Screen + Sound + Stage

The Kochi-based comic book publishing house serendipitously found itself stepping into the Indian film industry about a decade ago — thanks to and partly due to their intent to fund their first love. Verve speaks to founders Tina and Pratheek Thomas to trace the changing face of title sequences with the advent of OTT and their ascendence within the worlds of credits and comic books
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S. S. Rajamouli is known for his fantasy and adventure films that are derived as much from Amar Chitra Katha as they are from Westerns like The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Prathyush Parasuraman examines the defining elements of the Telugu director’s filmography, as well as the controversies of representation which have plagued the Baahubali series, which catapulted Rajamouli to the status of a pan-Indian icon
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The actor who refuses to be boxed in by a specific image, often surprises audiences by playing against type. She talks to Verve about how seven of her challenging characters came to life
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The popular and critically acclaimed actor – who may have remained an overlooked supporting performer under the pre-streaming cinematic normal – discusses how he shaped some of his memorable characters
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A design director shares her take on the raunchy visual style of the B- and C-grade film posters that are plastered on the walls of Indian metros
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Singer and composer Priya Darshini wrote the Grammy-nominated Periphery (Best New Age Album), in less than two weeks and then recorded it live, in one take, in an abandoned Brooklyn church over a single day. In the run-up to the awards, we speak to the Chennai-born artiste about her deep-rooted classical background, that time when she almost charted a career for herself in Bollywood and the process of putting together this introspective, out-of-the-box album
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The pandemic and accompanying lockdown brought with them a noticeable change in the daily auditory landscape. Curiosity leads to experiments that examine how modifying the experience of sound during movie-watching can transform our perspectives
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Our knowledge of mentorship in deeply patriarchal Bollywood is largely restricted to the narratives that get reported in the press – of the blue-eyed darlings of A-list production houses and male actors and directors. Conversations with a few good women from the Hindi film and webseries space – actors, writers, directors, costume designers, producers – firmly convince us that changing the way women are perceived on-screen is only possible when they actively lead the way off it and help other women feel heard and seen
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The director of International Original Films at the OTT platform speaks about her role and the diverse voices whose stories she is green-lighting
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One of India’s most forward-thinking new musicians, Jharkhandi producer and MC Sumit Singh Solanki aka Tre Ess, is bringing attention to the affairs of his state through his music while showcasing its local young talent on a national stage
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Held every year since 2012 in McLeod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh, DIFF’s 2020 slate was presented through an online edition that ran from October 29th-November 8th. We speak to the co-founder Tenzing Sonam and a group of long-time attendees about navigating the transition
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Verve talks to the makers of FIPRESCI award winner The Disciple
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