In a country where a mother of three babies is a five-time World Amateur Boxing champion, has represented India at the Olympics and won a medal, we recently had the director of Sultan defending his decision to show a pregnant wrestler meekly giving up her Olympic dreams while her husband hops from one international success to another. Because, […]
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Tag: salman khan
Salman Khan: Analogies And Apologies
Garv: Pride and Honour was a movie Salman Khan starred in 2004. The film was about how the righteous brother and upright cop played by Salman avenges the rape of his sister. We will get to the irony of that theme later but this film directed by Puneet Issar was insufferable, tacky and turned rape into, like […]
Vicky Kaushal : The Year Of Miracles
Vicky Kaushal in Masaan was unflinching and brave without any of the manufactured bravado we associate with a Hindi film debut. He was just part of a narrative, a face in a rich and teeming ensemble cast but then you started to notice a shy smile, a gaze that lingered when he sparred over the spice […]
How Bollywood Ceased To Be About Us
Over a decade ago, at Alliance Francaise de Bangalore, I spoke with a youthful conviction on why Hindi cinema must never be dismissed as just another drug to keep the masses oblivious to the real issues of governance, poverty, disenfranchisement, corruption and more. When gently asked by the moderator, why Hindi cinema could not be […]
Aruna Shanbaug: Death Without Closure
Aruna Shanbaug died this week. Officially. She now merits tributes and a formal farewell though cognitive and full-bodied life, as she knew it, ended in 1973. How can anyone make sense of how the light in her was snuffed out with a dog chain during a rape so ghastly that it rendered her comatose for […]
Not Human Enough?
In 1982, my mother was hit by a truck on her way to the school where she taught. The driver fled and a man who was driving a jeep, thankfully stopped, picked her up and brought her to the hospital and then somehow found a way to get in touch with us. I remember being […]
Forgiving the Unforgivable
When South-African sporting legend Oscar Pistorius’ trial post the tragic and gruesome murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp turned into a television soap opera, I remember thinking just how ironic is it that the word, ‘icon’ has also the word ‘con’ in it. How truth about guilt does not matter as long as the perception […]
Why Are Women Trolled On The Net?
A certain section of Internet users need scapegoats and heroes. They need constant debate. About whether the cat is coming down or going up the staircase. Whether a dress is blue or white and gold. Whether Prince Harry was right in refusing a selfie with a fan. Some of us want to see the last […]
When Mediocrity Is King
Mediocrity is king on Indian television. Nothing demonstrates this better than Sanjeev Kapoor walking into the set of Junior Master Chef India on a red carpet to the tune of Azeemo-shaan Shehenshah! The Shehenshah in question has multiple shows on his imaginatively titled channel Food Food and another one on a mainstream channel. Sometimes he […]
The Con In Icon
The word icon is used so cheaply today. The fact that it has the word, con in it may have something to do with it. Perception is more important than substance. Image more important than truth. Marketing more important than creating. Fame and shame sometimes are not indistinguishable. And somehow it doesn’t matter. So strong […]
Television’s Most Terrible
It’s that time of the year once again when we catch up with television celebs who brought into our bedrooms the most unbearable rubbish. Guys and gals, you nearly killed us when we went banging our heads against our television screens. For that you get some new year resolution suggestions that might make us like […]
Bodyguard: Beyond Logic
It is futile to review a Salman Khan film. He defies the reasons why reviews are written. After Wanted and Dabangg and Ready, the template of a Salman hit has crystallised to include a few essentials. An unusual name. In the case of the film in question, it is Lovely Singh. A signature dance move. […]