Pop Culture Archives

How to Win Friends & Influence People, Kumar Sanu-Style

Music from the ’90s has an uncanny ability to bring people together. From the veterans of the cool jamming in some abandoned garage in Mumbai to seasoned hippies grooving around a bonfire in the remote Himalayas, the ’90s is a theme that finds resonance in the unlikeliest of the settings and with the unlikeliest of people.

Runjhun Noopur March 29, 2016

Pop Culture

No Sex Please, We’re Superheroes

June was quite a month for superheroes (and supervillains). Loki, the smooth-talking god of mischief officially announced himself as bisexual, a day after it was revealed that Batman got flak from DC bosses for going down on Catwoman in the animated series Harley Quinn.

Tia Basu March 29, 2016

Pop Culture

The Grammy Awards: When You Know You’re Officially Old

Maybe it’s time to admit that millennials are no longer the sole custodians of cool. Adulting is hard, and part of it involves not being able to score hipster points by discovering a band before anyone else.

Dushyant Shekhawat March 28, 2016

Pop Culture

Why I Refuse to Watch Justice League

After ruining Superman for my little sister and making the travesty that was Suicide Squad, Zack Snyder expects me to pay for Justice League. He might as well rob me at gunpoint.

Parthshri Arora March 27, 2016

Pop Culture

Crazy Little Thing Called Loev

Little details come together to guarantee that Loev, a fairly unremarkable tale, is elevated to a momentous film for the Indian queer community.

Tanvi Dhulia March 26, 2016

Pop Culture

Sacred Games Review: India’s First Netflix Original Gets India Right

In Netflix’s Sacred Games, Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane deliver a thriller that doesn’t shy away from being an indictment on religion. The show argues that religion has always been used to shape politics, commit murder, and amass wealth.

Poulomi Das March 26, 2016

Pop Culture

Can Netflix’s “Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator” Ensure that Bikram Chowdhury Is Punished In a Post-Me Too World?

For years, Bikram Chowdhury used his successful yoga franchises to rape and assault innumerable female students. Even though this has been public information, the yoga guru is yet to face his comeuppance. The clear directive of Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator is to be a searing call-to-action that guarantees that he does.

Poulomi Das March 26, 2016

Pop Culture

Benedict Cumberbatch Shines in the Dark and Twisted World of Patrick Melrose

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. There is no better illustration of it than abusive parents, convinced they are only looking out for their kids. Of course, it takes an especially abusive kind of parent to screw someone up as thoroughly as Patrick Melrose, played by Benedict Cumberbatch in Hotstar Premium’s latest Emmy-nominated show

Nihal Bambulkar March 26, 2016

Pop Culture

WandaVision and the Power of Pure Emotions

WandaVision is an exploration of Avenger Wanda Maximoff’s most unique fount of power: pure emotion. Her trauma is both her greatest strength and her biggest weakness.

Kahini Iyer March 26, 2016

Pop Culture

Diljit Dosanjh: The Unsuitable Boy of Bollywood

Diljit Dosanjh is an unlikely hero for Bollywood. I can’t remember the last time someone with such son-of-the-soil appeal made it as a leading man in a mainstream film.

Karanjeet Kaur March 25, 2016