Pop Culture Archives

The One Thing That Stops Baahubali from Becoming India’s LOTR

As you watch Baahubali: The Conclusion, prepare to be dumbfounded by its scale and grandeur. Then, ask yourself if you should expect more than just the spectacle from the movie.

Poulomi Das May 24, 2016

Pop Culture

Godzilla Vs. Kong Review: The Fourth MonsterVerse Film is the Best in the Series

Godzilla vs. Kong begins with the monster ape held captive by the benevolent Monarch, a government agency tasked with handling titan-related affairs. Elsewhere, Godzilla attacks the offices of APEX, a technology corporation which is up to no good. Humans cannot figure out why Godzilla has gone rogue after being the nice guy in previous films.

Devarsi Ghosh May 24, 2016

Pop Culture

Parasite is On Amazon Prime: This Oscar-Winning Film is Mandatory Viewing for Quarantine Friday

Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite is an acidic horror comedy that points a sharpened knife to the biggest parasite of them all – modern society. Much of the film is a reflection on the aftermath of the unequal distribution of wealth that creates competition even between shades of poverty.

Poulomi Das May 24, 2016

Pop Culture

The Disciple Review: A Rare Story about A Devoted Failure

Chaitanya Tamhane’s The Disciple, now out on Netflix, is set in the world of Hindustani classical music. The setting is incidental. It just as well could have been a story of athletes, painters, or poets. In this festival hit, Tamhane tells us the story of a young talent who realises with painful slowness that some people are simply not meant for greatness of any kind.

Devarsi Ghosh May 23, 2016

Pop Culture

Thanks for The Princess Switch, Netflix. But I’d Rather Watch Love Actually

Holiday films are to me what Tom and Jerry is to children, so I was overjoyed when Netflix released two holiday season films last week – The Princess Switch and A Christmas Prince. They’re my gloomiest holiday binge ever.

Sehaj K May 23, 2016

Pop Culture

30 Years of Seinfeld: All Hail the “Lord of the Idiots” George Costanza

Played by Jason Alexander, George Costanza hit TV screens with Seinfeld exactly 30 years ago. For every self-regarding, ripped male Adonis on television, George’s consistency with incompetence and failure has served as the reminder of middle-age realism.

Manik Sharma May 22, 2016

Pop Culture

What Prayaag Akbar’s Leila Says About the Caste-Illiterate Upper Class

In Prayaag Akbar’s Leila, now adapted into a Netflix series, the journey of its protagonist Shalini, echoes the social deafness of most privileged men and women in India. People who over-elaborate their progressiveness but remain blind to the segmentations that widen due to their choices.

Manik Sharma May 22, 2016

Pop Culture

The Truth about Sunburn aka Ghor Kalyug

I urge our netas to visit a music festival to understand that all the hype about sex and drugs is for nothing. You can barely light a cigarette, and even getting a simple pint of beer involves fighting off a dozen competitors for the bartender’s attention.

Dushyant Shekhawat May 22, 2016

Pop Culture

Revisit Wild Wild Country Before You Start Searching for Sheela

Had Rajneeshpuram been a successful experiment, would the “freaks” – the ones with radical ideas – have had a chance at being mainstream? Osho was an idea that had daunting potential before he went and armed himself to the teeth, finds the new documentary Wild Wild Country.

Sharan Saikumar May 21, 2016

Pop Culture

Mud on Your Face. No Disgrace

Kabaddi, the sport I had no faith in, like millions of others, has suddenly become cool. It has been able to stir a sense of nostalgia along with some patriotic fervour.

Tanya Kini May 21, 2016