For a film about sport, Gold treats hockey as a mere formality in service of an Akshay Kumar vanity project. It only exploits the star’s various talents: enthusiastic comic timing, the ability to arouse nationalistic pride, and romancing a much younger actress.

Thirty years ago, a campy croc-friendly film made us root for Rekha's revenge. Why is Khoon Bhari Maang such a satisfying watch?

Anubhav Sinha’s pleasantly hard-hitting Mulk doesn’t stray far from what is unfolding in the country at the moment. Just like in the film, an entire community has been othered and demonised. Muslims are repeatedly asked to prove their loyalty — a test that is automatically beyond their reach in a country that’s already decided that their religion excludes patriotism.

Karwaan has its share of shortcomings but it is resolutely modern – by emphasising that a girl and a guy can just be friends. This road-trip film is also proof that you can find yourself without letting a manufactured love story derail it.

Anil Kapoor single-handedly stops Fanney Khan from being a train-wreck. The 61-year-old sings, dances, and emotes with the electrifying energy and sincerity of a newcomer hell-bent on creating an impression. And this isn’t even the first time he’s has played an age-appropriate role.

After successfully foraying into Telugu and Tamil cinema, Dulquer Salmaan, a bonafide Malayalam star, is making his Bollywood debut with Karwaan. His soaring fan-following that defies language and age barriers is because he feels like the realest actor we’ve witnessed in a long long time.

Even years after their marriage, my parents remained complete strangers to each other. Their only common connection was their children. And then my sister and I moved out.

Vicky Kaushal has mastered the art of blending in. As he awaits the release of Manmarziyaan, his fifth film this year, it's clear that 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.

Like Harry Potter, my biggest dream is also to be the chosen one. I’m ardently waiting for the day when the waitstaff at an Indian restaurant decides that I – instead of my male companion – am qualified enough to be handed the bill after a meal.

Spoiler alert: Dhadak is as terrible as anyone who has watched Sairat expected it to be. If there’s anyone who can take the ignored issue of caste and ignore it even further, it’s a Karan Johar production. The result is a risible, candyfloss film that embodies everything Sairat mocked.

In Soorma, Sandeep Singh’s wife – Harpreet Kaur in the film – abandons her husband soon after he is paralysed. She is also painted as a distraction for Singh’s goal-scoring abilities. I’ll let you guess what happened in real life. Hint: None of it.

As Killing Eve and GLOW have proved, there’s nothing more fun than watching women being absolute jerks – and absolutely human – on screen. If these shows, frontrunners for the Emmys, are any indication, we’re thankfully past the age of niceness.

Isle of Dogs is a testament to the urgent need for animated movies to address socio-political context. Just like last year’s Paddington 2, Wes Anderson also emphasises the power of kindness and the importance of embracing outsiders instead of expelling them.

In Netflix’s Sacred Games, Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane deliver a thriller that doesn’t shy away from being an indictment on religion. The show argues that religion has always been used to shape politics, commit murder, and amass wealth.

If you’ve ever wondered whether it was possible to pull off a millennial iteration of When Harry Met Sally, Set It Up comes very, very close. It exists as a canny tribute to the rom-coms of yesteryear, hitting a sweet, nostalgic feel-good spot.

In Sanju, Ranbir Kapoor hits the peak of his physical acting. It’s a trait that has elevated most of his roles. For, Kapoor doesn’t just act or deliver lines or play fictional characters. He recreates them down to the very last detail.

In Rajkumar Hirani’s biopic on Sanjay Dutt’s life, the greatest villain is the media – not Dutt’s self-destructive behaviour. Sanju does exactly what it proudly announces that it doesn’t do: glorify Sanjay Dutt.

The FIFA World Cup 2018 has been full of surprises just like Germany's loss tonight and these annoying football fans who turn up at every house party. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the world is incomplete without these un-fans around you.

The most inventive stroke of Ari Aster’s Hereditary is that it has the greatest horror villain of all time: family inheritance. The film takes the saying “skeletons in the closet” literally, giving us a genuinely terrifying portrait of a family’s breakdown.

