Deepika Padukone Archives

Ranveer Singh Can Play Anybody

Bollywood may just get redemption for its infamous reputation of miscasting actors when it comes to biopics. Ranveer Singh being cast as Kapil Dev in 83, could finally be the gamble that’d pay off.

Arré Bench July 24, 2016

People

Naseeruddin Shah: A father figure for all seasons

In Gehraiyaan, Naseeruddin Shah plays yet another version of the fatherly figure that has endeared him to a generation of viewers. His ability to embody both flaws and vulnerability, are traits that made me look for my own paa in him.

Divya Unny July 22, 2016

Gender

India’s Convenient Feminism, Where Deepika is a Drug Addict and Kangana is Brave

The response to Payal Ghosh accusing Anurag Kashyap of sexual assault, has been very different from the time fans leapt to defend accused stars like Nana Patekar and Alok Nath, and defamed the women who gave accounts. Meanwhile, Kangana Ranaut compared the breaking down of her offices to being raped and insisted she was being targeted as a woman, while referring to female colleagues as soft porn stars and fake feminists. Bollywood’s feminism is dependent on convenience.

Kahini Iyer July 17, 2016

Pop Culture

What Padmaavat Gets Wrong About Alauddin Khilji

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat is a gross misrepresentation of facts… just not the ones the Karni Sena has been so upset about. Alauddin Khilji certainly did not dress in black furs and rip meat from the bone like a Viking.

Dushyant Shekhawat June 27, 2016

Pop Culture

Why Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Khilji Let Us Down

In Padmaavat, Alauddin Khilji is reduced to a unidimensional villain. All that the script required, was a Muslim ruler to serve as a vessel into which a depressingly contemporary take on communal relations could be poured.

Dushyant Shekhawat June 26, 2016

Pop Culture

Cannes Film Festival: That Time of the Year When B-Grade Bollywood Celebrities Become Relevant Again

There’s no getting away from the fact that Mallika Sherawat’s and Hina Khan’s connection to world cinema is tenuous at best. Yet they are gracing the Cannes red carpet. As for the rest of the Indian delegation? To paraphrase a modern statesman: We’re definitely not sending our best people.

Kahini Iyer June 24, 2016

Bollywood

More Fathers Like Bunny’s Dad from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Please!

We are so used to seeing martyr moms and haanikarak bapus on screen, that Farooq Shaikh’s portrayal as Bunny’s endearing dad in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani provides a much-needed respite. The film rejects stereotyping the older generation as dream killers.

Poulomi Das June 20, 2016

People

What Happens When the Scars Heal? An Acid Attack Survivor’s Long Road to Recovery

“The wounds smell of dead rats, and when doctors clean them, you feel the scrub down to the bones.” As if an acid attack weren’t cruel enough, victims, not perpetrators, are thoughtlessly shunned.

Saadia S June 19, 2016

Bollywood

Ranveer Singh: Making Femininity Manly Again

How many Indian men can so lightly embody the many contradictions of Ranveer Singh? In our determinedly binary society, his love of lehengas on anyone else might have garnered epithets of “sissy” or “hijra”. But then, as his infamous t-shirt once declared, Ranveer always makes one thing abundantly clear: he’s got no fucks to give.

Kahini Iyer June 15, 2016

Bollywood

Chhapaak Review: Deepika Padukone Delivers a Moving Performance in a Hopeful Movie

As Malti, an acid attack survivor, Deepika Padukone delivers a moving, invested performance in the uneven Chhapaak, without indulging in self-pity. It is to her credit that despite the prosthetics, her performance feels neither artificial nor gimmicky.

Poulomi Das June 14, 2016