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Okja (2017) ***1/2

Okja is a classic big screen film that comes out on the small screen via the platform of #netflix. I could write a separate think piece solely on this but I would instead focus on what an absolute joy and thrill it was to watch #Okja - whatever may be the platform....

Wonder Woman (2017) ***

I don’t think I have ever had the pleasure of staring into a screen and see only women. Powerful women flying across the landscape, swords in hands, beautiful, honourable and strong. So while yesterday I didn’t care about the tag but today I want to celebrate the fact...

Newton (2017) ****

Newton is an excellent film. It is been termed a dark comedy but I would just drop the pretence of darkness. Maybe it is my outlook of the world. Or maybe the fact that this story of misadventure reminded me of the satirical quest of the famous Don Quixote. In my...

SULTAN (2016)***

Director: Ali Abbas Zafar I shall start with the only aspect of the film that i did not like. That Anushka Sharma and her character Arfa were both sidelined after the obligatory romance. Whether it was a statement on sexism or sexism itself, I am not sure. But...

Udta Punjab (2016)**

After the kind of monster publicity (good or bad, it’s all publicity), an amazing trailer and the freaky bright and quirky music it was really difficult to go into this film with absolutely no expectations. And yet as I sat through this dark tale of drug trafficking...

Fan (2016) ***

This film couldn’t really have been made with any other actor. Yes, there are super-stars, many in Bollywood, but FAN, Maneesh Sharma’s thoughtful and highly entertaining ode to Shah Rukh Khan couldn’t have been more perfect for him. The story is simple, not...

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) 0*

I have waited a whole 36 hours before making any public comments or opinions about this film. In part because i had been ranting about it for almost a year and i am sure everyone already knew what i feel about it. And partly because for the first time in a long time i...

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)

Very recently I had the absolute pleasure of watching Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, on the big screen. I was 9 years old when it released and despite many pleadings only got to see it on a VHS tape even as the DDLJ mania struck everyone in school. Whatever one may...

Creed (2015) ****

Creed is a boxing film. And you know what happens in one. There are long training montages, a man running on the streets early morning, a couple of gut wrenching fights and a win. Creed has all that. But then it also has something more, which makes it more than a...

The Martian (2015) ****

Let’s get one thing completely out of the way. The entertainment quotient of this film is so up there that you wouldn’t even come out with this big a smile even after watching a freaking Pixar film. This film will pump you with more endorphins than chocolate, sex and...

Talvar (2015) ***1/2

Two years back, I had wondered how would one make a film about this infamous double murder case. Without there ever being a conclusion, how ethical and unbiased could that final product be. After watching Talvar, written by Vishal Bhardwaj and directed by Meghna...

Katti Batti (2015) *

That time of year has arrived when I watch that one film that is going to fill me up with enough venom to spew all over my computer screen. A film so unoriginal that all the Kader Khan and David Dhawan comedies, I used to frown upon as a snobbish teenager suddenly...

Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015) ***1/2

Rarely ever do sequels ever reach the quality of the original film, a fact that is true for cinema everywhere. But with ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’, Anand L Rai gives us everything better than the first. We finally get the intensely damaged lead pair in all their glory....

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) ****1/2

This is not a review. This is a Public Service message to anyone who calls themselves a movie aficionado: - 'Please do not make the mistake of not watching Mad Max: Fury Road, for whatever preexisting bias you may have against action films.' To put in clear...

Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (2015) ***1/3

This review is devoid of any comparisons that may unintentionally occur in the minds of people who grew up loving the detective series on television. I will accept, i was one of them and when i first saw the trailer, i was filled with nothing but rage. The only...

Goa – Part 2

After 2 hours of what i can only describe as intense female aggression at its worst, which is almost always visible in the Mumbai locals i managed to reach the Vasai Road station to run after my train in full Bollywood style. Of course, there is always the guarantee...

Kill/Dil (2014) 1/2*

I don't think i have been this supremely impressed by an actor and so immensely depressed by a film in a very long time. If it were not for the extreme efforts of Ranveer Singh, I would have just bestowed the film with no stars and be done with it. He of course has...

