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Time of India
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
India speaks for itself now: Why global outreach is not a tamasha
Dr Navneet Anand is a communications professional with a rich tapestry of experience spanning 25 years across media, academia, and the corporate sector. A graduate of Hindu College in Delhi University, Anand went on to complete his MA, MPhil and PhD in Sociology (communications) from Jawaharlal Nehru University, he has been a journalist previously with The Times of India, The Indian Express, and The Pioneer. As the founder-director of GreyMatters Communications & Consulting, Navneet has lent his expertise to a myriad of projects, including serving as a Public Communication Expert for a World Bank initiative, International Labour Organization, many Government and private agencies in India. His corporate journey includes a notable tenure as General Manager of Corporate Affairs & Communication at Fortune 500 company, Reliance Industries Limited. Navneet seamlessly integrates his extensive professional background with his rigorous academic training. He is the author of two acclaimed books, including 'The Media Effect' (2003), and regularly contributes to esteemed national and international journals and publications. A distinguished educator, Navneet imparts knowledge on journalism, social media, marketing & strategic communication, and public relations at esteemed institutions such as Indian Institute of Mass Communication, IIMs, IP University, Delhi University and JNU. With a passion for training and development, Navneet has empowered over 2,500 officials from government, police, and PSUs, while delivering over 500 lectures and training sessions. For insights on social and political issues, reach out to him at navneet@ LESS ... MORE A quote often attributed to Winston Churchill reads: 'Some see private misfortune in public success. They forget the victory belongs to the nation, not to the noise of its doubters.' In the tense months leading up to D-Day in 1944, Churchill made the momentous decision to back Operation Overlord, the largest seaborne invasion in military history. Many in his own cabinet and among military advisors feared the operation would end in disaster. Yet when the tides turned and Allied troops landed successfully on the beaches of Normandy, liberating Europe from fascist rule, some critics continued to murmur, unable to celebrate what was ultimately a national and civilizational triumph. For a generation of doubters including intellectuals, perception engineers, and custodians of legacy opinion-making, the bold and decisive moves by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the wake of Operation Sindoor have, unsurprisingly, not gone down too well. Visibly irked and sensing private misfortune, their sermonizing on India's diplomacy and its handling of Pakistan has surfaced in varied formats: verbose X threads, camouflaged newspaper columns, and panels in policy dialogues. What they refuse to acknowledge is the tectonic shift in global power. Political scientist Samuel Huntington anticipated this change in The Clash of Civilizations. He observed that in the post–Cold War world, Western dominance would decline, and its universalist narrative would lose moral currency. At the same time, Asian civilizations, particularly India and China, would grow economically, militarily, and politically. The Islamic world, he warned, would see demographic upheaval with destabilizing consequences. His warning today reads like prophecy. In this emerging global order, India cannot afford diplomatic timidity. Our outreach via delegations of Members of Parliament, former ministers, diplomats, and strategic experts, is not a joyride or an indulgent spectacle. It is a calibrated and essential assertion of India's role as a rising power. For many decades before 2014, a select group of journalists and foreign policy experts assumed it was their birthright to accompany every official Indian delegation: from Mongolia to Mozambique, Guyana to Great Britain, Uganda to the United States. That cosy business was shut down with Modi's arrival, and perhaps that's where the pinch lies. Now, denied their old privileges, the same skeptics struggle to stomach a new Bharat. One that walks into the world's most strategic capitals and says, clearly and confidently: this is who we are. A nation with strength, resolve, and a clear sense of self. No euphemisms. No appeasement. No apologies. This moment is more than just a response to Operation Sindoor. It is a redefinition of Indian diplomacy. Combating terror is no longer merely a domestic imperative. It is a global message, conveyed with precision and intent. India will not be spoken for. It will speak, and if necessary, act for itself. Dismissing the all-party delegation's visit as a 'taxpayer-funded vacation' is not just incorrect, it is dishonest. It reduces a serious diplomatic initiative to a caricature. In today's world of weaponised misinformation, India must explain its position globally. Engaging with the international community is not vanity, it is strategy. Calling this outreach a 'boondoggle' ignores the stakes of global opinion-making. Silence can be misinterpreted. Propaganda can metastasize if left unchallenged. The India of today cannot afford to leave narratives to others. It must shape them, assertively and truthfully. Likewise, calling India's diplomatic messaging a display of 'victimhood' is a shallow interpretation. Nations have every right to highlight terrorism, expose international duplicity, and demand accountability. These are not signs of insecurity; instead they are expressions of sovereign confidence. Strategic autonomy does not mean silence. Nor does it mean forfeiting the right to demand solidarity when the cause is just. A multi-party delegation member and AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi during an interaction with prominent figures, in Bahrain. For far too long, Pakistan and its proxies cultivated a sympathetic network within India including essayists in editorial offices, content creators posing as conflict analysts. After Operation Sindoor, they were subdued. But as soon as India began reaffirming its message to the world, their discomfort resurfaced. A multi-party delegation led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor being welcomed by Ambassador of India to the United States of America Vinay Kwatra, in New York. This time, however, the message is different. It is firm. It is public. You are either with us, or you are not. And this will no longer be whispered in closed rooms. It will be said aloud — in Geneva, in Brussels, in New York, in Tokyo — wherever India's voice needs to be heard. Because this is not about Modi. It is about India. And India is speaking for itself now. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
Hindustan Times
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Pakistan desk to work roles with Manmohan Singh, Narendra Modi: Who is foreign secretary Vikram Misri?
