Bugging Bollywood. Creator Rehan Quereshi is giving us one slim reason to love AI. On @RehanQuereshi, he digitally adds himself into classic movie scenes featuring a topless Salman Khan and makes the actor put his shirt back on: “We’re in a public place, sir”. He’s also walking into Shah Rukh Khan’s frames, getting SRK to put his arms down, because he “must be tired”. Can’t wait to see more.
Following Emily, again. Emily (the one that pissed off Paris and rage-baited Rome) is moving to Monaco next. But the show will be shot on the windy islands of Mykonos, confirms Greece’s PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The culture minister is telling everyone to hurry and snag a cameo. Government jobs that double up as tabloid jobs? Nice going, Greece.
Growing up fast. Childish Gambino’s This Is America video has been dethroned. GENER8ION and Yung Lean have the best music video we’ve seen in a while. Set in a dystopian Leeds just eight years into the future, Storm depicts the chaos of being a young boy. Our favourite part? The choreography. The synchronised movements just scratch our brains the right way.
Going slow. New travel goal unlocked. Byway, a UK operator, sells travel packages that focus more on the prettiest routes rather than the fastest. They’ll book you boats, trains and buses instead of flights. There will be pit stops such as farmers’ markets. Isn’t this worth giving up seat 26E, with no Wifi and a small cabin bag?
Into Pagan Poetry. Did Björk play a surprise DJ set at the Venice Biennale? Looks like she did, dressed in a fibreglass outfit covered in feathers (remember her Oscars 2001 swan dress?) and a gigantic puffy hat. The Met Gala is already boring us with its safe-safe glitz. Raving with an Icelandic icon? Now that’s art.
Loving ewe. Hugh Jackman has played one of the X-Men, Jean Valjean, a showman, a magician, an everyday hero. And yet, his highest-rated film comes 30 years into his career, with The Sheep Detectives. He plays a dead shepherd, with his flock (to whom he’d narrate mystery novels) trying to figure out who killed him. Nice move, Woolverine!
Back to books. They’ve named Dua Lipa curator of the 2026 London Literature Festival. We’re so not surprised. She’s a huge advocate for reading; her Service95 newsletter recommends fun, accessible titles; and instead of name-dropping authors, she actually references plot points in her interviews. Nerds are cool. Get used to it.
Toying around. At the Japan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, you can pick up a baby doll, bond with it, but not take it home. Ei Arakawa-Nash’s installation includes 208 dolls, hanging off scaffolding and just sitting around. Visitors have been trying to steal them, which is exactly what the artist expected, anyway. Art is going according to plan.
From HT Brunch, May 16, 2026
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