South Central 17 | Indian Cricket, BCCI’s Power & Cinema’s Role in Kerala’s Crime

This week’s episode of South Central, hosted by journalist Dhanya Rajendran and co-hosted by Pooja Prasanna and Leena Reghunath, explored two pressing topics—youth violence in Kerala and the growing influence of hyper-nationalism in Indian cricket. The episode featured filmmaker Don Palathara, senior sports journalist Sharda Ugra, and social media influencer Aysha Mahmood.With Kerala witnessing violent crimes, the state is debating whether movies, drugs, or the internet were fueling these incidents. Don Palathara argued against blaming any single medium, including cinema. He emphasized that cinema does not dictate behavior but is a reflection of the larger society.Aysha Mahmood, however, highlighted the impact of technology on behavior, particularly among children. “Our brain has been rewired to have instant justice, instant dopamine hits, instant gratification,” she said.The conversation then shifted to Indian cricket, examining the power of the BCCI and the rising wave of hyper-nationalism. Sharda Ugra pointed out how nationalism in cricket is being deliberately amplified. “This kind of jingoism has been amplified by the government at the centre, and by the broadcasters,” she said. She likened BCCI’s dominance in cricket to the U.S.’s global influence, saying, “BCCI is like the United States of cricket.”All this and more—tune in!Write to us on what you would like to speak about to [email protected] Timecodes 00:00:00 – Introduction00:02:05 – Subscribe & Support TNM 00:02:52 – Headlines00:06:44 - TNM turns 1100:08:03– Cinema & Violence00:42:23 - Indian Cricket and Hyper-nationalism01:05:51 - Letters01:08:41 – RecommendationsCheck out the recommendations and references from this episode.Become a subscriber- Click here.Contribute to our reporting fund. Click here. To not miss any updates, join TNM's WhatsApp Channel! Click hereProduced by Bhuvan Malik, edited by Jaseem Ali Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.