Insights & Instincts

*The Woman Next Door is 1981 French film directed by the critically acclaimed director  François Truffaut.   I personally love this film because of the character development curve of the two protagonists. The film does not lose its pace and keeps the viewer's attention intact throughout. You can search the web for more information on the film. The Woman Next Door is an unusual and unsettling tale of passion and love. The film illuminates a series of otherwise invisible connections that can come to light under the right circumstances. These connections can break all societal and moral boundaries. Bernard (the protagonist), his wife and their son enjoy the middle-class lifestyle in their refurbished farmhouse in Grenoble. A stone house next to theirs, long vacant, has been rented by Philippe and Mathilde ( the second protagonist). As Bernard and his wife greet their new neighbors, a strange look passes between him and Mathilde. Their respective mates remain ob...

With an annual production of about 1600 to 2000 films, in Hindi along with twenty other regional languages, India film industry is largest in the world in terms of numbers. The revenue for the industry is expected to touch $3.7 billion by 2020 with a growth rate of 11% annually. With the advent of multiplexes and mobile streaming devices, Bollywood has not only developed into a remunerative industry but also has increased its social influence. Films not only provide us entertainment, but it also shows a reflection of our society, sensitizes us about various issues and helps develop a rational identity. With such far reaching functions, films are expected to be regulated to an extent using logical reasoning by the authorities. However, recently the apex body for film censoring-CBFC has been in the eye of the storm for all the wrong reasons. Censor Board and Censorship in India Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) or Censor Board is a statutory body under Ministry of In...

From Sufi to Salafi A report by Vedang Bhatt, Mass Communication Student, Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication. This research essay explores the role of Wahabi and Salafi school of Muslim thought behind rising violence in the Kashmir valley. The paper also looks at Pakistan’s double standards and how a political solution to the issue might never be possible.             “O n Burhan Wani’s death anniversary, Zakir Musa declared Al-Qaeda’s Kashmir unit head”, read a First Post report on 28 th July 2017. A video recently went viral and Indian Media was taken by a storm. Zakir Musa, the recently appointed chief of Al-Qaeda – Kashmir Wing, announced the terrorist group’s plans to bring the State of Kashmir under strict Sharia rule. Zakir Musa, in his video, also warned Separatist leaders to not generalize Kashmir’s fight for Independence as a political movement, since it is essentially a religious propaganda, and ...

Hello everyone! I'm sorry I've been away. I was a little bit messed up, little bit busy and a little bit confused lately. There are multiple reasons I can list down but none of them, can be called : "okay, that's the one i'm upset about''.  I suppose all of us have been through this phase. You just don't know what's happening around. You have nothing which makes you smile and neither do you have anything to cry for. But you feel the void over everything. You start being a pessimist and eventually hating your life.Worst part of it is that you know you're wrong but you cannot help it. This feeling, neither has any definition, nor a solution. Let me tell you one interesting story. Once upon a time, there  was a sage and his student. Once the sage asked him to cross a river and go to the other side but the student wasn't ready to go in as he couldn't swim. But he had deep faith in his teacher. He spoke to the sage about his proble...

I was sitting quietly in my room, disturbing and talking to no one while doing so. Everyone I knew in college was talking about going home for the extended weekend. I decided that it's pointless to go home for twenty-four hours and kill the already on lifeline financial situation. Father made me a video call just as I was about to dump my homecoming plans and fall back into a slumber. I picked up the call and instead of him, they had put my two-year-old nephew Dev in front of the camera. He screamed in ecstasy as he saw his favorite uncle in the screen. He put up the most wonderful smile and screamed "Chachu!" and I swear I almost teared up watching my bundle of joy jump around here and there, calling my name. So I decided that I must go, lift him and listen to his incredible laughter I long to hear. It was still around 9 pm here. "If I leave in next thirty minutes, it's not crazy to think that I can reach Mumbai by one in the morning and from there a cut th...

It was a rough day. I was lost in thoughts and was blue. I decided to go in hibernation, go out of sight. I went to my bedroom and shut the door behind.  My room had seen some changes. Bed was moved to the left and replaced by my computer table so as to hide the cables or the 'jungle of cables' as my mom says and provide the PC better power connection from the plugs. Everything else was in its place. I whisked in, switched on the lights, gave the room a short glance and fell into a slumber. I had not been able to attain sleep since long. Every day, I would try to sleep but always failed. Unnecessary thoughts occupy my mind now and then. The other day I woke up at three in the morning and found myself surfing the web and searching colleges for my PhD. I know its crazy trying to plan stuff that is not gonna happen until next three years.  But so is my mind. Anyway, if I am sleeping, which is rather uncanny I’d say, it won’t be asleep where I would sleep at ten or twelve a...

She flickered her eyes the sun cascaded it's light the dark lost sight and beautiful became lives She smiled at the infinity blushing maybe, she says there, just right there is where I want my days. She gracefully moved, her hair playing with her cheeks ; eyes searching some wonder why she so beautiful? Her hands , meticulously designed You would want to hold them And when you do, you would never want to lose them. And then when she kept her lips on mine, I lived