Friday, September 18, 2026 | Vol. 45, No. 38
September 18, 2026
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Indo American News
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Published weekly from Houston, TX
Special Reports Community Briefs Local Politics South Asians in the News
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IACCGH 2026 Gala Reaches for the Stars
P2 Racist Attack on S. Asians at UT
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Swami Mukundananda Here
‘Last Man in Tower’: Unsettling Ode
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Indo-American News • Friday, september 18, 2026, 2026 • www.indoamerican-news
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2 September 18, 2026 COMMUNITY Across Borders and Beyond: IACCGH’s Gala Reaches for the Stars
A space-themed evening at Hilton Americas-Houston brings together Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, Mayor John Whitmire, and Consul General D.C. Manjunath to honor five remarkable leaders — and to celebrate a Chamber, and a city, built on connection Houston: The evening began the way the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston’s story itself began: with two anthems, sung one after the other, in a room that stood for both. As the last notes of Jana Gana Mana faded over the Ballroom of the Americas, a full house of business leaders, diplomats, judges, mayors, and entrepreneurs settled in beneath a canopy of stars and satellites — the décor a tribute to Space City — for the Chamber’s 27th Annual Gala and Awards Banquet, themed “Connecting Business Across Borders and Beyond.” Founding Secretary and Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia opened the program the way only a founder can — by remembering. “When we started the Chamber in 1999, none of us could have imagined the remarkable journey that lay ahead,” he told the audience. “What began as a vision to bring people and businesses together has grown into a lasting bridge between Houston, the United States, and India. When people connect, opportunities follow. True to form, he made connecting effortless: every table sign, he noted, carried a QR code linking straight to the membership page — “so you can sit here and join the Chamber without having to leave the room.” The roster of elected officials he then welcomed read like a map of the region’s civic life — Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, Consul General of India D.C. Manjunath, Mayor John Whitmire, State Representative Gene Wu, Commissioners Adrian Garcia, Andy Meyers, and Dexter McCoy, the Mayors of Sugar Land and Pearland, Fort Bend County Judge Daniel Wong, judges, council members, port commissioners, law enforcement leaders, and former Houston Mayor Annise Parker — before U.S. Senator John Cornyn, founder and co-chair of the Senate India Caucus, appeared by video with congratulations of his own. “For more than two decades, the Chamber has served as a powerful voice for the Indo-American business community,” the Senator said. “Our countries share a deep respect for preserving democracy, individual liberties, and free market principles.” President Rajiv Bhavsar — the veteran Wallis Bank executive who returned to the presidency this year at the board’s request — turned the spotlight where he felt it belonged. “No one person builds an organization like IACCGH,” he said. “It takes a community. It takes volunteers who give their time, members who believe in our mission, sponsors who invest in our vision, and partners who stand
IACCGH’s Sanjay Rambhadran interviewing local political leaders.
2026 IACCGH Gala Honoree Bal Sareen and Indian Consul General D.C. Manjunath.
with us year after year.” Twentyseven years ago, he reminded the room, the Chamber started building bridges. “Today, those bridges are stronger than ever.” Chief Guest Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, a familiar and beloved presence at Chamber events, caught the spirit of the room in a sentence. “There’s so much joy in this room, there’s so much possibility,” she said, calling the broad, bipartisan turnout of officials “a testament to the significance and the reach of the Chamber.” Like Houston itself, she said, the Chamber represents “connecting and engaging and working together — to see opportunities, to address challenges, and to work for the betterment of everyone.” Then came the evening’s most tender chapter. The Chamber paid tribute to Bal Sareen — the manu-
facturer and philanthropist who, when financing proved elusive in 1999, persisted until Brask Inc. became a leading maker of shelland-tube heat exchangers, and whose generosity endowed the Bal and Rita Sareen Clinic at India House. Accepting the lifetime recognition with their father watching from the head table, his children Kevin and Sangeeta drew laughter with the title bestowed on him by an industry admirer — “the King Daddy Rabbit of Heat Exchangers” — and tears with their tribute: “We won the lottery having parents like you.” Sareen’s own message, delivered on screen, distilled a lifetime into a few lines: “India gave me the values and education. America gave me the opportunity. Houston gave my family hope and community. To the next generation: dream boldly, prepare care-
fully, persevere through rejection, invest in people, and build something greater than yourself. A true legacy is measured not only by what you create, but by how many people you helped succeed.” The next generation, as it happened, kept answering. When Gala Champion ImmuGlow was recognized — founder Twinkle Patel’s film told of building a diagnostic lab in 15 days during the pandemic and of a new venture she calls “Uber for your phlebotomy” — her son, a third-year medical student, stepped to the microphone. “Almost everyone in this room has a version of this story: someone who arrived here with a plan that looked unreasonable at the time, and built it anyway,” he said. “I’m not going to stand here and say the next generation will carry this forward someday. We’re already here.
