Nirpal Dhaliwal is a former London Evening Standard columnist now working for a weekly newspaper in New Delhi
February 2022
Bollywood’s new affair: the film bringing complexity to screen infidelity
With an all-star cast led by Deepika Padukone, Gehraiyaan aims to bring a fresh realism to its love story. She and director Shakun Batra assess the risks they’re taking
August 2021
How India’s armed forces have become Bollywood’s new poster boys
A series of big films this year will focus on Indian military conflicts with Pakistan, reflecting an escalation of political belligerence
July 2021
Dilip Kumar was a Bollywood great who epitomised India’s emotional struggles
Nirpal Dhaliwal
The actor, who has died at 98, gave expression to the intense cultural complexities raised as independence met modernity – with respect, depth and subtlety
August 2019
One giant leap for Indian cinema: how Bollywood embraced sci-fi
As the country seeks to establish itself as a space power, audiences are developing an appetite for the extraterrestrial on the big screen
November 2018
Mirzapur, Sacred Games and India's new wave of mafia TV
The Indian screen gangster – long a staple in Bollywood – has evolved in recent years, with Netflix and now Amazon Prime tapping in to the country’s interest in crime stories
October 2018
Cutting edge: the 80s hair salon that styled the future of fashion
A new documentary charts the rise and fall of a Soho shop that became a microcosm of British sexuality, creativity and multiculturalism
August 2015
Jesus saved my mother
Nirpal Dhaliwal’s mother was born into the Sikh religion in the Punjab. After decades of living in west London, she suddenly converted to Christianity. How did this unexpected change of faith affect her relationship with her son?
July 2015
Women set to dominate at London Indian film festival 2015
From the tale of a persecuted rights activist hounded from her home to Shabnam Sukhdev’s moving study of her father, this year’s programme foregrounds work by and about women – a far cry from the demure Bollywood heroines of the past
January 2015
Film blog
Does Bollywood normalise stalking?
A defence lawyer in Australia successfully claimed that his client’s aggressive pursuit of women was ‘quite normal behaviour’ for Bollywood fans. Sadly, it’s all too easy to concur
December 2014
How movies embraced Hinduism (without you even noticing)
From Interstellar to the Matrix and Star Wars the venerable religion has been the driving philosophy behind many hit movies. Why?
July 2014
India and the US: a new wave of collaborative cinema
Nirpal Dhaliwal: Gillian Anderson is fighting child slavery and Jon Hamm is throwing curveballs. A new wave of Indian movies made with US film-makers aims to mix agitprop with entertainment
April 2014
Chetan Bhagat: Bollywood's favourite author
Salman Rushdie isn't a fan, but that hasn't stopped Chetan Bhagat selling millions of novels. India's biggest author talks to Nirpal Dhaliwal about success, snobbery and the joy of broken English
August 2013
Shah Rukh Khan interview: 'I had no method to become a star, I just did whatever made me happy'
Film talk
Chennai Express stars Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone - video interview
July 2013
Film blog
London Indian film festival shows subcontinent cinema in confident mood
Nirpal Dhaliwal: From Monsoon Shootout to a Bollywood take on The Graduate, this year's London Indian film festival offers innovative storytelling that challenge cliches
February 2013
Gangs of Wasseypur – review
A possible turning point in Hindi cinema, Anurag Kashyap's epic drama doesn't pull any punches in its portrayal of gangster life in an Indian mining town, says Nirpal Dhaliwal
October 2012
Film blog
Yash Chopra: a career in clips
Nirpal Dhaliwal: Bollywood's king of romance directed decades of quintessential Indian cinema and helped forge the careers of several of its biggest stars. Here, we look at some of his finest moments
June 2012
The new Indian cinema: sex, crime and censorship
The London Indian film festival showcases the controversial new movies that are winning international acclaim but offending the establishment by exposing hypocrisies at home
December 2011
Dev Anand's films united and inspired India
Nirpal Dhaliwal
Nirpal Dhaliwal: The Bollywood star helped bind society, while gently testing conservative boundaries. His loss will be felt across the nation
August 2011
Grit in the masala: Aarakshan and Bollywood's social conscience
Bollywood audiences are turning away from aspirational films and towards once-taboo topics: poverty, corruption, the caste system. Nirpal Dhaliwal on how the mood darkened