Foreign secretary Vikram Misri has been the face of India's press briefings since Operation Sindoor began, along with Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh. The Indian diplomat's composed presence while addressing the nation has contributed to bringing a sense of calm amid cross-border military action. Vikram Misri was once again at the forefront on Saturday evening to announce India's ceasefire 'understanding' with Pakistan. Vikram Misri revealed that it was facilitated by call between the DGMOs of Pakistan and India at 3:35 pm. He also stated that the ceasefire began from 5:00 pm (IST) on Saturday. Later, Pakistan violated the ceasefire on Saturday night, prompting Vikram Misri to issue another press statement. Vikram Misri was born on November 7, 1964, in Srinagar, and his early childhood years were spent in Jammu and Kashmir. Vikram Misri then moved to Scindia School in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior, followed by a degree in History from Delhi University's Hindu College. Vikram Misri also has an MBA degree from XLRI, Jamshedpur. Before his diplomatic career kicked-off, Vikram Misri had a stint in advertising with Lintas India and Contract Advertising. Vikram Misri is said to be fluent in English, Hindi and Kashmiri, and is known to have a decent control of French. Vikram Misri is a Kamalnayan Bajaj Fellow of the Aspen Institute's India Leadership Initiative too. Vikram Misri joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1989, and then served at the Ministry of External Affairs' Pakistan desk. Vikram Misri also worked closely with Foreigh Ministers IK Gujral, Pranab Mukherjee, and served as private secretary to three Indian prime ministers (IK Gujral, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi). Vikram Misri resume also includes plenty of international assignments, which has seen him take up ambassadorial positions in Spain, Myanmar and China. Vikram Misri also held the deputy high commissioner post in Sri Lanka and Munich's Consul General. Misri worked as deputy national security adviser from January 2022 to June 2024, a stint in which he was seen handling strategic affairs. Vikram Misri was appointed India's 35th foreign secretary on July 15, 2024.
Economic Times
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Economic Times
All about Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, who briefed the media on Operation Sindoor
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, along with Colonel Sophia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, jointly addressed the media today on Operation Sindoor, under which India launched missile strikes on terror launchpads deep inside Pakistan. ADVERTISEMENT Check Live Updates Misri described the operation as 'measured, non-escalatory, proportionate, and responsible.' Referring to the UN Security Council's statement on the Pahalgam terror attack, he said it emphasized the need to bring the "perpetrators, organisers, financiers, and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism" to justice. He stressed that India's actions should be viewed in this context. 'Despite a fortnight having passed since the attack, there has been no demonstrable action from Pakistan against the terrorist infrastructure on its soil or territories under its control. Instead, it has resorted to denial and baseless allegations,' he intelligence inputs, Misri added that Pakistan-based terror modules were planning further attacks, making it necessary to preempt and deter. ADVERTISEMENT Vikram Misri was appointed as India's 35th Foreign Secretary on 15 July 2024, following a distinguished three-decade career in diplomacy and public service. Born on 7 November 1964 in Srinagar, Misri completed his early education in Jammu and Kashmir, later attending Scindia School, Gwalior. He holds a Bachelor's degree in History from Hindu College, University of Delhi, and an MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur. Before joining the Indian Foreign Service in 1989, he worked for three years in the advertising sector, including stints at Lintas India and Contract Advertising. ADVERTISEMENT A career diplomat, Misri has served in various capacities across the Ministry of External Affairs, the Prime Minister's Office, and Indian missions in Europe, Africa, Asia, and North notable assignments include: ADVERTISEMENT Serving on the Pakistan desk at the MEA Staff roles with Foreign Ministers I.K. Gujral and Pranab Mukherjee Private Secretary to three Prime Ministers: I.K. Gujral, Manmohan Singh, and Narendra Modi Ambassadorial postings in Spain, Myanmar, and China (2019–2021) Deputy High Commissioner in Sri Lanka and Consul General in Munich Deputy National Security Adviser (Strategic Affairs) from January 2022 to June 2024 Fluent in Hindi, English, and Kashmiri, with working knowledge of French, Misri is also a Kamalnayan Bajaj Fellow of the Aspen Institute's India Leadership Initiative. He is married to Dolly Misri and has two children. ADVERTISEMENT
Hindustan Times
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
