The paradox of being a common man
The month of May this year has been over-flowing with bold strokes and brilliant strikes. Yes, one can think of everything from cricket to politics and from nabbing terrorists to tickling the media at the right time. We have all realized that even ten seconds in front of a button can spell anything from prosperity...
The Pokhran Explosions
Pokhran 1998 wasn’t just about a series of underground nuclear explosions to impress the world or to frighten and quieten our neighbours, but to work as a viable deterrent to outside powers as in the past 2500 years it has invariably been foreign invaders in the sub-continent not once but many times. What happened 20...
Freedom to decide
Amitabh did not care about what people would say and decided to follow his dream to enter the world of films. I remember this story that senior manager in a company told me when the interview hopped from the tenets of sales and marketing to my wanting to write a novel. He told me that...
You can watch India’s finest films on television
Movie watching isn’t about any Ardh Satya talking about Gangoobai or Massey Sahib recreating a Qissa with a lot of Mirch Masala. Nor is it just about The Good Road to Dharavi that Mammo decides to take. Nor are they forever focused on Ek Doctor ki Maut or asking anyone to follow Gandhi. They do...
A dark and romantic world. Review of ‘Badlapur’
Go on, dedicate as many romantic songs to the moon as you want, it will still continue to have its dark side. Ask the moon about it and it won’t really know about it… and I’m unsure if Raghu, the main protagonist of ‘Badlapur’, really knew about his dark side. The film transits from romantic...
Who got hit? – Review of ‘Chennai Express’
Yes, who got hit? What gets hit is surely not the real in me… and certainly not the fantasy within me. The movie actually made the fantasy genes in me prance with a lot of joy and the real in me was relieved to find a break worth the time spent watching this movie. I...
The Punjabization of insight. Review of ‘Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana’
If you don’t know what rustic philosophising really is, see this movie and know it. The movie takes you straight into the heart of metaphysics that ordinary people repeat and believe in… more so in the untutored villages of Punjab where they whole-heartedly mix and grind it all with slap-stick humour to offer you a...
