Latest news with #Paro
Time of India
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
5 fusion cocktails to try this season
Chef Ayush Khandelwal curates a list of fusion cocktails at Paro, blending local ingredients with global influences to evoke nostalgic memories. The Jamun G&T offers a taste of childhood, while the Makhan Madira recalls cinema visits. From beach getaways to temple gardens, each drink provides a unique emotional and flavorful experience. Have you ever had a drink that stirred a memory, not just a buzz? Drinks are experienced through emotions, where each blends local ingredients with global influences to create a nostalgic yet sophisticated taste. Here, Chef Ayush Khandelwal, IHM graduate and co-founder, Paro has curated a list of fusion cocktails that will surely offer you the right kick and keep you happy in the company of friends and good food. Jamun G&T Jamun Crush Botanical Gin • Tonic Water • Fresh Mint This is a drink that feels like home. Remember climbing trees for jamuns? That sweet-tart, purple juice stains your tongue. Jamun crush sets an emotional tone deep, dark, and nostalgic. Tonic adds fizz while gin brings clarity. Fresh mint recalls the first monsoon rains. It's a moody, playful memory brought to life. Makhan Madira Popcorn-Infused Whisky • Caramel Butter • Lemon juice • Bitter • Egg White Step into a single-screen cinema of the past. Popcorn in hand, butter on your fingers. Popcorn-infused whisky smells like aged velvet curtains. Caramel butter with lemon and bitters bring richness and balance. The egg white foam closes with a smooth, cinematic finish. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Portslade: If You Were Born Between 1940-1975 You Could Be Eligible For This Life Cover Reassured Get Quote Undo Kaffir Coast Coconut Gin • Kaffir-Leaves Vodka • Cheesecake Foam • Citrus Burst You've just kicked off your shoes, and the sand is warm underfoot. Somewhere in the distance, a wave crashes, and you finally exhale. Without the boarding pass, Kaffir Coast is a beach getaway. Kaffir vodka adds a subtle intrigue while coconut gin offers tropical warmth. Then comes the surprise cheesecake foam. Citrus bursts through like the sun slicing clouds. Salty, sweet, distant. Saddle Spice Tequila • Kasuri Methi • Agave • Beet Pickle Brine • Jalapeño • Coriander • Citrus If you want a drink that starts strong and maintains its character, then you should try the Saddle Spice. The combination of tequila with kasuri methi creates an exceptional blend that produces magical results. The pickle brine from beets brings tangy complexity to the drink while jalapeño and coriander bring delicate aromatic notes. The drink contains agave and citrus elements, but the taste experience produces both heat and joy. Kyoto Dream Whisky • Yuzu Juice • Matcha • Absinthe Imagine you are wandering through a Kyoto temple garden. The first taste of whisky brings you warmth while the scent of absinthe enters as a mysterious question floating in the air. The yuzu flavour brings you back to the present moment and the matcha arrives at the end to settle everything. The Kyoto Dream feels like a tranquil moment persisting as dusk in a Zen garden. Thumb Image Courtesy: istock
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
From Rocky Aur Rani to Aap Jaisa Koi: Bollywood, please stop stereotyping Bengali women
Hindi films have always thrived on regional stereotypes in portraying Punjabi, Tamil, Gujarati or Bengali characters, shoving their distinct culture into a cubbyhole of stereotypes. Filmmakers set the camera lens for the audience rather than let the audience find their own lens to read the character or even trust the character to win hearts. The latest victim of this cinematic trope is the liberal Bengali woman. The pendulum has been swinging between the old-world grace of a goddess-like Paro in Devdas or Lalita in Parineeta to the schizophrenic and mysterious Manjulika of Bhool Bhulaiyaa. That's why when Piku Banerjee burst on the screen with her cotton kurtas, her everyday elegance, her straightforwardness and her