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The Chakkar - Indian Arts Review
The Fraught Relationship Between Reality and Spectacle in Telugu Cinema
18 October 2026
The Fraught Relationship Between Reality and Spectacle in Telugu Cinema
18 October 2026

The problematic representation of women in many recent Telugu blockbusters like Peddi and the Pushpa films have stoked controversy. When mainstream commercial cinema consistently turns the sexualisation of women into entertainment, who should be responsible for the world these images help create? By Sumithra Prasanna

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18 October 2026
The Gravedigger’s Soliloquy
15 October 2026
The Gravedigger’s Soliloquy
15 October 2026

Poem by Anju Devadas R D: ‘someone once said / the soul is lighter than breath / but the soil keeps secrets / the sky cannot hold.’

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15 October 2026
Guts
12 October 2026
Guts
12 October 2026

Personal Essay by Prachi Sharma: ‘My father pauses in every retelling of this tale. He wants me to see it. A man in the uniform of an Indian working for the English, in a village courtyard in the late 1920s, his face turning to one side from the force of an open palm. The villagers watching. The Daroga’s hand going to his cheek. A pigeon somewhere on the roof, taking off.’

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12 October 2026
Mental Health in India: Purity, Pollution, Caste, and Mental Health
Misc. The Chakkar 23/07/21 Misc. The Chakkar 23/07/21

Mental Health in India: Purity, Pollution, Caste, and Mental Health

In India, our approach and understanding of mental health concerns are often further complicated by the historical weight of the caste-system and a yearning for cultural ‘purity’. By Sadaf Vidha

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Selective Scarcity: A Queer Lens at India’s Health Care Imbalance
Misc. The Chakkar 17/06/21 Misc. The Chakkar 17/06/21

Selective Scarcity: A Queer Lens at India’s Health Care Imbalance

Survival in the pandemic continues to favour the powerful and privileged, while those in the margins face a scarcity and failure of the health care system. Aryan Somaiya and Sadaf Vidha confront this imbalance from a queer lens.

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Mental Health in India: Academic Spaces as Centres of Well-Being and Resilience
Misc. The Chakkar 16/03/21 Misc. The Chakkar 16/03/21

Mental Health in India: Academic Spaces as Centres of Well-Being and Resilience

After a lengthy lay-off, Indian academic institutions have begun to re-open and welcome students back to campus. In interviews with students from around the country, Sadaf Vidha explores how visible and invisible structures in academic spaces affect their mental health.

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Mental Health in India: Gaps in mental health care for India’s LGBTQ+ community
Misc. The Chakkar 09/01/21 Misc. The Chakkar 09/01/21

Mental Health in India: Gaps in mental health care for India’s LGBTQ+ community

There are no special provisions for mental health for India’s sexual minorities, considering that they are often more likely to be economically marginalised, and may need more support. Sadaf Vidha explores the gaps and possible silver linings.  

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Mental Health in India: Religion and mental health distress
Misc. The Chakkar 26/11/20 Misc. The Chakkar 26/11/20

Mental Health in India: Religion and mental health distress

Historically, religion has had a complicated role in serving as an alternative to therapy. Sadaf Vidah explores the opportunities and challenges from both Indian and Western religious traditions in regards to mental health.

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Mental Health in India: Capitalism, Productivity and Mental Health Distress 
Misc. The Chakkar 13/10/20 Misc. The Chakkar 13/10/20

Mental Health in India: Capitalism, Productivity and Mental Health Distress 

How a for-profit society creates not just joblessness, productivity cults, and work anxiety, but also other forms of inequality, leading to a mental health crisis in the country. - By Sadaf Vidah

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Mental Health in India: Looking Through a Filter of Colonialism and Casteism
Misc. The Chakkar 05/09/20 Misc. The Chakkar 05/09/20

Mental Health in India: Looking Through a Filter of Colonialism and Casteism

India has to grapple with both caste and colonisation to get a holistic understanding of mental health issues, stigma, treatment and community interventions. - By Sadaf Vidah

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Stained Khaki: The roots and aggravations of police brutality
Misc. The Chakkar 15/06/20 Misc. The Chakkar 15/06/20

Stained Khaki: The roots and aggravations of police brutality

The lockdown has worsened systematic failures in the Indian police, rooting from implicit biases and leading to more violence. Sadaf Vidha takes stock of the American movement against police brutality to frame against the glaring issues back home in India.

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