A few days ago, the Indian show Times Now aired an interview with BTS as a guest and Sakshma Srivastav as the interviewer. The interview lasted 18 minutes and is available on their official YouTube channel, “Zoom,” which has over 6 million subscribers worldwide. Ms. Srivastav was lauded not just for her beauty and charisma, but also for her ability to keep the males laughing, blushing, and feeling at ease all at the same time.
The fact that she requested permission for everything, even making them speak a whole phrase in Hindi, demonstrates her professionalism. She has already interviewed several K-pop singers, including TXT, so she is quite familiar with the themes to discuss, and Big Hit Entertainment knows precisely who they are sending their lads with.
The first thing she did was ask a general question about “Butter,” what it meant, and what was the most enjoyable about creating it, which was of course addressed by BTS’s leader, RM. After receiving roughly the same response as before, namely that the song was created to convey a lot of great energy and is not difficult music, just a dance-pop one, adding at the end that the members had difficulty pronouncing the lyrics; she moved on to the real interview, beginning with the oldest of them all, Jin, who introduced himself as “Namaste, Worldwide Handsome guy Jin,” making his bandmates and the interviewer laugh, a statement that she wholeheartedly agreed with. She questioned Jin if his excellent looks may conceal the reality that he is a highly accomplished and hardworking man, all while complimenting his singing and dancing abilities. Jin merely said that his physical attractiveness is an advantage and that he does not believe his talent can be ranked second.
Mrs. Srivastav then went on to SUGA, the group’s second oldest member, and questioned him about the sentiments of anguish that BTS has depicted in their songs, as well as whether it is tough or not to bring back those horrible memories and feelings while performing those specific songs. SUGA glanced at her, maybe puzzled by her sophisticated question, and replied that the greatest way to relieve that agony was to produce and create a song so that at the conclusion of the process it doesn’t hurt as much as it did in the beginning. He stated that while each person is working on their individual projects, they select what to talk about and are grateful for the memories that allow them to tell stories.
The final question was directed at the Golden maknae, Jung Kook, whose haircut was liked by the interviewer, who complimented him on his hair color choice. Her question was about a lesson he learned when he was younger or something he learned now that he will remember for the rest of his life. JK said, stuttering somewhat, that there is no single lesson, but that individuals who were incredibly friendly to him, especially the members, inspired him to do good things, for which he is grateful. J-Hope broke out laughing out of nowhere, and the interviewer’s reaction was priceless and, above all, the funniest part. “I’m constructing myself as a person,” Jung Kook said.
Sakshma Srivastav made them say an entire line in Hindi at the end of the interview, something they always do with the international musicians they interview. She taught them how to pronounce “Indian BTS ARMY, you dwell in our hearts,” and after numerous attempts, they eventually got it right: “Indian BTS ARMY, ” [aap hamaare dilon mein rahate hain].
ARMY has been pleased with the interview, their exchanges, and has been criticizing most Western interviewers for their inability to create a pleasant environment while having BTS as their guests, which is likely not the first time in their return. Sakshma Srivastav, who is absolutely stunning, has taken all of the accolades and even called out the detractors. The majority of them are lone stans, a form of fandom that no artist, especially BTS, needs.
