Balakot Archives

Dear Indians, Our WhatsApp Hysteria is Not Going to Resolve the India-Pakistan Tensions

Since India-Pakistan tensions have escalated every civilian has turned into a defence expert. WhatsApp and social media have turned war into a dinner-table conversation, where we now plan how to “finish Pakistan” and “kill Masood Azhar like the US killed Osama”.

Hardik Rajgor July 23, 2016

Pop Culture

Do Pakistan War Films Ask, “How’s the Josh?”

Bollywood is so hyped about war that even in the aftermath of the Balakot attack, producers were queuing up to register film titles. But what is the status on the other side of the border? Are war films as much of a sub-genre in Lollywood as it is in Bollywood?

Hriday Ranjan July 8, 2016

Pop Culture

Trevor Noah and the Lazy Art of Mistimed Racial Stereotypes

Reducing India to outdated jokes about Bollywood dancing and funny accents is what American pop culture does best. Even as we see marginally better representations thanks to stars like Mindy Kaling, it’s still rare to see desis outside the context of “funny”. Trevor Noah is no different.

Kahini Iyer July 7, 2016

Pop Culture

Spider-Man: Far from Home is a Superhero Film for the Fake News Era

Spider-Man: Far from Home is proof that the MCU still has fresh stories to tell, even as the curtain comes down on its most successful period to date. In the first film of Marvel’s Phase Two, Spider-Man might be far from home, but he’s closer to reality than ever before.

Dushyant Shekhawat June 25, 2016

Bollywood

In Josh-Filled 2019 Would Main Hoon Na, Bollywood’s Masala Movie on the Military, Find Any Takers?

Few films seem further from today’s cinemascape of chest-thumping nationalism than the 2004 film Main Hoon Na. The lighthearted patriotic film about “Project Milaap”, an Indo-Pak peace operation would probably be labelled “anti-national” in today’s times.

Kahini Iyer May 6, 2016

POV

Dear Chowkidars of Twitter, What About the Real Watchmen of Indian Democracy?

Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a chowkidar, just like he was a chaiwallah yesterday. Politically, it is a compelling strategy, but true protectors of democracy have been silenced in one way or another. They’ve either faced bullets like Gauri Lankesh or are behind bars like Sudha Bhardwaj.

Angshuman Choudhury March 17, 2016