Saiyami Kher joins shoot of Vikram Phadnis’ next with Tahir Raj Bhasin and Vineet Kumar Singh in Mumbai

Actress Saiyami Kher is all set to begin the new year on an exciting note as she comes on board an untitled new project directed by ace designer-turned-filmmaker Vikram Phadnis. This project is produced by Reel Euphoria in association with Knight Sky Movies, has officially gone on floors, marking yet another significant milestone in Saiyami’s growing body of work. The upcoming project is a drama, with Saiyami headlining it in a powerful leading role along with Vineet Kumar Singh and Tahir Raj Bhasin. Announcing the project, Saiyami took to her Instagram to share a glimpse from her first day on set along with a spiral-bound copy of the film’s script. Captioning the post, she wrote, “And today every silent prayer finds its way home,” followed by another heartfelt note that read, “New Year, New Beginning. As always, I need all the wishes.” The post reflects both gratitude and excitement as she embarks on this new journey. This will be Vikram’s third directorial venture and his first di...

‘It has become a sort of silver bullet’: why are rap lyrics being put on trial?

In compelling documentary As We Speak, a controversial legal practice that uses rap lyrics to secure convictions is explored

In September 2001, McKinley Phipps Jr, also known as the rapper Mac, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for manslaughter. It had been a year and a half since gunfire erupted outside a club where he was slated to perform in Slidell, Louisiana, resulting in the death of 19-year-old Barron Victor Jr. Phipps, then 22, maintained his innocence, and the case against him was weak – there was no gun linking him to the crime, several witnesses recanted their testimony and another person confessed to pulling the trigger. And yet, prosecutors had their trump card: Mac, a former New Orleans rap prodigy who began releasing music at the age of 13, had rapped about murder.

“Murder, murder, kill, kill”, Phipps recites in As We Speak: Rap Music on Trial, a new documentary on the criminalization of rap lyrics. Prosecutors spliced that line with one from a different song – “Pull the trigger, put a bullet in your head” – to create the portrait of a killer; Mac’s art was the evidence that DNA, solid confessions, or a missing weapon couldn’t provide. An all-white jury bought it. Phipps served over 21 years in prison before being granted clemency in 2021.

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