Latest news with #Ravi
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
The Great Indian Kapil Show: Ravi Kishan reveals he felt his film career ended after joining politics; says ‘I thought I would never get a call from the industry'
In the latest episode of The Great Indian Kapil Show, actor-politician Ravi Kishan candidly opened up about the uncertainties he faced after stepping into politics. Speaking about his journey, he said, 'Laapata Ladies was met with a lot of praise, it went to the Oscars. I had been manifesting something like this for 34 years. Nothing really worked out at first. But by Mahadev's grace, I became MP of Gorakhpur. At that point, I thought I would never get a call from the film industry again.' He admitted feeling resigned to the idea that his film career had ended. 'I thought I would never get a call from the industry,' Ravi added. But destiny had other plans. 'At the end of the day, His blessings shape your path. Then came along the film by Kiran Rao . I played a police officer who kept chewing paan. I had to chew 160 paans while staying put in one spot. From that one spot, all the way to Oscars.' Ajay Devgn, who shared the stage with Ravi, jokingly spoke about their time on the Son of Sardar 2 set. He said, 'Ravi carried his serious look even in our film scenes. I told him to loosen up and after half a day, he finally realised.' Adding humour to the episode, Ravi narrated the quirky backstory of his half-Bihari, half-Punjabi character in Son of Sardar 2. Wearing a bright pagdi, he shared how his character's father, a Punjabi truck driver, married in Bihar, explaining his multicultural accent in the film. Kapil Sharma struggled to control his laughter as Ravi's hilarious story unfolded. Ravi Kishan's blend of honesty and humour made the episode both emotional and entertaining.
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
41st anniversary of The Times of India, Bengaluru: Where delivery never stops
On any given morning in Bengaluru, the city begins to hum well before office towers light up. Long before the first cappuccino is poured in a Koramangala café or a family logs into its online grocery app, hundreds of thousands of gig workers are already in motion, delivering breakfasts, ferrying commuters, restocking shelves in micro-warehouses, or setting up kits for doorstep salon bookings. They are the quiet, relentless machinery behind the city's digital convenience. Over the past decade, Bengaluru has come to define not just India's tech ambition but also the shape of its informal, app-driven labour force. If Mumbai is the city of finance and Delhi of politics, Bengaluru today is the capital of platform work, a city where the future of jobs is being prototyped real time. Estimates vary, but industry insiders say there are upwards of 2 lakh active gig workers operating in and around Bengaluru. These are individuals tied to no single employer, governed instead by the push and pull of algorithms, location density, and dynamic demand. From 10-minute grocery deliveries to 30-minute repair jobs, their work is fragmented, flexible, and often physically exhausting. What keeps them going is the promise of daily income and the hope that, someday, they'll find a more stable alternative. You Can Also Check: Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru Ravi, 29, is one such worker. He moved to the city from Hassan in 2021 and now juggles delivery gigs across three platforms. On a good day, he says, he makes close to Rs 2,500. On a bad one, it could fall under Rs 900. His schedule stretches from 6 in the morning till past 10 at night, with barely a break. 'It's like the app knows when I pause. I stop for too long, and the order flow disappears,' he says. A blend of autonomy and pressure is central to the Bengaluru gig economy. The city -- with its dense clusters of tech-savvy consumers, high urban sprawl, and startup-rich ecosystem -- has become the ideal test bed for gig platforms. Many of India's largest and fastest-scaling service startups either launched in or first expanded into Bengaluru. The city's early adopters have made it a natural destination for pilots, whether it's instant grocery models, hyperlocal parcel services or premium beauty-at-home offerings. Beneath the scale and speed lies a more complex reality. For most workers, the benefits of flexibility are offset by deep unpredictability. There are no guaranteed earnings, no paid leave, no fallback options in case of illness, and very little visibility into how compensation is structured. Several workers report that platform payouts have gradually declined over time, while performance expectations, such as order acceptance rates or customer ratings, remain rigid. Some like Kavitha, a 33-year-old home-services professional, say they entered platform work for the flexibility it offered. As a single parent, the idea of choosing when to work was appealing. 'But there's a catch,' she says. 'The platform gives priority to workers who are available more often, so if I work only a few hours, I get fewer bookings the next week. Flexibility comes at a cost.' In a city like Bengaluru, where formal job creation hasn't kept pace with population growth, gig work is increasingly seen not just as stop-gap employment but as a primary income stream for thousands. This shift has prompted a policy rethink at the state level. Earlier this year, the Karnataka government issued an ordinance aimed at bringing gig and platformbased workers under a formal social security net. While the Karnataka Platform-based Gig Workers' (Social Security and Welfare) Ordinance, 2025, is yet to come into effect, it lays the groundwork for a contributory welfare fund that will cover accident insurance, health benefits, and other protections for gig workers. The proposed system involves a 1-5% welfare cess on transactions facilitated by aggregators, structured in a way that platforms, consumers, and even gig workers themselves can contribute. 