. The friends lie to her, claiming they were close friends of Rahul to stay in her good graces.

However, the relationship between folk instruments and mass media is not solely exploitative. Film and digital media have enabled creative collaborations that celebrate and innovate around traditional sounds. Musicians have leveraged cinema and legal digital platforms to revive interest in instruments like the dhol, secure international tours, and open cross-genre dialogues. The challenge is to ensure these flows are fair and sustainable—so that cultural heritage is both widely shared and properly credited.