Masculinity Archives

What Ayushmann Khurrana’s Dream Girl Gets Right About Modern Masculinity

In many ways, Dream Girl feels like an antidote to the brashness of Kabir Singh. It is a film that confronts the vexations of modern-day masculinity. It briefly imagines men who listen, who empathise with vulnerability, and who must learn to relate to each other in ways that have long been socially assigned to women.

Kamayani Sharma July 16, 2016

Pop Culture

Revisiting F.R.I.E.N.D.S: The One Where We Defend the Sitcom

Even as the sitcom makes a comeback, F.R.I.E.N.D.S is the subject of our generation's biggest polarising pop-culture debates. The criticism of the sitcom accuses it of being sexist, unfunny, and even bland. But I often wonder if using a 2020s lens to critique a TV show that is not from this time, a valid critique of it.

Priyanka Aidasani July 15, 2016

Pop Culture

Why is Arjun Reddy Getting a Bollywood Remake?

Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Arjun Reddy – arguably the most polarising Telugu film in recent times – is not without its problems. It has managed to sustain the attention and outrage of audiences across the country. Even in 2019, people just can’t seem to stop talking about Arjun Reddy. And that’s why we have Kabir Singh releasing tomorrow.

Poulomi Das July 15, 2016

Bollywood

Ranveer Singh: Making Femininity Manly Again

How many Indian men can so lightly embody the many contradictions of Ranveer Singh? In our determinedly binary society, his love of lehengas on anyone else might have garnered epithets of “sissy” or “hijra”. But then, as his infamous t-shirt once declared, Ranveer always makes one thing abundantly clear: he’s got no fucks to give.

Kahini Iyer June 15, 2016

Gender

Why Do Men Spread Their Legs and Women Cross Theirs?

In India, years of conditioning demand women to be submissive and almost invisible in public, while boys are rarely made conscious of their bodies. As a result, young boys grow up to become adults who don’t think twice before taking up extra space even at the cost of someone else’s inconvenience.

Amrita Paul May 26, 2016

Bollywood

Kabir Singh Review: In the Arjun Reddy Remake, Rage is a Man’s Birthright and Violence His Badge of Honour

Disguised as a love story, Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Kabir Singh justifies what Indian men have been trying to normalise since time immemorial: That anger is a man’s birthright. That rage is necessary for a man to exert his dominance over a woman and the world needs to accept it.

Poulomi Das May 13, 2016

Pop Culture

Pushpa, KGF and How Massive Beards Came to Replace Hairy Chests as a Sign of Masculinity

There was time a when our heroes carried hair on their chest as a sign of restrained heroism. It’s absurd really, but films like Pushpa and KGF imply the arrival of the most explicit and visible evidence yet of a man’s virility, troublingly told through violence – his overgrown beard.

Manik Sharma March 30, 2016

Bollywood

How to Treat the Trans Community: A Lesson for India from Amol Palekar’s Daayraa

Back in 1996, Amol Palekar’s Daayraa, that revolved around a love story between a transvestite and a gang-raped woman, questioned sexual identities and saw trans people as a “miracle of nature”. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, however, refuses to see the trans community in the same light.

Pranay Dewani March 19, 2016

Pop Culture

What A Star is Born Gets Right About Toxic Masculinity

Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut starring Lady Gaga is a modern-day update on an old story. Unlike past iterations that glorify toxic behaviours, this version, in the age of #MeToo, makes all the politically correct statements.

Amal Singh March 13, 2016

Pop Culture

A review of the Fast and Furious franchise by someone who hates driving and cars

I’ve never been comfortable admitting that I despise driving and lack the enthusiasm most share around automobiles in general. It has made witnessing and understanding the fandom behind the Fast and Furious franchise all the more fascinating.

Manik Sharma March 1, 2016