The Lost Bus
When a Bus Became More Than a Setting Every so often, a movie comes in and out of theaters quietly, only to leave a profound effect in its wake. The Lost Bus is one of those movies. What was thought to be a survival thriller, turned out to be a human drama—a highly nuanced one, […]
Blood Red Sky
A Sky That Turned Red: Entering the Hidden World of Blood Red Sky When Blood Red Sky landed on Netflix, the reactions were instant and loud. “A vampire hijack movie?” “Is this horror or action?” “Is it a family drama in disguise?” The trailer itself created a storm — a woman boarding a transatlantic flight […]
The Black Phone
When a Phone Rang Across the Horror World: The Journey of The Black Phone There’s a special kind of electricity that surrounds a horror film with the right pedigree. When the makers of Sinister and Doctor Strange announced The Black Phone, horror fans across the world—in India too—felt a quiet thrill. Scott Derrickson returning to […]
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Fairy Tales Transformed into Fire Fights When Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters was released in 2013, people were captivated by the idea of a grown-up action fairy tale. Tommy Wirkola directed the film and he transformed the siblings into hunters who kill witches instead of frightened children lost in the woods. Anticipation was high due […]
Pompeii
A City Frozen in Time, Yet Alive in Emotion Seeing the film Pompeii in 2014 gave me the opportunity to witness the intertwining of historical disaster and a tragic love that was enveloped in ash, ambition, and destiny. I remember that Paul W.S. Anderson transcended the borders of genres to combine a Roman epic with […]
A Serbian Film
When Horror Crossed the Line: Peeling Back the Dark Layers of A Serbian Film When A Serbian Film released in 2010, it wasn’t just another entry in the horror genre — it was an explosion, a wound, and a provocation all at once. The film didn’t simply aim to scare; it aimed to scar. Directed […]
The Kashmir Files
A Story Unmastered for Years The Kashmir Files illuminated a previously obscure period of Indian history; the heartbreaking 1990s exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley. It begins with Kher’s Pushkarnath Pandit, a land-holding elder, defiantly rooted to his land while the icy foreboding takes hold. Krishna, portrayed by Darshan Kumaar and the grandson of […]
Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh
When History Speaks in a Courtroom Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh isn’t one of those patriotic blockbusters with great battlefields and war cries. Instead, it has a war of words argued in a courtroom. It deals with one of the darkest periods of colonial Indian history, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, and […]