Debiparna Chakraborty is a film, TV, and culture critic dissecting media at the intersection of gender, politics, and power.
By stripping away the golden filter of the mustard fields, contemporary cinema and television is finally allowing us to see Punjab not as a nostalgic postcard, but as a living, breathing and deeply pained reality that continues to heal from its scars, both old and new.
Tagore was a disruptor. On his 165th birth anniversary, as his sonar bangla awaits its final moments of consummate saffronisation, it is absolutely imperative that we remember Tagore for all he was—a man deeply troubled by the narrowness of nationalism as well as the parochial boundaries of caste, creed and country.
Irrfan Khan never really phoned it in, but he always knew exactly what kind of movie he was in, leaning into the absurdity of the fragile male ego with a knowing wink to the audience.
Amid the rise of fascism and extreme right-wing sentiments across the globe, genocide, wars, fuel shortages, fear of AI-led mass unemployment and more worrying concerns plaguing humanity, a Hollywood studio merger may not seem like a priority issue. But the political implications of this consolidation are glaring.
As Manoj Bajpayee turns 57, here’s a look at his journey from becoming Bhiku Mhatre to Srikant Tiwari. If Satya introduced him to the masses, Anurag Kashyap's epic Gangs of Wasseypur served as the next big catapult, cementing his status as a bonafide cinematic icon in India.
It is July the 4th, Independence Day in the US, and the ER is still full to the brim and tipping over, all the while dealing with internal and external chaos.
The show’s second season, streaming on Netflix, rallies behind the idea that there are no ethical billionaires, irrespective of gender or race. The prevailing thematic thread is that everyone below is just a cog in the wheel, no matter where in the hierarchy they might be in late-stage capitalism.
Big Mistakes on Netflix may not make a lot of sense, but it is highly engaging. In a landscape crowded with self-serious prestige dramas and nostalgia content that teeters on the dark side, chaotic fun is always welcome.
For decades, the “Tragedy Queen” label defined Meena Kumari more like containment, as though her grief was her only recognisable feature. But to look at her beyond the tragedies is to acknowledge that she was more than the many mishaps of her life.
One might argue that holding actors accountable at such a time is mere distraction. But those who have profited off trans lives in India—lives already marked by disproportionate levels of violence and social exclusion—do deserve to be questioned.
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