Race 3 swaps Nawab Khan for Blackbuck Khan and makes the grave mistake of thinking it can pass off as a film. It is so excruciatingly brainless that it makes Baaghi 2 look like a cinematic accomplishment.

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.

In admitting that the Quantico episode showing a fictional Hindu being a terrorist was inaccurate and implying that she prioritised nationalism over everything else, Priyanka Chopra did the opposite of what we’ve come to expect out of her: taking a stand.

After doing a surgical strike on Mani Ratnam’s OK Kanmani, Karan Johar is all set to ruin Nagraj Manjule’s Sairat by remaking it as Dhadak with Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khattar.

Last night, Sunil Chhetri and his men who won 3-0, forced Mumbai to keep aside its cynicism and invest in the other boys in blue. It taught Mumbaikars that any sport is a two-way game: It thrives on its determined players as much as on its spirited supporters.

Dear Indian Grandmother offended by the masturbation scene in Veere Di Wedding, it's understandable why you were flabbergasted after watching it. After all, the last time you watched a film featuring four women was the Nirma commercial.

Let down by Harshvardhan Kapoor, Bhavesh Joshi Superhero gets close, but never quite addresses the elephant in the room: the futility of vigilantism. All it succeeds at becoming is a cross between Malad’s Rang De Basanti and Dahanu’s The Shape Of Water.

Veere Di Wedding stars four talented actresses, is produced by two women, and co-written by one. That makes the film a worthy candidate for The Bechdel Test. But does it fulfill the three conditions: Does it have two or more female characters, do they talk to each other, and do they discuss something other than men?

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, which completes five years today, rejects stereotyping the older generation as dream killers.

When I was growing up, litchis were on an equal footing with mangoes during the summer. But now, you have Katrina Kaif seductively endorsing the shiny yellow fruit. As a result, the humble litchi remains as ignored as Abhishek Bachchan.

Before the age of socially conscious filmmaking dawned on us, Shaad Ali's Bunty Aur Babli, that completes 13 years this week, reminded Bollywood that it’s possible to make an entire film on just one word: fun.

Book Club – starring Acting Avengers Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, and, Mary Steenburgen — puts the limelight on the sex lives of older women, normalising their desires and insecurities.

The four-year age gap between me and my sister never seemed to matter. That is, until my 21-year-old sister decided to visit me during her college break, and I found myself morphing into a reluctant parent.

Dear Harry Puttar and Meghan Bahu, to make sure that no commoner’s derrière gets more attention that the two of you, keep only one rule in mind, which, in the words of visionary Kim Kardashian, is “Break the internet”. All you need is a hashtag – I suggest #HarryDiWedding – and the Queen dancing to “London Thumakda”.

Like Jim and Pam from The Office, our deadline-laden stressful work environments demand that we have a work spouse of our own. It's like having a safety net even when you’re comfortably sheltered; sort of like being gifted a colleague with endless benefits.

The lives of the big-eyed, gentle-faced, and maach-guzzling Bengalis are marred by a potent shadow of the world’s most deadly dose of ABC – ambol (acidity), bodhojom (indigestion), and constipation. It’s no wonder then, that the easiest way to a Bengali’s appetite is through a strip of Digene.

For a film that has clouds of nationalism overpowering every frame, the implication that patriotism is a choice – one that the protagonists are not even offered – is a brave one to make. Yet it seamlessly fits in. For Meghna Gulzar has ensured Raazi isn’t a patriotic film. Instead, it’s a film about the aftermath of patriotism.

The Handmaid’s Tale has returned with a searing second season that dwells on how the spirit of Gilead, where women have no control over their bodies, has always been alive in the real world. It’s a horrifying watch, particularly in the wake of what we’ve witnessed in Kathua and Unnao.

In a culture that still relies on the problematic viewing of children as their parents' property, 102 Not Out encourages pressurising the younger generation into fulfilling dual obligations of being both a caregiver and caretaker at the peak of their youth.

Hansal Mehta’s biopics are marked by a deep-dive into the minds of his central characters. And that is the greatest weakness of Omertà, a film on the terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh. It is about as effective as a dramatised Wikipedia entry – there is nothing in its 96-minute runtime that we don’t already know.

