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Understanding Ashish Shelar, Maharashtra IT and Cultural Minister_我的网站

A |     “Every role we take on simply expands the responsibility we already carry within.” The words felt inherent to the space…          Ashish Shelar is a prominent Indian politician, lawyer, and one of Mumbai’s most recognisable public leaders. A senior figure in the Bharatiya Janata Party, he has served multiple terms as an MLA from Bandra West and held key organisational roles, including President of the Mumbai BJP. Known for his sharp legal mind and grassroots connections, Shelar has played a significant role in shaping Mumbai’s civic and developmental policies, championing issues related to education, urban infrastructure, and youth empowerment.               He currently serves as the IT Minister and Cultural Minister of Maharashtra, roles in which he is driving digital growth, creative advancement, and cultural preservation across the state. Beyond politics, Shelar is deeply associated with sports and community initiatives. As former President of the Mumbai Cricket Association, he has supported major sports infrastructure and talent development. A Bandra boy at heart, Ashish Shelar remains an influential voice in Mumbai’s evolving public life. To understand Ashish Shelar is to recognise a figure shaped as much by Mumbai’s vibrant energy as by its quieter, inherited traditions. He is a man who has risen through the city’s layered terrain without severing himself from the places that first formed him. Years spent in a modest chawl did not merely define his beginnings; they created a lifelong grammar of community, discipline and instinctive empathy. His journey is not the familiar arc of a politician sculpted by circumstance, but that of a man who learned early that responsibility grows not from opportunity but from exposure to collective life. Those formative corridors shaped his sense of belonging long before public leadership entered his vocabulary.                    Even today, beneath the roles he carries, there remains the unmistakable presence of someone who has listened closely to the city’s heartbeat. He understands its festivals and its silences, its ambition and its anxieties, its need for celebration, and its longing for continuity. In Shelar’s public persona, there is a rare blend of assertiveness and accessibility, a combination that allows him to move with equal ease through the institutional corridors of government and the lived reality of people’s everyday concerns. He stands as part of a generation of leaders who have witnessed Mumbai reinvent itself repeatedly, and he carries those transformations within him with a sense of responsibility that feels both personal and civic. The door opened with the quiet certitude of a room designed for conversation rather than display. Inside sat Ashish Shelar, composed and unhurried, carrying the ease of someone who has grown from the same soil as the city he serves. Nothing about the setting felt performative. It had the atmosphere of a familiar Mumbai afternoon where stories drift into the air long before they were spoken aloud. As Rachana Shah and Rhythm Wagholikar took their seats, the room softened into a steady rhythm. Shelar seemed intent on speaking not as a political figure but as a man shaped by the everyday pulse of the city that raised him. What followed was an interaction that moved with an unforced grace. It was a conversation that did not rush to conclusions but allowed insights to surface with their own natural cadence. Memories blended with reflections, personal anecdotes mingled with convictions, and the portrait of a leader quietly deepened. By the time the discussion drew to a close, it felt less like an interview and more like a window into the making of a man who continues to carry Mumbai within him. The interview was warm, engaging, and revealing in its own gentle way, unfolding with the ease of a story that simply needed the right moment to be told.                What follows are curated excerpts from a candid and wide-ranging interview with Ashish Shelar, conducted by Rachana Shah and Rhythm Wagholikar….               You grew up in a period that shaped Mumbai’s cultural and social identity. What part of that childhood shaped you?               My childhood in a Mumbai chawl was my first schooling. Life unfolded in proximity. You heard your neighbour’s joys and anxieties; you witnessed their efforts and celebrations. You grew into every festival, every household, every shared courtyard. That instinct for coexistence shaped me long before I understood the words for it. It taught me informality, empathy, and a rhythm of belonging that no structured education can offer.               Before public life found you, who were you as a young student or dreamer?               I was a struggler. There was no early ambition for leadership or public life. I worked hard for better education, for opportunities that seemed modest at the time but mattered immensely. Circumstances kept illusions at a distance. Looking back, I now understand that destiny or perhaps the guidance of my Sadguru had placed the path long before I recognised it.               Faith remains central to your life even with the pressures of public responsibility. What sustains that connection?               