In BADHAAI DO, a small story asks big, bold questions
A poignant, nuanced comedy drama, Badhaai Do (2022) tests the complexities of a lavender marriage in a small Indian city. By Ankur Choudhary
Lyrical Cacophony: Sexuality and Objectification in Bollywood’s ‘Item Numbers’
While the discourse around the ‘item songs’ in Bollywood films usually revolves around the sexually explicit videos, Ankur Choudhary argues that the bigger issue to be tackled is the lyrical content that leans towards the objectification of women.
City On Screen: Banaras to Varanasi
From Water and Lagaa Chunari Mein Daag to Masaan and Mukti Bhawan, Ankur Choudhary examines films about the holy city of Varanasi to uncover the uneasy intersection of culture, gender politics, modernity, and more.
City On Screen: Bombay to Mumbai
A megacity seen through the eyes of its dreamers - Ankur Choudhary writes about dreams, nightmares, hope, and despair at interplay in some of the best cinema about Mumbai.
In the solo play Adhura, Vivek Vijayakumaran explores how, even as we idolise historical and mythological figures, life tests the ideals they embody. Do these tests still liberate us, or do they become burdens that make it harder to make choices? By Sravasti Datta