Boyhood (2014) ***1/2

The film's catch is quite simple. Shot over period of eleven-years, showing the growth of the young boy and his sister to adulthood. Directed by Richard Linklater who over the past decade has become one of my favourite film-makers this film has been one of the...

Interstellar (2014) ****

It's a well known fact that i am a huge fan of the director, Christopher Nolan’s work and probably that is why I usually end up watching the films at least twice before writing about them, less my judgement is clouded by any bias I will have. The same is true for...

Chicago Part II

While i had my share of great food in New York, unfortunately time was of essence over there so i couldn’t go about wasting half a day waiting in line outside a hot-dog place or driving outside the city limits early morning for some roadside batter fried shrimps....

Chicago Part I

I had the absolute pleasure of visiting in this beautiful city in various times during the year, from the freezing cold, to the blossoming spring and the absolutely delicious Autumn. But of course the winner remains summer, not because of the weather but because it...

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) ***1/2

There is absolutely just one word to describe 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and that word is FUN. With a menagerie of fast-mouthed characters, a bunch of celestial worlds and a rocking soundtrack, this film is absolutely a the best roller coaster that this summer has...

Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014) **

My brother asked me to watch this film because he knows my absolute love for DDLJ. So he had a simple request, watch this film and spew poison on paper afterwards. I am not in really bad mood, so i am not going to go ape shit on its ass but I shall say this one very...

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) ****

I first thought i would write one of my usual eloquent reviews which has a lot of paragraphs which usually puts people off. Instead i have chosen to do the following: Why is 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' so awesome? 1.) It is not directed by Michael Bay. (This...

Snowpiercer (2013) ***1/2

I recently read not one but a couple of articles citing the death or irrelevance of movie reviewers today. It’s true. Most people can't even differentiate a real review from a paid one and it is a fact that people hate reading. So it all comes down to the stars...

New York City

What do i say about NYC, especially since i was there only for 4 days, time in which i could only just barely scratch the surface of this weird, magical city that made me wonder why the f*** do all the millionaires and billionaires live in whatever shithole of the...

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) ***1/2

My love for superhero, mutant action films is well known, however good or average they might be. So it is no surprise that i was looking terribly forward to the new installment after the fabulous X-Men: First Class. X-Men: Days of Future Past peaked my interest after...

Bad Words (2014) ***1/2

Many people, in many many conversations have often tried to persuade me to live in the United States of America. Mind you these are completely hypothetical conversations, with no real world consequences, but even in these i have always maintained that i cannot imagine...

Queen (2014) ****

I have already raved about the film a lot but i write this review only for one reason - To make sure that whoever reads this watches this film and for a change a great Hindi film makes money instead of the brainless, emotionless, unentertaining crap that usually...

Highway (2014) ***

To be truthful, i am not one of those people who are completely in love with Imtiaz Ali’s body of work. His films about troubled love stories are good, but with the exception to ‘Jab We Met’, he has almost always chosen to give greatly demanding roles to actors who...

Hasee Toh Phasee (2013) **1/2

There is a huge possibility that since it had been such a long time (in my case that is more than a month) that i had seen a hindi film, that my mind just lapped up whatever it was offered but, god help me, I enjoyed watching the film 'Hasee Toh Phasee'. The leads and...

Fear Cooking? – Part 3

Pasta Sauces It sucks to cook alone. It sucks if others do not help. It sucks if others are indifferent. And it sucks if there is no one to eat with. It is something that many of us face on a daily basis. And it is primarily the reason that many of us do not cook,...

Wonder Woman (2017) ***

Newton (2017) ****

SULTAN (2016)***

Udta Punjab (2016)**

Fan (2016) ***

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) 0*

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)

Creed (2015) ****

The Martian (2015) ****

Talvar (2015) ***1/2

Katti Batti (2015) *

Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015) ***1/2

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) ****1/2

Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (2015) ***1/3

Kill/Dil (2014) 1/2*

Boyhood (2014) ***1/2

Interstellar (2014) ****

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) ***1/2

Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014) **

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) ****

Snowpiercer (2013) ***1/2

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) ***1/2

Bad Words (2014) ***1/2

Queen (2014) ****

Highway (2014) ***

Hasee Toh Phasee (2013) **1/2

Short Term 12 (2013) ****

One of the few things that i love about this time of the year is that i get to see some really good films. The last 10 days i have slowly but steadily been watching some of them but this is the first time i have felt like writing. For me, there are only two kinds of...

