Manik Sharma, Author at Arré

30 Years of Seinfeld: All Hail the “Lord of the Idiots” George Costanza

Played by Jason Alexander, George Costanza hit TV screens with Seinfeld exactly 30 years ago. For every self-regarding, ripped male Adonis on television, George’s consistency with incompetence and failure has served as the reminder of middle-age realism.

Manik Sharma May 22, 2016

Pop Culture

What Prayaag Akbar’s Leila Says About the Caste-Illiterate Upper Class

In Prayaag Akbar’s Leila, now adapted into a Netflix series, the journey of its protagonist Shalini, echoes the social deafness of most privileged men and women in India. People who over-elaborate their progressiveness but remain blind to the segmentations that widen due to their choices.

Manik Sharma May 22, 2016

POV

Mard Ko Dard Hoga: How Ripped Male Bodies Became a Joke

There was a phase in Indian cinema when our beefy leading men were both, the poster and the song – the hero and the wit. But the sun is setting on the ripped male form. For a cross section of audiences, the sculpted male body is now an object of ridicule.

Manik Sharma May 19, 2016

Pop Culture

What Netflix’s The End of the F***ing World Tells Us About People We Label “Freaks”

Netflix’s The End of the F***ing World tells us that social awkwardness isn’t necessarily a prison people need to break out of. That looking and behaving like everyone else isn’t the end-all of our existences.

Manik Sharma May 18, 2016

Pop Culture

House of Gucci Review: Old Story, New Soul

House of Gucci retells a well-known story with unique effervescence and acting quality bordering on the absurd. Of all the headline acts, it’s the non-actor actor, Lady Gaga, who steals the show.

Manik Sharma May 18, 2016

Love and Sex

You Are My Fire: Do We Really Need “the Spark” to Make Love Last?

Like everyone else, I grew up watching films, reading books, and listening to stories that eulogised the “spark”, the firsts of love. “First meeting”, “first eye-contact”, “first kiss” and so on. How often to we give up on relationships because the elusive spark seems to be missing?

Manik Sharma May 17, 2016

Features

5 Reasons that Make Amazon Prime Video’s Tandav a Political Drama Like No Other

Amazon Prime Video’s Tandav is worth all the hype. Watch it for Saif Ali Khan and its stellar cast, the parallel it draws to our political landscape, and the intriguing drama that sucks you in.

Manik Sharma May 15, 2016

Bollywood

20 Years on, the Hypnotic Charms of Nayak Continue to Endure

Nayak tugs at middle-class righteousness which explains its cult following on Indian television. Like any good hypnotic trick it lets you believe that come the time of opportunity, it’s only the good in us that will surface. It’s a far-fetched dream, but one worth seeing over and over again.

Manik Sharma May 15, 2016

First Person

Waiting for the End: How Do You Prepare to Let Go of a Beloved Grandparent?

Watching your grandparents age is like processing the end of time, the folding of a document that is now so far back in history that even the possibility of its survival becomes a joke. It is an eventual loss that you can anticipate – but can you ever be prepared for it?

Manik Sharma May 14, 2016

Sports

There’s Another World Cup Going On! The Women’s Football and It’s Far More Entertaining

France 2019 has been a revelation. This edition might go down in history as the tournament that raised up women’s football to where it belongs, alongside men’s.

Manik Sharma May 9, 2016