Best of Weekender: From a tête-à-tête with Sharib Hashmi of The Family Man to a taste of Uttarakhand

At a height of 5 feet 4 inches, 40-year old Sharib Hashmi had always thought his dream of becoming an actor would just be that - a dream. But it turned out that life had other plans for him. Today, he is a much-loved actor across the country. Remember his roles as JK Talpade in Amazon Prime Series The Family Man, and Lolark Dubey of the Voot Select Series, Asur?

His only advice for aspiring actors is to start early and not wait like he did. Focus on what you want to do, and understand you are on your own. You have to get things on your own merit. Learn the tricks of the trade, says this brilliant actor.

Read all this and more in our exclusive interview with Sharib, where he talks about his years of struggle, his life on film sets, his movies, and career.

Get ready for a first ever-solo non-film track titled ‘Nai Chaida’, sung by multilingual singer, Lisa Mishra. The song is soulfully sung, with powerful and energetic vocals written by lyricist Kunaal Verma.

Growing up in Chicago, Lisa was exposed to a lot of R&B and hip-hop and soon started posting YouTube videos and small video segments of her singing online on her Instagram handle.

She became a Bollywood sensation overnight when Rhea and Sonam Kapoor heard Lisa’s creative mash up of Tareefan from their film Veere di wedding and flew her down to India for a reprise version. Since then, Lisa has been unstoppable and has collaborated on a number of Bollywood chart toppers such as ‘The Wakhra Song’, ‘Naadaniyaan’ from The Sky is Pink, and ‘Chandigarh Mein’ from Good Newwz.

Don’t miss an interview with this talented singer as she talks about her music videos, the composing process that goes into creating a song, her musical influences, and much more.

Chef Pawan Bisht, corporate chef at One8 Commune, a venture of Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli, has been uploading Instagram stories during the lockdown. During normal times, this chef is on his feet non-stop, but he has taken this break to reflect inwards and get back to his roots.

Ever since he had to move to his native village Chhoi on the outskirts of the Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand for the lockdown, Pawan has been uploading a series of riveting Instagram stories every day. From a series of videos on locally grown lentils, to cooking on brick ovens to the specialties of Uttarakhand, he has been showcasing a new recipe a day and a new method of cooking every three days.

Check out our interview with this incredible chef as he speaks about his new Instagram video project, his work with Virat Kohli, and the future of the culinary world after the lockdown.

It is in times like these that people look for companionship. And while the ideal dinner and a movie date or a rendezvous at a café may no longer be possible, what is possible is a meaningful conversation with someone via a screen in your own home.

New dating app Filter Off is a unique video-based app that helps conversations move forward, and will be available in India soon. The unique factors of the app include the video feature and speed dating.

Check out our exclusive interview with Zach Schleien, Founder of Filter Off, where he talks about how his app works and how it is helping people find a soulmate during the lockdown.

Ever since the COVID-19 lockdown was imposed, people have been trying to stay super-productive and positive. One of the best ways of doing so is by reading informative blogs and books on a daily basis. In an interaction with some entrepreneurs, they offered many excellent book and blog recommendations to enrich your life. 

From blogs like Entreleadership, Architonic, and Bruised Passports, and books like 'Small is beautiful' by Dr. E F Schumacher and 'Poor Economics' by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo and more, there is a lot of reading material out there that can help you feel positive and motivated.

Don’t miss our interviews with some well-known entrepreneurs as they talk about favourite blogs and books that have brightened their days.

Is your hero the Indian farmer because he works hard and untiringly to feed the entire world? Do you consider an MBA degree the most overrated virtue? Is your favourite journey travelling to rural India and the hinterlands to see the real India?

If so, you will find a kindred spirit in Amith Agarwal, Co-founder and CEO, AgriBazaar, who calls himself a startup marathoner. Having started StarAgri and StarAgri Finance, currently, he onto his third agri startup, www.agribazaar.com. He believes that his motto, “Never give up, never look back and live a life with no regrets”, is the most powerful way to forge a route to success.

Read all about Amith's greatest loves, heroes, regrets, treasures, and much more in his responses to our Proust questionnaire.