Indo-American News • Friday, september 18, 2026 • www.indoamerican-news
Thank you for building something that is worth inheriting.” Moments later, Gala Benefactor Wallis Bank — celebrating its 120th year — offered living proof of the same idea: CEO Asif Dakri spoke from the stage while his father Musa Dakri, one of the first business leaders Ahluwalia called upon in 1999, looked on from the audience and a third Dakri generation stood nearby. “We are gradually becoming yesterday’s news,” Ahluwalia said with a smile, “so I’m glad the now generation is with us.” Mayor John Whitmire, pressed by Ahluwalia for a date for his promised trip to India — “it will be one of my first trips out of the city,” the Mayor pledged — used his remarks to make what he called a statement. “Houston is an international city, and everyone is welcome,” he declared, saluting the city’s immigrants, its handling of a landmark FIFA year — “FIFA says we were the grown-up city” — and the Diwali celebration the Chamber brought to City Hall’s legacy room. “A lot of turmoil in the world,” he reflected. “But look what we’re doing in Houston tonight. We’re coming together. We’re kind to each other.” Consul General D.C. Manjunath, attending his third consecutive gala, called the Chamber “a beacon of India-American cooperation” and Ahluwalia “the backbone and the connecting link,” sketching a thriving two-way economy — from Texas LNG powering India to Indian investments flowing into the region — as India advances toward its Viksit Bharat vision of a developed nation by 2047. The program’s centerpiece — a fireside conversation moderated by past President Sanjay Ramabhadran with Commissioner Adrian Garcia and Space Center Houston President and CEO William T. Harris — carried the theme to its logical frontier. Garcia traced Houston’s rise from a one-industry town to a diversified powerhouse that “could not remain vanilla”; Harris described an International Space Station deliberately built so that “no one agency or nation can fly it — you are compelled to collaborate,” and predicted humans at the lunar South Pole within a decade. By the time it ended, Ahluwalia claimed to have secured a promise of his own: “William Harris promised me a seat on the next spaceship to the moon.” Then, with the Congresswoman, the Mayor, and the Consul General presenting, the Chamber bestowed its 2026 Annual Awards. Businesswoman of the Year Tina Khatri, CEO of TDK Construction — Houston-born, a trustee of the Eternal Gandhi Museum, and a force for women in an industry
COMMUNITY
with few of them at the top — offered the night’s quiet thesis: “Sometimes what we build is not just a project. Sometimes what we build is community, connection, and new possibilities for others.” Businessman of the Year Sunny Bathija, founder of Satya Inc., reflected on 27 years from small gas stations to roughly 100 completed projects and nearly a billion dollars in active development — “we are so thankful to Houston for giving us the opportunity.” Business Advocate of the Year Milton Thibodeaux, President of the Greater Houston Business Procurement Forum — joined by his son Chase — noted that the Forum’s monthly gatherings have run for 420 consecutive months without missing one, and thanked his “close friend and confidant” of 25 years, Jagdip Ahluwalia. And Lifetime Achievement honoree William T. Harris, who joined Houston’s first mayoral delegation to India organized by the Chamber, accepted “truly humbled,” on behalf of all those he has served alongside — as his tribute film put it, “the greatest achievements aren’t measured by what we accomplish ourselves; they’re measured by the opportunities we create for others.” Culture had the closing word before dinner. Introduced by Houston Grand Opera’s Monica Thakkar,
rising soprano Elizabeth Hanje and pianist Tzu Quan Tan delivered selections from La Bohème and Porgy and Bess that held the ballroom rapt — a reminder, as Thakkar noted, that HGO develops the next generation of world-class talent right here in Houston. The Chamber then called its own to the stage: gala team members Sheetal, Bhavna, Somdatta, Ashita, Arnav, and Bijay, along with longtime producer Therese of Electric Karma, were recognized for the late nights behind the seamless evening. Even the goodbyes looked forward. Greetings arrived from Governor Greg Abbott — who is expected to lead a Texas business delegation to India in 2027 — and Ahluwalia closed with the humility that has carried the Chamber since 1999. “We created the Chamber to serve,” he said, “and we are only able to serve with the strength, the wind, you put beneath our wings.” With that, guests turned to a feast from Dawaat Catering, dessert stations of Gallivant ice cream, a live jalebi counter and chai station — and the long, happy business of networking. Twenty-seven years in, the bridges are holding. And if the evening’s honorees and their children are any indication, the next span is already under construction.
