associations with Epstein or even his close circle. If finer details are examined, here’s exactly where the names of these three Indian directors show up in the Epstein Files.

Anurag Kashyap

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, best known for helming critically acclaimed movies like Black Friday (2004), Dev.D (2009), and the Gangs of Wasseypur franchise (2012), was recently referred to as “the Bollywood guy” in Epstein Files. Kashyap’s name is mentioned only in the passing as “a famous Bollywood director” along with the likes of computer scientist Ben Goertzel, researcher Bruce Damer, and DJ Spooky.

Kashyap was mentioned as a potential invitee at a proposed event in Shanghai, which entailed workshops on Buddhism, technology, and medicine. It’s part of the email exchanges between Epstein and psychiatrist Giuseppe Bersani, and educators Gino Yu and Ornella Corazza. However, there’s no evidence of Kashyap’s attendance at any of these events.

Mira Nair

Another name that’s cropping up the most is of filmmaker Mira Nair, best known for helming Monsoon Wedding (2001), The Namesake (2006), and A Suitable Boy (2020). As per the files, she attended an “after party” for a film at the townhouse of convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, as mentioned in one of the emails.

The after party took place after the screening of a film, which is likely to be Nair’s 2010 Hollywood movie Amelia, starring Hillary Swank as aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, opposite Richard Gere. Not only Nair and the film’s leads, but former US President Bill Clinton and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos were also present at the event. “Film received tepid reaction although women like it much more,” states the email exchanged between publicist Peggy Siegal and the email address “jeevacation@gmail.com”.

While Nair’s passing mention also doesn’t imply any misconduct or close links to Epstein and his associates like Maxwell, her name has been blown out of proportion online thanks to her association with US politics. Her son, former rapper Zohran Mamdani, was recently appointed as the mayor of New York City. Even Artificial Intelligence-generated pictures of Mira and Zohran with Epstein, Maxwell, and others are doing the rounds on social media.

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Nandita Das

The third name that’s cropped up from the Indian entertainment landscape in Epstein Files is that of actor-filmmaker Nandita Das. But her link to Epstein is limited to the fact that both of them were invited as speakers by Jem Bendell, a professor of sustainability at the University of Cumbria, at the Lake District Festival in the UK, along with author Charles Eisenstein and PR guru Lynne Frank.

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He also shared a tweet on his X handle, urging parents to remain emotionally present in their children’s lives, specially those who have access to smartphones and the digital world. Sonu wrote, “Three young girls lost their lives in Ghaziabad today (broken heart emoji). Not to violence. Not to poverty. But to the unseen pressure of online gaming and digital addiction.”

The actor further added, “I’ve raised my voice before, and I’ll say it again. Social media and online gaming must be restricted for children under 16, except for education. Childhood needs guidance, not algorithms. Social media and online gaming must be restricted for children under 16, except for education. Childhood needs guidance, not algorithms. Care, not constant screens. This isn’t about blame. It’s about protection, before it’s too late. Let this not become another headline we forget. It’s time to act.”

Three young girls lost their lives in Ghaziabad today. 💔⁰Not to violence.⁰Not to poverty.⁰But to the unseen pressure of online gaming and digital addiction.
I’ve raised my voice before, and I’ll say it again.⁰Social media and online gaming must be restricted for children…

— sonu sood (@SonuSood) February 4, 2026

Three Ghaziabad sisters die by suicide

According to the police, the sisters were aged 12, 14, and 16, and jumped from a window of their ninth-floor residence in Bharat City, after their phones were taken away and their father told them to not watch online Korean content. The girls had stopped going to school since over two years, spent most of their time on their mobile phones, the police said.

Additional Commissioner of Police, Ghaziabad, Alok Priyadarshi said, “They were under the influence of K-dramas. They had left school and all their time was spent watching Korean dramas on mobile phones. On Tuesday night, after other members of the family went to sleep, the girls locked themselves in their room and jumped to their death.”

Police officials said they found an eight-page suicide note that revealed the sisters had planned their suicide. According to police, the girls claimed in the note that they were beaten by their parents and were told they will be married off.The police said they responded that they didn’t want to marry, because they “loved Koreans.”

