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Anupama Chopra

Anupama Chopra is the editor and founder of Film Companion.

Articles by Anupama Chopra

It’s Bollywood; religion is just not part of the plot, says Anupama Chopra

When you’re chasing the Holy Grail — the next big hit — you can’t afford to be communal. What works is collaboration.

In Mee Raqsam, released this August, a Muslim teen learns Bharatanatyam, a marker of cinema’s inclusivity.

entertainment

Updated on Oct 18, 2020 10:41 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Taapsee Pannu is a strident voice in turbulent times, says Anupama Chopra

She is a rare example of an actor who has both a mainstream career and an anti-establishment public persona.

columns

Updated on Oct 04, 2020 10:08 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Anupama Chopra muses on the wins and losses as the Toronto film festival goes virtual

Even with its digital screenings and shrunken line-up, TIFF felt like a minor miracle; a reminder that storytelling never stops.

With borders still closed, only local cinephiles could attend events such as the drive-in screenings held during the pandemic edition of the Toronto film festival.(tiff_NET/instagram)

columns

Updated on Sep 20, 2020 10:49 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

From Kerala, a mystery in the middle of a pandemic: Anupama Chopra

C U Soon, set entirely on computer and smartphone screens, proves that even in a pandemic, cinema can persist. Is Bollywood paying attention?

C U Soon, starring Fahadh Faasil, was shot in lockdown but never feels flat or gimmicky.

entertainment

Updated on Sep 04, 2020 11:25 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Will post-pandemic Bollywood put more women in the cockpit, asks Anupama Chopra

As films go direct to streaming platforms, female-led movies could finally get a fair shot at finding their audience. Reduced post-Covid budgets could help.

Janhvi Kapoor and Pankaj Tripathi in a still from Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl.

entertainment

Updated on Aug 23, 2020 11:24 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

While media attention was focused on the insider-outsider debate, Chaitanya Tamhane made history

Chaitanya Tamhane brings his craft and discipline to The Disciple, the story of a conflicted musician in Mumbai. His mentor Alfonso Cuaron calls it stunning.

A still from Chaitanya Tamhane’s The Disciple.

entertainment

Updated on Aug 09, 2020 09:00 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

From Parineeta to Shakuntala Devi, Vidya Balan is always convincing, always entertaining

Vidya Balan will soon be seen in the role of the math genius Shakuntala Devi. The actor has a superpower too - she is always convincing, always entertaining.

Vidya Balan as Shakuntala Devi. No matter who she’s playing, the actor always manages to humanise the woman, take you into her inner life, struggles and desires.

entertainment

Updated on Jul 26, 2020 10:21 AM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByAnupama Chopra

Will the nepotism debate post Sushant Singh Rajput’s death lead the way to a more level playing field?

Let’s emerge from the pandemic with a fairer, better, more innovative Bollywood

entertainment

Updated on Jul 12, 2020 11:10 AM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByAnupama Chopra

How the pandemic has temporarily overthrown the tyranny of box office

One silver lining to the theatres being closed during the pandemic is that we’re talking about the movies again, rather than just how many crores were made on the first day.

Shoojit Sircar’s Gulabo Sitabo released on Amazon Prime amid pandemic.

entertainment

Updated on Jun 28, 2020 04:07 PM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByAnupama Chopra

How will Covid-19 change the way India makes its cinema?

New norms and slimmer budgets are set to transform every aspect of movie-making.

Kangana Ranaut during a shoot for the historical epic film Manikarnika, in Jaipur in 2018.

entertainment

Updated on Jun 18, 2020 04:20 PM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByAnupama Chopra

Covid-19 can end the circus of celebrity, open doors for new talent, writes Anupama Chopra

The Covid-19 pandemic has sent Bollywood A-listers into hibernation, but perhaps it can open doors for new talent once things resume, writes Anupama Chopra.

entertainment

Updated on Jun 05, 2020 08:06 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Hobbled festivals: How film festivals have been impacted by coronavirus

The virus has disrupted the soul of the ecosystem.

