Thought Box

THOUGHT FACTORY: CREATION BEGINS WHERE OPINION ENDS

Art is born from surrender, not control. While opinions about art come from privilege and position, creation emerges from vulnerability and courage — it’s time cri...

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ALTERNATIVE ENTERTAINMENT: DISCOVERING JEWELS AMONG THE JUNKPILE

Exhausted by the excessive violence, toxic masculinity and crass comedies of pan-Asian and global cinema, Khalid Mohamed shares some of his hidden delights tucked away in the ...

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ALTERNATIVE ENTERTAINMENT: A STITCH OF KINDNESS

Ajay Govind’s Basanti Tailors, produced by Drishyam Films in association with the Azim Premji Foundation, continues to charm global audiences — a gentle tale from ...

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THOUGHT FACTORY: 30 YEARS OF DDLJ & STILL RUNNING

From Eurorail to Sarson Ke Khet: An Ethnography of DDLJ’s Everlasting Romance with India by Yashika Begwani, explores why thirty years on, Indians still dream of love in...

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RETROSCOPE: MIRACLE AND ‘THE CURSE’ OF JAI SANTOSHI MAA

Khalid Mohamed looks back at 1975, the year of Sholay and the miraculous success of Jai Santoshi Maa and its aftermath — a cinematic contrast that defined devotion, dest...

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POWERFUL PEOPLE: THE QUESTION UNANSWERED

As India celebrates the birth centenary of Dr. Bhupen Hazarika, the Bard of the Brahmaputra, Utpal Datta recalls a poignant conversation that revealed the man behind the legen...

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ALTERNATIVE ENTERTAINMENT: FETED ABROAD, FORGOTTEN AT HOME

When art-house brilliance wins global acclaim but faces neglect in its own country, it forces us to question the moral compass of our cinematic culture and its growing obsessi...

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ALTERNATIVE ENTERTAINMENT: AND THE LEGACY LIVES ON

Khalid Mohamed in conversation with Ramu Aravindan, founder of a Documentation Centre and a socially concerned photographer — son of G. Aravindan — the pioneering ...

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THOUGHT FACTORY: STORIES THAT SHAPE OUR WORLD

From intimate documentaries to visionary fiction, the WIFF 2025 Jury—comprising acclaimed filmmakers, writers, and storytellers—honoured films that challenged conv...

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RETROSCOPE: MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUITAR

Khalid Mohamed replays the life and oeuvre of Van Shipley, who was a formidable name once, but has never been acknowledged in our Nation’s Hall of Music Fame. Play it ag...

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PURSUIT OF TRUTH: KANWALJIT SINGH UNFINISHED

In a reflective conversation with Vinta Nanda, veteran actor Kanwaljit Singh revisits hi...

June 5 2026

STUDENT CITY PART 7

Prof. Dr. Piyush Roy’s nostalgic campus chronicle revisits the friendships, rivalr...

June 4 2026

PRESENTING LOVE IN AN UNUSUAL ROLE

Monojit Lahiri explores how love, emotion, intimacy, and human connection have evolved f...

June 3 2026