Upasana Dandona

A dysgraphic writer who spends most of her time watching (and thinking about) Bollywood films.

Voice of Upasana Dandona

Murder Mubarak Has Ruined Anuja Chauhan’s Book Club You To Death On Which It Is Based

Why they could not hire Anuja Chauhan to work on a script based on her own novel instead of the mess they have served up.

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5 Reasons Why I Disliked Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani As A Half-Punjabi, Half-Bengali

Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani is being hailed as a miracle of sorts, a "feminist" KJo film. As an insider to both Bengali and Punjabi cultures, I think not.

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Lootera
10 Years Of Lootera: 5 Reasons Why It Remains Unforgettable

It is hard to say whether Lootera has a happy or a sad ending and perhaps, that is exactly what the makers of the film aimed for.

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7 Rubbish Things Perverted Men Say To Bengali Women That We’re Sick Of Hearing!

Bengali women are intrinsically more 'open minded' and vocal about their needs and lives, and hence fetishised by men as more 'sexual'. STOP already!

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5 Reasons Why Vikash From Indian Matchmaking Season 3 Is Insufferable

Vikash is a man and thus, he must have all his demands met. That, after all, is an “unwritten law” that Sima aunty seems to follow. 

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As A Punjaban, Yash Raj Films Shaped My Childhood… Before Losing Their Charm Altogether!

Perhaps, as Partition inheritors, both my parents realise the importance of happy endings, which is what caused them to introduce me to YRF the moment I started breathing. 

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Netflix series Class
5 Things That Netflix Series Class Gets Terribly Wrong

Netflix series Class based on the Spanish series Elite could have done better, with nuanced and more socially conscious handling.

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Vadh
Netflix Thriller Vadh Is A Delight For All Sanjay Mishra And Neena Gupta Fans

Vadh, on Netflix, is an absolutely must watch if you can handle a little gore, a nuanced Bollywood movie with an unexpected twist.

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Trial by Fire
Unpopular Opinion: 5 Reasons I Found Netflix Series Trial By Fire Underwhelming

Why did the makers waste an entire episode on Ratna Pathak Shah and Anupam Kher when their characters weren’t even important in the series? Was it to simply increase the screen timing of the popular actors?

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7 Gentle Reminders About Your Feminism, Before 2022 Ends

Gender and sexuality are not rigid boxes inside which we sit, or use to make judgements about other people. Here are 7 timely reminders before this year ends.

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15 Years Of Taare Zameen Par: 5 Reasons Why It Remains A Firm Favourite!

Taare Zameen Par was a heartwarming film with a young protagonist with dyslexia. Possibly the first time Indians saw a mainstream depiction of it.

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Qala
Tripti Dimri Wowed Us In Bulbbul—Does She Deliver In Qala, Her New Netflix Film?

Tripti Dimri had completely won everyone over with her performance in Bulbbul. so there is a great deal riding on her new Netflix film Qala.

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Monica O My Darling
Monica, O My Darling Is A Film That Bollywood Desperately Needed

Monica, O My Darling - go watch! A chaotic yet entertaining world full of characters whose motives remain unknown to the viewers till the very end.

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15 Years Of Om Shanti Om: 6 Reasons Why It Is An Extraordinary Cult Classic!

There's no movie quite like the 2007 film Om Shanti Om - it has everything that is needed in a masala Bollywood potboiler; a nostalgic ode to Bollywood.

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5 Things We Learn About The Life Experiences Of Lesbians In India From Mismatched Season 2

In a world where every perfect love story is heterosexual and every ideal protagonist is straight and cis, Namrata constantly feels as if she is a side character in her own story.

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Four More Shots Please! Season 3 Has Messed Up Its Characters, More Like Toxic Masculinity!

The makers of Four More Shots Please! need to understand that giving women the personality traits of the worst kind of men that are capable of existing in our society isn't feminism!

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10 Years Of Student Of The Year: Why Were We Made To Hate Tanya And Love Shanaya?

If we go on to analyse the characters of Tanya and Shanaya together in the last few scenes of the film, something that becomes clear is that Shanaya’s identity remains linked to the men in her life while Tanya’s doesn’t.

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Madhuri’s Maja Ma: The Issue With Indian Audiences Wanting Sexually ‘Pure’ Women Onscreen

Bollywood (and the Indian society, at large) needs to understand that women's sexuality is real, and lesbians don’t just hold hands and hug each other. They have sex too.

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Hush Hush
Why Does Hush Hush Feel Like A Disappointing Mash-Up Of Paatal Lok & Made In Heaven?

Award winning writer Juhi Chaturvedi (Piku) and Director Tanuja Chandra (Qarib Qarib Singlle) manage to mess up web series Hush Hush. What happened?!

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Ek Villain Returns Is The Kind Of Garbage That Bollywood Must Stop Creating

It's unbelievable that in our society today, a man can openly talk about being violent to an ex-partner, but a woman is trolled for speaking of domestic or sexual abuse.

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5 Reasons To Avoid Fabulous Lives Of Bollywood Wives Season 2

It is safe to assume that Neelam Kothari took her role in Hum Saath Saath Hain (1999) very seriously, because she is a stereotypical pativrata nari whose entire life revolves around her husband. 

