Latest news with #Raghu
Indian Express
18 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
‘If my land is snatched away, I will die by suicide': Devanahalli farmers to intensify protest ahead of meeting with CM Siddaramaiah
With uncertainty staring at him, Raghu M, a farmer from Devanahalli's Gokare Bachchenahalli village, is already contemplating extreme steps if the Karnataka Government goes ahead and acquires his land for the high-tech defence and aerospace sector park in the Bengaluru Rural district. Raghu, 58, is among the farmers protesting against the acquisition of 1,777 acres of land, spread across 13 villages in the Bengaluru Rural district, by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB). Several farmer unions, including the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) and the Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, have threatened to intensify their protest if the government does not drop the project. The affected landowners are expected to meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Friday, July 4, seeking withdrawal of the final notification to acquire their lands. 'Snatching my land means snatching my life' Raghu, who grows sandalwood on his 10-acre land in Gokere Machenahalli, has an annual income of Rs 80,000 and looks after a family of four. Speaking to The Indian Express from the protest site at Freedom Park, Raghu said, 'Snatching away my land means snatching away my life. I have my parents' samadhi (memorial) on the land. I will kill myself near the samadhi, if the government acquires my land. This is the fifth time the government is notifying land for industrial purposes in the Channarayapatna hobli. This is when there is significant underutilisation in at least 40 per cent of land allotted to existing industries by KIADB in the hobli.' Farmers argue that KIADB developed an industrial area spanning 1,282 acres in Phase I of the Haralur Industrial Area in Devanahalli taluk. However, only two companies have set up production units in this area, reportedly suggesting significant underutilisation of the allocated land. They say it is a clear indication of prioritising corporate and vested interests over farmer welfare. Farmers have also warned that depriving them of their agricultural lands will lead to severe disruption of essential supplies to Bengaluru. 'If we lose our agricultural land to industrial projects, Bengaluru will be hit severely. Most of the vegetables and milk for Bengaluru come from Devanahalli taluk, given its proximity to the city,' adds Raghu. 'Will end up with gatekeeping, gardening jobs' Gopinath A S, another protesting farmer from Nallur, is facing hurdles in obtaining a no-objection certificate to install a borewell for irrigation on his 6.5-acre agricultural land. Courtesy: the government's finalisation of the notification for land acquisition. Gopinath, who supports a family of 15, grows ragi in his agricultural field, says, 'The only work I know is agriculture. How am I supposed to support my family and my livelihood when the government is grabbing my land? Despite protests from the farmers for the last 3.5 years, the government still went ahead with the final notification'. He also points out that several landowners who lost their land to previous industrial projects ended up as gardeners or gatekeepers at the factories. 'The government has assured compensation of 10,771 sq ft of developed land per acre. What will farmers with small land parcels do? Especially, those with 1 acre or 2 acres of land. They cannot practise agriculture in a small parcel of land in a village. Eventually, they will end up with gatekeeping and gardening jobs in the factories because they are unskilled and know nothing but agriculture,' adds Gopinath. Another farmer, Yangtamma, who has invested nearly Rs 8-9 lakh in the last five years to grow pomegranate on her 5.5-acre land, is equally worried. 'With the government set to acquire my land, all my investment and hard work will go in vain,' she says. The farmers also point out that nearly 80 per cent of landowners raised objections to the land acquisition process when the government conducted the khata amalgamation three years ago. 'While some families accepted compensation, some families remain undecided,' says Raghu. For public-private partnership projects or private acquisitions, consent from 70-80 per cent of affected landowners is required, in line with the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. Meanwhile, on June 24, the Karnataka Government decided to exclude 495 acres from three villages from land acquisition. However, farmers from these villages are not convinced. Lakshmamma is a farmer from Nallapanahalli, whose village has been excluded from land acquisition. However, she continues to protest and stand in solidarity with other landowners until the government drops the acquisition process. 