News and Views

More than 19 lakh people have been excluded from Assam's National Register of Citizens. So what happens to them? Can they prove they are Indians or they will end up as "illegal foreigners" and be sent to a detention camp?  We travelled to Assam to understand the fate of the ones left behind. Listen to the podcast or you can click here to watch the full documentary. Host and Reporter: Tridip K Mand...

24 October marks United Nations Day, the day the UN was founded, in 1945. The UN Charter came into effect in 1945, with United Nations Day being celebrated from 1948 onwards. And nearly 75 years since the United Nations was founded, the world body is desperately in need of some reform. The structure of the UN of 2019, still reflects the situation in the 1940s. Clearly, it’s time for the UN Securit...

Days after winning the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, Abhijit Banerjee spoke to The Quint about the state of Indian economy, what can be done to fix it and his latest book Good Economics for Hard Times. Banerjee’s economic views have drawn criticism from some BJP leaders. Responding to the criticism, Banerjee said he is “neither able nor willing to be involved in slanging matches.” Listen...

Laal Kaptaan has an ambitious setup and an intriguing premise. It’s the kind of film that would sound great on paper. It has all the ingredients, after all. It features Saif Ali Khan in a kind of role we haven’t seen him essay and it’s a period drama set in the 18th century about a Naga sadhu seeking revenge. Tune in to the podcast for the full review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap...

India was not partitioned for the first time in 1947, but almost 40 years before that, in 1905. Kolkata, then known as Calcutta, was the jewel in the crown of the British Raj and Bengal was the biggest province. But who knew that this glory was about to fade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On 14 October 1956, Dr BR Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, took a life-altering decision. The Dalit strongman decided to quit Hinduism and take up Buddhism, along with close to 3,65,000 of his followers, in Nagpur. Six decades later, we look at the reasons behind Ambedkar’s decision to alter not just his own path but also the lives of a largely marginalised Dalit community. Why...

As per WHO, as of today, India is the most depressed country in the world. At any given point of time, nearly 50 million Indian children suffer from mental disorders, and this number will increase if the adolescent population is considered as well. The impact of mental illness is far beyond the imagination of society, in which the awareness about the severity of these diseases is the least. India...

After its premiere about a month back at the Toronto International Film Festival, The Sky is Pink is set for a worldwide release on 11 October, 2019. The film is based on the real-life story of Aditi (Priyanka Chopra) and Niren Chaudhary (Farhan Akhtar) and their daughter Aisha (Zaira Wasim), who was diagnosed with a serious immune deficiency that eventually dictated the course of her life and her...

Three elephants were handed over by the Kanchi Mutt to the founders of Tree Foundation in 2016, to give them a happy home closer to their habitat, in a chain-free facility at Marakkanam, Tamil Nadu. Their happy stint was cut short in three-and-a-half years after a court order ruled that a ‘chain-free’ facility was in clear violation of the Captive Elephants’ Guidelines. Forest officials used brute...

A closer look at ‘Bhagwa’ and ‘Hinduvaadi’ music – with its upbeat Bhojpuri tunes and views running from thousands to lakhs – exposes how it has begun to make use of lyrics and imagery that promote enmity among religions. Take, for instance, Lucknow-based singer Prem Krishnanshi’s song, with the lyrics, “Hindu Ka hai Hindustan, Da#@! jao Pakistan. Hindu ka hai Hindustan, mu@#! jaao Pakistan. (Hind...

Did the makers really need to throw in the whole “desh khatre mein hai, terrorist pakdo (Our country is in danger, catch the terrorists)” angle just to make us drool over Hrithik and Tiger’s bulging muscles? From the Arctic Circle to Morocco we hop, skip and jump everywhere to keep an eye on our eye candy! That’s director Siddharth Anand’s plan for us. What stayed with me after War got over is the...

'But if one is fated to be motherless, how is one to get a mother?' When Manu Gandhi lost Kasturba — her dear Ba — she was shattered. When she'd entered the Sevagram ashram in Wardha in 1942, she'd just lost her mother. Now again, she was alone. But there was a difference. She was no longer a girl, she was a woman — with opinions and rebellions of her own. This is a special three-part series by Th...

Featuring a fully-immersed performance by Joaquin Phoenix as the lead, Todd Phillips’ Joker is a gripping portrayal of one of the most popular comic-book villains that will ultimately become Batman’s nemesis. Arthur Fleck is a man tormented by his inner unsettling feelings. As he struggles to make a living as a clown, he finds his hero in talk show host Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro) whom he beg...

Imagine you’re 14 years old, away from family, and news comes that you’re going to jail. How would you feel? Nervous? Worried? Or excited, like Manu Gandhi? In 1942, when Manu, the grand-niece of Gandhi, heard that she could join India’s freedom struggle, she jumped with joy. This podcast, based on Manu Gandhi's diaries, is the second episode in a special three-part podcast series by The Quint on...

Manu Gandhi is a face you’ve seen, but probably can’t quite recall. You know that photograph of Gandhi you saw in school, one where he is accompanied by two women as he walks to a prayer-meeting, just a few minutes away from his assassination by Nathuram Godse? A young, teenage girl, who’d just lost her mother, she soon came to witness history unfolding — from fasts for India’s independence to Gan...

Why does the 8-month-old rape survivor's mother want to move her two toddler kids out of the house today? It's been nearly two years since she walked in on her baby crying, in a pool of blood and stool. Will the move help them forget? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why does Chhutki's father think the family should move out of their home, nearly two years after his eight-month-old baby was raped? Here's what he says. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Desh khatre mein hain” - it’s a sentiment that’s echoed in most web series these days. Terror plans being hatched and security forces trying everything in their capacity to abort them. Amazon Prime Video‘s latest offering The Family Man has a similar plot line. This drill can get a tad drab if not for some genuinely smart writing. Luckily for us, The Family Man doesn’t disappoint us. Directed by...

Yet another star kid being launched! Yet another PPT presentation for a film! This time Sunny Deol is helming the project to launch the Deol khandaan’s gen next – son Karan Deol.  He is cute and easy on the eyes. The actor opposite him is also being launched – Sahher Bambba. Rest it’s business as usual! The name of the film brings to mind dada ji Dharmendra’s timeless song from the 1973 movie Blac...

Based on Anuja Chauhan’s 2008 novel by the same name, The Zoya Factor tells the story of its eponymous character in a quirky endearing fashion. Zoya Solanki and Sonam Kapoor’s Cheshire cat’s grin do complement each other.  The movie opens with Shah Rukh Khan’s voice-over telling us about the baby who was born on the day when India won the 1983 World Cup. Her father (Sanjay Kapoor) declares her to...

You know what the beauty is of an Ayushmann Khurrana film? You look at its trailer and you're convinced director ne actor dekhke role likhi hai. Imagine a wizened, battle-hardened director saheb/saheba sitting at their desk and jabbing at a computer keypad, going, "What can I write that'll make Ayushmann Khurrana truly shine?" That's the kind of space Ayushmann has managed to create for himself -...

The story of Section 375 is pretty simple - filmmaker Rohan Khurana (Rahul Bhat) is accused of raping a junior costume assistant, Anjali Dangle (Meera Chopra), at his residence.  With all the circumstantial evidence piled up against him, Rohan is found guilty and sentenced to 10-years of rigorous imprisonment by a local court.  Rohan’s wife approaches the hot shot Tarun Saluja (Akshaye Khanna) to...

Speaking to The Quint in an interview, former CAG Vinod Rai said, "I stand 100 percent by the 1.76 lakh crore figure." Rai asserted that, if given the chance to conduct the CAG audit on 2G spectrum allocation again, he would do it the same way. Talking about his latest book, Rethinking Governance: Holding to Account India’s Public Institutions, Rai spoke about the mandate of the CAG, the changing...

Until a few days ago, the debate on the Indian economy was pivoted on determining whether or not it is experiencing a slowdown. However, that’s a thing of the past now. On 3 September, Indian markets witnessed what can only be termed a ‘meltdown’. The slowdown resulted in the market’s steepest plunge in the last eleven months. Shares of PSU banks have been worst-hit. Meanwhile, the rupee depreciat...

It has to be said - Saaho is unbearable ! Almost three hours long and with a budget of Rs 350 crores, what we have is Prabhas with a clear Baahubali hangover doing some lazy action sequences tied together with misogynistic and juvenile writing . What is the story, you ask ? Exactly this - to put Prabhas and Rs 350 crores together to see if anyone will call out writer - director Sujeeth’s bluff ! L...