For the first time since film star Sanjay Dutt was in trouble with the law, I did not feel sorry for the man as reports filtered in that he had been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by the Supreme Court for the possession of illegal arms in a notified area during the 1993 Bombay blasts. Read more

I started my day on Thursday morning in a high rage over the behaviour of Shah Rukh Khan, top film star and owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). I am not a cricket fan and feel the Indian Premier League (IPL) is simply a waste of precious time and money, so I never tune in to the games. Read more

I have forgotten some of the names. But not their faces – or their stories. Read more

As the Commonwealth Games scene gets murkier every hour and Suresh Kalmadi sinks himself deeper into the quagmire by the day, I cannot but help recall Sunil Dutt, UPA 1’s first Minister for Sports and a man so honest that it was almost painful to watch his integrity. Read more

Rajiv Gandhi was not sure what he must do. Of course, he did not have to sing for his supper but Sunil Dutt was urging him on. “Please come up on to the stage,’’ said Dutt. “Sing along with us.’’

Rajiv’s trademark shy, dimpled smile came out rather hesitantly and he half got up from his plush chair. “Come, come. Please come up,’’ went on Dutt sa’ab. Read more

Some years ago, when I did not know Suresh Kalmadi at all but was invited to a party he was throwing at a five-star hotel in Bombay, I was not too sure if I would make it – or if I would be comfortable in case I did.

But then I decided to attend, for it would have been churlish to refuse. I went on my own, however, – rather tentatively, without an ‘accompaniment’ as some would say — for I could not but help remember the two occasions when I invited someone to similar parties by politicians and shuddered at what had transpired. Read more

Sanjay Nirupam was a fellow-journalist long before he became a politician, so it has always been difficult for me and a lot of other journalists to distance ourselves from him completely and look upon him dispassionately. Read more