September 18, 2026
Houston Mayor John Whitmire addressing the audience.
Indo-American News • Friday, september 18, 2026, 2026 • www.indoamerican-news
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4 September 18, 2026 POLITICS Republican’s Racist Post Attacks South Asian Students at UT Game By David Hood-Nuño Austin (Reuters) - A Republican nominee for a Texas office drew bipartisan criticism after posting a photo from a University of Texas football game that critics called racist, portraying the Austin campus as dominated by foreign students contrary to enrollment data. Bo French, the Republican nominee for Texas railroad commissioner, drew a sharp rebuke from fellow Republicans as well as Democrats after posting a crowd shot at a University of Texas football game, while suggesting that what appeared to be students of South Asian descent reflected a large foreign-born or international student presence on campus. “I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined,” French posted to his X account. He went on to claim that UT prioritizes foreign students in admissions and feared Texans were losing opportunities at the university. “I weep for the families in Texas who can’t get into UT because they prioritize foreigners over Texans,” he said. But enrollment figures released by the University of Texas at Austin show international students account for less than 10% of the total student body. Total enroll-
ment reached 55,000 students for the fall 2025 semester, including 5,140 international students. Texas residents make up 80.5% of all enrolled students. For the undergraduate class, international students make up 4.3%, and a state law requires 90% of every incoming freshman class to be Texas residents. UT Austin automatically admits the top 5% of
performers — who are also Texas residents — at every high school in the state. The Texas legislature designed the initiative to promote diversity without explicitly considering race. As in most of the country, Texas high school students are separated by geography, income and demographics, and by guaranteeing admission to top students
at each high school, the statewide policy helps ensure universities draw from a broad cross-section of Texas communities. That means more than 90% of students at UT Austin are domestic, and more than four out of every five are Texans. Vedant Nair, 24, who graduated from UT in 2024, said his parents immigrated to Oklahoma in the 1990s from Mumbai so his father could pursue an MBA at Oklahoma State University. Nair was born in Oklahoma City and recalls running around in a child-size OSU Cowboys football helmet and driving a mini John Deere tractor. His upbringing, he said, was no different than those of his fellow Texans after his family moved to Dallas in elementary school. Attending UT Austin was a dream come true, and a normal, American experience, he said. “If you stripped away my name and skin color, I think my story is pretty similar to a lot of other Texans at massive public high schools,” Nair said. “The point is that myself, and all the other kids in that picture, are just regular American kids.” University spokespeople and French did not respond to a request for comment. The debate touches on a broader political argument that non-U.S. citizens are “displacing” Ameri-
Indo-American News • Friday, september 18, 2026 • www.indoamerican-news
can students at elite public universities, and the country at large. French’s remarks drew criticism from political figures and other social media users, who characterized the posts as racist or xenophobic. Rodney Coates, a sociology professor at Miami University in Ohio, said French’s comments echoed longstanding anti-immigrant and anti-Asian narratives in the U.S. that have historically portrayed minority groups as threats to opportunities for others. “It’s easier to come up with a racist argument to organize a group of people under the presumption that, hey, they’re hurting your chances,” Coates said. Such appeals often have little to do with the people being targeted and instead seek to mobilize voters by portraying them as victims. “Hate is one of the easiest means of organizing,” he said. For Nair, the unfortunate part of French’s post was that it criticized a high point in school-pride history: the football team defeated The hio State University, the No. 1-ranked football team in the country. “I don’t think there is anything more American than people in cowboy hats yelling their heads off after one of the greatest comeback wins in college football history,” he said.
