True Review
Movies

APARAJITO: A PARODY MASQUERADING AS A ‘TRIBUTE’

Pandering to the Bengalis’ juvenile fondness for wallowing in nostalgia, Anik Dutta’s film is a monument to artifice. Nothing, not even Jeetu Kamal’s strikin...

Read More
Movies

Salty and Spicy

Film historian Dhruv Somani marvels at Gulzar’s women-centric flavored Namkeen (1982). A lonely house looks so dilapidated that only some miracle seems to be ...

Read More
Movies

Those Haunting Melodies

Film historian Dhruv Somani, laments the end of the melody-laden songs of the suspense-packed whodunits, which enthralled right from the days of Aayega Aanewala in Mahal (1949...

Read More
Movies

Finding Ganga

Film historian Dhruv Somani, recounts the arduous process that was involved in the casting of Mandakini in Raj Kapoor’s biggest hit Ram Teri Ganga Maili. Mandakini, bes...

Read More
Movies

The Forgotten History of Human Civilization

Shantanu Ray Chaudhuri: A film based on a Badal Sircar play is rare. Rare still is a debutant filmmaker adapting one. That too in a moribund film industry. Which is what makes...

Read More
Movies

Scent of a Killer

Film historian Dhruv Somani, revisits Rajesh Khanna’s slasher film Red Rose, which was a flop on its release in 1980 but commands a cult following today. When producer ...

Read More
Movies

HIT MACHINE

Film historian Dhruv Somani tracks the unique success story of Jeetendra who completed his 80th last week - in a welter of Hindi films made in Bombay and the south. The South...

Read More
Movies

The Gone Girls

Film historian Dhruv Somani focuses on yesteryear’s gutsy Sheetal and Leena Das, who have vanished into a limbo today. They never quite made it to the A-list but they w...

Read More
Movies

Back on the Burning Train

Film historian Dhruv Somani, takes you back on a ride to India’s first disaster movie directed by Ravi Chopra, which had its taut and terrifying moments but unfortunatel...

Read More
Movies

Banned it

Film historian Dhruv Somani recalls 11 controversial films, which ran into trouble with the Indian film censors. Anyone who follows Bollywood is well versed with the issues o...

Read More

KALEIDOSCOPE: LUCKNOW BETWEEN PAST AND NOW

Cultures are never frozen in time, they keep moving, keep evolving.Filmmaker and writer ...

January 19 2026

HEALTH: WHEN CANCER GETS PERSONAL

As cancer treatment continues to rely on averages and probabilities, a breakthrough appr...

January 18 2026

GENDER: CHAI AND LOVE MEET ON STAGE

In this intimate column, Vinta Nanda writes about The Chai Queens, its emotional homecom...

January 17 2026