Chandni kuch kaha/raat ne kuch suna. [The moon said something, which the night heard]. Soft blue moonlight enters a room awaft in billowing curtains, the full moon’s face gently pushes aside a sheer covering of clouds, and the camera cuts to a mid-level close-up shot of Pooja (Madhuri Dixit) looking dreamily, knowingly at the moon.
The Hidden Melancholy of Yash Chopra Films – Senses of Cinema Read More »
Violence plays an integral role for post-colonial nations. However, violence is not always as explicit as a revolution or military intervention. Its manifestation can be slower and more ideologically charged. The interwoven politics of the central Government of India (hereby, GoI) and Bollywood, the world’s largest popular cinema industry, epitomises this. Bollywood uses soft power,1
Racialisation of the Northeastern Region – Senses of Cinema Read More »
On April 16, 2022, violence broke out between the Hindu and Muslim communities on the outskirts of the northern Indian city Roorkee. The Hindus claimed that a procession to celebrate their festival Hanuman Jayanti, marking the birth of their deity Hanuman, had been pelted with stones by Muslims.1 The incident was not isolated – throughout
How ‘Social Message’ Films Amplify the Indian Government’s Policies – Senses of Cinema Read More »
When High Caste Trumps Low Class! In a recent Netflix series Decoupled (Hardik Mehta, 2022), high profile, upper class/caste couple Arya Iyer (R. Madhavan), a renowned author, and Shruti (Surveen Chawla) a businesswoman, can’t stand the body odour of their driver Ganesh. On Shruti’s insistence a drunk Arya categorically tells Ganesh that he stinks, and
The Caste Blindness of Bollywood NRI Genre Films – Senses of Cinema Read More »
Love per Square Foot (Anand Tiwari, 2018), “Bollywood’s debut on Netflix”1 , is a romantic film with Mumbai as love object2. The opening credits are a montage of the major landmarks of the city with its famous commuter trains. Sanjay Chaturvedi (Vicky Kaushal) and Karina D’Souza (Angira Dhar) are both employees at a large bank,
Devdas is an epic semi-autobiographical Bengali novella written by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. The novel was written in 1901, though was not published until 1917 due to Chattopadhyay’s embarrassment over his story1. He published several novels such as Nishkriti, Parineeta and Srikanta, but Devdas remains his most popular novel. Devdas is a tragic love story of
A Devdas For Every Generation – Senses of Cinema Read More »
Anurag Kashyap is Bollywood’s enfant terrible. The release of his first film Paanch (2003) was prevented by the Indian censors owing to its violent content. The film, loosely based on serial killings that happened in the Indian city of Pune, was banned for its explicit portrayal of violence. His second film Black Friday (2004), a
Anurag Kashyap’s Gulaal – Senses of Cinema Read More »
2010: it’s a cold March afternoon and a group of secondary school students is gathered to watch My Name is Khan (Karan Johar, 2010). The atmosphere is electric: the film has been advertised for a good part of a year and there is a lot of anticipation, not only because Shahrukh Khan and Kajol make
Indian Cinemas, Bollywood and the World – Senses of Cinema Read More »
“No traditional Friday box office opening pressure and no chest-thumping about gross worldwide collections, making the lifespan of films infinite.” In an exclusive discussion with BOC, Mr. Aamod Gupte, Senior Corporate Counsel with over 30 years of experience in media, entertainment and digital space put light on everything going in, by, and for the OTT.
OTT to spoil the audience with ample and endless content? Read More »
Veteran journalist Vinod Mehta wrote the biography of Meena Kumari in 1972. In this book, he wrote about the exploitation of Meena Kumari whoever came close to her. She was first exploited by her family. She started out as Baby Meena, a child artist and a breadwinner of the family. As a child, she wasn’t interested in a
The Most Exploited & Unlucky Woman-Meena Kumari Read More »
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