Rapido has crossed a dangerous line. By suspending 30-year-old Dalit driver Ankit Kumar for 99 years and 11 months, until 2126; the company has delivered a chilling message: passenger revenue matters more than human dignity, constitutional morality, and the fight against caste humiliation. Lucknow-based Ankit Kumar did what every self-respecting citizen should do. He objected to alleged casteist remarks that linked a person’s competence to their community. For this act of resistance, Rapido erased his livelihood overnight. No fair hearing. No investigation into the alleged caste abuse. Only a swift, one-sided punishment that protects the paying customer and silences the worker. This is not platform discipline. This is institutional cowardice. By treating a protest against casteist language as “abuse,” Rapido has shown itself completely immune to the cultural and legal weight of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The company failed to understand the deeper context of caste humiliation in India and chose instead to operate at the shallowest, most profitable level—customer ratings and revenue protection. Gig workers, many from SC, ST and OBC communities, already live without social security. Rapido’s extreme corporate callousness deepens that vulnerability. When a platform can destroy a man’s ability to earn for nearly a century without even hearing his side, it ceases to be a neutral technology company. It becomes an active participant in reinforcing hierarchy. India cannot accept platforms that treat the Atrocity Act as optional and dignity as negotiable. Rapido must reverse this punitive ban, order a transparent inquiry, and publicly answer for its priorities. Until then, the message remains clear: in Rapido’s world, revenue comes first; caste justice and constitutional values come nowhere.

In the rarefied air of Mumbai’s elite clubs, where membership lists read like a who’s who of power and privilege, a strange democracy has arrived. Not through elections, but through the unrelenting clipboard of the Food and Drug Administration under Tukaram Mundhe. First it was the Cricket Club of India, then MIG, Willingdon and the Juhu gymkhanas. Now the axe has fallen on Bandra’s Otters Club. Analogue paneer sold as “regular,” broken flooring, blocked drains, refrigerators that refuse to seal properly; the same violations once reserved for the humble roadside stall or the railway platform eatery. The only difference is the wallpaper and the membership fee. Here lies the delicious satire of Mundhe’s regime. The FDA has declared, with clinical indifference, that a cockroach does not check the social register before crawling across a kitchen counter. A blocked drain does not care whether the diner is a film star, an industrialist or a daily-wage worker buying vada pav. Hygiene, under this commissioner, has become the great leveller. Five-star kitchens and five-rupee stalls now stand equally naked before the same law. For decades, Mumbai’s high-profile clubs operated inside a comfortable bubble of influence. Complaints about unhygienic conditions or questionable ingredients were whispered, never acted upon. Mundhe has punctured that bubble. By treating Otters Club with the same severity once reserved for the small eatery near a local station, he has delivered an uncomfortable truth: public health is not a class privilege. Critics may grumble about overreach. The clubs will appeal and eventually reopen. But the symbolism has already landed. In Mundhe’s Maharashtra, the kitchen floor is the only place where the powerful and the powerless are forced to stand on equal footing. And for once, that footing is being checked for broken tiles.    

In a much anticipated move the BJP announced its new 65-member national team under the new president Nitin Nabin, signalling a mix of organisational experience, social representation and preparations for upcoming elections. Three appointments were particularly significant: return of former Union Minister Smriti Irani and Ram Madhav to key organisational roles, while Amit Malviya, a prominent face of the BJP’s digital campaign for years, did not feature in the new team. Irani’s return to the BJP team with party president comes more than two years after she lost the Amethi Lok Sabha seat in the 2024. She has now been given a place among the BJP’s national general secretaries, marking her return to the party’s top organisational structure. Another notable appointment is that of Ram Madhav, named a national vice-president. Madhav, a former national general secretary of the BJP, has played a key role in the party’s organisational and political outreach, particularly in the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir. He was known for crafting an alliance with Kashmir’s PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti. Return of both Irani and Madhav to the BJP indicates that both PM Modi and HM Amit Shah have initiated corrective measures in view of recent upsets — Jantar Mantar protests.  Appointment of Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal as BJP national treasurer has raised eyebrows. It triggered chatter about whether he would continue in the Govt when PM Modi reshuffles his Cabinet. IT Cell head Amit Malviya was replaced with Deepak Mhaskey, a former chemistry professor from Chattisgarh. Under Mhaskey, the BJP has gone for a media overhaul. It is being said Nabin had opted for a mix of organisational veterans and younger faces. “Communities who never vote BJP have got lot of prominence,” a Dalit BJP leader pointed out saying effort was being made to  reach out  to Jatavs,who shun the BJP.

