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Hindustan Times
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Can we leave the arts alone?
The nature of politics which spares nothing neither pauses to ponder deeply for drawing conclusions Despite Diljit and his team having clarified that the movie was shot much before the Pahalgam incident, there are reports that his Indian passport may get cancelled and he may be replaced in multi-starrer, Border 3, to be led by Sunny Deol. (HT File Photo) The other day as I came across Diljit Dosanjh being criticised by netizens (and later also by several media houses) for having worked with Pakistani actress Hania Amir in his latest film, Saradarji 3 – I was suddenly reminded of Coke Studio's Piya Piya Calling song released last year. I listened to it for the first time in Oslo, Norway just some months ago –thanks to my cousin, Bikramdeep Pannu, also my host, who proudly introduced me as I was enjoying the ride in his car in downtown Oslo. 'The song I am going to play now is a rare creation. It's no usual romantic number as it brought together many Norwegian artists with roots in different parts of the world and therefore you will notice many languages rolling out, from Urdu and Persian to Gujarati and Hindi besides Norwegian. To create the song, all artists had flown to Karachi, Pakistan which brought a beautiful result,' he said so enthusiastically. 'When the song was released, Norwegian media lauded it. It was also screened in the City Hall of Oslo where the Alfred Nobel Peace Prize is also given every December. The local administration wanted to show that art of any kind is the best way to keep people connected, whatever culture they may be from.' As the song played, I felt so global. The very same day, I also watched the documentary on its making and noticed the joy of the team, especially the multi-cultural connect they felt and the clear intention of touching the hearts of their audience, irrespective of their country or religion. And, I believe the same is the joy when actors from different countries collaborate for work. Saradarji 3 is no exception but as we all know its release got sadly shelved in India due to the political heat created for a Pakistani actress playing one of the leading roles in it. Despite Diljit and his team having clarified that the movie was shot much before the Pahalgam incident, there are reports that his Indian passport may get cancelled and he may be replaced in multi-starrer, Border 3, to be led by Sunny Deol. And, so much more, which must have shattered Diljit personally and his film's team which eagerly awaited its release. It's of course, not the first instance, when an actor or a movie has been targeted, whenever India –Pakistan relations soured and such episodes will pop up also in the future. Thanks to the nature of politics that spares nothing neither pauses to ponder deeply for drawing conclusions. Art - be it cinema, music or literature, on the other hand unites people and not divides. It builds bridges. Art awakens people and not blinds them. Its intention is far above the intention of politics because it doesn't see any borders but love and unity. Or simply entertainment. Thankfully, some places of the world organise festivals with an aim to unite people hailing from different communities. Take, Alberta's 'Heritage Festival' organised every August in Edmonton, where different world communities settled in Alberta come together to present their food, music and dances. I attended it in 2017 and remember that stages and stalls of India and Pakistan were neighbours of each other. I loved noticing the harmony between the members of the 'parted brothers' as many call them. The entire experience felt like a world tour with unity as the chief theme. Coming back to Diljit Dosanjh, author Chetan Bhagat recently expressed quite thoughtfully on the issue. 'It's unfair to go against him as he is an artist who is just doing his work. The movie was made before any tension between India and Pakistan and Diljit may not also be involved in casting at all. Not allowing someone's movie release is not fair. He and his team have also apologised for taking the Pakistani actress. And, let's not forget that it's not Diljit's movie alone as more than 300 people must have worked for it, from song writers to costume designers,' he said, adding:'Most importantly, we should ensure safety for our country but for that we don't have to hate anyone. Filling ourselves with hatred will take us nowhere.' Hamza Mahzar, my cousin's friend in Oslo, who migrated from Lahore, sent me this message on Instagram soon after the public's rage against him. 'The concept of patriotism is also misunderstood in the minds of people in the subcontinent. True patriotism is not following the opinion of politicians and political gurus but thinking what is best for us. And the best thing is peace, prosperity and harmony,' he wrote. Lastly, just one reminder: can we leave arts alone? Even the shadow of politics' 'P' disturbs it. (The writer is an Amritsar-based freelance contributor)
The Hindu
