Alaka Sahani
Alaka Sahani is a Senior Editor with The Indian Express, Mumbai. She received the National Film Award for Best Film Critic, 2013. Her Swarna Kamal citation states that the jury recommended her for the award for “highlighting facets of cinema beyond glamour and gossip by delving deeper into the contemporary relevance of iconic filmmakers”. In her articles and interviews, she goes beyond the tried-and-tested templates to offer insights into the workings of Indian cinema. Her choice of subjects is eclectic: from A-listers to emerging talents; the history of Indian cinema and its various trends; many strands of contemporary India and world cinema. While watching movies has been her lifelong passion, she also closely follows theatre in Mumbai.
Articles By Alaka Sahani
Dangerous Liaisons
Lead actors of Narcos: Mexico on being in India and the viewers’ love for the series
God’s Own Women: Exploring the decline of the devadasis tradition in modern India
A new novel explores the tradition of devadasis and its decline in modern India.
Director’s Notes
On the sidelines of his directorial debut Sa's release at IFFI, singer Arijit Singh spoke to of challenges of making a film.
The film industry has always been male-dominated: Shaji N Karun
Malayalam filmmaker Shaji N Karun on the myth that multiplexes promote indie cinema, why women should be on film juries and the universality of our stories.
With his directorial debut at IFFI, singer Arijit Singh speaks of the challenges of making a film
“Filmmaking is tough with so many aspects of a movie to be taken care of; it’s easier to create a song,” says Arijit Singh.
Women’s Collective needs to go beyond holding a placard: S Durga director Sanal Sasidharan
Sanal Sasidharan, who is at Film Bazaar with a new film, talks about #MeToo and why women actors need to look for new allies.
Drawing From Reality
Director of Kharvas, which opened the non- feature film segment of Indian Panorama at IFFI, Aditya Suhas Jambhale talks about his influences.
International Film Festival of India 2018 begins
International Film Festival of India 2018 opening ceremony began with a tribute to period dramas in Indian cinema.
Festival Scope
As Goa hosts IFFI for the 15th year and tries to get past the controversies that surrounded the festival last year, here’s a look at the line-up.
Wrinkles in Uniform: Debutant writer-director Ivan Ayr’s Soni captures the journey of two policewomen
The feature film, which bagged the Best Film on Gender Equality award at the recent 20th MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, had a world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival in August and will be released on Netflix early next year.
Adman, actor, theatre guru — many faces of Alyque Padamsee
Padamsee, who studied theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, made his first stage appearance at age 7 with The Merchant of Venice.
Becoming a Firefly
In his second film, Kolkata-based Aditya Vikram Sengupta builds a dream world imbued with love, loss, death and decay.
A Theatre That Never Goes Dark
Prithvi Theatre, which has played a crucial role in building theatre audience, celebrates 40 years.
The need to fight patriarchy can unite men and women: Radhika Apte
Radhika Apte has had a busy year. Here, she talks about trolls and harassment, on becoming an actor and doing world cinema.
The Sound of Sholay
A docu-feature tips the hat to sound re-recordist Mangesh Desai, who spun magic in the studio.
I am experiencing the same adulation that I did in the ’70s: Anil Dhawan
Anil Dhawan on his big-screen comeback with Andhadhun, his love for the ’70s and his favourite co-actors.
My point of view doesn’t often match with the director’s: Kajol
Kajol gets candid about the lack of good scripts, the changing treatment of woman characters, and playing mother to a teenager in her latest film.
Tara writer accuses actor Alok Nath of raping her
"Neither I am denying this nor do I would agree with it. It (rape) must have happened, but someone else would have done it. Well, I do not want to talk much about it," Alok Nath said.
As an actor, you’ll be exhausted unless you break the mould: Ayushmann Khurrana
Actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who plays a blind pianist in Andhadhun, on preparing for the role, taking a break from slice-of-life movies and looking for exciting stories.
I feel that language is stronger than religion: Javed Akhtar
Lyricist and scriptwriter Javed Akhtar on the importance of language in communal life and if the Angry Young Man would survive today.
