Dushyant Shekhawat, Author at Arré

Dear General Rawat, Homosexuality Does Not Make One a Poorer Soldier

Indian Army Chief Bipin Rawat today said he won’t allow gay sex in the forces – enough to win the “Outrage of the Day” contest. But expecting a woke response on sexuality from a 60-year-old army man is like looking for an auto-rickshaw outside Andheri station – you should be prepared for disappointment before you even begin.

Dushyant Shekhawat July 7, 2016

Bollywood

Manikarnika, Thackeray, and the Troubled History of Bollywood Biopics

Both Manikarnika and Thackeray will release tomorrow, and both bring to the fore why Indian biopics so rarely do justice to their subjects. Bollywood biopics have, at best, a testy relationship with reality. Fact might be stranger than fiction, but filmmakers can’t seem to resist embellishing the truth.

Dushyant Shekhawat July 6, 2016

Pop Culture

Sachin: A Billion Dreams and a Few Disappointments

James Erskine’s hagiography of Sachin Tendulkar is less a movie than a “best of” reel. It does however offer a pair of rose-tinted shades to watch the past play out once again.

Dushyant Shekhawat July 4, 2016

Pop Culture

The World According to Joker: The Dark Knight Predicted the Future a Decade Ago

Ten years ago, a movie made sense of the chaos around us. Its most astute character was not the hero Batman, but the film’s arch-villain, The Joker. When he said “The only sensible way to live in this world is without rules,” you know he was prophesying the future.

Dushyant Shekhawat July 2, 2016

POV

Zomato Can Guarantee Halal Meat, But it Can’t (and Shouldn’t) Guarantee the Religion of its Delivery Execs

Ensuring food is prepared according to your order is Zomato’s responsibility. Ensuring the delivery driver’s religion meets up with your regressive criteria for whom you will accept food from, is not their responsibility. Got it? Good.

Dushyant Shekhawat July 2, 2016

Pop Culture

Reconsidering Eminem in a Post-Me Too World

Eminem and controversy go together like McDonalds and indigestion – the latter inevitably follows the former. Today, it’s easy to look at his body of work and dismiss it as an offensive collection of regressive ideas. But, maybe, there is another way to look at the controversial rapper.

Dushyant Shekhawat July 1, 2016

Pop Culture

The Stark Knight Rises

Fantasy is meant to be inspirational and uplifting. But after this season of Game of Thrones, I found myself questioning why exactly I was cheering for these characters.

Dushyant Shekhawat June 30, 2016

Sports

Shoaib Akhtar Went from Being India’s Tormentor to Pakistan’s Most Savage Critic

With Shoaib Akhtar in the line-up, the Pakistan team could be assured that the opponents were going to come under heavy fire. However, after retirement, it seems Shoaib Akhtar has found a new target at which to direct his ire – the Pakistan cricket team.

Dushyant Shekhawat June 30, 2016

Sports

The League of Forgotten Sportspeople

We are not a nation that encourages sport. How many times have you relatives tell you, “Padhoge likhoge toh hoge nawaab. Kheloge koodoge toh hoge kharaab”?

Dushyant Shekhawat June 28, 2016

Pop Culture

Why Mufasa’s Death in The Lion King Makes Us Tear Up Even Today

No matter how painful it may seem, Mufasa’s death in The Lion King is actually essential viewing. It’s a coming-of-age moment, a rite of passage that must be undertaken to better understand this big, bad world.

Dushyant Shekhawat June 28, 2016