Started From the Scrapyard Now We Here: The Iron Man Story
Posted inPop Culture

Started From the Scrapyard Now We Here: The Iron Man Story

Ever since he first stepped into that crimson and gold suit, Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man has been a role model. It’s not because he embodies my fantasy of being a genius playboy-billionaire-philanthropist in a high-tech suit who saves the day. It’s because of what Iron Man now symbolises – redemption through self-destruction.
Sex on a Shoestring Budget
Posted inVice

Sex on a Shoestring Budget

While Mumbai hotel owners continue to behave like self-appointed custodians of “Indian culture”, Manori offers young couples a judgement-free zone to come make love.
The Life and Times of a Porn Theatre Usher
Posted inPeople

The Life and Times of a Porn Theatre Usher

For the last 20 years, Shrivastav has been ushering folks who want to pleasure themselves to a humid, musty room in Mumbai’s Imperial Cinema. His job was simple: Fetching doctored reels, checking tickets, and sanitising the theatre with phenyl after the show.
Grandma Must Die
Posted inPeople

Grandma Must Die

Every year, a brood of my relatives descends on our ancestral house in Mangalore to meet my great-grandaunt. The 102-year-old woman in the wheelchair is a wrinkled pot of gold.
The Biker Buntais of Ramzan
Posted inPeople

The Biker Buntais of Ramzan

Bikers, who take over the streets of Mumbai at midnight, are a nightmare for law-abiding motorists. But they say speed is an addiction, and the city needs to keep pace with them.