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News18
a day ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Janaki V Vs State Of Kerala Review: Suresh Gopi's Legal Drama Falters With Inconsistency
Last Updated: Janaki V Vs State Of Kerala fails to deliver shock value and drama. Suresh Gopi's larger-than-life persona clashes with the realistic setting, resulting in a convoluted screenplay. Janaki V Vs State Of Kerala movie review out. Janaki V Vs State Of Kerala Movie Review: Abel Donovan (Suresh Gopi) asks the victim of a brutal sexual assault, Janaki V (Anupama Parameswaran), 'Do you watch porn?" Almost everyone in the court and in the theatre is supposed to be shocked by that question, which seems to be the point of it. The idea here is to invoke a similar dramatic intrigue as in a scene from Pink, where Deepak Sehgal (Amitabh Bachchan) asks Minal Arora, 'Are you a virgin?" The question in Pink is justified, as Deepak intends to bring about the irrelevance of it in the context of consent. However, here the scene is exactly for all the wrong reasons. Debutant director Pravin Narayanath, who has also written the film, has intended to create an enigmatic protagonist and a sense of shock value by having a protagonist saving the wrong person in Janaki V Vs State Of Kerala. To put it more precisely, David Abel Donovan is the Devil's advocate, literally! While it sounds like a brilliant idea, the film fails to bring it to fruition. As far as the story goes, Janaki V vs State of Kerala is about an IT employee from Bengaluru who gets sexually assaulted by an unknown criminal during her visit to her hometown in Kerala. Since the victim was unconscious during the assault, the investigation turns out to be hard. Meanwhile, Janaki is found to be pregnant and she starts her crusade to live her life with dignity and seeks justice. Now, it doesn't become clear what the intention of the film is until the very end. One expects it to be an investigative thriller about nabbing the real culprit of the crime. But the film quickly finds a generic answer to it, and it moves on to another problem about abortion, which never was set up to be a conflict in the first place. The convoluted story has led to a patchy screenplay, and in the end, it leaves you wondering if Pravin Narayanath made the film he set out to make. The biggest problem of the film is Suresh Gopi. While the actor is effective in his performance and his trademark heroism, the problem is that his larger-than-life persona is incongruous with the realistic setting of the film. Before the film gets into the actual conflict, it meanders around another case of David Abel Donovan taking on the Church to bring a man of faith to justice. This and many other portions of the film that involve Suresh Gopi spitting fiery dialogues about government, women empowerment, corruption, and more don't really sit well with the rest of the movie. We also have a fight sequence that sticks out as a sore thumb in an otherwise sober movie. The film also reminded us of Rajinikanth's Vettaiyan, which pretty much has a similar arc of a well-intentioned man of action committing a blunder and fixing it. Both Janaki V vs State of Kerala and Vettaiyan suffer from the same problem of having a superstar for the protagonist when the script only demands an actor who can be flawed. Since Suresh Gopi cannot be fallible, the film ends up being a generic and illogical legal drama, which gives room for the hero to deliver monologues in a courtroom where he is neither a prosecutor nor the defender. First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
IOL News
06-07-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
The Legacy of State Capture: ANC's Struggle with Corruption and Trust
Former Chief Justice and State Capture Commission Chair Raymond Zondo hands over the Commission's final report report to President Cyril Ramaphosa on June 22, 2022. The Phala Phala matter made a mockery of the President's promise to end corruption, says the writer. Image: Oupa Mokoena/African News Agency(ANA) Prof. Bheki Mngomezulu Advocate Thuli Madonsela made history when she penned report No. 6 of 2016/17 titled 'The state of capture', which has since been referred to as 'State Capture'. This was an investigation into alleged improper and unethical conduct by then-President Jacob Zuma and other state functionaries relating to what was said to be improper involvement of the Gupta family in the removal and appointment of Ministers and Directors of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). Penning the Executive Summary, Madonsela stated that 'State of Capture' is my report in terms of section 182(1)(b) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, and section 3(1) of the Executive Members