In one of my aimless afternoon browsing spells on the internet, I come across this piece in Tehelka about the Ramsay scion watching and evaluating Haunted, Vikram Bhatt’s new horror movie in 3D. Shyam Ramsay, given the family’s experience in successfully scaring the masses with movies like Aakhri Cheez and Shaitani Ilaka, is disappointed by… Continue reading The Many Bhoots of Bollywood
Category: In Print
Selected published features
Sketches of the past
A few years ago, an unlikely goddess was added to India’s already overpopulated pantheon. Going by the name of Savita Bhabhi (meaning sister-in-law), she gave a new twist to the term comic strip: she was India’s first pornographic cartoon character. A 29-year-old housewife, Bhabhi had a dedicated website and thousands of dedicated followers. But just… Continue reading Sketches of the past
The blog is endangered
No, not mine. My piece on the state of blogging is in this week’s issue of Open. Have a looksee. I had called it: The blog is dead, long live the blog. Or read it here – The email came out of the blue one morning—Desipundit was shutting down. After five years of collating ‘the… Continue reading The blog is endangered
The wonder years
50 years of Doordarshan : an unabashed, nostalgic tribute to the golden years of Doordarshan – published in the November issue of FlyLite, the inflight magazine of Jet Lite. *** It is a late Wednesday evening over three decades ago, in a suburban home in Chennai. The family has had an early dinner and is… Continue reading The wonder years
Bell Bajao! A call to action to end domestic violence
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Here is a piece on the simple but impactful Bell Bajao campaign that I had written for Himal long ago, for International Women’s Day. It is a lazy Sunday morning for the man in his pyjamas, as he sips his tea and reads the newspaper. Tries to read the… Continue reading Bell Bajao! A call to action to end domestic violence
The Gauls must be crazy!
My piece on 50 years of Asterix and the indomitable Gauls (who fear nothing but the sky falling on their heads) appeared in today’s Mid-day. I don’t know what reading Asterix as a child did for you, but it gave me a warped understanding of history. For the longest time, what I knew of world… Continue reading The Gauls must be crazy!
A story in dance
I recently watched a Kathakali recital at the Chembur Fine Arts Society in Mumbai. The performance that evening was based on the story of the wicked king Jarasandha who is supposed to have lived in the time of the Mahabharata. Over a two hour period, the performers enacted a piece called Jarasandha Vadam (the conquest… Continue reading A story in dance
Kala Ghoda, Khotachiwadi
Caught a couple of days at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival this year. Photographs and thoughts at the Kala Ghoda Gazette… People watching – the most fun anywhere… Worried about the future – what are your chances for a forein tuou or edueotion? Crouching man, hidden meaning – depths of understanding from a crowded evening… Continue reading Kala Ghoda, Khotachiwadi
The fort of dreams
At a time when the world had long ago discovered the greens and blues of Kerala, the alluring backwaters of Alleppy and the warm beaches of Kovalam (and perhaps getting tired of the same images), director Maniratnam put a small spot in North Kerala on the map. Thanks to his evocative shots of lovers torn… Continue reading The fort of dreams
Southasian Shakespeare
Last year, I watched two different productions of A midsummer night’s dream – the first at the open air amphitheatre of Regent’s Park in London. It was midsummer, the perfect setting for that play and just the perfect play for that setting – the trees rustling above, doves flying, the sun shining on well into… Continue reading Southasian Shakespeare