Ramblings

The outlook is good!
I declare that the only magazine worth reading in India today is Outlook. And it’s because every once in a while it comes out with an issue that has “takeaway value”, something you will probably pick up a couple of months later for a re-read or mention to a friend in some context or the other. This brings me to the latest Outlook, in which the mag looks back on the last 10 years of Indian cinema. There are quite a few interesting articles, like Jerry Pinto’s, where he is particularly scathing in his attack on the current crop of directors who peddle feel-good flicks. Sanjay Suri’s piece, in which he disses today’s “assembly-line actresses”, is also very readable. In fact, I believe if Outlook ever launches a magazine on cinema (As opposed to a film mag, like Filmfare, Stardust etc. I am thinking Cahiers du Cinema here!) it will be well-received, even though it may appeal to a niche audience. I am pretty sure they will do a damned good job of it. Proof: Their issue on the Top 10 films since Independence was a collector’s item, as was the one on Satyajit Ray. Is Vinod Mehta listening?