Life and Love through the Prism of Death
In the foreground of young death, the Sanya Malhotra starrer Pagglait (2021) presents a woman unwilling to become the meek, submissive picture of a suffering widow, instead finding an unusual ally to help her navigate inner conflict and chaos. By Harshita Murarka
Stranger Lives: AJEEB DAASTAANS—four uneven short films on life, love, and intersectionality
The four short films in Netflix’s Ajeeb Daastaans—far removed in theme and setting—are bound together by their ability to shock. And it’s Neeraj Ghaywan’s beautifully-crafted Geeli Pucchi that elevates the uneven anthology. By Harshita Murarka
The Weight of Love: “Sir” and the delicate balance of an uneven romance
Rohena Gera’s Sir (2018) is a romance that challenges the societal taboos of class in India, and deftly explores the story of two individuals who the barriers between them. With delicately-crafted moments, the film strips off our biases to ask “Is love enough?” By Harshita Murarka
Jaa… Jee Le Apni Zindagi: On Fathers Confronting Feminism in Hindi Cinema
From the fierce Baldev Singh in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, the inimical patriarchs in Mohabbatein and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, and gentler fathers in Thappad and Gunjan Saxena, Harshita Murkarka takes a look at the evolution of fatherhood in the post economic-liberalised Bollywood.
Scandal, Sex, and Skeletons: Aashram and the predictable villainy of on-screen godmen
The MX Player web-series Aashram (2020) follows a similar blueprint in tackling India’s fascination with seductive, flawed godmen—mysticism, sex, violence, and masala—without daring to truly examine the deeper roots of society’s discontents. - by Harshita Murarka.
Bulbbul: A Hypnotic Ride into the Horrors of Patriarchy
How Anvita’s Dutt film Bulbbul (2020) turned the age-old story of churails into a complex feminist fairy tale - by Harshita Murarka.
Sima Auntie’s Inconvenient Arrangements
Superfluous, dispensable, and restricted, Netflix’s Indian Matchmaking is as (Un)necessary as arranged marriage itself. An analysis into the flaws of the docu-series—and the deeper flaws it exposes in contemporary Indian culture. By Harshita Murarka.
In the driver’s seat: A toast to the Everyday Woman in Gulabo Sitabo
Gulabo Sitabo is the latest release from the oeuvre of writer-director duo Shoojit Sircar and Juhi Chaturvedi, featuring strong, everyday women who are often underrepresented in the vast Hindi cinema ecosystem - by Harshita Murarka.