Poulomi Das, Author at Arré

A Love Letter to My Work Spouse in the Time of Work from Home

Like Jim and Pam from The Office, our deadline-laden stressful work environments demand that we have a work spouse of our own. It's like having a safety net even when you’re comfortably sheltered; sort of like being gifted a colleague with endless benefits.

Poulomi Das July 12, 2016

Pop Culture

Mukti Bhawan and the Parent Trap

Mukti Bhawan captures what it’s like to deal with the impending death of a parent. Losing one feels like diving into life without a safety net, a signifier of irrevocable adulthood.

Poulomi Das July 10, 2016

Gender

Why Bollywood Will Never Have Its #MeToo Moment

Unlike Hollywood, the workings of Bollywood rely heavily on intricate filmi family and friends route. To be an actress in Bollywood, and to speak out against one of its own, is to risk one’s career. For every allegation against Jeetendra and Nana Patekar, there are thousands that we hear nothing about.

Poulomi Das July 9, 2016

Pop Culture

Your #TimesUp! How the Men of the Oscars Failed its Women

Beginning with Frances McDormand’s stunning speech, “speaking up” about diversity, inclusion, and the gender gap was a duty left to the women. Not one male Oscar winner so much as touched on #MeToo or harassment.

Poulomi Das July 9, 2016

Pop Culture

Leila Review: A Tedious Netflix Series that is Neither Political Commentary Nor Dystopian Drama

It’s hard to remain invested in a show whose physical universe doesn’t come across as dystopian at all. Leila’s identifiers of the future — social inequality, water shortages, and extremism — aren’t as shocking for these are troubles that play out in present-day India with alarming regularity.

Poulomi Das July 9, 2016

Pop Culture

A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood Review: A Moving Drama Elevated by A Gentle Tom Hanks Performance

In A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood, Marielle Heller isn’t fixated with viewing Fred Rogers as a mystery that needs to be solved. Instead, Heller, complemented by a pitch perfect Tom Hanks performance, is invested in mapping the extent of his influence through a tender tale of redemption.

Poulomi Das July 7, 2016

Pop Culture

The Laid-back Romance Of Irrfan Khan

In Qarib Qarib Singlle, Irrfan Khan plays a loud 40-year-old romantic hero, an antithesis of the Bollywood Rajs and Rahuls. Over four rom-coms, Irrfan has created a brand of romance that is realistic, self-aware, and a reminder that romantic heroes can very well be ordinary people.

Poulomi Das July 7, 2016

Pop Culture

Parasite Introduced Us to a World Where Family Trumps All. Capernaum Goes One Step Further

What if the tight-knit family in Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite turned on each other? What if impoverishment got the better of them and they sold one of their kids to get by? Nadine Labaki’s 2018 drama Capernaum, the highest grossing Arabic film of all time, asks these heartbreaking questions.

Poulomi Das July 7, 2016

Bollywood

Introducing Sara Ali Khan. She’s a Lot More than Saif and Amrita Singh’s Daughter

Sara Ali Khan appeared on Koffee With Karan with her famous abba. It was assumed that she’d be docile like Alia Bhatt or evade questions like Sonam Kapoor. But by the end of Koffee With Karan’s most refreshing episode of the season, she had given the rest of her peers a crash course in individuality.

Poulomi Das July 7, 2016

Pop Culture

Does Hasan Minhaj’s Patriot Act Play Into the BJP Narrative of “There is No Alternative”?

The Indian election episode of Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj is a primer on the upcoming polls. Even if Minhaj didn’t intend it, the episode, with its alarmist tone, buys entirely into the “There is No Alternative” theory floated by the BJP.

Poulomi Das July 6, 2016