Posted inPop Culture
The Flawed Retribution of MOM
MOM, 2017’s third rape-revenge drama borrows heavily from the Zakhmi Aurats and Insaaf Ka Taraazus of the ’80s.
Posted inPop Culture
Welcome to the Bolly Patriots’ Club, Kangana Ranaut
Ahead of the release of her film Manikarnika, Kangana Ranaut has discovered how much she loves India. She has joined the growing tribe of nationalist-actors who make movies about how much they love India in between talking about how much they love India.
Posted inPOV
Meet the Parents: The Nepotism Edition
Star kids are the raw fuel on which the engine of Bollywood’s nepotism runs, but their parents are the oil that keeps the engine running along nice and smooth. Rishi Kapoor and Salim Khan are star examples.
Posted inTechnology
Not Yet Buffer-Free! While the World’s Switching to 5G, India Might Still be Stuck With 4G
Our telecom industry is still reeling under fees from the 4G spectrum allocation. When Vodafone-Idea – a merger between a global telecom giant and one of India’s most successful legacy companies – says it might need to shut shop, you know there won’t be too many Indian executives googling “How to buy 5G spectrum.”
Posted inPop Culture
Sympathy for the Devil: Creed II’s Most Compelling Character is the Villain
The latest film in the Rocky franchise brings back Ivan Drago, its most imposing, intimidating villain, only to show a softer, more human side to his character. Had this movie been titled Drago instead of Creed, he would have made a natural protagonist.
Posted inCoronavirus
Coronavirus Lockdown: Why Contagion is the Most Watched Film Today
In Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion, a virus that originated in Hong Kong, after a bat defecated in a pig pen, is the cause of a pandemic that brings the world to a standstill. The 2011 medical thriller, stacked with eerie parallels to Covid-19, has turned into a prophetic disaster movie of our times – one that foreshadowed the depravity of mankind and the apathy of governments, in alarming detail.
Posted inPop Culture
Love Shuv Tey Ayushmann Khurrana
Will Ayushmann Khurana forever be consigned to the category of the good-hearted but loserly boy-next-door? Or will Bollywood ever risk throwing him a proper challenge?
Posted inPop Culture
Phata Poster Nikla Hero’s Sidekick
In a year where Bollywood has been plagued by disastrous box-office results, mainstream film letdowns, and inconsistent performances by its superstars, it’s the hero’s humble sidekick who has wowed.
Posted inPOV
Cut 2016 Some Slack, Please
At the risk of sounding like an outlier and getting lynched by the #End2016 doomsdayers, I quite enjoyed this year – because I am aware that things could have been way worse.
Posted inGender
Bangalore: The City of Rapist Lanes
Jasmeen Patheja is unlikely to join the candlelight march to protest against the Bangalore mass molestation. She’d rather protest by hosting a tea and samosa session for strangers.