Posted inPeople
The Slow Descent of Ram Gopal Varma
As Sarkar 3 readies for release, it’s time to investigate what is up with RGV. Is he a modern-day shit-talking, raving seer? Or has he turned into a character from one of his films?
Posted inBollywood
Abhay Deol, The Actor Who Survived Despite Bollywood
In this week’s forgettable Chopsticks, Abhay Deol plays a conman who has a refined taste. His filmography is now littered with peculiar outings that primarily serve the cachet of being Abhay Deol. And his early films – Dev.D and Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! – resemble the slate of an actor who peaked even before his career took off.
Posted inBollywood
20 Years Later: Ram Gopal Varma’s Kaun? Is the Freakiest “Knock Knock” Story of Our Time
Back in 1999, when Ram Gopal Varma shot Kaun, a home-invasion horror with a single set, three characters, loose threads and under 15 days, it seemed like he was courting disaster, or worse, boredom. But 20 years later, the film’s experiments with crafting an atmospheric horror is nothing short of revolutionary.
Posted inPop Culture
Nawazuddin Siddiqui: Bollywood’s Salvage Man
Monsoon Shootout gains from the presence of Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who has taken on the role of a saviour of films in need of saving.
Posted inBollywood
Dev.D: The Eternal Soundtrack for the Broken-Hearted
It's been 10 years since Anurag Kashyap's Dev D came out, and what continues to live on, is its gorgeous soundtrack. The film demonstrated, through the music alone, that it is as much Paro and Chanda’s story as it is Dev’s.
Posted inPop Culture
Ghoul Review: Humans Are the Real Monsters in Netflix’s Horror Mini Series
Like Get Out and Pari, the Radhika Apte-starrer Ghoul underlines horror with context and uses it as a device to drive home a point about prejudice and gross injustice. In all three, humans are the hunters – not the hunted.
Posted inPop Culture
#Throwback 2018: Thank You, Sacred Games, for Ganesh Gaitonde, Katekar, and the Gang of Gopalmath
Sacred Games single-handedly ended the drought of smartly written and performed shows of Indian origin, on the internet. It was that unicorn that treated the small screen with the same level of ambition and respect usually reserved for the silver one.
Posted inBollywood
Vicky Kaushal: The Man Who Has Mastered the Art of Blending In
Vicky Kaushal has mastered the art of blending in. He’s one of the few actors who is aware that his presence and talent is a contribution to any film, not its headline gift.
Posted inFeatures
Neeraj Ghaywan: The Middle-Class Boy Who Breathed Life into Bollywood’s Masaan and Sacred Games
The award-winning filmmaker, Neeraj Ghaywan, quit a cushy corporate life and charted his own course at 30. The result is sensitive films like Masaan, that drew accolades at home and abroad, and the second season of Sacred Games.
Posted inBollywood
The Forgotten Army Review: Kabir Khan’s Story of Bose’s INA Raises Pertinent Questions About Nationalism
Kabir Khan’s Amazon show The Forgotten Army is a welcome departure from hyper-jingoistic historical epics that have become par for the course today. But Khan never quite gets a grip on the complexities of the Indian National Army, which often clashed with its own countrymen who were part of the British army.