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

Bollywood’s New Obsession – Epic Films

This year is unlike any other in Bollywood history in that there are no less than four epic films scheduled for theatrical release. Marnikarnika, Kangana Ranaut’s hotly anticipated biopic on the historical warrior queen, Lakshmibhai of Jhansi is releasing this weekend,… Continue Reading

Top 5 Bollywood Films of 2018

If 2017 was the year Bollywood faced both creative and financial lethargy then 2018 is the Hindi film industry’s rebound year. This is the year in which Bollywood underwent a remarkable artistic renaissance – small budget films with larger-than-life stories… Continue Reading

Top 5 Bollywood Songs of 2018

There’s been a dearth of truly ground-breaking songs in Hindi films this year but there have been a few standout songs that deserve to be acknowledged and celebrated. These aren’t your average Sufi qawwalis, electro-trash numbers or dreary 90s covers.  … Continue Reading