Aditi Ashok, Lifestyle Influencer joined for an exclusive conversation with NewsX as part of its Influencer A-list series. In this conversation, she talked to us about her journey as a budding influencer who has over 16k followers on Instagram.

When asked if her parents are aware about her career choice she said, “It is a very important question as it took me a lot of time to make them understand what I was trying to do. A lot of people from our parent’s generation are not aware of social media platforms, and Instagram being one of the platforms where people are like ‘okay, just like Facebook you must be posting pictures. But how do you say that you are going to make a career with it?’

She continued, “It was very difficult for me to make them understand but eventually due to the pandemic that is still happening I got a really long time to stay with my parents. So, they could see the whole process of it—when the brands were approaching and I was shooting for them. I did not have photographers so my mom helped me shoot a lot of pictures. That’s when got the time to tell them step by step the whole process of it, and that’s how they understood.”

To her explanation, if it gets easier for parents to be convinced about the career option once the money starts flowing in she answered, “Even when the money is not starting to come and you are doing a lot of barter collaborations, you can tell them that ‘you see, I am getting a product for now but when I grow a platform, when I grow my followers, when I grow as a content creator I will start making money out of this.’ So they have seen the process of me doing a barter to me doing a paid collaboration. I think, them being next to me and making them understand the whole process was easier. Had I been in Delhi and had to communicate through a telephone would be difficult. You know, the relatives who don’t understand what I am doing, it’s like ‘I don’t have a lot of time to make you understand what I am doing. Let me first grow in the business and then you will eventually understand what I am doing.’

To answer the question, if it was easy for her relatives to understand what she was doing if they were settled in Delhi instead of Ranchi she said, “Definitely. Delhi with the social media culture and being a metropolitan city, anything that comes to India comes to Delhi first and then gets spread across to other smaller cities. I am not aware of any influencers in Ranchi here, so definitely it is a new culture here. So, it is difficult to accept that okay, clicking a picture and posting it on Instagram can also make you money. It is a totally new concept here. So yeah, city to city, it really matters.

Speaking about the turning point in her life when she became a full-time influencer she said, “It happened late only. So I, got my exposure to fashion when I was studying in NIFT. While I was graduating was the time when Instagram came in. By 2015 or 16 people started on Instagram. During college I used to admire those people but after college I realized, okay I can also do it. It was two years back that I thought that I don’t really care about what people think. I am sure I can create something out of this platform if I give my 100% and the only support I needed was my parents.

When asked if brands approached her based on followers or viewership she said, “If we see this in a generic manner, number of followers doesn’t really matter but there are times when the number of it matter. There are brands that would approach you only after 10k of the following. It was the parameter which I was waiting for when I am going to have a 10k following. But before that, I had smaller brands approaching me on a barter basis. After that, if your work is good enough, the numbers don’t really matter.

Explaining how barter basis worked she said, “Barter basis is usually when brands approach you saying, I am giving you this product, you can keep the product and in return of it you give me a piece of content.”

Clarifying that there is no need to give a good review of the product she said, “No. If you are not getting paid, why would you keep a product which you don’t like and write a good review about it? I don’t think anyone does that in barter but when it comes to paid collaboration I am not aware of anyone who does that. But for me, I don’t promote any kind of beauty products because I don’t use them. There are brands for barter and paid collaboration who approached me for beauty products. But people around me know that I do not use these products so I cannot promote them. It would be very wrong for my audience and that’s how you build trust.

She continued, “When people around me know what you are speaking, using and wearing it that’s only when you promote. So, when it comes to my page I slowly want to divert towards sustainable fashion. And people around me know that, so I do not want to take up brands that are not sustainable. I move on. So, people have their own niche, so it completely depends on them. I think in the long run that’s how you can grow.”

Lastly, speaking about the future she said, “I want to have a life in which I love what I do which is for me, is creating content. I am working harder in my life so that I am loving what I do.”

Lalit Bacchawat and Aman Bacchawat, Directors of Jainsoap joined for an exclusive conversation with NewsX for the NewsX India A-list series. They are known for revolutionizing the cosmetic care industry with their unique products.

