All posts by : AyFa Collections

From all that you’ve seen and known, what does marriage mean to you as an actor in the public eye?

JK: There was a big stigma in the industry, and in general, that if a female actor got married, it meant her career would end. But I’m so happy that the biggest heroines in our industry have changed what that means, from Kareena to Deepika to Alia and Kiara. I feel they’re doing some of their best work after getting married—and I don’t think the audience’s gaze toward them has changed. I know that when I get married, I’ll want to give that my best. Right now, I’m not at the stage where I can lose focus from my career and shift my attention, or even divide my attention with anything else.

It could be said that Gen Z has fewer reservations about sex and relationships. You have various means to connect but the downside is a less idealistic approach to romance. What are your views on love in a time of instant gratification?

JK: It’s so funny that you ask me this, because I was just thinking about it the other day. I think it is almost impossible to fall in love now. If you’re from this generation and you’re navigating your way in this world of finding a partner, instant gratification has made the entire idea of romance so transactional that I don’t know if we have the patience, aptitude or openness for a real connection. We’ve also become so rigid in our ways that we judge people a lot more. It’s ironic, really—this entire woke culture is about judging people less, right? But for me personally? I’m a hyper-romantic, devoted individual. But I also think that I’ve been extremely lucky in my personal life, so I value and cherish how rare what I’ve found is. And I love the institution of marriage. I love the idea of creating a family life, a unit that is yours, of having someone who’s on your team, of being devoted to them.

How do you see yourself as a bride?

JK: I’ve been dressing up so much that on my wedding day, I’d just like to be comfortable. I know I want to get married in Tirupati. I definitely don’t want too many people there. I want it to be quick, I want the honeymoon to be very long. I definitely know that whatever I wear will be Manish [Malhotra], because he’s my favourite person and he’s family.

The live-action Lilo & Stitch reimagines Disney’s 2002 animated classic, telling the story of a lonely Hawaiian girl, Lilo (Maia Kealoha), who befriends an alien experiment gone rogue, Stitch (voiced by Chris Sanders). As Stitch causes chaos across Kauai with his destructive instincts, Lilo teaches him about family, love and belonging, while government agents and alien authorities close in to capture him. The cast also includes Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Zach Galifianakis, Hannah Waddingham, Tia Carrere and Jason Scott Lee.

Streaming on JioHotstar

Wednesday season 2 part 2 (September 3)

Power Crystal: Hematite for grounding, anchoring and feeling rooted in your life and visions.

Time to clear unnecessary noise from your life, Sag. Although this has been your recurring theme for a while, this month it feels amplified with the Universe giving you a clear chance to make things right for you and by you. The trick is that, however challenging it may feel, savour the joyous moments and allow them to ruminate within your soul—it will cut you off from the density of your past and also shield you from anything that is misaligned in your present. This is your chance to face fear and rise, and you are being called to do this in a fair and balanced manner.

Power Crystal: Unakite, for healing the mother wound and connection with Mama Gaia.

Profound spiritual shifts abound in your life this month, Capricorn, whether you are ‘spiritual’ in the conventional sense or not. Be it personal growth, inner goals, expansion or a new take on life—they all count as evolution and ascension. Everyone’s journey may look different; however, we are all headed towards the same goals. This month, soften your heart, give destiny a fair chance, visualise yourself filled with a violet light and even surrounded by it and work with the energies of the moon—not on eclipse days though. The noise around your inner voice is clearing, and you will be able to hear it better soon enough.

Power Crystal: Moonstone for fertility, intuition, creative life force and healing.

Money, love, kinship, karmic balance, success in every form—it’s all a green light for you this month, Aquarius. Your sensitivities may peak, you may feel overwhelmed and rightly so—there is a cosmic cocktail brewing with two eclipses and a whole host of other activity thrown in the mix, making it an oh-so-touc month for you emotionally. However, this is nothing adequate restself-carelf care and a consistent self-check-in routine cannot beat. Of course, latent gifts may come online, and you may find yourself trusting yourself and the cosmos no matter what you see on the surface—and although this mastery may not come easy to you, it will be well worth it.

Power Crystal: Peridot, for self-healing and breaking patterns, helping you regain self-trust.

