Frames of Reference
Every Frame Evokes a Memory, and Every Memory is Worth Sharing
Author: Uday Nandivada
-
Let’s be clear about what Director Ben Hania is doing here, because it matters. The Voice of Hind Rajab is not a war film. There are no battlefield sequences, no graphic violence, no images of rubble or bodies. The entire film is set within the beige offices of the Red Crescent call center in Ramallah…
-
Asha Bhosle — the voice that danced through seven decades of Indian cinema — passed away on April 12, 2026, in Mumbai at the age of 92. Her departure closes a chapter of music history that began in the shellac era and stretched into the digital age, a journey that defined the soundscape of Bollywood…
-
This quiz asks you to identify the Lyricist from the song. It begins with the legends: the writers whose words brought philosophy, romance, protest, and everyday life into songs that still feel fresh decades later. As we move into the new millennium, the focus shifts to up‑and‑coming lyricists who have carved out their own space,…
-
My last playlist was “The Songs of Innocence“. Continuing on the William Blake theme, this playlist is “The Songs of Experience”. There comes a moment in life when innocence gives way to insight. The world that once seemed fair, loving, and full of promise reveals its cracks—hypocrisy, betrayal, inequality, loneliness, and the compromises people make…
-
According to Wikipedia, a hundred and thirty-four Hindi movies were produced and released in 2025, of which I saw thirty-eight. I only found a handful of them worth watching, and even fewer worth reviewing or recommending to anyone else. Ananth Mahadevan directed two of the three or four that I felt stood out – The…
-
Some faces in Hindi cinema slip past us not because they’re forgettable, but because they belong to entirely different worlds — a sports personality trying their hand at the movies, a future superstar hiding in plain sight as a wide‑eyed child, a struggling actor who found a second act as a director, an actor with…
-
The playlist “Songs of Innocence” explores the songs that have immortalized the spirit of innocence, tracing a path from the black-and-white nostalgia of the Golden Era to the vibrant, heartfelt portrayals of childhood in modern cinema. These are the anthems of the “age of wonder,” reminding us that no matter how far we travel, the…
-
“कल और आएंगे नगमों की खिलती कलियाँ चुनने वाले, मुझसे बेहतर कहने वाले, तुमसे बेहतर सुनाने वाले” – साहिर लुधियानवी There’s a specific kind of magic that happens when the slick production of the 21st century meets the soul of the 1960s. We often hear that “they don’t make them like they used to,” but…
-
“Violence produces only something resembling justice, but it distances people from the real thing” – Leo Tolstoy Let me confess upfront that I am no fan of sectarian historiography. There is much to be said for the political motives behind the making of Dhurandhar. But this is not a political blog, so I will resist…
-
Asha Bhosle — the voice that danced through seven decades of Indian cinema — passed away on April 12, 2026, in Mumbai at the age of 92. Her departure closes a chapter of music history that began in the shellac era and stretched into the digital age, a journey that defined the soundscape of Bollywood…