Articles

Monkey Business! 7 Reasons Why Hello Charlie is the Madcap Comedy We Are Looking Forward To

Hello Charlie is a comedy where a billionaire tries to flee India disguised as a gorilla. If the trailer is anything to go by, this film is going to be a laugh riot.

Sahej Marwah April 15, 2016

Love and Sex

The Reluctant Adventurer: Dating Diary of a 45-year-old Divorcee

I join an online group that calls itself “A 40s friendliers group” and my inbox pings with a request from “Roy”, asking whether I would like to be connected. There’s no harm if no numbers are being exchanged, I tell myself. A massive step for a middle-class, conservative, 40-something Indian divorcee.

Lofn April 15, 2016

People

How to Live on 3 Hours a Day

Gharapuri island, an hour away from Mumbai, comes to life at 7 pm. Three hours of electricity is all that its 1,200 residents get. But this Independence Day will bring some light.

Kripa Krishnan April 15, 2016

People

My Life as an Intel Agent in Pakistan

Recruiting a spy is a heart-in-mouth moment. Often, a spy turns out to be a double agent. Mahesh’s job was making sure that this did not happen.

Himadri Ghosh April 15, 2016

Bollywood

Padmaavat Review: Turns Out the Karni Sena Was Right

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.

Poulomi Das April 15, 2016

Gender

50 Going on 20: What’s With Our Sudden Obsession with Birthday Milestones?

I suppose nothing quite tells you that age is not just a number like hitting 50 does. And we now celebrate it with a big, extravagant bash. Does anyone really care about us turning 50? Then again, does that argument hold in an age where beauty standards for even ageing women are relentless?

Lata Gwalani April 15, 2016

Bollywood

Soni Review: Empowerment is an Everyday Struggle for Indian Women and This Netflix Film Gets It Right

Debutante director Ivan Ayr's Soni, isn’t as much a film about gender equality as it is about the continued endurance of gender inequality in India – riding on the back of casual sexism, male entitlement, misogyny, and uncurbed sexual violence.

Poulomi Das April 15, 2016

POV

O Gore Gore: What It Means to be a Fair-Skinned Man in India

Living as a fair-skinned man in India is bit of a head-start, but can lead to some pretty awkward moments. As a child, I was repeatedly cast as the only girl in a play at a boy’s school, and in Hyderabad, a man who wanted to take a picture with me, asked me, “Which country?”

Manik Sharma April 15, 2016

Gender

A Step-by-Step Guide to Walking Out of an Abusive Marriage

Why didn’t you fight back when you were slapped and your earring fell off? Why are you still around, crying pathetic pools of tears and snot? Why aren’t you doing what your head tells you to and leave? How did you just become a statistic of physical abuse?

Life 13 April 15, 2016

Bollywood

Serious Men Review: A Biting Take on Ambition in the Maximum City, With a Side of Caste Critique

Based on Manu Joseph’s 2010 novel of the same name, Serious Men follows a Dalit man’s “great plan” to overcome his lack of generational privilege. Nawazuddin Siddique is effortless – his entire filmography is strewn with companion pieces to the Sudhir Mishra movie.

Tatsam Mukherjee April 15, 2016