It is a month of heart healing for you, Pisces. And guess what, your heart not only heals but also mends itself in unimaginable ways, giving way to fresh starts, new ideas and willpower that comes through purpose. Your third eye opens, and your intuition and sense of clarity are on fire. You feel the feels and know things you cannot explain, but they eventually play out almost as proof from the cosmos that your guidance was always right. Watch out for signs, synchronicities and symbols—numbers, butterflies, flowers, distinctive leaves, birds or feathers, even coins that fall across your path. They hold messages for you and arrive like a confirmation from the cosmos on your ideas and insight.

Power Crystal: Calcite, for detoxification and rejuvenation.

This is a karmic knot for some, and for some, it is a remembrance of a good time shared. Libra, this month not only activates and heals past life relationships, patterns and fears but also helps you let go of toxic, redundant scripts that keep you tied down for no reason at all. You feel this movement and freedom through your body, as your body may release trapped emotions in the form of an illness or a basic need to move and feel agile. You are reminded that your voice is important—share it lovingly but fearlessly. This is your road to ascension.

Power Crystal: Agate, for healing in layers and getting to the root, fusing you with vitality and health.

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Learning Japanese for fun. Doing the Sunday crossword puzzle for the first time at 30. Taking a ceramics class. Mastering petit point. Joining a book club. What do these activities have in common? They challenge you in new ways, potentially adding years to your brain health.

According to neuroscientists, challenging your brain in novel ways helps with the formation of new neurons—even the ones you feared you’d lost in your reckless twenties. In the book The Atomic Brain, author and researcher Beatriz Larrea explains that the brain can regenerate, and that a stimulating environment favours neurogenesis, or the creation of new neurons. She cites research published in The Lancet showing that cognitive challenge works like a pension plan for the mind: the more stimulation you accumulate over the years, through education or work, the lower the risk of dementia. Conversely, retirement can accelerate cognitive decline by up to 40%, largely due to inactivity. Which is why Larrea insists on curiosity—the habit of learning something new—as the most powerful trigger for keeping the brain alive and adaptive.

Learning and neuroplasticity

“Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to adapt, change, and reorganise itself throughout life,” explains Dr Amaya Manrique of The Beauty Concept in Madrid. “Our neurons can form new connections, strengthen existing ones or even create alternative pathways.”

Our brains form new connections and pathways when we learn something new. “The more you use a pathway, the stronger and faster it becomes. But stop using a pathway and it can disappear, favouring or creating new roads to get to the same pathways,” she explains. “Starting any activity from scratch, with the curiosity of a child, can help our brains create new pathways.”

The state of flow

Think of all those times you’ve started a new hobby or developed a new skill at work. You’re motivated and focused. Nothing can distract you. Time feels like it doesn’t exist. This is called the flow state—and not only does it promote neuroplasticity, it also increases feelings of well-being.

“When we find ourselves immersed in an activity that we really like, one that’s challenging enough not to be boring but not so difficult that it’s frustrating, we enter a state of flow,” explains personal development coach Laura G Ortiz de Zárate. “It happens with tasks that make us lose track of time, that produce creative tension, and in which we have a high level of productivity.”

Balancing the florals was a striking set of oxidised silver jewellery by Sheetal Zaveri. The Rahi ear cuff, adorned with Kamdenu and parrot motifs, became the focal point, while bracelets echoed the avian detailing in sculptural form. A Radhe ring, encrusted with kundan and pearls, tied the accessories together. Kapoor’s beauty look—bold berry lips, softly smoked eyes, and a sleek centre-parted hairdo—amplified the drama further.

What makes Janhvi Kapoor’s ensemble memorable is its versatility. The airy, flowing skirt allows graceful movement, while the richly embroidered blouse adds couture sharpness. Styled with silver accents, it’s a look that works as well for a breezy beachside mehendi as it does for an opulent palace ceremony in the monsoons. For destination celebrations where comfort and elegance must co-exist, this lehenga proves to be an indispensable festive pick.

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For Padma, these living room performances and movie nights with her daughter became a new way of seeing herself as a mother. It made her realise that she could be something beyond just a strict caregiver and disciplinarian, as had been the case in the tight-knit Tamil family she had been raised in. She remembers the advice from one of her aunts, Premi, who once told her, “Yes, you have to tell Krishna to clean her room. But don’t forget to also show her yourself, the way you show us and your friends. You don’t just have to be the authoritarian all the time.”

