The streets of Delhi have spent the better part of recent weeks doing something that streets are historically rather good at: making noise. Be it the famous, or rather, infamous CJP protest; or the currently ongoing protest at Hindu College. Let’s rewind a bit though. The CJP movement began as […]
Movies
When Poetry Became Cinema
There are films that tell stories. And then there are films that breathe poetry. Pyaasa (1957) is the second kind. Directed by Guru Dutt, it is the story of a poet the world refuses to recognise, and every word in the film, every song, every whispered recitation, carries the weight […]
From Pages to Screens: The Everlasting Magic of Harry Potter
It’s been over twenty-five years since readers first crossed the magical threshold of Hogwarts, but the world of Harry Potter is as enchanting today as it was in 1997. What started as a story about an orphaned boy finding out he was a wizard grew into one of the most […]
Teesri Manzil: Indian Cinema’s Coolest Night Out
There are films you watch, and then there are films you feel. Teesri Manzil (1966) belongs firmly in the second category. It doesn’t demand your attention; it seduces it. On the surface, it’s a murder mystery. A young woman dies under suspicious circumstances at a Mussoorie hotel, and her sister […]
Love: Devotion to One Reality
“Find something you love and let it kill you.” There are certain quotes you do not merely admire. You return to them repeatedly, almost unconsciously, at different stages of your life, and each time they reveal another layer of yourself back to you. For me, this quote by Charles Bukowski […]
Behind the Spotlight: A Powerful Tribute to the King of Pop
Unlike most celebrity biopics, this one is much more personal than others; it takes viewers into Michael Jackson’s life (not just the story about how he achieved fame), and shows how he experienced both tremendous success but also constant pressure from others, many people loved him, but ultimately Michael lived […]
A Movie That Cost Indian Cinema Generations: ft. Kaagaz Ke Phool
When we speak of the golden age of Indian cinema, this is what I imagine – A time when films were not merely commercial products but works of art, created by artists who treated cinema like their own children. Kaagaz Ke Phool stands as one of the purest examples of […]
When Society Creates a Saint: Rethinking Guide
Today, in the wake of Dev Anand, I re-watched Guide, and it turned out to be a completely different experience. Earlier, when I watched it, it felt like just another old-school masterclass. But this time, something was different. I don’t know what exactly changed, but it felt like a weight […]
Meet Joe Black — A Review
Martin Brest’s 1998 film “Meet Joe Black” stars Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Claire Forlani and is more than just an imaginative romantic comedy; it is subtitled as “A Philosophical Inquiry into Life and Death”. The story is intriguing: a young man named Joe Black represents Death on Earth to […]
Anurag Kashyap
Whenever I talk about directors who significantly changed the traditional Hindi cinema, Anurag Kashyap’s name always comes up. He isn’t a typical Bollywood director like others who focuses only on big stars, grand sets, and commercially successful formulas. Instead, he focuses more on the script of the story, the characters, […]