Bollywood Archives

Chhichhore Review: A Heartwarming Excursion Into College, Friendships, and Failures

Nitesh Tiwari’s Chhichhore is an unabashed acknowledgement of male failure. If Dangal eulogised individual glory, Chhichhore contradicts it, attempting to universalise an oft-neglected fact: Even losing is a sport.

Poulomi Das May 23, 2016

Bollywood

Has Kangana Ranaut Become the Bollywood Bully She Once Fought Against?

At the song launch of her upcoming film, Judgmentall Hai Kya, Kangana Ranaut took on an unsuspecting journalist and accused him of running a smear campaign against her. It’s unfortunate but the actress who was once applauded for being a bold outsider has turned into a tantrum-throwing diva.

Kahini Iyer May 23, 2016

Bollywood

Before Murad, Saeed Mirza’s Salim Langda Was the OG Gully Boy Dreaming of “Apna Time Aayega”

Thirty years before Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy, another Muslim protagonist like Murad seethed away at class inequality. Personal and political identities blend beautifully in Saeed Mirza’s Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro, making it a richer, more complex telling than Gully Boy.

Pragyan Mohanty May 23, 2016

Bollywood

Manmohan Desai Was a Bollywood Institution Who Belonged to The Masses

Manmohan Desai would have turned 83 on February 26. The director and producer, who made an entire country laugh out loud catered to the lowest common denominator without prejudice or judgment. Desai was an institution who chose to belong to the masses.

Runjhun Noopur May 22, 2016

Bollywood

Rasika Dugal Has Got Our Attention

In the decade that she has been in Bollywood, Rasika Dugal has happily inhabited films such as Manto with a single-mindedness that serves her characters without drawing attention to herself. It’s why it’s impossible to forget how her characters mould a film, even when you might fail to remember her presence in them.

Poulomi Das May 22, 2016

Bollywood

Love Per Square Foot and Mumbai’s Complicated Relationship with Space

Love Per Square Foot, a spiritual and millennial update of Gharaonda, delves into the perils of negotiating your space in a relationship in a city where existence is as much as an act of rebellion as compromise.

Poulomi Das May 22, 2016

Bollywood

What Kabir Singh Can Learn about Violent Men From Kumbalangi Nights

After the release of Kabir Singh, everyone had one question on their minds: Could movies really depict toxic masculinity without glorifying it? The answer lies in Kumbalangi Nights, a Malayalam film where toxic masculinity isn’t the hero, but is its villain.

Pranay Dewani May 21, 2016

Bollywood

Saaho Review: A Totally Avoidable Guide to Wasting ₹350 Crore

Saaho is essentially Race 3 with a Harvard education and a family inheritance. It resembles an unholy trifecta of a haphazard screenplay that parodies itself, a confused storyline that springs up new threads without resolving the previous ones, and atrocious acting.

Poulomi Das May 21, 2016

Bollywood

Kalank Review: A Forgettable Period Epic With Groan-Worthy Plot Twists

Kalank, a period epic about star-crossed lovers in the time of Partition, has all the makings of being the next Thugs of Hindostan. Its threadbare plot feels as believable as Vijay Mallya’s innocence and has the shock value of a rejected saas-bahu serial.

Poulomi Das May 20, 2016

Bollywood

Remember Love Aaj Kal 2? That’s Exactly Why We Shouldn’t Have a Sequel to Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein

Some things are best left untouched. Like Maddy and Dia Mirza’s Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein.

Arré Bench May 20, 2016