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Long-form pieces on Indian cinema — actors, filmmakers, and films.

Appetite for Destruction: 'The Hungry' adapts Shakespeare's darkest and bloodiest
'The Hungry' is not for the faint of heart. Boldly adapting one of Shakespeare's lesser-known and darkest works - 'Titus

Appetite for Destruction: 'The Hungry' adapts Shakespeare's darkest and bloodiest

Renting from the Moral Police - Filmmaker Reema Sengupta on 'Counterfeit Kunkoo'
Reema Sengupta speaks articulately with a maturity that's way past her young years. This surefooted writer-director whos

Renting from the Moral Police - Filmmaker Reema Sengupta on 'Counterfeit Kunkoo'

The Infinite Capacity of Love - Director Jennifer Rosen on 'Laksh'
Among the 30 films that were showcased at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) earlier this month, a short fi

The Infinite Capacity of Love - Director Jennifer Rosen on 'Laksh'

Taking the road less traveled: Gazal Dhaliwal on screenwriting and being an LGBT voice
Gazal Dhaliwal is a woman full of grace and strength, living life on her own terms. And in doing so, she is undoubtedly

Taking the road less traveled: Gazal Dhaliwal on screenwriting and being an LGBT voice

Something deep unites women - 'Lipstick Under My Burkha' director Alankrita Shrivastava
Alankrita Shrivastava is a surefooted, courageous young woman whose unapologetically feminist film 'Lipstick Under My Bu

Something deep unites women - 'Lipstick Under My Burkha' director Alankrita Shrivastava

I had to lose my inhibitions - Aahana Kumra on her role in 'Lipstick Under My Burkha'
Aahana Kumra at IFFLA 2017. Photo: Javeed Shaik As she beams her winning smile in an elegant orchid silk saree, it's eas

I had to lose my inhibitions - Aahana Kumra on her role in 'Lipstick Under My Burkha'

It's very important to have your own struggle - Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Adoor Gopalakrishnan at IFFLA 2017. Photo: Javeed Shaik After over 50 years of filmmaking that have garnered innumerable

It's very important to have your own struggle - Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Adil Hussain on giving up method acting and learning to think like a woman
Adil Hussain at IFFLA 2017. Photo: Javeed Shaik Be it the pragmatic zookeeper in 'Life of Pi', the scornful husband in '

Adil Hussain on giving up method acting and learning to think like a woman

Every Instrument has a Spirit - Ustad Zakir Hussain & Zane Dalal  in conversation at IFFLA
Last week at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, legendary tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain and conductor Zane Dal

Every Instrument has a Spirit - Ustad Zakir Hussain & Zane Dalal in conversation at IFFLA

Top 15 Hindi Movies of 2016
We're late in posting our annual compilation, but it's finally here! A countdown of the Top 15 #Bollywood films of 2016

Top 15 Hindi Movies of 2016

Daring to Hope - Director Anu Menon on 'Waiting'
There are two things you don't know until you hit upon a moment of real crisis --who your true friends are and the depth

Daring to Hope - Director Anu Menon on 'Waiting'

Kali's Angels - Anushka Manchanda on 'Angry Indian Goddesses'
Anushka Manchanda at IFFLA 2016. Photo: Javeed Shaik If you're from the channel [V]-gobbling generation of the late 90s,

Kali's Angels - Anushka Manchanda on 'Angry Indian Goddesses'

Top 15 Hindi Movies of 2015
For our year-end top rated list, we decided to do something different this year and compiled a video countdown.

Top 15 Hindi Movies of 2015

Race to the Oscars: 'Court' Filmmakers on Their Unexpected Journey to Representing India
Suited-up for the race to the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, young Indian filmmaker Chaitanya Tamhane and his lead ac

Race to the Oscars: 'Court' Filmmakers on Their Unexpected Journey to Representing India

Palme d'Or Winner 'Dheepan' is a Powerful Portrait of the Refugee Crisis
Exodus may be too biblical a term to describe the status quo of collective migration on the international front. The Eur

Palme d'Or Winner 'Dheepan' is a Powerful Portrait of the Refugee Crisis

Bollywood's Eminent Women Talk Gender-Bias in Film
Gender bias is an issue that is prevalent in every strata of life. Since people don't talk about it as strongly as they

Bollywood's Eminent Women Talk Gender-Bias in Film

Carving her own destiny: Titli star Shivani Raghuvanshi on her YRF debut
Shivani Raghuvanshi is like a breath of fresh air. It's easy to forget that you're talking to the latest find of the Yas

Carving her own destiny: Titli star Shivani Raghuvanshi on her YRF debut

The Apu Trilogy – Satyajit Ray's Cinematic Jewel Still Relevant in the 21st Century
"Do all fathers have pigtails?" is the heartbreaking question asked by a young boy who knows that his father is alive so

The Apu Trilogy – Satyajit Ray's Cinematic Jewel Still Relevant in the 21st Century

'Titli' is made to shock the Indian Audience: Dibakar Banerjee
Prolific and highly regarded Indian filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee is proud to wear the Producer's hat for Titli -the first

'Titli' is made to shock the Indian Audience: Dibakar Banerjee

Society & its Police: Prakash Jha on Revisiting Gangaajal
Prakash Jha's 2003 hit Gangaajal holds special significance to my family. 35 years ago, in November 1980, the news story

Society & its Police: Prakash Jha on Revisiting Gangaajal

The Making of Baahubali's Epic War Sequences
It takes an army (pun intended) of highly skilled artists and technicians to create the movie magic that we experienced

The Making of Baahubali's Epic War Sequences

Of Feathers and Pearls: Niharika Khan on Bombay Velvet
Early on in Bombay Velvet, as aspiring singer Rosie Noronha (Anushka Sharma) breaks into Geeta Dutt's alluring classic '

