Open Magazine - Top Stories

Before Rohit Shetty, there was Kuku Kohli: The filmmaker behind Ajay Devgn's debut and Bollywood's mass-market era
Before Rohit Shetty, there was Kuku Kohli: The filmmaker behind Ajay Devgn's debut and Bollywood's mass-market era
3 min read
The filmmaker who launched Ajay Devgn with Phool Aur Kaante and delivered some of the biggest commercial entertainers of the 1990s has died at 77. But why does his influence extend far beyond a single ...
Beyond the LAC: Why India and China Are Talking About Drawing the Border, Not Just Managing It
3 min read
At a key meeting in Beijing, India and China moved the conversation beyond troop disengagement and border stability to something far more ambitious: boundary delimitation. What exactly does that mean, ...
GIVA Hired Kriti Sanon. Kangana Ranaut Got Final Cut: Welcome to Outrage-Era Advertising
6 min read
GIVA withdrew its Raksha Bandhan advertisement after criticism of Kriti Sanon’s outfit, even as the actor defended it. The episode reveals advertising’s newest production hierarchy: the brand funds th ...
Can Justice Go Digital? A WhatsApp Message From Dubai Helped End a 54-Year Ayodhya Land Dispute
3 min read
A property dispute that began in 1972 finally reached closure at the Supreme Court's Samadhan Samaroh. One of the key parties wasn't even in India. He was in Dubai, armed with a printer, a scanner and ...
US Visa Appointments Paused Worldwide: Is This Just Consular Training or a Bigger Immigration Reset?
4 min read
The Trump administration says the pause is needed to train consular officers. But it comes amid a sweeping immigration crackdown, legal battles over visa restrictions and growing uncertainty for appli ...
Lollapalooza India 2027: How a Farewell Tour Became a Global Cultural Phenomenon
9 min read
Born as the final road trip of an American alternative-rock band, Lollapalooza survived collapse, reinvented itself in Chicago and expanded across continents. As its fifth India edition returns to Mum ...
India’s World Cup Without Qualifying: Why the Blue Tigers Are Playing Panama, Brazil and New Zealand
8 min read
India failed to reach the 2026 World Cup and will miss the 2027 Asian Cup, yet Khalid Jamil’s side is preparing to face four World Cup participants across three FIFA windows. The schedule promises rar ...
Three Amitabhs, One ₹5,000 Crore Dream: Can Bachchan Turn Sobisco Into a National Brand?
5 min read
Sobisco already claims nearly 3,000 distributors, 40 lakh retail outlets and a presence across 26 states. What it lacks is matching national recall. Enter Amitabh Bachchan in three roles, carrying a K ...
Dolly Parton’s Branding Legacy: How a ‘Manufactured’ Image Built One of the World’s Most Authentic and Trusted Personal Brands
5 min read
The wigs were enormous, the rhinestones excessive and the jokes frequently directed at herself. Yet beneath America’s most deliberately manufactured celebrity appearance sat an unusually consistent hu ...