The deserted Croisette beach is pictured empty due to measures put in place to stop the spread of the coronavirus in Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. The Cannes Film Festival has been postponed indefinitely.(AP)

entertainment

Published on May 17, 2020 12:30 PM IST

ByAnupama Chopra, New Delhi

Her life and her portfolio mark Kareena Kapoor out as a risk-taker

Anupama Chopra on Kareena Kapoor’s act of disruption

This year, Kareena Kapoor Khan turns 40. But she continues to be a diva and an in-demand showstopper at various fashion shows.(HT Photo)

lifestyle

Updated on Mar 07, 2020 09:46 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Is modesty the secret to Telugu cinema’s bountiful success?: Anupama Chopra

Politeness, modesty, humility and reticence are recurring qualities among the this film fraternity from the south

entertainment

Updated on Feb 23, 2020 07:57 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

In the new Bollywood love stories, the couples have no daunting opposition

Earlier obstacles: the angry dad, caste, class. Now: career, commitment phobia.

Sara Ali Khan and Kartik Aaryan in the 2020 version of Imtiaz Ali’s

opinion

Updated on Feb 07, 2020 05:00 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

I wish more people would let go creatively, as Saif is doing: Anupama Chopra

‘Amitabh Bachchan experienced a similar creative spring in the early years of the new millennium. But the women, even those not in the leading-lady rat race, aren’t cutting loose quite as much.’

A still from Kaalakaandi (2017). Like his character in the film, Saif Ali Khan is doing what he wants, regardless of the rules.

entertainment

Published on Jan 24, 2020 05:19 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

A star is born: Anupama Chopra looks back at how Hrithik Roshan’s debut set the bar high for future newcomers

20 years ago, Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai wasn’t just a blockbuster. It generated a hysteria comparable to Beatlemania

With Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, director Rakesh Roshan got the perfect material to showcase his talented son, Hrithik

columns

Published on Jan 10, 2020 04:39 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Anupama Chopra’s Bollywood dreams for 2020

Empowered writers, original music, an exchange of ideas across languages... a wishlist for the year ahead.

Shah Rukh Khan at the World Economic Forum in Davos, in 2018. ‘I hope Shah Rukh finds a script and a storyteller who can both reinvent the Shah Rukh Khan myth and honour it.’

columns

Updated on Dec 28, 2019 07:26 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Showbiz is ageist but there is no slowing down Isabelle Huppert

Huppert is the French Meryl Streep

Actress Isabelle Huppert at the screening of Elle in London. She was nominated for an Oscar for the film.(Getty image)

columns

Published on Dec 13, 2019 05:47 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

The cult of Karan Johar

He doesn’t get enough credit for pushing the envelope in his films

Karan Johar at a party in Mumbai.(Yogen Shah)

columns

Published on Nov 29, 2019 05:37 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Film festivals open your head and ways of seeing the world, says Anupama Chopra

A festival insists that you watch films you would never have encountered otherwise.

General view of the red carpet opening ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival 2003.(Getty Images)

columns

Updated on Nov 15, 2019 04:35 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

‘This is Amitabh...’ he said, Anupama Chopra shares her many memories of Big B

The megastar completes 50 years in Hindi cinema this month

For those who came of age in the 1980s and 1990s, Amitabh Bachchan cut a colossus-like figure, towering over the movies.(HT PHOTO)

columns

Updated on Nov 02, 2019 07:51 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Playing against type

It’s a treat when actors let go of on-screen vanity for a film, says Anupama Chopra

Hrithik Roshan shed his macho image when he played a maths teacher in

columns

Published on Oct 18, 2019 05:25 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Blurring the lines: Anupama Chopra on movie scenes that move us

Cinema can sometimes echo your soul, be a friend and a guide

columns

Published on Oct 05, 2019 05:37 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

What can stars do, beyond shine? Actually, quite a lot, says Anupama Chopra

Some have begun to use their massive clout, online and off, for greater good.

Actor Hrithik Roshan’s feed has photographs of bonding vacations with his sons. Stars have become ‘intimate strangers’, more visible than ever before.

lifestyle

Published on Sep 21, 2019 10:11 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

A step out of line: Anupama Chopra on what’s wrong with ‘item songs’ today

Done right, these numbers are joyous. It’s time to rename them

‘Item songs’ work, when like Chaiyya chaiyya (Dil Se) they celebrate sensuality.

entertainment

Published on Sep 07, 2019 07:51 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Language no bar: Anupama Chopra on non-Hindi blockbusters

Surprise! The truly innovative cinema like Virus or Village Rockstars, Super Deluxe, Sairat, Kumbalangi Nights or the Baahubali franchise, is emerging from outside Mumbai.

