Zoya Akhtar Archives

10 Years of Gulaal: Why the Politics and Poetry of the Anurag Kashyap Film Have Acquired Cult Status

Gulaal is perhaps Anurag Kashyap’s most unforgiving film and not because it’s dressed in his trademark brashness, but because like life, it is grounded in cynicism. That said, the movie earned its cult status largely due to one man: Piyush Mishra and his doomsday poetry.

Manik Sharma July 23, 2016

Bollywood

Ghost Stories Review: Dibakar Banerjee Single-Handedly Offers a Compelling Definition of Modern Horror

The dullness of Ghost Stories dilutes the urgency of a horror anthology. In the times that we live in, horror is everywhere you look – in state-sanctioned violence, in the militarisation of the police force, the othering of minorities, and in the clampdown of dissent. It’s probably why Dibakar Banerjee’s segment stands out: the director doesn’t just make a film, but also a statement.

Poulomi Das June 21, 2016

Bollywood

Luck By Chance: The Finest, Most Self-Aware Movie About the Movies Ever Made

Luck By Chance remains Zoya Akhtar’s finest work, a subtle drama exploring the meaning of ambition and happiness in the film industry – via nepotism, sexual harassment, and blind luck.

Mudra May 26, 2016

Bollywood

Before Murad, Saeed Mirza’s Salim Langda Was the OG Gully Boy Dreaming of “Apna Time Aayega”

Thirty years before Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy, another Muslim protagonist like Murad seethed away at class inequality. Personal and political identities blend beautifully in Saeed Mirza’s Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro, making it a richer, more complex telling than Gully Boy.

Pragyan Mohanty May 23, 2016

Pop Culture

Made in Heaven Review: The Zoya Akhtar Show Exposes the Regressiveness of Urban India

Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti’s Made in Heaven dissects the transactional nature of Indian weddings and critiques the concealed social regressiveness of urban India. It’s also a rare show that explores homosexuality as an Indian identity instead of reducing it to an empty statement.

Poulomi Das May 20, 2016

Bollywood

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.

Poulomi Das April 20, 2016

Bollywood

Lust Stories: What’s Stopping Indian Women From Demanding Sex?

In the Netflix anthology Lust Stories, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee, Anurag Kashyap, and Karan Johar do the delicate dance between emphasising how “lust” is a forbidden emotion for Indian women and how despite this conditioning, women seem to know exactly how to recognise it.

Poulomi Das March 6, 2016