Pop Culture Archives

Why I Keep Going Back to My Young Adult Novels… Even at 32

There’s great pleasure in consuming literature that is cerebral and challenging. But I also really, really love the literature that has no greater purpose than to entertain in the moment and spark instant joy. The Princess Diaries, Sweet Valley High, The Fault In Our Stars remind me of who I was before I became who I’ve become.

Sonali Kokra May 25, 2016

Pop Culture

My Pilgrimage to the Old Monk Factory

I’m a diehard lover of Old Monk, so much so that I visited its factory in Solan. And when the manager refused to give me miniature Old Monk bottles, I just slipped some in my pocket and ran.

Ramjaane May 25, 2016

Pop Culture

Raees and the Doom of the Don

Viewers are led to understand that Raees places itself in the tradition of the anti-hero popularised by Bachchan – but it isn’t as if the movie gives you a chance to doubt that.

Dushyant Shekhawat May 25, 2016

Pop Culture

The Superlative Brilliance of Shefali Shah

Words probably won’t do justice to just how harrowingly brilliant Shefali Shah is in the second season of Delhi Crime. It’s humbling to be in presence of such precocious talent, that even our faculties to fully appreciate and preserve it are beginning to feel suspect.

Takshi Mehta May 25, 2016

Pop Culture

Who Takes Home “The Spoils of War”?

It’s never easy to pick this game’s winner, and it’s even harder when you don’t know who you’re rooting for.

Parthshri Arora May 25, 2016

Pop Culture

Why Do We Still Chaiyya Chaiyya Over Malaika Arora?

Malaika Arora has been in the public eye for over 20 years. How does she manage to capture public imagination in an industry that runs through its women faster than a box of Kleenex?

PK May 25, 2016

Pop Culture

Dhaakad Review: Kangana Ranaut Cannot Rescue this Stylish Yet Wasteful Thriller

In Dhaakad, Kangana Ranaut acts as a living, breathing, killing machine in a film that is too influenced by its western predecessors to have something of its own to say about a genre that we can only hope gets bigger and better.

Divya Unny May 25, 2016

Pop Culture

The Subversive Genius of Om Shanti Om

In an era of celebrity diplomacy, few actors have the courage to laugh at themselves, fewer even to laugh at the idiosyncrasies of the industry they belong to. That’s where Om Shanti Om stood out.

Poulomi Das May 24, 2016

Pop Culture

The Khaufnaak Maut of Horror Films

Ever since Ramsay Brothers and Ram Gopal Varma abandoned the Great Indian Horror Project, Bollywood has floundered in the genre. Where does one go to get their fix of daily dread?

Poulomi Das May 24, 2016

Pop Culture

25 Years of Pulp Fiction: Why Vincent and Jules Are Gangsters You Can Relate To

The urban gangster was pictured in Pulp Fiction taking casual dumps and discussing the pros and cons of foot massages. The film cushioned its scenes of extreme and gruesome violence, typical of gangster films, with long drawn-out scenes of people just being people. And that’s why you vibe with them.

Prthvir Solanki May 24, 2016