How Chamkila’s Music Holds a Mirror up to Punjab’s Cultural Vices
Imtiaz Ali’s biographical drama Amar Singh Chamkila (2024) returns to the profane and scandalous themes of the Punjabi artist’s music, reclaiming the singer’s societal impact, and exposing the flawed notions of morality in Punjab’s cultural milieu. By Deepansh Duggal
Courage Becomes Cruelty: An Appropriation of “Arjan Vailly” in ANIMAL
With a bloodthirsty protagonist and an army of brute Sikh men, Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s controversial hit Animal reduces the Punjabi folk song “Arjan Vailly”—a storied war cry against oppression—into a chorus of vile brutality. By Deepansh Duggal
Troubled Waters
With a potential scenario of a water Armageddon looming for India, Vipin Labroo argues that the fight to avert a total crisis must be no less than a national crusade.
Mightier than the Bullet: The Writings of Julio Riberio
In Hope for Sanity, a collection of columns filled with nuggets of wisdom, empathy, and advice, decorated former policeman Julio Riberio emerges as a “conscience keeper” for our nation. By Karan Madhok
‘We Shall Not Live Half-Asleep’: Glimpses of Revolution from the Farmers’ Protests
In a continuing large-scale protest, farmers have taken their stands in multiple borders around the New Delhi, prepared to force the government to blink first. Abhimanyu Kumar visited the Singhu border to find a spirit of resilience and revolution.
Fear and Loathing – and fact and fiction – in MEHSAMPUR
Past and present, real and unreal, urban and rural, and life and death clash to present Mehsampur, Kabir Singh Chowdhary’s unforgettable film out of the Punjabi heartlands. A review by Karan Madhok