Columnists

Jai Arjun Singh

The writer is a Delhi-based critic and author

For Ved Mehta, the personal was a way to illuminate the universal

Thu, Jan 14, 2021

Though Ved Mehta practised a great deal of journalism and wrote about “big” subjects — in books such as Portrait of India — he was eventually a master of the intimate canvas, always using the personal to illuminate the universal.

From sophisticated sci-fi to mushy romance to low budget fantasy – the moon has held its own

Mon, Jul 22, 2019

In a starring role: The moon in romantic films is a cliché we know well in India, given the chaudhvin ka chand motif: the comparison of the heroine’s beauty with the full moon, or as something that eclipses the moon.

Eye 2015

Help’s at hand: Bollywood’s representation of the family retainer

Sun, Nov 15, 2015

From the Ramu kakas of the 1980s to Khempal in Talvar, Bollywood’s representation of the family retainer is a reflection of the changing nature of the class divide in urban India.