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5 Things We Learn About The Delhi Police From The 2nd Season Of Delhi Crime

“Courage comes at a price,” for the officers, especially women, who go against the orders of their seniors, even as they are doing the 'right thing'.

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5 Irresponsible, Gendered Notions Endorsed By Indian Matchmaking Season 2!

Shows like Indian Matchmaking only further the argument that women must adhere to social norms without being allowed to follow their hearts.

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4 Reasons Why Season 2 Of Masaba Masaba Is A Fail!

Did the creators of Masaba Masaba just wake up one morning, go to the sets and decide to create something absolutely random without putting any thought into it?

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Good luck Jerry
5 Reasons Why We Must Applaud Janhvi Kapoor’s Black Comedy ‘Good Luck Jerry’!

Honestly, I made the mistake of judging a book by its cover by considering Janhvi Kapoor to be a stereotypical star, but she's worked hard on this one!

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As Someone Not Really Interested, I Shouldn’t Have To See Ranveer’s Nudes Everywhere I Go Online!

Are all websites showing Ranveer's nudes assuming that everyone is interested in seeing people naked, or is there no other piece of news more important than a man’s sweaty biceps?

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Is Samrat Prithviraj As ‘Progressive’ A Film As So Many People Claim?

The message the filmmakers tried to convey wasn’t about "women not deserving to live after facing sexual violence" which is problematic in itself, but instead about women not deserving to live at all after losing their husbands.

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she
5 Compelling Reasons Why The Netflix Web Series SHE Is Misunderstood

We need more fictional characters like Bhumika, the protagonist of SHE, who doesn’t need men to rescue her from her misfortunes.

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Alia Bhatt’s Pregnancy Is Not A Reason For Us To Shame Her

Alia Bhatt is pregnant and happy about it - it's not our job to accuse her of 'trapping' her partner into marriage or shaming her for the timing of it.

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3 Old Tropes About Women That Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 Bores Us With

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 might have had a box office collection of 260 crores INR and entertained Indian audiences, but it's full of problematic stereotypes.

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With Samrat Prithviraj, Bollywood Yet Again Dismisses Women’s Agency While Glorifying ‘Family Honour’

With Samrat Prithiviraj, Bollywood continues to 'remind' women that they're nothing without men, that they have no right to make choices of their own.

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Why Do Female Comedians Like Mallika Dua & Srishti Srivastava Find Their Talents Unappreciated?

Whether it is in stand-up comedy or in Bollywood, female comedians in India find that they don't receive fair treatment.

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premenstrual dysphoric disorder
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, When PMS Gets Unbearably Brutal & Extreme

Even though the most common symptom of premenstrual dysphoric disorder includes extreme mood swings, there is a lot more to it than that.

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Be Ashamed, Bollywood! Once Again, An Ageing Hero Plays Son Or Lead Opposite A Much Younger Woman!

While 57 year old Khan, being a man, enjoys the luxury of "ageing gracefully", 41 year old Mona Singh must give in to our societal norms where older women are considered to be easily disposable. 

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Newly Released Heropanti 2 & Upcoming Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 Will Possibly Rival Each Other For This Crazy Reason!

Bollywood still considers women to be nothing but metrosexual-men-chasers who can only dress up and dance with machismos when they take a break from fighting comical villains.

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Will Smith Is Penalised, But What About Men Like Chris Rock Who Must Stop Making ‘Jokes’ About Women’s Bodies?

When will the world realise that something they’re casually making fun of is someone else’s reality, and it's not Ok to do so?

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‘She Wasn’t Harassed, She’s Just An Attention Seeking Slut!’ & 24 More Things Men Say With Impunity!

Men around us say these things everyday, and get away with it. Most say it with actual intention to abuse and harass. That's just deliberately toxic behaviour.

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5 Bollywood Movies That Will Stop You From Dismissing Your Own Abuse

Whether it is raising one’s voice against injustice or starting therapy, nothing can be achieved if we allow the world to impact our decisions. 

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The Fame Game
The Fame Game: When Will The Indian Media Stop Messing Up Stories Of Ambitious Women?

It seemed as if the writers of The Fame Game deliberately condemned and punished protagonist Anamika just because she wanted to act in her self-interest

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Why I Found The Song ‘Meri Jaan’ From Gangubai Kathiawadi Visually Disturbing

In the video, it becomes clear that Gangubai pushes Afshan away multiple times, with the intensity of her push increasing each time. However, he takes her seriously only when she aggressively slaps him.

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gehraiyaan
Gehraiyaan – Why Is The Indian Audience Always Supposed To Forgive Spoilt And Condescending Men?

Why does the man always get to cherrypick the women in his life, why do the female characters have to compete with one another for a man’s attention, and why is the Indian audience supposed to forgive a condescending male hero?

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From Dolce & Gabbana to ‘Smart Like Shabana’: How I Embraced My True Self

She was seeking validation from men for the 'perfect' feminine appearance... until she realized that pandering to the male gaze was eclipsing her own identity.

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