News and Views

Pratik Gandhi who is known for his work in Hansal Mehta's Scam 1992 where he portrays the role of Harshad Mehta was touted to be the 'Breakout Star' of 2020. In this episode of News and Views, Gandhi spoke to The Quint's Swati Chopra about his journey as an actor, the struggles of living in Mumbai and what it takes to be a versatile actor.

Tune in!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Simply put Brahmastra is a superhero film. As yours truly sat down with the 3D glasses perched on my nose, watching men and women with superhuman abilities battle it out, I couldn’t help but wonder how we invariably think of the Marvel template every time we hear ‘superhero’.

Tune in to listen to the full review!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seema Seth spent about 30 years in the corporate world as a soft skills trainer before she set out to better the lives of children from marginalised communities through her NGO, Nayi Disha. We spoke to Seth to learn more about this initiative

Tune in to listen to our full conversation!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can a mother-in-law impact our country’s GDP? Are women claiming rightful independence? Why are single women rocking it? In her new book, 'Sisterhood Economy', journalist-turned-entrepreneur Shaili Chopra investigates what’s powering or stopping women to play their role in the functioning of the economy.

By talking to more than 500 different women, across classes, castes, cities, ages, ambitions and desires, she looks into what their day-to-day life looks like, the big and small battles they are slaying every day.

Tune in to listen!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Gujarat government's decision to release 11 men convicted for the gang-rape of Bilkis Bano, and the murder of 13 members of her family, is nothing but "abuse and misuse" of the executive power, said prominent lawyer Vrinda Grover, adding that the order has let down the women of India – especially Muslim women.

In an interview with The Quint, Grover, who has worked with survivors and victims of sexual abuse, said that with this order, the government has sent out a message that the State will not stand up for crimes committed against Muslim women.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On 15 August, Meira Kumar, the former Lok Sabha speaker, tweeted: “100 years ago my father Babu Jagjivan Ram was prohibited from drinking water in school from the pitcher meant for Savarna Hindus. It was a miracle his life was saved. Today, a nine-year-old #Dalit boy has been killed for the same reason. 75 long years after Independence, caste system remains our greatest enemy.”

Babu Jagjivan Ram was the Deputy Prime Minister of India, and a Dalit leader.

Kumar was speaking about Indra Meghwal, a class three student, who died on 13 August, after he was brutally thrashed by his upper-caste teacher for allegedly drinking water from a pot meant for the teacher.

On this episode of News and Views, Meira Kumar speaks to The Quint's Somya Lakhani. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Trigger Warning: Descriptions of transphobia.)

Meet Adam Harry from Kerala, India's first transgender trainee pilot, whose fight against transphobia has paved way for a more inclusive workspace. In this episode of News and Views, he speaks about why he wanted to become a pilot, and what it took to get where he is.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ek Villain sadly returns for no good reason. The story is supposed to have a villain, a hero and a damsel in distress. Actually, make that two. But it’s just a confused, messy rehash of psychopath killer movies that takes itself so seriously that it becomes unintentionally funny, almost hilarious and does no one any favours.

Listen in for the full review!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The remake of Sailesh Kolanu‘s 2020 Telugu film by the same name, Hit: The First Case ends with the promise of a second film. But given the bewildering proceedings in this, one is already apprehensive about the next installment.

For one, the dialogues by Girish Kohli lend the film an artificial hue. It’s like two people speaking outlines rather than having a conversation that appears genuine. The dialogue and their delivery seem disjointed and never quite fit in. Plus, the editing is so patchy that it feels like a sledgehammer is at work to break up the scenes into bits.

The intention might have been to use it as a stylistic device to add pace and urgency to the narrative, but it only manages to make it disjointed and confusing. A character is allowed just half a line or expression, and we cut to another frame without giving us any time to process.

Hit misses the mark by making a mockery of the mystery it promised to unravel.

Rating: 1.5 Quints out of 5.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Taapsee has the tough task of playing someone who isn’t very expressive. Mithali keeps to herself, she speaks softly with her face registering very little of what she actually feels. It's her eyes that do most of the talking and Taapsee Pannu nails it brilliantly never slipping out of character.

But post interval, the film appears to have disowned its own characters, and for that matter, the audience. Why have voiceovers stating the obvious when you have an actor of the calibre of Taapsee who can convey so much with just a look?

This sudden shift in the narrative tone is both inexplicable and unforgivable and Shabaash Mithu is poorer for it. It’s a pity because Mithali’s inspiring story and Taapsee’s solid performance deserved better.

Rating: 2.5 Quints out of 5.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices