harry potter Archives

Is it Time to Say “Avada Kedavra” to the Ailing Harry Potter Franchise?

Today marks 22 years since Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone introduced us to The Boy Who Lived. There was a time when I couldn’t get enough of Hogwarts and its magical folk. But now I think the Potterverse is exploited beyond imagination and it’s time to say goodbye.

Kahini Iyer July 29, 2016

Pop Culture

10 Years of Game of Thrones: There is No Comfort to Be Found in Westeros Today

It’s been 10 years since the first episode of Game of Thrones aired. It was like nothing anyone had ever seen on TV. Yet the series has not lived up to its initial promise of joining the glorious pantheon of enduring fantasy franchises like The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. Somehow you don’t want to keep going back to it.

Kahini Iyer July 23, 2016

Sports

Rashid Khan and the Irresistible Lure of the Underdog

It is a joy to watch innate talent weave its magic, and when that talent is paired with an underdog story like Afghanistan’s and Rashid’s, the tug of fan support cannot be denied.

Dushyant Shekhawat May 7, 2016

Pop Culture

#Throwback 2018: Thank You, Sacred Games, for Ganesh Gaitonde, Katekar, and the Gang of Gopalmath

Sacred Games single-handedly ended the drought of smartly written and performed shows of Indian origin, on the internet. It was that unicorn that treated the small screen with the same level of ambition and respect usually reserved for the silver one.

Arré Bench April 24, 2016

Pop Culture

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Review: Whimsical Death Looms Over the Coen Brothers’ Western

Much like any other Coen Brothers’ Western, death in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs doesn’t get its moment. There is no Tarantino-esque blood gushing out from arteries on a severed arm, or a blood-splattered rear-view mirror. There is just the knowledge of an end and its context, just cause and effect.

Ujjainee Roy April 18, 2016

Pop Culture

I’d Be a Homophobe Had It Not Been For Harry

Potter fan fiction opened a chamber of secrets for me. It helped me make my way through the complex corridors of sexuality and appreciate individual freedom.

Utkarsh Srivastava April 17, 2016

First Person

What the Shutting Down of a Company Taught Me About Indian Top Management

When our salary was delayed in May, it was brushed away as a temporary inconvenience. There was no official word from the management, but there were secret meetings and the big bosses paraded their lack of empathy. In August, we got a midnight mail which said this is the end.

Palladin Raider April 4, 2016

Pop Culture

Why We Need a Gay Dumbledore and Queer Superheroes

JK Rowling conveniently erased Dumbledore's sexuality in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald. This speaks of a frustrating trend in recent Hollywood films that tease the inclusion of LGBT characters only to thunderously under-deliver.

Poulomi Das April 3, 2016

Pop Culture

Fantastic Beasts and How to Screw with Muggles

Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them is an exercise in how art and advertising screw with emotions, and an example of how we fall for it every time.

Parthshri Arora April 1, 2016

Gender

Where Are Our Female Sherlock Holmes & Dr House? Why It’s So Difficult to Write Disagreeable Women Characters

Male characters in books and pop culture can be disgusting assholes and own that personality, but women characters – barring a few outliers – are mostly pretty, passive, and perfect. Where are the women that behave like jerks simply because they can? Where are our female Sherlock Holmes and Mr Darcy?

Sonali Kokra March 20, 2016