The girls allegedly wrote in their suicide note, “Should we live in this world to be beaten by you? No, death would be better… At the very mention of marriage, we get tense. We like and love Koreans, and we can never accept marriage with Indian men.”

Around 10 days ago, their father had deleted their social media accounts with Korean names and confiscated their mobile phones. Their father sold the mobile phones to pay his electricity bill. They wrote in a pocket diary: “Korean was our life, so how dare you make us leave our life?” the girls remarked. “You didn’t know how much we loved them. Now you’ve seen the proof. Now we are convinced that Korean and K-Pop are our life. We didn’t love you and family as much as we loved the Korean actor and the K-Pop group. Korean was our life.”

Jennifer Lawrence can be seen in the clip as Naina Kapoor (Rani Mukerji), while Margot Robbie channels her Poo energy as Pooja (Kareena Kapoor Khan). The video showcases Chris Hemsworth in the role of Rohan Raichand, originally portrayed by Hrithik Roshan.

Watch the AI-generated video reimagining Karan Johar’s iconic 2001 film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham:

Clearly impressed with the clip, Karan Johar re-shared it recently on his Instagram Stories and wrote, “Ok AI! Whatever it takes to get Meryl Streep into any frame of mine!!! I will take it gladly! Virtual is manifesting for me.”

On the work front, Karan Johar is reportedly set to direct Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham 2. However, the filmmaker has not yet made any official cast announcements or shared further details about the project.

The poster also announces the release date of Mirzapur The Movie — September 4. “Ab dekhiye bhaukaal bade parde par. Watch #MirzapurTheMovie releasing at your nearest theatres on 4th September,” states the Instagram caption. The makers wrapped up the shooting of Mirzapur The Movie only earlier this week as the film will now enter the post-production phase.

Directed by Gurmmeet Singh, who has previously helmed the series, the film is set to bring back Pankaj Tripathi as Kaleen Bhaiya, Ali Fazal as Guddu Pandit, Shweta Tripathi as Gajgamini Gupta aka Golu, Rasika Dugal as Beena Tripathi, and Divyenndu as Munna Tripathi. While Divyenndu’s character gets shot in the season 2 finale, the events of Mirzapur The Movie are set before the end of the first season.

Thus, Shriya Pilgaonkar will also reprise her role of Sweety Gupta in the film. While Vikrant Massey will not be a part of the project, his role of Bablu Pandit will be essayed by Jeetendra Kumar. Mirzapur The Movie also stars Harshita Gaur, Sushant Singh, Sheeba Chadha, Rajesh Tailang, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, and Sonal Chauhan.

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It’s co-produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s production house Excel Entertainment. The first season of Mirzapur was released in 2018, followed by the second season in 2020 and the third in 2024. The show has also been renewed for the fourth season.

Recalling what happened in Sangli, he said, “I’d gone for the wedding. That didn’t happen. And I just got to know that it’s not happening at the moment.” He also shared that it was a medical emergency involving Smriti Mandhana’s father, which was communicated as the reason for postponing the wedding. “It’s postponed because what came out in the news, the same thing was there. Conveyed to you guys. Conveyed to everybody. Smriti’s dad wasn’t well. He was in the hospital. And that’s why everything has been postponed,” he explained.

Nandish said that he feels bad about the situation and claimed that he learnt about accusations against Palash through media reports. “Later on, I got to know through the news and media that this is what has been printed and this is happening. And I feel bad about it,” he said.

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Nandish also spoke about the couple’s relationship and said, “Whatever the reason might have been, the wedding didn’t happen. And you know, I’ve seen the love. I’ve seen how madly they were in love for the last five, six years. They were such a cute, nice couple.”

Earlier, Vidnyan Mane, who claimed to be a childhood friend of Smriti Mandhana, made allegations against Palash. He told Hindustan Times, “I was at the wedding celebrations (November, 23, 2025) when he was caught red-handed with another woman in bed. Bhayanak scene tha, he was beaten up by the Indian female cricketers. The entire family is chindi chor. I thought he’d get married and settle in Sangli, but it has completely backfired on me.”