Bengalis love Satyajit Ray and his work nearly as much as we love boasting about our impeccable knowledge about the multi-hyphenate filmmaker and universal Bengali inspiration’s incredible existence. Even if we've seen a sum total of one Ray film.

Overpacking for a vacation is a lot like being in a cult. Not only do you have to be in denial about being an overpacker, but also indulge in massive amounts of delusion and commit to making life miserable for yourself.

Veere Di Wedding comes with a baffling condition: Its insistence at not being labelled a “chick flick”. It's a film that’s for women, by women and of women. And there’s no better time to offer the world a polished definition of chick flicks, celebrating women and their stories, than now.

Three-time National Award-winner and arguably Bollywood’s most respected choreographer, Saroj Khan defended the casting couch today. In doing so, she singlehandedly put the film industry light years behind in ensuring that it can also be a safe workplace for actresses.

An indispensable asset of every Bengali, whether they are probashi, bheto, nyaka, or ghoti is their absolute dependency on the wide-ranging powers of the handy Boroline. For us, it’s not just an ointment, but a way of life; just like aloor chop on a Sunday evening or a KKR match at Eden Gardens.

Shoojit Sircar and Juhi Chaturvedi’s October paints a very affecting portrait of bereavement that acknowledges a stage of the grieving process that is rarely discussed on screen: survivor’s guilt.

In John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place, silence holds the key to survival. Unlike assembly-line Hollywood horror, the film’s greatest strength lies in its ability to create a visual atmosphere of horror from its quietude.

Irrfan Khan's Blackmail taps something very accurate about the monsters that reside in all of us – a part that we’re happy to deny. All that the film needed, was to be a bit more brutal in the assessment of its evil lead.

A break up is followed by a round of post-break-up confessions. What could be wrong with straightforward honesty from the person who deeply cared about us? But in this seemingly friendly break-up match, no one wins – and most importantly, you lose the hardest.

Tiger Shroff's Baaghi 2 comes very close to convincing you that there can be no action hero unless he has an “I love my India” tattoo on his forehead, and no action film if it doesn’t act as a PSA for the army. It makes you miss the times when Bollywood action heroes had dhai kilo ka haath instead of dhai kilo ke abs.

Being a runner-up in a world that places an unbending prestige on being the absolute best at everything is like being a dusty cassette in the time of Apple Music; an expiry-date-laden book shop in the age of the immortal Kindle; wholly redundant.

Hichki suffers from the same condition that afflicts most films with a social message: a severe case of good intentions that justifies the lack of risks. And there’s only so much heft Rani Mukherji can afford a half-baked comeback role.

Shakun Batra’s Kapoor & Sons, that completes two years today, was a brilliantly observed family drama. It also stood out from a sea of Bollywood offerings that stereotyped homosexuality, by having a gay character in the lead whose orientation is almost incidental to the plot.

Just like Bollywood has Vivek Agnihotri and Yash Chopra has Uday Chopra, Bengalis have daak naams: It’s a part of your identity that you didn’t ask for, and one that you can’t shake off. It’s a walk of shame that never seems to end.

I regret to inform you that the home delivery of your abs, slated for arrival in the first week of April, has now been indefinitely postponed. Let me make a few things clear: Making vegetable Maggi your staple diet isn’t “eating your veggies”

Beginning with Frances McDormand’s stunning speech, “speaking up” about diversity, inclusion, and the gender gap was a duty left to the women. Not one male Oscar winner so much as touched on #MeToo or harassment.

Anushka Sharma’s Pari is one of the rare instances of an A-lister putting their weight behind the bastardised Bollywood horror. In fact, the film may just reinvigorate the genre because it is the most inventive horror film in years.

Amruta Fadnavis has, time and again, gone out of her way to prove her dedication and loyalty to being the Maharashtrian Michelle Obama that the state needs, deserves, and will probably have to tolerate for the next few years.