I like being with people. Service has always felt natural to me, whether in development work, healthcare assistance or simple presence. Temple visits are an extension of the same instinct. They keep me aligned with the inner rhythm I rely on.               Mumbai has reinvented itself many times. What is the soul of the city today?The soul of Mumbai lies in shared celebration. A society thrives when people come together. In my childhood, Navratri nights, Devikala Utsav, Vrinda Utsav and small school gatherings were part of our emotional landscape. I used to write the display boards for competitions. These details may appear small, but they created belonging. Keeping that spirit alive feels like an essential responsibility.               Was there a turning point that shaped your entry into public life?               When our chawl was demolished, we moved to Bandra. I was in class four. That move brought me to the RSS Shakha. I entered first to play but soon absorbed the discipline, the stories of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the call of Vande Mataram and an early understanding of patriotism. Later came my years with ABVP as a full-time worker and then my journey through the BJP and Yuva Morcha. Each stage introduced its own discipline and widened my worldview.                               Among the cultural responsibilities you have held, which initiative remains closest to your heart?               The UNESCO recognition of the twelve forts of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as a world heritage ensemble. Eleven forts in Maharashtra and one in Jinji, Tamil Nadu, were brought together under the understanding of the Maratha Military Landscape. For an entire cluster to receive recognition is rare. It has added significant value to our cultural and historical preservation, and this is one thing I hold closer to my heart.                                         If you could highlight a lesser-known cultural treasure of Maharashtra, what would come to mind?               There is no single answer,” he quietly smiled. “Our cultural depth stretches across languages, classical and semi-classical music, the energy of Lavani, the strength of theatre traditions, the devotion of the Varkari movement and the architecture of old temples and wells. Much of it has to be experienced rather than described.Politics can be emotionally demanding. How do you maintain balance?               Sadhana. My connection with my guru. The guidance of Sai Baba. Daily discipline keeps the mind centred and prevents unnecessary restlessness. If you could pass on three cultural values to the next generation, what would they be?               Humility, a mind free of ego and an alignment with nature. When you listen to your inner voice and stay close to nature, life aligns itself with you.                               Do sports, cinema and literature influence the modern Maharashtrian mindset?               Human beings evolve through sensitivity. Films, music and theatre nurture emotional intelligence and expand imagination. They prepare individuals to be receptive and grounded.                When your journey is written someday, which chapter would you hope stands out?               I do not wish for any chapter to carry my name. Like for example, bringing back the historic sword of Chhatrapati Raghuji Raje Bhosale from London was meaningful, but it belongs to Maharashtra, not to any individual. Our life should be a dedication to humans and humanity.                               From grassroots worker to cultural minister, what essence defined the transition?               Every stage widens your canvas. A ground worker thinks for the locality. A party worker thinks for the organisation. A representative thinks for the constituency. A minister thinks for the state. The thread that binds all stages is the ability to think for others.                               As the conversation drew to a natural close, the room remained exactly as it had been at the beginning, quiet and steady, untouched by the weight of the words that had passed through it. He carried the city’s shifts within him. He understood its silences, its speed, its contradictions, and its spirit. For Rachana Shah and Rhythm Wagholikar, the interaction became a portrait of a man shaped by Mumbai and now shaping it in return, with a clarity that felt both measured and unmistakably sincere.                                    Also Read: Highlights From The 10th Filmfare Awards Marathi 2025。    最近游戏圈发生了两件让小发难以理解的事。                   第一件事是战地6的爆火，最高同时在线玩家数冲到了74万，销量3天破700万，直接刷新了战地IP的纪录，恐怖如斯。                             第二件事是，在战地6这么牛逼的前提下，开发商EA却在游戏发售前，还没等股价涨上去，就把自己给卖了。                   投资者集团用550亿美元的价格将其买下，股东将获得每股210美元的现金对价，这比EA在收购传闻出现前的最后一个交易日（9月25日）收盘价168.32美元，溢价了25%。                   所以别说什么股东万般不舍的假话，他们嘴都要笑裂了。                   不过对玩家们来说，EA之后会变成什么样，才是他们更关心的。                   买下EA的投资者集团，由三方组成，分别是Affinity Partners、银湖资本、沙特阿拉伯公共投资资金。                   说是三方，实际上这三家倒是有个共同的纽带，那就是中东石油佬。                   2021年成立的Affinity Partners，从海湾国家的主权财富基金获得了数十亿美元的投资，它背后站着的，是卡塔尔、阿联酋和沙特。这家公司的老板是特朗普女婿贾里德·库什纳，属实是老特家不养闲人。                   曾把电脑制造商戴尔私有化的银湖资本，在2020年的时候接受了来自阿联酋阿布扎比的主权投资者穆巴达拉发展公司20亿美元的投资。                   最后的沙特阿拉伯公共投资资金（简称PIF）更不用多说，从名字上就能看出它的血统，这也是三方中唯一表明自己吃国家皇粮的一方。

