cinema

The gold-studded career of Bappi Lahiri

The gold-studded career of Bappi Lahiri

February 16, 2022

Bappi Lahiri formed part of the Indian music industry for over 50 years. Over these years, he grew as a composer, became one of the most distinct voices of the country, and also debuted as an actor. From grandparents humming to Chalte Chalte to the youth dancing to Tune Maari Ent...

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The new age of Indian documentaries

The new age of Indian documentaries

July 30, 2021

Google defines, a documentary to be “a film or television or radio programme that provides a factual report on a particular subject,” but Manan Kathuria, a 21-year-old aspiring documentarian describes it as “an art of storytelling which exhibits what’s actually there, the...

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Indian thespians pushed out of the limelight by Covid-19 pandemic

Indian thespians pushed out of the limelight by Covid-19 pandemic

May 26, 2021

India is renowned for having one of the most popular and prolific movie industries. According to the American Enterprise Institute, Bollywood surpasses Hollywood in terms of number of movies and moviegoers (1000 movies a year watched by an estimated 3 billion people worldwide). T...

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Breaking the fourth wall in Bollywood

Breaking the fourth wall in Bollywood

May 16, 2021

Vikram Sabharwal slaps his wife Amrita at a party, owing to professional stress. Amrita is as shocked as the audience watching the film. She suddenly turns towards the screen and asks the audience whether they are waiting to watch the rest. She then says that slapping is not “...

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Cinematising Shakespeare

Cinematising Shakespeare

April 23, 2021

While Bollywood will always be indebted to the English playwright, poet, actor and one of the world’s greatest dramatists, William Shakespeare for several successful films like Haider (2014), Maqbool (2003), Omkara (2006), and many others, the gems of adaptations of his plays i...

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Maithili cinema: Awards, appreciation but no viewers

Maithili cinema: Awards, appreciation but no viewers

April 8, 2021

“Maithili cinema’s fate has not changed despite good quality content and awards that we have received in the recent past. We still struggle to get some time on television or even a theatrical release,” says Nitin Chandra, a Maithili filmmaker based in Bihar’s capital Patn...

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Memories of Mogambo

Memories of Mogambo

January 12, 2021

A deep baritone erupts into thunderous laughter and out of the darkness, enters a towering figure, piercing through the mist with a pair of glowing bulbous eyes, chilling enough to stare down generations into submission. “Mogambo khush hua,” (Mogambo is happy) a low voice us...

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Recollections of Bhopal Gas Tragedy on the silver screen

Recollections of Bhopal Gas Tragedy on the silver screen

December 2, 2020

Wednesday, December 2 marks the 36th anniversary of the Bhopal gas tragedy. While 2,259 people were reported dead immediately, on the night of Dec 2-3, 1984, after poisonous gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, the toxic gas affected over a million people....

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50 years of Yash Raj Films: Five underrated films

50 years of Yash Raj Films: Five underrated films

September 25, 2020

From its first romantic drama, Daag: A Poem of Love, released in 1973 to their latest action thriller, Mardaani 2, featuring Rani Mukherjee as Shivani Roy, released in December 2019, Yash Raj Films has been producing gems for Indian cinema for over 50 years now. Founded by late f...

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Recounting feminist tales in Bollywood through horror

Recounting feminist tales in Bollywood through horror

July 22, 2020

Supernatural and horror stories in Indian cinema are the new genre of feminist stories. Female ghosts aren’t there to just haunt people, but also portray patriarchy, social norms and subjugation of women.

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Rishi Kapoor, a shining star across generations

Rishi Kapoor, a shining star across generations

April 30, 2020

In less than 24 hours Irrfan Khan’s co-actor joined him in the final resting place while the entire fandom across generations beyond borders is left speechless and in utter shock. Rishi Kapoor, the evergreen chocolate boy, and the son from the famous Kapoor dynasty of Bollywood...

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Bollywood movies echoing Indian history

Bollywood movies echoing Indian history

October 30, 2019

With Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Panipat set to hit theatres at the end of this year and the announcement of Baiju Bawra by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, here is a look at the period dramas of Bollywood which retold the tales of history.

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