Gehraiyaan Puts in a Surface-Level Effort to Portray Complex Relationship Issues and Childhood Trauma
Gehraiyaan (the depths) is Dharma Productions’ Amazon Prime movie which appears to be a family-drama/romance in the beginning but soon loses itself in the depths of pseudo-psychothriller/surrealism. The plot revolves around the frustrated, distraught Alisha (Deepika Padukone), who is in…
Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein is a Promising Homage to Pulp Bollywood Films of Yesteryears
Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein is a throwback to pulpy 90s Bollywood classics like Baazigar, which makes sense since the show gets its name from one of the film’s songs. It’s about romance, violence, and plot twists, and when it comes…
Inside Edge Amps Up the Drama in its Third Season (and Also Humanizes its Antagonists)
Inside Edge was one of the first Indian web series to capture the audience’s imagination. It mixed high-voltage cricket with behind-the-scenes dealings such as illegal betting and match-fixing. Arriving after a two-year break, the third season shifts the action to…
Little Things Season Four Closes on an Understated, Wholesome Note
Little Things season one had premiered on Dice Media’s YouTube Channel in 2016 and after garnering over 15 million views within days, Netflix picked it up from season two. From thereon, Little Things catapulted to global recognition overnight. The series tells the…
Pagglait Reflects on 13 Days of Grief, Self-Discovery and Rebirth
Pagglait packs the classic elements of a Bollywood funeral into one story-- the going-ons beyond the mourning in the form of gossip, financial uncertainties and personal tensions, all camouflaged under awkward remembrance of the dear departee. Yet the movie distinguishes…
Bombay Begums is An Incomplete Tale of Unconventional Women
Through a 13-year-old’s voiceover (Shai, played by Aadhya Anand), directors and screenwriters Alankrita Shrivastava and Bornila Chatterjee underline the narrative of Bombay Begums placing Rani (Pooja Bhatt), the newly appointed CEO of the fictional Royal Bank of Bombay in the…
Bombay Rose tells A Nostalgic Tale of Ancient Love
“The warmth still lingers today from the comfort that left me yesterday.” AsI finished watching Bombay Rose, this line from the 2018 anime anthology, Flavors of Youth kept running circles through my brain. I cannot help but get overwhelmed by feelings…
The White Tiger Takes on Class Dynamics, and One Man’s Determination to Rise Above Them
“The story of a poor man’s life is written on his body, in a sharp pen.” Directed by Ramin Bahrani, Netflix's The White Tiger is a gripping adaptation of Arvind Adiga's Booker Prize winning novel of the same name. Apart…
Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors Tackles Important Issues, Set under the Backdrop of a Murder Case
Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors is the second season of the Criminal Justice series, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t accessible to viewers who haven’t watched the first season. Following on the footsteps of the original series on BBC, Behind…
Tandav is a Slow-Paced Political Thriller That Squanders its Strong Acting Performances
If you saw Tandav’s trailer, you might have already seen the warning signs. Sure, the show boasts a stellar cast and a director (Ali Abbas Zafar) who is known for directing Salman Khan blockbusters, but its story is overblown and…