Nothing succeeds like success. Until this morning (Aug 17), GunMaaster G9 was just another Emraan Hashmi project moving quietly through its final stages. Respectable cast, nostalgic team reunion, but no urgency, no locked date, no frenzy. Then Awarapan 2 delivered a blockbuster opening weekend. Official nett figures: Friday Rs 23.40 crore, Saturday Rs 34.09 crore, Sunday Rs 26.82 crore; a three-day total of Rs 84.31 crore. It has emerged as the third-highest opening weekend for a Hindi film in 2026, behind only Dhurandhar 2 and Border 2. More importantly, it comprehensively defeated Sunny Deol’s Batwara 1947 in the Independence Day clash, proving that Emraan’s cult pull still converts into hard numbers, especially in Tier 2, Tier 3 and single-screen centres. By Monday, the same makers who were still discussing late-2026 versus early-2027 had locked 27 November for GunMaaster G9 and announced it with full theatrical confidence. The timing is not subtle. One solid hit, and the entire ecosystem recalibrates. Suddenly every half-finished, half-shelved Emraan project is stirring. Scripts are being reopened. Incomplete shoots are “being revisited.” Producers who were waiting for the right window have discovered that the window is now wide open and facing Emraan. Success has a short memory and a long shopping list. Emraan has already started the victory lap. The industry, ever practical, has taken note. Expect more long-pending announcements in the coming weeks. When a star delivers an Rs 84-crore opening weekend and beats a heavyweight like Sunny Deol, every dormant project wants a share of that heat.  Right now, success has a new favourite son and GunMaaster G9 is the first to cash the cheque.

In the grand circus of Bollywood predictions, the trade pundits once more proved they have a special talent for missing the plot. Awarapan 2 was written off before the first show. Promotion was dismissed as lacklustre, the songs labelled dull, and the clash with Batwara 1947 declared a “setback.” The Rajkumar Santoshi–Sunny Deol combination, complete with partition gravity and familiar mass formulas, was anointed the safer, louder bet. Awarapan 2, many declared, stood no chance. Then the Awarapan 2 trailer dropped. Suddenly the room changed. Immersive, nostalgic, emotionally connected, it carried a lived-in intensity that cut through the noise. The same trade that had been busy writing obituaries started hearing a different buzz. Audiences, it turned out, were still capable of responding to atmosphere, character and a certain reckless heart rather than merely to star wattage and theme weight. The numbers delivered the punchline with clinical precision. On Friday, Batwara 1947 opened to approximately Rs 5.5crore net. Awarapan 2 stormed in with around Rs 22 crore net; the highest opening of Emraan Hashmi’s career. On Independence Day Saturday the gap only widened: Awarapan 2 collected roughly Rs 34 crore net while Batwara 1947 managed about Rs 13.5 crore. In two days, the sequel had crossed Rs 55 crore net in India and was racing past Rs 72 crore worldwide, leaving its rival trailing far behind. Once again the audience refused to follow the script written in trade WhatsApp groups. Content, when it connects, still trumps calculation. The film that was supposed to be the underdog shot to the top, embarrassed the entire prediction industry, and reminded everyone of the oldest truth — there is n business like show business. Unpredictability remains the only reliable order of the day. Cinema, as always, had the last laugh.

Popular Tamil star Suriya faced a scary drop n his box office ratings like the Air India flight fighting turbulence. His Soorarai Pottru was perhaps his last outing that touched hearts, literally celebrating a brave non descript pilot entrepreneur, who made flying accessible to all. What followed as Suriya’s outings turned out to be noisy action that hammered not just the goons but audience interest too. Suriya had morphed into a stereotype…his Kanguva and Retro turned out be a precipitous dive. Talented R J Balaji and Karuppu did give him a floating buoy …what he needed was a sturdy and seaworthy lifeboat. The talented Telugu writer and director Venkat Atluri has resurrected the actor…gentle, classy and capable of great emotional depth in his performances. Coincidentally enough, Vishwanath & Sons deals with surrogacy; how this former pistol shooting champ is railroaded by mother Radhika Saratkumar to beget her a grandchild. How the hero deals with the issue (Mamitha Baiju is the sourrogate mother), with knots and plots that often turn into chaos. Atluri manages a spice mixed Bhel. The plot also deals with Suriya’s May December romance.  G V Prakash stands out for his outstanding background music. Especially the lilting song Butterly. Only this butterfly flits too frequently from situation to situation … insurance for the hero? Jyotika and Suriya with all their predilection for public posture would have scored if more light was shed on surrogacy in India.

A press conference held a couple of days ago by a group of entrepreneurs in Chakan industrial estate near Pune has become a trigger for a clash between Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and veteran leader Sharad Pawar. The industrialists grieved that they would be forced to shift base to adjacent Satara district owing to the pitiable condition of the infrastructure like power supply and roads in Chakan. Pawar said that the companies employed more than 2000 workers and urged the state government to protect jobs and industries in Maharashtra. In a swift rejoinder, Fadnavis has pointed out that Maharashtra continued to top the list of industrialises states in the country. He assured Pawar that the state will continue to be a prime location for industrial activity. Pawar’s observation is based on the data cited in parliament, which said that over 36000 companies in the state had closed down. Fadanvis pointed out that the figures had been presented without the wider context and that around 76% of them were “defunct” entities that had never commenced operations. Fadanvis has also advised Pawar to peruse the official data concerning the subject. He has assured the NCP leader that urgent steps are being taken to resolve the woe of the Chakan industrial belt. Pawar is among the leaders who have a soft corner for industry. Hence, Fadnavis has ensured that his response to Pawar is seen in a correct perspective.

