Latest news with #Hinglish
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
‘Mere paas janta hai': How Bollywood and Hindi are powering Mira Nair's son Zohran Mamdani's run for NYC mayor
Zohran Mamdani, a New York State Assembly member and Democratic mayoral candidate, has turned to Bollywood to fire up his campaign for the city's mayoral race, and is doing it using the lingua franca of those of South Asian descent – Hinglish. In a video posted on social media, Mamdani—who could become the first South Asian mayor of New York City—invokes the cinematic legacy of Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Kishore Kumar to challenge front-runner Andrew Cuomo, in a campaign message that feels more like a film trailer than a typical political ad. It is quite fitting as he is the son of acclaimed Indian filmmaker Mira Nair, who has directed internationally acclaimed films such as Monsoon Wedding and The Namesake. The background music is Deewanagi Deewangi from the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Om Shanti Om. The video opens with a scene from Deewar (1975), where Amitabh Bachchan, playing the hardened Vijay, faces off with his idealistic brother Ravi (Shashi Kapoor). In the original, Vijay boasts: 'Aaj mere paas buildingein hain, property hai, bangla hai, bank balance hai, gaadi hai. Tumhare paas kya hai? ('Today I have buildings, property, a bungalow, a bank balance, and a car. What do you have?' The video cuts before Shashi Kapoor can reply. Instead, Mamdani appears on screen, arms stretched wide in Shah Rukh Khan's signature pose—his answer: 'Main paas janta hai' (I have the people). His campaign weaves Bollywood nostalgia into political messaging. The iconic scene from Amitabh Bachchan's Deewar, a symbol of class conflict and moral divide in Hindi cinema, is reimagined for American politics for his immigrant voter base. And the SRK pose—made famous in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and repeated across his filmography, makes him instantly relatable. Billionaires ke paas already sab kuchh hai. Ab, aapka time aageya. Billionaires already have everything. Now, your time has come. — Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) June 4, 2025 Using Kishore Kumar's voice from the film Karz (1980), Mamdani introduces the idea of ranked-choice voting with a clever twist: 'Hey, have you ever voted for anyone? Have you ever ranked anyone?'—a playful but pointed question to New York's multilingual electorate. He also uses the beloved summer beverage, lassi (buttermilk), to explain rank-based voting. Urging the electorate not to vote for Cuomo, whom he marks as his primary adversary, he uses the lyrics: 'Khana milega pina milega bhaiya ki shadi hai sab kuch milega' to subtly send home the message that while Donald Trump-backed candidate may offer freebees, real change will be elusive. This is followed by the line: 'Billionaires already have everything. Now your time has come.' In yet another nod to classic Hindi cinema, Mamdani invokes the phrase 'Roti, Kapda aur Makaan', the title of the 1974 Manoj Kumar film, to drive home the election plank of basic affordability, a key theme of his campaign. The video presents a stark contrast between Mamdani's populist pitch and Cuomo's elite image. Though Mamdani is speaking to New Yorkers, the language, music, and imagery are unmistakably Indian. After all, his target electorate comprises South Asian immigrants, first-generation voters, and working-class communities who might not see themselves in typical political campaigns. The election will take place on June 24.
Indian Express
20-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Ministry of Skill Development, Meta launch AI assistant for upskilling
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), has announced the launch of 'Skill India Assistant' (SIA). The chatbot, being dubbed as an AI-driven 'digital mentor', was developed in collaboration with Meta. It is implemented by Sarvam AI, and it leverages Meta's open-source Llama models to provide personalised skilling guidance using WhatsApp as the platform. According to a statement, this marks the first large-scale integration of an open-source AI model into a national public skilling mission. SIA is accessible to users by sending a message to +91-844-868-4032 on WhatsApp. It offers a user-friendly interface where individuals can explore a variety of skilling courses, locate nearby training centers, and access job opportunities tailored to their profiles. What are its features? SIA offers a range of features designed to assist users in their skilling journey: Course Recommendations: Personalised suggestions based on user interests and career goals. Training Center Locator: Information on nearby skilling centers for hands-on training. Job Listings: Access to employment opportunities aligned with the user's skill set. Interactive Learning: Quizzes and doubt clarification to reinforce learning. Multilingual Support: Communication in English, Hindi, and Hinglish, with plans for additional languages. The assistant supports interactions in English, Hindi, and Hinglish, with plans to incorporate more regional languages later on. Users can interact with SIA through text or voice messages as well. During the launch, Jayant Chaudhary, Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, highlighted the transformative potential of SIA, saying, 'The Skill India Assistant marks a pivotal shift in how we deliver learning and employment support to our citizens. By harnessing the power of AI in a familiar platform like WhatsApp, we are bringing personalised skilling guidance directly to the fingertips of millions especially those in remote and underserved areas.' Shivnath Thukral, Vice President and Head of Public Policy at Meta India, highlighted the societal impact of the initiative. He said, 'With this launch, we aim to enhance how AI can serve society. The Skill India Assistant (SIA) demonstrates that open-source technology, when deployed thoughtfully and collaboratively, can uplift millions. We are pleased to support India's vision of an inclusive, empowered, digitally connected economy.'