Heeding her aunt’s words healed something long unacknowledged in Padma. “When Krishna was young, I would put on old YouTube videos of Tina Turner dancing,” she recalls. “Having an excuse to go down those rabbit holes was so much fun because I didn’t always have the time to do these things for myself. So now, I make it a point to do them with Krishna and, in the process, end up experiencing them myself too. That’s one of the best parts of being a parent.”

Our relationship with each other is the biggest part of our lives,” Krishna chimes in, “but so much of our bond comes from us being in sync creatively.” Now that Krishna is long past the tinfoil mic stage, Padma helps her run lines for school plays. Meanwhile, Krishna gives Padma notes on how to sharpen her stand-up routines. (“She’s always telling me, ‘Mom, just use me in your stand-up. I give you permission.’”) On TikTok, they riff off each other’s spice preference (sumac for Padma and za’atar for Krishna) and cook dal tadka and lemon rice together. Sometimes, Krishna enlightens her mum with the latest developments in popculturedom (Labubus, Sydney Sweeney’s Bathwater Bliss), to which Padma reacts with a long-suffering sigh that any parent mystified by their chronically online kid’s slang will instantly recognise. In private, they butt heads over stage directions and dialogue delivery. They critique each other’s work, cheer each other on and have a lot of fun doing both.

The way Krishna sees it, having a famous parent does not earn you extra clout among fellow adolescents in the ruthless social scene of a performing arts school in New York. But one area in which it does come with significant advantages? Her supermodel mum’s enviable collection of archival fashion from the 1990s and 2000s, which the teen gleefully admits to raiding at will. This revelation is received with another lovingly exasperated sigh from Padma, who wryly points out that in keeping with the grand tradition of teenage girls sneering at their mothers’ wardrobes, Krishna had to be told by others that the clothes in her mum’s closet—like the green velvet suit from Tom Ford’s Gucci era and the metallic snakeskin minidress that Padma wore to a Tatler party in 2003—were extremely cool. The shoes Krishna is wearing today? Isabel Marant wedge sneakers that had been gathering dust in Padma’s closet for two decades before they suddenly became the hottest trend amongst Gen Z’ers nostalgic for 2008. The vintage ringer tee she’s wearing? Originally worn by Padma in 1995 during a guerrilla fashion show for the streetwear brand X-girl, orchestrated by none other than Sofia Coppola and Spike Jonze, who hijacked the sidewalk right outside Marc Jacobs’s show to stage something akin to a coup of downtown coolness. “My mother’s whole closet is a time capsule of fashion,” Krishna marvels.

PB: I think the entire store tells our story. It has so many craft elements from Punit Balana. Whether it’s the lights hanging with our stamped coin details or the mirrors that have thikri work inspired by chandi tille ka kaam. Even the gulabi-pink walls tell a story in colour. It was very important for me that the space I curated tell my story.

Vogue India: Which one craft, if you had to pick, feels closest to your heart tonight?

PB: I would say chandi tille ka kaam, because that is the craft that is unique to the brand. When I first started working on Gulaabi Chowk, we created a sari that had this craft. It felt light, but had its own grandeur. From there, this craft became a part of each and every collection that we have showcased.

Vogue India: What makes someone a Punit Balana woman?

PB: Someone who is understated but stands out in a crowd.

Gulshan Sachdeva-(Vidhi Images)

Vogue India: Younger audiences want festive wear that feels lighter and freer. How do you see your work speaking to that shift?

PB: I think then they should all wear Punit Balana because my entire clothing line is fuss-free. All my lehengas, maxis, ghagras—everything is voluminous. They are made to dance. They’re playful. That’s what I think everyone wants to wear nowadays because when they’re getting dressed for an occasion, the thing they don’t want to get weighed down by are these heavyweight lehengas and that’s what our brand stands for.

Vogue India: After this milestone, what comes next? What are you imagining for the next decade of Punit Balana?

PB: I don’t think that I have even imagined coming this far but I do believe in one philosophy: be true to your art, be true to your craft and keep trying new things. This keeps me going when it comes to my work or my personal life.

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