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Monday, July 21, 2025

PoV

Ajaz Khan House Arrest show is why OTT faces flak. Some shows are soft porn in disguise

The tasteless adult content shown in House Arrest episode is now a daily reality of Indian OTT. Creativity’s newest platform is also becoming its deathbed.

Gen-Z is split down the middle. One side grew up on TikTok, the other yearns for Tumblr

Younger Gen-Zs envy their elder siblings. Not for the fashion, but for the ability to be unapologetically cringe. Back then, cringe wasn’t a crime, it was a rite of passage.

Sharing Reels creates ‘I thought of you’ moments. Instagram’s Blend takes that away

I don’t share the same reels with all my friends. Some get the memes, others get the moods, and a few the occasional romantic quote. But with Blend, those lines blur.

KFC fried chicken toothpaste is edible marketing gone wild

KFC teamed up with Australian dental care brand Hismile to launch a limited-edition $13 fried chicken-flavoured toothpaste. It sold out within 48 hours.

Matching kundalis is cool again. India’s youth is consulting sun, moon, stars to plan life

Tarot card readers are playing therapists. Astrology cults are big on DU fest grounds.

Why is Bollywood nostalgia selling? Because the present is exhausting for the young

Imtiaz Ali’s Love Aaj Kal – the good one, 2009 – is back in theatres. The Ghost of Pritam Past has risen, guitar in hand, to soothe our collective meltdown.

Global fashion houses have overused Gateway of India. We’re not a one-monument wonder

The formula is predictable—a global luxury house picks a location that’s desi, but with training wheels. Extra points if British royalty once passed by it in a carriage.

Gujarat HC quoting Pink Floyd is fun. It makes people want to read judgments

Democratisation of legal language should take support of pop culture to make law not only more accessible but also fun, and also add depth and value to otherwise banal judgments.

Desperate celebrities are doing podcasts to be relevant. We’re sick of it

Fame used to be effortless. All you needed was a viral Koffee With Karan rapid fire moment. You didn’t need a lukewarm Spotify deal or a rebranding sob story.

Trying too hard is now cringe. Welcome to the era of Bare Minimum, effortless detachment

Reels are busy romanticising the Pinterest-ification of apathy. The frantic Monday grind is swapped for an eight-minute-long snooze, and barely-there effort is rebranded as a self-care day off.

On Camera

India’s TRP ecosystem needs a reset. Time to end BARC monopoly

A ratings monopoly in India has led to lack of technological variation, resulting in sluggish systems detached from market dynamics.

India-US set to ink mini trade deal soon, reach understanding on agricultural & dairy products

Mini deal will likely see no cut in 10% baseline tariff on Indian exports announced by Trump on 2 April, it is learnt, but additional 26% tariffs are set to be reduced.

Not just AK-203, India & Russia to jointly manufacture AK-19 and PPK-20 for domestic use and export 

India-Russia JV is also racing to deliver 7,000 more AK-203 assault rifles by 15 Aug. These are currently being made with 50% indigenisation and this will surge to 100% by 31 December.

Strategic partner one day, tactical nightmare the next: India’s learning Trumplomacy the hard way

Public, loud, upfront, filled with impropriety and high praise sometimes laced with insults. This is what we call Trumplomacy. But the larger objective is the same: American supremacy.