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Kaushiki Chakraborty and Shantanu Moitra to launch their new music series Pankh on July 11
The idea came on a boat in Benaras. While music director Shantanu Moitra and renowned Hindustani vocalist Kaushiki Chakraborty were shooting for the song 'Bhagirathi' from the 2022 series Songs Of The River – Ganga, they realised that looking at land from a river offered a different view. The composer says, 'I thought it could make a great concept for a story. One thing led to another, and we felt we could actually create songs and also tell the stories behind them.' The result is Pankh, an album-cum-web series. It contains six songs sung by Kaushiki over six episodes, which also have her explaining what and who inspired the songs, and how they were created. The series will be released on her YouTube channel and will mark Shantanu's debut as director and Kaushiki as lyricist. 'Baithi Hoon', the first track of Pankh is written by her. The last one, 'Tarana', has also been penned by Kaushiki with help from Delhi-based lyricist Abhipsha Deb. The other songs have been written by Swanand Kirkire, Abhipsha and Tanveer Ghazi. Pankh is being launched with a concert at Mumbai's Royal Opera House on July 11. According to Kaushiki, a 12-city tour is being planned, with some shows in the U.S. later. Shantanu says he has been thinking of recording something elaborate with Kaushiki ever since they collaborated on the song 'Lagi lagi' in MTV Coke Studio Season 2. 'That was more than 12 years ago. As a composer, I knew I could do a lot of things with her voice. We both had ideas on what to do next but couldn't proceed because of our busy schedules. But when we shot 'Bhagirathi' on a boat along with violinist Ambi Subramaniam in the middle of the night, the idea of doing an album occurred.' Shantanu says his experience of working in films with directors Shyam Benegal, Sudhir Mishra and Vidhu Vinod Chopra made him believe all art needs perspective. He adds, 'I didn't want to just put these songs out, I wanted to tell a story. That is where the idea of a web series came from. On a lighter note, because we didn't have budgets, I became the director myself.' Kaushiki points out that Pankh has given her a totally new vision of art. 'Coke Studio was a totally different experience for me because I come from an environment of tanpuras, sarangis, gurus, sishyas, taleem and riyaaz. But one thing I have been taught is to be a good student. If I am put in a new space, I am willing to learn. When Shantanu came up with this idea, I was ready to do something new.' The singer says that moving from a individual space, she began to understand how a group of musicians can have fun and learn from each other while creating music. 'I realised there is no right or wrong in music. It's about expressing yourself and finding your true narrative. If music is a language, the language on its own is not complete. We learn the what and how of music, but not the why. It's in this why of music that we discover many stories. The six songs are about different subjects, but are about things that Shantanu and I have experienced.' The track 'Baithi Hoon' is an outcome of one of Shantanu's visit to Kashmir. 'He met a poet there, whose wife kept staring at anyone who came home. This was because their son had gone missing and nobody knew about his fate. Moved by their plight, Shantanu composed a tune inspired by thumri. Though I had never written a song, I decided to write this one after listening to Shantanu's experience,' says Kaushiki. The song 'Nayi bhor', penned by Abhipsha, is a tribute to four musicians who have inspired the singer — her guru and the legendary tabla artiste Jnan Prakash Ghosh, tabla wizard Ustad Zakir Hussain and Shubhankar Banerjee, also a tabla exponent, and vocalist Rashid Khan. The third episode is about the bond she shares with her father and guru Ajoy Chakrabarty. It is told as a story and leads to the song 'Mere suron mein', written by Tanveer Ghazi. In the fourth episode, Kaushiki talks about her son Rishith, and how she approaches both motherhood and her role as a guru, leading to the Swanand Kirkire-penned 'Chand sakha re'. The last two episodes are about Shantanu's approach to composing, summed up in a complex piece he has created. Pankh features Rickraj Nath on the guitar, Rahul Wadhwani and Archit Shah on the keyboards, Mehtab Ali Niazi on the sitar, ID Rao on the saxophone, Ralph Menezes on the bass, Pratik Srivatsva on the sarod, Vaibhav Wavikar on the drums, Sridhar Parthasarathy on the mridangam and Khurram Ali Niazi on the tabla. Smit Ruparel is the sound engineer. As a director, Shantanu says he kept an open script for each episode. 'I wasn't dealing with actors. So while I had an idea of how each episode should be shot, I let the musicians be as they normally are while recording. Some things happened impromptu. I was more like a shepherd who said this is the direction we can take, and this is the route we should avoid.' Kaushiki says some of the episodes are autobiographical since it's about the life she has lived so far and the way she foresees it.
