indian cinema
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 career trajectories of child stars in Bollywood
June 18, 2021
While decades ago, child actors were often seen as accessories or cute stand-ins for the bigger stars, with audience attitudes and a shift towards an interest in more realistic content, child actors are becoming invaluable assets to the film industry. A recent example is 9-year-o...
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Adressing Bollywood’s obsession with ‘Brownface’
June 7, 2021
The controversy over an advertisement of skin whitening cream ‘Fair & Lovely’ last year reignited the debate over colour preference that has dogged the Indian society for decades, if not centuries. As the society has chased the idea that beauty is indeed skin deep, the co...
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Revisiting the parallel Indian cinema
May 27, 2021
In the era of 1970s and 80s, Bollywood produced films like Sholay (1975), Qayamat se Qayamat Tak (1988), Karz (1980) and many others that gave audiences angry young men, glamorous dance sequences, a series of over the top love stories and the ‘larger than life’ cinematic univ...
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Four Kannada films vie for glory at New York Indian Film Festival
May 24, 2021
In a first, four Kannada films (three features and one short) will be screened at the New York Indian Film Festival next month. Pinki Elli (2020), Neeli Hakki (2020), Koli Taal (2021) and Pinni (2020) are among movies chosen for the festival. The annual New York Indian Film Festi...
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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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Thirike: Representing Down syndrome on and off screen
March 21, 2021
For several minutes, the camera does not show the other child’s face. There are two children who are the subject of discussion – two little boys just orphaned after the death of their parents. The younger of them – four or five years old, looks worried, anxious, ev...
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Small budget & lesser-known stories: India’s hope for Oscars 2021
March 11, 2021
After being delayed for months because of the ongoing pandemic, the Oscar nominations will finally be announced on Monday at the crack of dawn in Los Angeles. Actor-producer Priyanka Chopra Jonas and singer, songwriter and actor Nick Jonas will announce the 93rd Oscars nomination...
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Prize unwise: Bollywood award shows
March 4, 2021
After a gap of over a year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Bollywood award season has begun again. Dadasaheb Phalke Awards, considered one of the most prestigious awards in Indian cinema, concluded on February 26 and Bollywood actors Deepika Padukone and Akshay Kumar bagg...
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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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Bollywood stuntwomen: Stories of struggle, injuries and sexism
September 2, 2020
Leaping off cliffs, running through fires and jumping out of helicopters are all in a day’s work for Bollywood stuntwomen. Though male stunt artistes continue to dominate the celluloid, female stuntwomen say they feel more welcome than their predecessors. “I got an opportunit...
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Censorship of OTT platforms in India likely
August 5, 2020
Over four years after they made their debut and at a time when they have become the default mode of cinema releases, OTT platforms in India come under scrutiny amidst calls for censorship.
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