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The Cultural Trauma of Dhurandhar: Why ‘Arfa Khanum’ Can’t Reconcile with the New Reality
The hysterical backlash against Dhurandhar has nothing to do with “politics” or even “Pakistan-bashing.” It’s a full-blown cultural trauma for a particular generation of commentators—the ones personified by the classic ‘Arfa Khanum’ archetype. She’s not critiquing a movie. She’s mourning. Mourning the sudden, violent death of the comforting moral universe that Bollywood spent decades constructing,…
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Dhurandhar—The 3.5-Hour Epic That is Filling Theaters in the UK: A Non-Spoiler Review
I went into this film armed with the relentless barrage of negative chatter: jingoism, toxic masculinity, excessive violence, propaganda, too long. Every review seemed determined to warn me off. But I watch every Hindi film that screens here in Portsmouth, UK, and this one was different. For the first time in years, the theater was…
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The Sham of Indian Feminism: Absent from Cricket’s Triumph, Obsessed with Selective Outrage
The ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 was nothing short of a national epiphany. On November 2, 2025, in a finale that gripped the country like no other, the Indian women’s team etched their name in golden letters by winning their first-ever World Cup title, defeating a resilient South African side in a nail-biting contest…
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Thamma: Bollywood’s Vampire Saga That’s Too Familiar
Thamma (2025), the new Bollywood horror-comedy starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Rashmika Mandanna, sparkles with slick visuals and a high-energy vibe. Directed by Aditya Sarpotdar, it’s a wild mix of Betaals (vampire-like creatures), werewolf-like beasts, and forbidden love, set in the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe. But for anyone who’s watched The Vampire Diaries, Twilight, or The…
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Mandala Murders: A Portal to Elsewhere, Where Imagination Reigns
So I just binged Mandala Murders on Netflix, and I have to say, it’s not like the usual Indian web series or movies we’ve been getting lately. You know how so many shows these days feel like they’re trying to shove some big social or political message down your throat? Like, every other film is…
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The Woman Behind the Iron Lady: A Review of Emergency
The real woman with profound emotions behind the Iron Lady, as human as any other, torn between her conscience and the relentless demands of her role. With feelings of love for her son and fear for her family, she grapples with the inner conflict of being a mother and a leader. The burden of her…
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The Kashmir Files – Part 2; why you should not watch it!
I hope you have already read the first part. You could have a look at that here: The Kashmir Files – Part 1. I had described my observations regarding the movie. It is not that The Kashmir Files is the only movie talking about Kashmir or a Genocide or terrorism or cruel things that humans do…
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The Kashmir Files – Part 1
[Disclaimer: The article is not a review of the film, it is a description of the author’s experience and what the author actually felt during and after the movie. ] At last I got a chance to watch the much talked about film The Kashmir Files. I saw it in a small city called Eindhoven…
Infinite Sea of Opportunities 