The Reading Room

Feature India bets half a billion dollars on its oldest story The most expensive Indian film ever made opens November 6. What the bet actually is. 6 Sep 2026 Start here Never watched a Hindi film? Start here. Ten Hindi films that work on a Tuesday night for someone who has never read a subtitle. 6 Sep 2026 Start here You know Hindi films. Meet Malayalam cinema. Ten Malayalam films for the Hindi-film viewer crossing over — the small industry critics keep pointing at. 6 Sep 2026

The writing, podcasts and video essays worth your time about Indian cinema — chosen by hand, one line on why to read each, featured pieces marked. Grouped by week once the weekly article pass runs.

Article

Worth your timeToxic's backlash, traced back to a 2017 Kasaba row, exposes what women filmmakers still aren't allowed to make.

Toxic and the uneasy question of what women are allowed to make

The News Minute · Sukanya Shaji · 3 Sep 2026 · 1,300 words

Article

Toxic's makers used a Bengaluru court injunction to send legal notices over bad reviews and vanished BookMyShow ratings.

Twitter user claims to have received legal notice from team Toxic over pointing out ratings of Yash-starrer | Hindustan Times

Hindustan Times · Santanu Das · 2 Sep 2026 · 600 words

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Director Vishnu Edavan on reviving the 90s Tamil entertainer and flipping Prabhu and Bhagyaraj's usual roles on purpose.

How ‘Hi’ director Vishnu Edavan brought the old-school Tamil cinema entertainer back

The Hindu · Bhuvanesh Chandar · 2 Sep 2026 · 700 words

Article

Priyadarshan on researching blindness at a school, and why he thinks a film's first ten minutes decide everything.

'People who stop creators from making good cinema are the real haiwaans' | Priyadarshan and Boman Irani Interview | Bollywood

Hindustan Times · Abhimanyu Mathur · 1 Sep 2026 · 900 words

Article

Argues Toxic's backlash falls hardest on its women, not on Yash's toxic hero, and asks why that double standard holds.

Toxic, misogyny, and why we are still more forgiving of toxic men

The News Minute · Sunayana Suresh · 27 Aug 2026 · 1,000 words

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Directors and critics trace Yash's range from Drama's comedy to Raja Huli's fevered climax, complicating the one-note-star tag.

‘Toxic’: How Yash built his reputation as an actor

The Hindu · Vivek M.V. · 23 Aug 2026 · 800 words

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Writer Bilal Siddiqi on why Awarapan 2 trades the original's slow burn for urgency, and how he's reading the harsh reviews.

Awarapan 2 writer Bilal Siddiqi finds learnings in criticism of Emraan Hashmi-starrer: 'No one has an invalid opinion' | Bollywood

Hindustan Times · Abhimanyu Mathur · 21 Aug 2026 · 800 words

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Producer Vishesh Bhatt on why he chased Awarapan over Jannat, and how re-release-market data talked Emraan into it.

'Why not Jannat': Emraan Hashmi was not sold on Awarapan 2, reveals Vishesh Bhatt, softened after re-releases worked | Bollywood

Hindustan Times · Abhimanyu Mathur · 20 Aug 2026 · 900 words

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Flips Vishwanath & Sons' stalker-plot by gender and asks why we forgive the obsession when a woman does the chasing.

Vishwanath and Sons: Suriya delivers an RRR — Reverse-Raanjhanaa Ragebait | Hindustan Times

Hindustan Times · Vibha Maru · 17 Aug 2026 · 900 words

Article

The paper trail behind 'Satluj': three titles, a CBFC cut order, a TIFF withdrawal, then ZEE5 pulling it in two days.

Diljit Dosanjh's 'Satluj' Pulled From India by ZEE5

Variety · Naman Ramachandran · 7 Jul 2026 · 900 words

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Director, lead actor and a journalist-turned-actor on why a death-penalty two-hander was cast with actors, not stars.

Rangaraj Pandey: The real success of Lakshmikanthan Kolai Vazhakku will be the post-release discussion about it

Cinema Express · Jayabhuvaneshwari B · 28 Jun 2026 · 1,000 words

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How Vikram Bhatt turned a jail term, a fraud case, and a shoestring budget into an opening-weekend horror hit.

'Haunted 3D: Echoes Of The Past' shows why Vikram Bhatt is Bollywood's horror king

India Today · Vinayak Chakravorty · 16 Jun 2026 · 900 words

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How a 94-year-old director shot an all-sung musical partly by headset from his sickbed, 40 years after the idea was born.

‘No reference point’: Nag Ashwin reveals hardships behind Rs 22 cr film Sing Geetham

The Indian Express · Yashaswini Sri · 11 Jun 2026 · 1,000 words

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Nag Ashwin on why he backed a 94-year-old legend's 40-year dream: a musical where every line is sung by curse, not choice.

Exclusive | Nag Ashwin on Producing Singeetam Srinivasa Rao's Musical: 'Nobody Better For Me To Back'

The Hollywood Reporter India · Sruthi Ganapathy Raman · 8 Jun 2026 · 1,200 words

Article

Suhas on his nervous Tamil debut in Mandaadi: a translator, a sea shoot, and Soori's off-set kindness.

Suhas: I attribute my failures to some reckless decisions

Cinema Express · Suresh Kavirayani · 17 Feb 2026 · 900 words