In this issue, Karan Johar offers ForbesLife India a glimpse into his extraordinary world that blurs the line between work and play. In a candid tete-a-tete, Bollywood’s leading filmmaker reveals how his vulnerabilities and insecurities are as real as his triumphs and successes. Also, read about the growing band of publishers, filmmakers, artists and designers who are reimagining Indianness by enhancing, reinventing and saving artistic traditions and skills and taking it to the world.

In today’s fast-paced, competitive world, actor Hrithik Roshan epitomises calm. In our cover story, the Bollywood superstar dismisses the “old-school” idea of working harder and harder to chase success that is only elusive. “I am very happy with what I have, which means now I need to enjoy my work and not be stressed to earn more,” he says. Apart from this rare interview which gives a sneak peek into the actor’s mind, there is a story on artist-travellers who are shunning the Insta life to capture memories by putting pen to paper. And there are features on food and travel that may tempt you to pack your bags and take that holiday that you have been planning for years.

In this issue of ForbesLife India, filmmaker Mira Nair opens up about her notions of cinema and how she draws from the real to tell stories that do not bore the audience. Commercial considerations and authenticity are not mutually exclusive, she states. Nair says her next project, a 21-song musical version of Monsoon Wedding will be “modernist”. We also feature another director, Feroz Abbas Khan, who has taken a less minimalistic approach with his interpretation of K Asif’s lavish 1960 film, Mughal-e-Azam.

Journeys make for interesting stories and reflect a lot about people. Sidharth Malhotra, for instance, found his way to Bollywood by happenstance. Our cover story on the actor explains how the ‘outsider’ made a mark for himself in the Hindi film industry and is now on a mission to ensure that people go beyond his looks. His work and choices speak for themselves, but, at the same time, it’s his support system that has enabled him to keep his head firmly on his shoulders. We also take a look at Rohit Sharma’s roller-coaster ride in international cricket. Regarded as one of the most gifted players of his time, he has struggled to cement his place in the Test team. The issue also features stories on global cuisine – from Vietnamese food to authentic Paris delicacies and Northeast India’s specialties. 


Endurance is an underrated and rare quality that every achiever embodies. Actress Kareena Kapoor Khan is one of them. She’s played leading lady for over 15 years and remained at the top of her game. “It’s easy in this industry to get wrapped up in work. But I don’t feel restless if I am not working for a certain time,” she tells ForbesLife India. The cover story reveals Kareena’s passion for acting. The issue also highlights the legacy of English photographers Bourne and Shepherd, whose sepia images of Indian life were displayed for over 150 years in their studio in Kolkata. There are also interesting features on travel – private islands for hire, the duality of Poland and a rejuvenating experience in Thailand.

In a hat-tip to the free spirit of the modern urban man, ForbesLife India collaborated with designer Troy Costa to create a men’s summer wear montage, the focus of our cover story. If you are also planning to journey this summer, we hope our travel stories on the rainforests of Amazon or small-town America, will enrich you. Also read our story on Sanjna Kapoor, who ran the Prithvi Theatre for 21 years. An other not-to-miss is Nina Martyris’s piece on India’s love-hate relationship with Shakespeare.

Actor Fawad Khan, who graces the cover of ForbesLife India, is on a mission to loosen up and enjoy the carnival in Bollywood. He speaks about his antipathy to the serious label associated with him and how he’d love to play a bald, fat man. This issue also has an interview with actress Tabu who says happiness is a small word to define what the adulation coming her way means to her. The other highlights in the magazine are a photo essay on theatre veteran Ebrahim Alkazi and a profile of Berlin-based illustrator Zack Rock who gives voice to animals in a world full of humans. 

In a country where sport is synonymous with cricket, Leander Paes once gave Indians another game to cheer about. Now, at 42, he is preparing for the 2016 Rio Games. Paes’s reinvention of his game and approach is the cover story of the latest issue of Forbes Life India. Also read about how curators and museums are beginning to showcase the legacy of Indian artists—their studios, art material, rough sketches and even personal communication. Meanwhile, another set of artists—product designers, in this case—took on the task of rethinking everyday products into things of beauty for us. Reimagination, after all, is the order of the day.

Indian flavours are conquering the global palate. And who better to talk about it than Vikas Khanna, who went from living in a homeless shelter to cooking for US President Barack Obama in the 15 years he has spent away from home. Though both he and his flagship restaurant, Junoon, are based in New York, this proud Punjabi’s ambitious dream is to make Indian cuisine the last word in luxury. 

In this issue of ForbesLife India, read about Nawazuddin Siddiqui's journey from being a chemist to a watchman to the National School of Drama and, finally, to Mumbai and Bollywood. He honed his acting skills in theatre for years before entering mainstream cinema. We also feature actress Jalabala Vaidya, and her playwright husband Gopal Sharman, who have also led lives similar to Siddiqui.