September 18, 2026
Photo Collage on P6-P7 Indo-American News • Friday, september 18, 2026, 2026 • www.indoamerican-news
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“Voted #2 of Top 100 Houston Podcasts” -- Feedspot.com
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ENTERTAINMENT
September 18, 2026
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‘Hanuman Ansh’: Low-Budget Film on Neem Karoli Baba is a Hit By Amrit Dhillon The film features no major stars, had no marketing to speak of and was made on a shoestring budget of just 20 million rupees (about £155,000). Yet after a slow start, Hanuman Ansh has gone from a screening in only 25 cinemas to packed houses across India, earning more than 90 times its budget and breaking box office records that have stood since 1975 for its return on investment. The devotional hit, about the life of a 20th-century guru, has unleashed a wave of fervour among middle-class Hindus who are taking off their shoes, waving saffron flags and collectively chanting hymns in the cinema before the lights go down. Cinema goers react to a movie,
some clapping and others taking off their shoes.sunamvibes/instagram
Videos shared on Instagram show film screenings that look more like religious gatherings,
with viewers crying and closing their eyes in prayer. Fans describe the film as a “divine experience”
Indo-American News • Friday, september 18, 2026, 2026 • www.indoamerican-news
and urge all Indians to watch it. By all accounts, millions have already done so, despite the film spreading only by word of mouth. It portrays the life and spiritual journey of Lakshmi Narayan, known as Neem Karoli Baba, from the start of his pilgrimage as a young boy after his mother’s death. For years, he wanders across northern India, meditating beneath trees, sleeping beside rivers and living on alms. Believing that only divine love will reunite him with his mother, he devotes himself to the halfhuman, half-monkey Hindu god Hanuman, sheds attachment to all material things and becomes what devotees call a Hanuman Ansh — an embodiment of Hanuman’s devotion. -- The Times
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RELIGION
Grand Sri Krishna Janmashtami Utsav at Sri Aishwarya Srinivasa Perumal Temple Manvel, TX: With the immense grace of Sri Aishwarya Srinivasa Perumal and Sri Premika VaradanMadhuri Sakhi, and blessings of HH Maharanyam Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji, Sri Krishna Janmashtami Utsav was celebrated at Sri Aishwarya Srinivasa Perumal Temple, Manvel, TX (Namadwaar Houston), as a ten-day festival of Srimad Bhagavatam, Nama Sankeertanam, kirtans, cultural offerings and joyous celebrations of Sri Krishna’s divine leelas from Aug 28-Sep 6, 2026. The utsav included a complete Srimad Bhagavata Parayanam of 18000 slokas, culminating in Parayanam Poorthi on Janmashtami Day. Daily Bhagavata Katha pravachanams by different devotees explored Srimad Bhagavata Mahatmyam, Parikshit’s Story, Dhruva Charitram, Prahlada Charitram, Sri Krishna Jananam, Krishna’s Bala Leelas and Rukmini Kalyanam. A special Srimad Bhagavad Gita Parayanam was also offered. The festival resonated with Nama Sankeertanam and devotional music, including Ashtapadi bhajans, kirtans, Mahamantra chanting and music during the Vahana processions. Garuda, Kudhirai, Sesha and Yaanai Vahanams, along with Janavasam, added to the festive spirit. The celebrations were enriched by numerous musical and cultural
Janmashtami procession
offerings from adults, youth and children, including classical music and dance, bhajans, violin, flute and other devotional presentations. The enthusiastic participation of children and youth throughout the festival was especially heartening. Janmashtami evening was a particularly memorable celebration. It featured a special Carnatic
music offering by Flute Maestro Vidwan J.A. Jayant, accompanied by Vidwan N.C. Bharadwaj on mridangam and Vidwan N. Rajaraman on ghatam. The evening continued with Sesha Vahanam, Nandotsavam, Bhagavatam katha, Sri Krishna Jananam Parayanam, kirtans and Mahamantra chanting, culminating at midnight with ab-
hishekam and Maha-Harathi. The following day devotees symbolically journeyed to Brindavan with Sri Krishna and Sri Radha. Govinda Pattabhishekam commemorated the Govardhana Leela, while the youth presented Hari Katha. Children dressed as Gopas and Gopis also played games with Krishna. The day concluded with
Janavasam and a colorful fireworks display. The grand utsav concluded on Sunday, September 6, with Sri Radha Madhava Vivaha Mahotsavam, celebrated in the tradition of Dakshina Bhajana Sampradaya. The final day also included Gratitude & Prayer for donors and sevaks, followed by Hanumath Utsavam and Vidayatri. Hundreds of devotees attended participated in the celebrations throughout the ten-day Utsav. The festival provided a blessed opportunity for devotees to immerse themselves in Srimad Bhagavatam, chant the divine names, offer their art in the service of Perumal, and experience the joy of satsang. The utsav was made possible by divine grace and the collective kainkaryam of numerous bhagavatas, musicians, artists, children, youth, volunteers, donors and sevaks. We offer our humble gratitude to all who contributed their time, skill, resources and service, including those who worked quietly behind the scenes. For information about the temple located in Manvel, Texas, visit their website asptemple.org or the Facebook Page Sri Aishwarya Srinivasa Perumal Temple. For other local Houston events organized by Global Organization for Divinity, visit GOD Houston Facebook page.
