Pop Culture Archives

KBC: The Show Where Not Everyone is a Crorepati, But Everyone’s a Winner

A family can be divided over an issue as serious as politics or as frivolous as what radio channel to play in the car. But have Amitabh Bachchan pop up on the screen, pose a trivia question with four options, and they’ll come together to solve it in a happy ending befitting a Yashraj film.

Dushyant Shekhawat June 13, 2016

Pop Culture

Sacred Games: Where Saif Ali Khan Finally Found His Voice

In 2017, Saif Ali Khan might have come closer to being taken seriously as an actor with notches of brilliance in Rangoon and Chef. But it is in 2018, with Kaalakaandi and Sacred Games, that he might have found his voice.

Poulomi Das June 13, 2016

Pop Culture

How to Make a Show about “Liberated” Women. Just Talk Sex, What Else?

Bhaag Beanie Bhaag gives in to the same stereotype like Veere Di Wedding and Four More Shots Please! Its lead characters are devoid of depth, and their “open-mindedness” only means that they can talk boldly about sex.

Sahej Marwah June 12, 2016

Pop Culture

How Julie & Julia Showed Me, a Boy from UP, How to Write and Live Better

Four years ago, I was inspired to become a better cook after watching Nora Ephron’s Julie and Julia. That quest for improvement turned out to be never-ending and all-encompassing. Here’s the story of a life, told in three recipes.

Amal Singh June 12, 2016

Pop Culture

Netflix’s The Big Day Tries Hard But Can the Indian Wedding Ever Be Feminist?

The trailer of Netflix’s The Big Day promised an opportunity to sneer at ostentatious displays of paisa pretending to be celebrations of pyaar at the OTT Indian wedding. Instead we get a sugar-coating of “women empowerment”.

Nalini Nair June 12, 2016

Pop Culture

Here is why the Popularity of Ali Sethi’s Pasoori Matters

Ali Sethi’s Pasoori has become a social media sensation, so much so it inspired The New Yorker to frame him as some sort of a messiah uniting Indians and Pakistanis through art. While Sethi is by no stretch of the imagination the greatest or the first artist to be revered on both sides of the border, his rise through the latest chapter of cold politics on either side of the border, is important.

Takshi Mehta June 12, 2016

Pop Culture

30 Years Ago, The Silence of the Lambs Gave Us a Feminist Hero in Detective Clarice Starling

The Silence of the Lambs isn’t just about Dr Hannibal Lecter. Its protagonist is actually Clarice Starling, a young FBI agent-in-training played by Jodie Foster. The film tells the story of how Starling tracks down a serial killer and saves a woman from becoming his next victim, even as she fights sexism at the workplace. Hannibal is just her sidekick in the whole shindig.

Tanvi Khemani June 12, 2016

Pop Culture

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Review: Why Grindelwald is a Lot Like Today’s Politicians

Gellert Grindelwald’s tactics of demonising muggles, as a convenient “other”, can be seen in the divisive politics of the US, much of Europe, Brazil, and even in our India. Like a steadily growing number of our world leaders, Grindelwald understands the politics of fear, fake news, and populism.

Kahini Iyer June 12, 2016

Pop Culture

The Fame Game Review: Madhuri Dixit falls short in a role made for Her

The Fame Game has two comebacks. Both are unsuccessful because in a role that almost seems tailor-made for her, Madhuri Dixit falls miserably short of leaping beyond the dance steps she is adored for. Acting, we learn in the process, is another animal altogether.

Manik Sharma June 12, 2016

Pop Culture

Why Madhuri Dixit Overshadows Bucket List

In the Marathi film Bucket List, Madhuri Dixit plays the sweet vahini from a regular upper-caste Maharashtrian Puneri neighbourhood. What happens when Bollywood’s most famous diva lands in an industry in the midst of a beautiful churn? Her stardom becomes a stumbling block.

Aparna joshi June 11, 2016