Indian actress Rakhi Sawant performing at Rajiv Gandhi Awards ceremony in Mumbai on August 17, 2008 (SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Rakhi Sawant

Bollywood made her a punchline. The internet made her an icon. But neither gave her the one thing she truly wanted.

Rakhi Sawant is More Than a Spectacle

A woman is drawing various Bengali alphabets on the street in Kolkata, India, ahead of the International Mother Language Day celebration. (Photo by Debarchan Chatterjee/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

GettyImages-2018111634 mother tongue 

A new generation of South Asians is ready to learn the languages they once left behind.

Can You Learn Your Mother Tongue as an Adult?

Pakeezah 

It took 16 years to make this bewildering film. A superstar’s off-screen tragedy made it a veritable hit.

‘Pakeezah’ Defies Logic. Meena Kumari Makes You Believe It.

Isha Banerjee

Kaushikee Nayudu

Geraldine Vishwanathan, Poorna Jagannathan, Mindy Kaling, Charithra Chandran, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Simone Ashley, and Supriya Ganesh (via our Getty License and stills, by The Juggernaut)



Tamil Stars in Hollywood 

They’re landing major roles long denied to those who look like them. Yet, their success has also led to a salty backlash.

Why Tamil Baddies Are Winning in Hollywood

Chirayu Rana with an excerpt of text messages in his new federal lawsuit (The Juggernaut)

chirayu rana feature august 2026

Our exclusive interview might hold some clues to why the former JPMorgan banker just filed a new federal lawsuit.

Chirayu Rana is Back — With a New Case

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes a group photo with AI leaders including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (C) and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei (R) at the AI Impact Summit in Delhi on February 19, 2026 (Ludovic MARIN / AFP via Getty Images)

GettyImages-2261854815 ai india sam altman modi

The country built a global empire and created millions of jobs by doing work others didn’t want to do. What happens when AI can do it, too?

India Mastered Outsourcing. AI is a Different Test.

Snigdha Sur

1517408436236 tulika bose

chirayu rana feature 3

Why Did Chirayu Rana’s Lawyer Drop His Case?

Chirayu Rana in 2024 (Michaela Bublikova/@dudesinsuits), graphic by The Juggernaut

chirayu rana feature image

We spoke to the ex-JPMorgan banker who claimed a female executive abused him — and found an even messier truth.

Exclusive: Chirayu Rana’s Wall Street Nightmare

Margot Robbie at the "Wuthering Heights" world premiere on January 28, 2026 in Los Angeles, California (Araya Doheny Photography/Variety via Getty Images)

GettyImages-2258205772 margot robbie taj mahal necklace

Hollywood and Western luxury houses keep exploiting Indian royal artefacts to sell jewels on the red carpet. When will it stop?

The Outrageous History Behind the Taj Mahal Necklace

Shah Rukh Khan attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2025 (Michael Loccisano/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images)

GettyImages-2213604565 shah rukh khan

Viral clips, cropped videos, and eerily similar talking points. Fans suspect it isn’t a coincidence.

Who’s Trying to Take Down Shah Rukh Khan?

Batova-brana-do-Indie-1

Tomas Bata came to “shoe” the natives. They ended up building his empire — and saving his company.

How a Racist Czech Shoemaker Built India’s Biggest Shoe Brand

Still from Ai-generated 'Mahabharat: Dharamyudh' (JioHotsar)

1761215084353-h mahabharat dharamyudh

Some think artificial intelligence will democratize storytelling. Others think it’ll destroy what has long made films special.

AI is Coming for Indian Cinema

People stand around the debris of an airplane after it crashed in India's northwestern city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state, Thursday, June 12, 2025 (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

25163472416928 air india

Tata is pouring billions into the airline. But a deadly crash — and years of passenger complaints — continue to cloud its comeback.

Can Air India Be Saved?

Indian farmers pick flowers at a farm in Kannauj, the perfume capital of India. Traditional workers are struggling to keep their craft alive in the face of fierce competition from modern fragrance makers. (AFP PHOTO/ SAJJAD HUSSAIN/GettyImages)


GettyImages-152260606 roses perfumes fragrance

 The $62 billion global fragrance industry runs on synthetics. But one country’s ancient, natural traditions are gaining ground.

Can India Reclaim Its Perfume Glory?

Prasanna Sankar, Sam Altman, Dhivya Sashidhar (X)

GmvY7QobIAARrki prasanna sankar

Rippling co-founder Prasanna Sankar is in a viral fight with his ex-wife over money, custody, and reputation — and the internet is choosing sides.

A Founder, a Divorce, and the Trial by X

Tata Group chief Ratan Tata at the launch of Jaguar, Land Rover brands in Mumbai on June 28, 2009 (Bhaskar Paul/The The India Today Group via Getty Images)


GettyImages-88741575 ratan tata

The British automaker’s most shocking moment wasn’t a viral 2024 ad. It was when one Indian man dared to buy it.

Jaguar’s in Trouble. Can Tata Save It Again?

Ayesha Bedora Choudhury

A photograph on our family piano was almost all I knew of her. Then I began uncovering her extraordinary life.

