Behind the scenes of Namaste Trump: It’s trial by fire for the real ‘Baahubali’ of Indo-US relations

US President Donald Trump with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during 'Namaste Trump' rally in Ahmedabad on February 24, 2020; and with Harsh Vardhan Shringla, the then Indian ambassador to the US, in January 2019; courtesy of Getty Images and indianembassyusa.gov.in.

Synopsis
Despite differences, India has not borne the brunt of US ire in a trade war like China has. But, the rift between the countries has been widening with Washington raising concerns about India’s ‘protectionist’ policies. As Donald Trump’s India visit kicks off in style, can diplomats from both the sides find a common ground at the negotiation table?

A mashup video posted by an unverified Twitter handle showing Donald Trump as the lead character from 2015 blockbuster Baahubali has gone viral. Retweeted by the US president himself, it has garnered more than 60,000 likes on Twitter and the count is ticking. But far away from all the limelight, the real Baahubali of Indo-US diplomacy has been silently toiling to make Trump’s India visit, the fifth by a US president in two decades, a grand