Badnaam Gali
The impact of a small film opened up a Pandora box of issues – starting with a discussion on surrogacy. The film Badnaam Gali premiered on ZEE5 streaming service on 2019. The film was a comedy about a surrogate mother and a small-town husband. The film was starring Patralekha and Divyenndu Sharma. The film was […]
Meenakshi Sundareshwar
Real-life Talk Generated From the Film Marriage on Screen Ever since Meenakshi Sundareshwar was added to Netflix in November 2021, it has been considered one of the most promising examples of small town romance and the intricacies of long distance marriages. The film features Sanya Malhotra and Abhimanyu Dassani, newlyweds in an arranged marriage, in […]
Love and Leashes
When Expectation Met a Collar and a Contract Whispers began drifting about the casting of Seohyun, the once sweet vocalist of Girls’ Generation, into a bold and edgy BDSM themed rom-com, Love and Leashes, along with the magnificently talented Lee Jun-young, previously of U-KISS and the fan favorite from D.P. The casting choice was something […]
Bhool Bhulaiyaa
A Tangle of Narratives Intertwined When Bhool Bhulaiyaa first came out in 2007, it was anything but just another horror-comedy – it was a cultural touchstone. Directed by Priyadarshan, the film borrowed the bones of the Malayalam classic Manichitrathazhu and hand it a Hindi heart, laced with laughter and chills. With a haunted haveli, a […]
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3
Bollywood exuberated glee at the announcement of their new installment to the franchise, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, a much anticipated and discussed sequel. This glee is seen in other works produced around the same time, like the Diwali horror-comedy. It takes different worlds, adds some nostalgia, and breathes into it a new life. The franchise’s darling […]
Hungama
Hungama and the Chaos that Became a Classic: Unlike many other films that released in the year 2003, Hungama was much more than a comedy that relied entirely on slapstick humor. From middle class chaos to the more sophisticated antics of misunderstanding and mistaken identity, Priyadarshan seem to have orchestrated a cacophony of delightful elements […]
Pati Patni Aur Woh
Love, Lies, and the Comedy of Temptation As expected, the audience’s response to the 2019 remake of the 1978 classic Pati Patni Aur Woh was not the same as for other rom-coms released contemporaneously. They had a ‘behind-the-scenes’ understanding of the movie’s deeper potential subjects to be addressed in a uniquely Indian fashion, however, the […]
The Monkey
That Toy’s Laugh Echoes in the Gut When you first glimpse The Monkey trailer—cymbals clashing, wrapped in red—something strange happens. Millions stopped and stared. Its trailer became the most-watched independent horror film trailer ever, gathering over 100 million views in just 72 hours. That manic grin on the toy monkey’s face? It mirrored a private […]
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2
A Sequel That Carried Great Anticipations To call the release of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 in 2022 another Bollywood release would be an understatement. Rather, it was an attempt at fulfilling a heritage. The first Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007) had reached cult status with Akshay Kumar’s ghostbuster antics and Vidya Balan’s memorable Manjulika. The sequel, however, had […]
Red Notice
A Heist Film Built on Star Power Red Notice was released on Netflix in 2021, and it was not just another action-comedy as it was the streaming giant’s most ambitious original project at the time. It starred Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot, and it featured globe-trotting adventures with sharp humor and thrilling heist […]