Fashion Value Chain
13-05-2025
- Business
- Fashion Value Chain
Paisabazaar Launches PB VCR – India's First AI-based Video Credit Report
PB VCR to provide a personalized video representation of each consumer's credit report Actionable insights along with personalized solutions and recommendations to be part of VCR Part of Paisabazaar's Credit Improvement services, to help deepen awareness Last year, Paisabazaar also launched PB Assist- an AI-powered Credit Advisor Paisabazaar, India's largest marketplace for consumer credit and free credit score platform, announced today the launch of 'PB VCR' (Paisabazaar Video Credit Report) – an AI-based video representation of consumers' credit report. PB VCR would provide each consumer their credit score, along with their performance on various aspects that impact their score, through an easy to understand and jargon free video. The AI-powered videos would offer insights around one's credit behaviour, enabling deeper awareness and responsible actions, around key aspects including repayment history, credit utilization, credit enquiries, credit mix etc. As PB VCR evolves, it would also provide each consumer with personalized solutions and recommendations to improve their credit health. PB-VCR is an in-house fine-tuned text-to-speech model that leverages a combination of Vector Quantized-Variational AutoEncoder (VQ-VAE), GPT2 architecture, and Diffusion-based UnivNet vocoder for ensuring clarity and fluency in Hinglish (Hindi+English) speech. Radhika Binani, Chief Product Officer, Paisabazaar, said, 'Our credit awareness program focuses on helping consumers manage and better their credit health. We have been continuously innovating, to help consumers track their credit health, climb up the credit ladder and strengthen their overall financial standing. PB VCR is another first-in-the-industry step towards making access to credit health seamless and easy for India.' Paisabazaar last year launched PB Assist- an AI-powered Credit Advisor, that, through chat, would offer a holistic view of a consumer's credit health and offer insights that empower consumers to make informed credit decisions. Both PB Assist and PB VCR are part of Paisabazaar's subscription-based Credit Improvement services, aimed at helping consumers with damaged credit improve their credit health. Mukesh Sharma, Chief Technology Officer, Paisabazaar, said, 'Our credit score platform has been built on global benchmarks, and as a consumer focused platform, we continue to be committed to use cutting-edge technology to offer seamless experiences. With VCR, we hope not just to delight consumers, but to deepen awareness around monitoring and building our consumers' credit health.' Paisabazaar has been running its credit awareness initiative since 2017 by providing consumers with their free credit score every month, in partnership with all 4 Credit Bureaus. Paisabazaar is also the first player to offer consumers their free credit report in 7 regional languages. It also offers exclusive credit builder products, an advisory service and a detailed credit report to help consumers climb up the credit ladder. Over 50 million consumers from 823 cities across India have checked their free credit score from the Paisabazaar platform. About Paisabazaar Paisabazaar is India's largest marketplace for consumer credit and free credit score platform. It is part of the PB Fintech Group (listed on Indian stock exchanges since 2021) Over the last 11 years, Paisabazaar has earned the trust and goodwill of over 50 million consumers Every month, the platform receives around 20 lakh enquiries from more than 1000 cities. Paisabazaar over the years has built deep partnerships within the lending ecosystem, partnering with 60+ Banks, NBFCs, NBFC fintechs, to offer wide choice Paisabazaar has been running India's largest credit awareness initiative, by offering consumers their credit score from the credit bureaus for free Paisabazaar's co-created strategy helps meet consumer need gaps, through a robust array of exclusive, first-in-market and best-in-class digital products, built with partner Banks and NBFCs Paisabazaar is also an ISO (27001: 2013) certified organization with industry-best controls, to safeguard the best interest of consumers. We are also a PCI DSS certified organization
