Shakun Saini, Author at Arré

From Yash Chopra, With Love: The Man Who Convinced India Dil Toh Pagal Hai

Here’s the thing about Yash Chopra – despite the cliché that he is associated with, he never could be pinned down to a stereotype. Even as he defined the romantic canon, he went about redefining it with each film. Chopra was to India what Mills & Boon was for the rest of the world.

Shakun Saini June 6, 2016

Bollywood

35 Years of Chameli ki Shaadi: Amrita Singh’s Chameli is the OG Small-Town Heroine Full of Chutzpah

It would not be wrong to say that in Chameli, Basu Chatterjee gave Bollywood a heroine much unlike any that had been seen before. Amrita Singh’s Chameli doesn’t sit around and wait for things to work out on their own. She gets out there and takes charge. She is nothing if not a staunch feminist.

Shakun Saini May 16, 2016

Bollywood

47 Years of Koshish: What the Gulzar Film Reminds Us About an Indifferent Society

Often called the most illustrious film of Gulzar’s career, Koshish, which revolved around a deaf and mute couple earned Sanjeev Kumar his second National Film Award and became a reference point for many future films that revolved around physical disabilities.

Shakun Saini May 10, 2016

People

The Poet Who Belongs to Everyone: Finding Gulzar Wherever I Go

With Gulzar, the more you discover, the more you crave. Even when I didn’t know it, Gulzar was all around. That is how enmeshed his songs and lyrics are in our lives – and how our lives are reflected in them.

Shakun Saini May 7, 2016

Bollywood

My Precious Family Heirloom: A Love for Meena Kumari’s Pakeezah

Meena Kumari's Pakeezah is the foundation of a family bond. A love for the film is a kind of family heirloom, passed on from my nani to my mother to me. After over two decades, I understand the essence of Pakeezah, the love and longing.

Shakun Saini May 5, 2016

Bollywood

60 Years of Mughal-E-Azam: Anarkali, Jodha Bai, and Bahar Remain the Film’s Biggest Strength

Sixty years on, the women of Mughal-E-Azam need to be celebrated. Anarkali is the soul of the film, but even Bahar, a jealous lady-in-waiting, is graceful in her pursuits. Jodha Bai is an unconventional mother figure, not a standard 17th century queen who only exists to produce heirs

Shakun Saini April 24, 2016

Bollywood

Aradhana: How the Sharmila Tagore Film Tried to Normalise Pre-Marital Sex & Single Motherhood

Aradhana might seem like yet another run-of-the-mill film about a self-sacrificing woman, but it’s much more than that. It’s a movie that brought taboo subjects such as pre-marital sex, adoption, and single motherhood to the mainstream.

Shakun Saini April 6, 2016

Bollywood

How Dev Anand’s Guide Normalised Falling Out Of Love

Guide stands out for being that rare Hindi film about adultery that also normalises the act of falling out of love, even in a marriage. The film refuses to demonise its characters for the decisions they take, driving home the point that love transcends all boundaries – even those considered as sacred as marriage.

Shakun Saini March 20, 2016

Bollywood

Much Before Empowerment Became Mainstream, Mirch Masala Was a Film for India’s Women

Mirch Masala tells the story of a feisty village belle who becomes an object of lust for the new tax collector. Smita Patil’s Sonbai continues to inspire generations of women even today as she asserts complete sexual autonomy and agency over her own body.

Shakun Saini March 6, 2016

Bollywood

Shashi Kapoor: The Man With the Crooked Smile Who Made Everything Better

On a terrible day, watching a Shashi Kapoor film is like therapy. Sometimes, even a song is enough: One viewing of “Bekhudi mein sanam” is enough to pull me out of any bad mood that I may be in.

Shakun Saini March 5, 2016