more-in United 93 Paul Greengrass Perhaps Greengrass’ most underrated work, United 93 is a painful watch not only because the outcome is known from the start but also because the fear and pain on screen is so palpable, it’s heartbreaking. Using his trademark shaky-cam and a band of unknowns to their best, Greengrass has made a movie we all must see, a haunting portrait of heroism without falling into the trap of sensationalising such a tragic event in human history. The 400 Blows François...

Neeraj Pandey has always excelled at telling unconventional stories to a mainstream audience. His 2008 film ‘A Wednesday’ created a lot of waves in the film industry upon its release. The film, a drama grappling with relevant subjects and packaged as a slick thriller was one of the country’s best films that year and deservedly won a National Award. The film also went on to be an inspiration for its Telugu and Tamil remakes, as well as its own Hollywood version, starring Academy-award winner,...

The greatest strength of any intelligence or covert operation handling agency is how little people know about it. In a field such as that, anonymity and secrecy are great assets because it has a significant impact on the success of such covert operations. In India’s case, intelligence gathering and handling of covert operations aren’t limited to a single agency. Where the Research and Analysis Wing is responsible for foreign intelligence gathering and operations abroad, the Intelligence...

The debate over Talent vs. Networking in any industry is as old as the debate over Nature vs. Nurture. While there are many who say that talent, skill and knowledge are all that matters in any career or industry, there are others who claim that networking, or formal relationships between colleagues in the industry is as important. There is a perception however, that the Hindi film industry falls into the latter category, one where networking and the familiarity bred by such formal...