The Bhootnii movie review: Sanjay Dutt, Mouni Roy, Sunny Singh serve us a horror comedy neither too funny nor scary
You know what hurts a little? When you see that spark in a film, it definitely had the potential to be much more. The Bhootnii, starring Sanjay Dutt as a ghost hunter, along with Sunny Singh, Palak Tiwari, Mouni Roy in the leading roles- is one of them. It revolves around the annual Virgin Tree pooja (held at Hindu College in Delhi, but a fictional one on screen). Legend goes that whoever prays to the tree on Valentine's Day every year gets their 'mohabbat'. Shantanu (Sunny), a heartbroken man whose girlfriend leaves him, is anguished and wishes for love. And in comes Mohabbat- literally, in the form of a ghost by the same name (Mouni). The Bhootnii, written and directed by Sidhaant Sachdev, has a bit of every horror comedy you have seen. It especially borrows a lot from the Stree franchise- an angry ghost, a group of friends, with funny one-liners sprinkled throughout. The makers don't miss the chance to give a nod to Naagin, which is Mouni's calling card. Before we say it out loud, they do it themselves via this one-liner by one of the sidekicks, 'Aisa lag raha hai Naagin serial ki shooting live dekh ke aa raha hoon!' Where The Bhootnii triumphs is by going all out on the fantasy bit. There's absolutely nothing believable about the world of this film. The lighthearted tone suits Sanjay's character, called Baba, who gets to use his comic timing well. Complimenting him are Nickunj Sharma and Aasif Khan. Together, the trio leads contributes genuine laughs. Where this film falters is in the action sequences, which feel dragged. Right from Sanjay's entry to when Mouni's character wreaks havoc in the climax, there's so much happening that the smartphone on us comes as a saviour. The Bhootnii takes its sweet time finding its groove, with a patchy first half, and that could be a test of patience for some. Some dialogues, meant to be funny, also fall flat so the humour feels forced. In the performance department, Sunny overdoes it in some emotional sequences, but he handles the role well otherwise. Palak has a good presence on screen. Mouni has ample experience in such roles and fares well. Sanjay reserves the maximum chuckles for his character and his quirks. Overall, The Bhootnii isn't as scary or funny as the title suggests. It's somewhere in between, and could work as a one-time watch when you have absolutely nothing else to do.
News18
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
The Bhootnii Review: Sanjay Dutt And Mouni Roy Struggle To Lift A Loud, Middling Film
Last Updated: The Bhootnii Movie Review: Feel free to give this film a miss and if you miss Sanjay Dutt, you better go watch Munna Bhai MBBS and Lage Raho Munna Bhai for the umpteenth time. The Bhootnii is currently running in theatres. The Bhootnii Movie Review: This is the age of horror-comedies and may god spare us from this wave! This week's brand-new (that's debatable) horror-comedy is The Bhootnii and it makes you wonder if succumbing to the formula is enough. What about the screenplay? And what about the treatment? Is brand 'horror-comedy' enough to entice a crowd into a theatre? It's a big, fat NO. The Bhootnii – though based on a decent plotline – is bereft of both horror and comedy and is too ambitious for its own good. What's left is a middling screenplay that tries too hard to keep the film afloat. It revolves around The Virgin Tree. Delhi University alumni must be familiar with it. For those who aren't, every year, the students of Hindu College used to perform the Damdami Mai puja (worship of The Virgin Tree) on campus, hoping to find love. One of the key highlights of the event included praying to a Bollywood actor and actress. This one time, the chosen celebrity was Sunny Leone. But coming back to The Bhootnii – that was previously titled The Virgin Tree – is set in a college called St Vincent College of Art and Culture. On every Valentine's Day, the students offer garlands, photographs and notes to a tree on the campus with the anticipation that they too will soon have a blossoming love life and a happening sex life. But little do they know that a spirit resides in that tree. Things go awry when a bunch of students die in unusual and inexplicable ways. The protagonist, Shantanu, too faces the wrath of the spirit when he breaks down before the tree and reprimands it for not listening to his prayers as his love interest takes off on a motorbike with another boy. And when this spirit comes to power, several students start hallucinating and get seizures. As all of this upsets the apple cart, the faculty and the management decide to call for a meeting. Unable to find answers, they reach out to an old student, Krishna Tripathi, who calls himself Baba and is now a 'para-physicist'. It's rather interesting how Baba is introduced in the film. He's seen fighting piśāca-like creatures in what looks like a shoddy VFX-heavy film shot against a green screen. His lackey, in fact, cautions him that this is no Naagin shoot. Interestingly, he uses guns to shoot down spirits. He also wears an energy detector on his wrist. So, this