Browsing All Posts filed under »Society«

Readers Write In #136: Of Goddess and Women

January 26, 2020

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(by Karthik Amarnath) A viral visual from the recent array of protests showed an army of men in protective gear. Facing a young woman carrying a rose. It reminded me of another visual from a twenty year old movie song that showed an army of men with tanks and guns. Around a young woman clothed […]

‘V1 – Murder Case’, ‘Parasite’, ‘Knives Out’… Our message movies versus their message movies

January 8, 2020

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Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/message-movies-v1-murder-case-pavel-navegeethan-parasite-knives-out-baradwaj-rangan All I’m saying is don’t make a movie in order to deliver a message. Make the message – even if it is explicit – an organic part of your movie. Spoilers ahead… In Pavel Navageethan’s V1 – Murder Case, a young woman is murdered in the […]

A bit of hand-wringing about Deepika Padukone and ‘Chhapaak’

January 7, 2020

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Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/chhapaak-deepika-padukone-laxmi-agarwal-acid-attack-survivor-meghna-gulzar/ As an actor, as a very beautiful actor, Deepika Padukone is well within her rights to play an acid-attack survivor. Then, why is this movie making me uneasy? Spoilers ahead… I’m having some trouble wrapping my head around an actor like Deepika Padukone in a drama […]

Readers Write In #125: The Russian Revolution, Chapter 12 – The Indian Connection

December 29, 2019

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(by G Waugh) Introduction, Preface, and Chapter 1 are here. Chapter 2 is here. Chapter 3 is here. Chapter 4 is here. Chapter 5 is here. Chapter 6 is here. Chapter 7 is here. Chapter 8 is here. Chapter 9 is here. Chapter 10 is here. Chapter 11 is here. Before we venture out to […]

Readers Write In #123: The Russian Revolution, Chapter 11 – The Autumn Intensifies

December 22, 2019

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(by G Waugh) Introduction, Preface, and Chapter 1 are here. Chapter 2 is here. Chapter 3 is here. Chapter 4 is here. Chapter 5 is here. Chapter 6 is here. Chapter 7 is here. Chapter 8 is here. Chapter 9 is here. Chapter 10 is here. In 1968, the government led by the Communist Party […]

Readers Write In #120: The Russian Revolution, Chapter 10 – The Smells of Autumn

December 9, 2019

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(by G Waugh) Introduction, Preface, and Chapter 1 are here. Chapter 2 is here. Chapter 3 is here. Chapter 4 is here. Chapter 5 is here. Chapter 6 is here. Chapter 7 is here. Chapter 8 is here. Chapter 9 is here. Alexei Kosygin became the Prime Minister (Chairman of the Council of Ministers) in […]

Nine rupees an hour

November 23, 2019

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A plug for my friend Aparna Karthikeyan’s book: NINE RUPEES AN HOUR, in her words (from the book). I thought it would be of interest to many readers of this blog. Introduction When a livelihood dies a way of live vanishes; and the language too is diminished. Cho Dharman Let me tell you a story. […]

Readers Write In #116: The Russian Revolution, Chapter 9 – An Unceremonious End

November 23, 2019

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(by G Waugh) Introduction, Preface, and Chapter 1 are here. Chapter 2 is here. Chapter 3 is here. Chapter 4 is here. Chapter 5 is here. Chapter 6 is here. Chapter 7 is here. Chapter 8 is here. The world was stunned on October 4,1957. No country of the first world had managed to achieve […]

Readers Write In #114: The Russian Revolution, Chapter 8 – An Unsavory Convergence

November 16, 2019

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(by G Waugh) Introduction, Preface, and Chapter 1 are here. Chapter 2 is here. Chapter 3 is here. Chapter 4 is here. Chapter 5 is here. Chapter 6 is here. Chapter 7 is here. One of the most important reasons for me writing this series has been my curiosity to find out why in the […]

Readers Write In #112: The Russian Revolution, Chapter 7 – Half-Human and Half-Beast

November 13, 2019

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(by G Waugh) Introduction, Preface, and Chapter 1 are here. Chapter 2 is here. Chapter 3 is here. Chapter 4 is here. Chapter 5 is here. Chapter 6 is here. Nikita Khrushchev was the son of a poor peasant. He was not highly educated but was well known for his organising skills. His military achievements […]