The Print
24-06-2025
- Business
- The Print
Jaishankar's laser eyes meme hides how India blinded itself on crypto
The irony is stark: Jaishankar symbolises a state apparatus deeply suspicious of crypto. India's discomfort was clearly demonstrated in 2018 when Unocoin launched India's first Bitcoin ATM . Though technically not illegal, the machine was bold in timing and was swiftly shut down, and both co-founders were arrested on baseless charges. They were ultimately acquitted , but only after enduring two and a half years navigating India's notoriously slow courts. The arrests sent a chilling message: legality didn't matter, and innovation, particularly technology rooted in decentralisation and autonomy, was unwelcome. The laser eyes meme, initially a symbol for Bitcoin maximalism—'laser ray until 100K'—was popularised by crypto enthusiasts in early 2021. Over time, it evolved into a broader emblem of intensity and dominance, appearing in unexpected contexts, including Indian nationalist memes featuring Foreign Minister S Jaishankar. When asked about his laser-eyed depictions, Jaishankar simply remarked that it was ' a bit weird '. There are few things that irk Indians more than being upstaged by Pakistan, or even hearing such a claim, however dubious. An occasional Pakistani win in cricket triggers a wave of national grief. Rarely, Indians might comfortably acknowledge instances of Pakistani superiority, such as their Coke Studio. But these moments remain anomalies. In recent times, even memes have become arenas where these tensions play out symbolically. Bitcoin itself arose in direct response to centralised economic control. Sometime after the 2008 financial crisis, pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto proposed a decentralised financial alternative, a libertarian defiance against traditional banking. Bitcoin maximalists still reject the term 'crypto,' viewing Bitcoin as the only truly valuable digital asset. Yet, many crypto initiatives claim descent from Bitcoin's original ethos of decentralisation, autonomy, and freedom from oversight, albeit to varying degrees. Also read: India doesn't understand crypto enough to pass regulatory law. Here's all you need to know A brief history of crypto in India India's regulatory history with crypto underscores its centralised impulses. In April 2018, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a circular directing banks to stop servicing crypto exchanges, effectively blocking banking access for crypto businesses and forcing many to shut down. In March 2020, the Supreme Court of India overturned this circular, ruling the RBI action 'disproportionate' and restored banking ties to crypto platforms. However, the relief was short-lived. In the 2022 Union Budget, the government labelled cryptocurrencies as 'virtual digital assets' and introduced a flat 30 per cent tax on crypto profits, with no deductions or loss offsets allowed. A 1 per cent TDS on transfers (above threshold limits) took effect from July 1, 2022. As of the 2025 Budget, crypto tax rules remain unchanged, and mandatory reporting requirements for digital-asset transactions under Schedule VDA will be implemented in FY 2025–26. The net effect was devastating: crypto exchanges dried up, entrepreneurs relocated abroad, and Indian exchanges saw up to 97% of its crypto volume flee. The 2022 tax regime's treatment of crypto like gambling winnings with a 30% flat tax and no loss offsets, combined with ongoing regulatory uncertainty, created a hostile environment that drove away innovation. Many Indians missed out on significant wealth creation opportunities during recent crypto rallies, leaving them relatively poorer than global peers who benefited from more favourable policies. The government's paranoia about losing control trumped basic fiscal sense: India chose to lose Rs 6,000 crore in tax revenue rather than create a business-friendly crypto framework, with projections showing an additional Rs 17,700 crore loss over five years. Further reinforcing centralisation, India introduced the e-rupee, its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Designed with tight controls, including caps on wallet sizes and restrictions on usage and the capability to place limits on where money can be spent, CBDCs could enable mass surveillance. It represents centralised control masquerading as digital innovation. In stark contrast stands the United States under Donald Trump. In January 2025, Trump explicitly banned U.S. agencies from launching a CBDC, calling it a