Bangladesh’s First Day Was My Grandmother’s Last

Katrina Kaif's Ganesh Chaturthi look (Kay Beauty by Katrina) 

Katrina Kaif 

Ten months after she gave birth, body-shaming trolls called her “finished.” She’s spent her career telling us why that’s so wrong.

Katrina Kaif Doesn’t Need to Prove She’s Mother

Shalini Thakur 

Shalini Thakur did what victims are told to do: report her stalker and get a restraining order. It still wasn’t enough.

Why Stalking is So Deadly for South Asian Women

Juggernaut lettermark symbol

UT Austin students celebrate Texas Longhorn win

UT Austin 

Bo French called Longhorn fans a “problem.” The backlash reveals what exclusion could cost conservatives.

How Texas Football Sparked a Republican Reckoning

Passengers wait in the TSA security line. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

GettyImages-2267851138 Airport 

Twenty-five years after the TSA’s creation, travelers report humiliating encounters. We investigate why few are held accountable.

Flying While South Asian? Why You’re Still Getting Stopped.

Venkatarangan Thirumalai poses with the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers behind him in 1999 (My_WTC).

World Trade Center 

A final care package. A last kiss. A narrow escape. Twenty-five years later, they recount how one morning forever changed their lives.

9/11, as South Asian Families Remember It

Lindsay Clancy and defense attorney Kevin Reddington listen to testimony at Plymouth Superior Court on August 18, 2026. (Photo by Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Lindsay Clancy Getty 2290570858 

Over a year before the Lindsay Clancy trial, an Indian mother was convicted of doing the unthinkable.

The Postpartum Case India Almost Got Wrong

Shefali Shah, Anil Kapoor, and Priyanka Chopra in Dil Dhadakne Do (2015) 

Dil Dhadakne Do 

The battle over who inherits the house, land, or jewelry is rarely logical. It often exposes what relatives have spent years avoiding.

Why Property Disputes Tear South Asian Families Apart

Padmaavat Jauhar

A revived debate is forcing India to confront the history — and meaning — behind one of Bollywood’s most controversial climaxes.

Did ‘Padmaavat’ Glorify Jauhar?

Gloria Steinem by a fishing boat in India

Gloria Steinem

The face of American feminism went to India in part to escape marriage. What she learned there changed her life.

Gloria Steinem, Made in India

Lakshmi (1894) by Raja Ravi Varma (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Lakshmi by Raja Ravi Varma

A wellness influencer repackaged a Hindu goddess as self-optimization. Then came the backlash.

What the Hell is ‘Lakshmi-Maxxing’?

Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna (House on the Clouds)

HOTC photo

House on the Clouds founder Siddharth Sharma shares why Rashmika and Vijay’s photos resonated, how he handles copycats, and why he turns down clients.

What it Takes to Capture India’s Most Viral Weddings

This photo taken on July 5, 2017 shows Sukhwant Kaur, 78, showing a photograph of her late father Sulkhan Singh, with her son Jaswinder Singh (L) in Amritsar. (NARINDER NANU / AFP via Getty Images)



GettyImages-823266150 partition

Fifteen stories on the events that forever changed the subcontinent.

Remembering Partition and Independence, 79 Years On

Bangladeshi people participate in a rally to celebrate the first day of the Bengali New Year or Pohela Boishakh in Dhaka, Bangladesh on April 14, 2015 (Zakir Hossain Chowdhury/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)


GettyImages-469681900 pride bangladesh roopban

This June, explore some of our favorite features on queer South Asian icons, history, and culture.

The Juggernaut’s Essential Longreads for Pride 2026

-MaharajaofPatiala Part 9 of 11In my previous posts, I spoke about the opulent lifestyle and achievements of HH Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, and today l would like to continue the series by highlighting the achievements of his son, the 9th a

A curated guide to the subcontinental histories, icons, and cultural moments that shaped America — and the world.

15 South Asian Stories to Read This AAPI Heritage Month

Shakuntala Pines for King Dushyanta, With Priyamvada and Anusuya (Raja Ravi Varma)

10633 BGR 111 raja ravi varma bengali female friendships soi patano

This March, dive into our stories about South Asian women in all their multitudes. Astronaut. Spy. Goddess. Saint.

Celebrating Women’s History Month: 2026

Yinka Animashaun and her husband Nitin at their 2019 wedding (Nana Annan Photography)

Nana-Annan-Photography-Nigerian-Indian-Wedding-Dallas-Texas20191123 298-1024x1536

Fifteen of our favorite stories on the often-overlooked, intertwined histories of Black and South Asian communities.

Celebrating Black History Month: 2026

Still from 'Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Ram'

tcfw93j8pl681

The best of film, TV, and music: the Japanese man who dared to animate the Ramayana,  ‘Dhurandhar,’ Mira Nair, Shah Rukh Khan, and more.

The Juggernaut’s Top 15 Entertainment Stories of 2025

Pi7 GIF CMP (1) prada kolhapur sandals

Prada’s $1,300 Kolhapuri chappals, AI’s breakout year, Air India’s turnaround — our best reporting on the companies and technologies that defined 2025.

