DUBAI MAKES THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE

Actress was at Dubai Mall, weighing in on gold vs diamonds, while radiating something far more valuable: warmth

- By Manjusha Radhakrishnan

Here are celebrities who glide through a photo call like a choreographed red-carpet drill - and then there are the rare ones who pause, listen, smile, and make even a one-minute encounter feel oddly personal. Jessica Chastain belongs firmly in the second category.

The Oscar winner was in Dubai this week for the opening of a luxury jewellery boutique, Damiani, at Dubai Mall, and even in a tightly timed, high-security launch, she somehow managed to radiate something far more valuable than diamonds: warmth.

BEING HUMAN

There was a moment, just before the cameras rolled, that captured her spirit more clearly than any flashbulb could. As we figured out where to look — the lens or each other — I suggested we just talk face to face. Chastain smiled instantly.

"I'm so glad we're actually talking to each other," she said. "Looking into people's eyes." Then, almost as an aside, she added, "I love the energy that you bring."

It wasn't performative. She didn't have to say it. But she did — and it stayed with me.