The Malayalam film Virus is a superbly crafted medical thriller, one of several films shaking Bollywood’s hold over Indian audiences.

entertainment

Published on Aug 24, 2019 06:17 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

My review, my choice:Anupama Chopra calls out Twitter trolls

Twitter trolls, on both sides of the political axis, need to stop looking for a conspiracy in every movie review, says Anupama Chopra.

Over the years, the trolling got so vicious that I trained myself not to look at mentions when big-budget, big star films hit the screens.

entertainment

Published on Aug 10, 2019 06:10 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Breaking the barriers of language in films

The borders between film industries in India have become more porous

Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga reworked his Telugu hit, Arjun Reddy

entertainment

Updated on Jul 27, 2019 05:51 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Let’s not play any more of these games, says Anupama Chopra

Stars are being asked to play charades or quiz each other, during interviews. But if standard Q&As are one rut, this is turning out to be just another. It’s time to rethink Bollywood promotions.

Ranveer Singh and Sara Ali Khan, amid numerous other stars, are playing games like What If and Never Have I Ever, during film promotion interviews.(HT File Photo)

entertainment

Updated on Jul 12, 2019 05:50 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

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Anupama Chopra

Anupama Chopra is the editor and founder of Film Companion.

When you’re chasing the Holy Grail — the next big hit — you can’t afford to be communal. What works is collaboration.

She is a rare example of an actor who has both a mainstream career and an anti-establishment public persona.

Even with its digital screenings and shrunken line-up, TIFF felt like a minor miracle; a reminder that storytelling never stops.

C U Soon, set entirely on computer and smartphone screens, proves that even in a pandemic, cinema can persist. Is Bollywood paying attention?

As films go direct to streaming platforms, female-led movies could finally get a fair shot at finding their audience. Reduced post-Covid budgets could help.

Chaitanya Tamhane brings his craft and discipline to The Disciple, the story of a conflicted musician in Mumbai. His mentor Alfonso Cuaron calls it stunning.

Vidya Balan will soon be seen in the role of the math genius Shakuntala Devi. The actor has a superpower too - she is always convincing, always entertaining.

Let’s emerge from the pandemic with a fairer, better, more innovative Bollywood

One silver lining to the theatres being closed during the pandemic is that we’re talking about the movies again, rather than just how many crores were made on the first day.

New norms and slimmer budgets are set to transform every aspect of movie-making.

The Covid-19 pandemic has sent Bollywood A-listers into hibernation, but perhaps it can open doors for new talent once things resume, writes Anupama Chopra.

The virus has disrupted the soul of the ecosystem.

Anupama Chopra on Kareena Kapoor’s act of disruption

Politeness, modesty, humility and reticence are recurring qualities among the this film fraternity from the south

Earlier obstacles: the angry dad, caste, class. Now: career, commitment phobia.

‘Amitabh Bachchan experienced a similar creative spring in the early years of the new millennium. But the women, even those not in the leading-lady rat race, aren’t cutting loose quite as much.’

20 years ago, Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai wasn’t just a blockbuster. It generated a hysteria comparable to Beatlemania

Empowered writers, original music, an exchange of ideas across languages... a wishlist for the year ahead.

Huppert is the French Meryl Streep

He doesn’t get enough credit for pushing the envelope in his films

A festival insists that you watch films you would never have encountered otherwise.

The megastar completes 50 years in Hindi cinema this month

It’s a treat when actors let go of on-screen vanity for a film, says Anupama Chopra

Cinema can sometimes echo your soul, be a friend and a guide

Some have begun to use their massive clout, online and off, for greater good.

Done right, these numbers are joyous. It’s time to rename them

Surprise! The truly innovative cinema like Virus or Village Rockstars, Super Deluxe, Sairat, Kumbalangi Nights or the Baahubali franchise, is emerging from outside Mumbai.

Twitter trolls, on both sides of the political axis, need to stop looking for a conspiracy in every movie review, says Anupama Chopra.

The borders between film industries in India have become more porous

Stars are being asked to play charades or quiz each other, during interviews. But if standard Q&As are one rut, this is turning out to be just another. It’s time to rethink Bollywood promotions.

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