threat to 'individual privacy.' He instead created a strategic Bitcoin reserve, a 'Digital Fort Knox,' embracing Bitcoin as a sovereign asset. Also read: Why is Pakistan going all out on crypto? There's a Donald Trump angle Pakistan's strategic positioning vs India's missed opportunity Pakistan's crypto announcements at Bitcoin 2025 conference reveal a calculated geopolitical gambit rather than genuine policy innovation. The Las Vegas spectacle, complete with promises of Bitcoin reserves and 2,000 MW for mining, represents textbook diplomatic positioning aimed at currying favor with the Trump administration's crypto-friendly stance. This strategy became particularly evident through the Pakistan Crypto Council's Letter of Intent with World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a US-based firm reportedly 60% owned by Donald Trump's sons, Eric and Donald Jr., and son-in-law Jared Kushner. Donald Trump himself is listed as 'Chief Crypto Advocate' on WLFI's homepage, prominently featuring his portrait. Pakistan's Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Crypto and Blockchain, Bilal Bin Saqib, made these headline-grabbing announcements, crafting a narrative perfectly aligned with Trump's 'Digital Fort Knox' vision. Adding further credibility to their crypto strategy, Pakistan appointed Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao, co-founder of Binance (the world's largest crypto exchange), as a strategic advisor to the Pakistan Crypto Council. This move signalled Pakistan's ability to attract top-tier crypto talent and expertise while demonstrating serious intent to international markets. Even the high priest of bitcoin, Michael Saylor, explicitly endorsed Pakistan's strategic move and offered to help Pakistan build a bitcoin reserve. The performative nature of these announcements was further underscored by domestic contradictions: shortly after the Bitcoin 2025 conference, Pakistani officials clarified that cryptocurrency remains illegal under current regulations in Pakistan. Meanwhile, India remained passive, treating crypto policy as a purely domestic regulatory matter rather than recognising its geopolitical dimensions. Policy warfare: Pakistan's strategic use of India's failures Perhaps the most damaging aspect of Pakistan's crypto diplomacy isn't what they promised to build, but how they systematically weaponised India's policy failures on the global stage. In a March 2025 Bloomberg interview, Pakistan Crypto Council CEO Bilal Bin Saqib explicitly used India as a cautionary tale: ' we've seen this mistake before. India putting a 30% tax on the crypto trades drastically reduced the exchange volume. Our approach will be different.' Pakistan positioned itself as having learned from India's regulatory missteps, promising a more business-friendly framework when they implement their own crypto policies. This was Pakistan's crypto minister, on one of the world's most influential financial platforms, telling international investors that Pakistan would avoid India's 'mistakes.' However, the ambitious international announcements faced a bitter reality check at home. Just days after Bilal Bin Saqib's high-profile Bitcoin 2025 presentation, Pakistani officials told their National Assembly that 'the use of crypto currencies was illegal and anyone dealing in these currencies was liable to be investigated.' The Finance Secretary confirmed that 'the work on the crypto currencies is at a very, very preliminary stage' with no legal framework in place, while the Pakistan Crypto Council itself was operating only 'under executive orders of the prime minister' without legal backing. Pakistan's own central bank maintained that crypto trading and holding remained illegal under 2018 instructions. Meanwhile, India's response to changing global dynamics remained stubbornly inward-looking. When recently asked whether India might reconsider its restrictive crypto stance given America's shift towards a more crypto-friendly policy, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman encapsulated India's strategic blindness by responding, 'We are India. I will think about India.' The information warfare proved effective despite implementation uncertainties. Pakistan successfully pitched itself as the regional alternative to India's restrictive approach, even while their own regulatory framework remained non-existent. International crypto firms began viewing Pakistan as potentially more crypto-friendly than India, despite Pakistan's current legal prohibition and India's