Of Feathers and Pearls: Niharika Khan on Bombay Velvet

Master Of Her Craft: Meet Animator, Cannes Winner Gitanjali Rao
True Love Story © Gitanjali Rao Gitanjali Rao's work is proof that great art sometimes lies hidden, and there is sheer j

Master Of Her Craft: Meet Animator, Cannes Winner Gitanjali Rao

'Mann Kasturi Re' is the soul of Masaan: Richa Chadda
Soft-spoken, unpretentious and utterly composed, Richa Chadda speaks with an economy of words. Carving her own path in t

'Mann Kasturi Re' is the soul of Masaan: Richa Chadda

Living the Celluloid Dream: Meet Masaan's Vicky Kaushal
Vicky Kaushal is on the road, promoting Masaan on a summer night in Bangalore. Having finished a hurried dinner at a bus

Living the Celluloid Dream: Meet Masaan's Vicky Kaushal

The Belle from Benares: Meet Masaan's Shweta Tripathi
When you talk to Shweta Tripathi, you wish you could capture some of her energy, bottle it up and sell it as magic potio

The Belle from Benares: Meet Masaan's Shweta Tripathi

In The Company Of Stars: Interview with Anupama Chopra
It was in the winter of '07 at the Van Pelt library of the University of Pennsylvania, when I was introduced to Anupama

In The Company Of Stars: Interview with Anupama Chopra

Top 10 Indian Movies 2015 (Mid-Year)
Based on Aggregate TRM Scores, below are the highest rated Indian Movies (Bollywood and Regional) for 2015, so far. Cour

Top 10 Indian Movies 2015 (Mid-Year)

Top 10 Hollywood Movies 2015 (India) Mid-year
Based on the Aggregate TRM Score, below are the highest rated English Movies (Hollywood and European) released in India

Top 10 Hollywood Movies 2015 (India) Mid-year

Surviving the Age of Instant Journalism: Rajeev Masand
Rajeev Masand in Los Angeles 2015 Rajeev Masand unintentionally gave us four important lessons in professionalism in jus

Surviving the Age of Instant Journalism: Rajeev Masand

Rajeev Masand's Top 5 Hollywood & Bollywood films
Rajeev Masand shared with us, his top 5 favorite Hollywood and Bollywood films of all time. Read what he had to say abou

Rajeev Masand's Top 5 Hollywood & Bollywood films

Great Cinema is a Complete Experience - Aseem Chhabra
In the hope of creating a better understanding of India's culture and its people, the New York Indian Film Festival took

Great Cinema is a Complete Experience - Aseem Chhabra

Ushering in the New-Wave of Pakistani Cinema: Iram Parveen Bilal
She went from being a nerd at Caltech to an independent filmmaker, bringing to light the stories of heroic women in her

Ushering in the New-Wave of Pakistani Cinema: Iram Parveen Bilal

Decoding Shakespeare: Vishal Bhardwaj on Haider at NYIFF
"The greatness of Shakespeare is that he remains so contemporary after 400 years.", said veteran filmmaker Vishal Bhardw

Decoding Shakespeare: Vishal Bhardwaj on Haider at NYIFF

A Bicycle For Keeps - Director Paresh Mokashi on 'Elizabeth Ekadashi'
Elizabeth Ekadashi is a gem - a rare and earnest film that evokes a warm nostalgia of childhood and secret escapades wit

A Bicycle For Keeps - Director Paresh Mokashi on 'Elizabeth Ekadashi'

En Route to Stardom - IFFLA Best Actress Shweta Tripathi
On the red carpet at IFFLA, 2015 Armed with her radiant smile and earthy charm, Shweta Tripathi strikes you as a woman o

En Route to Stardom - IFFLA Best Actress Shweta Tripathi

Actor Vipin Sharma on 'Dhanak' at IFFLA
Vipin Sharma at IFFLA, 2015 Vipin Sharma belongs to the school of actors who are resolute in devoting their craft to mea

Actor Vipin Sharma on 'Dhanak' at IFFLA

It's a great time to make films - Nagesh Kukunoor
Nagesh Kukunoor at IFFLA, 2015 Back in 1998, a slender, young, U.S. returned engineer shot to fame - as writer, director

It's a great time to make films - Nagesh Kukunoor

Top Rated Bollywood Movies of 2014
2014 turned out to be a parched year for Hindi cinema, with only 18% of all Bollywood releases making it past the critic

Top Rated Bollywood Movies of 2014

My Inspiration is My Life - Nagraj Manjule
Nagraj Manjule at IFFLA, Los Angeles. Fandry has taken the film festival circuit by storm. The poignant debut film by wr

My Inspiration is My Life - Nagraj Manjule

Iconic Heroines: Women in Indian Cinema
International Women's Day In her Oscar acceptance speech last Sunday, Cate Blanchett received an enthusiastic applause f

Iconic Heroines: Women in Indian Cinema

Shades of Love - 25 great romances in Indian Cinema
If there's one thing Indian cinema does better than any other film industry - it's romance. While most Western films sim

Shades of Love - 25 great romances in Indian Cinema

Oscar Nomination Predictions 2014
Three days until the Oscar nominations are announced! And it's that season again when last year's outstanding films from

Oscar Nomination Predictions 2014

Aamir Khan: The Man of Many Faces
Of all the invincible giants of Bombay's cinema, Aamir Khan has perhaps walked the tightrope of success with the most po

Aamir Khan: The Man of Many Faces

Top 10 Bollywood Movies of 2013
Happy December, everyone! As 2013 comes to a close, we decided to look back at the highest rated films of this landmark

Top 10 Bollywood Movies of 2013