Making sense of 1984, 1993 and 2002 with Manto: Documentary filmmaker Rakesh Sharma on his influences

“Sirajuddin was sitting. Four people walked past him, carrying someone. When he inquired, he learnt that they had found a girl lying unconscious near the railway tracks and had brought her to the camp. He followed them. They handed the girl over to the hospital. Sirajuddin stood leaning against a pole outside the hospital for…

Five Acts, Five Postcards: Ramu Ramanathan’s Milestones in Retrospect

RR: Salaam! Saw your email. Me doing a cross-country trudge this week. TS: Ah, just wanted to run your blog piece concept by you! RR: Send ze conceptz. If I get time in airplane, rail gaadi, ST bus – I can do it. Chaalse? TS: Ekdum chaalse. I was told you were travelling; it’s what triggered…

‘It is the best of times, it is the worst of times’: Kiran Nagarkar’s Literary Remedies

Gleaned in the course of an afternoon of conversations spanning life and literature with Mr. Kiran Nagarkar, this piece attempts to convey many things. What it cannot possibly hope to communicate is the gravity in his voice as he talks about how the fun has gone out of Indian life in the present political climate, or the unexpectedly buoyant optimism…

A Lokshahir Underground: Journeys and Inspirations with Sambhaji Bhagat

How did you get inspired to make Shivaji Underground? Being a Maharashtrian, one hears of Shivaji all the time. I was in the Dalit and communist movements. During the Babri Masjid riots, I got a clear view of why the riots were happening; I had sensed it before, during 1984 riots, but it was clear after…