Articles

This New Year Along with Your Weight Shed Your Apathy

This year, instead of using New Year resolutions to crib about having to include more lauki in our diets, why don’t we do things a little differently: Can we instead all agree to be informed citizens, aware of our rights and responsibilities, and active participants in a functioning democracy?

Purba Ray March 14, 2016

POV

Hey Bollywood Darlings, Here’s How NOT to Respond to #MeToo Questions

In recent months, as #MeToo has scorched Bollywood – but only a little bit – our celebrities have responded in the most underwhelming ways. Priyanka Chopra is the latest one to indulge in whataboutery. Seriously, Bollywood, here’s how you should be responding to #MeToo-related queries.

Sonali Kokra March 14, 2016

Pop Culture

Only Murders in the Building: A brilliant true crime show, about our obsession with true crime

Murder mysteries land on OTT platforms these days with frightening similar numbers to FIRs in police registers. Only Murders in the Building, is a radically inventive show that aptly critiques this hunger for bloodlust.

Manik Sharma March 14, 2016

Pop Culture

There’s an Indian Flavour to Get Out’s Everyday Racism

The casual racism and stereotyping in the Oscar-winning Get Out is part of everyday India. We assume Christians are alcoholics, Gujjus are food Nazis, Bengalis are over-sensitive, and Marwaris are kanjoos.

Dushyant Shekhawat March 14, 2016

Pop Culture

Eeb Allay Ooo! Review: A Timely Portrait of the Indian Migrant Crisis

There couldn't be a more timely reminder of the fragility of migrant life, the precariousness of their livelihoods, than right now, when we're watching it all unfold in real-time. Prateek Vats' debut, Eeb Allay Ooo!, is a frighteningly perspicacious political satire.

Poulomi Das March 14, 2016

Pop Culture

The Irishman Review: Martin Scorsese’s Poignant Mob Drama is Nothing Short of a Miracle

The Irishman, a 209-minute-long Netflix film, is a slow dimming of the lights on the Martin Scorsese-mob oeuvre that bows out of the ring, having built for itself a legacy akin to a museum that future filmmakers will visit to worship. It is nothing short of a miracle.

Manik Sharma March 14, 2016

Books

Anthony Bourdain Devours the Underbelly of Cities Across the Globe in World Travel

Anthony Bourdain’s “World Travel: An Irreverent Guide” is an encyclopedia of all things food. In this hefty collection of anecdotes, Bourdain recreates the pages of his passport through a culinary lens. As the name suggests, he documents his travels around the world offering fresh perspectives on obscure delicacies that otherwise popular cities have to offer.

Arré Bench March 14, 2016

Pop Culture

Gangubai Kathiawadi Review: A Memorable Alia Bhatt Showcase

Alia Bhatt single-handedly shoulders this Sanjay Leela Bhansali film, and while her performance is the key takeaway you can’t help but feel that the script and writing could have helped her better.

Divya Unny March 14, 2016

People

Come for the Moustache, Stay for the Decency: Why Amol Palekar Remains Hindi Cinema’s Wholesome Middle-Class Snacc

In film after film, in Chhoti Si Baat and Baaton Baaton Mein, in the universes of Basu Chatterjee and Hrishikesh Mukherjee, on public transport and in Bandra apartments, Amol Palekar played the man on the street. Who else could essay a white-collar worker with the soul of a poet, who you might meet on a train or a bus, if not him?

Karanjeet Kaur March 14, 2016

Gender

The Test of Blood: How Men Would Menstruate

Over the years, menstruation has been rebranded and claimed as the Man’s Syndrome. Ads now display “Man slaying enemies with the help of super XXTRA Wrestler tampons”.

#VALUE! March 14, 2016