Sonchiriya Archives

From Tapsee Pannu, Ranveer Singh, to Yami Gautam: The 10 Best Hindi Film Performances of 2019

As everyone will tell you, this year has been a particularly unremarkable year for Bollywood. The silver lining has been the versatile, inventive performances that have come from the most experimental of films and actors. From Tapsee Pannu and Ranvir Shorey to Geetika Vidya Olyan and Ranveer Singh, here are the 10 best performances of 2019.

Poulomi Das July 4, 2016

Bollywood

Sonchiriya Review: A Masterful Look at Daakus With Existential Issues

Set in the ravines of Chambal in 1975, Sonchiriya resembles a Western, but presents itself as an atmospheric mood piece. The dacoits in the movie ponder deep questions like, do the deaths they inflict serve a higher purpose, and is their life meant to be their punishment?

Poulomi Das June 26, 2016

Pop Culture

Arré Recommends: What Should You Binge Watch in the Coming Week?

The first few days of January can seem gloomy and it’s probably the best time to fall back on your streaming subscriptions. We, the good folks at Arré, have some recommendations that should help you cope with the post-holiday blues.

Pranay Dewani June 9, 2016

Bollywood

Sushant Singh Rajput, the Bollywood Outsider, Who Showed India How to Live Life on His Own Terms

Sushant Singh Rajput starred in Chhichhore last year, a film that centred around suicide, and the way we treat life as some kind of competition. What he leaves behind is proof of an attempt at living a life, of trying to make sense of its intricacies and puzzles, of giving it all to decode it.

Poulomi Das June 6, 2016

Bollywood

How to Write Empathetic Women Characters: A Lesson from Abhishek Chaubey’s Sonchiriya

A dacoit film set in Chambal and headlined by an all-male cast is hardly the expected backdrop for a biting commentary on gender prejudice. But for all the testosterone simmering on the surface, Abhishek Chaubey and Sudip Sharma infuse Sonchiriya with grassroots feminism.

Poulomi Das June 5, 2016

Bollywood

Why Sushant Singh Rajput’s Byomkesh Bakshy Stands Out from the Rest

Dibakar Banerjee’s Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! is a masterful, atmospheric murder mystery but an even better coming-of-age film. Sushant Singh Rajput doesn’t essay Byomkesh as the standard brooding type. Instead, he captures a boyish charm that allows us to witness the making of a detective.

Poulomi Das June 1, 2016

Pop Culture

Inside the Campy Cult of B-Grade Hindi Film Dacoits

Long before Abhishek Chaubey’s Sonchiriya, daakus were constant stars of films churned out by the B-grade Hindi film industry. In one, Gabbar is a lovelorn Romeo, and in the other, Gabbar is a woman and Jai and Veeru are made to dance in front of her.

Sayantan Mondal April 1, 2016