Parineeti Chopra: The Girl on the Train to Nowhere
Posted inBollywood

Parineeti Chopra: The Girl on the Train to Nowhere

Parineeti Chopra arrived in Hindi cinema with a fair share of anticipation. To be fair, her cameo in Ladies vs Ricky Bahl and her sprightly turn in an over-the-top Ishaqzaade, weren’t that poor considering the bar for Bollywood insiders is so low. But who knew, that that would be as far as the story would go.
It’s Okay to Not Be Okay After Watching OK Computer
Posted inPop Culture

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay After Watching OK Computer

Anand Gandhi’s OK Computer is an example of a series that had too many good ideas on the table at the start to let go of any one. Is it a sci-fi drama, a parody, a satire on the present, or a vanity project, masquerading as concept-level induction for dummies like myself? To me, it felt like everything and eventually nothing.
#MeToo: Will Priya Ramani’s Big Win Against MJ Akbar Force Indian Men to Introspect?
Posted inGender

#MeToo: Will Priya Ramani’s Big Win Against MJ Akbar Force Indian Men to Introspect?

Journalist Priya Ramani’s acquittal must be celebrated for what it prevented, as dire as that might sound, and not for what it might change. MJ Akbar should have known he had already lost in public memory, what he assumed he could win by squeezing it out of a court. It’s a lesson, perhaps other men can take that no parade of power beats the quiet grace of introspection.
25 Years of DDLJ: Come… Fall in Love With a Tale of Two Fathers
Posted inBollywood

25 Years of DDLJ: Come… Fall in Love With a Tale of Two Fathers

Aditya Chopra’s Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, which turns 25 today, was as formulaic as any of its romantic predecessors. For most of India, it is a love story, but for many small-towners like me it was and remains the story of two fatherly figures: One that I had but could not change, and the one that I wished for.
Manto: The Seer Who Knew Every Prostitute and Pimp in Town
Posted inCulture

Manto: The Seer Who Knew Every Prostitute and Pimp in Town

Manto’s stories can broadly be divided into two sections: the ones about Partition, and the ones about Mumbai. The latter are the ones I admire the most, when he wrote about the dingy alleys of the city, where prostitutes, pimps, and decent men met, their dreams and desires in tow and humanity intact.