Madhavan’s wife made him realise he needs to change

Beyond the joke, Madhavan explained that it was Sarita’s honest observation about his state of mind that truly made him pause and reassess. He shared how she noticed a change in his attitude towards work.

“One day, my wife asked me, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ She said that you are going to work like you want to come back from it. That actually made a lot of sense,” Madhavan said.

Madhavan’s wife thinks he is a ‘fool’

Over the past year, the actor has continued to speak about his personal life, often talking about the role his wife plays in keeping him grounded, particularly when it comes to money. During an interview with Just Too Filmy in 2023, Madhavan revealed how Sarita views his approach to finances.

“My wife thinks I am generous to a fault. And I am a fool. And I don’t know how to handle my money. She thinks I keep giving it away. I think I’m very particular about it, but she says not even from a remote corner are you particular about it. I spend what I have.”

At the same time, Madhavan has been clear that while he may not be overly cautious about spending, he is mindful of staying within his limits.

“I am not very careful about my spending but I always live within my means so if I desire to have a bigger car or better stuff… but if it doesn’t fit my budget, I will not buy it. I don’t have worldly possessions; that is the reflection of my stardom. But I do have the liberty that this stardom offers me and I enjoy it,” he said.

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Madhavan and Sarita’s relationship

Madhavan and Sarita first met in the early 1990s when she joined his public speaking and personality development classes in Kolhapur.

Recalling their first interaction in a 2011 interview with The Times of India, the actor had said, “She was aspiring for a job in an airliner and attended my classes. When she finally bagged the cat, she thought it was in part due to my classes and took me to a ‘thank you’ dinner. That’s how it started.”

After dating for several years, the couple married on June 6, 1999, well before Madhavan rose to national prominence. They are parents to Vedaant Madhavan, who has made a name for himself as an international swimmer.

‘Boys started following, put up iron bars after boy jumped in the house’

In an old interaction with Lehren Retro, Priyanka’s mother Madhu Chopra spoke about the same. She recalled how they enrolled the Dostana actor in a convent school in Bareilly after her return from the US and ensured she was picked up and dropped off in a car so that they could keep her safe. But this did not stop boys from following her. “We put her in a convent school. We would pick and drop her in the car because her father was strict that you can’t go anywhere alone. Boys started following our car so it started getting unsafe,” she said.

Things became serious when a boy jumped into Priyanka’s house, prompting her “overly protective” father, who “did not want any kind of trouble,” to put up iron fences across the house so that not even a monkey could enter. “One day, a boy jumped our fence and entered our house. That was scary. The next day, her father covered the entire house with iron bars. From the boundary to the terrace… even monkeys couldn’t enter. That house is still the same,” she said.

‘Priyanka stopped wearing western outfits’

Madhu and Ashok soon realised that their daughter was not meant for a small town and decided to move to a bigger city, possibly Delhi. “He said we will put her in the army school so she can move with us,” she recalled. She added, “We were like chote sheher mein badi machhi (small fish in a big pond) and then you can’t have anybody coming into your house and messing with you toh humara bhi toda rutba tha hi (we also had a good reputation).”

However, Priyanka’s parents did not just tighten security around her; they also asked her to reassess her wardrobe and stop wearing western clothes. Recalling how Priyanka changed her wardrobe completely after a serious conversation with her father, Madhu said, “I don’t know what conversation they had. The next day, she came back from school and said she wants to go shopping. I took her and she selected such dull and drab clothes… all salwar kurtas. She selected colours like off white, brown, beige to look dull,” she said, adding, “I don’t know what he said. She never told me and he also didn’t tell me but this was the reaction. After that, she did not wear western clothes in Bareilly.”

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However, Priyanka did not stay in Bareilly for long. She applied for Miss India and soon moved to Mumbai to participate in the pageant. She went on to win Miss India and later Miss World 2000. She began her film career in 2002 with the Tamil film Thamizhan, in which she starred opposite Vijay. She made her Hindi film debut with Sunny Deol’s The Hero: Love Story of a Spy and gained widespread fame with her second Hindi film Andaaz, where she starred alongside Lara Dutta and Akshay Kumar.

