Prathyush Parasuraman

Prathyush Parasuraman is a writer and critic who writes across publications, both print and online.

More stories by this author

“Hiranyagarbha” (the Golden Egg) by Manaku of Guler, circa 1740.

How B.N. Goswamy energised everyone into the cult of seeing

According to the art historian, seeing was longing and not merely a passive printing of the world on the senses.

Prathyush Parasuraman

A still from While We Watched

When documentary films get the cinematic treatment

Underlying this is a change in form: many documentaries are having protagonists assume the cinematic hero’s role in substance and performance.

Prathyush Parasuraman

At a rally in support of Palestine in Dearborn, Detroit, US, on October 10.

When fiction tells the truth about the Israel-Palestine war

A retreat into literature with Adania Shibli’s Minor Detail and Nathan Thrall’s A Day in the Life of Abed Salama.

Prathyush Parasuraman

Border Security Force personnel pay homage to slain soldiers on Kargil Vijay Diwas at the BSF headquarters in Humhama near Srinagar on July 23, 2019.

What purpose do war memorials serve?

Be it Gaza, No Man’s Land, or Kargil, the wounds of war linger beyond the site of impact, always.

Prathyush Parasuraman

A sword-carrying Ganesha idol at the Lalbaugcha Raja pandal in Mumbai on September 18.

Why do we want to militarise our gods?

Is it a cultural anxiety expressed through violence? Or do we simply imitate our cinematic heroes, who often portray gods as warriors?

Prathyush Parasuraman

A fan performs rituals for a cut-out of the actor Shah Rukh Khan during the celebrations on the day of release of the film Jawan in Kolkata.

Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Jawan’ is all fandom, no film

In a brave departure from traditional filmmaking, Jawan pushes the boundaries of art and audience.

Prathyush Parasuraman

A man works on the pavement in front of a wall painted with scenes from Gadar 2 in Mumbai. August 2023.

Gadar 2: Regressive on morals, insured on mass culture

Unlike films like The Kerala Story, where the ideology is embedded in the drama, in Gadar 2, the ideology floats one layer above, focussed on adrenali

Prathyush Parasuraman

Why we must bring more voices into the making of art

Most often in art and representation, identity is defined by the violations people endure, by their victimhood.

Prathyush Parasuraman

A poster for Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani.

How ‘Rocky aur Rani’ encapsulates the world between real and make-believe

Karan Johar’s films are filled with candied stories of love and characters whose lives evoke both escapism and aspiration.

Prathyush Parasuraman

A still from Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi which, according to its director, Sudhir Mishra, still resonates because he was not caught up with the ideology.

Speak, don’t shriek: Why do some progressive films tell us how to think?

These films are as dull as propaganda films such as The Kashmir Files and The Kerala Story, which are dripping with communal acid.

Prathyush Parasuraman

A still from the movie adaptation of Andre Aciman’s Call Me By Your Name.

The queerness I crave

To read queer literature is to be confronted by the bizarre buzz of your interiority being transcribed by someone else.

Prathyush Parasuraman

A poster of Adipurush. That is how Raut sees the epic, an excuse for adrenaline.

Devoted and dull, ‘Adipurush’ is a flat work of worship

Om Raut’s film does not realise that what makes the Ramayana so compelling is its literary brilliance and not any forced moral posturing.

Prathyush Parasuraman

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