Honor for Sam Kannappan
Midnight arathi
Flute concert
Houston: Sockalingam Sam Kannappan was honored with two titles on September 12, 2026 by Bharathi Kalai Manram (BKM) , Houston, USA as Founding Member and Tamil Community Pioneer Award. BKM was founded in 1974. Kannappan was born in Nattarasankottai, Sivagangai dist, Tamil Nadu. He graduated with BE (Hons) degree from Annamalai University and with Masters degree the University of Texas at Austin. He moved to Houston in 1969. As a young boy, he repaired local roads, assisted with installation of street lights, raised funds for local Bharathi library and conducted two free eye camps in Nattaarasankottai.. In Houston, he established Patients hospitality committee, started Hindu cremation procedures, served as Editor of the Hindu Worship Society, screened first Tamil Movie Uyarntha Manithan, He served as Co-Chairman of Millennium festival and built 180 homes in Kutch after Gujarat earthquake. As Founder Secretary, he built Ganesh and Meenakshi temple. He established Houston Tamil Studies Chair at the University of Houston.. Kannappan authored Pipe Stress Analysis book, published by John Wiley and Sons, NY in 1985. He Indo-American News • Friday, september 18, 2026 • www.indoamerican-news
Houston: Longtime Sugar Land resident and former National Table Tennis Champion of India, Jay Kabad, has published his first book, a kaleidoscopic memoir titled “The Unseen Hand: Stories for My Grandchildren” — a project that quietly took shape over fifteen years before finally reaching readers. The Unseen Hand: Stories for My Grandchildren traces Jay Kabad’s life from a childhood in Bangalore, where he was raised by his mother and grandparents after losing his father at age four, through his rise to become India’s National Table Tennis Champion, representing India in world championships. It follows his move to the United States with two postgraduate de-
is also author of Engineering software EZFLEX. Created Tamil font with voice synthesizer to assist MGR. He is a Real Estate Broker in Texas, Registered Professional Engineer, Texas, ASME B31.3 code committee Member, ASME Gas Pipeline Safety Research Committee, Charter Member, Society of Piping Engineers, Houston
RELIGION
September 18, 2026
Swami Mukundananda Houston Program, Sept 22nd to 24th, 2026
Houston: Swami Mukundananda ji, a worldrenowned teacher of Spirituality, Yoga & Meditation, will be visiting Houston from September 22nd to 24th and having a Free program at India House. He will conduct a discourse series titled “Inspiring stories from Saints” which is a remarkable collection of inspiring true stories from the lives of India’s great saints, beautifully interwoven with brief excerpts of music from their timeless musical compositions. Swamiji will also have a meet and greet session each day from 6:45 pm to 7:15 pm and the discourse is from 7:15 pm to 9 pm followed by dinner prasad. Swami Mukundananda received his degrees in Engineering and Management from two world famous institutes in India- Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) respectively. However, the call of God was so strong that after a short while on a successful corporate executive career path, he renounced his professional career to take Sanyas at age 23. Swamiji is a senior disciple of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj and the founder of JKYog - a non-profit organization dedicated to the spiritual, mental, and physical wellness of people worldwide. Inspiring Stories from the Saints -This discourse series is a remarkable collection of true stories from the lives of great saints of India, who were pillars of devotion, wisdom, and selfless service. Each story is a captivating account of lessons in faith, humility, and perseverance. In this narrative Swamiji offers the audience practical guidance for leading a purposeful and spiritually enriched life. This discourse series is a source of motivation to awaken inner strength and live with divine values daily, in a world filled with distractions and conflicts. Rather than presenting them as distant historical figures, Swamiji shows how they overcame challenges like those we face today—family conflicts, financial hardships, social opposition, and personal suffering—through unwavering faith, devotion, and selfless service. By learning about the lives of great saints like Meerabai, Annamacharya, Narsi Mehta and others, we can learn how to transform everyday
difficulties into opportunities for spiritual growth and peace. The saints endured criticism, persecution, illness, and hardship, yet remained steadfast and demonstrated that Greatness comes not through power or wealth but through compassion, surrender, and serving others. Swami Mukundananda’s enlightening discourses clarify the deepest concepts of the Vedic scriptures with wit and perfect logic. Over the last four decades, Swamiji has been travelling all over the world, awakening thousands of seekers through true Yoga and Spirituality. Swamiji has been invited to speak at various Fortune 500 companies like Google, Oracle, Yahoo, Amazon and for the youth, Swamiji has conducted programs at prestigious universities like Princeton, Stan-
