Saiyaara economics
In this year’s surprise blockbuster Saiyaara, the word itself is explained as something luminous yet distant—a celestial body you can see clearly, feel drawn to, but never quite touch. That idea perfectly captured artificial intelligence in 2025. AI-dominated boardrooms and earnings calls, shaping narratives around margins, capex cycles and future stock leadership. Yet when it came to measurable productivity gains, clarity remained elusive. Costs were visible, benefits deferred, and timelines fuzzy. Interestingly, India emerged as something of an anti-AI trade—driven more by domestic consumption, manufacturing and financialization than by frontier tech narratives. Perhaps 2026 will tell us whether the promise was real or just another version of doglapan, Hindi for double standards.
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