By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 4:59:11 pm

Bhagwat to outline roadmap for next century

Mumbai: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghachalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat will address thousands of volunteers and key political observers at Reshimbagh grounds in Nagpur tomorrow at 7.40 am on the occasion of Vijayadashami, formally concluding the organisation’s centenary-year celebrations. He is expected to deliver an ideological and operational blueprint intended to recalibrate Hindu society, counter ongoing opposition mobilisation across India, and outline internal organisational changes...

min read

Bhagwat to outline roadmap for next century

Mumbai: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghachalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat will address thousands of volunteers and key political observers at Reshimbagh grounds in Nagpur tomorrow at 7.40 am on the occasion of Vijayadashami, formally concluding the organisation’s centenary-year celebrations. He is expected to deliver an ideological and operational blueprint intended to recalibrate Hindu society, counter ongoing opposition mobilisation across India, and outline internal organisational changes through a wide-ranging policy address. The annual Vijayadashami address, historically the most definitive forum for the RSS chief to articulate the organisation’s stance on domestic policy, cultural objectives and global affairs, carries heightened significance this year. Marking the completion of 100 years since Dr K.B. Hedgewar founded the organisation on Vijayadashami in 1925, Bhagwat’s address is designed to chart the strategic framework for the RSS as it enters its second century. Over the past 12 months, Bhagwat has personally anchored a series of outreach programmes across four Indian metropolitan hubs and two global nerve centres in the United States and Europe, signalling an appetite to project ideological clarity and broaden the organisation’s institutional footprint beyond traditional shakhas. The address comes against the backdrop of sustained street agitations orchestrated by the Congress party and newly formed groups such as the CJP in the national capital and several states. These demonstrations, centred on unemployment, social justice rhetoric and institutional accountability, have explicitly targeted India’s youth demographic — a constituency that has historically formed the primary recruitment pipeline and ideological backbone of the Sangh. Political observers believe Bhagwat will offer an unyielding response to these attempts to disrupt governance and erode the social coalition, reflecting an unmistakable determination within the Sangh Parivar leadership to resist political attrition and mount an active counter-narrative. The diplomatic and constitutional significance of the event is underscored by the deliberate selection of guests. Former Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Israel’s Consul General in Mumbai, Yaniv Revach, are attending as special invitees. Revach’s presence hints at possible remarks addressing global geopolitical realignment, the rise of civilisational conflicts, cross-border terrorism and national security challenges. Dhankhar’s attendance provides a platform to reaffirm constitutional patriotism and legislative stability at a juncture marked by sharp parliamentary confrontation. Equally consequential is the invitation extended to Sanjay Gupta, Editor-in-Chief of Dainik Jagran. For an organisation that has historically maintained a measured distance from mainstream media machinery, engaging with the leadership of India’s largest Hindi daily indicates an institutional shift towards proactive public communication. The gesture suggests that the Sangh recognises that narrative warfare in its next century requires strategic engagement with popular media platforms rather than a traditional reliance on insular organisational word of mouth. Beyond external ideological positions, the Nagpur gathering is expected to provide indicators of the structural transitions under way within the RSS. The organisation has been quietly restructuring its administrative echelons, revamping functional wings and adjusting internal deployment models in recent months. With additional leadership realignments slated across key tiers in the near future, Bhagwat’s speech is expected to define the organisational ethos for these generational handovers, emphasising flexibility in outreach while preserving core organisational discipline. As dawn breaks over Reshimbagh, the address will serve both as a balance sheet of a century-old journey and as a declaration of intent for an increasingly combative political era.

When Bollywood Meets the Sporting World

Bharati Dubey

Aug 28

5 min read

From Dhyan Chand and cricket legends to Lagaan and Chak De! India, the relationship between Indian cinema and sport has grown into a cultural phenomenon. August 29 is observed as National Sports Day in India to commemorate the birth anniversary of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand. The day celebrates the spirit of sport across disciplines—from hockey and cricket to football, chess and many other games.

But in India, sport has always existed alongside another powerful form of mass entertainment: cinema. Both have an extraordinary ability to cross boundaries of language, region, religion and culture. For millions of Indians, the excitement of a sporting contest and the emotional experience of a film are equally capable of bringing people together.

Film analyst Dilip Thakur believes this connection is rooted in the universal appeal of both mediums. “India is a country of many religions, languages, regions and cultures, but cinema and sports are two things that everybody can understand and enjoy. That is why the connection between the two is so strong.”

Sports Cinema

Indian films have featured sport for decades, but the way filmmakers have approached sporting stories has changed considerably over time. Earlier, sport was often used as a backdrop for entertainment, romance or comedy. Gradually, however, filmmakers began exploring the lives of athletes, historic victories and the emotional struggles behind sporting success.

Biographical films played a major role in this transformation. Movies such as MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, Azhar and 83 brought real sporting personalities and landmark moments before a mainstream audience. 83, in particular, recreated India’s historic 1983 Cricket World Cup triumph and introduced a new generation to one of the country’s most celebrated sporting achievements.

Period sports dramas also found an audience. Akshay Kumar’s Gold revisited India’s Olympic hockey triumph at the 1948 Games, when the country won its first Olympic gold medal as an independent nation.

