India Today

SS Rajamouli, 44 His clear vision of epochal grandeur may pose a huge challenge to producers, but it has great cinematic appeal. It is by pursuing this as a tremendous perfectionist, that SS Rajamouli, 44, the master of dramatic storytelling, keeps a

In days of shrinking global trade, world's biggest economy US looks inwards and aggressive China searches newer markets; India's commerce and industries minister Suresh Prabhu told Anilesh S. Mahajan that India needs World Trade Organization, or WTO

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, 50 Hamein maarna apne aap ko maarne ke barabar hai (to kill me is akin to killing yourself).' The menacing tagline of the Dera Sacha Sauda chief's cinematic debut, MSG: The Messenger of God, in January 2015, was meant to be a

Perhaps, in the current national climate, readers will roll their eyes at an anthology titled Indian Nationalism, The Essential Writings, edited by the Aligarh Muslim University historian Irfan Habib. They know where he stands. His Wikipedia entry, p

Arth With opulent decor by Gauri Khan, a gasless kitchen and the city's swish set partying here, Arth has its feet firmly on Mumbai's nightlife map. They have an in house DJ through the week and a fashion and jazz night with Singleton that brings to

Xi Jinping, 64 If the unexpected, and chaotic, rise of Donald Trump was the story of 2016, the seemingly inevitable, but no less spectacular, emergence of China's 'Chairman of Everything' marked 2017, when Xi Jinping, the "princeling" son of a Commun

Words matter in diplomacy. And India and China found very pleasant ones to exchange on December 22 at least for two countries that by some accounts came very close to a military confrontation after a 72 day border stand off in Doklam that ended late

NR NARAYANA MURTHY, 71 When NR Narayana Murthy stepped down as the chairman of Infosys in June 2014, he seemed to be leaving the IT giant he co founded for good. After all, he had come back from retirement to lead the company through a tumultuous per

Ahead of the Gujarat polls, when senior Parsi clerics invited Vijay Rupani to a community event planned on December 23, he promised he would come if he remained chief minister. On the day, after deputing a colleague to meet the governor and stake cla

Nawaz Sharif, 67 If Pakistan's political landscape were a nursery, it would look like this: a giant tree towering over a forest of potted bonsais. The tree being the Pakistan army, the country's only stable institution, but one which has not allowed

It is a year that will go down as significant in India's economic history. A series of uncomfortable measures were announced, which jolted the economy, for better or worse. The man at the top is confident of leaving behind a formidable legacy. In a r

NIRMALA SITHARAMAN, 58 Few politicians have seen as astounding a rise to national prominence as defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman. A late entrant to politics, she joined the BJP a mere decade ago, becoming the party spokesperson in 2010, a junior f

ARUN JAITLEY, 65 On November 29, amidst the heat and dust of Gujarat elections, finance minister Arun Jaitley received a call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a blog the former had written on the insolvency law the day before. The blog post, The

YOGI ADITYANATH, 45 He has given Lucknow a whole new routine. Since March 19, the day 45 year old Yogi Adityanath was sworn in as Uttar Pradesh's new chief minister, there's been a unprecedented buzz around Pancham Tal, the state secretariat behind t

With the Gujarat verdict falling short of expectations and acquittals in the 2G case almost knocking the sails out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign against corruption, Lalu Prasad Yadav's conviction will surely provide fodder for the BJP to

Jadhav's Keyboard Army The irony of Pakistan permitting Kulbhushan Jadhav's family to visit him as a "humanitarian gesture" is that he has ceased to be treated as a human being for some time now. Pakistanis on social media castigated their government

President Donald Trump could take the decision on December 6 to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel without worrying about any meaningful backlash from the Arab states. Unlike in 1973, when the Arabs effectively employed the 'oil weapon' aga

A nation, like Nature, abhors a vacuum. When it has a billion plus people, as India does, any vacuum caused, by leaders or louts, power or pelf, victors or villains, courage or cowardice, glory or gore, triumph or travail, is rapidly filled up. That'

June 11, 2017, Oval, London. India were playing a virtual knockout match against South Africa for a place in the Champions Trophy semi final. They had lost rather unexpectedly to unfancied Sri Lanka two days ago at the same venue, and this was a make

Sanjay Leela Bhansali, 54 Distorter of history. Destroyer of Rajput pride. Traitor. Man with a Rs 10 crore bounty on his head. Stuck with so many labels, 2017 has been anything but good for Sanjay Leela Bhansali, whose ninth feature Padmavati has dom

To understand India Today's Newsmaker of the Year 2017, one has to go back to 2006, when he was 18. Representing Delhi, Virat Kohli played for his team against Karnataka the day after his father's death and went on to score 90, going directly to the

The power shuttlers Never in the annals of one on one sport in India have players accomplished themselves like the badminton aces did in 2017. For the first time, Indians this year featured among badminton's world top five, both among men and women.

RAHUL GANDHI, 47 In many ways, 2017 will be marked as a watershed in Rahul Gandhi's political career. The country witnessed his new avatar, relentless in public campaign, proactive on social media, and assertive in decision making. By the year end, h

Narendra Modi, 66; Amit Shah, 53 When Amit Shah was jailed as a co accused in the 2005 Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case in July 2010, it was as though a bolt of lightning had struck Narendra Modi. People who would go to visit the Gujarat chief

WITHOUT A COUNTRY The Rohingya crisis or the Rohingya genocide. Call it what you will, the evidence of industrial scale rape, murder and ethnic cleansing was overwhelming as some 600,000 human beings fled Myanmar for refuge in the unlikely haven of B

In 2017, the question that troubled audiences was 'why Katappa killed Baahubali'. In 2018, it's 'will Padmavati enjoy a hassle free release'? Unperturbed, Akshay Kumar's off to a flying start for the year. After Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, his next public

You wouldn't think it, but AR Rahman is a funny guy, at least when it comes to bad jokes. The Mozart of Madras has "a wacky sense of humour", say members of his touring band, with whom he just wrapped up the Encore tour, a four city trek through Hyde

Like a teenager allowed out for his first party, veteran artist Manu Parekh asked, "Can I bring my friends? I have a lot of friends here." The 78 year old did bring his friends along, but it wasn't just they who cheered as the Bengali speaking Gujara

PARVAAZ Bangalore based rock band Parvaaz, whose songs are in a mix of Hindi, Kashmiri and Urdu, say their follow up to 2014's Baran will be equally balanced across the three languages and, with a mix of acoustic and progressive rock elements, featur