romance Archives

The Multiverse of Middle-Age Chemistry and How Neena Gupta Created it

Neena Gupta has over the last few years, done some incredible work but it is her chemistry with co-stars like Raghubir Yadav and Gajraj Rao, that has opened both our eyes and imagination to the possibility of romance and chemistry between middle-aged characters.

Sonia Chopra July 25, 2016

Pop Culture

New York Times’ Modern Love is Lost in Translation: Therapy is Best Delivered in Text

It was with great anticipation that I awaited Modern Love, the Amazon Prime Original show which dramatises, with fictional flourishes, some well-loved Modern Love columns. But I needn’t have held my breath. The show takes everything that makes the column series profound, and flattens the hell out of it.

Karanjeet Kaur July 18, 2016

Bollywood

Looking for a Sushil, Sanskari, Non-Toxic Bollywood Hero

Hindi cinema hasn’t completely disregarded the need for healthy male leads. Toxic protagonists are still seen as rule breakers – as underdogs who can win against the system and evoke sympathy. But a handful of films, like Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai, October, and even Muqaddar Ka Sikandar have tried to change that.

Sayantan Mondal July 17, 2016

Pop Culture

How Badrinath Ki Dulhania Tries (And Fails) To Be DDLJ

Badrinath Ki Dulhania struggles to recreate DDLJ, riding on the Varun-Alia chemistry. But it’s impossible to doff your hat to a classic with a hero with a major character flaw.

Poulomi Das July 15, 2016

POV

“Paani Chala Gaya”: Why India Will Never Have its The Shape of Water

Would the creature from The Shape of Water, who needs to stay hydrated all the time, fall in love in India, staring at its own version of the water crisis? He might be an anti-hero instead, avenging the loss of his habitat from the worst of us.

Runa Mukherjee June 7, 2016

Love and Sex

How Do You Know He’s Mr Right? He Accepts Your Romantic Past

When you’re in the throes of a new love, it’s easier to pretend that your past never existed than to risk retracing its thorny, sometimes painful trajectory with a new partner. But our pasts aren’t cautionary tales for our older selves — they are tomes that chronicle our rich emotional histories.

Sonali Kokra June 5, 2016

Love and Sex

My Ex-Box Dilemma: What Should We Do with Gifts from Girlfriends Past?

I stumbled upon my “break-up box” and hidden in it were a few love letters and all the memories of my high-school romance. I wondered if I should still keep the mementos? Or try to send them off on their way, “Mera kuch saaman” style?

Anahad Madhav June 3, 2016

Love and Sex

Terminally Love-Struck: Does Romance Actually Bloom at Airports?

Growing up I was enamoured by the romance-at-the-tarmac trope – Love Actually and Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na. But the chance of someone dodging security guards for that one passionate kiss are as slim as your Jet Airways flight taking off these days. Yet each time I’m at a terminal, the dormant romantic in me wakes up.

Devrupa Rakshit June 3, 2016

Bollywood

15 Years of Socha Na Tha: A Reminder of What an Imtiaz Ali Romance Used To Be

Socha Na Tha takes us back to the time when Imtiaz Ali was a filmmaker who was interested in saying something, not repeating it. The film is predictable to a fault, but its sweetness is devoid of any pretension or baggage, a throbbing flaw in Ali’s recent outings.

Poulomi Das June 1, 2016

Pop Culture

What “To All The Boys: PS I Still Love You” Taught Me About Love, Rejection, and Going All In

Netflix romcom To All The Boys: PS I Still Love You feels untouched by the cynicism that has seeped into the app-dependent dating lives of the present. It reinstilled my faith in going all the way to chase my own happily ever after. Even if it gives someone the power to break my heart.

Sonia Mariam May 28, 2016