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News18
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Maayakoothu Movie Review: A Brilliant Case For Relentless Optimism Amid Ruin
Last Updated: When an egoistic writer creates tragic stories that are borderline sadistic, the characters begin to haunt him and demand he do right by them. Vasan (Nagarajan Kannan), an egotistical writer with a god complex, makes a living by writing stories for a small magazine. He avoids mainstream magazines, citing the lack of freedom. Even his magazine's editor (Delhi Ganesan) calls magazine stories a dying art. But Vasan is adamant and relentless. His resolve is also seen in his writing and his choice of creating tragic stories where the oppressed and people on the fringes of society get tortured. Parallel to Vasan's narrative, we get three other narratives, and it takes a while to understand that the three stories are by Vasan. One is about a gangster, Dhanapal (Sai Dheena), on the precipice of finishing his 50th murder assignment. The second one has Selvi (Aishwarya Raghupathi), a domestic worker struggling to make money for her son's school fees, and the third is another tragic tale of an aspiring doctor, the daughter of a poor farmer, who doesn't have the means to attempt the NEET exam. All three stories teem with archetypal tropes of poverty and oppression that cater to a particular gaze of society. Vasan has an air of superiority while weaving their stories of torture, but his characters start tormenting him, demanding he write more responsibly. He claims his characters are after his life, and thus begins a maze of a story where the lines of reality blur. AR Ragavendra does a splendid job in the way he unravels the different arcs, and he is effective in making you root for his characters instantly. Within minutes, we see ourselves wanting Selvi out of her fix. There is a sustained anxiety watching these painful stories unfold, which, in turn, makes us detest Vasan. However, beyond his ego, Vasan also justifies his stories of cynicism, where the poor and oppressed have no hope of recovery. 'Only one in a million succeed, and we create an illusion of hope based on that," he argues to his mentor. Yet, as the story unravels and reaches its crescendo, it reveals the need for relentless optimism in the face of hopelessness. A particular scene involving an auto driver is an example of the brilliant depth of Maayakoothu. The driver, another creation of Vasan, puts forth an incredible point about how the common narrative of society can be changed by individuals. The film argues for a fair representation of people, even if it is absent in reality. While Vasan wants to reflect the painful reality in his stories, AR Ragavendra and the film's writer, M. Srinivasan, argue for conscious creators and creations that would inspire hope. It is rather a radical perspective, and it is up to the viewers to agree or protest against its message. However, Maayakoothu succeeds in how it makes its argument. The film is a largely entertaining drama with suspense that is maintained till the end. The elements of fantasy—of characters coming to life—are handled with mature dexterity. It could all be happening in Vasan's head, or they could be real. Either way, the film makes for an engrossing watch. Added to its merit are the performances of almost all the actors. Nagarajan Kannan is infuriating as Vasan, and that's a major win. Most often, it is a risk to have a hateable protagonist, but the constant self-aware humour relieves such tension, and you begin to see Vasan as a tortured soul rather than a sadistic writer. Maayakoothu is another example of how indie filmmakers and small-budget films reach greater heights of storytelling and immense depth in philosophical thought than our mainstream cinema. Maayakoothu releases in theatres on July 11. First Published:
Time of India
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Velachery FOBs turn anti-social elements' den
Chennai: Would you use a zig-zag foot over bridge (FOB) with multiple steps and long footpaths to cross a road when a pedestrian-friendly signal is just a few steps away? Probably not—unless you're there for an early morning workout or a casual hangout. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now This is exactly the case with the two FOBs located on Velachery–Taramani Link Road — one near the Baby Nagar Bus Stop and the other adjacent to the Taramani 100-Feet Road Bus Stop. The FOBs were inaugurated 10 years ago by former chief minister J Jayalalithaa as part of a 30 crore project to "ease congestion" on the road, but both now wear a deserted look. They are dysfunctional and have turned into an anti-social den, with alcohol bottles and cigarette butts strewn around. The escalators do not work either. "Most pedestrians directly cross the road using the two nearby signals. Youngsters even jump across the median barriers. The footfall declined further after the escalators stopped working," said Selvi, who runs a shop near Baby Nagar Bus Stop FOB. Pedestrians flagged redundancy of the bridges, citing their complex design and long access paths. Claiming that traffic is usually manageable in the area, they said crossing at the signals was quicker and less tiring. With poor upkeep and diminishing utility, residents also raised concerns about safety and sanitation. "At night, people sleep along the path with cigarettes and beer bottles," said Ganesan, a resident of Velachery. Residents say it's better to demolish the FOBs so that the pavements can be reclaimed. However, these underused structures continue to receive funds and official backing. "People will start using the bridges once the escalators become functional. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Do you want us to demolish them just because they are not used?" asked Velachery MLA J M H Aassan Maulaana. The govt has plans to revive them. "We are planning to repair the escalators through the Comprehensive Road Infrastructure Development Programme. The budget will be finalised soon," said Murugan, highways assistant engineer. "FOBs are a bad idea. These structures end up giving priority to cars while forcing pedestrians to climb and cross," said Sumana Narayanan of Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group.
The Hindu
18-06-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
What is IIT-Delhi's quantum communications breakthrough?
The story so far: On June 16, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement that IIT-Delhi scientists together with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) demonstrated quantum communication over a distance of more than 1 km in free space. The development was hailed as a breakthrough in quantum cybersecurity. What is quantum communication? When two or more photons, the subatomic particles of light, are created in just the right way, measurements made on one photon will instantly determine the result for the partner photon, too — even if the photons are far apart. This phenomenon is called quantum entanglement. Ordinary or classical physics can't explain this correlation, it's a purely quantum phenomenon. Quantum communication is an umbrella term for any scheme that uses the concepts of quantum physics, but especially entanglement, to make a given communication channel leak-proof. In one scheme, like the one the IIT-Delhi team demonstrated, entangled photons carry information from a source to two stations. If any third party intercepts one of the photons, the other photon will immediately be disturbed as well and the channel will be revealed as insecure. In short, quantum communication can be used to create communication channels that are protected against computational attacks since any attempt to tap the quantum channel will itself be revealed. Thus they have great value in defence settings. An important method in quantum communication is quantum key distribution (QKD). How does QKD work? If Bala has a message for Selvi that he wants only Selvi to receive, a simple way is to send a letter. At the address, the postal worker will deposit the letter into a letterbox. The location of the letterbox is public knowledge, but only Selvi will have the key to access it. The key is private knowledge. Receiving email works similarly: Bala will send an email to Selvi's email ID (public knowledge) and Selvi will use her password (private knowledge) to access it. QKD is a specialised form of quantum communication whose sole purpose is to help Bala and Selvi possess identical secret keys. Once they both have the key, they can unlock and read the messages they send each other. Note that QKD doesn't encrypt the message itself: that's achieved using traditional algorithms like AES. Instead QKD helps both parties acquire the key to unlock that encryption in a secure way. There are two kinds of QKD. In the classic prepare-and-measure way, Bala prepares single photons in some predetermined states and Selvi measures them. In entanglement-based QKD, a source creates entangled photon pairs and sends one photon to Bala and the other to Selvi. What did the IIT-Delhi team do? The IIT-Delhi team, led by Prof. Bhaskeri Kanseri, transmitted keys through the air using entanglement-based QKD, across a distance of 1 km in the IIT campus. This is a step up from transmitting photons through an optical fibre. The greater goal here is to establish reliable QKD between a ground station and a satellite orbiting the earth hundreds of kilometres up. This way the satellite can distribute keys to receivers anywhere in India by beaming photons through the atmosphere. Notably, the test demonstrated 'a secure key rate of nearly 240 bits per second with a quantum bit error rate of less than 7%'. When the photons reach Bala and Selvi, they will measure each particle. Since they're entangled, the measurements have to match up. In this case the measurements disagreed <7% of the time, which is considered acceptable for the present scheme. Common sources of error include turbulence in the air, detector noise, and artificial lighting. Previously, Prof. Kanseri's team had demonstrated a quantum communications link between Vindhyachal and Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh in 2022. The year after, they increased the distance to 380 km with a spool of standard telecom fibre and a quantum bit error rate of 1.48%. In 2024, they established a QKD scheme through more than 100 km of an optical fibre link. What next? The IIT-Delhi team demonstrated the technology in the presence of dignitaries from the DRDO, the institute, and the Directorate of Futuristic Technology Management, including the director of the DRDO-Industry-Academia Centre of Excellence at the IIT. After the event, Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh said India had 'entered into a new quantum era of secure communication which will be a game-changer in future warfare.' These changes entail a quantum network with multiple nodes maintaining quantum communications. In 2021, China created the world's first quantum network with two ground-to-satellite links and optical fibres together covering 4,600 km. Quantum communications has important civilian applications too, especially in the banking and telecom sectors. A future 'quantum internet' of the sort the U.S. expects to possess by the mid-2030s could also enable distributed quantum computing, ultra-precise sensing, and network-wide secure time synchronisation in addition to secure messaging. To help scientists develop such technologies, the Indian government approved the National Quantum Mission in 2023 with an outlay (2023-2031) of Rs 6,000 crore.
India Today
11-06-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Forced narco tests illegal, results not admissible: Supreme Court
Setting aside a high court order allowing narco-analysis tests on accused persons without consent, the Supreme Court on Wednesday asserted that involuntary or forced tests are not permissible under the law. The Supreme Court held that compelling an accused to undergo narco-analysis, without free and informed consent, violates the constitutional protection against self-incrimination under Article 20(3) and the right to personal liberty under Article 21 of the report of such an involuntary test or any information discovered as a result is not admissible as evidence in criminal or other proceedings," the bench clarified. The order came days after a Patna High Court order accepting a police officer's submission to subject all accused persons and witnesses in a criminal case to narco-analysis testing. The submission of the Sub-Divisional Police Officer was accepted during the hearing of a bail plea filed by the its ruling, the Supreme Court reaffirmed its landmark 2010 judgment in Selvi and Others v State of Karnataka, which held that forcibly subjecting individuals to narco-analysis, polygraph, or brain mapping tests was unconstitutional. The court reiterated that these techniques, if not voluntarily undertaken, breach personal liberty and the right against safeguards laid down in the Selvi case judgement:No lie detector or narco-analysis test shall be conducted without the accused's voluntary accused must be informed of the legal, emotional, and physical implications of the to legal counsel must be provided before deciding on consentConsent must be recorded before a Judicial guidelines for polygraph tests should be followed, and similar protocols adopted for narco-analysis and brain mapping top court further clarified that an accused may voluntarily choose to do so at an appropriate stage, such as during the presentation of defence evidence in a even in such cases, the court emphasised that there is no indefeasible right to undergo narco-analysis. It also said that judicial authorisation must account for the totality of circumstances, including safeguards and genuine InMust Watch
News18
10-06-2025
- News18
Supreme Court Sets Aside Patna HC Order Allowing Blanket Use Of Narco Test On All Accused
Last Updated: An order of the Patna High Court had allowed the police to subject all accused persons to narco-analysis tests during the course of investigation. The Supreme Court on Monday held that an accused person does not have an indefeasible right to undergo a narcoanalysis test, while at the same time clarifying that such a test may be permitted at an appropriate stage of trial upon application, provided the Court is satisfied that there is free consent and adequate safeguards in place. The Court made the observation in an Appeal challenging an order of the Patna High Court, which had allowed the police to subject all accused persons, including the Appellant, to narco-analysis tests during the course of investigation. The Bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Prasanna B Varale allowed the appeal and set aside the High Court's order, stating that it was contrary to the principles laid down in Selvi v State of Karnataka (2010), where the apex court had held that involuntary subjection to scientific techniques such as narco-analysis, lie detector, and brain mapping violates the fundamental right to personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution. 