Once upon a time, Anup Singh and I started writing Qissa. At that time—that is, about ten years ago—the film seemed a distant mirage. This didn’t not deter us, however, from wanting to tell this tale about partition, uprootment and
Margarita With A Straw Director: Shonali Bose Starring: Kalki Koechlin, Revathi, Sayani Gupta, Kuljeet Singh Rating: 3/5 Early in Shonali Bose’s second film Margarita With A Straw—a decade after her celebrated 2005 debut, Amu—Laila, Kalki’s cerebral palsy-afflicted protagonist, writes a
Court Director: Chaitanya Tamhane Starring: Vira Sathidar, Vivek Gomber, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Pradeep Joshi, Usha Bane Rating: 4.5/5 The best moment in Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court comes during the denouement. Judge Sadavarte (Joshi) is sleeping on a bench one afternoon
First things first. Who was Ratan Bai? Indeed, little is known about Ratan Bai excepting that she is an actor from the 1930s, who played the female lead in films like Yahoodi ki Ladki (Dir. Aga Hashar, 1933) and Karwan-E-Hayat (Dir.
Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! Director: Dibakar Banerjee Starring: Sushant Singh Rajput, Ankit Tiwari, Neeraj Kabi, Swastika Mukherjee, Divya Menon 3.5/5 Perhaps the best review for Dibakar Banerjee’s Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! came during the interval of the first-day-first-show I attended. As
Before I start talking about the term ‘violence’ and how it relates to a new trend in Indian cinema, I would like to take a moment and reflect upon the philosophical background, which made me come across the observations, which
Shadaab Mirza’s Barkhaa begins with a dramatic book launch. It almost doesn’t happen; the guest of honour has had to rush to the hospital to admit an unnamed relative, and even the head of the publishing house isn’t really expecting him
Na heer na hoor, na mehenge angoor Na Dunlop ka gadda, na tan mange tandoor. Thaali hai khaali, jo chahe paros do Chaahe baasi roti ho, namak thoda thos do. Some of the best expository moments and social commentary in
Is the recent ban on ‘India’s Daughter’ another sign of our intolerance to criticism? Devjani Bodepudi explores. I am ‘India’s Daughter’. I wasn’t always, but two years back in my country of origin and I feel like I am. Broken
Capturing the very essence of political incorrectness, Hanif Kureishi discusses his thoughts on racism, creativity and sexuality, in a frank, no-holds-barred exchange with Devjani Bodepudi, as she caught up with him at the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival, earlier this year.