SURESH GOPI. 66
BJP Thrissur, Kerala
THE DEBUTANTS - ENTERTAINERS / SPORTSPERSON
His early turn was as an Angry Young Man, not just bristling with anarchist rage against the system, but willing and able to act on that with booming fists, fast bullets and a tongue that was itself arson.
His overall comportment-6'2" and a high GDP on girth-meant he had to soon transition to a niche within the system. But again, mostly as a tough cop, the kind of IPS officer who, when called in for a dressing down by a corrupt minister, would bolt the door behind him and alchemise said minister into pounded meat. Such is the filmic image of the man-notwithstanding the touch of grey eminence he tried in recent films, including as host of Malayalam version of KBCon whose superstardom the BJP finally breached the gap between desire and reality in Kerala.
His actual shift to the system-as Union MoS (Tourism, Petroleum)was enabled by a perception of being a 'nice guy, after all' in real life, even a disarming ingénue.
Family man, father of five children, no tinsel town excesses, solidly conservative in short. Even the Syrian Catholics of Thrissur were impressed enough to hand out their benedictions to Saffron rather than Red.
ARUN GOVIL, 72
|BJP | Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
Shocking the faithful and the credulous, the BJP lost Ayodhya. Or rather, Faizabad, the constituency that hosts the lavish new Ram mandir. In Meerut, though, the electorate reposed their trust in the Lord's doppelganger-Arun Govil, whose beatific visage lent calendar-art perfection to the 1987 DD serial Ramayan.
He also played the PM recentlyin political drama Article 370. But life asks him to play only an MP. Hints of betrayal infused that story too with drama and politics but the ending was divine.
KANGNA RANAUT, 38 |BJP | Mandi, Himachal Pradesh
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Denne historien er fra July 22, 2024-utgaven av India Today.
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THE ETERNAL MOTHER
Prayaag Akbar's new novel delves into the complexities of contemporary India
TURNING A NEW LEAF
Since the turn of the century, we have lost hundreds of thousands of trees. Many had stood for centuries, weathering storms, wars, droughts and famines.
INDIA'S BEATING GREEN HEART
Ramachandra Guha's new book-Speaking with Nature-is a chronicle of homegrown environmentalism that speaks to the world
A NEW LEASE FOR OLD FILMS
NOSTALGIA AND CURIOSITY BRING AUDIENCES BACK TO THE THEATRES TO REVISIT MOVIES OF THE YESTERYEARS
THE HOLY GRAIL OF COMPUTING
IN A GIANT LEAP TOWARDS BRAIN-INSPIRED COMPUTING, IISc RESEARCHERS HAVE ENGINEERED A DEVICE THAT PROCESSES INFORMATION LIKE NEURAL SYNAPSES, AND PROMISES A LEAP IN SPEED, ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND DATA SECURITY
THE MISSING STRIPES
Behind the missing 15 big cats in the Ranthambore National Park are a lax monitoring system by local forest officials, political pressure and unreliable numbers
DECOUPLING DILEMMA
AS TENSIONS BETWEEN INDIA AND CHINA THAW AND THE TRADE BETWEEN THEM GROWS, INDIA FACES THE TOUGH TASK OF KEEPING CHEAP CHINESE IMPORTS AT BAY WHILE ENCOURAGING THOSE THAT ITS DOMESTIC INDUSTRY NEEDS
KILLER STRESS
Unhealthy work practices in Indian companies are taking a toll on employees, triggering health issues and sometimes even death
AMARATHA HEAT WAVE
THE MARATHAS ARE ANGRY AND, UNDER MANOJ JARANGE-PATIL'S SWAY, MARATHWADA COULD WELL DECIDE WHO EVENTUALLY WINS IN MAHARASHTRA
A BOLD CASTE COUNT MOVE
The Telangana government has commissioned a comprehensive socio-economic, employment and caste survey that is far-reaching, with the ruling Congress even saying its results will set the ball rolling for an expansion of constitutional rights.