Riteish on playing a woman on screen

Riteish admitted playing a woman on screen came with its own set of challenges. “It was very difficult for two reasons. First, none of my contemporaries were attempting something like this at the time. Second, a man portraying a woman on screen is obviously not the most appealing sight. On top of that, my father was then the chief minister, so I was also thinking about how it would be received, given that he was a public figure. It made the role even more challenging.”

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Getting waxed for the role

Riteish then revealed Genelia Deshmukh was his go-to for advice for the character . “I was constantly in touch with Genelia about what to do and what not to do. I even went a bit overboard – I did waxing and threading as part of method acting. It was the most painful experience, and my hair actually stopped growing for a while,” he joked. “But when you see audiences laughing in theatres, that’s the ultimate gratification. That’s what makes it all worth it.”

Genelia praised her husband’s performance: “I don’t think anybody could have done it better than he did.”

Riteish’s first day on the set playing a woman

Riteish also shared how nervous he was on the first day of the shoot. “The first time I got ready, it took me 2–3 hours. As I walked from the van to the set, I kept my umbrella low because I didn’t know how to face anyone. Anupam Kher and Chunky Pandey were there and they made me feel so comfortable. That was the most nervous I’ve ever been on set,” he revealed.

He added, “Particularly in comedy films, while audiences watch the screen, we watch the audience. The laughter, the noise from the seats when audiences move as they laugh, that’s what tells you if a scene is working. Hearing that sound was such a thrill, it made all the pain and preparation worth it.”

Apna Sapna Money Money, the 2006 Bollywood comedy, follows a cast of characters on a madcap chase for wealth. The film stars Riteish Deshmukh alongside Suniel Shetty, Shreyas Talpade, Celina Jaitly, Koena Mitra, and Jackie Shroff.

Confident in their content and storytelling, the producers said the decision to revisit the release timeline stems from clarity and fairness. The move is aimed at ensuring that the Adivi Sesh starrer gets its rightful moment on the big screen, while also allowing audiences to experience each film on its own terms.

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Echoing the sentiment, a source told Bollywood Hungama, “Staying true to that thought, the decision to move to April 10 comes from a place of fairness and clarity, ensuring that Dacoit gets its due spotlight while audiences can enjoy all films on their own terms. It also reflects strategic planning and thoughtful timing, focused on the film’s theatrical experience.”

Directed by Abhinay Deo, Dacoit is produced by Supriya Yarlagadda and backed by SS Creations and Suniel Narang Productions.

When Adivi Sesh said Dhurandhar rush will benefit Dacoit

Previously in a press conference for Toxic, Adivi had spoke about the potential box office clash with Dhurandhar 2 and Toxic. He shared, “I am not nervous about the clash. I am only nervous about whether the audience will like our film or not. Life has a way of surprising people. Just two years ago, big filmmakers were telling me that people had stopped going to theatres — but look at what is happening with Dhurandhar. It has become a juggernaut.”

He added: “So I thought, if Dhurandhar can become a juggernaut, why not give audiences a beautiful set of options during the holiday season? We have Eid, Sri Ram Navami, Gudi Padwa and Ugadi coming up. Right now, Dhurandhar is the country’s biggest hit, and I want Part 2 to become the world’s biggest hit. With all this in mind, I believe that those who don’t get tickets for Dhurandhar might just drop by to watch Dacoit,” he added.

March 19: Dhurandhar 2 vs Toxic

Meanwhile, Dhurandhar, whose first part released on December 5 last year, went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of the year and secured a spot among the top three highest-earning Hindi films. The film shattered multiple box office records, creating massive anticipation for its sequel. The film earned Rs 1328.23 crore globally, according to the makers while its India collection stands at Rs 879.75 crore.

On the other hand, Geetu Mohandas’ Toxic will mark Yash’s return to the big screen after nearly four years. The actor was last seen in KGF: Chapter 2. Notably, Toxic is only Yash’s third film release in almost a decade. He will also be seen playing the role of Ravana in Nitesh Tiwari’s upcoming Ramayan.