Appeal for Kidney Donation Houston: Hi, I’m Meera. I’m a wife, mother, daughter and sister and I’ve been happily married to my husband and we live in Houston, Texas with our 15-year-old daughter, a sophomore in high school. She is the joy of my life. I’m also a caretaker for my older parents who shuttle between Washington and Houston. I was diagnosed with lupus at a very young age and have struggled with the disease for the last 30 years. The disease has scarred my kidneys and has led to both my kidneys failure which is why I need a kidney transplant. My immediate family members have tried to be my living donor, but because of their being the wrong blood type or preexistent conditions they have been disqualified. A donor donating a kidney on my behalf would have all their hospital, medical, incidental and consequential costs covered. And you would have gained a friend for life who would be there for you in your time of need. If you are interested in being my donor, please visit the Website below. You can also help me by sharing my story and the link to this webpage via social media and email. Just by sharing my story, you’ll help to save my life. If you’d like to speak with someone confidentially, please call 832 907-7007. www.nkr. org/YEV888. Indo-American News • Friday, september 18, 2026, 2026 • www.indoamerican-news
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ford, Kellogg, MIT, and Duke. Admission to program is Free and Dinner Prasad will be served after program conclusion. Free Registration is requested. Details: Topic: Inspiring Stories From The Saints Venue: India House, 8888 West Bellfort Ave, Houston TX77031. Date: Sept 22 (Tues) to Sept 24 (Thur) Timings: Meet and Greet Swamiji: 6:45 -7:15 pm Discourse: 7:15 – 9 pm Dinner Prasad served daily at conclusion of program Contact: 281-630-5982, 281780-4877 Free Registration at https://www. jkyog.org/Houston
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Indo American News Founder: Dr. K.L. Sindwani Publisher: Jawahar Malhotra Editor: Pramod Kulkarni Correspondent: Sanchali Basu
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ENTERTAINMENT
September 18, 2026 11
‘Last Man in Tower’: An Unsettling Ode to Chawls
Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.
By Renuka Vyavahare Story: Based on Aravind Adiga’s novel and adapted for the screen by Sooni Taraporevala, Ben Rekhi’s poignant drama centres on Masterji (Manoj Bajpayee), the lone resident of an ageing Mumbai housing society who resists redevelopment, determined to preserve the home and community he holds dear. Review: His refusal to bow to the demands of his fellow residents and the builder (Boman Irani) soon makes him a thorn in their side. Ironically, his fight to save their community leaves him increasingly lonely and isolated. Viewed as someone depriving them of a better life, the people he once considered friends ostracise him, dismissing his principles as outdated. In a world where everyone is racing to own bigger homes and lead more luxurious lives, our threshold for tolerance, empathy and togetherness has drastically diminished. The safety net and community culture of Mumbai’s chawls and old buildings are fast disappearing, and Masterji finds himself fighting a losing battle to preserve a way of life that is slowly becoming extinct. Poignant, relevant and haunting, Last Man in Tower is an unsettling ode to Mumbai. Reminiscent of Dhobi Ghat (2010), its docustyle storytelling navigates dark humour, loneliness and tragedy in the most unsuspecting ways. The beauty of the film lies in its ability to accommodate contradictory viewpoints without declaring one entirely right or wrong. Its characters are layered, flawed and remarkably real.Divya Dutta’s Sangita Puri, a neglected housewife desperate for a better life for her special-needs son, stands for change. Sangita becomes Masterji’s chief adversary, and Dutta is a force of nature as she goes head-to-head with Bajpayee. She delivers a heartbreaking performance and emerges as an outstanding parallel lead — flawed in her thinking, yet someone you cannot help rooting for. Manoj Bajpayee is the soul of the film, once again proving why he remains one of our finest actors. Sukant Goel and Boman Irani are equally effective in their parts.Is Masterji simply averse to change? Do people make places special, or do places hold the memories that make us who we are? And can the emotional pull of the past ever compete with the dreams of the future? Last Man in Tower speaks to your soul. More importantly, it speaks to Mumbai’s original inhabitants — particularly its middle class, which increasingly finds itself being pushed out of the city it once called home. Do not miss it. -- ToI
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