established (though heavily taxed) framework. Even Indian government advisors recognized the competitive threat, warning that 'Indians' financial data falling into the hands of Pakistani entities' was a national security concern. Diplomatic theatre that worked Pakistan's crypto diplomacy achieved concrete results that went far beyond ceremonial announcements. The World Liberty Financial delegation, led by Zachary Witkoff (son of Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff), met with Pakistan's highest levels of leadership: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Army Chief General Asim Munir, and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar. This wasn't just business networking—it was full-fledged diplomatic engagement facilitated at the military level. The diplomatic windfall extended to Washington, where Bilal Bin Saqib met with over a dozen key U.S. government officials and lawmakers, including Senators Cynthia Lummis, Bill Hagerty, and Rick Scott. Pakistan's broader messaging was deliberate and aspirational. As Saqib had emphasized in meetings back home, '[PCC] exists because our youth demand a seat at the global tech table,' stressing that digital finance and decentralisation offer opportunities, not threats. Pakistan was engaging with senators who had authored key crypto legislation, while India remained absent from these conversations entirely. The contrast reveals a fundamental strategic blindness: Pakistan postured with promises it cannot deliver yet gained influence in Washington, while India, with actual power surplus, superior infrastructure, and genuine capabilities, imposed crippling taxes and restrictions on its own sector. Substance was penalised, while theatre was rewarded. The broader stakes Pakistan's approach offers India a strategic lesson, not a policy template. Recognising crypto's geopolitical dimensions and leveraging India's genuine capabilities is essential. India possesses the fundamentals Pakistan lacks: power surplus status with negligible deficit (0.1% in FY 2024-25), peak demand management exceeding 240 GW, sophisticated financial infrastructure, massive tech talent pools, and a stable economy. Where Pakistan promises 2,000 MW for mining while dealing with chronic energy shortages, India could actually deliver at scale. Rather than reactive regulation focused on control, India should pursue proactive engagement that positions the country as an indispensable partner in the global digital asset ecosystem. Countries like the UAE and Switzerland demonstrate success by embracing openness rather than suffocating innovation. India's pathway to progress is not through surveillance and tight controls but by stepping aside and allowing innovation to flourish. The stakes extend far beyond technological leadership. Recent weaponisation of SWIFT sanctions and economic conflicts suggest that the continued dominance of the U.S. dollar as the global reserve currency is not guaranteed. By proactively embracing crypto, India could strategically position itself within an emerging multipolar financial order, safeguarding its financial sovereignty and economic competitiveness. Even the United States, by establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve, appears to be hedging against this potential shift, ensuring it remains economically dominant and influential regardless of how global finance evolves. India's current crypto restrictions risk sidelining the country from this strategic positioning precisely when financial sovereignty matters most. While other nations are building crypto capabilities as potential alternatives to existing systems, India's restrictive approach could leave it dependent on whatever financial architecture others construct. The ultimate irony Ultimately, the meme with Jaishankar's laser eyes reveals a deeper story, not about the man himself, but about India's uneasy relationship with innovation, autonomy, and the decentralised future. Pakistan's crypto announcements gained international attention through a well-coordinated influence campaign that included partnership opportunities with Trump family businesses, high-level diplomatic engagement, and systematic positioning as an emerging crypto power. Yet the particular irony stung: here was Pakistan's crypto minister on Bloomberg, publicly criticising India's crypto policies as 'mistakes' to avoid, while India's own foreign minister was being memed with laser eyes – the very symbol of bitcoin enthusiasm. The broader lesson extends beyond crypto: India must recognise that in a multipolar world, domestic policy decisions have international consequences that can be weaponised by strategic rivals. The laser eyes were supposed to represent strength and intensity. Instead, they became a symbol of blinded vision: projecting power while systematically undermining the very capabilities that could have made that projection real. Ajay Mallareddy is co-founder of Hyderabad-based Centre for Liberty. His X handle is @IndLibertarians. Views are personal. (Edited by Prashant)