spirit named Mohabbat – who never found true love and suffered due to a betrayal – falls in love with Shantanu. And his closeness to his female friend, Ananya, makes her jealous. That's when her evil side comes to the core. She starts controlling Ananya. One day, she decides to tell Shantanu the truth about who she really is and when he's unwilling to believe her, she takes the form of a supernatural entity with green eyes and veins. Baba comes to the rescue and tries to send her back to the underworld. At 2 hours 10 minutes, The Bhootnii appears too long-drawn. A lot of time is wasted through the first half and when it's time for the interval, you'll realise that no real plot progression has happened. The makers resort to oodles of physical comedy, which, in all honesty, is jarring, to say the least. Shantanu has two best friends (played by Nick and Aasif Khan) and while they try to make do with the material available to them, a poorly written script doesn't help them soar. Instead, who soars (literally) are Mohabbat and Shantanu much like those piśāca-like creatures. We don't encourage drinking but there's an interesting game that you can play while watching The Bhootnii. Every time the words 'mohabbat' and 'rooh' are uttered, you take a sip from your fancy Stanley Cups (let's face it, no one will let you carry glasses inside a theatre). We can assure you that the spirit will eventually let you to enjoy this tale of a spirit. On a different note, the writer packs the screenplay with many 'jokes' – some of which are references to Ranbir Kapoor's Animal and one of which is borrowed from Munna Bhai's 'agle din apne mohalle mein Hema aayi'. And speaking of Ranbir, there's a flashback sequence in The Bhootnii where we see a young Sanjay Dutt. It will definitely make you think that the makers should have rather considered superimposing Ranbir as a young Sanjay from Sanju. Much like bad jokes, The Bhootnii is filled with aerial shots, which do nothing to elevate the drama. As for St Vincent College of Art and Culture, it's a unique place because students never study there. They spend their time looking at and thinking about The Virgin Tree and whiling their time away at the college café adorned with neon lights. The saddest part is that the funny dialogues don't evoke any laughter and the ones that aren't meant to be funny make you crack up. It's also packaged with a bunch of forgettable songs that don't render anything to the narrative. As for the performances, Nick in his debut acting outing, decides to fully play to the gallery. His histrionics are difficult to watch. Who makes up for him is Aasif. Even in a loud and noisy horror-comedy, he manages to leave a mark. His comic timing is relatively mellowed and he genuinely evokes a few laughs. This is an actor worth looking out for! Sunny Singh as Shantanu appears to be someone who isn't completely convinced with the script but still decides to go with it. There are moments when he's extremely loud and at other places, he's disinterested. His chemistry with Palak Tiwari's Ananya fails to strike a chord either. There's a scene when they have an altercation as a prelude to their confessions of love for each other. It's painful to watch. As for Palak, this script is hardly a parameter to her understand her talent. However, she needs to be given a benefit of doubt for being as confused as Sunny and not completely getting a grasp on the tonality of the script. It's Mouni, however, who, in a way, shoulders the show. Once again, she plays a supernatural entity (no, not Naagin) and though this is home ground for her, she deserves a story and a script that helps her push the envelope. She manages to hold your attention (for good or for bad, but attention is attention) even when you feel your hope slipping away from the film. Her Mohabbat is no Junoon from Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva, but she truly is convincing. But what's truly sad is that the film doesn't do justice to Sanjay. This is a man with an impeccable comic timing but even he's dealt with a deck of poorly written one-liners. For an actor of his stature, who we rarely get to watch on the big screen, he deserves bigger and better. However, his signature swag is still very much a part of The Bhootnii. His towering presence makes him the perfect fit for Baba, who can go against the natural order and crush any spirit to dust – sometimes with a gun and sometimes with love. We wish there was a little more backstory when it comes to Sanjay's Baba. What becomes a redemption of sorts is the last sequence where the climax unfolds. It bears the right kind of energy, treatment and texture, and adds a lot of gravitas to both Baba and Mohabbat. All in all, The Bhootnii is a reminder to filmmakers to stop underestimating the audience. For a horror-comedy to lack both is unforgivable. Even the jump scares are made to look diluted, thanks to the juddering noise and tonality of the film. Feel free to give this film a miss and if you miss Sanjay Dutt, you better go watch Munna Bhai MBBS and Lage Raho Munna Bhai for the umpteenth time. First Published:
