My dad was Darth Vader: a Star Wars confession

[ Here's a piece I did for Mint Lounge's special on Star Wars ] If you’re a ten-year-old encountering a sword-and-sorcery epic, it i...

Just be yourself: Dharmendra in Guddi, and other reflections

[ Did this for Mint Lounge ] Dharmendra turns 80 on December 8. This can be hard to believe if the image in your head is of the pranksters h...

Identity crisis: on Michel Bussi's After the Crash

[ Did this short review for Mint Lounge ] The French thriller Un Avion sans Elle , now translated into English as After the Crash , comes wi...

Darkness in pictures

[ My latest Forbes Life column. Earlier columns are here ] When I think of the graphic novels I have read – especially the ones with dark su...

At the Times of India lit-fests: Hrishi-da's Heroines + Cinema as Reflector of Change

If you’re based in Delhi or Mumbai (or there at the right time), do mark these dates please. I’ll be participating in the Times of India’s l...

‘Is this real?’ Pictures that lie, frames that mislead

[ My latest Mint Lounge column ] I’m looking at a colourful coaster I picked up from a shop that specialises in kitschy Bollywood memorabili...

"The magic of Smita-ness" - a book about Smita Patil

[ Did a version of this review for Open magazine ] One of the most cutting things a reviewer can say about a personality-centred book is tha...