'We don't trust the government. No land means no job. My entire family is into agriculture. We grow ragi, silk, and vegetables on a 3-acre land parcel. If the government acquires our land, we have nowhere else to go. We don't want to leave our land. Despite our village being excluded, we still want all other villages to be dropped from the acquisition process,' says Lakshmamma. Competing with other states The state government is ambitiously pursuing the high-tech defence and aerospace park to keep up with the intensifying competition from neighbouring states. Tamil Nadu has emerged as a strong competitor with two planned Aerospace and Defence (A&D) parks in Coimbatore — 350 acres at Varapatti and another near Sulur with an airstrip for trials, similar to Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Hyderabad is also a growing A&D hub, with industrial parks like the one in Adibatla hosting companies such as Tata Advanced Systems and Lockheed Martin. Andhra Pradesh has also recently proposed new HAL facilities, sparking debates about potential relocation from Karnataka, though Karnataka retains HAL's core production units in Bengaluru and Tumkur. The state is also developing industrial corridors to attract A&D investments. Additionally, Andhra Pradesh also offers large land parcels at lower costs compared to Karnataka, and its coastal location boosts logistics for exports. Meanwhile, Maharashtra is positioning Nashik as a future A&D hub, with plans for a defence corridor between Nashik and Pune. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently claimed that Maharashtra is attracting significant A&D investments, surpassing established corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. 'The final notification for the acquisition of land in Devanahalli taluk was issued in April 2025, and reversing it now would be highly problematic due to the administrative processes that are already underway. Such a rollback could create a ripple effect, encouraging farmers across Devanahalli and beyond to demand de-notification of their unutilised KIADB lands, disrupting planned industrial development,' a state government official said. Sanath Prasad is a senior sub-editor and reporter with the Bengaluru bureau of Indian Express. He covers education, transport, infrastructure and trends and issues integral to Bengaluru. He holds more than two years of reporting experience in Karnataka. His major works include the impact of Hijab ban on Muslim girls in Karnataka, tracing the lives of the victims of Kerala cannibalism, exploring the trends in dairy market of Karnataka in the aftermath of Amul-Nandini controversy, and Karnataka State Elections among others. If he is not writing, he keeps himself engaged with badminton, swimming, and loves exploring. ... Read More
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
How a 1989 Malayalam film examined the aftermath of the state's repression of a helpless individual
Hours before the evening bus is supposed to arrive, the old man has seated himself at his usual spot, waiting for his son to come home as promised. Raghu, the younger child of Raghavan Chakyar, is a student at an engineering college in a distant town. 'Isn't today the right day?' Raghavan asks his daughter while returning alone from the bus stop for the first time. 'It is probably just a day's delay,' a neighbour tells the old man on the second day that Raghu fails to turn up. On the third day, Raghavan goes to the bus stop in the morning, only to return — once again — alone. 'Did I not tell you the bus won't come in the morning?' comes the gentle chastisement from the boatman who has been ferrying Raghavan to the bus stop. Slowly, over the course of its 110-minute runtime, a terrible absence — a person-shaped hole — takes form at the centre of Shaji N Karun's 'Piravi'. Generally believed to be inspired by the infamous case of the disappearance of P Rajan, a student at the Regional Engineering College Calicut, during the Emergency, 'Piravi' (1989) was Karun's directorial debut. Already a lauded cinematographer, especially for his work with auteur G Aravindan (who also co-composed the music for his protege's debut), Karun won wide acclaim for the Malayalam film, including the Mention D'Honneur – Camera D'Or at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. While the filmmaker denied being inspired by any specific story when making 'Piravi', saying that it was about the wider problem of custodial deaths, the parallels with the Rajan case are undeniable. 