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Tuesday, December 2, 2025
TopicBeyond the Reel

Topic: Beyond the Reel

Long before Mahsa Amini, Iranian cinema has fought hijab in small rebellions

From Abbas Kiarostami to Rakshan Bani-Etemad and Mania Akbari, for Iranian filmmakers it has been a carefully choreographed waltz of rebellion against stifling hijab rules.

India has no TV, OTT content for its nearly 50 crore GenZs. It’s still a millennial machine

From Rang De Basanti to TVF, millenials saw entire industries represent them in pop culture. For Gen Z, we have only scratched the surface.

The eyes, chico, they never lie — It’s Shefali Shah’s era and we are just living it

In a world of male character actors in OTT, be it Manoj Bajpayee, Pankaj Tripathi or Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Shefali Shah has quietly blazed her way to the top.

If Tolkien’s work is the Bible, then Amazon Prime’s ‘Rings of Power’ is a litany of sins

Rings of Power is glorified fan fiction with a multi-million dollar budget.

Rajinikanth to Dhanush, how Tamil stars have portrayed politics of ‘freebies’

In his 1993 film Valli, 'Superstar' Rajinikanth urged crowds to diss freebies and ask for employment.

R. Madhavan is slowly fashioning himself as the Akshay Kumar of the south

Madhavan is fast walking into a political hall of fame inhabited by stars such as Kangana Ranaut and Akshay Kumar.

Modi, Ajit Doval are firing up movie and show plots too – FIR, Uri, Shoorveer

FIR is an example of getting things right in a national security-based thriller. The PM and NSA are not cardboard cutouts.

After Mammootty and Mohanlal, who? Fahadh Faasil is the new poster boy of Malayalam cinema

Fahadh Faasil won’t play your garden-variety hero. He’s bending the norms, creating his own multiverse and getting pan-Indian acclaim.

Gangs of Wasseypur ended plastic NRI dramas. Gritty small towns have ruled Bollywood since

Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur introduced audiences to masterful storytelling in small-town India and foreshadowed the raw creative OTT boom.

‘People’s man’ of Tamil cinema Vijay Sethupathi never plays a character. He becomes them

In Sethupathi's latest film 19(1)(a), his character is silenced by a bullet. But the actor is much like the film—he speaks only through his performances.

On Camera

RSS is warming up to Yogi Adityanath. CM has many more boxes to tick

It’s not just the Opposition parties Yogi Adityanath has to contend with. His detractors within the BJP are no less formidable.

Modi govt’s PM internship scheme saw high attrition in Year 1. Just 30% joined, 41% quit midway

According to government reply in Lok Sabha, the pilot phase of PMIS is being used to test concepts, strategies and systems before a full-scale implementation of the scheme.

After Op Sindoor, India goes in for more Heron Mk IIs; Israel frontrunner for mega MALE drones deal

Order for 87 MALE drones will be split between 2 Indian firms in 64:36 ratio to ensure there are 2 independent manufacturing lines with at least 60% indigenous components.

Gaali cricket: Bavuma stands tall, India’s Test ego cut to size

The India-South Africa series-defining fact is the catastrophic decline of Indian red ball cricket where a visiting team can mock us with the 'grovel' word.