Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Badhaai Do has brought up a familiar discourse around non-heterosexual narratives in mainstream Hindi cinema with its portrayal of a lavender marriage between a gay cop and a lesbian PT Teacher. Madhavi Menon, professor of English at Ashoka University and author of The Law of Desire: Rulings on Sex and Sexuality in India, speaks to J. Shruti about reading queerness into Indian films, and why she is suspicious of mainstream queer representation
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The mercurial director, known for indulging his love of the opulent, orchestrates spectacular cinematic realities but populates them with characters who are perpetual prisoners. On the heels of Bhansali’s latest release, Gangubai Kathiawadi, critic and writer Anuj Malhotra pauses frames from five of his iconic films to analyse how a shift in film-making sensibilities has affected his portrayal of tragic, inner worlds.
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Each of the films that Vikramaditya Motwane has directed — Udaan, Lootera, Bhavesh Joshi Superhero and Trapped — grapples with the desire to change one’s circumstances; the relentless chase for happiness, love, success…freedom. He surveys the commercial Hindi movies of the last 70 years and picks seven iconic releases, exclusively revealing how each one has guided his own aspirations, especially once he found his métier
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An actor who doesn’t shy away from challenging herself, discover how Aditi Rao Hydari is a self-confessed dreamer who loves chasing her aspirations in the “magical” world of cinema
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Padmaavat - top-notch acting, magnificent opulence and the Bhansali touch!
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See how these films achieved their true-to-the grain styling. Verve recreates their looks with actor Krystle D’souza
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