CATEGORIES

THE PHILOSOPHER'S SONG

In his new album, singer-songwriter Prateek Kuhad ventures on an exploration of the dark corners of his mind

LOVE BYTES

MODERN LOVE: MUMBAI Available on Amazon Prime Video

Flying high

HAL’s light utility helicopter could be the perfect replacement for the ageing Cheetah and Chetak fleets. Experts say it will revolutionise India’s defence aviation capabilities

CARRIERS OF CULTURE

India is the “Country of Honour” at the 2022 Cannes Film Market. Six Indian films will be screened as part of it

Log on to Yatra.gov

The pandemic scare has died down, and political parties are now planning for yatras in a big way.

Indomitable art historian

The original launch day of Tasneem Zakaria Mehta’s labour of love, a hefty tome titled Mumbai: A City Through Objects—101 stories from the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, turned into a huge disappointment for the managing trustee (Tasneem) of this jewel of a museum.

The Archies aren't kidding

Slightly bemused with the amount of hate Zoya Akhtar’s teaser for the Netflix films, The Archies, has been getting. I found it, to use my daughter’s phrase, ‘nice only’.

THE PARTY IN ITS LABYRINTH

The Udaipur conclave helped highlight the Congress’s many challenges, but it failed to resolve key questions

The Bengali Film Industry Has Become Bankrupt

Goutam Ghose is one of the last remaining stalwarts of the Bengali parallel movie movement, along with Sandip Ray. Although he is a product of the new wave cinema, his style is quite different from that of doyens of the industry like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Ghose talks about the masters of the new wave movement and the dramatic decline of Bengali cinema.

Not All Of Ray's Films Are Equally Great

Having a conversation with Girish Kasaravalli at his home in Bengaluru is not easy as his replies often get drowned out in the din of the traffic outside. The globally acclaimed director has a clear opinion about the evolution of Indian cinema and the contributions by eminent directors like Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Kasaravalli says although Ray’s cinema language was unique, it was missing in his final few films.

Bengali Literature No Longer Fit Enough To Make Movies

The second wave of the pandemic robbed film buffs of the chance to celebrate the birth centenary of Satyajit Ray. This year, however, people from all walks of life are flocking to 1/1 Bishop Lefroy Road, Kolkata—Ray’s home for the last two decades of his life—to pay homage to the maestro. Ray’s son, Sandip, who is also a famous director, stays here now. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Sandip opens up about his father and explains the attempts being made to preserve and protect his legacy.

From Ray To Decay

Satyajit Ray influenced mainstream Bengali cinema like no one else did, and he drew inspiration from Bengali literature for his works. Seven decades after his Pather Panchali, Bengali cinema seems to be lost. A parallel decline in Bengali literature could be key to this free fall

SEA DREAMS

Work on Mission Samudrayaan, India’s daring deep-sea crewed voyage—set to be launched in 2024—is in full swing. THE WEEK explores the details of the ambitious project

ON THE HIGHWAY TO GROWTH

Tamil Nadu takes big strides in growth and development under the able leadership of Honourable Chief Minister Thiru M.K. Stalin

Delimited franchise

Despite the allegations of gerrymandering against the BJP, the opposition is keen for elections

What happened to Dabholkar and Kalburgi can happen to me

ON JULY 11, 2016, a mob of upper-caste men at Una town in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district attacked seven members of a dalit family who were skinning a dead cow.

PATHER PANCHALI WAS THE FIRST GENUINE CINEMA TO COME OUT OF INDIA

A door Gopalakrishnan, one of India’s greatest filmmakers, has been among the stalwarts of the country’s new wave cinema, pioneered by Mrinal Sen. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, he speaks about his friendship with Satyajit Ray, his admiration for the maestro’s craft and the declining standards of Bengali cinema.

LOSING THE PLOT

Poor technical quality, inane insertion of song and dance, nonsensical dialogues and contrived plot lines have dealt a body blow to Bengali mainstream cinema

FLOP SHOW

Lagging behind in many areas of endeavour, the post-Independence Bengali attempted to make up for it in the field of cinema.

EVERY STAR IS MADE IN HIS HEAD

Rocky bhai has redefined heroism in Indian cinema. Inside theatres, his dialogues are making the crowds go wild; outside, KGF 2 is smashing all records. The movie had recently breached the ₹1,100 crore mark in worldwide collections. Now that it is done, Rocky bhai has morphed back into actor Yash. But, in an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, the Karnataka native says that there is a Rocky in everyone. He speaks about his vision for Indian cinema, what the success of KGF means for the Kannada film industry and gives a glimpse of his journey—from being the son of a bus driver to India’s newest superstar.

A NOVEL DIRECTION

It was while working at advertising firm D.J. Keymer in Kolkata that Satyajit Ray ran into Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay. The novelist had taken up a part-time job as an editor at Signet Press, a publishing house, in the late 1940s.

On a knife-edge

The halal controversy, which followed the ban on hijabs and non-Hindu vendors on temple premises, has helped the BJP and the SDPI in Karnataka

No Gain From This Pain

Anand Bakshi wrote such darling lyrics for the playful Tiger Hunt song in Mr. Nat-warlal (1979). The song features Amitabh Bachchan as a famed hunter, telling a gang of wide-eyed pahadi children all about his encounter with a mighty tiger on a dark Tuesday night in the jungle many moons ago—and everybody’s favourite deity Hanuman ji has a starring role in the story.

Prashant Kishor: 'Why I Rejected Congress Offer'

We Will Start In Bihar, But Will Not Be Restricted To The State

Flight of the lone wolf

There are three actors in Bollywood whose careers do not fall into the fairytale cate-gory. They are not Bollywood royalty (such an idiotic tab), nor do they belong to any camp. And yet, over a career span of more than 20 years, all three qualify as Bollywood tycoons—can you guess who they are? Hint: all of them are overtly macho Alpha men, fitness is their mantra.

THIS IS GIR

CONSERVATION EFFORTS AND THE SUPPORT OF LOCAL RESIDENTS HAVE LED TO A STEADY GROWTH OF THE LION POPULATION

IN FINE FORM

From sculptures with multiple menacing faces to mixed-media installations, here are the showstoppers from India Art Fair 2022

Living in fear

More than 13 years after the civil war, Tamils and Muslims in north and east still fear being locked up under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Human rights activists have accused the Rajapaksas of using the law to silence critics

IN THE NATURE OF THINGS

Amitav Ghosh's new book has spun a tiny tale that encompasses the universe

Pacemakers!

The new crop of bowlers in India’s pace arsenal