There is the bucket list. And then there’s another kind of a list. Of things that lead to a life lived. The postponement or abandonment of this list can leave a hole in your heart. Here’s the thing: There is always a point and it is never too late. And, really, what is the worst thing people can say?

On the other hand, the upside is the joy of giving your passion expression. This may not lead to a multi-book deal or sold-out concerts or leading acts, but it will ensure a life of little regret. 

Zomato chief Deepinder Goyal is part of an over-achieving internet brigade. Consider his world: The consumer internet space, constantly changing, hyper-competitive. And his platform is India’s fastest-growing and the largest in the restaurant search space. Plus, he is the boss and not the easy-going kind either. But whatever the crisis, he sleeps. Often even twenty hours a night.

And then there is actor Randeep Hooda: As intense on screen as he is off it. Soft ness only creeps into his demeanour when in equine company. Horses for courses, they say, and Hooda’s is one paved with a nonchalant individualism that stems from his small-town beginnings and big-city dreams.

As the cult American TV show Mad Men nears its end after a spectacular seven-season run, our cover story reimagines a time when advertising was all dressed up with somewhere really cool to go. We speak to some senior members of the Indian ad industry about the moral flaws of Man Men’s lead character, Don Draper, and how they are overshadowed by his dance with words and ideas.

Few things in life give us as much joy as sweet, sinful food. Think cookies, buttery, chocolate-y. Think macarons, a jar full of them. Think red velvet cake, moist and melting. Think cupcakes, tiny, lethal. We reached out to pastry chefs across the country to map the sweet revolutions taking place in kitchens, both personal and professional, and learn how India’s grand tradition in desserts is being enriched by growing consumer awareness of international trends.

Had Anita Lal resisted the call of the pottery wheel, our living rooms and crockery shelves would have been a far duller place. Decades after the founder and creator of GoodEarth, arguably one of India’s best-known home décor brands, chose to study the craft, the brand is a Rs 120-crore business. Also part of our cover story is a look at the taste for vintage artefacts among India’s affluent, as well as the plastic creations of Italian design house Kartell.

The concept of royalty has travelled a rough road down the ages and landed in the 21st century a little worse for wear. Far removed from the reverence, envy, and even hatred its silken robes evoked in the courts of Marie Antoinette and the Mughals, monarchy is now mocked as an irrelevance. Every now and then, though, the defunct titles transform into marks of genuine community leadership, reminiscent of that old-fashioned notion of noblesse oblige—or, simply put, giving back.


Fearlessness is an uncontested virtue today. And a pattern is emerging, perhaps symptomatic of the uncertainty and the craziness of the times we live in. Risk-taking is becoming all pervasive: From the burgeoning startup economy to lifestyle choices, it is easier to take chances than it has been in recent memory. YOLO, right?

Adi Godrej, the 71-year-old chairman of the Godrej Group, is wary of intrusions into his morning walks. At a time when ‘work-life balance’ is becoming mere shrink-prescribed jargon, the industrialist is walking the talk, as Forbes India managing editor Sourav Majumdar found out during an interview with him. Family time, particularly with his four grandchildren, includes holidays (safaris, mountains) and water sports.

In this issue of ForbesLife India, we looked at the hospitality industry from two sides: We asked industry majors for the very best they had, and made a selection from their offerings; we also asked the dapper Bhai Analjit Singh, founder-chairman of Max India and a very well-travelled man, what he looks for away from home.

The super-rich have exacting standards, and they’re happy to pay top dollar for things designed to fit their lives as comfortably and elegantly as a suit from a master tailor would. And a branch of the luxury industry has evolved that’s more than happy to cater to their whims, creating objects that are part personal statement, part works of art. We decided to look at some aspects of the bespoke life.

Sumana Mukherjee tells us how chefs are trying to make creepy crawlies less creepy to our palates; our resident loony doctor Vikram Sheel Kumar puts on his researcher’s toque blanche to check what’s brewing in the labs. And Jasodhara Banerjee rounds it off with an easy-to-digest summary of how food is moving around the world.

In our cover package: we give you a very practical how-to on being happy, grounded in hard science, by Dr Vikram Sheel Kumar; we tell you where you have the best chance of finding a happy life (our young, but very well-travelled, colleague Shravan Bhat collates research on the happiest places on earth); and we round it off with a list of recommended reading, by Charles Assisi and Sumana Mukherjee.

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At ForbesLife India, from the very beginning, we never benchmarked ourselves by what other publications were doing. We chose instead to create, for better or worse, a niche all our own. Starting with the premise that affluent people got that way by being smart; why not appeal to their intelligence instead of shovelling bling and vapid celebrities at them? So we look for ideas that tickle the imagination and play to your senses, experiences that take you to exciting places and people. And though we live in breathless times, we see value in slowing the pace down a little, in giving thoughts the space and pace they deserve. Through four simple lenses—Think; Live; Work; Play—we hope to help you ‘Live a Rich Life.’

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Forbes Life India Magazine - July-August 2015

Forbes Life India Magazine - July-August 2015

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