Santanu Das is an entertainment journalist and film critic at Hindustan Times. He writes on films, TV and celebrity culture.
Articles by Santanu Das
All That Breathes review: A visually stunning doc on the need to co-exist
All That Breathes review: Shaunak Sen's Oscar-nominated documentary centers around the efforts of two Muslim brothers to save wounded black kites in Delhi.
Published on Mar 24, 2023 07:06 AM IST
And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine review: A brief history of the image
And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine review: A visual essay on the century-long fascination with the photographic image, and the way we see the world.
Published on Mar 23, 2023 11:21 AM IST
Queendom review: No country for drag
Queendom review: Marking its premiere at CPH:DOCX, Agniia Galdanova’s Queendom revolves around a Russian queer artist named Gena Marvin.
Published on Mar 20, 2023 09:21 AM IST
Twice Colonized review: Aaju Peter's life shapes timely doc
Twice Colonized review: Aaju Peter, Greenlandic Inuit lawyer and activist leads this intimate and politically charged documentary which opened CPH: DOCX.
Published on Mar 19, 2023 10:11 AM IST
Away review: Danish doc details anxieties of self-isolation
Away review: Directed by Ida Høeberg and Sofie Melin, Away (Udebane) centers around a young Danish basketball player named Julianna Okosun.
Published on Mar 17, 2023 11:39 AM IST
Seven Winters in Tehran: Chilling story of a woman wronged by system
Seven Winters in Tehran review: Premiering at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, the film revolves around the trial of Reyhaneh Jabbari.
Published on Mar 16, 2023 05:09 PM IST
Keanu Reeves on John Wick 4 and toughest skill he had to learn
Keanu Reeves talks John Wick: Chapter 4 with director Chad Stahelski, and reveals what was the most challenging skill he has mastered “in earnestness” for the titular role in the series. John Wick: Chapter 4 is set to release in India on March 24.
Published on Mar 15, 2023 08:12 AM IST
Elephants Whisperers and RRR wins make this year India's best at Oscars
India's road to the Oscars has been a decades-long journey into the making. With two historic wins at the 95th Academy Awards, India has more reasons to cheer (and dance) like never before.
Published on Mar 13, 2023 12:30 PM IST
Santanu Das
Tár review: Cate Blanchett is exceptional in Todd Field's examination of power
Tár review: Director Todd Field and star Cate Blanchett team up to deliver a masterful, uncompromising character study steeped in the abuse of power and privilege.
Published on Mar 10, 2023 03:08 PM IST
Santanu Das
Alcarràs review: A moving snapshot of a peach-growing family bound by tradition
Alcarràs review: Directed by Carla Simón, this richly performed, superbly written drama circles around a multigenerational family of peach growers in Spain’s Catalonia region.
Published on Feb 25, 2023 05:07 PM IST
Santanu Das
Opinion: Cirkus is proof that audience has moved on, but Rohit Shetty hasn't
There is no thread of connection between Rohit Shetty's Cirkus and the audience: the film exists in its own colour-coded world of errors. All eyes are on Ranveer Singh's next.
Published on Feb 20, 2023 10:48 AM IST
Santanu Das
Daughter of Rage review: Laura Baumeister's debut digs out grit and resilience
Daughter of Rage review: The Spanish-language film by Laura Baumeister, which also marks the first narrative feature directed by a Nicaraguan woman, revolves around 11-year-old Maria (Araceli Alejandra Medal), who is in search of her mother.
Published on Feb 19, 2023 03:13 PM IST
Santanu Das
Starring Jerry as Himself review: A vital genre-bending documentary experiment
Marking its premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, debutant director Law Chen's daring and genre-bending snapshot of an ageing immigrant man is unlike any other documentary you will see this year.
Published on Feb 17, 2023 07:09 AM IST
Santanu Das
Silent Love review: Polish docu-drama fosters hope in the face of discrimination
Silent Love review: This film revolves around a woman named Agnieszka, who must keep her relationship with another woman a secret in order to get custody of her teenage brother Miłosz.
Published on Feb 16, 2023 07:16 AM IST
Santanu Das
Dhuin review: Achal Mishra's portrait of artistic pursuit is a compact gem
Set in Darbhanga, Dhuin revolves around an aspiring actor named Pankaj (Abhinav Jha), who struggles to find the middle ground between desire and despair in order to follow his dreams.
Published on Feb 13, 2023 12:33 PM IST
Santanu Das
The Underbug review: A bleak, haunting study of the cost of communal violence
HT at Slamdance | The Underbug review: Hussain Dalal and Ali Fazal deliver sincere, committed performances in Shujaat Saudagar's haunting, immersive psychological thriller. It premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival.
