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Journalism of Courage

Saraswati Datar

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More From Saraswati Datar - Page 2

Royal mess: Ishaan Khatter, Bhumi Pednekar’s The Royals objectifies, stereotypes, and disappoints

May 17, 2025 08:59 IST

Netflix's The Royals is quite like the palace of Morpur on the show -- glamorous on the outside, but falling apart on the inside.

Sat, May 17, 2025

Maa ke paas bhi desire hain: Why do we strip women of their sexuality when they become mothers?

May 11, 2025 08:00 IST

Mother's Day 2025: The moment you become a mother, people start looking at you differently. You become a human unicorn -- magical, special, and a beacon of all that is good and hopeful.

Sat, May 10, 2025

Jewel Thief joins Bollywood’s continuing struggle to make a good heist film

April 30, 2025 08:02 IST

Jewel Thief, circa 2025, could have been a mildly entertaining film if it had not been so determined to simply rehash ideas from every film already made. Let’s stop paying hat tips to Vijay Anand by using his name as the thief’s alias and instead study how fabulously he reimagined the heist film in an Indian context.

Wed, Apr 30, 2025

Dead women, heroic men- From Sikandar to Mohabbatein, why are dead wives and girlfriends a much-used narrative device?Subscriber Only

April 08, 2025 07:56 IST

Dead women's club: There are different categories of how a woman can be bumped off to create maximum impact in the life of the only character who truly matters, the hero.

Tue, Apr 15, 2025

Superboys of Malegaon: A love letter to cinema and a commentary on all that ails it

March 13, 2025 08:00 IST

While it addresses censorship, profitability versus the pursuit of greatness and access to good cinema, Superboys of Malegaon specially highlights the issue of respecting and giving credit to the artists who work behind the scenes or play supporting roles

Thu, Mar 13, 2025

Women’s Day 2025: Caught between bechari and b*tch, the question is to hustle or not

March 08, 2025 09:00 IST

Women’s Day 2025: Filmmakers are trying to tell women that success or wealth can’t ensure happiness or peace of mind, which is fair.

Sun, Mar 09, 2025

Bring back Bollywood – As films are re-released, here’s what should also return to the Hindi film industry

March 04, 2025 08:06 IST

While re-releasing films may mean much-delayed profits for some filmmakers or just some nostalgia for us as audiences, the larger insight here is perhaps that audiences are open to watching different kinds of movies.

Tue, Mar 04, 2025

Ranveer Allahbadia controversial comments: How much offence is too much offence?

February 14, 2025 17:37 IST

India’s Got Latent has also been criticised on multiple occasions in the recent past. Whether it was Samay Raina’s roast of Kusha Kapila, Uorfi Javed walking off the set when a contestant compared her to adult film star Mia Khalifa, or stand-up comedian Bunty Banerjee mocking Deepika Padukone’s struggle with depression, the show has often blurred lines between humour and bullying.

Mon, Feb 17, 2025

Pookie, Prem or problematic – Which kind of man makes your heart go dhak dhak?

February 14, 2025 14:46 IST

On Valentine’s Day, let's look at some of our most memorable Pookie, Prem and problematic on-screen male characters.

Fri, Feb 14, 2025

From The Mehta Boys to Mughal-E-Azam and Animal: Fathers and sons who are foes, friends and everything in between

February 12, 2025 08:08 IST

We have had father-son relationships of many different tones and textures populate our films over the years.

Wed, Feb 12, 2025

Paatal Lok Season 2: Of locations and characters who are wounded, neglected and yet hopeful

January 28, 2025 08:00 IST

Paatal Lok Season 2 shows how the central characters of the show mirror Nagaland’s reality as an outsider on the inside.

Tue, Jan 28, 2025

Black Warrant, Udaan and Lootera, Vikramaditya Motwane and the art of never making the same film twice

January 21, 2025 07:57 IST

Films like AK vs Ak, CTRL, or web series like Jubilee and Black Warrant, have only cemented Vikramaditya Motwane’s commitment to constantly push the boundaries in a notoriously risk-averse industry.