When asked how everything started, Lalit Bacchawat who has been in this business for 49 years said, “The business was started by my father and we are maintaining it.”

Aman Bacchawat, speaking about the journey in this business said, “The journey has been amazing, I am the third generation. So if consider from 1971, it has almost been 50 years. We first started with soap. Then we entered into cosmetics, then pharma-business. From time to time we have entered into different segments.

Speaking about the key innovations that he brought to the company Aman shared, “Back in the 90s there were no machines, everything was handmade. There was a big steel vessel and the labours used to do everything. At that time the production capacity was 1000-2000 soaps a day, but now the production capacity is 50,000 soaps a day. We can have 2-3 different variants at the time.” The R&D of Jain Soaps is known for very unique formulations which are devised by keeping in mind the regularly updating consumer needs and customer demands on a variety of factors.

To his answer as to what makes Jain soap unique Aman Bacchawat said, “Quality. For 49 years we have maintained one thing, that is quality. As we are into contract manufacturing we have had many different clients from MNCs to local players. Jain soap is known for the quality and we won’t change that thing.”

“Our approach towards production is clear and focused. We believe in dispensing quality that is well researched and which meets the changing dimensions of consumer care. Only those products are pushed in the market that pass a series of quality checks and balances. Our prime ideation is towards ensuring a well-balanced and safe product, which counts as one of the most robust reasons for our noteworthy customer satisfaction and retention rate that crosses 90 per cent each year”, said Lalit Bachhawat.

When asked about the future plans regarding the company Aman said, “We have a huge vision for the company and we are taking it to an international level now. We are trying to expand to many different countries. We have started our export division also. Exports have a huge market, so our focus will be on the exports also.”

As the pandemic occurred companies were in turmoil. Lalit Bacchawat shared his experience thereof. He said, “We were busy making sanitisers.” Aman Bacchawat ensued, “By god’s grace our factory did not close even for a single day. We were working 24/7. There were no vacations at all. There were around 150 workers and employees. We took care of them, their family and their safety concerns also. We gave free sanitisers to many institutes, schools and other areas where we could give. We exported the sanitisers as well.”

By sharing his thoughts on the key learnings during this time Aman said, “What I learnt was that you can never win over nature. Somehow, somewhere it shows its strength.”

When asked about plans for expansion, Aman said, “We have two units and are expanding towards the third unit. It will be our biggest unit and will expand up to 70,000 sq. feet. Maybe by next month, we are going to start off with the conception also. So, it will be an international standard and we will make an industry that has international standard norms so that we can expand to 70-80 countries. We are exporting to 20-25 countries as of now but we will export to more as soon as the plant has started.”

Lalit Bacchawat, sharing his experience of working in the family business he said, “It is very good. We expanded beyond our expectations. Aman has helped in the expansion a lot.”

Advising young entrepreneurs who are entering into a business, Aman Bacchawat said, “I would just say one thing. Just do the business. There are no limitations. You can do anything. There are many limitations that you have to overcome but you just have to start.”

Gajendra Verma is a self-made artist who has won our hearts with his authentic, heartfelt tunes, and he has come a long way since his 2008 debut album ‘Emptiness.’ He is the voice behind the hits, that have been a part of our solitude playlists, like ‘Tera Ghata’ and ‘Mann Mera’.

Singer and music composer Gajendra Verma interacted with NewsX as part of our special series NewsX India A-list, for his newly released single Na Hona Tumse Door. The pop sensation is synonymous with authentic romantic music and heartfelt renditions.

“It is a romantic track that has a peppy twist to it, with a lot of rhythms,” is how the artist described the heartfelt composition in his own words. Further speaking about the idea behind the song, he said, “I wanted to present a romantic song on which you can move on or groove on.” Gajendra added that people are getting the idea behind the song and “they like this experiment.”

On being asked about the lyrics of the song, Gajendra said, “The lyrics, basically, suggest what I wanna do with someone I love, the small things- just walk on an empty lane, and just lie down under the stars. That’s what the lyrics are all about, the small things which you do.” He explained the concept behind the cinematography and said, “When we were planning the video, we didn’t want to take any storyline in it because the story was already there. It was about a song that two people who are already in love and they are spending the most amazing time with themselves.”

