Amal Singh, Author at Arré

Why Stephen King’s Stories Only Get Scarier with the Passage of Time

Stephen King’s books reveal their depths slowly. Great horror comes from a fight between hope and hopelessness, empathy and the lack of it, and all of King’s stories straddle that fine line.

Amal Singh July 28, 2016

Sports

Loss and Longing: The Agony of Being a Sports Superfan

While victories leave us on highs, our lows are the experiences which truly define us. Losses are, after all, about latching on, and letting go. They define us. Which brings us to India’s defeat.

Amal Singh July 27, 2016

POV

Work-from-Home Burnout is Real But I’ll Take That Any Day Over Pandemic Paranoia

I am grateful for the escape provided by work. It is saving me from going bonkers, because at least the chaos of work follows a discipline. Grief, heartbreak, the pandemic – these things aren’t disciplined. I’d take work anxiety any day over the anticipation of a dry cough.

Amal Singh July 14, 2016

Pop Culture

How Julie & Julia Showed Me, a Boy from UP, How to Write and Live Better

Four years ago, I was inspired to become a better cook after watching Nora Ephron’s Julie and Julia. That quest for improvement turned out to be never-ending and all-encompassing. Here’s the story of a life, told in three recipes.

Amal Singh June 12, 2016

Pop Culture

Life Toh Badi Sad Hai: How Imtiaz Ali’s Tamasha Prepares You for Failure

Imtiaz Ali’s Tamasha flipped the idea of doing what you love and following your heart, on its head. It showed me the terms and conditions attached to chasing my dreams – and laid bare the frustrations and failures that accompany trying to make your mark in the world.

Amal Singh May 10, 2016

POV

What Bollywood Always Gets Wrong About the Differently Abled

Why can’t Bollywood filmmakers seem to give disabled protagonists challenges other than overcoming their disability? It isn’t as if we don’t have precedents. In films like Sparsh and Jagga Jasoos, the leads’ afflictions don’t dominate their characters.

Amal Singh May 8, 2016

Pop Culture

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Understanding India’s Aam Aadmi

Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is just as relevant today as it was 40 years ago. Britain in the ’70s, much like India today, was a bureaucratic nightmare – Vogons are the literal personification of that. And Arthur Dent? Well, he is an Aam Aadmi caught in the crossfire, just trying to make sense of the world.

Amal Singh April 13, 2016

Pop Culture

What A Star is Born Gets Right About Toxic Masculinity

Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut starring Lady Gaga is a modern-day update on an old story. Unlike past iterations that glorify toxic behaviours, this version, in the age of #MeToo, makes all the politically correct statements.

Amal Singh March 13, 2016

Bollywood

“Teri Keh Ke Lunga”: The Evergreen Beauty of Gangs of Wasseypur Lies in Its Cult Dialogues

Eight years ago, Anurag Kashyap gifted us Gangs of Wasseypur, a gangster epic we could proudly call our own. Perhaps even more than the film’s masterful characters, it’s quotable dialogues have achieved cult status. Tigmanshu Dhulia makes “bhosdi ke” sound poetic while Manoj Bajpayee takes everyday cuss words and elevates them to something Voltaire would be proud of.

Amal Singh March 4, 2016