Tue, Jan 21, 2025

Here is what we hope goes Laapataa from Bollywood in 2025

December 25, 2024 08:04 IST

A look at the tropes, genres, character types or themes that we should leave far far behind as we make our way into 2025.

Wed, Dec 25, 2024

The Great Indian Kapil fiasco: After Atlee jibe, Kapil Sharma needs to rethink his jokes

December 20, 2024 08:05 IST

Kapil Sharma’s conversation with Atlee ruffled feathers on social media. It’s surprising how over a decade, the format’s unapologetic classism and misogyny has largely gone unquestioned.

Fri, Dec 20, 2024

Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives, Tribe: Do you need to be frivolous to be fab?

October 24, 2024 08:01 IST

Are shows like The Tribe and Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives presenting women in a demeaning manner to generate laughs?

Thu, Oct 24, 2024

Ananya Panday’s recent films pose a burning question: Is social media the Mogambo of our times?

October 16, 2024 08:16 IST

Kho Gaye Hum Kahan and Ctrl have social media and AI either directly playing the villain or the agent of misunderstanding and misrepresentation.

Wed, Oct 16, 2024

The Buckingham Murders, Sector 36, Manvat Murders

Manvat Murders, Sector 36, The Buckingham Murders: Content with crimes against children highlights the dysfunctional adults around them

October 09, 2024 08:02 IST

Though Manvat Murders, Sector 36 and The Buckingham Murders play out in large parts as police procedurals, they are essentially horror stories where the most vulnerable members of our society are preyed on by those who are meant to protect them.

Thu, Oct 10, 2024

Rekha avenging herself in Khoon Bhari Maang, Alia Bhatt and Shefali Shah in Darlings; there are multiple examples of how women have to face extreme situations of pain and humiliation to express anger

Where are Hindi cinema’s angry young women?

August 22, 2024 08:04 IST

Can you imagine a woman acting like Kabir Singh after a breakup, like Pushparaj because she is poor, or like Ranbir Kapoor in Animal because she had a toxic relationship with her mother?

Thu, Aug 22, 2024

Mirzapur: Pankaj Tripathi, Rasika Duggal and Ali Fazal, how the kitschy hinterland crime drama catapulted its actors to stardom

July 05, 2024 08:00 IST

A large part of the credit for Mirzapur's continuing popularity goes to the skill with which the actors played their parts, preventing them from becoming cliches, caricatures or just plain crass.

Fri, Jul 05, 2024

Mere pass trau-maa hai: Toxic mothers and poor parenting in Hindi cinema and OTT content

May 12, 2024 09:02 IST

Mother's Day: As much as we idolise mothers and motherhood in India, our narratives have always had mothers who made poor parenting choices or those who were just plain toxic.

Sun, May 12, 2024

deepika padukone and alia bhatt in bhansali films

Fiery, feminine and fully realised: The women in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s cinema are anything but girls-next-door

May 01, 2024 07:59 IST

From Aishwarya Rai in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam to Alia Bhatt in Gangubai Kathiawadi, Sanjay Leela Bhansali has given us multiple female characters who have become iconic simply by their refusal to be ordinary, silent or well-behaved.

Wed, May 01, 2024

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's films delve into the themes of love and loss (Photos: Sanjay Leela Bhansali Productions)

Heeramandi and beyond, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and his stories of love, loss, and longing

April 30, 2024 08:05 IST

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus Heeramandi will start streaming on Netflix from May 1. This series promises the filmmaker's maximalist aesthetic and his interest in troubled or tragic love stories.

Wed, May 01, 2024

Projects like Jaane Jaan, Poacher and Killer Soup saw women at the core of the narrative and in different shades.

International Women’s Day: Can realistic-looking women in Bollywood please stand up?

March 08, 2024 08:01 IST

We have had stars in the recent past like Kajol, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta, Vidya Balan, Tabu and Madhuri Dixit amongst others who were all considered attractive and talented. More importantly, they all had distinct personal styles.

Fri, Mar 08, 2024