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Poonam Saxena

Poonam Saxena

Poonam Saxena is the national weekend editor of the Hindustan Times. She writes on cinema, television, culture and books

Articles by Poonam Saxena

Worlds per minute: Poonam Saxena writes on the typewriter as an agent of change

Snapshots from the ’60s: Elisabeth Moss is Peggy Olson, secretary-turned-copywriter, on the TV series Mad Men (2007-15). (Above right) An advertisement for a Godrej device.

Updated on May 30, 2026 10:36 IST

Prose and cons of a beloved city: A look back at Allahabad

Allahabad Fort by Charles Forrest of the British East India Company; 1824. (Wikimedia)

Updated on Apr 25, 2026 11:57 IST

When two wrongs make a wry: Poonam Saxena on the satirist Harishankar Parsai

Parsai wrote about the daily hardships of ordinary people, in tales such as Sadachar Ka Taweez, Matadeen on the Moon, Bholaram Ka Jeev and Desh Ke Is Daur Mein.

Updated on Mar 28, 2026 10:30 IST

In her own write: A Women’s Day Wknd tribute to Amrita Pritam

Pritam was only 28 when she wrote her most famous poem, Aaj aakhan Waris Shah nu. (HT Archives)

Updated on Feb 28, 2026 10:25 IST

Writer’s retreat: Poonam Saxena takes a trip to Premchand’s village

A toe pokes out of one of the author’s shoes, in the famous photograph with his wife Shivrani Devi that came to be known as Premchand ke Phate Joote, and came to be seen as a sign of the neglect of our great artists.

Updated on Jan 31, 2026 14:40 IST

Still in love with an old flame: Poonam Saxena writes on Sholay

Sholay: The Final Cut premieres in Bologna, Italy. (Film Heritage Foundation)

Updated on Jan 2, 2026 13:21 IST

Why Raj Kapoor’s was a wonderful world: A tribute by Poonam Saxena

Raj Kapoor and Nargis in the song Pyar Hua Ikrar Hua from Shree 420 (1955).

Updated on Dec 13, 2025 13:02 IST

Smooth criminal: Poonam Saxena on the charm of Ajit, the unusual villain

You likely know the lines, even if you don’t know the name. “Mona Darling.” “Lily, don’t be silly.” Those were both Ajit.

Updated on Nov 1, 2025 11:38 IST

Insider exclusive: Poonam Saxena on Ba***ds of Bollywood and films about films

Helen and a group of dancers practise their moves on the keys of a giant red typewriter, in Bombay Talkie (1970).

Updated on Oct 4, 2025 10:48 IST

Novel journeys: Poonam Saxena on the lost joys of the long-distance train ride

Happy daze: Sharmila Tagore reads, while others look out at the passing countryside, during the train ride through the hills in Aradhana (1969).

Updated on Sep 6, 2025 06:43 IST

An automatic life sentence: Poonam Saxena takes a fresh look at Aadhe Adhure

Pratima Kazmi (left) is Savitri, in Aadhe Adhure. (NSD / Instagram)

Updated on Aug 9, 2025 08:16 IST

A full-throttle flashback: Poonam Saxena on India’s early F1 film, Apradh

A full-throttle flashback: Poonam Saxena on India’s early F1 film, Apradh

Updated on Jul 12, 2025 09:19 IST

Guru Dutt at 100: A Wknd tribute to a tortured artist and his enduring art

(HT Archives)

Updated on Jul 4, 2025 12:51 IST

Filmmaker Raj Khosla at 100: A tale of Dutt, dacoits and a double life

(Wikimedia)

Updated on Jul 4, 2025 10:22 IST

A stroll down Jane street: Poonam Saxena on Austen as the ultimate comfort read

Frothy, funny and acerbic, Northanger Abbey (1817) is often seen as a satire on the Gothic novel. Above, a still from the 1987 film adaption.

Updated on Jun 14, 2025 11:18 IST

How does it all go so pear-shaped?: Poonam Saxena writes on bonds with mothers

Author Swadesh Deepak. (Image: Soumitra Mohan)

Updated on May 17, 2025 08:22 IST

Read herrings: Poonam Saxena celebrates Hindi crime writer Surendra Mohan Pathak

Pathak’s aura remains undimmed, even though the glory days of Hindi pulp-fiction themselves are long over. (HT Archives)

Updated on Apr 19, 2025 11:29 IST

Petal pushers: Poonam Saxena writes on Spring

At Delhi’s Sunder Nursery. In spring, the city is like a movie set just waiting for someone to yell ‘Action!. (HT Archives)

Updated on Mar 22, 2025 16:54 IST

A fluid legacy: Poonam Saxena on one of India’s earliest queer novels

A still from Badnam Basti.

Updated on Feb 15, 2025 17:34 IST

A trailblazer with a gentle touch: Poonam Saxena writes on Sai Pranjpye

In Katha (1983), set in a Mumbai chawl, Paranjpye cast her main actors against type. The cultured Farooque Shaikh was a conman; Naseeruddin Shah was an earnest but dull clerk. It won a National Award, but Paranjpye’s body of work has never really got its due.

Updated on Jan 4, 2025 09:34 IST

Snap, crackle, pop: Fireside memories of winters gone by

At Lodhi Garden earlier this month. Nothing can erase the exquisite beauty of Delhi’s winter, but the smog we have all contributed to certainly does obscure it. (HT Archives)

Updated on Nov 30, 2024 12:12 IST

The BEST bus tales: Poonam Saxena, on 150 years of a Mumbai icon

Amitabh Bachchan, Parveen Babi, Shashi Kapoor and Bindiya Goswami in the song Janu Meri Jaan, from Shaan (1980).

Updated on Oct 19, 2024 09:03 IST

Can I have a katha or kahani, please, says Poonam Saxena

A still from the outstanding new Malayalam series Manorathangal, based on the writings of MT Vasudevan Nair.

Updated on Sep 21, 2024 08:30 IST

A master of the fractured narrative: Poonam Saxena on Bhisham Sahni

Refugees by Paritosh Sen; 1946.

Updated on Aug 10, 2024 11:04 IST

Dialling up the nostalgia: Poonam Saxena on the rotary-dial telephone

A still from John Wick: Chapter 2. How reminiscent this scene is, of countless dramatic moments in film – of bad news, shocking news, threats delivered and received.

Updated on Jul 27, 2024 13:41 IST

A queen of hearts: Poonam Saxena on Bridgerton,Regency romances, Georgette Heyer

The Regency Era (1790s to 1830s) was a period of great prosperity for the British aristocracy, hence all the gilding and lace.

Updated on Jun 29, 2024 10:51 IST

Another great showing at Cannes: A look back at Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar

Updated on Jun 1, 2024 10:02 IST

And then what happened...?: Poonam Saxena, on posthumous publications

Updated on May 4, 2024 10:54 IST

We had no camps, apps or even TV, but we had the best summers,says Poonam Saxena

‘I’ll never forget the chaos of refilling our surahi or earthen pot with drinking water at a midway station. I also won’t forget the spicy chana at Tundla Junction.’ (Shutterstock)

Updated on Apr 6, 2024 11:49 IST

The mastery and mystery of Hindi’s first woman novelist, Mallika

The world’s first Hindi novelists: Bhartendu Harishchandra and Mallika. (Image courtesy Mallika ka Rachna Sansar by Vasudha Dalmia; published by Rajkamal Prakashan)

Updated on Mar 9, 2024 13:53 IST

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