When The Social Dilemma first came out on Netflix in 2020, I remember being deeply concerned by it. The idea that anything I liked or interacted with was valuable psychological data that could be collected, used to build a profile, and keep me online for as long as it could genuinely scared me. I felt like Jason Bourne who had come across secret evil plans of state control. The documentary was specifically looking at how platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Google use our behaviour to train algorithms that decide what we see, what gets recommended to us and, eventually, what we might be persuaded to think or do. I remember thinking then, "okay, I have to be smart about how I engage with social media."
Cut to today — because I'm looking for cool small brands to shop from that never show up on Google now — I have fake conversations about trousers I want on WhatsApp, and expect to have a menagerie of brands on my Insta feed later that day. I have completely submitted to the 'efficiency' of my algorithm.
Sneak attacks like this have always concerned me, especially in relationships from boyfriends who would try to manipulate me which I'd catch up on much later. "How did I not see that happening?", I'd think, and more so, "how did I end up so far down the mouth of the dragon?"
AI was sold to us in much the same way and sure, it felt like we rebelled and continue to do that, some of us atleast, yet, it's everywhere — in the books and essays you read, the films you watch, the music you listen to — and if you think it isn't, you might need to look harder because now it's also becoming indistinguishable from real, human art.
As I look forward to shopping this weekend because unfortunately, my algo did deliver, I also dread the day that we wake up to realize how we slept through the most insidious organized stagnation of our own selves humanity. Anyway.
Here's what we have for you this week:
Sumedh Natu’s Vinchu, starring Delzad Hiwale, follows Saleel, a young queer man working for the propaganda wing of a fictional right-wing organisation while also carrying out its missions against writers and journalists accused of hurting religious or political sentiments. After Saleel and his colleagues attack the wrong writer, the film uses the resulting chaos to look at moral policing, manufactured outrage and the strange contradictions between personal identity and political belief.
Watch it here.
Karsh Kale speaks to Homegrown about his return to solo music with Dust, the Asian Underground movement and nearly three decades of working across Indian classical music, electronica, jazz, film and live performance. He also discusses painting, cross-cultural collaboration and the need for artists to stay connected to their own creative impulses; Kale appeared at CultureCon 2026 in Mumbai on August 6 for a session with Shilpi Gupta.
Read it here.
Homegrown Handpicked is our monthly playlist where we round up the new releases that have caught our attention over the past month, bringing together artists and sounds from across India. This month, we’re moving across indie-pop, hip-hop, electronic, house, Afrobeats, disco and experimental music, with the selection featuring artists like Mera Bhai, Tsumyoki, Muyeez, Bonobo, Arooj Aftab, Sahana Naresh and Keshavara, among others.
Check out the playlist here.
Heirloom Cities’ second book, Kolkata: The People, Kitchens and Streets of the City of Joy, explores the city through its food, communities, rituals and domestic traditions. The 378-page book brings together essays, photography, illustration and design from contributors including Malini Banerjee, Amrita Das, Priyadarshini Chatterjee, Pinaki Bhattacharya and Dolon Dutta Chowdhury, building its portrait of Kolkata through stories shaped by migration, trade, colonial history and generations of exchange.
Read more about it here.
Butter has a much longer regional story in India than the familiar yellow block in your fridge. Our latest piece looks at home-churned makhan, Maharashtra’s loni, Karnataka’s benne and Tamil Nadu’s vennai, tracing how different regions developed their own butter traditions before industrial production and Amul helped standardise what most of us now recognise as butter.
Read it here.
The MAX URB_N UN-MUTE Rap Tour kicks off in Kochi at Forum Kochi on August 7 from 5 PM, bringing together live rap, battles, street dance, graffiti, interactive art, food and a basketball court. ThirumaLi and Lil PAYYAN headline the night, while a live cypher featuring shortlisted rappers and rap-battle winners will determine two artists who return to perform on the main stage, alongside a street-dance showcase by Movemental Crew, live graffiti by Left Hander and a customisation zone by The Art Curry.
Get your tickets here.
Sameksha Gallery marks its first anniversary with Close | Far — Lean In, Step Back, a group exhibition curated by Yamini Telkar that looks at how scale and physical distance can change the way we experience an artwork. Featuring Kavita Nayar, Vanita Gupta, Savya Jain and Aman Kumar Bavariya, the show invites viewers to move between close-up details and larger, immersive compositions. It runs from August 8 to September 12 at Sameksha, Sanatan: IILM Centre for Arts & Ideas in New Delhi, from 11:30 AM to 6:30 PM, Monday to Saturday.
Read about the artists here.
India Post is hosting a national letter-writing competition called Dhai Akhar, which is now open for its 2026–27 edition, with this year’s theme being 'A Letter to Mother Earth: My Promise to Protect Nature.' The competition is open to Indian citizens in two age categories, and you can write your letter in English, Hindi or any vernacular language. Entries can be submitted as an Inland Letter Card of up to 500 words or in an envelope with a letter of up to 1,000 words, and need to reach the competition by October 31. Winners will receive national prizes of ₹50,000, ₹25,000 and ₹10,000 in each category, along with Circle-level prizes.
More info here.
If you enjoyed reading this, here's more from Homegrown:
What Does Nirmal Purja's Legacy Say About The Way We Remember Our Heroes?
The Cost Of Being A Woman In India? Apparently, Even Dissent Is Gendered
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