Jitters in the visa queue 

Pakistani artist Bani Abidi found inspiration in a strange place — Islamabad’s Diplomatic Enclave. She tells Patriot about the tedious protocols involved Shifting weight from one foot to another, hands folded behind or clutching onto folders of documents waiting in lines to be frisked, the nervousness is palpable. Reflecting the psychology of visa waiting rooms, embassy […]

Clear and present outrage 

With the tragic demise of talented actor Sushant Singh Rajput, the debate on nepotism and power play in the Bollywood film industry gains momentum Flashback to 2017:  It was on the infamous “coffee couch” where actor Kangana Ranaut made history. She called out Karan Johar (on his own show) for promoting ‘nepotism’. “Flag bearer of […]

Gossip anonymous

Websites are devoted to scandalous anonymous gossip on celebrities, and the issue’s back in the spotlight with Sushant Singh Rajput’s death “High society has been treated to a sorry spectacle of inebriety during the last two weeks at balls and dinners, and I am glad to say that this shocking example, though unfortunately a woman, […]

Toxicity unleashed

Showing two sides of the coin called toxic masculinity the latest Indian films released on Netflix tell the stories of women’s lives in a man’s world  Note: spoilers ahead. Is it pure coincidence that the two latest Indian films released on Netflix tell the stories of female lives in a man’s world? The films are set in […]

Suicide as spectacle

Sushant Singh Rajput’s death was turned into a spectacle by much of media, especially on TV it was speculative, sensationalised, and irresponsible “Arey! Apni hi film dekh lete, Sushant!” (You should have watched your own movie, Sushant!) This is how News24 chose to report on the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, 34, who allegedly died by […]

Patna loses its star

After Shatrughan Sinha, Sushant Singh Rajput was probably the first actor from the state who could find space as the leading man The house in Rajiv Nagar — a middle-class locality in north Patna — is exactly the sort of place that a government servant’s family would occupy. It’s also the kind of place that […]

Scent of a community

Nicholas Kharkongor’s film Axone explores the travails of young North-easterners living in Delhi as they grapple with racism and the upheavals of relationships, through the course of an eventful day On a hot summer day in Delhi, two young girls set out on a mission to prepare a special North-eastern Dish, Axone Pork, for their […]

Virtuous simplicity

Basu Chatterjee’s legacy is the endearing depiction of middle-class life shorn of melodrama Urban India’s middle-class young man of the 1970s wasn’t always a brooding figure; he wasn’t always angry. And he wasn’t always weighed down by questions of alienation and existence. He could struggle, yet walk with a purposeful gait. His anxieties could be […]