B |                    今年春天Affinity Partners和银湖资本就已经在为这个全球规模最大的杠杆收购案谈判。有知情人士说，在今年夏天的时候，EA曾和银湖资本接触过。

C |                    而PIF在收购案谈妥前，就已经有了EA的10%股份了。                   其他两家暂时没啥说头，都是生意，小发主要想聊聊PIF和它背后的沙特。                   沙特喜欢在游戏这边砸钱，也不是啥新鲜事了。去年的时候，我们聊过沙特那边就砸了约6000万美元，办了个电竞世界杯。至于投资的游戏公司，那就更多了。                   简单盘盘，除了上边提过的EA、暴雪、Take-Two、任天堂外，还有Pokemon Go的开发商Niantic、Monopoly Go的开发商Scopely，日本的SNK、卡普空，韩国的NEXON，瑞典的Embracer Group……                    诶，说到这就涉及另一个问题，沙特为啥跟游戏看对眼了？                    网上不少人都知道，沙特王子喜欢玩游戏，前几天还有个曾被高度怀疑是沙特王子的账号，短暂地把自己的steam昵称改成了“I bought EA”，壕气扑面而来。                             其实喜欢游戏，或者说喜欢给游戏产业砸钱，不是某个王子的特性，而是沙特这个国家的意志。                   对中东稍有了解的都知道，那块盛产石油，但石油也是一种资源诅咒。2009年～2014年，石油收入能占沙特阿拉伯财政收入的85%以上，相当畸形。

D |                    在这种大前提下，自2014年开始，国际油价持续走低，原因是因中东原油生产国和美国页岩油开采商之间的竞争导致了前所未有的全球供应过剩，当时路透社判断这一状况可能将持续至2016年。                   无论是为了国家的正常运转，还是说为了国家的将来考虑，沙特的转型已经迫在眉睫。                   于是2016年，沙特政府正式宣布了“沙特2030愿景”，项目领导正是PIF的主席沙特王子本·萨勒曼。这一愿景有三大目标：将沙特打造成“阿拉伯和伊斯兰世界的心脏”、全球投资强国、连接非洲和欧亚大陆的枢纽。                   之后几年，PIF帮助沙特在全球攻城略地，进军各个产业，游戏就是他们相中的目标之一，一旦对上眼就疯狂撒钱。                   2022年，本·萨勒曼发布了国家游戏和电子竞技战略，决定把沙特打造成世界游戏和电子竞技中心。                   之前买买买的时候，沙特就拿下了全球最大的电子竞技公司ESL FACEIT Group(EFG)，这公司算是V社的经典合作伙伴了，CS玩家应该不陌生。                   倒不是说办完比赛，各国俱乐部就各回各家各找各妈，沙特就没事了。

E |                    本·萨勒曼是想依托之前给游戏产业的投资，创造就业机会、培养人才并为行业蓬勃发展建立环境。

F | 说白了，就是让沙特走上一个游戏产业良性发展的道路。                   之前买下游戏公司花的每一美元，都要让沙特人民成倍的赚回来。

G |                    这不是幻想，去年经济日报在报道中提到，沙特是目前中东最大的游戏市场之一，拥有2350万名游戏玩家，占总人口的67%，44%的游戏玩家年龄在18岁～35岁。                   如果有做游戏出海的小伙伴，应该知道，从前几年开始，做中东的游戏本地化相当热门。

H | 那边想玩游戏的人很多，但真正做适配服务的厂商又太少。

I |                    2022年那会，你还能看到各种国产换皮游戏在中东杀疯了，古天乐、渣渣辉摇身一变，成了萨拉丁、苏丹，邀请你跟他一起冲锋。                   中东土豪们嗷嗷刷爆信用卡，看着屏幕上的999爽到不能呼吸，一门心思想着跟老大再冲一次，重铸阿拉伯帝国荣光。                   这块土地有人又有钱，相当适合游戏产业，完全有资格让本·萨勒曼的想法变成现实。                   总而言之就一句话，沙特布局游戏产业，大有搞头。                   至于为啥买下EA而不是其他游戏公司，除了赶巧了这个理由以外，当然还有其他原因。                   在EA官方的公告里，PIF副行长兼国际投资主管用这么一段话来形容EA：它是互动娱乐领域的全球领导者，以其顶级体育特许经营权为支柱，拥有快速增长的收入和强劲且可伸缩的自由现金流。

