CATEGORIES

Q + A SAYING IT LIKE IT IS

Actor Saif Ali Khan who has never been shy of trying new things now lends his voice to a Marvel character in a new Audible podcast

THE LOVE FACTORY

In a four-part docuseries on Netflix, Smriti Mundhra looks at the different avatars of romance in movies by Yash Chopra and his legendary studio

Life At Sea

In a documentary that was lauded at Sundance, Sarvanik Kaur crafts a bleak portrait of a community whose traditional livlihood is in peril

THE SPINNER OF YARNS

In his new novel Victory City, Salman Rushdie offers a crowd-pleasing variation on his greatest hits

Let the Music Play

Upcoming music festivals across India

Striking a Universal CHORD

AUTHOR-SINGER AMIT CHAUDHURI IS BACK WITH A NEW ALBUM AFTER 13 YEARS

A NOVELIST OF IDEAS

Vineet Gill's book on Nirmal Verma focuses on the pioneering Hindi novelist's essays, travelogues and diaries

BEING THE CHANGE

A Yale graduate channels the power of youth to transform the lives of less privileged children and the needy via education and teaching them to pay it forward

THE LONG ROAD TO REDEMPTION

Nitish Kumar’s statewide Samadhan Yatra was a rehearsal for the 2024 general election campaign even as ambitious ally RJD and an aggressive BJP wait in the wings

DOLES AND TOLLS

Elections can bring on peculiar behavioural modifications even in the most fiscally prudent politician. Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, ruled by bitterly opposed parties like the Congress and BJP, could be mirror images of each other in how its chief ministers have rolled out what could count as lavish gift vouchers.

MAHA FIGHT IN CONGRESS

For a party that was seen as lacking the spunk to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Nana Patole's appointment as president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) in February 2021 was expected to pump some belligerence into the Grand Old Party's rank and file in the western state.

THE POLITICS OF THE BASTAR MURDERS

It’s not uncommon in India to see the run-up to an election being marred by violence. But Chhattisgarh, which goes to the polls at the end of the year, is recording a variation on the theme.

COPY, AND BE JAILED

Local news channels were still discussing the alleged police high-handedness in dealing with violence that had erupted during the student protests against recruitment scams and paper leaks in Uttarakhand when something else came along: an ordinance from Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami with extraordinarily stringent measures to curb cheating during exams.

A FLEET FIT FOR THE MAHARAJA

A year since it bought the beleaguered state-owned carrier Air India, the salt to-software Tata Group has taken the first major step to script the airline’s revival.

Assam Child Marriages: A Mega Crackdown

On January 23, the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led BJP government in Assam launched a massive crackdown against child marriages.

A Lung Threat Called COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease sees a rise in India as the foul air of our cities takes a toll on our respiratory systems

Adani Controversy - The Fallout

Adani may yet survive the Hindenburg missile, but the industrialist will have to clean up his act and the regulators will have to do their job to ensure macroeconomic stability

POWERED BY CHAOS

Ashim Ahluwalia's Class on Netflix is a highly bingeable whodunit that offers a glimpse into the messy lives of teenagers

ALL FOR QUALITY

Shahid Kapoor and filmmaking duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. talk about their new Amazon Prime Video release, Farzi

TUNES FOR A NEW INDIA

Coke Studio is back in India after eight years, and this time, the focus is on young music

BEYOND CONVENTION

For 71-year-old percussionist Trilok Gurtu, it's all about not being a slave to tradition and staying true to his identity

A JUMBO DEADLOCK

A FEW YEARS AGO, WILD ELEPHANTS ARRIVED IN A KARNATAKA DISTRICT AND MADE IT THEIR HOME. LOCALS, WHO EARLIER WELCOMED THEM, ARE NOW WORRIED AS CROP DAMAGES AND MAN-ANIMAL CONFLICTS GROW

Down Study Lane

A small alleyway in Mumbai has shaped the careers of thousands of students for decades now, offering them a quiet, undisturbed refuge to study

CM ON THE WATCH

The 'Tamil Nadu 360' digital dashboard has helped CM Stalin track performance of government departments to find solutions both at the micro and macro level

THE PANTHIC FERMENT

New panthic leaders, some with a radical bent reminiscent of the Khalis tan days, are filling the space that political parties, particularly the SAD, have vacated, striving to find their own solutions to perceived crises

A POCKETFUL OF DREAMS

KRITI SANON on her latest film Shehzada, nine years in Bollywood, and why she wants to experiment with different roles so as to not be put in a box

"WE CAN TAKE INDIA-NEW ZEALAND TIES TO THE NEXT LEVEL NOW"

On his first visit to New Zealand in October 2022, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar said that the relationship between the two countries is \"due for an update and a refresh\". New Zealand's foreign minister NANAIA MAHUTA sought to further that in a three-day visit to India from February 7 to 10, and discussed with Jaishankar economic coordination, educational exchanges, defence ties and people-to-people contacts. In an interview with India Today Group Editorial Director RAJ CHENGAPPA, Mahuta also talks about India-New Zealand ties, the Quad, the Ukraine war and her country's ties with China. Excerpts:

THE POLITICAL BLOWBACK

The PM looks to deflect Rahul Gandhi's allegations of a 'Modi-Adani' nexus, invoking the \"blessings of 1.4 billion people\". How will this play out for the leaders and their parties?

"Blind men see too many elephants"

Veteran filmmaker ADOOR GOPALAKRISHNAN is a colossus of Indian cinema who, over the past five decades, has also been a cultural ambassador of sorts for his home state Kerala. During this time, the 81-year-old auteur has made 12 features, which include world-renowned gems such as Elipathayam (The Rat Trap) and Vidheyan (The Servile), and some 30 documentaries. He has won the National Film Award 16 times and was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2006. Adoor resigned on January 31 as chairman of the K.R. Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts, Kottayam. This was a corollary to the resignation of Shankar Mohan, a reputed filmmaker and administrator who resigned from his position as director of the institute following student protests and allegations of caste discrimination. Adoor talked to Jeemon Jacob about the circumstances that led to his exit. Excerpts:

BENDING OVER BACKWARDS

Caste seems the ultimate determinant of politics in Uttar Pradesh. In the newest season of Mandal battle offensives, though, it is taking on Mandir in a bare-knuckled confrontation.