'The act has been framed in such a manner that all three stakeholders can contribute to the welfare fund, and even the gig worker can top up on his social security by paying extra towards the board,' said additional labour commissioner Manjunath , adding the rules were in the final stages of being framed. However, he acknowledged that in practice, the cost may ultimately fall on end consumers. Once operational, the ordinance is expected to apply to an estimated 30,000 platform workers initially. Under the draft rules, platforms will be assigned to different cess slabs depending on the nature of their business -- be it delivery, personal services, or mobility. The annual corpus from this framework is expected to touch Rs 150 crore. Experts, however, advised caution. 'It's a longoverdue intervention,' said Balaji Parthasarathy, principal investigator at Fairwork India, 'but the devil is in the details. The legislation outlines the terrain, but execution will hinge on how wage protection, dispute resolution, and algorithmic accountability are addressed.' Parthasarathy pointed out that the ordinance does not mandate a minimum wage, leaving workers exposed to fluctuations in per-task earnings. 'Transparency in deductions is a start, but without wage-floor guarantees or clear limits on unilateral payout cuts, platforms can still reduce per-task payments to offset the cess,' he said. From a legal standpoint, the ordinance offers a degree of clarity. According to Vikram Shroff, partner at law firm AZB & Partners, the framework reduces the risk of worker misclassification by formally recognising platform labour relationships. But he cautioned that some provisions, such as the conditions under which platforms can terminate or deactivate workers, may come under legal scrutiny, especially if they conflict with existing service contracts. Shroff flagged a potential compliance headache for companies once the central government notifies the national Social Security Code. With both state and central frameworks addressing gig worker rights in parallel, platforms could face overlapping obligations. Despite concerns, some platforms have responded favourably. One senior executive at a leading urban logistics company said the ordinance represents a 'welcome shift towards recognising gig work as essential labour,' and noted that many responsible platforms are already offering accident coverage and health insurance schemes. 'What we now need is clarity on how the cess will be calculated and whether compliance will be linked to worker volume or total payouts,' they said. Beyond policy and payouts, the future of gig work in Bengaluru may lie in its ability to evolve. A growing number of workers are testing out hybrid models, taking on a mix of physical gigs and remote tasks like customer support, transcription, or AI data tagging. Others are exploring skill-based platforms that offer entry-level white-collar roles with more predictable hours, even if at lower pay. Still, the majority remain on the road, working long hours to keep pace with fluctuating demand. As Karnataka moves to formalise protections, Bengaluru stands at a critical juncture. It can choose to lead India in shaping a digital labour framework that is both scalable and humane, or risk normalising a system where efficiency continues to outpace equity.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
‘Ramayana': Ranbir Kapoor and Ravi Dubey posing for photo together has us excited to see them as Lord Ram and Laxman
Picture Credit: X Ranbir Kapoor will be seen playing the role of Lord Ram in Nitesh Tiwari's magnum opus, ' Ramayana '. In the film, actor Ravi Dubey will be essaying the character of Lakshman. Fans of the epic drama are constantly on the lookout for set photos, updates, and anything else relevant to the film. And Ravi has just treated them with a picture of himself posing with his onscreen brother, Ranbir, and the director. The picture featured the trio happily posing for the camera. RK was in an all-black outfit, while Ravi wore a denim jacket over a white t-shirt and black cargo pants. Dubey added a caption in Devanagari script, which loosely translates to, "Ram is rich in patience, possesses great virtues, and is the conqueror of the world." It further read, "In the company of legends @niteshtiwari22 sir and #ranbirkapoor bhai." Soon, the post received massive love from the social media users. They dropped heart and fire emojis in the comment section and also shared their excitement for the film. Ravi Dubey on why never talked about being part of film earlier Earlier, Ravi Dubey opened up about working on the film. In an interview with Connect Cine, the actor shared that he can finally say that he is playing Lakshman in the film, as he was not allowed to reveal it before. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like An engineer reveals: One simple trick to get internet without a subscription Techno Mag Learn More Undo He said, "I didn't talk about it all this while because I didn't want to give irresponsible statements and spoil Namit and Nitesh Sir's plans to reveal the cast." Cast and release dates for 'Ramayana' 'Ramayana' is based on Rishi Valmiki's epic of the same name. Apart from Ranbir and Ravi, the movie features Sai Pallavi as Goddess Sita, Yash as Lankapati Raavana, and Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman. The massive cast also includes Rakul Preet Singh, Lara Dutta, Vivek Oberoi , Kajal Aggarwal , Arun Govil, Kunal Kapoor, Sheeba Chadha, and Indira Krishnan in pivotal roles. The first glimpse of the film was dropped on the internet on July 3. The film will be released in two parts, and the first installment is scheduled for release on Diwali 2026. Meanwhile, the second part will be out in cinemas on Diwali 2027.
