旋风少女第二季
Behind SeaLight: China-targeting cognitive warfare platform stokes tensions in South China Sea_我的网站

A | Child Artists choosing acting as their profession as they grow up is not a rare option. While most of them are star kids, there are plenty of child actors who became a part of memorable films despite a non-film background and then returned to make this their chosen path of career. While superstars like Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor, Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Kamal Haasan and Urmila Matondkar are today bonafide stars with exemplary filmography to their names, names like Sana Saeed, Jibraan Khan, Siddharth Nigam who are finding their footing in the film industry though they are massively loved and remembered for their performances in films like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham respectively. On the occasion of Children’s Day, here’s a glance through how these stars looked when they first faced the camera compared to how they look in their latest film, all grown up and ready to carve their niche in the film industry. It’s an interesting journey through a timeline of changing faces and is sure to bring back a lot of memories for all the movie buffs out there who have grown up watching these films.Have a look at the list here:
In This Article
Alia BhattHrithik RoshanShahid KapoorAamir KhanSana SaeedSiddharth NigamMalvika RaajKunal KemmuUrmila MatondkarImran KhanSara ArjunAlia Bhatt
Alia is a true-blue star today. With versatile films like Highway, Dear Zindagi, Gangubai Kathiawadi, Brahmastra and Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani to name a few, she has established herself as one of the most bankable actresses of this generation. The actress first faced the camera at the age of 6 in the film Sangharsh where she played the younger version of Preity Zinta. Little did people know how she would take over the world of cinema. While this year has been about winning accolades for her performance in Gangubai Kathiawadi, her latest was a typical Bollywood mass entertainer titled Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. Here’s how she looked in Sangharsh and now in her latest release.
Hrithik Roshan
Director J Om. Prakash made his grandson Hrithik Roshan face the camera at the tender age of 6 in the film Aasha released in 1980. In the song Jaane Hum Sadak Ke Logon Se, Hrithik was apparently on the set when he instantly started dancing to the song when it was played as he loved it. That’s how he became a part of it and then there was no turning back. He sure looked cute back then but today he’s known by the title Greek God. His last film was Vikram Vedha and he has Fighter coming up in January. Here’s how he looked in his first film as a child actor vs his last outing on screen.
Shahid Kapoor
Shahid Kapoor was just 11 years old when he faced the camera for a TV commercial that was about a healthy drink. The young boy had star quality in him back then which culminated in him becoming a superstar of this generation. He appeared in other commercials and then finally made his debut in 2003 in Ishq Vishq. Today his diversity is reflected in his choice of films ranging from Haider to Jab We Met to Padmaavat to Jersey to his latest - Bloody Daddy. Here’s how he looked in his first TV commercial to his get-up in his latest release.
Aamir Khan
Aamir faced the camera for the first time in 1973 in the film Yaadon Ki Baaraat. The film was made by his uncle Nasir Hussain, and Aamir started his journey at the mere age of eight when he became a part of the film. He was cast as the younger version of the character Madhosh which was essayed by Mahendra Sandhu. His last release was the much-anticipated Laal Singh Chaddha in August 2022 and he made a small cameo in Salaam Venky in December. Here’s the difference in how he looked back as he stepped in front of the camera and his last release.
Sana Saeed
The uber-cute Sana Saeed in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai who played Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji’s daughter Anjali won millions of hearts. Her effortless portrayal and easy presence in front of the camera drove her back to this world as she debuted in Karan Johar’s Student Of The Year in 2012. Since then she has done a couple of reality shows but fans are still awaiting a true blue big-screen experience. Here’s her adorable get-up as Anjali compared to how she looked in her first feature film as a parallel actor.
Siddharth Nigam
TV Commercials have opened up doors for child artistes big time and an example of grand success is Siddharth Nigam. He was first seen as a child artist in a health drink advertisement post in which he got a call to be cast in Dhoom 3. Since then he has appeared in films like Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, his claim to fame was his television shows such as Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat and Aladdin: Naam Toh Suna Hoga. Here’s a look at how he looked in his first ever TV Ad and his last which was a Salman Khan film.
Malvika Raaj
Having played the younger version of Kareena Kapoor Khan in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, a film that is thought to be one of the most memorable in Kareena’s filmography is indeed a feat. Very few people know that Malvika then went on to star in several Telugu films. She was about to star in Emraan Hashmi’s film Captain Nawab which was shelved. Her last release was in 2022, a thriller film titled Squad. She has and shall always remind us of her first performance on camera and with a film like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, comes responsibilities and fans are eagerly waiting for the same. Spot how the little girl has grown up from K3G to Squad.While there are quite a few others who make this list, these names are the ones that the masses can easily place and draw a connection to. On Children’s Day, here’s a trip down memory lane as we connect the past to the present.
