Pooja Pillai is an entertainment journalist with Asian Media Group, where she covers cinema, pop culture, internet trends, and the politics of representation. Her work spans interviews, cultural features, and social commentary across digital platforms.
She began her reporting career as a news anchor, scripting and presenting stories for a regional newsroom. With a background in journalism and media studies, she has since built a body of work exploring how entertainment intersects with social and cultural shifts, particularly through a South Indian lens.
She brings both newsroom rigour and narrative curiosity to her work, and believes the best stories don’t just inform — they reveal what we didn’t know we needed to hear.
SS Rajamouli has decided to take a new approach to storytelling with his upcoming film starring Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra, and Prithviraj Sukumaran. Known for pushing boundaries in Indian cinema, the director has opted to move away from the two-part format that he popularised with Baahubali. Instead, he is crafting a single, expansive narrative for this ambitious project, which is expected to hit the screens in the summer of 2027.
The decision to keep the story within one film was made early in the project’s development. A source close to the production revealed that Rajamouli believes the two-part format has been overused by filmmakers as a way to maximise profits rather than serve the story. With this film, he aims to break that trend by presenting a complete and compelling narrative in a single instalment.
Mahesh Babu: The Telugu superstar headlines one of the most anticipated films of his careerGetty Images
Set against the backdrop of Kashi and featuring a mix of mythology, adventure, and action, the film is designed to be a gripping cinematic experience. While many filmmakers extend their stories across multiple films to keep audiences invested, Rajamouli is confident that his screenplay can hold viewers’ attention for a longer duration without the need for a sequel. Reports suggest that the film will have a runtime of around 3 hours and 30 minutes, making it one of his longest projects yet, on par with RRR.
Filming is already underway, with the team having completed major sequences in Odisha’s forests. The director is also considering shooting in international locations to enhance the film’s scale and appeal. Rajamouli is reportedly in talks with global studios to bring an international dimension to the production, making it a true pan-Indian and global cinematic event.
Priyanka Chopra: The global star joins Rajamouli’s epic adventure, adding star power to the filmGetty Images
As anticipation builds, the team is preparing to release an official announcement featuring actual footage from the film. This announcement video, currently in post-production, is expected to give fans their first look at the grand vision Rajamouli has for this project.
Adding to the excitement, both Mahesh Babu and Rajamouli have entered into a revenue-sharing agreement with producers D.V.V. Danayya and K.L. Narayana. This suggests that the makers are confident in the film’s potential to perform exceptionally well at the box office.
Prithviraj Sukumaran: The Malayalam icon takes on a pivotal role in Rajamouli’s grand cinematic spectacleInstagram
With Rajamouli at the helm, expectations are high. His decision to streamline the storytelling into a single epic film marks a bold shift in an industry where multi-part storytelling has become the norm. Fans and industry insiders alike are eager to see how this change will shape the future of Indian cinema.
BBC Asian Network is starting a new show called Asian Network Trending.
The show runs for two hours every week and is made for young British Asians.
It covers the topics that matter most to them like what’s trending online, questions of identity, mental health etc.
Amber Haque and the other hosts will share the show in turns, each talking about the issues they know and care about.
The network is moving to Birmingham as part of bigger changes behind the scenes.
Speaking up isn’t always easy. This show gives young people a space where their voices can be heard. Music on the radio, sure. Bhangra, Bollywood hits, endless remixes. But real conversations about identity, family pressure, mental health? Rarely. Until now.
From 27 October, Asian Network Trending goes live every Wednesday night for two hours of speech instead of beats. The first hour dives into trending news; the second hour goes deeper into family expectations, workplace racism, LGBTQ+ issues, and mental health stigma. And it’s not just one voice. Amber Haque and other rotating presenters keep it fresh.
Young British Asians finally hearing voices that reflect their experiences and challenges Gemini AI
What exactly is Asian Network Trending?
Two shows in one, really.
First hour: The hot takes. Social media buzzing? Celebrity drama? Immigration news? Covered while it’s relevant.
Second hour: The deep dive. One topic per week, unpacked with guests and people who know what they are talking about. Mental health, dating outside culture, career pressures, unspoken hierarchies, all of it finally getting the airtime it deserves.
Head of Asian Network Ahmed Hussain said the new show was designed to give space for thoughtful and relevant conversation. “It’s a bold new space for speech, discussion and current affairs that reflects the voices, concerns and passions of British Asians today,” he said.
Why go for a rotating hosts format?
It is because you can’t sum up the “British Asian experience” with just one voice. A kid in Leicester whose family speaks Gujarati has a very different life from a Punjabi speaker in Southall and a Muslim teen’s day-to-day reality isn’t the same as a Hindu’s or Sikh’s. Then there’s money, family pressures, school, work, and everyone is navigating their own different path.
Why now? Why speech radio?
British Asians are visible, sure. Big festivals, business power, cultural moments. Yet mainstream media often treats the community like a footnote.
Music connects to heritage, yes. But it can’t talk about why your mum nags about you becoming a doctor when you want to study film. Radio forces that engagement, intimacy, and honesty.
Surveys back it up. 57% of British South Asians feel they constantly have to prove they are English. 96% say accent and name affect perception. This show is a platform for those contradictions to exist out loud.
Who’s on air and why does it matter?
Amber Haque is first up, but the rotating system means different voices each week. BBC Three and Channel 4 experience under her belt helps navigate sensitive topics without preaching.
Representation isn’t just faces. It’s who decides what stories get told, who gets to question, who sets the tone. Asian Network Trending is designed to widen that lens, not narrow it.
What topics will the show cover?
Identity and belonging: balancing Britishness and South Asian heritage.
Mental health: breaking taboos in families.
Careers: that awkward "but why?" when you mention graphic design and the side hustle your parents call a hobby.
Relationships: the 'who's their family?' interrogation and the quiet terror before saying you're gay.
Community: the aunty and her "fairness cream" comments or the gap between your life and your grandparents' world.
Challenges and stakes
British South Asians aren’t all the same. Differences in religion, language, region, and class make their experiences varied and complex. Cover one slice and you alienate the rest. Go too safe and the younger audience won’t listen. Go too risky and conservative backlash is real.
Another big challenge: resources are tight.
Speech radio costs money: producers, researchers, fact checks.
Can it sustain deep conversations without cutting corners? That is the test.
What could success look like?
Not just ratings. Real impact: young people hear themselves articulated, families spark conversations, new voices get a platform and ultimately policymakers listen. Even a single clip prompting debate online counts. The proof is in that engagement, in messy human response, not charts.
A mic, not a manifesto
This launch isn’t a cure-all. It’s a step, a loud, messy one. It hands the mic to people who mostly spoke filtered, cautious words. Let it stumble, argue, and surprise. Let it be uncomfortable. If it does that even sometimes, it has already done its job. Because for the first time, British Asian youth get to hear themselves, not through music, not as a statistic, but as real, living voices.
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