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Constitute SIT to probe into Madurai Corporation property tax scam: Madras High Court
MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday directed the Inspector General of Police (South Zone) and Madurai City Police Commissioner to constitute a special investigation team headed by a senior IPS officer with proven integrity to probe into the property tax scam in Madurai Corporation. A bench of justices SM Subramaniam and AD Maria Clete gave the direction while hearing a PIL plea by an AIADMK councillor T Ravi seeking CBI probe. According to Ravi, the mayor and zonal chairpersons, in connivance with corporation officials, had committed a huge scam in property tax collection and it was brought to the notice of the corporation commissioner by AIADMK councillors during council meetings. Commercial properties charged at housing tax rate Subsequently, the commissioner had appointed an inquiry committee, and based on its report, he had lodged a complaint with the city police commissioner. The gist of the complaint, as per Ravi's petition, was that during 2022-2024, at the instigation and knowledge of the mayor and zonal chairpersons of the corporation, officials had fraudulently mutated commercial tax properties into house tax by reducing built area, changing commercial into semi-commercial portions, removing additional rooms, etc., from the tax server. Initially the officials increased the property tax and made the public suffer and then illegally reduced the taxes to enable interested persons to pay less tax to the civic body, causing a total loss of over Rs 200 crore to the civic body, Ravi alleged. Though the commissioner had lodged the complaint as early as September 2024, police registered a case only in June 2025, he pointed out. He further alleged that the police have only arrested low-ranking officials and contract staff and left out the real culprits by acting hand-in-glove with the latter.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Ravi Kishan demands end to obscenity in Bhojpuri films, calls for industry's revival
Ravi Kishan criticized the rise of obscenity in Bhojpuri cinema, calling it 'completely unacceptable' and urging a revival of its lost glory. He sees Bhojpuri films as his identity and wants to help restore their dignity. Ravi will next appear in 'Son of Sardaar 2', releasing July 25. Ravi Kishan , who initially gained fame through Bhojpuri cinema and now enjoys success in Bollywood and web series, recently expressed concern about the current state of Bhojpuri films. In a recent interview, he said that Bhojpuri cinema has declined significantly and criticized the increasing presence of obscenity in its films. Actor Raises Alarm on Growing Obscenity The actress recently spoke to Amar Ujala, expressing his concern about the current state of Bhojpuri cinema. He stated that many Bhojpuri films today contain a significant amount of obscenity, which he finds completely unacceptable. Ravi Kishan Calls for Revival of Bhojpuri Cinema He has expressed deep concern about the current state of Bhojpuri cinema, saying it has "stooped to a very low level". He has voiced his desire to restore the old glory of Bhojpuri films and bring the industry back to respectable standards. According to him, Bhojpuri cinema is not just a source of work but also a source of self-respect and identity. Having gained recognition through Bhojpuri films, Ravi now wants to give back to the industry by helping it overcome the issues of vulgarity and reclaim its dignity. Upcoming Film Project On the work front, Ravi will be next seen in the film 'Son of Sardaar 2', which is set to hit theatres on July 25. Directed by Vijay Kumar Arora , it is a spiritual successor to the 2012 action-comedy Son of Sardaar. The film features Ajay Devgn, Mrunal Thakur, and Sanjay Mishra in key roles, while Deepak Dobriyal , Chunky Panday, Neeru Bajwa , Kubbra Sait, Vindu Dara Singh, and Mukul Dev will also play significant parts.
