Ranbir Kapoor leases five floors in Andheri for 20 years to revive RK Studios

Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor and his family are taking a major step toward reviving their cinematic legacy by leasing five floors in a commercial complex in Andheri East, Mumbai, for 20 years to establish a new iteration of the legendary RK Studios. The development, reported by multiple outlets, signals a significant return for a brand that once defined Hindi cinema. The original RK Studios, founded by Ranbir’s grandfather, the late “Showman” Raj Kapoor — was located in Chembur but was sold in 2018 after a devastating fire and mounting maintenance challenges. This new lease is seen as a bold attempt to bring the prestige and infrastructure of the studio back to life in a modern setting. According to industry reports, the five-floor space at Kanakia Wall Street will be transformed into a cutting-edge production and creative hub. Plans include soundstages equipped for virtual production, editing and post-production suites, screening rooms, VFX facilities and dedicated offices for the Ka...

‘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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