Ethics Act and section 8(1) of the Public Protector Act, 1994.' The sections cited by Madonsela were relevant. They demonstrated her understanding of the Constitutional imperative which guided her in executing her mandate. However, there was a concern that section 84(f) of the Constitution was flouted when Madonsela recommended that the Chairperson of the commission should be appointed by the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, not the sitting President. Section 84 talks about the powers and functions of a sitting President. Section 84(f) states that the President is responsible for 'appointing commissions of inquiry.' It does not envisage a situation whereby the chairperson of the commission should be appointed by someone else. Anyway, that is a discussion for the legal fraternity, especially those who specialise in Constitutional Law. What is of interest in this article is to reflect on the report. Madonsela submitted it, yet not all her recommendations have been implemented. The question is, why? Almost ten years down the line, a few questions arise which might shed light on the question above. Firstly, was there the capture of the state by then President Zuma and other functionaries, or was this a political ploy to hide the reality by tarnishing his public image? Secondly, did the Gupta family come into the picture only in 2009 when Zuma ascended to the Presidency of the country? If they were already there, what role did they play in the ANC, in government and SOEs? Thirdly, with the Guptas having left the country, did corruption end in South Africa, in the ANC and government? Fourthly, if there was a 'state of capture', why has prosecution taken a snail's pace, and what role does the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) play? Fifthly and lastly, will the ANC succeed in ridding itself of the impact of corruption and trust deficit between itself and the electorate as discussed in Madonsela's report? Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Regarding the first question, it depends on who provides the answer. To some, the answer is in the affirmative. They usually cite incidents such as the Nkandla gate. However, they fail to acknowledge that Zuma was already renovating his home using Minenhle Makhanya as his architect. They also overlook the role played by the security cluster, which was responsible for installing security features at Zuma's home. Fikile Mbalula, the current Secretary-General of the ANC, is on record saying that the ANC deliberately lied to the nation when it instructed Nathi Nhleko to state that the swimming pool at Zuma's homestead was a fire pool. The question is: how many other lies were manufactured behind closed doors? Did the Guptas have anything to do with that? These questions lead to the view shared by some that there was never any capture of the state by a few. There was corruption then as there is corruption now! On the second question, there is no debate that Zuma found the Guptas already embedded in the ANC. His predecessors interacted with this family in different contexts. Perhaps what changed under Zuma is that the Gupta brothers were more influential in making certain decisions. Surely, some of the allegations made against them remain just that – allegations, because they never presented their side of the story. The answer to the third question is an emphatic no! South Africa is not free from corruption, long after Madonsela's report was submitted. Even President Cyril Ramaphosa promised 'The New Dawn' and to correct the wrongs of the so-called 'nine wasted years' under Zuma, whom he deputised both in the ANC and in government. The Phala Phala matter made a mockery of the President's promise to end corruption. Although state institutions cleared him of any wrongdoing, the stigma remains. Nationally, statistics paint a bleak picture about ending corruption. The fourth question is even more important. Some money has been recovered, which is good. The NPA has understandably claimed victories. But it would be foolhardy to praise the fish for swimming. The NPA staff did what is expected of them. There is still more work to be done. Sadly, in some instances, the accusations do not seem to stick. This raises questions on whether there were cases against certain individuals in the first place or if there was character assassination for political expediency. The last question talks to the ANC, which has been the governing party since 1994 until May 2024. Historically, it is in the culture of the ANC to embrace 'collective responsibility'. It was intriguing when, suddenly, some ANC members (including those in leadership positions) claimed innocence or told the Zondo Commission that they were scared to stop corruption. This was a lame excuse.