'Piravi' is set in 1988, 11 years after the Emergency had ended, but like Raghavan in the film, T V Eachara Warrier had set out on a dogged quest in 1976 to find out what happened to his son, Rajan. His long battle that finally unearthed the awful truth about his son's disappearance — wrongful arrest, torture and death in custody — resulted in one of the most well-known habeas corpus cases in India. It rocked the Kerala government, leading to the resignation of Chief Minister K Karunakaran a month after he led the Congress-led coalition to a landslide victory in the 1977 Assembly election. ALSO READ | Priya Sachdev called Karisma Kapoor-Sunjay Kapur's kids her own, said 'friendship' is the key: 'We have four children' Karun, in 'Piravi', was less interested in the legal and political aspects of the nightmare that Warrier endured, than he was in exploring, through the visual medium, the problem of depicting a disappearance: How do you show someone who is not there? Raghu's is an unfathomable absence and the film, as it delineates the anxiety and grief of the bereaved, takes shape around the vacuum that comes to represent the missing son. The film marks a visual and sonic challenge, masterfully tackled: Like Raghu, the rain announces its arrival — monsoon winds slam doors and windows, waves crash on the beach, the afternoon darkens — only to disappoint. The landscape is suffused with sound, both human and non-human — the gentle gurgling of the river, the susurration of the wind through the reeds, the tick-tock of Raghavan's wristwatch. Yet, what throws these into sharp relief, making each one ring out loud and clear, is the utter silence of the one who never returned home. Many films have been made about that dark period from June 25, 1975, to March 21, 1977, most of them focusing on the political machinations or stories of state repression. As its creator stated, 'Piravi' may not be explicitly about the Emergency, yet few other films have so effectively examined the haunting question of what happens after an episode of state repression. What happens to the ones left behind? Decades after Warrier trudged from pillar to post, desperately seeking out the truth and trying to hold to account those responsible for his son's death, 'Piravi' reminds viewers of other fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, haunted by the disappearance of their loved ones.
Pink Villa
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
5 new Malayalam movies releasing on OTT this week (June 23-29): From Jagadish starrer Pariwar to Mathew Thomas's Lovely
The Malayalam movie front is looking forward to some exciting new movies making their way to OTT platforms. From hearty entertainers to nail-biting thrillers, these films promise to surprise audiences from every angle. If you're on the lookout to add some new Mollywood films to your watchlist, don't miss out on these 5 Malayalam movies releasing on OTT this week. Pariwar Cast: Jagadish, Indrans, Rajendran, Alexander Prasanth, Sohan Seenulal Genre: Comedy drama Release date: March 7, 2025 Streaming on: Prime Video The storyline revolves around a man named Bhaskara Pillai who lies on his deathbed while his four sons focus on the diamond ring stuck on his finger. The children are fixated on who gets to earn the prized possession as the family patriarch is on the verge of passing away. The film focuses on each of the children and their lives, giving a critique of their own realities, which makes them so fixated on bagging the wealth all by themselves. Eleven Eleven is set against the dark streets of Vizag where a lifeless body is set to fire by an anonymous person in the shadows. This act is then followed by a series of murders specifically targetting twins, which leads to the case being taken up by the talented ACP named Aravind. How he dives into the case amid misleading clues, false witnesses and a whole lot of challenges forms the crux of the film. Azadi Cast: Sreenath Bhasi, Raveena Ravi, Lal, Vani Vishwanath, Saiju Kurup Genre: Action thriller Release date: May 23, 2025 Streaming on: Manorama Max, Sun NXT The plot of Azadi is set within the walls of a medical college where a pregnant protagonist Ganga is admitted ahead of giving birth to her child. She is imprisoned for being the prime accused in the murder of a politician's son. Amid all of it, her husband Raghu concocts a deadly plan to attempt a prison break for his wife. Will he be able to succeed in his plans or will walls close in for Ganga and Raghu as they run a possibility of being nabbed by the authorities? Only time will tell. something unexpected and catastrophic. As the groom-to-be reunites with his friends for one last hurrah before his wedding, they meet with a deadly accident which shackles them to the very core. However, things complicate shortly as they are interrupted by a woman from their past connection, who shares a common link between all of them. Lovely Cast: Mathew Thomas, Unnimaya Prasad, Manoj K Jayan, Baburaj, Joemon Genre: Romantic fantasy Release date: May 16, 2025 Streaming on: Prime Video The storyline of Lovely revolves around unexpected circumstances when a young man forms a strange friendship with a talking housefly. Their bonding happens when he gets 14 days imprisonment in a jail in Canada after insulting a woman at work. After he walks out free, the man continues with his unusual friendship with the fly while leaving others in surprise.
