In search of a happy ending

The Amazon Prime series ‘Modern Love’ is a reinvention of a ‘New York Times’ column about relationships Hollywood has perfected the art of taking a cliché, shaking it, not stirring it mind you, and giving us a Modern Love with a New York-sized olive to chew on. Fifteen years after they started a column called […]

An offbeat film fair

Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) directors Ritu and Tenzing talk about its journey, vision and challenges The eighth edition of the Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) is scheduled to take place from November 7 to 10, 2019 at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA), McLeodganj, Dharamshala. DIFF is conceptualised by filmmakers Ritu Sarin and […]

‘I am inspired by real people’

Displaying more of his versatility, Govind Namdev is moving from TV serials and films to web series with realistic themes Over the last three decades, Govind Namdev has built a strong reputation as a versatile actor known for getting into the skin of characters. Originally hailing from Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, the NSD alumnus is best […]

Season of spies

Amazon Prime’s Family Man takes on Netflix’s Bard of Blood. Who comes out on top? “Why should we try to contact home with information when our country doesn’t care for us?” a captive Indian spy asks his comrade, urging him to escape. They are prisoners in a safe house of the Taliban, deep in Pakistan’s […]

Call for diversity

Hollywood has realised the value — and profitability — of diversity in stories, cast and crew. India is not far behind Bollywood might be inspired by Hollywood in multiple ways — from movie plots to the industry’s name itself — but when it comes to social diversity, Bollywood is oddly sparing. Diversity is not a […]

Don’t blame the victim

Netflix’s series Unbelievable is a lesson for journalists and police on how to report and investigate rape In 2016, the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting was awarded to An Unbelievable Story of a Rape by T Christian Miller of ProPublica and Ken Armstrong of The Marshall Project “for a startling examination and exposé of law […]

A deep-rooted tale

Nirmal Chander’s documentary Moti Bagh, based on the struggles of an 83-year-old farmer, has been nominated for the Oscars this year “So many hands in the kitchen, and one in the field – cannot be productive,” says the 83-old farmer. For more than five decades, Vidyadutt Sharma has been struggling to take care of his […]

Dream Girl: A missed chance?

The disappointment with the film lies in its inability to actually engage with and address the issues arising out of small town Indian male fantasies and loneliness “Ayushmann Khurrana’s Dream Girl is on a rampage. The film has minted Rs 16.42 crore on the second day of its release,” gushed India Today on September 15. […]