So you wanna watch something...
Sarpatta Parambarai: This seems to be the season for boxing films. First, we got the Bollywood version with Farhan Akhtar in ‘Toofan’. This one takes us back to Madras of the seventies as a young man seeks his destiny—and legacy inherited from his dead father—in a contact sport. What elevates the movie is its keen sense of history—be it the Emergency era or DMK and caste politics. NDTV offers an extended review. Streaming now on Amazon Prime!
Natkhat: Vidya Balan both produces and acts in this powerful film about toxic masculinity and rape culture—explored through the lens of the relationship of a mother with her little boy who tries to abduct a female classmate. The subject is dire, but as Hindustan Times notes, the message is hopeful. It is currently one of three Indian films in the race for a nomination in the 2021 Oscars. The film was released last year, but comes out on Voot on July 24.
Judas and the Black Messiah: This Oscar-winning film tells the real-life story of William O'Neal—who infiltrated the Black Panther Party during the height of the civil rights movement in America. The film explores the moral crisis of a Black man and paid FBI informant, wrestling with radical and racial consciousness—at a key historical moment in the 1960s. New York Times says, “Though it plays at times like a crime thriller — with stakeouts and shootouts, chases and interrogations — the movie is better understood as a political tragedy… and while [Shaka] King’s fast-paced direction doesn’t spare the suspense, it also makes room for sorrow, anger and even a measure of exhilaration.” Streams on Amazon Prime starting July 25.
Wrath Of Man: Director Guy Ritchie and actor Jason Statham reunite for another tough-guy action movie. This is a straight-forward revenge saga with Statham playing his usual bloodletting self—except this time as a driver of an armoured money truck. This is what The Guardian calls a “sturdy, violent and formulaic piece of pulp” that is guaranteed to satisfy fans of this popular genre. Streaming on Lionsgate Play!
A list of good reads
- Miami Herald offers a definitive and chilling account of events leading up to the assassination of Haitian president, Jovenel Moïse.
- The Conversation has the lovely story of Kyniska, a Spartan princess who became the first female Olympian.
- Vox tries to reconcile Nic Cage, the meme, and Nic Cage, the movie star, who come together in his new film, ‘Pig’—which is the latest in his string of eccentric and incomparable movies.
- Mashable lists all the ugly truths we learned about Mark Zuckerberg in the new book on FB, titled ‘An Ugly Truth’. FYI: Apparently, he is an “intellectual lightweight.”
- Dan Lawton’s Substack essay offers a shocking account of the psychological damage induced by… mindfulness and meditation? We are not sure what to make of this very personal and anguished story, but it’s definitely worth a read.
- The Indian History Collective resurfaces a brilliant and witty profile of one of the first Indian MPs in the British House of Commons, Shapurji Saklatvala, written by pioneering journalist Sant Nihal Singh.
- This review of a new book on Frida Kahlo in BBC News offers an eye-opening look at an artist who has been flattened into a pop culture artefact.
- Quartz dissects the dismal lack of gender diversity in the boardrooms of India’s unicorn startups.
- This edition of Charlie Warzel’s newsletter offers an illuminating conversation between two reporters on how the media covers climate change. (h/t founding member Akanksha Sharma)
- Verge has a great primer on how to use Amnesty International’s tool to check if your phone has been infected with Pegasus’ spyware.
- New York Times has a hilarious guide on how (not) to be a Bezos lol!
- How normalized is period talk within the Indian sports community and how far have we come? New Indian Express talks to women athletes about menstruation and silencing. (h/t subscriber Gokul Krishna Iyengar)