Hindustan Times
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Get to know... Akshath Acharya
Currently I am: A full-time artist, producer, performer and singer-songwriter. High point in life: When life steered me towards music, right after college. Low point in life: Those days when I don't feel creative, overthink or feel stagnant. On my playlist: Ishq, by Donn Bhat; anything by John Mayer; Coke Studio. One thing I would never buy: Chicken wings or pizza. Today I'm craving: Grilled chicken. Last thing I ordered online: A hummus and chicken wrap. App I check before going to bed: YouTube. Advice I'd give my 18-year-old self: People will try to convince you there's only one path to a good life, that not following it means you're doomed. But life has a weird way of nudging you toward what you're meant to do. Believe in yourself and keep showing up. My favourite subject in school: History. I'd swipe right on: An accurate Google Maps ETA in Mumbai. My secret skill is: I am decent at chess. I'm also becoming quite the barista. A superpower/magic tool I wish I had: The ability to fall asleep instantly. My favourite Sunday memory: Brewing coffee on a slow Sunday morning, watching a great match and then gaming on PS5 for the rest of the day. My most star-struck moment: Seeing a Nissan Skyline GTR R34 for the first time at an auto show at age nine. My favourite bad habit: Coffee. If I could travel back or forward in time: I'd pass. I'm doing my best to stay grounded in the present. The best thing about fame: The constant validation does feel nice. The worst thing about fame: You really feel it when that validation dips even slightly. From HT Brunch, June 14, 2025 Follow us on
Hindustan Times
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Sonu Kakkar says ‘love is the answer' as she reunites with siblings Neha Kakkar, Tony Kakkar a month after cutting ties
In April, singer Sonu Kakkar took to social media to announce that she was cutting ties with her siblings Neha Kakkar and Tony Kakkar. However, she deleted the post soon after. Now, the singer seems to have buried the hatchet, as she reunited with her siblings to celebrate their parents' anniversary. (Also Read: Neha Kakkar would send money to elder siblings Sonu, Tony Kakkar from Rishikesh while they were struggling in Mumbai) On Sunday, Neha Kakkar took to Instagram and shared several pictures from the intimate yet grand celebration of their parents' anniversary at their home. In a couple of the photos, her sister Sonu was also seen posing with the family for a sweet group picture. Tony Kakkar was seen holding her close in one of the images as she smiled for the camera. Sharing the photos and videos, Neha captioned the post, 'What a night!!!!! 🫶🏼', to which Sonu replied, 'Indeed ❤️.' A post shared by Neha Kakkar (@nehakakkar) Fans expressed happiness at seeing the siblings reunite. One of the comments read, 'Happy to see these siblings together again.' Another said, 'This celebration is as beautiful as their bond!' Some users, however, questioned whether Sonu's earlier post about cutting ties was merely for attention. Shortly after Neha's post, Sonu also took to Instagram and shared a story that read, 'Love is the answer!' In the now-deleted post on X, Sonu had written, 'Deeply devastated to inform you all that I am no longer a SISTER to the two talented Superstars, Tony Kakkar and Neha Kakkar. This decision of mine comes from a place of deep emotional pain, and I am truly disheartened today 🙏.' Sonu is a singer and the elder sister of Neha and Tony Kakkar. One of her most popular songs is Madari, which she performed on Coke Studio with Vishal Dadlani. She has also done playback singing for various films, including songs like Babuji Zara Dheere Chalo in Dum, Sayonee in Sandwich, Bareilly Ke Bazaar Mein in Jail, Yeh Kasoor in Jism 2, and London Thumakda in Queen, among others. She has served as a judge on singing reality shows such as Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Punjabi and Indian Idol 12.
