Retroscope

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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The Forever Story: Protima Gauri (Bedi)

Humra  Quraishi writes that Protima Bedi, was the quintessential modern Indian woman who had once written her own destiny She passed away twenty two years ago on  A...

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Chann Pardesi: Reuniting with the cult-classic

Aparajita Krishna writes, Chann Pardesi would be a stranger to the young cine-goer, India 2020, including the young diaspora generation. However, a news item featured in the ...

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Mohammed Rafi: Forty Years Later

Anil Dixit exults about Mohammed Rafi’s imperishable legacy of songs, on the occasion of the legendary crooner’s 40th death anniversary. I confess I write this on...

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ALTERNATIVE ENTERTAINMENT: AND THE LEGACY LIVES ON

Khalid Mohamed in conversation with Ramu Aravindan, founder of a Documentation Centre an...

October 14 2025

THOUGHT FACTORY: STORIES THAT SHAPE OUR WORLD

From intimate documentaries to visionary fiction, the WIFF 2025 Jury—comprising ac...

October 13 2025

BOLLYWOOD: DINNER IS SERVED, SUSPENSE IS NOT

A dinner party that promised tension, mystery, and satire turns into a clumsy masquerade...

October 12 2025