Describing his life during the lockdown, the singer said “It was lots of different emotions and lots of ups & downs in the last one-and-a-half year. I think it’s probably because we never before gave so much time to ourselves and to those around us.” He added, “I see it as a time where I got to deconstruct a lot of things in my life and then assemble it back again. I was just in a phase where I was continuously releasing songs not thinking about what exactly I want to portray.” Moreover, focusing on the other positive outcomes of the lockdown period on his personal life, Gajendra said, “After 12-13 years, I got an eight-month stretch with my family. That was wonderful. That was one of the best things about this period.”

Answering if this feels like a dream come true, the singer said, “Yes, it does look like a dream come true. The dream is a lot bigger than this actually, but I am gonna be there because I think I am on the right path.” He followed it up by saying, “I think what really clicked with people and with my music is that I was very honest with my approach.”

He concluded, “I have always heard a lot of western music, and if you see the approach to western music is very casual and honest. Very few songs will be there which will have a poetic or metaphorical approach to them, and that’s something I have always followed. But it doesn’t mean I don’t like the poetic, metaphorical things which we do in India. That has its own beauty. There was a space of someone getting that casualness and honestness in music, in lyrics especially. I wanted to explore that space.”

Sakshi Tanwar, Actor and Rensil D’silva, filmmaker join for an exclusive conversation with NewsX as part of the India A-list series. Sakshi Tanwar stars in the film Dial 100 which has been directed by Rensil D’Silva & is streaming on Zee5. They talked about their work in the digital film.

Explaining why she chose to act in Dial 100, which can be included in a genre that she does not usually associate with, Sakshi Tanwar said, “That is the biggest reason, that I had not done something like this. Another reason is Rensil sir. I have been wanting to work with him ever since I did 24 with him and I was waiting for the opportunity. This was a great opportunity in every way because there was a dream team. There was Manoj Bajpayee, Nina, Rensil sir, the story, the premise, the genre. Everything was a perfect mix of what I wanted. The fact that Rensil was doing the film and the cast was enough for me.”

Explaining about Dial 100 and what would entice audiences in it Rensil D’silva said, “A director’s heart lights up when you have actors like Sakshi Tanwar and Kareena Kapoor because there is certain credibility they bring to the role. When you are writing you know that some scenes are going to be very difficult to direct and you need actors of this calibre. They make things look easy but they are actually not.

He continued, “I have done thrillers but beyond that too. I have done Rang De Basanti and Student of the Year which are dramas but the industry kind of slots you. If I make thrillers I ensure that it is an emotional thriller. I am not just interested in car chases and twists and turns because you lose audiences with emotional quotient. This film I thought will have a lot of emotions. Each character, though it happens in one night, the emotional graph is low and high.”

When asked how it feels to have her film on a digital platform Tanwar said, “I think it is great because we are getting used to the new normal, we are accepting things they are and we are learning to make the most of it. It is great that people will get to see the film and they can watch it over and over again. We will get the feedback immediately, and although you are not sitting in the theatre and gauging their reactions, I think digital is a great way to connect with people. And for a film like this, it is wonderful, Zee 5 is a great platform. I have had two films earlier on Zee 5. But since this is my first digital film it makes it even more special.

Tracing the transition from TV to mini-series to the digital space she said, “Sometimes I feel God has been great to me. I was there when television was at its peak, the shows were doing so well and everybody was sort of glued to the small screen and we were going to everybody’s house on a daily basis. Fortunately, that was very popular. Then took a break and did another daily, fortunately, that was also received extremely well. Then I took a sabbatical and decided that I need to slow down. I am a mom now and I have a toddler at home. I wanted to slow down and luckily the web platform opened up for me. It was like, come we will do things at your pace. There I was experimenting with new roles, projects and it suited me very well because the commitment in terms of time was much less, one was able to explore more in lesser time so it fitted in perfectly for me. It is because of that I have the freedom to do what I want to do when I want to do

She continued, “The second part, ‘goodbye to television,’ I am too fond of the medium. I don’t know if I’ll be doing a daily again. But if there is something like 24, I’d love to do it.”