J |                    前半句和后半句大家都能看懂，这里简单聊聊中间那句“以其顶级体育特许经营权为支柱”。

K |                    对EA有所了解的朋友知道，它旗下有个叫做EA SPORTS的部门，专门用来开发和发行体育类电子游戏，这些游戏种类丰富，囊括足球、篮球、棒球、冰球等领域。                   这些体育游戏，通常和现实中的组织、赛事挂钩，比如之前EA的FIFA系列，就是EA和国际足联合作的产物。                   同理，EA在其他游戏里，也拿到了现实里组织、赛事的特许经营权。这就是说，在电子游戏领域厉害的EA，在体育领域也有一定话语权，混得开，不至于两眼一抹黑啥都不懂。                   而体育这个东西多赚钱，看看世界杯、NBA就懂了，不用小发多说了吧？                    EA在这方面的优势就很对沙特胃口，因为沙特的体育氛围本就很浓厚，再加上“沙特2030愿景”宣布后的这几年，它在体育上没少砸钱。

L |                    去年一年，沙特就举办了喀尔拉力赛、F1沙特阿拉伯大奖赛、世界乒乓球职业大联盟沙特大满贯赛、女子网球选手协会（WTA）年终总决赛等比赛。                   PIF旗下SURJ体育投资公司2024年的一份报告写道，到2030年，沙特体育产业的市场价值预计将从80亿美元上升至224亿美元，能赚麻。

M |                    还有人联想到了在上一届世界杯开始前几个月，EA和合作了近30年的FIFA分道扬镳。

N |                    可明年又是世界杯了，如果沙特可以在2026世界杯把EA和FIFA重新撮合到一起，那沙特就能在现实和电子游戏领域双赢，这可能也是它买EA的一个理由。                   不管怎么说，拿下EA这家公司，对不差钱的沙特佬来说，算是众望所归了。

o |                    另外，这里还是要提一下，关于战地6测试时口碑不错可EA为啥还要卖身这个问题，不仅仅是中国玩家有点懵，国外的分析师也没搞懂。

p |                    美国跨国投资银行TD Cowen的高级媒体和娱乐分析师Doug Creutz表示自己理解EA管理层和董事会希望将公司价值货币化，可他搞不懂，为啥不等估值更高的时候再卖。                   不过现在讨论这个已经没啥意义了，有意思的是，不少人看好沙特拿下EA。反正已经在谷底了，怎么走都是向上。                             主要原因是，一方面，现在全球的游戏行业都不景气，TGA等各种活动上，经常会有人站出来唠唠大裁员什么的。

q | 今年早期的时候，EA还被曝光说裁了几百人。

r |                    这个时候还愿意砸钱的沙特，无论是对整个行业还是对EA来说，真的像是个救世主。                             另一方面，因为EA之前搞实时服务游戏，敛财手段太难看，市场研究公司以及专家学者都迫切希望私有化的额外资本，可以让EA放弃激进的微交易策略，并且还不用担心股东利益和市场审查。

s |                    说白了，大伙认为之前EA是因为被股东股民逼着赚钱，搞出一堆奇葩操作，现在家大业大的石油佬来了，青天就有了，你要还瞎搞，那就是你的锅。                   但随之而来的是另一个尖锐的问题，光是砸钱，能让游戏行业变得更好吗？                    不可否认，钱对游戏行业十分重要。家资雄厚的沙特可以让游戏变得规模化，可以支持长期的项目和技术投入，财务困境几乎不会出现，全球扩张也更加容易。                   但游戏行业不是光有钱就行的，好的创意在越发饱和的市场里更加重要，否则小团队永无出头之日。                   与此同时，游戏行业的投资，深受地缘政治影响。                   2021年的时候，腾讯就和美国国家安全委员会协商，想要让对方允许自己保留在Riot Games和Epic Games的所有权股份。                   这件事的背景就是前几年国际关系的变化，美国外资投资委员会一直在搞我们。                   现在沙特和西方的关系还算富有建设性，可万一某天又出现了摩擦，它砸钱的手段，可能就没啥用了。                   所以说，打铁还需自身硬，沙特自己也很清楚这一点。

t | 买下EA是表象，让当地人通过EA等被沙特投资的公司作为跳板，快速融入到这个行业成为上游，才是他们的真实目的。                   至于他们的目标会不会在2030年实现，谁知道呢？不过看起来倒是搞得有声有色。                   我们倒是可以期望一波，见证一下游戏行业的新风景。

u |                    本文来自微信公众号：差评X.PIN （ID：chaping321），作者：张大东，编辑：莽山烙铁头。

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