Wednesday, Jun 21, 2023
Journalism of Courage
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Pooja Pillai
Pooja Pillai is a Special Correspondent working with The Indian Express.
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More From Pooja Pillai
Lesson from Adipurush: Cynical use of religion will backfire
June 20, 2023 11:58 IST
No amount of devotional fervour can cover a poorly-written and executed film. The audience, not political patrons, are the ultimate arbiters of your fortune.
Tue, Jun 20, 2023
Gadar 2 teaser: Why a film that’s okay with ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ would not be possible in today’s India
June 13, 2023 18:11 IST
After all, the scene in which Tara screams about the greatness of Hindustan, also shows him willingly saying “Pakistan zindabad” and embracing Islam, if it means that he can be with his wife. Viewers back then seem to have accepted this as part of the sacrifice that a lover must make, their regard for him not diminishing in the least
Tue, Jun 13, 2023
Shah Rukh Khan and new Parliament: A prayer for secular India
May 29, 2023 19:46 IST
His words did not glorify the vision and vanity projects of one regime. They are not the cringing and fawning of a man desperate for salvation and protection
Mon, May 29, 2023
The coronation of Charles III: ‘Queen Charlotte’ offers the fantasy that the Windsors no longer can
May 06, 2023 19:26 IST
The fictionalised account of a former queen seems more in touch with contemporary sentiments than a coronation that reportedly cost about 20.5 million pounds at a time when ordinary Britons are lining up at food banks and foregoing heating in a bid to save money
Sat, May 06, 2023
Win boost to future Indian documentariesPremium Story
March 14, 2023 03:14 IST
In 2022, Writing with Fire by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh, which followed the story of Khabar Lahariya, a media organisation run entirely by Dalit women, became the first Indian documentary to be nominated in the Oscars.
Tue, Mar 14, 2023
Oscar for ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ could make the path for other documentary makers a little less difficultPremium Story
March 13, 2023 11:12 IST
Indian documentaries have been receiving global recognition. But documentary makers in India remain short of resources and support
Tue, Mar 14, 2023
Is a jalebi a ‘mysterious crispy pretzel shaped fried waffle’?Premium Story
March 05, 2023 12:07 IST
Beyond the silliness of a jalebi’s description on a Pakistani restaurant’s menu are questions that can help us understand what we talk about when we talk about food
Sun, Mar 05, 2023
‘I got support but ultimately it’s my battle and I’ve felt so alone’: BhavanaPremium Story
March 04, 2023 07:30 IST
Actor Bhavana who returns with a new film, opens up on her struggle and being at the centre of a case that shook the Malayalam film industry
Sun, Mar 05, 2023
Explained Books | An album of India’s struggle for freedomPremium Story
February 25, 2023 06:01 IST
Vinay Lal’s book traces ideas about the freedom struggle and the nation have on the Indian mind in the 21st century all the way back to the early 20th century.
Sat, Feb 25, 2023
Nikki Yadav, Megha Torvi, Shraddha Walkar: The loneliness of women in lovePremium Story
February 16, 2023 19:03 IST
The gory details of their stories, played up to heighten anxieties around love that is unsanctioned by family or society, overshadow something far bleaker — how utterly alone a woman is when the safety net of acceptance is made impossible
Thu, Feb 16, 2023
Kiara weds Sidharth: The Big Fat Bollywood Wedding is doing what Hindi films are struggling to doPremium Story
February 07, 2023 14:46 IST
With a steady stream of gossip about celebrity guests and “exclusive” images from inside, we are turning into a rapt audience, watching a wedding film in real-time
Wed, Feb 08, 2023
What the Oscar-nominated documentary The Elephant Whisperers tells us about indigenous communities and the perils of developmentPremium Story
February 02, 2023 18:31 IST
Kartiki Gonsalves on her directorial debut, the interdependence of species and why the film is more than just a story of a human-animal family.
Thu, Feb 02, 2023
Wrestling federation chief’s resignation: The spark lit by MeToo is hard to extinguishPremium Story
January 21, 2023 19:46 IST
Pooja Pillai writes: Each little victory matters in the uncertain, halting progress of the fight against sexual harassment in the workplace
Sat, Jan 21, 2023
New York Film Critics Circle awards S S Rajamouli Best Director: Why Western critics love action films like RRRPremium Story
December 31, 2022 18:22 IST
Whether or not the film revolutionises the genre, it marks out Rajamouli as a director with a penchant for stylised action, unafraid to look outrageous or ridiculous.
Thu, Jan 05, 2023
Critical perspectives from a master of the moviesPremium Story
December 24, 2022 04:13 IST
Without doubt, Tarantino’s critical perspective is wider and more generous in its scope than most, taking in performances and movies that were considered oddities or failures, but in which he finds gems to mine.
Sat, Dec 24, 2022
Explained Books | Women and the conservative Right: an analysisPremium Story
November 26, 2022 05:33 IST
The answer to the question posed by the book Women, Gender and Religious Nationalism — why women advance the agenda of the Hindu right despite its conservative views on gender — is complex.
Sat, Nov 26, 2022
Happy birthday, Shah Rukh Khan is 57 years newPremium Story
November 02, 2022 17:38 IST
In a career full of risks and reinventions, Khan’s latest gamble is becoming an action movie star with Pathaan
Wed, Nov 02, 2022
Fan in the hotel room: What the Virat Kohli video tells us about privacy in modern timesPremium Story
October 31, 2022 19:46 IST
The ordinariness of what is on view is a comment on the threat an intrusive camera poses to anyone of us
Mon, Oct 31, 2022
Phyllida Jay’s ‘Inspired By India’ explores the many ways Indian design aesthetics determined the course of Western fashionPremium Story
October 08, 2022 18:47 IST
From Marilyn Monroe’s iconic white bias-cut dress to Kashmiri shawls and jodhpurs, the book raises important questions about the explicit and unconscious influences that India exerted on the global imagination
Mon, Oct 10, 2022
Politics and power: A short history of chairs in IndiaPremium Story
October 08, 2022 04:05 IST
Over the centuries, the seat in India has taken many forms, shapes and styles. It begins with the stark simplicity of the patlo or palakka and the mooda (low stool) or charpai (woven cot), which continue to serve as fresh inspiration for designers in the 21st century.
Sat, Oct 08, 2022
Marilyn Monroe in Blonde: The body on the bedPremium Story
October 02, 2022 12:42 IST
While it claims to be more, the Netflix film reduces the Hollywood legend to a sexual and sexualised object
Wed, Oct 05, 2022
Succession, Squid Game, White Lotus — in capitalism, everyone losesPremium Story
September 14, 2022 12:48 IST
Pooja Pillai writes: The moral of the story from this year's Emmy winners: The great, big capitalist machine might make you all the money in the world but you won’t be any happier than the gig worker.
Thu, Sep 15, 2022
What Kerala High Court needs to take on board: Marriage and its place in society are not unchangingPremium Story
September 02, 2022 16:45 IST
Pooja Pillai writes: The idea of family has expanded to include live-in relationships and other kinds of arrangements, including non-romantic ones, that work better for the individuals concerned
Fri, Sep 02, 2022
For Minister Ajay Mishra Teni, a lesson on dogs and kindnessPremium Story
August 24, 2022 18:27 IST
Pooja Pillai writes: Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni's comment comparing agitating farmers to barking dogs shows he knows nothing about both
Wed, Aug 24, 2022
Explained Books: Every woman in the story, her cross to carryPremium Story
August 13, 2022 04:58 IST
The story of Nilanjana Bhowmick’s mother aptly captures the burden that the author has undertaken to explore and describe in this book.
Sat, Aug 13, 2022