The Woman Who Dared to be Different
In praise of Waheeda Rehman, an actress who carved her own path through atypical choices to become a beloved screen icon of Indian cinema.…
Indian cinema
12 posts
First Contact: Rape, Retribution and Colonial Logic in Satyajit Ray's Days and Nights in the Forest
It may present itself as a gentle comedy of manners, but Days and Nights in the Forest is a deeply confronting film once you peel the layers.…
Pradip Kurbah: Future, Tense
Set against the backdrop of a dystopian future where India is celebrating 100 years since independence in 1947, Indian National Award-winning filmmaker Pradip Kurbah’s drama Ha Lyngkha Bneng (The Elysian Field, 2025) probes what kind of tomorrow that will be.…
Aranya Sahay: Child's Play
How should we view our relationship with Artificial Intelligence (AI)? What if AI was like a child, and part of how we train AI algorithms relied on the basics of good parenting? This is the fundamental moral question at the centre of Aranya Sahay’s debut feature, Humans in the Loop.…
Tribeny Rai: Difficult Women
In director Tribeny Rai’s Chhora Jastai (Shape of Momo, 2025), one of the most assured debut features to come out of India recently, the coming-of-age story meets the sensibilities of autofiction and the personal becomes universal.…
MIFF Review: Cast(e) Aside — Reframing ‘Home’ in Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound
Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound (2025) is a reminder that ‘home’ in India is not always a place of refuge—it can be a site of exclusion and humiliation. The title plays on an uncomfortable duality: to be h…
Quiet Reclamations: Payal Kapadia on Malleable Cities, Friendship and the Boy Next Door in Contemporary Indian Cinema
As I wait for my interview with filmmaker Payal Kapadia to commence, I hear the clouds cackle. And right on cue, on a warm summer evening in Sydney, it begins to rain. I smile, thinking that perhaps t…
Monkey Business in a Banana Republic: On Dev Patel's Monkey Man
One of the first things that strikes you when you land in Delhi is that vanar and Hanuman-inspired imagery—drawing from Hindu mythology and texts such as the Ramayana—is everywhere. If you’re catching…
Indian Film Festival Of Melbourne Announces More Superstars And Closing Night Film
PRESS RELEASE In its 14th year the Indian Film Festival Of Melbourne (IFFM) is set for another bumper year, as the largest festival of its kind in the southern hemisphere, returning to venues all acr…
Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Director Mitu Bhowmick Lange Talks About the 2022 Line Up and Favourite Festival Moments in This Interview
Since its 2010 inception, the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne has become the biggest celebration of Indian cinema outside the motherland. This year's program showcases the film 83 about the jour…
Dasvi Review - A Light-Hearted Film That Champions the Importance of Free Education
Available to Watch Here: Powered by JustWatch Help keep The Curb independent by joining our Patreon. It’s not difficult to see Dasvi, the latest Maddock Films production, as a response to t…
Mimi Review - An Emotional Rollercoaster About How Family is Family, No Matter What it Looks Like
Powered by JustWatch Help keep The Curb independent by joining our Patreon. There's a basic structure to the mainstream Bollywood film: the first hour is all fun and lighthearted sillines…