Dum Laga Ke Haisha is a brilliantly observed portrait of the burden of aspirational manhood innumerable small-town men carry all their lives, headlined by a heroine, who is completely unapologetic about her weight. It is arguably Yash Raj's best romantic comedy in recent years.

The culture of 24/7 availability isn’t just limited to our overtly exacting work lives: It is reflected in our binge marathons, the bane of read receipts, and the constant curation of our social media lives.

Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri is a chilling portrait of the power of female rage, the imperishability of grief, and the elusive nature of closure. In a way, it also summarises the year of #MeToo.

Heralded as Bollywood’s first “female superstar” in the 80s’, Sridevi was also Bollywood’s first heroine-comedienne. She taught us that it was okay for girls to be funny, that they could make you laugh.

I've had enough of you commenting "Fittey Muh" and "Hatdi ni tu" on my Instagram posts, Diljit Dosanjh. Today, I watched High End and decided it's time I delete Instagram and move to Snapchat. Keep saying “Kylie Kitthe" forever.

In the age of Netflix and zero torrenting, we’re all consumed by a desperate, obsessive urge to watch a TV show, movie and, podcast the moment they are out. This race to keep up with the “it” shows of the moment, is exhausting.

Hostiles reminds us that there is no greater mistake than not learning from the mistakes of our past. By taking a long, hard look at the dangers of division in 19th-century America, it goads contemplation of the racial divide that exists even to this day.

Love Per Square Foot, a spiritual and millennial update of Gharaonda, delves into the perils of negotiating your space in a relationship in a city where existence is as much as an act of rebellion as compromise.

Love as we knew it has changed and along with it the idea of "proposing" to someone has become an afterthought. The proposal has been replaced by a text, a kiss, a right swipe. A quaint remnant of a bygone era; a chipped but not quite broken Victorian teacup.

Shahenshah, Amitabh Bachchan’s comeback vehicle will go down in history for gifting the world two extraordinary pop-culture moments: a nocturnal avenger who wore the raddest costume ever, and a catchphrase that keeps on giving.

In his latest socially conscious outing, PadMan, Akshay Kumar lends his support to women empowerment, and his wife, the self-proclaimed Mrs Funnybones, is by his side. R Balki may be credited as the director of PadMan, but it is in fact Khanna’s very expensive Juhu lens that dominates much of the film.

Unlike Hollywood, the workings of Bollywood rely heavily on intricate filmi family and friends route. To be an actress in Bollywood, and to speak out against one of its own, is to risk one’s career. For every allegation against Jeetendra, there are thousands that we hear nothing about.

“Menstrual hygiene can’t be tackled by an advertising or a marketing team,” said Arunachalam Muruganantham toward the end of Amit Virmani’s 2013 documentary Menstrual Man. Will Akshay Kumar’s PadMan prove him wrong?

On the surface, Altered Carbon, Netflix's latest cyberpunk dystopian drama is a technologically drunk science-fiction show but its heart lies in being an effective meditation on the cost of humanity.

JK Rowling conveniently erased Dumbledore's sexuality in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald. This speaks of a frustrating trend in recent Hollywood films that tease the inclusion of LGBT characters only to thunderously under-deliver.

Prateek Vats’ A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings offers a peek into the twilight years of Manohar Aich, India’s first Mr Universe — a delicate portrait of the frailties of human memory and the Indian family.

The idea of a special someone is, in many ways, an impossible thing. It makes you pine for a love so perfect that it almost seems made up. This irrational, pampered idea of love is the nemesis of every steady relationship.

After Gupt and Soldier, the verdict was out. Bobby Deol’s uncontainable sex appeal was in fashion, and the #ForearmAppreciationClub was in full swing. That lasted for a brief, wonderful minute.

Ranveer and his complete disregard for decorum when he’s talking about fucking or kissing on screen makes the rest of the Bollywood brigade look like a bunch of sanctimonious pricks. “I fucked around a lot until I was 26,” he declared to a world in which Salman Khan is an eternal virgin.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat is a semi-historical reminder of how bad the Rajputs’ track record in battle has been. No wonder the Rajput Karni Sena is so adamant that no one should ever watch the film.

