Narrated by Rajkummar Rao, Spotify’s collection of stories #RukJaanaNahi is a radically intimate telling of the exemplary courage and empathy shown by India’s ordinary people in the face of widespread hopelessness and despair.

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.

A short decade ago, Himesh Reshammiya was performing sold out shows at Wembley and singing almost every second Bollywood chartbuster. Today, as the man — nay legend — celebrates his 46th birthday, it’s worth asking, “Where the hell did Himesh Reshammiya go?”

Legend says that every night, Krishna descends upon a forest in Vrindavan to dance with his gopis. But in a town dependent on its faith economy, does it even matter if it's true?

The attitude of most Maharashtrians can be summed up in two words: Ughich kashala? Literally translated, it means “needlessly why”? It is the reason why we Maharashtrians are diabolically lazy and spectacularly unambitious.

In Gujarat, Marwari women lead dual lives. They fast with their mothers-in-law and sip mojitos with their friends.

June was quite a month for superheroes (and supervillains). Loki, the smooth-talking god of mischief officially announced himself as bisexual, a day after it was revealed that Batman got flak from DC bosses for going down on Catwoman in the animated series Harley Quinn.

As a court reporter with Mumbai’s leading newspapers, I got a ringside view of a crucial period in Sanjay Dutt’s life: the 1993 Mumbai blasts trial. It was difficult to figure him out. Either he was a genuinely humble man, or the artist in him put up a great act knowing full well that he’d get away easy.

I thought moving out would be about no deadlines, no curfews, and no rules. But it is about waiting for a plumber, paying rent and bills, waking up early to fill the water tank, and eating bland, self-cooked food. I didn’t do drugs, I did dishes.

I tried to be rational when I found out that my father was having an affair. But I was only drawing more lines for him to toe, for his halo to remain untarnished.

The Eids of my childhood weren’t spectacular or unforgettable, but they are still imprinted in my memory because at that time, the day didn’t exist as an excuse to impress others. Unfortunately, today, Eid has been reduced to a routine.

Sudhir Mishra’s Inkaar uncovers the complexity of workplace harassment. The 2013 film highlights a key feature of twisted power dynamic and gender politics: That while organisations may encourage women employees to speak up, when push comes to shove, people shall protect their own interests first and conveniently side with where the power lies.

I was 12 when my father first touched me inappropriately. It took me reading about Lolita, more than a decade later, inciting and luring her stepfather into intimacy to realise that my first experience of any form of sexual pleasure came from my own father.

Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hai!, India’s current tele favourite, sings to a popular fad that has, for long, tantalised a large section of the Indian male audience – desi pop culture's favourite figure, the bhabhi. Our fixation with the bhabhi in entertainment, is only an extension of our secret fantasies.

How did we get to this troubling nadir, where Indian citizens in Mizoram are looking to China for help, and not the government? The answer lies in what the Citizenship Bill could entail – and Mizoram’s treatment of its ethnic minority group, the Chakmas.

For the first 3/4th of the pandemic, I took pride in being responsible. My resolve remained absolute, my discipline unwavering in the wake of those setting worse examples around me – flocking to Goa, pubbing. Eventually, I gave in. I started travelling and doing things I don’t do even in a normal year, like attending weddings. But each of these outings is accompanied by guilt.

In Chhapaak, Vikrant Massey plays a journalist turned activist whose wardrobe speaks fluent FabIndia. In a video track from the movie, Massey serves looks as if it is Patrakar Fashion Week. Did he buy these clothes on EMI? Does he not have a deadline to miss?

Mirch Masala tells the story of a feisty village belle who becomes an object of lust for the new tax collector. Smita Patil’s Sonbai continues to inspire generations of women even today as she asserts complete sexual autonomy and agency over her own body.

Amazon Prime Video’s The Tomorrow War is one of those rare sci-fi action films that has it all – an emotional core, a fascinating time-travel twist, gruesome enemies and yet a reassuringly human heart.

As Indian girls, we are raised with the strict instruction that our bras should not be hung out to dry like the rest of the dirty linen we wash in public. Perhaps the reason that the bra has come to be a trigger garment is not because men can’t deal with it, but because with all our hiding we haven’t really given them a chance to.

Legendary playback singer SP Balasubrahmanyam passed away at a private hospital in Chennai on Friday at the age of 74. Winner of six national awards, Balasubrahmanyam sang songs for five decades, for generations of actors, from MGR, Shivaji Ganesan and Gemini Ganesan, to the stars of the day.

Awards season 2020 kicked off at last night’s Golden Globes, and with big-name celebrities, naturally, comes fashion. Forget saving their best outfits for the Oscars, the Golden Globes red carpet saw stars pulling out all the stops.

I’m 30 and I’ve never been in a serious relationship. That’s because I’ve never been in love before. Today, I can’t bring myself to go through the ordeal that is modern dating. Or maybe I’m single at heart.

A year into our arranged match, my husband and I decided to get into an open relationship. It’s done wonders for our marriage.

At the Kumbh Mela, I was caught unaware by a daunting display of dicks only to realise that here, the penis is neither a fetish nor a symbol of sexual prowess. In the world of the spiritually striving, it’s a repository of sacred power and ascetic control.

In August 2007, I scored an interview with Dawood Ibrahim’s sister Haseena Parkar. It ended with D-Company goons chasing me down the streets of Mumbai, baying for my blood.

I grew up in Mumbai’s most popular suburb and my favourite memories are linked to its old bakeries. On a homesick day, nothing but a chicken jungli sandwich from Candies will do.

A youngster traverses the distance from a shady “massage parlour” in Siliguri to a plush New Delhi spa.

Moin is a gangster from Mumbai’s Sewri neighbourhood, who worked for Chota Shakeel. The sharpshooter told us about his first hit and how people peed their pants when faced with a gun.

It took me a long time to muster the courage to watch a porn video. Unlike the guys I grew up around, the pursuit of pleasure continues to be coloured by a patina of embarrassment.