Retroscope

RETROSCOPE: CENTENARY OF A REBEL POET OF CELLULOID

Ranjan Das Gupta marks 100 years of Guru Dutt, the visionary director who blended poetry, pathos, and protest in cinema, transforming Hindi films with his uniquely melancholic...

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RETROSCOPE: THIRTY YEARS AFTER...TIME FLIES

  Khalid Mohamed revisits Bandit Queen (1994), Shekhar Kapur’s film on the dacoit leader Phoolan Devi, recalling the blitz of controversies which surrounded th...

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RETROSCOPE: OF MEENA KUMARI & DREAMS OF HOLLYWOOD

Khalid Mohamed’s unpublished conversation with the late Saawan Kumar Tak, who despite his mega-hit movies and memorable lyrics never received his just recognition in Bol...

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RETROSCOPE: LOVE, FRIENDSHIP AND TRAGEDY

Khalid Mohamed rewinds to the extraordinary but forgotten story of  yesteryear’s actor Shyam, a major star actor who lost his life at the age of 31,  after an ...

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RETROSCOPE: HIS ENDURING LEGACY IN BENGALI CINEMA

Celebrating the quiet brilliance of Anup Kumar—Bengali cinema’s everyman—on his birth anniversary. A master of nuance, humour, and emotional depth, his legac...

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RETROSPECTIVE: CINEMA, CONSCIOUSNESS AND TIME

Exploring Shumona Goel’s experimental cinema through fragmented time, sensory aesthetics, and urban modernity, this analysis connects her work to Bergsonism, quantum mec...

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RETROSPECTIVE: “ORIDAM” @20 IS A PORTRAIT OF PAIN

A poignant exploration of a sex worker’s struggles, Pradeep Nair’s Oridam challenges conventional portrayals of female sexuality, offering a visually compelling, e...

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RETROSCOPE: VIOLATIONS, DEMOLITIONS, PUBLIC OUTRAGE

Humra Quraishi’s reflections on a year of upheaval for minorities, where state actions and identity politics have eroded trust. This year-end retrospective urges readers...

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THE EMOTION DRIVING MODERN INDIA TODAY: MAHATMA GANDHI

On the Mahatma’s 154th birth anniversary, Humra  Quraishi brings snatches of conversations she’s had with those closely connected with Gandhi, and his grandch...

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Sing freedom: Songs of nationalist fervour

Anil Dixit walks down melody lane to track some of the most memorable songs of our national pride and patriotism Patriotic songs are de rigueur for occasions such as Independ...

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THOUGHT FACTORY: THE MAN WHO LISTENS TO DOGS

Through the intertwined lives of Sugar, Peppy, and Missy, Ramesh Narayan discovers not j...

July 20 2025

BOLLYWOOD: REVIEW - TANVI THE GREAT

A heartfelt yet oversimplified tale of autism, Tanvi The Great delivers emotional highs ...

July 19 2025

KALEIDOSCOPE: RAJESH KHANNA’S STAR STILL SHINES

On the 13th death anniversary of India’s first superstar, Gautam Chintamani revisi...

July 18 2025