Baazigar introduced us to a new weapon of mass destruction, the power of attorney. And Shah Rukh Khan’s Ajay Sharma taught us that if your contact lens game is on point, you can conquer the world.

Our films make us believe that university is like a rave party that goes on for months, where insignificant things like tests and projects barely register. But hostel wardens are worse than Capt Russell – they’ll charge teen guna lagaan and still give you hell if you’ve returned two minutes later than the deadline.

As Tabu signs off the year with her exemplary act in Andhadhun, she is already gearing up for 2019 with two interesting projects. All this while Bollywood has been steering us toward the hyped comebacks of her contemporaries. But Tabu has made us realise that when you are so good at your craft, you never really go away.

Johnny Lever has always been a different kind of “sidekick”. Not only did he support the leading actors but he also saved the film with his presence. He’s always been there to provide catharsis by proxy. In Lever, Indian cinema found its human laugh track.

Dressed in his best gender-bending, haute-couture-meets-chappri attire, Ranveer Singh will enter his bachelor party dancing to the acoustic version of “Tune Maari Entriyan.” This is the last time he will be thrusting his pelvis in public without being penalised with a night on the couch.

Growing up, Durga Pujo was all about garnering a shot of freedom, of carefree behaviour, every single year. But adulting compromises the novelty of Pujo. Now, as an adult, reminiscing about the Pujo of my childhood is possibly my favourite Pujo activity.

You’ve tried all the tricks of the trade. You've played a wannabe Iron Man in Ra.One to yourself in Fan. Now you are playing a dwarf. What's next SRK?

We caught up with Rahul Khanna to find out what happened to him 20 years after Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. He still insists that girls can’t play basketball.

Shah Rukh Khan is looking forward to capping off the year with Anand L Rai’s Zero. But in an age when Bollywood seems to have found new King Ks – in Vicky Kaushal and Ayushmann Khurrana – is the original King Khan’s dominance over our hearts and screens under threat?

With a new ordinance, the practice of triple talaq might finally be on its way out. But the games, it seems, have just begun. The impact triple talaq has had on public discourse, and the number of voices on opposing ends, underscores the different facets of the conversation.

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. There is no better illustration of it than abusive parents, convinced they are only looking out for their kids. Of course, it takes an especially abusive kind of parent to screw someone up as thoroughly as Patrick Melrose, played by Benedict Cumberbatch in Hotstar Premium’s latest Emmy-nominated show

Baghban might have been a superhit when it released, but the film has aged very badly. The most damning part about the film is the reinforcement of the mistaken notion that all adults choosing to live their lives away from their parents, must certainly hate their elders and treat them like trash.

What would happen if Bollywood remade Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther? Prince T’halasa would rule over Bondwana, a kingdom inaccessible to anyone with an Aadhaar card.

Sriram Raghavan’s Andhadhun is a brilliant urban noir thriller. The film is all about clever writing, top-notch execution, and hard-hitting social commentary – but it is also a triumph of casting, and an ode to actors.

Almost 14 years ago, writer-director-producer, Karan Johar did the unthinkable: He brought our favourite Bollywood stars from the big screen, straight into our living rooms. Rarely have our stars been as relatable as they have been on Koffee With Karan.

With the rupee hitting an all-time low, a 10-year-old from Haryana tells shocked relatives he will only accept dollars for kharchi.

Sisters are each other’s strength and weakness – you can’t live with them, can’t live without them. Vishal Bhardwaj’s Pataakha understands this language of sisterhood, where throwing abuses, insults, and jabs at each other is par for the course.

A far cry from the standard alpha-male action hero, Jack Ryan is a mild-mannered protagonist who resembles an unassuming Everyman despite being entrusted with saving the world. In humanising its lead, the show conveys a pertinent idea: Not all spies are born with it.

Sara Ali Khan appeared on Koffee With Karan with her famous abba. It was assumed that she’d be docile like Alia Bhatt or evade questions like Sonam Kapoor. But by the end of Koffee With Karan’s most refreshing episode of the season, she had given the rest of her peers a crash course in individuality.

News reports, think pieces, and analysis aren’t doing the cliffhanger elections in Karnataka any justice. With all the absurd drama that has unfolded this week, our netas deserve their own multi-genre TV show – working title, Kar-Naatak, The Wild Wild State.

The unprecedented success of Badhaai Ho has catapulted Gajraj Rao straight into the spotlight. Although, the actor is no stranger to the Hindi film industry, it’s only in the 25th year of his career that he has become a film’s driving force and is afforded as much screen time as the lead, Ayushmann Khurrana.

The verdict in the Sabarimala hearing is a reminder that Indian religious institutions need to finally end their deep-seated prejudice toward women devotees. Which is why, the Sabarimala judgment isn’t a win – it’s only the start.

When you’re at the airport, there is not much to do other than charge your phone, judge other people, and spend 150 bucks on a samosa. But maybe there is a secret to spending two hours trapped in the overpriced hell of domestic airports without feeling like a penniless outsider.

Anurag Kashyap’s Manmarziyaan is both a manifesto of modern love and a statement against Bollywood's unrealistic portrayal of love triangles. Aided by smart writing and affecting performances, the film subverts the nice guy trope and squashes the idea of the one true love.

Sharat Katariya’s Sui Dhaaga falters in several places, but it shines when the spotlight is on its women. In a film about dignity of labour, Katariya’s mastery is most evident in parts where the focus is on the immense emotional and domestic labour every married small-town woman inevitably shoulders.

Except for their height and education, nothing has really changed about my now grown-up kids. I think I might be the one to blame. I turned into that dreaded beast: the helicopter parent, who controlled their routine, and now my children depend on that control.

With Jio spreading across the country faster than plague in Ancient Rome, there is no excuse for anyone to not watch the India-Pakistan Asia Cup game. Those who show no interest in the match should be immediately likened to Navjot Singh Sidhu, India’s newest “Pakistani puppet”.

Indian fliers are an air hostess’s worst nightmare. They are impolite and impatient. They try to jump queues, pick fights with fellow passengers, and ogle at the crew.

Barely three months after Race 3, Salman Khan has bankrolled another nightmare, by introducing his brother-in-law Aayush Sharma in the hope that he’ll pass off as an actor. If this is not Being Inhuman, we don’t know what is.

In Amar Kaushik’s Stree, gender roles are reversed: Men are forced to comply with society’s impractical rules and police their behaviour for no fault of their own. The film uses its supernatural spirit to imagine a safer world for women, but fails to eventually carry it through.