When asked if he imagined a day in which web series is as welcoming as when he did 24, Rensil D’silva said, “Well, it’s been 10 years and I don’t think any of us envisioned this. This has changed the entertainment landscape not just in India but in every part of the world. Since I was talking to Howard Gordon and Fox 21, I had a sense that in the west there would be an increasing appreciation where there is HBO, HP, Max and all these kinds of studios but I never imagined there will be this. A lot of people were telling me, that you are a feature film director, how can you do a limited series on TV. I was like, it doesn’t matter what screen you are on because actually, I am from a 30-second world of advertising. Actually what matters is who you are working with, what the idea is and what are you communicating. The screen doesn’t matter. Today I am happy to prove that.

Talking about her game-changer project Tanwar said, “I think Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki because before that I was not in the game. It sort of gave me everything that followed. Basically, I am ever so grateful for that project so it has to be that.”

On similar lines, D’silva spoke, “I think Rang De Basanti. I think that film took such a long time to sell because people used to get very confused with the script about the past and present. But I think what changed my life was The Wednesday. I started getting calls from people whom I had only heard about in the movies. I think that changed my life.”

A horrifying video from Pakistan has emerged online in which hordes of men are seen groping, mauling, and tearing off the clothes of a woman who is famous on TikTok. Several such horrific videos of the woman being “brutally attacked” in Lahore have surfaced online and for a while, the incident was among top hashtags on Twitter #minarPakistan and #400 men were among the hashtags being used by outraged netizens who expressed their shock and disgust at the violence against the woman. The woman has filed a complaint with police in which she alleged that a mob of around 400 people attacked her and her friends while she was filming a video near Minar-e-Pakistan on 14 August, as per local media reports.

“I was stripped and my clothes were torn apart,” she said alleging that the mob picked her up and started tossing her in the air, the Express Tribune quoted. The woman also alleged that she kept crying for help but to no avail and no one came to her rescue.Disturbing video clips widely circulated in social media show hundreds of men thrashing the woman, tearing her clothes and hurling it into the air. She also alleged that her gold ornaments were “forcibly taken” by unidentified people in the crowd, while the mobile phone and cash were also “snatched”. Maria Amir wrote in Dawn that there can be no more obvious metaphor for how depraved our society really is. It is hard to imagine a more powerful symbolic representation of how we have twisted the very meaning of ‘independence’ and ‘freedom’ to cater solely to one gender at the expense of another. There really is no other way to say it, we are in the midst of gender apartheid. The incident took place at the Greater Iqbal Park area in Lahore

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has publically endorsed the recent Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, said that his country is reaching out to all “Afghan leaders” and urged other countries to “stay engaged”, to economically support people in the war-ravaged country

Khan, who on Tuesday received telephone calls from his British counterpart, Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel highlighted the positive role that Pakistan played in facilitating the evacuation of diplomatic personnel and staff of international organisations and others from Afghanistan, as per Dawn report. He also underlined that an inclusive political settlement was the best way forward, during his conversation, it further reported.

Besides the Afghanistan issue, Khan also highlighted the extensive measures taken by Pakistan to contain COVID-19 and said relevant data had been shared with the UK and called for the removal of Pakistan from the red list of the United Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari took a jibe at Khan over the current situation in Afghanistan and said that country could not afford any more U-turns regarding the neighbouring country.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that EU will cooperate with any future Afghan government only if it respects the fundamental rights of all Afghans and prevents the use of Afghanistan’s territory by “terrorist organisations”.

Pakistan has been globally accused of sheltering the Taliban in the country.

Taliban took over the country on Sunday. Earlier on Tuesday, the Taliban had announced a “general amnesty” for all Afghan government officials and urged them to return to work, including women corresponding with Sharia law.

The Taliban leaders are discussing future government plans in Doha and are in touch with the international community and intra-Afghan parties to make government in Afghanistan.

The world is closely watching the unfolding situation in Afghanistan as the countries have scrambled to evacuate its citizens from Afghanistan.