scorecardresearch
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
HomeFeaturesAround Town

Around Town

Before ‘Paatal Lok’, director Avinash Arun was insecure. ‘School of Lies’ made him a risk-taker

For five years after winning a National Award, Avinash Arun Dhaware did not direct. Instead, he found solace as a cinematographer. From Irrfan Khan to Vicky Kaushal, he has shot the who’s who of Bollywood.

India Space Congress shows the need to bridge gender gap—ISRO must stand up, men must sit down

Space entrepreneur Dr Susmita Mohanty pointed out that ISRO was repeating the same mistake that NASA made in 1960s, calling for initiatives to bridge the gender gap.

‘Who killed Moosewala?’ The answer is not simple, says author of new book

Journalist and author Jupinderjit Singh's book takes the reader from the fields of Moosa to the corridors of Tihar, leaving the reader to discern who the killers of Moosewala are.

Parasite to Past Lives—PVR is in on K-culture boom. Audience is now ‘mature, language agnostic’

PVR has been screening concert films of K-pop bands since 2018. Their other biggest international draw is anime. Suzume, released in April across 85 cities collected Rs 10 crore

Ghee in risotto, Mexican bhel—Tarla Dalal made international cuisine accessible

She was the first cookbook author to receive a Padma Shri. Now Dalal is making history once again as the first Indian chef to get their own biopic, Tarla, starring Huma Qureshi.

UPSC, NEET hub Mukherjee Nagar is a fire hazard, costly, lacks mentors. A daily ‘battle’

Students say ‘there is no point’ asking for guidance from institutes solely focused on zipping through course materials and flaunting toppers.

Badass Begums — A new heritage walk of Old Delhi is all about Kothas & courtesans

Mughal princesses and princes were sent to kothas to learn elite etiquette or train in music and dancing. They were the ‘etiquette institutions’ of the Mughal era, said the tour leader Anoushka Jain.

Jai Shri Ram chants, mantras, garlands—what happened when JNU screened 72 Hoorain

After screening Kashmir Files & Kerala Story in the past, JNU's Vivekananda Vichar Manch attracted the biggest audience for 72 Hoorain. The aim is to battle the dominant narrative.

Jungle life is wilder than you know. Ex-IFS officer’s new book reveals politics of forest

Former forest officer Sunayan Sharma said that people don’t know much about what forest life actually looks like, especially the challenges faced foresters who deal its complexities.

IAS officers on how they deal with politicians’ pressure. Sheila Dikshit to Mamata Banerjee

Retired IAS officer Sanjeev Chopra said working with Mamata Banerjee was difficult for him. That's generally the case with CM-driven parties, he said.

On Camera

Bihar mimics 19th-century American South. Citizenship is now weaponised to exclude voters

Disenfranchisement by institutional fiat is profoundly undemocratic. The effect of the ECI's new documentary process in Bihar will tilt the scales in favour of the BJP.

India-US set to ink mini trade deal soon, reach understanding on agricultural & dairy products

Mini deal will likely see no cut in 10% baseline tariff on Indian exports announced by Trump on 2 April, it is learnt, but additional 26% tariffs are set to be reduced.

Not just AK-203, India & Russia to jointly manufacture AK-19 and PPK-20 for domestic use and export 

India-Russia JV is also racing to deliver 7,000 more AK-203 assault rifles by 15 Aug. These are currently being made with 50% indigenisation and this will surge to 100% by 31 December.

Strategic partner one day, tactical nightmare the next: India’s learning Trumplomacy the hard way

Public, loud, upfront, filled with impropriety and high praise sometimes laced with insults. This is what we call Trumplomacy. But the larger objective is the same: American supremacy.