Alternative Entertainment

ALTERNATIVE ENTERTAINMENT: CRAFTSMANSHIP AND FORM

Towards the non-bourgeoise tales from screen and stage: Amar Singh Chamkila and Lavani ke Rang are explored here by filmmaker Sharad Raj The disparity between the musical gen...

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ALTERNATIVE ENTERTAINMENT: 50 YEARS OF GARM HAWA

On Balraj Sahni’s birth anniversary, Shantanu Ray Chaudhuri looks at the lasting legacy of Garm Hawa, which celebrates its fiftieth anniversary this year, and wonders if...

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ALTERNATIVE ENTERTAINMENT: LOOKING FOR THE MAHANAYAK

Srijit Mukherji’s Oti Uttam is a film hard to dislike. And no, it’s not just Uttam Kumar who is responsible for that, writes Shantanu Ray Chaudhuri. Screenings of...

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ALTERNATIVE ENTERTAINMENT: THE RIVER OF LIFE

OP Srivastava takes us on the banks of Gautam Ghose's film. Paar, crossing the river of life, is a story of human endurance, and courage to fight against caste based oppressio...

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ALTERNATIVE ENTERTAINMENT: MAINSTREAM VS. ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES

A comprehensive understanding of mainstream and alternative movements enrich discussions about the strengths and weaknesses of each. Sharad Raj explores the complexities of ci...

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ALTERNATIVE ENTERTAINMENT: REALISM OF THE MATERIALISTIC WORLDVIEW

Sharad Raj explores the evolution of realism in Indian cinema, its many forms and structures, and the deviations in its style through the lens of Kumar Shahani’s “...

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ALTERNATIVE ENTERTAINMENT: A POETIC DOCUMENTARY

This week it is O.P. Srivastava's tryst with temporality as he remembers Mani Kaul's documentary film, a masterpiece, Siddheshwari – a film that leaves itself to interpr...

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ALTERNATIVE CINEMA: THE CINEMA OF SOUND & CUT

"The Zone of Interest" and the cinema of sound and the cut is what Sharad Raj explores as he shares his personal experience while viewing the film. I hadn’t heard of Jo...

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ALTERNATIVE ENTERTAINMENT: TAPAN SINHA’S EK DOCTOR KI MAUT

Tapan Sinha’s Ek Doctor Ki Maut (1990) shows how scientific research and innovation is not given its due in India, and how professional jealousy and insensitive governme...

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ALTERNATIVE ENTERTAINMENT: THOSE FREEZE SHOTS OF TARUN MAJUMDAR

Satyabrata Ghosh explores the genesis and evolution of the freeze shot used by auteurs of cinema to capture a lasting impact of on emotional moment, through the cinema of Taru...

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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