Kunal Purohit’s 2023 book H-Pop: The Secretive World of Hindutva Pop Stars is a literary journalism work combining reportage with immersive narratives of three vividly etched-out characters: Kavi Singh, Kamal Agney, and Sandeep Deo.

Through their stories, Purohit examines pop music, poetry, and influencer culture respectively. H-Pop works on multiple levels: an anthropological deep dive into the world of Hindutva pop, literary nonfiction about the lives of these Hindutva pop artists, investigative journalism about their links with the BJP and other Hindutva organizations, and academic analysis of the role of music, poetry, and pop culture in stoking violence. 

In my interview with Purohit, I asked him how he approached this hybridity in his work, constructed such empathetic character portraits, and reconciled his personal beliefs with a sense of journalistic “objectivity.” 

As someone who researches the saffronization of India’s Hindi film industry, I was also curious about how ideologically committed these pop artists were to Hindu nationalism, versus simply/merely opportunistically jumping on a bandwagon to boost their careers amid India’s volatile political economy of virality, trends, and patronage. 

We discussed the role of institutional support in maintaining this cultural hegemony, what other works inspired H-Pop, and where Purohit sees his work going from here. I also asked about the absence of any mention of the caste identities of his interlocutors in H-Pop and how he navigated the privileged positionality that let him safely carry out this research. 

Finally, as a Muslim from India, I expressed my concern about the wider weaponization of pop culture by the Hindutva ecosystem: leaders of the ruling party openly make hate speeches and drive hate rallies, school textbooks peddle Hindutva history as fact, mainstream Bollywood movies peddle Hindutva propaganda, WhatsApp and other social media are inundated with Hindutva conspiracies, and now as Purohit explores in H-Pop, pop music, poetry, and literature have also been weaponized by the Hindutva ecosystem. 

I asked: is there any scope for resistance? How do you find hope amid so much hate? Watch the full interview for more. 

Kunal Purohit on H-Pop: The Secretive World Of Hindutva Pop Stars