Sydney Morning Herald
05-07-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Why your dream holiday could become a financial nightmare
When looking into the rising travel trend, McKinsey found that this cohort, known as 'aspiring luxury travellers', are happy to spend like millionaires when they go on holiday, despite having relatively modest amounts to their name when they're at home. Loading But unlike those in the ultra-high net worth bracket, aspiring luxury travellers tend to splurge when it's a special occasion like a honeymoon or milestone birthday. They also demand value for their money, the report found, and tend to spend big on specific experiences or sections of the trip, rather than the whole thing. As the report notes, unlike the ultrarich, 'aspiring luxury travellers often rely on branding to validate their sense that an experience is luxurious.' That's likely in no small part down to the role that social media plays in our lives, and the comparison culture it can spark in us. Being able to post a photo of you dining at a restaurant visited by Kylie and Kendall Jenner, or staying at the Thai resort where season three of White Lotus was filmed, for example, offers a certain appeal that's understandable in the age of Instagram. Not included on the holiday highlight reel, though, might be the on-sale economy Jetstar flights. Another misconception about those living a life of luxury travel is their age. While most of us would assume they're grey nomads and retirees, it turns out that 80 per cent are actually aged under 60, with younger people and families with young children among major growth demographics. By 2028, people aged between 30-40 will spend $82 billion, while those aged 40-50 will part with $241 billion. At this point, you might be thinking, what's the big deal? If people want to take a nice holiday with their hard-earned cash, let them. And here's the thing, I'm all for rest and relaxation. But this rise of luxury travel comes with the kind of financial risk that isn't present with more traditional luxury spending habits. While wanting to treat ourselves in good times isn't new, historically, luxury purchasing has been on tangible items that can either be classed as assets, or at least hold some value – like designer watches or handbags. Recently, though, the luxury fashion sector has struggled as people have massively pulled back spending, largely in part due to global economic uncertainty. According to the 2025 State of Fashion report, the market is predicted to grow by just 1 to 3 per cent between 2024 and 2027. And unlike a designer watch or handbag, a holiday – no matter how amazing the memories may be – is not an asset. Of course, the luxury goods market is not fail-safe. Like any investment, not everything is guaranteed to retain its worth or grow in value over time, and there's still a risk that you'll lose money. But even if you do, there's a pretty good chance that if you were to resell a $25,000 watch or handbag, you'd get something for it. A $25,000 holiday, though – not so much. Once that money is spent, it's well and truly gone for good. When you combine that with the facts that so many of those spending big are still relatively young, have families, and that we're far from out of the recession risk woods, it's seriously worrying that so many people are spending with so much carefree abandon. Don't get me wrong - if you're able to celebrate important moments in your life, I'm all for it. Go on the babymoon holiday! Buy the watch to celebrate a promotion! Order the most expensive bottle of wine at your anniversary dinner! But whatever you do, don't do it solely to post about it on social media. Because while living like a super rich celebrity in the short term might give you a serotonin hit, the long-term impact of spending so much money on relatively short moments in our lives has the very real potential of making it less of a dream, and more of a nightmare.
The Age
05-07-2025
- Business
- The Age
Why your dream holiday could become a financial nightmare
When looking into the rising travel trend, McKinsey found that this cohort, known as 'aspiring luxury travellers', are happy to spend like millionaires when they go on holiday, despite having relatively modest amounts to their name when they're at home. Loading But unlike those in the ultra-high net worth bracket, aspiring luxury travellers tend to splurge when it's a special occasion like a honeymoon or milestone birthday. They also demand value for their money, the report found, and tend to spend big on specific experiences or sections of the trip, rather than the whole thing. As the report notes, unlike the ultrarich, 'aspiring luxury travellers often rely on branding to validate their sense that an experience is luxurious.' That's likely in no small part down to the role that social media plays in our lives, and the comparison culture it can spark in us. Being able to post a photo of you dining at a restaurant visited by Kylie and Kendall Jenner, or staying at the Thai resort where season three of White Lotus was filmed, for example, offers a certain appeal that's understandable in the age of Instagram. Not included on the holiday highlight reel, though, might be the on-sale economy Jetstar flights. Another misconception about those living a life of luxury travel is their age. While most of us would assume they're grey nomads and retirees, it turns out that 80 per cent are actually aged under 60, with younger people and families with young children among major growth demographics. By 2028, people aged between 30-40 will spend $82 billion, while those aged 40-50 will part with $241 billion. At