Published on Feb 02, 2023 12:54 PM IST
Santanu Das
Against the Tide review: Men at crossroads in Mumbai's Koli fishing community
HT at Sundance | Against the Tide review: Competing in the World Cinema Documentary Competition category at Sundance Film Festival, Sarvnik Kaur's stark, unrelenting film based on the indigenous Koli fishing community in Mumbai won the Special Jury Award for Verite Filmmaking.
Published on Feb 01, 2023 05:48 PM IST
Santanu Das
Joyland review: Desires run wild in controversial film that Pak wanted to ban
HT at Sundance | Joyland review: Ali Junejo, Rasti Farooq, Alina Khan and Sarwat Gilani deliver terrific performances in Saim Sadiq's bitingly democratic study of desire.
Updated on Jan 30, 2023 05:12 PM IST
Santanu Das
Slow review: This raw, intimate study of asexuality resists easy resolution
HT at Sundance | Slow review: Lithuanian director Marija Kavtaradze's sophomore feature is powered by two resonant performances from Greta Grinevičiūtė and Kęstutis Cicėnas.
Updated on Jan 30, 2023 01:52 PM IST
Santanu Das
Passages review: Ira Sachs' relationship drama dazzles and frustrates
HT at Sundance | Passages review: Ira Sachs' brutally honest yet frustratingly reserved study of modern relationships is a messy, exalting triumph.
Published on Jan 28, 2023 09:08 PM IST
Santanu Das
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood review: One of the best documentaries of the year
HT at Sundance | Smoke Sauna Sisterhood review: Taking place inside a sauna in southern Estonia, this intimate and empowering documentary cuts deep.
Updated on Jan 28, 2023 11:45 AM IST
Santanu Das
L’Immensità review: Penelope Cruz cannot save inconsistent drama
HT at Sundance | L’Immensità review: Penelope Cruz stars as a tormented Italian housewife in director Emanuele Crialese's L’Immensita, an inconsistent and laboured drama set in 1970's Rome. It was showcased in the Spotlight section at Sundance Film Festival.
Updated on Jan 27, 2023 03:38 PM IST
Santanu Das
Cassandro review: Gael García Bernal triumphs as a gay wrestler
HT at Sundance | Cassandro review: Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, Cassandro stars an electric Gael García Bernal as the Liberace of lucha libre, powering the uplifting yet predictable biopic directed by Roger Ross Williams.
Published on Jan 27, 2023 01:37 PM IST
Santanu Das
Fancy Dance review: Lily Gladstone is sublime in well-crafted tale on resilience
HT at Sundance | Fancy Dance review: In Erica Tremblay's directorial debut, the subtext of disappearance of indigenous people establishes the need for healing and resilience within a community.
Published on Jan 26, 2023 07:43 PM IST
Santanu Das
The Disappearance of Shere Hite review: Who says a woman cannot talk about sex?
HT at Sundance | The Disappearance of Shere Hite review: Nicole Newnham's documentary on the groundbreaking work of feminist icon Shere Hite thrillingly reveals the flamboyant spirit of the woman who would change the discourse on female sexuality forever.
Published on Jan 26, 2023 04:41 PM IST
Santanu Das
Eileen review: This unhinged mix of Carol and Hitchcock ultimately disappoints
HT at Sundance | Eileen review: Thomasin McKenzie and Anne Hathaway cannot save William Oldroyd’s frustratingly impatient and gloomy adaptation of Ottessa Moshfegh's work.
Published on Jan 26, 2023 12:22 PM IST
Santanu Das
Poacher review: Richie Mehta crafts an atmospheric tale on illegal ivory trade
Poacher review: Nimisha Sajayan, Roshan Mathew, Dibyendu Bhattacharya star in vividly atmospheric procedural investigation in the jungles of Kerala.
Updated on Feb 23, 2024 01:30 PM IST
Santanu Das
Sanjeev Maurya on the casting of Trial By Fire: 'We focused on each character…'
Casting director Sanjeev Maurya revealed how the casting process for Trial By Fire involved a huge audition process with more than 3500 actors, and how Rajshri Deshpande came on board as Neelam.
Published on Jan 25, 2023 08:06 PM IST
Santanu Das
Fair Play review: Chloe Domont's erotic financial drama is an instant classic
HT at Sundance | Fair Play review: Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich are tremendous in this explosive thriller that isn't afraid to take ugly twists.
Published on Jan 25, 2023 10:54 AM IST
Santanu Das
Magazine Dreams review: A volcanic mix of Travis Bickle and Jake LaMotta
Magazine Dreams review: Jonathan Majors delivers the performance of a lifetime as a self-destructing bodybuilder in Elijah Bynum's uncompromising character study. It premiered at the U.S. Dramatic Competition section at Sundance Film Festival.
Published on Jan 23, 2023 07:35 PM IST
Santanu Das