Articles by Kunal Ray
Behind that fading Hindi movie magic
Why is the Hindi film industry struggling? The same set of people who have delivered hits in the past are still actively working. What has gone wrong then?
Appadurai Muttulingam – “You can call me a world citizen”
On translation, discovering that the short story is his form of expression, becoming a part of whichever country he lives in, and his book, Where God Began, which is a deep dive into Sri Lankan Tamil refugee life and experience
To Lunuganga – architecture as autobiography
Two hours by road from Colombo, Lunuganga, the country estate of the renowned Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa, encourages conversations around ecology and art
Review: Maria Just Maria by Sandhya Mary
A novel that makes the reader ponder about what normalcy denotes, who decides what exactly is normal and whether those who set the standards are themselves the epitome of normalcy
When space shrinks for writing on the arts
Controversies do not sustain an art form or help popularise it. It can only happen when there is a thriving ecosystem of healthy dialogue around the arts.
Charlotte Ager – “Self-doubt can completely freeze you up”
The illustrator on writing, reading and being commissioned to remake several of Orhan Pamuk’s book covers
Musician who deeply thought about her art
Prabha Atre passed away on Saturday. In the words of music critic Mohan Nadkarni, she was an avant-garde musician alongside Kishori Amonkar and Kumar Gandharva
AJ Thomas – “If the narrative element is strong, the story will hold”
The author, editor and translator on The Greatest Malayalam Stories Ever Told, his new anthology that showcases the best of Malayalam short fiction
Actor, superstar, change: The case of Mammootty
There is no other Indian superstar to parallel Mammootty's filmography in current times.
Ahalya Matthan - “It allows you to come close to precious historical textiles”
In The Saree in Nine Stories, the latest publication from The Registry of Sarees founded by Matthan, the saree transforms into an art object that allows the reader to interrogate the past and understand the present
Updated on Aug 25, 2023 08:37 PM IST
Kunal Ray
Interview: Daniel Hahn, translator - “Awards are a statement of what we value”
The winner of the Ottaway Award on the importance of children’s literature, his process of translation, and his project with the University of Chicago to translate South Asian literature
Updated on May 30, 2023 09:56 AM IST
Kunal Ray
Ways of seeing: Atul Dodiya and the cinema
The paintings in the artist’s ongoing show inspired by various Hindi and Bengali films are not imitative but are the beginning of a conversation between the artist and cinema
Updated on Feb 16, 2023 09:30 AM IST
Kunal Ray
HT reviewer Kunal Ray picks his favourite read of 2022
Lavanya Karthik’s book is a brief introduction to the life of Teejan Bai, who was constantly forbidden to sing but is now synonymous with Pandavani music
Published on Dec 23, 2022 04:35 PM IST
Kunal Ray
Interview: Ramu Katakam, author, Spaces in Time – A Life in Architecture - “I yearn for a return to basics”
The veteran architect and design thinker reflects on his recent memoir and about a life spent among buildings
Published on Dec 02, 2022 04:28 PM IST
Kunal Ray
Interview: Jayasree Kalathil, translator - “Read the text for what it is”
The award-winning translator from Malayalam to English on collaborating with authors and dismantling the literary canon
Published on Nov 18, 2022 09:44 PM IST
Kunal Ray
Review: Valli by Sheela Tomy
Set in Wayanad in Kerala, home to Adivasis and indigenous communities, Sheela Tomy’s dense novel bemoans the loss of a land where she grew up and documents its sustained exploitation
Published on Nov 05, 2022 01:55 AM IST
Kunal Ray
Review: Adam by S Hareesh
S Hareesh’s fiction provides a parallel reading of the state of Kerala and its complex socio-cultural dynamics
Updated on Jun 04, 2022 01:09 AM IST
Kunal Ray
Review: The Blue Book - A Writer’s Journal by Amitava Kumar
Several of the images used in Amitava Kumar’s book were created during a writing residency in Texas to which he was invited. The others record his observations while taking a walk, travels, objects around the house, contemporary occurrences in India, amongst others. A visual expedition into the writer’s mind, Kumar’s paintings in his journal exude a remarkable spontaneity.
Published on Mar 25, 2022 05:29 PM IST
Kunal Ray
Review: Art Cinema and India’s Forgotten Futures byRochona Majumdar
Rochona Majumdar charts the trajectory of art cinema in the country through the work of three filmmakers from Bengal – Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen and Satyajit Ray
Published on Feb 04, 2022 11:05 PM IST
Kunal Ray
Rebel without a pause: A Wknd interview with Tamil writer Ambai
At 77, the legendary feminist writer has finally won a Sahitya Akademi award. So many senior writers have been overlooked, it was a bit of an embarrassment to get it, she chuckles.
Updated on Jan 08, 2022 07:50 PM IST
Kunal Ray
HT reviewer Kunal Ray picks his favourite reads of 2021
Living, writing, death and loss: A son watches his father slip away while the world grieves the loss of a favourite writer
Updated on Dec 17, 2021 02:56 PM IST
Kunal Ray
Interview: M Mukundan, author, Delhi, A Soliloquy – “I always dream in Malayalam”
Winner of this year’s JCB Prize for Literature, M Mukundan talks about wandering the streets of Delhi, the power of translation, and contemporary Malayalam literature
Published on Dec 03, 2021 05:42 PM IST
Kunal Ray
Review: Two books on the artists Mehlli Gobhai and Somnath Hore
Through a combination of visuals and text, two books create an interface between readers and the artists and act as an entry point into the lives of the masters
Published on Sep 24, 2021 05:21 PM IST
Kunal Ray
Interview: Shilpa Gupta, artist and author, Drawing in the Dark
Shilpa Gupta’s book is a collection of critical commentaries, reflections and images of a new series of work which echoes her questions and concerns about borders – geographical and otherwise
Published on Sep 11, 2021 03:01 PM IST
Kunal Ray
Review: This Life At Play; Memoirs by Girish Karnad
Girish Karnad’s memoirs touch on his childhood in Sirsi, his early exposure to Yakshagana, how mathematics influenced his playwriting, and his work in film
Updated on Jul 23, 2021 07:14 PM IST
Kunal Ray
Review: Delhi - A Soliloquy by M Mukundan
Set in Delhi through the 1960s to the mid 1980s, this novel pulls the reader into the vortex of Malayalis living in Delhi and demonstrates how small lives are permanently changed by the big events of history
Published on Jun 04, 2021 05:25 PM IST
Kunal Ray
Review: Finding the Raga by Amit Chaudhuri
A meditation on singing, music making, listening, and mishearing, Amit Chaudhuri’s new book combines an exploration of music with memoir
Published on May 21, 2021 10:55 PM IST
Kunal Ray
Interview: Kripa Bhatia, artist and illustrator
The artist who is based in Mumbai has worked extensively on children’s books. Bombay Ducks, Bombay Docks (with Fleur D’Souza), a children’s book about the original inhabitants of Mumbai, which she illustrated, made it to this year’s Parag Honour List
Published on May 14, 2021 10:48 PM IST
Kunal Ray
Interview: Siddharth Chowdhury, author, The Time of the Peacock
The author of The Patna Manual of Style and Patna Roughcut returns with a new novel, The Time of the Peacock, which offers a ringside view of Indian English literary culture
Published on Apr 02, 2021 10:09 PM IST
Kunal Ray
Interview: Suresh Jayaram, author, The 1Shanthiroad Cookbook
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Published on Feb 12, 2021 04:57 PM IST
Kunal Ray
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