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Monday, March 30, 2026
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Beyond The Reel

Bollywood has a new Ramayana romance. All muscle and swagger

In the last 2 years, a slew of Ramayana-inspired films—Adipurush to Singham Again—have reimagined mythological characters as hypermasculine warriors. ‘It’s the preferred image for its politics’.

Firearms, forests & fugitives constant in Bollywood’s Naxal films—politics keep changing

From Ghaath and Bastar: A Naxal Story to Newton and Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa, Indian filmmakers keep coming back to Naxal themes. Who’s the hero or villain depends on who’s telling the story and when.

Karz, 1980 cult classic gave us Simi Garewal as Lady Macbeth and youth anthem Om Shanti Om

Audience initially rejected Rishi Kapoor's reincarnation movie. But like the ugly duckling that turned into a swan, Karz's fan base grew. Today it enjoys cult classic status.

‘Angry Young Men’ is not just about Salim-Javed’s journey. It’s the history of 1970s India

Amazon Prime Video’s Angry Young Men shows that biopics are being dethroned by OTT documentaries. People want more of The Romantics, Modern Masters: S. S. Rajamouli—raw and real glimpses into lives of stars.

Bollywood is finally getting sports right. Chandu Champion to Soorma, Mary Kom

Chandu Champion does justice to the comeback tale, just like Shimit Amin did with Chak De! India.

Tribal life and Christian missionaries clash in this Garo film about outsiders

Meghalaya isn't known for filmmaking. But Dominic Sangma is changing that in a state with only two movie theatres. his Garo-language film Rapture was released across 33 French cities.

Panchayat to Laapataa—villages on OTT are Gandhian simplicity or Ambedkar’s den of ignorance

From quiet feminism in Laapataa Ladies to TVF’s smash hit Panchayat, a nostalgia-infused Indian rural landscape has found a firm footing in the world of OTT viewership.

Why’s Bollywood obsessed with Tawaifs? ‘Heeramandi’ brings back the stereotypes

According to Pakistani film critic Omer Adil, filmmakers of the subcontinent have created a fantasy chimaera, a celluloid courtesan, which has nothing to do with tawaifs.

Why’s Bollywood obsessed with Vijay Mallya? Neeyat, Crew tap into a lingering fantasy

Crew trains its guns on Mallya from the get-go – showcasing his famous ‘gift packs’ and ‘welcome videos’, and dressing its on-screen stewardesses in Kingfisher-like red uniforms.

Bastar to Article 370—Bollywood propaganda movies boosting BJP soft power

As the country hurtles toward the general election, more propaganda films are set to follow: Accident or Conspiracy: Godhra, The Sabarmati Report, and Emergency.

On Camera

How West Asia crisis can play out for PM Modi and BJP in Assembly polls

While the Russia-Ukraine war saw the BJP projecting PM Modi as a ‘vishwaguru’ who could end international conflicts, the party has made a nuanced shift in its electoral strategy vis-à-vis the West Asia war.

Foreign investors dump record $12 bn India stocks in March on war

Soaring energy costs have hurt oil-importing Asian peers, but the scale of outflows from India points to already bearish global sentiment.

1st batch of 2,000 India-made Israeli Negev LMGs delivered to Army; 4,000 more to be delivered this year

The Indian Army is set to get another 4,000 of these LMGs as part of a contract signed in August 2024 to replace the 5.56x45mm INSAS LMG.

Gulf war exposed India’s fragilities. It’s time for navel-gazing, in the national interest

It’s easy to understand why the government can’t speak the hard truth. When this war ends, as all wars do, India’s interests will lie with both the winner and the loser.