Kunal Kemmu
Kunal Kemmu was a very popular child actor in the 1990s. He showed his talent in movies like Sir, Raja Hindustani, and Zakhm. People loved him for his natural acting and expressive face. After taking a break to grow up, he returned as a lead actor in the movie Kalyug. Since then, he has worked in many films, especially comedies like the Golmaal series, where his comic timing is highly praised.
Urmila Matondkar
Urmila Matondkar won hearts as a little girl in the classic movie Masoom. Her performance in the song Lakdi Ki Kaathi is still remembered today. When she grew up, she became a huge star in the 1990s. She delivered massive hits like Rangeela, Satya, and Bhoot. She was known for her great dancing skills and her ability to play both glamorous and serious roles.
Imran Khan
Imran Khan had a very special start in Bollywood. He played the childhood version of his real-life uncle, Aamir Khan, in hit films like Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar. Many years later, he made his debut as a lead in the romantic comedy Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na. He quickly became a favorite among young audiences for his boy-next-door looks and acted in several successful rom-coms.
Sara Arjun
Sara Arjun started acting in commercials and movies when she was just a toddler. She became very famous for her emotional role in the film Jazbaa and worked in many South Indian and Hindi films. She gained a lot of attention for playing the younger version of Nandini (Aishwarya Rai’s character) in the big-budget Ponniyin Selvan films. She successfully transitioned from a cute child star to a graceful actress and made a memorable appearance in Dhurandhar opposite Ranveer Singh as his love interest.
Also Read: Then Vs Now: Bollywood Child Artists Who Went On To Become Established Actors。

B |

China Coast Guard vessel 3303 deploys water cannons on July 24, 2026, against Philippine public vessel MMOV 3001, which had intruded into China's Huangyan Dao waters, forcing the vessel to turn around and sail away from Huangyan Dao. Photo: Courtesy of China Coast Guard
Cloaked in the academic mantle of a Stanford‑affiliated "think‑tank" but operated by retired US military officers; dispatching no warships but endlessly churning out provocation scripts in the South China Sea, and shifting from choreographing footage of maritime stand‑offs to meddling in legitimate China‑Philippine cultural and academic exchanges, the SeaLight has loomed behind numerous China‑Philippine maritime frictions over the past years.
The true nature of the SeaLight, once stripped of disguise, is a well‑orchestrated cognitive‑war tool targeting China. It delivers strategies, provides talking points, furnishes intelligence and cultivates proxies, weaponizing both maritime confrontations and people‑to‑people exchanges to deliberately stir up tensions in the South China Sea.
A cognitive‑war platform
Public information indicates that SeaLight is affiliated with Stanford University's Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, established in 2021 with sponsorship from the US Office of Naval Research and funding from the US Department of Defense. The funding sources amounted to approximately $12.8 million.
Public records indicate that SeaLight's "director" Ray Powell served 35 years in the US Air Force, including posts in the Philippines, Japan, Germany, and Qatar. In 2022, following his departure from overseas service, he launched "Project Myoushu," which evolved into "SeaLight" in 2023.
When Global Times reporter browsed SeaLight's website, multiple unprofessional features of this self‑proclaimed "think‑tank" came to light. Aside from its "director" Powell, the team counts merely three other members, one of whom is a web developer.
Even so, this same "think tank" smeared China's lawful actions to safeguard sovereignty in the South China Sea on its website as the world's "most expansive and aggressive maritime gray‑zone programs."
In February this year, Guo Wei, Deputy Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Manila, wrote in an X post that as a US-based organization, SeaLight maintains "an unusually concentrated focus on the South China Sea." It has reacted to maritime developments with remarkable speed, at times even preceding official statements from Philippine authorities.
"Why does SeaLight concentrate so heavily on this specific region? Through what channels does a US-based entity obtain rapid access to satellite imagery and operational information located thousands of kilometers away?" Guo asked.
A Manila‑based source told the Global Times on Friday that SeaLight maintains close‑knit, in‑depth coordination with the Philippine Coast Guard. The two sides sustain long‑term information exchange and intelligence‑sharing, forming a collaborative model through which the Philippines provokes maritime incidents at sea, SeaLight assigns public‑narrative framing, and social media platforms amplify the hype, to stage targeted cognitive‑war games against China.
Billed as a research institute, SeaLight is essentially a China‑targeting cognitive‑war platform centered on a small group of individuals, supplying the Philippines with policy advice, intelligence inputs and public‑narration talking points, Chen Xiangmiao, a research fellow at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times on Friday.
