Anupama Chopra
Anupama Chopra is the editor and founder of Film Companion.
Articles by Anupama Chopra
Wonder women: Anupama Chopra picks her top heroines of the silver screen
UPDATED ON MAR 06, 2021 07:34 PM IST
If not on Women’s Day, when! Here are some of the most fierce, fearless and fabulous female characters to have lit up our screens.
Finally in focus, an India we rarely get to see, says Anupama Chopra
UPDATED ON FEB 20, 2021 07:31 AM IST
Two niche films, Bittu and Pebbles, are making us proud abroad. They deserve to be seen widely here at home too.
Adarsh Gourav: A dark horse powers ahead in Bollywood
PUBLISHED ON FEB 05, 2021 06:21 PM IST
“His success is thrilling,” says Anupama Chopra in this week’s column. “His talent and hard work shine through in the role of the evil Balram in The White Tiger. I can’t wait to see what he does next.”
How to Master the masala movie recipe: Anupama Chopra
PUBLISHED ON JAN 22, 2021 06:34 PM IST
Visual drama, the money shot, a happy suspension of disbelief— it’s time to bring back some of cinema’s giddiest pleasures
Let the movies transform and transport you in 2021, says Anupama Chopra
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times
UPDATED ON JAN 10, 2021 04:22 PM IST
Step outside your comfort zones, travel to new genres. Aim to confound the algorithms by being as unpredictable as possible.
It’s been overcast but you can still count some stars, says Anupama Chopra
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times
UPDATED ON DEC 25, 2020 12:21 PM IST
It’s been a year of losses, but not one devoid of cinematic joy. Here’s a list of things that made me happiest in dismal 2020.
It’s an upstream battle finding the good content in the flood, says Anupama Chopra
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times
UPDATED ON DEC 11, 2020 11:02 PM IST
Cinema halls, over 40 streaming platforms, more shows, new worlds — curation will be more crucial than ever in 2021.
Cut! Films that get preachy defeat their very purpose, says Anupama Chopra
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times
UPDATED ON NOV 29, 2020 03:02 PM IST
There’s so much the right story can achieve, in a cinema-crazy country like ours. But first, and above all, it must be entertaining.
No exit: It will always be bigger, better at the movies, says Anupama Chopra
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times
UPDATED ON NOV 13, 2020 08:12 PM IST
It will likely take just one big-ticket release to get film fans in India to return to theatres, rooting for their favourite stars.
While we’re streaming, these actors are going against the flow: Anupama Chopra
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times
UPDATED ON OCT 30, 2020 05:41 PM IST
In Bollywood they might have had to play to type. But web series let talented actors make unpredictable choices, and the results are sheer magic.
It’s Bollywood; religion is just not part of the plot, says Anupama Chopra
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times
UPDATED ON OCT 18, 2020 10:41 AM IST
When you’re chasing the Holy Grail — the next big hit — you can’t afford to be communal. What works is collaboration.
Taapsee Pannu is a strident voice in turbulent times, says Anupama Chopra
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times
UPDATED ON OCT 04, 2020 10:08 AM IST
She is a rare example of an actor who has both a mainstream career and an anti-establishment public persona.
Anupama Chopra muses on the wins and losses as the Toronto film festival goes virtual
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times
UPDATED ON SEP 20, 2020 10:49 AM IST
Even with its digital screenings and shrunken line-up, TIFF felt like a minor miracle; a reminder that storytelling never stops.
From Kerala, a mystery in the middle of a pandemic: Anupama Chopra
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times
UPDATED ON SEP 04, 2020 11:25 PM IST
C U Soon, set entirely on computer and smartphone screens, proves that even in a pandemic, cinema can persist. Is Bollywood paying attention?
Will post-pandemic Bollywood put more women in the cockpit, asks Anupama Chopra
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times
UPDATED ON AUG 23, 2020 11:24 AM IST
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.
While media attention was focused on the insider-outsider debate, Chaitanya Tamhane made history
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times
UPDATED ON AUG 09, 2020 09:00 AM IST
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.
From Parineeta to Shakuntala Devi, Vidya Balan is always convincing, always entertaining
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON JUL 26, 2020 10:21 AM IST
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.
Will the nepotism debate post Sushant Singh Rajput’s death lead the way to a more level playing field?
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON JUL 12, 2020 11:10 AM IST
Let’s emerge from the pandemic with a fairer, better, more innovative Bollywood
How the pandemic has temporarily overthrown the tyranny of box office
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON JUN 28, 2020 04:07 PM IST
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.
How will Covid-19 change the way India makes its cinema?
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON JUN 18, 2020 04:20 PM IST
New norms and slimmer budgets are set to transform every aspect of movie-making.
Covid-19 can end the circus of celebrity, open doors for new talent, writes Anupama Chopra
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times
UPDATED ON JUN 05, 2020 08:06 PM IST
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.
Hobbled festivals: How film festivals have been impacted by coronavirus
By Anupama Chopra, New Delhi
PUBLISHED ON MAY 17, 2020 12:30 PM IST
The virus has disrupted the soul of the ecosystem.
Her life and her portfolio mark Kareena Kapoor out as a risk-taker
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times
UPDATED ON MAR 07, 2020 09:46 PM IST
Anupama Chopra on Kareena Kapoor’s act of disruption
Is modesty the secret to Telugu cinema’s bountiful success?: Anupama Chopra
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times
UPDATED ON FEB 23, 2020 07:57 PM IST
Politeness, modesty, humility and reticence are recurring qualities among the this film fraternity from the south
In the new Bollywood love stories, the couples have no daunting opposition
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times
UPDATED ON FEB 07, 2020 05:00 PM IST
Earlier obstacles: the angry dad, caste, class. Now: career, commitment phobia.
I wish more people would let go creatively, as Saif is doing: Anupama Chopra
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times
PUBLISHED ON JAN 24, 2020 05:19 PM IST
‘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 star is born: Anupama Chopra looks back at how Hrithik Roshan’s debut set the bar high for future newcomers
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times
PUBLISHED ON JAN 10, 2020 04:39 PM IST
20 years ago, Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai wasn’t just a blockbuster. It generated a hysteria comparable to Beatlemania
Anupama Chopra’s Bollywood dreams for 2020
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times
UPDATED ON DEC 28, 2019 07:26 PM IST
Empowered writers, original music, an exchange of ideas across languages... a wishlist for the year ahead.
Showbiz is ageist but there is no slowing down Isabelle Huppert
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times
PUBLISHED ON DEC 13, 2019 05:47 PM IST
Huppert is the French Meryl Streep
The cult of Karan Johar
By Anupama Chopra | Hindustan Times
PUBLISHED ON NOV 29, 2019 05:37 PM IST
He doesn’t get enough credit for pushing the envelope in his films