My Honest Opinion On This Year’s Politicized National Film Awards

Once again, the announcements of this year’s National Film Awards recipients have left us in a tizzy. Remember Akshay Kumar’s getting Best Actor for Rustom? I wish I didn’t. It’s happened again this year with a plethora of WTF wins. From the mawkish, jingoistic Uri:… Continue Reading

Netflix’s Chopsticks Film Review – A Sunny Slice of Bombay Pandemonium But Nothing More

Chopsticks, starring the supposed lesser of the Deols, Abhay, and YouTube pixie, Mithila Palkar, is a Netflix Original which means it’s a good film but, much to our chagrin, it rarely exceeds that. Those seeking frothy late night Hindi entertainment… Continue Reading

Photograph Film Review – Warm, Generous and Deeply Affecting

Filmmaker Ritesh Batra might only be four films old but his filmography couldn’t be more impressive. After striking gold with his debut, The Lunchbox, one of the most beloved transnational Indian films, he ventured out to the world to work… Continue Reading

Five Incredible, Self-Made Bollywood Actresses Who Are Not Kangana Ranaut

Tired of Kangana Ranaut’s constant antics? Her constant feuds with everyone and their grandmother, her wish to direct her own biopic and her constant assertion that she’s self-made and that she’s a three-time National Award winner. It’s safe to say… Continue Reading

Gully Boy Film Review – An Emotional Sucker Punch of a Film That Joins The Pantheon Of Other Great, Inspiring Hip Hop Films

Gully Boy, a biopic on Mumbai’s slum resident turned MC megastar, Naezy, stumped me because it shouldn’t have worked. A blockbuster masala film that’s set in despondent Dharavi and whose two lead characters are practicing Muslims – a bold move in… Continue Reading

Talking To Popular Film Critic, Rahul Desai, On Ethics Exhaustion in Indian Journalism, Film in 2019 And How Bollywood Is Turning Right-Wing

Truth be told, I didn’t think Tanu Weds Manu Returns deserved the superfluous outpouring of love it got from film critics and audiences at the time of its theatrical release. So, when I scoured the web looking for validation for my disdain… Continue Reading

The Kuwaiti Pop Song That Bollywood Stole

In 2003, Kuwaiti musical trio, Guitara, released the zeitgeist-y club banger Ya Ghaly to mass success across the Arab World. Its unique, wildly infectious fusion of late 90’s trance, Carnatic sangeet and Khaliji  made it the proverbial song of the… Continue Reading