In addition, it serves as a megaphone for the Philippines, churning out disinformation across social‑media platforms to viciously smear China and fabricate the "China threat" narrative, courting international attention in a deliberate bid to stoke regional tensions, Chen added.
"An ex-US Air Force colonel is now running the show in Philippine foreign relations," Rod Kapunan, a columnist for the Philippines' daily newspaper The Standard, wrote in his article in 2024. He further described Powell as the author of the "transparency strategy," which Philippine officials took as "Philippine policy."
"SeaLight hides its main objective, which is to apply the 'missing context fallacy' to create an anti-China narrative out of the South China Sea territorial claims disputes amongst the five littoral states surrounding the strategically critical body of water," Kapunan said in the article.
"Still, its China‑focused cognitive warfare yields diminishing marginal returns," said Chen, "Repeated lies fail to convince the public. For this reason, it keeps hunting for new material for attacks, yet it can never create any major ripples."
Back in September 2024, an article in The Diplomat titled "The Philippines Should Take Note: 'Assertive Transparency' Is Not a Strategy" noted that it was in 2023, "spurred on by the likes Raymond Powell and the folks at Project Myoushu, that the Philippines began publicizing maritime incidents in the South China Sea." However, what Philippine authorities need to understand is that "assertive transparency" has reached its saturation point.
The second battlefield
For a long period, SeaLight fought its main battles on South China Sea waters, guiding the Philippines to hype stand‑offs and fabricate the false "China bullying the Philippines" narrative. Lately, however, it has shifted its battlefield, targeting normal China‑Philippine cultural and academic people‑to‑people exchanges.
Last month, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. called for greater scrutiny of foreign academic and cultural exchange programs with China, in response to a SeaLight report that claimed China's Jinan University has become the main broker between China's institutions and Chinese-language schools in the Philippines.
This incident directly forced the cancellation of a three‑week‑long field research trip to the Philippines scheduled for August 4 by Dai Fan, Director of the Center for Philippine Studies at Jinan University.
Dai told the Global Times on Friday that this incident lays bare the fact that SeaLight is by no means a rigorous, neutral academic‑research platform. Instead, it follows a propaganda playbook where conclusions come first and evidence is cobbled together afterwards.
Nevertheless, this simplistic and heavy‑handed narrative is highly deceptive and manipulative in the public opinion arena. It can easily mislead the Philippine public and foster one‑sided perceptions, Dai added.
In an X post on August 2, the Chinese Embassy in Manila further pointed out that the incident marks Ray Powell's "second battlefield" against China, from maritime disputes to civil society.
"His broader objective appears clear: to encourage the Philippines to view nearly every interaction with China through the lens of strategic confrontation, gradually transforming the country into a frontline state in Washington's competition with Beijing. The ultimate goal is to systematically turn the Philippines into a 'proxy battlefield' for containing China," reads the embassy's X post.
The latest report released by SeaLight was immediately echoed by Philippine Defense Secretary Teodoro, underscoring the close collusion between the two sides, Chen noted.
Based on long‑term observations by a Global Times source based in the Philippines, SeaLight, the Philippine Coast Guard and pro‑US, anti‑China hard‑line forces in the country have forged an interconnected chain. They have long sought to push for amendments and upgrades to the Philippines' anti‑espionage law and advance legislation for the so‑called "proxy bill," aiming to establish a systematic, institutionalized anti‑China mechanism.
According to Chen, there is a strong likelihood that Philippine authorities provide financial backing for SeaLight's China‑focused cognitive‑war operations. Meanwhile, Powell and SeaLight have become a key instrument for the Philippine military to secure budget appropriations from Congress.
This strategy creates a sinister closed‑interest loop: stoking maritime frictions, whipping up domestic public sentiment, and pressuring Congress to divert livelihood‑related budgets to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG). The tenser the maritime situation, the more resources flow to the PCG. By contrast, calm seas strip the force of its rationale for expansion, Chen said.
According to Chen, this opportunistic hype‑driven model adopted by the Philippine side in collusion with SeaLight will ultimately backfire. The South China Sea disputes could have been managed through dialogue to share marine and fishery resources and deliver mutually beneficial outcomes. However, SeaLight keeps stoking conflicts and amplifying divisions, severely undermining the Philippines' environment for peaceful development, at the expense of the Filipino people's vital interests.
Regional countries ought to see through the true nature of such external "think‑tank" projects. They should recognize the harm these entities inflict on regional well‑being, peace and stability by artificially orchestrating public opinion storms over the South China Sea, said Chen.
The Philippines' ill-judged farce of provoking China will sooner or later end in tragedy for itself, Chen warned.
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