Films such as Kabir Singh and Animal have normalised toxic masculinity to the point where the gentleness of Arun in the 1976 film Chhoti Si Baat is almost disorientating.
Rakesh Roshan, never known for his success in leading roles, outshines Rishi Kapoor in 1975’s Khel Khel Mein, Bollywood’s first college murder thriller.
The beauty of Basu Chatterjee’s storytelling in Khatta Meetha was that he didn’t show remarriage as something frowned upon or in need of justification.
Khandhar’s emotional core lies in what is left unsaid. Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah's towering performances convey unspoken yearning and forbidden longing without relying on dialogues.
Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore played a couple falling apart in Aavishkar. Basu Bhattacharya based it on his own marriage and even filmed it in his house.
Rajesh Khanna brings a rare sensitivity to the character of Raju. His interactions with the elephants exude authenticity—so much so that one forgets he’s acting.
The grandmother's insistence on consulting a girl’s astrological birth chart to determine her capacity to bear a son underlines how superstition and patriarchy are deeply intertwined.
The 1963 film Dil Hi Toh Hai, starring Raj Kapoor and Nutan, is a compelling outlier in the ‘Muslim Social’ genre. It defied conventions, even if gently.
Over millennia, men, social groups, and countries have fought over land, resources, women, even honour, but the arrival of Abrahamic monotheism brought in a...
This special edition of Cut The Clutter, straight from the Siliguri corridor, details the strategic importance of the narrow strip of land in West Bengal, and how it’s a vital link connecting the Northeast to the rest of India.
We now live in a world order that will keep shifting. India must use this window. This also means we remain disciplined enough not to be knee-jerked into reacting to what Pakistan sees as its moment in the sun.
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