writers Archives

Washing a Laptop and Other Gems on Indian TV: What Are Our Daily Soap Writers Smoking?

In a clip from an Indian soap that recently went viral, a couple is seen having a lovers’ tiff. Nothing unusual here other than the fact that they were fighting while falling off the cliff. Because when you are the top-rated TV show, who cares for physics?

Runjhun Noopur June 5, 2016

Pop Culture

Name-Dropping Satyajit Ray: A Bong’s Greatest Accessory

Bengalis love Satyajit Ray and his work nearly as much as we love boasting about our impeccable knowledge about the multi-hyphenate filmmaker and universal Bengali inspiration’s incredible existence. Even if we've seen a sum total of one Ray film.

Poulomi Das March 25, 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

People

The Question That Lies Between Us & Greatness: “Have I Left the Gas On?”

My journey to fame, success, and greatness is plagued by self doubt and questions like, “Did I lock the main door when I left the house” or “Have I left the gas stove on” echoing in my head in full Dolby fidelity.

Purba Ray March 8, 2016

Pop Culture

“Caution: White Men at Work”: What Game of Thrones Season 8 Writers Don’t Get about Powerful Women

Game of Thrones is like a relationship which starts with a very misleading Tinder profile. It rose to cultural supremacy by promising to “break the wheel”; now it’s just a mediocre attempt at celebrating a straight, white man’s newfound lineage, while undermining its powerful women characters.

Ujjainee Roy March 1, 2016