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Monday, February 23, 2026
TopicPopular culture

Topic: Popular culture

Viva – India’s first girl group that sang feminist anthems in the early 2000s

At the dawn of a new century, India had an all-girl band whose members were outspoken, didn't shy away from risque fashion and were unapologetic about their behaviour.

40 Years of MTV — the channel that shaped popular culture as we know it

MTV might not have ‘killed’ the radio star, and its brand salience somewhat diluted in the age of YouTube, TikTok and social media.

Amitabh Bachchan was once ‘casteless’ Hindu. Tandav, Ludo now flaunt loud, proud Brahmins

Pankaj Tripathi in Hotstar’s Criminal Justice to Saif Ali Khan in Tandav, Dabangg to Jolly LLB, Bollywood now showcases only Brahmin stories.

Indians have a new K in their lives. Not Karan Johar, Ekta Kapoor but Korean culture factory

K-pop, K-dramas, K-beauty — 2020 became the year India embraced the soft power of Korea.

Wear Che Guevara, Johnny Walker and Gandhi on your T-shirts, but it says nothing about you

In ‘Consumerist Encounters’, Sreedeep Bhattacharya explores how our relationships & representations of commodities like T-shirts have evolved in urban India.

After Tintin and Tom and Jerry, now it’s Indian Army’s turn to find a Yeti link

Indian Army tweets picture to claim ‘mysterious footprints’ of Yeti, invites social media mockery. But the legend has popular roots.

On Camera

Nick Jonas wearing a mangalsutra is validation for many Indians. He’s our favourite jiju

Nick Jonas is not trying to modernise the mangalsutra, but his gesture shows that choices can be equal. If commitment must be flaunted, it need not be gendered.

In the West, there’s anxiety. In India, optimism—Rishi Sunak says India poised to be leader in AI

On Wednesday, the former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was speaking in New Delhi at a Carnegie & Observer Research Foundation event on AI.

Suspected brake failure leads to Tejas accident after landing, airframe likely to be written off

The IAF, so far, remains mum on this accident which has led to grounding of the fleet for safety checks.

No country is ever fully sovereign. Cold War era taught India its real meaning

India’s fraught neighbourhood places multiple constraints on its strategic choices. It leaves no time to take a deep breath, lean back and reset.