Time of India
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
It is a criminal offence for a musician not to be prolific: Raghu Dixit
Raghu Dixit in Kolkata on Saturday Raghu Dixit prefers the open-air area of the cafe we were meeting at – because the 'reverberations are too strong' inside. In the city for a gig-and-leave visit, the Mysore Se Aya man is comfortable under the cloudy Kolkata skies, sipping on his Darjeeling tea and speaking about music, his meeting with Usha Uthup in the morning, and why he doesn't own a car and still prefers to ride a scooter through Bengaluru traffic. Excerpts from the chat: A file pic of Raghu performing at a university in Kolkata An indie artiste needs 1,000 fans. If they come to all your gigs, listen to your music, buy your merch, you're sorted – rent `20k, petrol `3k, mobile bill `1.5k. How much more do you need? Throughout the chat with Calcutta Times, Raghu's down-to-earth persona shines through. He knows how to keep it real. For 25 years now, the reason why Raghu's music connects with thousands is exactly this –zero artifice. Read on… Tell us about your upcoming release… We just released Shakkar, which was a studio production, but somewhere I felt we should also record and release a live version of the same. So we hired an auditorium, created a living room set, and just played all-acoustic versions of the eight songs, just the four of us (in the band). We recorded and shot live. That should be coming out sometime in end-July or August. Post that we also want to immediately get into a session where the whole band comes together and performs Shakkar the way we do live. I feel the energy of that live album will be very different from the studio one. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Turn Nervous Into Natural – Book a Free Demo Today Planet Spark Book Now Undo That is an interesting take on videos… I feel it is a waste of time and money to produce separate music videos. Our mainstay has always been being a great live act, and even our videos should project that. These two projects, then, are the primary release plans for the year? The whole year is being chalked out for that. At the same time, the idea is to travel the world, to keep collaborating, with or without my band; the idea is to keep making new songs with new musicians, to keep releasing them. I have wasted too much time – the last album before Shakkar was in 2013. I think it's a criminal offence for a musician to not be prolific (laughs)! The idea is to churn out six albums over the next two years, let's see! Tell us about Home… Home is a project where I have travelled to meet musicians displaced by war; artistes who have lost their homes and cultural identities. The idea is to collaborate with them on the basis of two questions: one, what does home mean to them, now; and two, after having gone through that terrible crisis, why do they want to wake up and make music every day? Has their relationship with music changed? Has their purpose changed? Has yours, as a songwriter? Yes. Shakkar was written at a phase in my life when I wanted to die every day. If you listen carefully to it, you will realise it's an anti-suicide album; it saved my life, making music with John Paul (The Raghu Dixit Project guitarist and Kolkata-based musician) saved my life. So my purpose of making music changed. At least from this song, I have tried to make songs that make someone feel worthy, loved & strong. My real journey as a musician starts now. All these years, it was practice, maybe, for this moment. From (banjo legend) Bela Fleck to Rajesh Vaidya to (UK folksters) Bellowhead to (sarod stalwart) Soumik Datta — you have always thrived in collaborations. Has songwriting been primarily a collaborative process for you? Always! It'd be a shame if I claimed all my music as mine alone. All my songs are my personal stories; I am very bad with imagination. I don't think I have written a single song completely on my own, I have always stood on the shoulders of great musicians who have made me and those stories look tall and beautiful (laughs). What is your take on the future of independent music in India? I am completely against the doomsday idea of independent music; I think there will always be an audience for good, honest music, no matter the genre or language. Let's get real: as an independent artiste, you need a thousand fans. If those thousand fans come to your every gig, listen to all your music, buy all your merch, you're sorted – rent `20k, petrol `3k, mobile bill `1.5k. How much more do you need? Having a cone ice-cream on the streetside is so much better than going to a fancy ice cream parlour and eating cold ice-cream in a cold room (laughs)! Raghu Dixit with Usha Uthup at her Kolkata residence On a possible collaboration with Usha Uthup Usha ji told me, 'Darling, you must come visit me,' and when I did, she gifted me a beautiful gamcha stole,' says Raghu. Talking about collaborating with Usha Uthup, he adds 'We've locked in three songs to work on over the next few weeks. The moment I walked in, she asked her assistant to start filming. I joked, 'You're acting like Gen Z!' and she laughed, 'Raghu, I am the Gen Z in Gen Z!'' Quotes: Getting separate music videos for albums is a waste of time & money. I feel, the energy of a live album will be different I have come to realise that there's really no such thing as a perfect song. People either like it or they don't, and that's just how it is. It took me 25 years of my career to understand that I am against the doomsday idea of independent music. I think there will always be an audience for good, honest music, no matter the genre or language
Time of India
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Gamerlog Season 1 Review: A predictable esports drama that fails to hit the high score
Story: Raghu (Darsheel Safary), a small-town boy from Surat, gets a life-changing chance to join a pro esports team in Mumbai and compete in the elite Tournament of Champions. Can he rise to the challenge and turn his gaming dream into reality? Review: In an era where digital dreams and online fame are fast becoming a generational aspiration, Gamerlog steps in to tell the story of one such dreamer. With a unique gaming backdrop and a strong emotional thread, this six-part series attempts to blend ambition, rebellion, and the evolving world of Indian esports. But despite its earnestness, the show falters in execution, delivering a lukewarm narrative that never fully taps into its potential. The plot revolves around Raghu aka Maverick (Safary), a quiet but skilled gamer from Surat who rebels against his conservative parents' IIT dreams to pursue his own path in Mumbai's burgeoning esports scene. There, he joins 'Team Gamerlog,' led by the determined Joanna (Anjali Sivaraman), whose own journey to gaming stardom is mired in personal and professional challenges. Along with team members Lalit (Chetan Dhawan), Jaggi (Chinmay Chandraunshuh), Saurabh (Shubroy Chowdhury), and Mahesh (Akash Menon), they battle both external rivals and internal conflicts, all culminating in their big break: The Tournament of Champions, India's most coveted esports event. Directed by debutant Arya Deo and written by Karmanaya Ahuja, the show ambitiously aims to go beyond surface-level gaming tropes and delve into the emotional arcs of its young characters. Unfortunately, while the intention is admirable, the treatment is far too formulaic. The conflicts are predictable, the character arcs familiar, and the interpersonal dynamics never quite evolve into something truly engaging. The pacing feels uneven, and despite the high-stakes gaming setup, the emotional stakes rarely resonate deeply. Performance-wise, Gamerlog does have its moments. Darsheel Safary delivers a grounded and relatable performance as Raghu, capturing both his vulnerability and determination with sincerity. Anjali Sivaraman brings an understated charisma to Joanna, though her character remains underwritten in key emotional beats. The ensemble cast – Chetan Dhawan, Chinmay Chandraunshuh, Saurabh Shubroy Chowdhury, and Akash Menon – put in decent efforts, but the team chemistry never quite clicks. Kunal Bhan as the rival team leader and Joanna's former flame adds some tension, though it never escalates into anything truly gripping. Visually, the series does attempt to capture the vibrancy of gaming tournaments and digital life, but it often relies on clichéd montages and underwhelming game sequences. The emotional transitions feel forced at times, and the show struggles to balance the competitive thrills with the depth it wants to portray. In conclusion, Gamerlog is a decent one-time watch, particularly for Gen Z viewers who may find pockets of relatability in its themes of rebellion and digital ambition. But beyond that, it lacks the storytelling sharpness and emotional depth to truly stand out in the coming-of-age or sports drama genres. A show about chasing dreams should ideally soar—but here, it barely gets off the ground.