this point, you might be thinking, what's the big deal? If people want to take a nice holiday with their hard-earned cash, let them. And here's the thing, I'm all for rest and relaxation. But this rise of luxury travel comes with the kind of financial risk that isn't present with more traditional luxury spending habits. While wanting to treat ourselves in good times isn't new, historically, luxury purchasing has been on tangible items that can either be classed as assets, or at least hold some value – like designer watches or handbags. Recently, though, the luxury fashion sector has struggled as people have massively pulled back spending, largely in part due to global economic uncertainty. According to the 2025 State of Fashion report, the market is predicted to grow by just 1 to 3 per cent between 2024 and 2027. And unlike a designer watch or handbag, a holiday – no matter how amazing the memories may be – is not an asset. Of course, the luxury goods market is not fail-safe. Like any investment, not everything is guaranteed to retain its worth or grow in value over time, and there's still a risk that you'll lose money. But even if you do, there's a pretty good chance that if you were to resell a $25,000 watch or handbag, you'd get something for it. A $25,000 holiday, though – not so much. Once that money is spent, it's well and truly gone for good. When you combine that with the facts that so many of those spending big are still relatively young, have families, and that we're far from out of the recession risk woods, it's seriously worrying that so many people are spending with so much carefree abandon. Don't get me wrong - if you're able to celebrate important moments in your life, I'm all for it. Go on the babymoon holiday! Buy the watch to celebrate a promotion! Order the most expensive bottle of wine at your anniversary dinner! But whatever you do, don't do it solely to post about it on social media. Because while living like a super rich celebrity in the short term might give you a serotonin hit, the long-term impact of spending so much money on relatively short moments in our lives has the very real potential of making it less of a dream, and more of a nightmare.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Benchmark diesel falls back with no further Mideast conflict
With futures markets having first fallen and then stabilized after the worst-case scenarios coming out of the Iran-Israel conflict did not occur, retail prices are starting to reflect that retreat. The weekly Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration average weekly retail diesel price fell 4.8 cents/gallon effective Monday, announced Tuesday, to $3.727/g. The decline follows three weeks of gains which added 32.4 cts/g to the benchmark used for most fuel surcharges, rising to last week's price of $3.727/g, up from $3.451/g prior to the three-week surge. Futures prices for ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) on the CME commodity exchange fell 17.87 cts/g on June 23, the first day after it appeared the Israel-Iran conflict was not going to lead to the worst case supply scenario of a closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the gateway to the Persian Gulf and its exports of about 20% of the world's crude supply. The settlement that day was $2.2851/g. But prices have since bounced back, helped in part by the weak U.S. dollar. Oil prices, denominated in dollars, tend to move in the opposite direction of strength in the dollar. That helped a rebound that resulted in ULSD settling Tuesday at $2.3269/g. Beyond the movement in outright oil prices, ULSD continues to strengthen relative to crude. On a straight comparison of first-month Brent on CME versus first-month ULSD, that spread at the close of May was about 50 cts/g. But by the last trading day of June on Monday, the spread had widened to either side of 70 cts/g for several days. That sort of gain shows up at the pump in price increases that outpace those of crude, and decreases that lag those in the crude market. Diesel has been increasingly burdened with tight inventories worldwide. Inventories show up in the spread between first month and second month diesel or crude, and tight stocks widen the spread between higher-priced first month ULSD and lower-priced second month. In a perfectly balanced market, the front month price is lower than the second month price, with the higher price in the later month reflecting the time value of money and the cost of inventory. That market structure is called contango. But when inventories are tight, the barrel to be delivered the fastest becomes the most valuable. The market then flips into a structure called backwardation, with the front month the most expensive, the second month less expensive and the third month lower still. The backwardation has blown out in recent days. It closed May at 1.18 cts/g–meaning the front month was that much higher-priced than the second month–but by the final day of June on Monday had widened to 5.95 cts/g. Much of that increase in the spread came in the last days of the month, rising from just under 4 cts/g Wednesday to more than 7 cts/g Thursday before dropping back slightly. More articles by John Kingston State of Freight Takeaways: English language rule for truckers takes effect, early impacts emerging SCOTUS decision on California Clean Cars waiver could have benefit to trucking later First legal steps taken, this time by WSTA, to untangle the legal knot of the Clean Truck Partnership The post Benchmark diesel falls back with no further Mideast conflict appeared first on FreightWaves. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
