This Changed My Life

Long before Sima Aunty and dating apps, Tamil Nadu had one matchmaker — ‘Kalyanamalai’ Mohan. From the rise of television to changing ideas of love and marriage, this OG Tamil matchmaker looks back on his rich 26-year experience of playing Cupid and facilitating over 6.5 lakh weddings. In this Valentine’s Day special interview with The Hindu, Mohan talks about matchmaking, marriage trends, love an...

Soundarya Rajinikanth returns to Tamil cinema as a producer with With Love, starring Abishan Jeevinth and Anaswara Rajan. In an interview with ‘The Hindu’ for the 'This Changed my Life' podcast, she chats about her comeback, why she took a long break and what she plans to do now. She also revisits Kochadaiyaan, her 2014 animation film starring her father and Tamil superstar, Rajinikanth, and talks...

For 50 years, the Rehabilitation Centre for Blind Women (RCBW) in Tamil Nadu has empowered visually impaired women through skill training. From tailoring bedspreads and weaving baskets to baking fresh goods, the centre helps women earn a livelihood and live independently. Founded in 1975 by Dr. Joseph Gnanadhickam, RCBW continues to transform lives with free training and support for education. Dis...

Description: Cinematographer Arvind Kashyap, who worked in the pan-India blockbuster 'Kantara: Chapter 1', directed by Rishab Shetty, talks about his life-altering moment in The Hindu's 'This Changed My Life' podcast. Arvind opens up on learning the tricks of the trade in the indie Kannada psychological thriller 'Lucia' (2013) and how his career evolved from being a drone flyer in marquee movies t...

Popular vedic speaker and harikatha exponent Dushyant Sridhar is busy this Margazhi season. Through his collaboration with singers and dancers, he is blending music and storytelling during this season to draw younger listeners and take classical discourse beyond traditional spaces. In an interview to ‘The Hindu’, 39-year-old Dushyant talks about the essence of spirituality, how he cites modern exa...

Ajaneesh Loknath has had a busy 2025, with 'Kantara: Chapter 1' being his biggest project of the year. In this episode of 'This Changed My Life' podcast, the Kannada music composer opens up on how meeting Rakshit Shetty and Rishab Shetty proved to be a game changer in his career. From craving for commercial success to scoring music for blockbusters, Ajaneesh opens up on some of the key moments of...

Director Suresh Krissna, who is known for his four films with Rajinikanth (Annamalai, Veera, Baasha and Baba) and two with Kamal Haasan (Sathya and Aalavandan), is excited that his Annamalai, his first film with Rajinikanth, is re-releasing on December 12, 2025, coinciding with the Superstar’s birthday. “Back in 1992, fans celebrated the film as if it was their own. The fact that many elements – i...

Rukmini Vasanth was just one film old in 2023. Cut to 2025, she has the experience of working in some of the biggest projects of Indian cinema. The Bengaluru girl, who broke through with an intense performance in 'Sapta Sagaradaache Ello', is one of the busiest actors in India today. Having worked in pan-Indian movies like 'Kantara: Chapter 1' and 'Toxic', she opens up in the latest episode of 'Th...

Did you know that music composer-actor-director Darbuka Siva’s participation in an arts residency in the US changed his life? Watch to find out why – in this latest episode of ‘This Changed My Life’, in which Siva chats about his beginnings as a musician and how he chartered a unique approach towards songs and filmmaking. Darbuka Siva also talks about his fascination for football and why he adopts...

Did you know that Tamil actor Vishnu Vishal is very close to Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, and considers the star as ‘God’?Vishnu, whose recent film was ‘Aaryan’, talks about how Aamir Khan came into his life, and how his interactions with him shaped his recent perspectives. He talks about this unlikely friendship in ‘This Changed my Life’, the latest podcast offering from The Hindu. Guest: Vish...

If you were asked the question “What changed your life?”, what would you say? The Hindu is on a quest to amass as many answers to this larger-than-life question. Starting November 1, on every Saturday, celebrities from all around the world over, will speak about a moment that altered their perspective, and hence their very existence. This could be an event, person, place, or thing, that brought th...