shubhra gupta Profile picture
Journalist, Columnist. Film Critic. Author of '50 Films That Changed Bollywood 1995-2015' (HarperCollins) https://t.co/haep3lpchX
May 5, 2021 6 tweets 2 min read
Fourteen days after the first symptoms, leaving #Covid19 behind. Me and my family. Immense gratitude that our symptoms were mild, that we could do this at home, and that we had great medical help. There are enough solid anecdotal stories of people recovering from #COVID19. All I will say is that if you are lucky, like we were, for the fever not to go beyond 104, and normal oxygen levels, you can beat this at home, in isolation.
Oct 2, 2020 6 tweets 1 min read
Met my childhood friends after six months, both doctors, both on frontline in big hospitals. He showed me photos of how he is in the OT, layers upon layers of PPE, surgical masks and N 95. Sweat pools in their shoes, they splash as they walk. They spoke of moneyed or connected patients throwing their weight around, not bothered about the doctors who have to operate on them even when they are COVID positive.
Aug 13, 2020 5 tweets 2 min read
If you haven’t, then this is the perfect time to see #BlackFriday, about a sequence of events which changed India. #BlackFriday was also Bollywood’s first full-fledged feature done docu-style. The fact that it finally came out, despite its subject and the long struggle with the CBFC, says a lot about the times the film was made, and released in.
Jul 1, 2020 4 tweets 1 min read
A new compendium of short films speaks to these unprecedented times as their makers- Kristen Stewart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Pablo Larrain, among others- create locked down art. Now streaming on @NetflixIndia A woman calls out a man professing undying love as a serial liar. The virus was created for people like you, she says, long live the virus! Larrain’s short is dark and hilarious
Jun 9, 2020 6 tweets 1 min read
Basically we thought the government was running the country. What opposition? Who opposition? Which opposition ? indianexpress.com/article/india/… The ‘opposition’ doesn’t exist. It’s a chimera
Dec 30, 2019 25 tweets 6 min read
Just 10 from 10 whole years? Too few. Finally decided to stop keeping a count. Here’s a list of Bollywood movies which counted for something and made me happy #lookback indianexpress.com/article/entert… What was meant to be a quick listicle turned into a fairly detailed look back at the movies which were about something. For those who don't want to wade through the long-ish piece, here's a rapid reckoner #2010-2019
Aug 18, 2019 7 tweets 2 min read
Here are some of the best Indian films I’ve seen in a while. And not one of them belongs to Bollywood indianexpress.com/article/expres… #KumabalangiNights. Director Madhu C Narayanan says they wanted to make it ‘like a poem’. That’s what is.
Mar 29, 2019 8 tweets 2 min read
So here’s my story of non watching a film I’d really been looking forward to, given it was from the director of the kick-ass #AaranyaKaandam After keeping a sharp eye on the schedule of releases, AND reaching out to the distributors of #SuperDeluxe in North India, I got no help
Sep 30, 2018 5 tweets 2 min read
Dear @Uber_Support how can you charge me for a ride which never happened? Shocking and unpardonable. On Thursday the 27th Sept morning, Amit, your driver agreed to cancel the ride because he was 20 minutes away from where I was, and I had to get to the airport. I took another cab.
Sep 2, 2018 4 tweets 2 min read
This eagle comes and perched on that exact spot every morning. Looks around calmly. And then after a while , takes off again. Image Still there, and it’s been five minutes. Bird people, are eagles creatures of habit? Fascinating routine this one has set up Image
Jul 21, 2018 4 tweets 2 min read
Last Saturday, July 21, an @amazonIN executive called Somesh came on chat on the site to tell me that they had 'lost' my package which I had ordered on July 3 and paid for. I was told I would get a refund in two working days. A whole week has passed, and there is no sign of it. The email @amazonIN sent to me says the package was 'undeliverable', and was being 'returned' to their centre. I didn't know that 'lost' and 'undeliverable' were the same thing.
Jul 3, 2018 7 tweets 5 min read
It was a no-brainer that #Satya would be one of my #50FilmsThatChangedBollywood. When it came out, we -hardened film critics who’d seen it all- were blown away. RGV and his gangsta-pic changed the game. Below is part of my #review Image Twenty years on, parts of it are still as cracklingly alive. I liked #Company better, but #Satya set the trend. And became Mumbai-ka-king.