News and Views

India enters its 74th year of Independence amid a raging pandemic and economic distress that looks indefinite. While the country is slowly ‘unlocking down’ and restrictions are being eased, our anxieties about our health and future refuse to fade.

What is it that must comfort a citizen of an independent ‘atmanirbhar’ country in these tough times - assuring policies? Promising employment? Freedom of expression and dignity of life. Or a healthy democratic system that anchors all of these values listed above?

On this 15th of August, we spoke to a historian, journalists, a labour worker, a public health expert, a student, and a data collector. They tell us that even after 73 years of independence, it is a long way to freedom.

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Host, Writer and Sound Designer: Fabeha Syed

Editor: Santosh Kumar

Music: Big Bang Fuzz

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When it comes to music, lyrics play as integral a role as the melody but alas, historically speaking, lyricists have not received the kind of recognition they deserve. To shed light on this, poet and lyricist Varun Grover took to social media to share a beautiful video with the loudest and the clearest message - CREDIT DE DO YAAR.

Sung by Swanand Kirkire and penned by Kausar Munir, Varun Grover, Swanand Kirkire, 'Credit De Do Yaar' draws attention to the plight of lyrics writers in the industry.

Catch lyricists #VarunGrover, #NeeleshMisra, Swanand Kirkire, Anvita Dutt, and Priya Saraiya in conversation with The Quint's Deeksha Sharma about #CreditDeDoYaar - a song where they request music labels, companies and streaming apps to include the names of lyricists in credits. 

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Little Gunjan or Gunju (Riva Arora), as she is lovingly called by her family, is enamoured by planes and flying. When she triumphantly announces to her brother that she wants to be a pilot he mocks her and says she should instead become an air hostess, because “ladkiyan pilot thodi na bante hain (How can girls become pilots?)”. The protective father walks in and explains that irrespective of whether the aircraft is flown by a man or a woman, they are both referred to as a pilot. And so it’s settled, at least in a dinner-table conversation. Gunjan can be whoever she wants to be. But the real world comes with its own set of challenges. 

Here is The Quint's Review of the movie. 

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“Am I correct ?” asks a triumphant Shakuntala Devi every time she solves humongous maths equations in insanely inhuman pace and jumps at the applause with childlike zest. The cheering follows on cue. Accompanied with some rousing background score and in the brightest of sarees, Vidya Balan plays her with full-blooded commitment and a full-throttle signature laugh ! Vidya is luminous as Shakuntala Devi and it’s simply hard to look away from her.

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VO: RJ Stutee

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The opening sequence of Raat Akeli Hai plays out entirely in the dark with nearly no dialogues. A truck chasing a car, a subsequent crash, a murder, an aerial shot of two bodies being taken to an undisclosed location and a bone-chilling cry. We are just about settling in trying to make sense of the silhouettes and what they mean. And this sets the tone. Economical with its dialogues and a sophisticated thriller, Raat Akeli Hai creates an enchanting world where Honey Trehan’s grip on the narrative rarely slips.

Tune in for the full review!

VO: Rj Stutee

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Born as Dhanpat Rai Srivastava on 31 July 1880 in Varanasi, Munshi Premchand is often referred to as the Charles Dickens of India. Premchand, who is known to have popularised the literary tradition of the short story in northern India, has written more than 300 short stories.

Scholars argue that his works should not be seen as mere pieces of fiction, but as social commentary that is reflective of the issues and struggles of pre-Partition India. Most of his stories have shown poverty, through the instruments of social injustice and caste inequalities.

In this special podcast, we pick out Premchand’s last short story Kafan (1936) – a satire about a poor father and son who don’t have money to bury the woman of their house, who has died in childbirth. The story holds a mirror to society and makes us wonder why after almost eight decades, India’s farmers are nothing different than the poor protagonists – Ghesu and Madhav.

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Narrator and Sound Designer: Fabeha Syed

Editor: Shelly Walia

Music: Big Bang Fuzz

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Sushant Singh Rajput's last film, Dil Bechara, is a tough one to watch. The directorial debut of Mukesh Chhabra, it also stars Sanjana Sanghi in a lead role. While watching the film, there's a constant thought that lingers on- Sushant Singh Rajput is no more.

Be it his smile, the twinkle in his eyes or even his easy charm - Sushant is in his best form in the film. It just breaks our hearts to even acknowledge the fact that this bright, energetic and successful star is gone.

VO: RJ Stutee

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Amit Sadh reprises his role of senior Inspector Kabir Sawant in Breathe: Into The Shadows, which also marks the digital debut of Abhishek Bachchan and Nithya Menen. While the latter lends novelty to the sequel of the 2018 series Breathe, it's only Amit Sadh and his unwavering conviction while playing a cop trying to search for a new beginning even as he makes amends for his past mistakes that makes Breathe 2 worthwhile.

Directed by Mayank Sharma, who has written the screenplay along with Bhavani Iyer and Vikram Tuli, this universe is similar to the morally dodgy world of its prequel.

VO: RJ Stutee

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Clean Slate Films, founded by Anushka Sharma and her brother Karnesh, has a knack of backing projects with a distinct feminist tone - from NH 10 to Paatal Lok and even the latest Netflix original Bulbbul. Also, Anushka Sharma’s penchant for the supernatural is equally evident. From the friendly ghost in Phillauri, the scary supernatural presence in Pari to the feminine power as the mainstay in this period film, there definitely is a range to the characters.

What one must expressly state is that Bulbbul isn’t a horror film with its staple jump scare moments and pulling the rug from under our collective feet at an opportune time. If that’s what you are expecting be prepared to be disappointed. Tune in to the full review!

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Sushant Singh Rajput has left much more than just a film legacy behind. He has left memories behind. Memories of a dreamer, a wide-eyed boy from a humble family in the search of the meaning of success and happiness.

It wasn’t an easy journey for a shy young man from a middle class family preparing to be an engineer to make a gamble and drop out of college to pursue acting in Bollywood. He was told ‘money plus recognition equals happiness and success’. But in a speech delivered in 2016 at the Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management in IIT Bombay, he told students that after a long time in his life he understood the true meaning of success.

To say that his demise is shocking, would be an understatement. But even with him gone, he has left his philosophy to inspire the rest. And this is his story.

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