Aag Ka Darya is Urdu literature at its best on April 1, 2019If a novel forces you to stop now and then and reconsider your own life and its extensions, then there should be no doubt about the eloquent depth of that novel. The story creeps inside you, bit by bit, until it permanently extends itself inside you. For me, such was the experience of reading Aag […]
Midnight in a Perfect Life is a tale of crime and violence on March 31, 2019Michael Collins insists he is not a genre writer. Recently in Toronto as part of the Authors at Harbourfront series, alongside Linwood Barclay and Norway’s Jo Nesbo – two thriller novelists who made no bones about the kind of books they write – Michael Collins stood in front of the microphone and mumbled, “I’m not […]
Amitabh Bachchan’s Pink is a story of women empowerment on March 28, 2019Director Shoojit Sircar is known for making unconventional films like ‘Vicky Donor’, ‘Madras Café’ and ‘Piku’. Every film of his, re-defines the genres and are highly intellectual and at the same time entertaining enough to hold its audience’s attention. ‘Piku’ and ‘Vicky Donor’ also managed to generate a high amount of profit at the box […]
Barefoot Heart is a beautiful tale of personal recollections on March 28, 2019Elva Treviño Hart’s debut work Barefoot Heart, a memoir, documents her family’s experience living and working between Pearsall, Texas, and the fields of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Elva Trevino Hart claims that the memoir has no political motives and is simply an account of her life. Because Elva ultimately went on to earn a high level […]
Udaas Naslain — one of the greatest novels in Urdu literature on March 26, 2019After half a century of its publication, Abdullah Hussain’s novel Udaas Naslain still attracts the attention of critics and readers alike. This novel, along with Quratulain Haider’s novel Aag Ka Darya, has reverberated through the annals of Urdu literary scene for decades. Since no other great Urdu novels displaced them from their enviable position on […]
‘Mary Kom’ — remembering the biopic on legendary female boxer on March 25, 2019There’s a tip that we’re frequently given before going watching a Bollywood movie: “Leave your brains at home.” Omung Kumar’s Mary Kom is one of those titles. Ignore reality, turn a blind eye to the messages that the film unwittingly conveys and dismiss details like how painted-on Priyanka Chopra’s freckles look, and Mary Kom is […]
Small-budget movie is worth every penny you spend to see it on March 24, 2019Well-intentioned but somewhat facile in parts, ‘Sui Dhaaga’ stitches together an agreeable yarn about a small-town wedded couple’s attempt to set up a fashion design business in the face of a slew of daunting challenges hurled at them by their own families and acquaintances as much as their rivals. The film’s lead pair, Varun Dhawan […]
Why ‘Sanju’ is winning all the awards this year on March 23, 2019Bollywood stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan may have legendary careers and staggering worldwide fame, but there is good reason why – of all the living actors that could have been the subject of a Bollywood biopic – it’s Sanjay Dutt who emerged as a viable choice for ‘Sanju’. The son of the iconic […]
Why ‘Neerja’ still inspires us three years after its release on March 22, 2019The incredible film on Pan Am airhostess Neerja Bhanot, who died while helping passengers escape from terrorists on the hijacked flight 73, is based in the year 1986, but the tragedy has greater resonance at a time when the slaying of innocents in the name of ideology has become an almost daily occurrence. Ram Madhvani’s […]
‘Hichki’ — buried under an avalanche of clichés on March 18, 2019The plot of this film is buried under an avalanche of narrative clichés. In her comeback film, Rani Mukherji essays the role of a Tourette Syndrome-afflicted teacher. Full marks right there! However, Hichki, directed by Siddharth P Malhotra, isn’t the kind of class act that does justice to the film’s larger purpose of underscoring the […]