'The accused has a right to voluntarily undergo a narcoanalysis test at an appropriate stage. We deem it appropriate to add, that the appropriate stage for such a test to be conducted is when the accused is exercising his right to lead evidence in a trial," the Court observed. However, the Bench emphasised that such a right is not absolute, and that any application made by an accused must be judicially assessed, taking into account factors such as free will, voluntariness, procedural safeguards, and the overall circumstances of the case. Facts of the Case The family members of the wife got an FIR lodged on August 24, 2022 under Sections 341, 342, 323, 363, 364, 498(A), 504, 506 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code, suspecting foul play and alleging that the accused made repeated demands of dowry and used to beat the victim since the marriage on December 11, 2020. The Appellant contended the acceptance of such a submission by the High Court was in direct contravention of the exposition of law laid down by this court in the Selvi case, wherein it was observed that forceful subjection of an individual to techniques, such as the narco-analysis test, violates personal liberty enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution. Senior Advocate Gaurav Agrawal, acting as amicus curiae, pointed out that there has been a divergence of views taken by High Courts on the issue as to whether a narco-analysis test can be claimed by an accused as a matter of right. Given the suspect nature of a report of narco-analysis, he said that this position must be clarified. Court Decries Blanket Testing of All Accused Criticising the blanket direction of the Patna High Court that allowed narco-tests to be conducted on all accused persons based on a submission made by the Sub-Divisional Police Officer, the Supreme Court noted that such an order could not have been passed while dealing with a regular bail application under Section 439 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). 'We fail to understand how such an endeavour was accepted by the High Court while adjudicating an application for regular bail. It is settled law that while entertaining such an application, the Court must confine itself to considerations such as the nature of the crime, allegations, evidence, period of custody, and possibility of tampering with evidence," the Bench said. The Court also took note of the suspect evidentiary value of narco-analysis tests and made it clear that results of such tests, even if voluntarily undergone, cannot by themselves form the sole basis for conviction. 'A report of a voluntary narco-analysis test with adequate safeguards in place, or information found as a result thereof, cannot form the sole basis of conviction of an accused person," the Court held while answering the second legal issue involved in the matter. Right to Lead Evidence Not a Justification The State had attempted to justify the High Court's direction by arguing that the accused had a right to lead evidence in their defence, and a voluntary narco-test was a part of that right. Rejecting this argument, the Supreme Court categorically held that such a view was untenable in light of the principles laid down in Selvi and the inherently unreliable nature of the technique. 'It cannot be said that undergoing a narco-analysis test is part of the indefeasible right to lead evidence, given its suspect nature," the Court remarked, adding that the Rajasthan High Court's earlier view to the contrary could not be sustained. Assistance by Amicus and Legal Representation Given the complexity of constitutional and procedural issues involved, the Court had appointed Senior Advocate Gaurav Agrawal as Amicus Curiae. The Appellant was represented by AOR Mithilesh Kumar Singh, while the Respondent-State was represented by Additional Standing Counsel Anshul Narayan. The Court rejected a submission by the state government that since modern investigative techniques are the need of the hour, the High Court was correct in accepting the submission that a narco analysis test of all accused persons will be conducted. 'While the need for modern investigative techniques may be true, such investigative techniques cannot be conducted at the cost of constitutional guarantees under Articles 20(3) and 21," the Bench said. Conclusively, the Court set aside the impugned Order dated 9th November 2023 passed by the Patna High Court in Criminal Miscellaneous No. 71293 of 2023 and allowed the appeal. First Published: June 10, 2025, 13:39 IST News india Supreme Court Sets Aside Patna HC Order Allowing Blanket Use Of Narco Test On All Accused
