A Dosa Pop Culture for the Week of April 24

Tamil Art with Global Heart

READ: Dey

A notoriously invincible hero, who can send villains flying and women flocking to him with just a twirl of his mustache, is one of the many Tamil film tropes parodied in Chennai-born Shivram Gopinath’s poetry collection, Dey. A nominee for the Best Literary Work at the Singapore Book Awards 2026, his poetry creatively explores the Singaporean Indian migrant identity as it reimagines local hopes and dreams through the South Indian cinematic lens.

A  testament to cross-cultural fusion, the text is also a result of the collaboration between Shivram and Singaporean illustrator Brenda Tan, who designed the book’s playful cover, which features Tamil superstar Rajinikanth holding the king of fruits – the durian. Released in November 2025 by local publisher Ethos Books, Dey is available to purchase online and at selected physical bookstores such as Kinokuniya.

WATCH: Made in Korea

India’s fascination with anything “K” (Korean), like K-pop or K-drama, in recent years is highlighted in the 2026 Netflix original Tamil film, Made In Korea. Written and directed by Ra Karthick, the narrative focuses on Shenba, played by Priyanka Mohan, a small-town girl from Tamil Nadu, who pursues her dream of travelling to Korea and navigates the vicissitudes of life in an unfamiliar country.

She strikes an unexpected friendship with an elderly Korean woman (Park Hye-Jin), with whom she starts an Indo-Korean restaurant. The main item on their menu is a fusion dish, which blends the tangy taste of kimchi with the South Indian classic “poondu saadham” (garlic rice). Reaching the top spot on Netflix’s Global Top 10 Non-English Films chart for three consecutive weeks in early March, the heartwarming film delves deep into the themes of identity, self-discovery and multiculturalism.

LISTEN: Amsham

Kerala-based artiste Aksomaniac’s viral new single Amsham has garnered more than 3 million streams on Spotify in less than a month since its release on April 2. The song, inspired by the myth of Manmadhan (the Hindu god of love) and the 1991 Malayalam film Njan Gandharvan, which tells the tale of a human who falls in love with a celestial being, portrays the themes of cosmic love, longing and mortality.

A genre-defying composition of R&B, hip-hop and classic melodies, the track also includes multilingual lyrics (namely Malayalam and Tamil)  sung by an array of notable Indian singers – Bhumi, M.H.R and Circle Tone. In an industry dominated by traditional film music, this emotionally compelling song has catapulted Malayalam indie creations into the spotlight.