Don Jon (2013) ***1/2

I once, many weeks ago had a casual conversation with a friend, the central idea being if we are actually the best judge of what we find sexually attractive. How much of our desire is actually generated from the idea of desirable propagated from other people,...

Gori Tere Pyaar Mein (2013) *1/2

In Hindi cinema, there is not one film. There are two. Pre-interval and post-interval. Films are described in this peculiar fashion of before and after, where the intermission attains almost this Christ like status, a vantage point from where the work is judged. ...

Thor: The Dark World (2013) **

I guess, I am one of the culprits in this vicious cycle of superhero films, reboots, re-re-boots, mixing worlds and what not. I am one of the many who gets intensely excited when a DC, Marvel film is about to approach, counting moments till Friday despite the fact...

Stories We Tell (2012) ****

There are very very few films, mostly just one, in a year, that you can term as the one that profoundly effects you as a viewer. For me, these are films that remind me again as to why I am so passionate about cinema and the power that the medium holds. Sarah...

Captain Philips (2013) ***1/2

Many years ago, when I was not this cinephile that I am supposed to be now, I was watching ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ for the first time with my little brother on the DVD player. I did not know anything about the film except that it starred George Clooney, Matt Damon and Brad...

Fear Cooking? – Part 3

Fear Cooking – Part 2

Know Your Pasta Pasta, in our country has almost become synonyms with fast food now. Every place from hi-end restaurants to casual caffe’ to even roadside stands sell this Italian treat. I had my first stint with it a very long time back in a neighbourhood mall with a...

Fear Cooking? – PART 1

Baking Cakes I was not born into a household where home-made cakes were a normality. In all my years i know of only one instance when my mother baked a cake and that was for my first birthday, an event that i do not remember but cherish if only from old photographs....

Zucchini, Tomato, Pepper Tacos

Ingredients Zucchini - 1 chopped Apple - 1/2 chopped Tomato - 2 chopped Onion - 1 chopped Bell Pepper - 1 chopped Red Chillies - 3 chopped Orange juice - 1/2 cup Sugar - 1 tbsp Salt - 1/2 tbsp Olive oil - 2 tbsp Taco Shells Processed Cheese Recipe Add Olive...

Fig, Cougette and Apple salad with Feta Cheese

On my recent trip to Crawford market's bustling lanes, i happened to buy a lot of vegetables, more than i had space for in my tiny refrigerator. Nonetheless, when life gives you some cash to buy Figs, you put your mind into making something out of it for dinner. To...

Carrot Pancakes with Orange syrup and Caramelized Bananas

So my first MAJOR Sunday breakfast brunch was a success and one of the two favourite recipes that I took away from the event were super classy and also super simple. The easiest one featured bananas with a twist which made them taste even better than they usually...

Cupcakes with Orange and Lemon syrup!

Ingredients (serves 6) 1 cup Flour ¼ cup Butter ½ cup granulated sugar 1 tbsp baking soda 1 large egg Fresh orange juice 3 tbsp Sugar Juice of half a lemon Method Preheat the oven to 180 deg C Mix the flour with the baking soda in a bowl. In a separate cup beat the...

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

Ingredients Half red and yellow Bell Peppers, chopped One onion chopped 6 cloves of garlic chopped Spaghetti (boiled) Red wine/Apple Cider Vinegar Sugar (1/2 tsp) Salt (1 tsp) Olive oil (5 tsp) Basil Cheese (as you want) Method Heat the olive oil in the pan. Add the...

Croissants

Everyone loves Croissants. You are inhuman if you don’t. And after I finally made them from scratch yesterday I found out exactly why they taste so freaking brilliant. Because of all the butter. And because of all the Work! I thought making tarts was work but after...

Kidney Beans (Rajma)

Like most Indians I know, my favourite food is Rajma Chawal/Rajma Paranthas. But as I found out recently, Rajma is also one of those recipes that are hard to replicate. Everyone has their own recipe, but more importantly, even if people follow the same recipe, they...

Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani

One of the joys of cooking Mughlai food is the myriad of spices and ingredients that you get to test out, which one may not often get to use in daily food. I for instance have unfortunately in store with me a substantial amount of dry spices which till recently were...

Mascarpone cream & Irish coffee cupcakes

I love Irish Coffee. Yes, the one with alcohol. I mean, how can you get better than Irish whiskey, coffee and whipped cream. Ah… the whipped cream! Anyway, once you go Irish, it is very difficult to go back to the Cappuccinos and Macchiatos that are served in your...

Banana Bread

I made this lovely fruity, nutty cake because of the over abundance of Bananas in my house which turn ripe very fast. Throwing them away is obviously not an option but using them into this delicious not only gives the ripe bananas a purpose but also serves as a great...

Egg Curry

I had originally made a Sri-Lankan Egg Curry after I saw it made on a particular episode of Masterchef Australia a while back. I think I was more attracted to the shiny brown gravy that the eggs were placed in than the eggs themselves. My version of the egg curry is...

Cupcakes Trio

I don’t know what is it about cupcakes that make them look so cute! I think it’s the tiny bobbles of sweet spongy cake, covered with colourful frosting. My other theory is that since they are so tiny in size no one could hate them, even weight watching women....

Raspberry Cheesecake with Almond crust

So…I had this packet of Philadelphia Cream Cheese lying around ever since I hit Crawford Market last month. I was obviously going to make a cheesecake out of it, but what kind was the one information that was missing. So I went for a plain cheesecake with Raspberry...

Homemade Bread

Bread is the one thing that holds more importance in the household than any other food item. Badly baked it can ruin even the most scrumptious of sandwich fillings as has often happened to my husband at Subway. So in an attempt to never have bad store bought bread...

Spinach and Carrot Spaghetti

Spinach & Carrot Spaghetti Ingredients 1 chopped Onion 6 garlic cloves, chopped 1 chopped carrot 10 leaves of Spinach (washed and chopped) 1 pureed tomato 500 gms Chicken Stock 1-2 spoon chilli flakes 1 tbs salt 1 tbs sugar 1 packet of boiled spaghetti Olive oil...

Cheesy Desserts

A Cheese platter Having been fed ‘Amul Cheese’ since childhood, I always considered it to be a savory item to create the most wonderful sandwiches. But as I grew up I never really understood as to why the dessert ‘Cheesecake’ was called so. “They couldn’t possibly...

Mutsch (Kashmiri Meatballs) in Spice Gravy

The mutschgand (meatballs) 500gms minced mutton Kashmiri chilli powder 1 ½ spoon saunf (fennel) powder 1 spoon dry ginger powder 2 black cardamoms 2 cloves 1 spoon Kashmiri garam masala Salt 3 spoon Mustard oil For the gravy 2 cloves 2 black cardamoms 1 bayleaf...

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Spaghetti Meatballs in Tomato sauce Through my non-vegetarian years, I grew up on something called ‘Mutsch’ (pronounced Matss) which, in simpler words are minced meatballs in Kashmiri spice gravy. But in recent times, I have heard more about them from my brother’s...

Middle-Eastern recipes

Chickpea or Kabuli Chana The thing that I both love and hate about experimenting with food is that I end up demystifying it to some people. My favourite example is when one of my friends while having a plate of Hummus, was absolutely saddened to find out that it is...

Cinnamon Muffins with lemon honey glaze

Considering I have been making cakes for a while now, baking their tiny counterpart should not have been that exciting. But alas! Just the thought of placing my newly purchased muffin tray in the oven gave me goosebumps and I started on a Sunday morning baking spree....

Crème brûlée

So what exactly is Crème brûlée I asked myself the other day at a restaurant while staring at the menu. The sad thing about most restaurant menus is that they never actually tell you what you are ordering and most people just don't make the effort of talking to the...

Upside Down Cake

Upside Down Pineapple Cake I, unlike what it may come across from this Blog, am not really into sweets. So while I do bake the tarts, cakes and pies, I rarely eat more than a bite. The only exception to this are the sweets made with fruits because of the fresh zing...

