In an age, especially one ravaged by the pandemic, where human relationships have become harder to hold and keep my cat has anchored my otherwise unhinged life, by simply becoming the subject of my love and care.

Bafflingly large in scale, immaculately detailed, resoundingly acted, Shoojit Sircar’s Sardar Udham is revolutionary filmmaking in the context of the patriotic Bollywood film.

Rashmi Rocket, despite its predictability is shouldered by excellent performances and a crucial question that applies not just to the world of sport but more so, outside it – the question, what constitutes a woman?

Four years after the MeToo, not much has changed, except men’s ability to readily claim victimhood when confronted and the ease with which - thanks to the pandemic - they can expect women to play second fiddle.

In a world overrun with links and emojis, I want to resurrect mix-tapes, love letters, and physical greeting cards, not out of a misguided romantic notion of the pre-digital era but as tangible evidence of the relationships I’ve had and worked hard to keep alive.

For years I followed the dictum that rejecting Bhagat’s work was some sort of qualifier for a better, more intellectual palate. It is perhaps ‘woke’ to trash his books. But it took me years to realise that he may have done more for reading in this country, than any other author writing in his time.

Aryan Khan’s arrest and the debate over the morality of the elite that has followed is symptomatic of a new national pastime – holding celebrities to moral standards we won’t demand within our families, in our neighbourhoods or from our politicians. It’s pointless, but there are enough profiteers, who’d rather have this circus go on and on.

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.

The pandemic has introduced such lethargy into our systems that we struggle to even do bare minimum of modern day socializing – text each other. To re-enter the world, I realised would take gargantuan effort, for this pandemic has turned even formal socializing into a ‘project’.

A lot of men like to think they are feminist because they order in groceries and do the dishes once in a while in the absence of the maid. But subsequently, the burden of carrying the domestic front falls on the woman. The pandemic has perhaps changed that in my home, but for most women it will only be a wishful blip on the radar of responsibility.

Angst is a formless shapeless ghost that hounds our mind and heart. People, sometimes unknowingly, invent ways to escape but often struggle and eventually, even give in.

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In a world where we are talking about sex more than ever only to find it just as frustrating to navigate, Amia Srinivasan’s 6-part essay collection The Right to Sex serves as a manifesto on what direction this conversation can, perhaps, take.

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Jennifer Aniston’s career was largely limited to latching onto the leftover charms of Rachel, her career-defining role in Friends. But with The Morning Show, she has made the leap no one would have thought she would.

For the longest time, my absurd theories on sex and intercourse were influenced by the taboos associated with it. Incredibly, even the ‘sex education’ available on paper, only held me back, as it does scores of other children in this country.

Don’t Breathe 2 doesn’t have the urgency or the novelty of the first film, but it has enough dreary twists, hideous characters and another solid, if ugly, performance by Stephen Lang (the blind guy).

My old social media posts, especially those on Facebook often feel like a nightmarish journey back in time. But they are also clues to the way we absorb the world and learn to eventually, navigate it as adults.

Bhoot Police is anchored by a terrifically unhinged Saif Ali Khan who along with other adept performances gives us a film that though formulaic has its fair share of entertainment and memorable moments.

Nayak tugs at middle-class righteousness which explains its cult following on Indian television. Like any good hypnotic trick it lets you believe that come the time of opportunity, it’s only the good in us that will surface. It’s a far-fetched dream, but one worth seeing over and over again.

Literature teachers are heavily romanticised in cinema, and for good reason. It takes a poetic perspective on life to escape the specificities of science and mathematics. Literature teachers help us find ourselves through stories and poetry when we’re growing up, and that’s what makes them so special.

Superhero films are underpinned by obvious tropes. But in its first female led outing, Black Widow could have been Marvel’s opportunity to come of age with the rest of the world. Instead, it choses to retreat to formula and with it to an unremarkable film.

I’ve never been comfortable admitting that I despise driving and lack the enthusiasm most share around automobiles in general. It has made witnessing and understanding the fandom behind the Fast and Furious franchise all the more fascinating.

Malayalam new wave cinema is all the rage right now, consistently putting out trendsetting films that have become a point of obsessions for cine lovers from across the country. But not just the new wave, Mollywood has produced some classics before as well.

Karan Johar’s film was ahead of its time in terms of context, but conservative, ultimately in its tropes and education. It could have been so much more had the director not felt apologetic for broaching the topic in the first place.

It requires a particular kind of naiveté, of course, to believe that all human beings have access to, or resources for, the creation of beauty in a way that can become life-defining. Beauty that is the bedrock of most self-help books.

When there are battles to be fought, when there is a hostile takeover of a land and way of living, there is suffering, and much of it is female. Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan is just another chapter in the long history of women and children paying the price for conflicts between men.

This chaotic end to a 20 year relationship that the US coaxed the Afghan people into is also the site of American decadence and a screaming contradiction to the culture of supremacy it spawns through art and film.