fierce choice to be her father's caregiver, she seemed so anchoring. Piku is a woman first, a Bengali second. However, the same cannot be said of her descendants, Rani Chatterjee in Rocky and Rani Kii Prem Kahaani and now Madhu Bose of Aap Jaisa Koi, both from producer-director Karan Johar's stable. Each one is a sassy, self-assured, outgoing and fiery woman, daring to choose lesser men, even drawing them out of their shell of patriarchy. They reclaim agency and sexuality with the same elan, though one should not be a metaphor for the other. They end up being clones of each other with gossamer saris hugging their contours, heavily-kohled eyes, junk jewellery, bindi and flowing hair. What is problematic is the sexiness of their attire and image being a metaphor for their intellectualism and free spirit. In our society, the right to be seen and heard is still out of reach for most women, hoping to grasp any opportunity, golden or not. Even more problematic is the fact that they are all upper caste Bengali women, coming from a privileged, elite background and an enabling environment that automatically lends them a voice. They haven't had to earn their place as such. This rarefied context puts them leagues above the majority of women who still haven't found a voice in the mainstream. It is in that sense that both Rani and Madhu become a shell, a filmmaker's pretence of gender parity, rather than holding up a mirror to society. Contrast this with Bengal filmmakers Basu Chatterjee and Hrishikesh Mukherjee, who humanised their women protagonists, Bengali or not, with working-class sensibilities and an everydayness, with meet-cutes at the bus stop and romances in a rained-out city, all of them working in offices, taking the bus and train, munching peanuts. In fact, Bengali women were among the first in India to actively pursue education and enter the workforce, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The women's renaissance in Bengal was not only led by the empowered women of the privileged elite, like the Tagores of Jorasanko, but by ordinary women. Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain was not formally educated in English but became a leading writer and activist. Sarala Ray founded the Gokhale Memorial School and championed women's access to higher education. Binodini Dasi, born into a poor family, became a courtesan, but awestruck by the stage, she became an actor when she was only 12. Forced to quit the stage at age 23, she documented the social prejudice faced by women like her in her autobiography. Bengal's revolutionaries comprised women from both the lower strata and middle classes, most of whom did not have access to formal education. Matangini Hazra, a peasant woman, and 15-year-old widow Nanibala Devi, who was a runaway and learnt English at a Christian mission, took to armed struggle against colonial rule. The Tebhaga movement had women peasants demanding their rights as sharecroppers. Pritilata Waddedar and Kalpana Datta, both from ordinary families, not only became armed revolutionaries but managed underground networks and courier runs for the resistance movement. This mass women's participation challenged traditional gender roles. In fact, middle-class Bengali women began to be part of the urban workforce late 1940s onwards despite bigger challenges of acceptability. This evolution of the modern Bengali woman is important in understanding why she should not be trivialised or forgotten. Challenging patriarchal ideologies and constructs, the early pioneers did not wage a war but just stood up to be counted. In his novel, Ghare Baire (The Home and the World), Rabindranath Tagore had himself articulated this when he wrote. 'For we women are not only the deities of the household fire, but the flame of the soul itself.' And that flame doesn't need a bralette, a wispy saree or high heels. Sensuousness is about the fullness of a lived experience, not just the right to show a cleavage. If anything, the mainstream film industry has ended up propping cardboard cutouts instead of celebrating flesh-and-blood women.
Mint
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
23 years of Devdas: Jackie Shroff remembers iconic film with throwback post
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 12 (ANI): It was the monsoon of 2002 when 'Devdas' first hit theatres, and cinema was never the same again. With Shah Rukh Khan playing the heartbroken Devdas, Aishwarya Rai as Paro, and Madhuri Dixit as Chandramukhi, the film left a strong mark on Indian cinema. As 'Devdas' clocked 23 years on Saturday, actor Jackie Shroff, who played Chunnilal in the film, shared his memories online. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), he posted a special video clip featuring some emotional scenes from the film. Along with the post, he wrote, "#23YearsOfDevdas." The video began with a powerful moment between SRK's Devdas and Jackie's Chunnilal, followed by scenes with Kirron Kher, Aishwarya Rai, and Madhuri Dixit. Devdas, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, was based on the classic novel by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. The film was praised for its grand sets, music, and performances. It is still considered one of Bhansali's best works. Unlike movies, which have a happy ending, the main crux of 'Devdas' was its tragic ending. The sheer longing of a lover to see her beloved for one last time, as he dies on the streets, just to catch a glimpse of his 'Paro' lives rent-free in the hearts of people. The tragedy of 'Devdas' was something completely unforgettable, SRK as Devdas. Aishwarya as Paro, and Madhuri as Chandramukhi, the trio gave a flawless performance which tugged at the heartstrings of audiences. Apart from the lead actors, Kirron Kher, Jackie Shroff, Smita Jaykar, and Jaya Bhattacharya all did a commendable job in the movie. (ANI)
Perth Now
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
Doors opening as Paro locks in title eliminator
Liam Paro is two wins away from reclaiming his IBF belt after securing a world title eliminator clash with unbeaten Mexican Lindolfo Delgado. The Mackay super lightweight (25-1) pulverised Jonathan Navarro in Cairns last week in a statement win almost three years since his last Australian appearance. It's understood venues in Townsville, Brisbane and Gold Coast have already been earmarked for the 29-year-old's next fight later this year. Victory against the 23-0 Mexican would leave Paro in the mandatory position to exact revenge on American star Richardson Hitchins, who dethroned him in December last year. But that may not be in Paro's immediate plans, with the Australian highly-regarded by the WBO and WBC. It comes as Paro extends what was a one-fight deal with Tim Tszyu's No Limit Boxing stable, who are dedicated to making the Queenslander a household name after years grafting overseas. "This is exactly what we promised Liam Paro when he came home, that he'd headline in Australia and be back on the path to a world title," No Limit boss George Rose said. "And now, here we are. The Australian public are going to love him." Liam Wilson, who fought and won on the same Cairns card, has also been ordered into an IBF junior lightweight eliminator against Kazakh Sultan Zaurbek. Up for grabs is a mandatory slot to fight Eduardo Nunez and what would be a third world title fight for the Caboolture product.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Liam Paro destroys Jonathan Navarro for 5th-round TKO in first fight since losing IBF world title
A monstrous left hand put Liam Paro back in the win column Down Under. Paro, who was fighting for the first time since losing his IBF super lightweight title to Richardson Hitchins this past December, forced Jonathan Navarro to retire on his stool after five rounds in their main event bout in the early hours of Wednesday morning at the Convention Centre in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Advertisement The Aussie southpaw landed a crushing overhand left on Navarro (18-2, 9 KOs) in the final 45 seconds of the fifth round. Although Navarro rose to his feet almost immediately, he was target practice for Paro's left hand for the remainder of the round. Paro (26-1, 16 KOs) buzzed Navarro again in the final 10 seconds of the deciding round. Navarro went back to his corner as a beaten man — and it didn't take long for his trainer to recognize it either. Navarro's corner team stopped the bout in the one-minute break between rounds five and six, awarding Paro an inside-the-distance win in his return fight. In the previous four rounds, Paro dominated the action with his southpaw jab and stinging body punching. The Aussie dictated the pace, with Navarro hesitant to challenge him, choosing to do his best work through counter-punching. Advertisement Paro began to put his shots together more in rounds three and four, and as he pushed the fight into close range, Navarro was more willing to let his own hands go. Paro's offensive variety, however, made sure Navarro was second best in exchanges. Paro had done a good job of controlling the first four rounds of the fight, and the fifth was looking to be more of the same until he found the breakthrough with a left hand down the middle in the final minute. The knockdown was the beginning of the end for Navarro, who was also dealing with substantial nose damage. It was Paro's first fight in Australia since his opening-round triumph over domestic rival Brock Jarvis in October 2022, which doubled up as his debut for Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing. Advertisement Paro went on to upset the odds in Puerto Rico to dethrone Subriel Matias of his IBF world title, but lost it in his first defense to Hitchins. After four bouts with Matchroom, Paro was a free agent and chose to sign a one-fight deal with Aussie promoter No Limit, which put on his Queensland homecoming bout. No Limit hopes to continue its working relationship with Paro and land him a bout with either Teofimo Lopez, Ryan Garcia or Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz. Paro, who is ranked No. 4 with the WBO, called for a shot at a world title in his post-fight interview, citing his intentions to become a two-time titleholder.