Coq au Vin (Chicken in Wine)

Coq au Vin There is always this mystique associated with anything ‘French’. It is after all, the macaroons which gets the ooohs and aaaahs, not our own roadside ‘Nankhatai’. The Baguette tastes much better to our minds than the ‘Pav’ and of course the ‘Ratatouille’...

French Apple Tart

Sweet tarts are almost the same as savoury ones, the difference being the filling and the fact that the pastry crust has sugar instead of salt in it. A french apple tart is a great way to use the slightly raw green apples that start coming in winters. The difficult...

Custards

Custard The extraordinary response to this very simple dish was my first cue to write this article. Having grown up on the standard packaged custard, which was always served along with the dutiful grapes and apple at home, I was surprised to find that the whole world...

Layer cake with Mascarpone cheese

cake with mascarpone cheese When it comes to deserts we always like to stick to recipes. But one of the best memories I have of deserts is this one time where I read a story of a couple of kids baking a cake for a competition. I don’t know if one can actually bake...

Tiramsu (Pick me up!)

Tiramsu An Italian desert, Tiramisu means pick me up. While I have no idea why they sometimes have such absurd names for deserts, Italians surely knew how to make some fabulous with actually cooking. ‘Tiramisu’ is one of those fabulous things that is made by the...

Chocolate & Strawberry

There are two things which make every woman’s senses blurred with pleasure, the two items in question being Chocolate and Strawberries. But it is the combination of the two that does something else altogether. It is like magic in your mouth. So all fired up, I got up...

Tarts!

Not many actually take the time out to actually read up about the food they eat. And why would we considering the only time we read about things is when there would be an exam in the near future. And obviously, gobbling down the food much more interesting anyway? But...

Goa – Part 2

Chicago Part II

Chicago Part I

New York City

Bhuj (Rann of Kutch)

Let me be honest. I haven’t had a good trip since last year’s Bhutan/Darjeeling and was really hoping that the much glamorized Rann of Kutch with its ‘Kutch nahi dekha to kuch nahi dekha’ advertisements was going to be it. And yes, the place is spectacularly beautiful...

Darjeeling

When you hear the word ‘Darjeeling’ the first thing that comes to mind is the tea. And for once it is true. If you are a tea lover than this overcrowded and commercialized tourist destination is for you. However bad your hotel may be, you can always find solace in a...

Pondicherry

I guess the 2nd of October isn’t the best of times to visit a land of tax-free booze but then sometimes you just don’t have the choice. So I left with a bunch of my girl friends and we took our first step towards a place which seemed as illusive to us as France...

Gokarna

In all my travels (the few i have had) the one thing that has always left a bad taste has been the food. But, for once i was able to experience heaven. The huge expanse of the Arabian sea, the sand and good food that did not burn a hole in my pocket. While in Gokarna,...

Goa Part 1

My travel to Goa has always been an expensive ordeal. As one of the restaurant owners near the Mabor beach told me, "North goa is full year season madam. You want crowd, you go to Baga." But i have seen the crowd. North goa has got this infectious spirit that gets to...

Bhutan

Travelling to another place is always fun. The new people, cultural differences, clothes and most of all the food is what makes a trip enjoyable. Bhutan was a pleasant surprise in almost all these ways. Placed just above the state of Sikkim, I couldn’t imagine the...

Critic’s Picks

Okja (2017) ***1/2

Newton (2017) ****

Creed (2015) ****

The Martian (2015) ****

Talvar (2015) ***1/2

Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015) ***1/2

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) ****1/2

Boyhood (2014) ***1/2

Interstellar (2014) ****

TV: Breaking Bad (Season 1 to 5) ****1/2

L-R: Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston in 'Breaking Bad'. There are few individuals whose opinion I take seriously when it comes to movies and television. And I am thankful that this particular person persuaded me to watch this series. After a back to back session of the...

TV: Community (Season 1, 2, 3) *****

I have wanted to write about ‘Community’ for a long time now. My only problem is that there is so too much to write about. And if I actually put every thought on a word doc the resultant would be detailed 20 pages and not a blog post. 3 seasons, 71 episodes and none...

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