Ep 188 - Power of Political Messaging, Culture Wars & Mithun-da Supremacy with Arnab Ray

Arnab Ray, also known as Greatbong, is one of India's most widely read bloggers, having won the publicly voted Indibloggies Blog of the Year in 2006 and 2008. He has written for The Washington Post, Outlook, and India Times. He is a Director of Cybersecurity and lives in the USA. Ray is known for his sarcastic takes on the Indian film industry, Indian politics, and society. 

Ray's book "Sultan of Delhi" has been adapted into a show on Hotstar. Another of his books, "The Mahabharata Murders," has been adapted into a series on Jio Cinema and Hoichoi. Arnab has now penned down a horror novel called "Shakchunni."

In this episode of the ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, Arnab Ray talks about his obsession with Mithun Chakraborty and his movie "Goonda." He also claims that publishing has a significant left-wing bias favouring left-wing authors. Ray also delves into the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, explaining the power of political messaging and how it helps a party win elections.

Arnab also talks extensively about Donald Trump, claiming he is poised to win the upcoming presidential elections in the USA, and explains what makes him so popular. Ray also discusses the cultural differences between the USA and India.

(0:00) Introduction

(1:19) Blogger cum Author

(3:02) Love for Mithun

(5:37) Mamata Banerjee

(7:23) Shakchunni' Book Story

(13:40) Bengal Famine

(15:14) Actors' Political Views

(16:56) Pop Culture & Politics

(19:20) SRK at Modi's Oath Taking

(20:05) Left Wing vs. Right Wing

(21:01) Who is a Liberal?

(24:52) Bias in Publishing

(26:57) Gunda' Movie32:59:0090s Hindi Movies

(35:45) Social Media39:01:00Wokeism in the U.S.

(44:14) Comedy & Cancel Culture

(48:49) TV Journalists turned YouTubers

(53:20) U.S.- Russia Conflict

(56:47) Racism in the U.S.

(1:00:19) Trump's hush money case

(1:03:21) RSS and BJP

(1:05:12) Marjorie Taylor

(1:06:33) Bharat Jodo Yatra

(1:09:12) Modi's Campaign Speeches

(1:11:41) BJP's Loss in Bengal

(1:13:36) EVMs & Rigging

(1:14:49) Tech Giants' Monopoly