Ishita Sengupta
Senior Sub Editor
Articles By Ishita Sengupta
Ayushmann Khurrana’s Bala falls prey to the very stigma it tries to dispel
Bala is not just preoccupied with unfolding the humiliation a man suffering from a receding hairline experiences but strives to make a larger case of accepting oneself.
Pankaj Kapur on his literary debut and why it took 27 years
In an interview with indianexpress.com, actor Pankaj Kapur talks about his debut novella Dopehri and what he seeks to achieve with it.
Modern Love: A vacuous but necessary celebration of love
Much like the column, Modern Love, the series abounds with characters who are generous, trite and always in or looking for love.
About Love: A lesson in owning/accepting your ‘embarrassing’ family
In her documentary About Love, Archana Phadke records the everyday(s) of her family members and, in doing so, shows us moments we often carelessly overlook.
Performance storyteller Emily Hennessey from the UK on her interest in Indian mythology
Having studied at the University of Kent, Emily Hennessey owes her interest in performance storytelling to her teacher Vayu Naidu.
The Sky Is Pink: Finding love… between mourning and melancholia
Based on a real life story, The Sky Is Pink is about a couple, Aditi and Niren Chaudhary who lose their 18-year-old daughter, Aisha.
‘There are stories everywhere’: Manoj Bajpayee on the power of stories and the need for storytellers
Recently in New Delhi to inaugurate the Kathakar festival, a three-day event that celebrates various forms of storytelling, Manoj Bajpayee vouches for the omnipresence of stories.
‘Barir Pujo’ in Delhi’s CR Park: When Durga comes home
These household-hosted Durga pujas at CR Park lack the manpower, traditional compulsion and the fanfare. They do it because they want to.
The enduring relevance of Pradipta Bhattacharyya’s Bakita Byaktigoto
Bakita Byaktigoto, released in 2013, is not just timely but timeless. It can be read both as a censure against a particular brand of love and an acknowledgement of the many love(s) that lie scattered, unnoticed.
Alzheimer’s Day: Patients need empathy, someone to talk to, say doctors
The cluster of symptoms, consisting of progressive loss of memory, impairing the functioning of day to day activities, affecting cognitive skills, are indicative of dementia. An umbrella term in itself, it can be caused by various factors. Azheimer’s, characterised by memory loss, is one of its symptoms.
Memory is dynamic, constantly reauthored by people: Avni Doshi on her novel and how she remembers past
Ahead of Alzheimer's Day, author Avni Doshi talks about the importance of memory and how it is dynamic, constantly reauthored by us.
Netflix’s Unbelievable underlines how women need to behave as victims to be believed as one
In the post #MeToo universe where there is an abundance of instances of disparate women sharing their private stories, Unbelievable is the show we deserve as much as we need.
Virus: A lesson in empathy
Abu’s film, Virus is brilliantly crafted and feels astonishingly economical for the sheer breadth of the trajectory it encompasses: the eruption of the medical epidemic in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts of Kerala , and its eradication.
Game Over: A thriller that captures the constant fear women live with
Ashwin Saravanan’s Game Over (streaming on Netflix) — an affecting portrayal of a woman living with trauma and attempting to overcome it — deftly captures the dread, woman, especially those staying alone, live with.
The Loudest Voice review: An uneven but a timely series
The Loudest Voice takes time to pick up and despite its stellar ensemble is not consistently engrossing. But the show, even with its flaws, is a necessary watch for how timely it feels on more than one account.
Khamosh Pani: The well as a silent symbol of the pain of Partition
Women, hailed as a symbol of chastity and biological reproducers, stood at the heart of the brutality of violence that Partition entailed, with men wrestling their power and domination through and on them.
How to survive friendship(s) in times of cancel culture?
Fighting in friendship is akin to fighting for it. It is inevitable, it is imperative.
Judgementall Hai Kya: An audacious film where the artist becomes art
Actors use the medium of cinema to assume different personalities. Kangana Ranaut in Judgementall Hai Kya uses it to embrace who she is more intensely by freely admitting to her insecurities.
The (dis)comfort of stability in relationships
Many of us associate the idea of a relationship — if not love — with stability. Perhaps, rightly so.
Every single person is political: Aparna Sen on her new film Gharey Bairey, Aaj and the need for a moderate voice
Unlike the novel or Satyajit Ray’s film, where the politics of the author is not only blatant but his allegiance is foregrounded, Aparna Sen is more nuanced, less blatant in her adaptation of Gharey Bairey.