Posted inPop Culture
B-Town Wonder Women and their Wingmen
In 2016, we saw movies like Pink and Dangal that were premised on the struggles of female heroes – and the men who enabled them.
Posted inPop Culture
10 Years of Dirty Picture: They Don’t Make ‘Em Like Vidya Balan Anymore
Vidya Balan is an anomaly. In an industry rife with svelte figures and saccharine personas, her body of work is an aging but fresh breath of air. From playing a sex symbol to a ferocious agent, Balan made offbeat cool before it became mainstream.
Posted inPop Culture
Jalsa review: Vidya Balan and Shefali Shah in top form
Suresh Triveni’s Jalsa is an unsettling story about two mothers who though miles apart in class, caste and social standing, speak the same language of motherhood.
Posted inFeatures
5 Reasons why Prime Video’s Sherni will claw its way into your heart and mind
Mark your calendars because Sherni promises to be a soulful excavation of the man-animal conflict, and through it a affecting reflection of our society. It promises to be an exciting, yet soulful ride anchored by a peerless cast and an in-form Vidya Balan.
Posted inBollywood
Shakuntala Devi Review: This Vidya Balan Biopic Doesn’t Quite Add Up
Shakuntala Devi’s on-the-nose filmmaking dumbs down the film’s emotional threads to an extent that the plot loses its sheen. Balan, who initially plays a caricature of a boisterous woman, settles into the demands of the role only halfway through the film.
Posted inBollywood
Ishqiya, the Kachori Western Served With Noir Ki Chutney
Abhishek Chaubey's Ishqiya retains the intensity of a Western through poignancy in dialogue, a classic trope of the Western that sets the men apart from the boys
Posted inPop Culture
Tumhari Sulu and the Real Housewives of India
The solitary afternoon of the homemaker is a deeply interesting space. And that is what Vidya Balan’s Tumhari Sulu delves into. It’s the only time of the day most housewives acknowledge the loneliness they harbour.
Posted inFeatures
5 Reasons Why There Should Be More Films Like Sherni
Amazon Prime Video’s Sherni is an imperiously effective story of gender and politics on the cusp of the Indian forest that may well be a metaphor for the rest of the country.
Posted inPOV
Bollywood’s a Sellout! Did We Really Need Cobrapost to Tell Us That?
A sting by Cobrapost, Operation Karaoke, set up a fake PR agency that asked Bollywood celebrities to endorse a political party for money. But after a slew of propaganda films and biopics, are we really surprised to learn that the industry is full of actors who are cosily nestled in political pockets?
Posted inPop Culture
The Greatest Costume Party on the Planet
From Madhubala’s anarkali to Madhuri’s Ek-Do-Teen skirt, Bollywood costumes tell fascinating tales. Some wonderful, some weird, they’ve wriggled their way into our consciousness.