In Vinod Kamble’s ‘Kastoori’, a Dalit boy yearns to free himself of the smells that cling to him

November 13, 2019

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Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/vinod-kamble-kastoori-marathi-dharamsala-international-film-fest-baradwaj-rangan At the Dharamsala International Film Festival, a powerful drama about a boy who cleans toilets and performs post-mortems in order to pay for school. Vinod Kamble’s Kastoori (Marathi) opens with an Indian-style toilet filled with shit. The screening at the Dharamsala International Film Festival (DIFF) was […]

Readers Write In #109: The Russian Revolution, Chapter 6 – Stalin’s Era Part Five

November 3, 2019

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(by G Waugh) Introduction, Preface, and Chapter 1 are here. Chapter 2 is here. Chapter 3 is here. Chapter 4 is here. Chapter 5 is here. The end of the Second World War and the massive victories achieved by the USSR had helped boost the prestige of the Union as well that of its ruler. […]

Readers Write In #108: Pretty Woman and the uglier (?) side of life

October 29, 2019

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(by Madan Mohan) One of the (few remaining) benefits of watching movies on a television channel rather than on a streaming app is that, like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, you never know which one you’ll get. Well, mostly you do. Just reruns of the same old movies in their catalog. And on a holiday […]

Readers Write In #106: The Russian Revolution, Chapter 5 – Stalin’s Era Part 4

October 27, 2019

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(by G Waugh) Introduction, Preface, and Chapter 1 are here. Chapter 2 is here. Chapter 3 is here. Chapter 4 is here. Soviet Union before 1941: Inspite of forced collectivisation of agriculture and consequent mass discontent over Stalin’s policies, the over emphasis on industrialisation was beginning to produce considerable economic growth in the USSR. When […]

Readers Write In #104: The Russian Revolution, Chapter 4 – Stalin’s Era Part 3

October 11, 2019

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(by G Waugh) Introduction, Preface, and Chapter 1 are here. Chapter 2 is here. Chapter 3 is here. Josef Stalin, when he assumed the mantle in 1922 was initially considered to be a worthy successor to the legacy of the founder-leader Vladimir Lenin, by the masses. Stalin worked hard to build on that image and tried […]

Readers Write In #101: The Russian Revolution, Chapter 3 – Stalin’s Era Part 2

October 5, 2019

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(by G Waugh) Introduction, Preface, and Chapter 1 are here. Chapter 2 is here. Further into the narrative, a quick dive into what essentially is meant by Capitalism, Marxism and Fascism will help us understand the ideological undercurrents that drove the turbulent events of the Second World War (1939-1945). Capitalism – Origins: The period of ‘Enlightenment’ in […]

Readers Write In #99: The Russian Revolution, Chapter 2 – Stalin’s Era Part 1

September 28, 2019

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(by G Waugh) Introduction, Preface, and Chapter 1 are here. The ascent of the Strongman: The death of the founder patriarch Vladimir Lenin, did jolt the Soviet people even though it was very well known that he was bedridden for months. Lenin’s New Economic Policy introduced in 1921 a few months before his death, had […]

Readers Write In #98: The Russian Revolution, Chapter 1 – Lenin saves Russia

September 24, 2019

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(by G Waugh) The story of 20th-century Russia (1914-1991) has immense relevance to today’s political and economic life all over the world. The events, when looked at merely as a story, present a compelling tale with moral and philosophical dimensions. The first few chapters will be dedicated to narration of significant events while the last […]

Readers Write In #96: Ms Monopoly and feminism

September 23, 2019

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(by Meera Ramanathan) Before I begin my post, I want to call a truce. A firm believer in “we are all in this together” am hoping we can have healthy discussions devoid of judgement and name calling. We can agree to disagree and I strongly support your attempt to make argument even if I don’t […]

Creating a conversation around trans characters in cinema

August 27, 2019

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Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/creating-a-conversation-baradwaj-rangan-around-trans-characters-in-cinema/ A look at how ‘Super Deluxe’ depicts a trans character as neither villain nor saint, but as simply flawed and all-too-human. By now, I think it’s safe to say the “gay film” (i.e. films about two men in love or in a relationship) or the “lesbian […]

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