Coachella: Hanumankind
From Kochi to Coachella, Hanumankind – real name Sooraj Cherukat – became the fourth Indian artiste to make his debut at the iconic music and arts festival in Indio, California.
Coachella 2025 spans across two weekends, April 11-13 and April 18-20, and is world-renowned for its star-studded line-up and massive art installations.
The Kerala-born rapper took to the Mojave stage on April 12, delivering an electrifying set that included his breakout hit Big Dawgs and his latest single Run It Up, which features Kerala’s traditional chenda melam drums.
Despite battling a fever, Hanumankind’s high-energy performance, backed by live drummers and immersive visuals, wowed the crowd.
His appearance marks a major milestone for Indian hip-hop on the global stage, following the footsteps of Indian-origin artistes like Diljit Dosanjh, AP Dhillon and Ali Sethi.
With Coachella’s dual-weekend format, Hanumankind is expected to reprise his performance on April 19.
Dragon
A coming-of-age comedy-drama directed by Ashwath Marimuthu and starring Pradeep Ranganathan, Dragon was the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2025 until Ajith’s Good Bad Ugly overtook it on April 14. Produced on a Rs37 crore ($5.7 million) budget, the film – released on Feb 21 – grossed around Rs151 crore worldwide.
It dropped on Netflix on March 21. The story follows a college student who, after being rejected by his crush for being too well-mannered, transforms into a renegade named Dragon. His rebellion leads to suspension, pushing him to chase a high-paying job through dubious means.
Though nearly a month old on the platform, Dragon continues to resonate with audiences thanks to its mix of humour, heart and relatable characters. With 1.1 million views worldwide, it currently ranks ninth in Netflix’s global Top 10 for non-English films.
Too Good To Be True
Prajakta Koli’s novel Too Good To Be True is a witty, heartfelt story for hopeless romantics that became a No. 1 bestseller in India, even gaining its own fandom with an Instagram account (@toogoodtobetruebook) dedicated to it.
Released on Jan 13 by Harper Collins India, the novel follows Avani, a bookstore employee and an avid reader of love stories, who meets Aman – a man who seems to have stepped right out of her favourite romance novels. As their relationship deepens, Avani wrestles with the fear that Aman might be too good to be true.
Prajakta, known as MostlySane on YouTube, brings her signature humour and relatability to the story. With around 7.29 million subscribers on YouTube and nine million Instagram followers, she has captivated a wide audience.
The novel sold over 150,000 copies within a month of release and won the Amazon India Popular Choice Debut Book 2025 award.