Thakur points to an important turning point in the way Hindi cinema treated sporting subjects. “In the past, sports films were not always taken very seriously. Dev Anand’s Awwal Number, with Aamir Khan as a cricketer, was one example. But Lagaan changed the way audiences looked at sports films. Ashutosh Gowariker made cricket central to the story and showed that a sports film could have drama, emotion and serious filmmaking.”

Aamir Khan’s Lagaan went beyond being a cricket film. By placing a cricket match at the centre of a larger story about colonial India, the film demonstrated that sport could become a powerful cinematic device for exploring pride, resistance, community and identity.

Hockey Benchmark

If Lagaan helped establish sports as serious cinematic territory, Shah Rukh Khan’s Chak De! India demonstrated how powerful a sports story could become when combined with emotion and character-driven storytelling.

The film, centred on the Indian women’s hockey team, dealt with themes of prejudice, teamwork, redemption and national identity while keeping the sporting contest at its heart.

For Thakur, it remains a standout. “Chak De! India is arguably the finest sports film made in India. It brought hockey, our national sport, into the spotlight and combined the sport with tremendous emotion and a very strong story.”

The success of films such as Lagaan and Chak De! India helped change the perception that sports movies were merely niche entertainment. They became films that could appeal to audiences even beyond those who followed the sport itself.

When Sporting Heroes and Film Stars Became Headlines

The relationship between cinema and sport has never been limited to the screen. Over the years, the personal lives of film stars and sporting personalities have also generated enormous public interest.

One of the earliest high-profile examples was the marriage of Indian cricket captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and celebrated actress Sharmila Tagore. Their relationship brought together two hugely popular worlds and became a major subject of public fascination.

The crossover continued through subsequent generations, with relationships between cricketers and actresses repeatedly making headlines. In the modern era, the marriage of cricketer Virat Kohli and actress Anushka Sharma became another prominent example of the enduring public fascination with the two industries coming together.

Thakur also recalls an era when the connection was visible on the cricket field itself. “In earlier days, charity and exhibition cricket matches would feature film stars along with sports personalities. These matches attracted huge crowds because people wanted to see their favourite actors and cricketers together.”

These events offered fans a rare opportunity to see celebrities outside their usual professional environments, turning sport into a major entertainment spectacle.

Owners’ Box

The arrival of franchise-based leagues took the relationship between Bollywood and sport to another level. The Indian Premier League created opportunities for film stars to become directly involved in professional cricket as team owners. Shah Rukh Khan became associated with Kolkata Knight Riders, Preity Zinta with Punjab Kings (previously Kings XI Punjab), and Shilpa Shetty with Rajasthan Royals.

The trend was not restricted to cricket. Abhishek Bachchan entered the sporting world through the Pro Kabaddi League, becoming associated with the Jaipur Pink Panthers. For actors, team ownership offered a new form of engagement with sport, while for sporting leagues, the involvement of Bollywood brought enormous visibility, glamour and a wider entertainment audience.

Actor Cricketers

The traffic between the two worlds has never been one-way. Several Indian cricketers have also experimented with acting. Former India cricketer Salim Durani appeared in the Hindi film Charitra (1973) opposite Parveen Babi, while Sandeep Patil made his acting debut in Kabhi Ajnabee The (1985).

Sunil Gavaskar also had a connection with cinema, appearing in Marathi films and song sequences. His appearances demonstrated the enormous popularity of cricketers beyond the cricket ground.

Thakur notes that such crossovers reflected the celebrity status enjoyed by leading sports personalities. “Cricketers were not only sportsmen. The biggest names became celebrities, and cinema was naturally another world that attracted them.”

Two Passions

Today, the connection between cinema and sport can be seen everywhere. Athletes appear on television programmes and promotional events alongside film stars. Cricketers and actors share the same celebrity platforms, while sporting leagues increasingly incorporate music, entertainment and celebrity culture into their presentation.

Popular television programmes such as The Kapil Sharma Show and Kaun Banega Crorepati have also provided platforms where sporting personalities connect with audiences outside the playing field.

The relationship has therefore evolved far beyond sports films. It now encompasses biopics, fictional dramas, celebrity appearances, personal relationships, exhibition matches, television, advertising and team ownership.

On National Sports Day, the story is not merely about sport or cinema individually. It is about the extraordinary cultural space they occupy together.

As Dilip Thakur puts it, the appeal of both is ultimately simple: they give people a shared experience. Whether it is the final over of a cricket match, the last minutes of a hockey game or an emotional climax on the big screen, both have the power to make an entire audience cheer, celebrate and feel together.

That may be the most enduring bond between Indian cinema and sport: two different forms of entertainment, united by the ability to bring a diverse nation together.

1 Comment

Tim Smith

Sep 22

This National Sports Day piece hits differently because Dhyan Chand's birthday and Lagaan both sit in the same corner of my memory. Dilip Thakur is right that Lagaan shifted things, and Chak De! India still holds up because the hockey never becomes a backdrop. While scrolling around, I found https://stake-mobile.net/ where you can read an overview of the Stake App, its PWA setup and sports wagering, only information, no play. The Pataudi and Sharmila Tagore chapter, then Kohli and Anushka, show how thin the line between the two worlds has always been. Owning a team is a different kind of involvement, and 83 and Gold proved real events can carry a film.