When a young man calls a woman a ‘bandi’ in Made in Heaven, he casts the burden of decency upon her shoulders. Kavya Maheshwari explores how the intersection of language, power, and gender in contemporary Indian society reinforces patriarchal norms.

Films like Mrs., The Great Indian Kitchen, Thappad, Dor, and more sparked widespread discussion about the value our society assigns to women’s labour and agency. Sarthak Parashar writes about how the impossible choices faced under patriarchal social obligations—in reel and real life.  

Superfluous, dispensable, and restricted, Netflix’s Indian Matchmaking is as (Un)necessary as arranged marriage itself. An analysis into the flaws of the docu-series—and the deeper flaws it exposes in contemporary Indian culture. By Harshita Murarka.