The Juggernaut’s Top 10 Business and Tech Stories of 2025

Mahendra Patel (Courtesy of the Patel family)

97612821-14639501-Patel is originally from India and moved to the US in the 1990s -m-10 1745436636394

Wrongful imprisonment, hate crimes, and the search for justice — from Mahendra Patel to Xulhaz Mannan.

The Juggernaut’s Top 10 True Crime Stories of 2025

British Guiana Premier Cheddi Jagan and U.S. President John F. Kennedy on October 25, 1961 in the Oval Office (Abbie Rowe, White House Photographs / John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston)

JFKWHP-KN-C19249 cheddi jagan john f. kennedy jfk

How the CIA toppled Guyana’s first leader, the forgotten Indian roots of flamenco, the dark history behind the old mine cut diamond, and more.

The Juggernaut’s Top 10 History Stories of 2025

Anurag Kashyap (Kriti Jain for The Juggernaut)

anurag kashyap

Unfiltered perspectives, defining moments, and life lessons from filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, activist Malala Yousafzai, comedian Vir Das, and more.

The Juggernaut’s Top 15 Profiles of 2025

Zohran Mamdani is sworn in as NYC's 112th mayor by NY Attorney General Letitia James, alongside his wife Rama Duwaji, in the former City Hall subway station on January 1, 2026 (Amir Hamja/Getty Images)

GettyImages-2253640293 zohran mamdani

From Zohran Mamdani’s historic win to the H-1B visa controversy and Nepal’s anti-corruption protests, these were the political moments that defined 2025.

The Juggernaut’s Top 10 Politics Stories of 2025

The viral bandana girl, Priyanga (X user: w0rdgenerator)

viral bandana girl

From the myth of the “smelly” South Asian to the iconic bandana girl and Indian baddies, our best stories on the trends, practices, and beliefs that shape us.

The Juggernaut’s Top 15 Culture Stories of 2025

Lord Archibald Percival Wavell, the British vicory and governor-general of India, talks with Mr. J. K Biswas, the chairman of the Rotary Club Relief Committee, during a visit to a kitchen for victims of famine (© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS via Getty Images)


GettyImages-613506410 bengal famine

How British-orchestrated famines rewired South Asian genes, why we still aren’t getting enough protein, what America gets wrong about mustard oil, and more.

The Juggernaut’s Top 10 Health Stories of 2025

Indian food at several farmers markets including the Penn Street Farmers Market including these mango lassi yogurt drinks (Harold Hoch/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images)


GettyImages-1315727778 mango lassi

From curry goat’s Caribbean swagger to mango lassi’s global takeover, these were our most delectable stories of the year.

The Juggernaut’s Top 10 Food Stories of 2025

biggest south asian momenets

The Biggest South Asian Moments of 2025

Akbar receives the Iranian Ambassador Sayyid Beg in 1562, illustration to the Akbarnama, c. 1590-5 © Victoria and Albert Museum

2 composite gift akbar gift

Our favorite picks for your favorite loved ones.

The Juggernaut Holiday Gift Guide: 2025

Woman lighting candles for Diwali (Wikimedia Commons)

Woman lighting the candles for the Festival of Lights in India (cropped)

Ten must-read stories to enrich your festive season.

Celebrating Diwali: 2025

Shahbaz Khan shows pictures of his uncle Inayat Khan (left), who was also separated from the family at the time of Partition and died in India a few years ago, and his late father Sharif Khan (Murtaza Ali/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

AP 22221337145151 partition picture of family

Fifteen in-depth stories about the event that forever changed the subcontinent.

Remembering Partition and Independence, 78 Years On

Members of Nepal's LGBT community take part in a gay pride parade in Kathmandu on August 27, 2018 (Gopen RAI / AFP via Getty Images)

GettyImages-1024414744 nepal pride

This June, explore some of our favorite long reads on queer South Asian icons, history, and culture.

Our Top Stories for Pride 2025

Hanumankind performs at the Mojave Tent at Coachella on April 12, 2025 in Indio, California (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for Coachella)


GettyImages-2209996681 hanumankind coachella

Dive into 20 of our favorite stories that celebrate South Asian American icons, culture, and history.

Celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month: 2025

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Priyanka Kedia in 'Best of the Best' (2026)

Best of the Best

Maitreyi, Priyanka, Hasan, Prashanth, and Lena reveal the real stories, creative clashes, and six-year journey behind the Bollywood dance film.

‘Best of the Best’: The Definitive Oral History

Pather Panchali 

Critics called Satyajit Ray’s debut “rambling” and “formless.” Yet its originality is precisely why it endures.

‘Pather Panchali,’ the Genius Film Where “Nothing” Happens

British director Peter Brook directs a rehearsal of his play Mahabharata on stage at Theatre des Bouffes du Nord in Paris (julio donoso/Sygma via Getty Images)

GettyImages-542621840 Peter Brook Directing Mahabharata

Over 40 years ago, a British director cast actors from 17 countries in an Indian epic. The backlash still feels surprisingly current.

When the Mahabharata Went Global

Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala in Dil Se..

Dil Se 

Beneath the haunting soundtrack, stunning cinematography, and supposed love triangle lies a far darker story hiding in plain sight.