The Academy Awards are just around the corner and it is time to prep for Oscar film conversations at the bar and on the train. Here’s how you can get ready to reel off Call Me By Your Name and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri factoids in five minutes.

BP Singh's CID, the Indian detective series headlined by our favourite trio, ACP Pradyuman, Abhijeet and Daya, has been on air for twenty years now. The show's massive popularity was proof of the fact that it was a comedy special ahead of its time.

Which of these five is your beauty technician? Keep your friends close, but your parlour lady even closer.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s new baby should know a thing or two about social media celebrity. But the world is a tough place, and Mini-K faces stiff competition from Taimur Ali Khan and the royal babies.

Studies show that men are adept at understanding “softened refusals” from women: altered body language, abruptness of conversation, little hints. Why does this alertness disappear when it comes to matters of sex?

Steven Spielberg’s The Post, is a powerful appeal for a brave media, and even braver owners. It’s a lesson that media owners desperately need and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

In 2017, Saif Ali Khan might have come closer to being taken seriously as an actor with notches of brilliance in Rangoon and Chef. But it is in 2018, with Kaalakaandi and Sacred Games, that he might have found his voice.

Paddington 2, with its firm anti-Brexit tone, is a pertinent film in our prevailing climate of fear-mongering and othering. It’s a movie that could do the children some good, and also the adults they come to watch it with.

Anurag Kashyap’s Mukkabaaz is a resounding ode to the numerous fighters populating Indian sport, the ones who are too tired or marred by bad luck to even make it to the big stage.

Vasundhara Raje’s government has a serious law-and-order situation. And the refusal to release Padmavat is only further proof of that.

The Indian Detective is filled with all the tired cliches that Russell Peters peddles in almost every comedy special. The Netflix show has finally made us acknowledge something: Why did we ever think Russell Peters was funny?

Ridley Scott’s gamble to replace Kevin Spacey in All the Money in the World in the wake of sexual assault allegations, pays off. Christopher Plummer is unforgettable as the icy-cold oil baron J Paul Getty.

“Dresses with pockets” is a massive concern for women worldwide. Why, then, haven’t designers, clothing stores and runways paid heed to the #WeWantPockets movement yet? Is this a giant fashion conspiracy?

This was the year our rose-tinted memories of the glorious ’90s died. “Oonchi Hai Building” is permanently sullied by Varun Dhawan and we’ll never look at Govinda, Sridevi, and Sanjay Dutt the same way again.

In a year where Bollywood has been plagued by disastrous box-office results, mainstream film letdowns, and inconsistent performances by its superstars, it’s the hero’s humble sidekick who has wowed.

In Tiger Zinda Hai, Salman Khan single-handedly kills close to 300 terrorists by destroying more cars than Rohit Shetty, without getting a hair or muscle out of place. If this isn’t wonderland, I don’t know what is.

Back in 2012, Tinder came into our lives like the cool NRI cousin we all wanted to get with, certain that their arrival heralded numerous gifts. Six years on, the dating app has made its way to the dustbin. Over time, its vanilla-ness became glaringly apparent.

Pankaj Tripathi has appeared in seven films in 2017 alone, playing disparate roles that stand testament to his versatility. And, yet Bollywood’s most gifted performer this year is unlikely to feature in roundtables or win awards.

Like many millennials of my generation, I once idolised Kareena Kapoor as Poo in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... But I have done a lot of growing-up since then.

There is plenty to celebrate about Virushka. But we should probably clap loudest for Anushka Sharma’s pluckiness, a Bollywood outsider who does things her own way.

The sight of people engrossed in games like Monopoly, UNO, Jenga, and Cards Against Humanity over a drink or two in their favourite cafes has become a familiar one. Spread the news: Board games are cool again.

No one tells single girls living on their own that life’s biggest nightmare will be having your mother as a temporary guest in the house. You unwillingly become a participant in the reality show “So You Think You Can Adult?”

Wonder could have been a terribly one-sided triumph tale, pitting the helpless underdog against the insensitive bully. But, Stephen Chbosky’s inherent warmth makes it a much bigger lesson in kindness.