The fall of a star is rarely sudden. For Govinda, once crowned Hero No 1, it has been a prolonged, public unravelling where professional choices collided with domestic fire. He earned his place through pure comic timing and dance that lit up ordinary lives; small-town crowds, school grounds, college campuses and even corporate gatherings. That mass connection was real. Yet the industry that once celebrated him also recorded his chronic lateness and broken commitments. Producers waited in vain, schedules collapsed, and the tag that once meant box-office gold slowly became a warning. The last decade turned the decline dramatic. Film after film failed. The once-unstoppable comic force drifted into obscure stage shows and low-level events that sat uncomfortably with the stature he once commanded. His children never received the carefully planned launches many star kids enjoy. The Sonakshi-Sinha-in-Dabangg moment he had often spoken of for his daughter never materialised. The family that once projected unity now appears fractured and exposed. The sharpest blow is the latest. Govinda has been repeatedly photographed at Mumbai airport with newcomer Komal Rani Swarnkar, the young actress he is launching in Roopa. Wife Sunita Ahuja has answered with open, sustained fury: calling him a “sugar daddy,” accusing him of roaming with a girl of his daughter’s age. Her public, repeatedly derogatory words have turned private bitterness into daily national headlines. Domestic disturbance does more than distract. When a wife paints her husband as unfaithful, classless and lost, the audience that once danced with him begins to look away. Govinda’s own decisions; professional unreliability earlier, and the current public associations, have accelerated the fall. The man who once made India laugh is now watched for the next airport picture and the next angry soundbite. The dance remains, but the stage keeps shrinking.

Yashasvi Jaiswal was palpably gutted, falling a run-out victim to Sri Lanka in the opening dig of the First Test at Galle, Sri Lanka. No batter in the world likes to be ejected from the middle when on song, and the India opener was in commanding form when he was caught short at the non-striker’s end after he had faced 37 balls in the first hour of the action at the lovely ground. After choosing to bat upon winning the toss, India was in control when KL Rahul drove to deep mid-on and took off for a single, which would have been there for the asking in normal circumstances. But even as Rahul had left the ground, Jaiswal got tripped, getting into physical contact with debutant off-spinner Keshava Nuwantha — who was trying to stop the ball from going past him — and fell on his knees. The last piece of action resulted in a deep mid-on throw to the keeper, and he had all the time in the world to remove the bails, with both batters 22 yards from him. It was a weird dismissal, and the discerning are wondering if Rahul could have stopped on his tracks, seeing Jaiswal down on the ground and gesturing to him to go back, which did not happen. The Sony Sports experts on Extraaa Innings, WV Raman, Cheteshwar Pujara and Kona Bharat, did not squarely blame Rahul, but spoke at length about the unfortunate incident, saying Rahul felt a run was on with Jaiswal getting up. Jaiswal was in good nick, facing and sending the ball to the picket five times. There was no mix-up between the two, but Jaiswal lost a chance to put up a big score!

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal’s wife Harsimrat has posted an emotion-filled ‘X’ message to salute Inspector Santosh Vaijnath Kendre of the Maharashtra Police’s Special Protection Unit for showing heroic courage in saving Badal’s life in Nanded on Thursday (Aug 13). She says, “Santosh, you stood like a human shield between Sukhbir ji and the attacker, putting your own life at risk to protect his. In doing so, you reminded us of what it truly means to wear the uniform — to put duty before self and courage before fear. The Badal family bows to you with deepest gratitude. Your bravery will never be forgotten. May Waheguru bless you with a speedy recovery. Also, a special mention for the doctors and the entire staff at the Yashosai Hospital for their relentless service in comforting us.” Reports from Nanded say that Badal was spared of a second attack, thanks to the bravery of Kendre, who sustained a serious injury in the process. According to eye witness accounts that have gone viral, the attacker, Jaspal Singh, had already attacked Badal once and was attempting to stab him again when Kendre leapt between the two. He caught hold of Jaspal’s hand and stood as a wall in a way that shielded Badal from the second swipe of the kirpan. Then Jaspal attacked Kendre in the gruesome incident at Nanded Gurudwara. Immediately after the attack, Badal was taken to Yashosai Hospital where he received a few stitches and was declared out of danger. Nanded SP Neelabh Rohan said there was no breach in Badal’s security. Police have found that the accused is a Pune resident and had practised as a lawyer there. Jaspal’s Pune house was raided by the police as part of investigation.