Lights. Camera. RCNM.

  Haider is a crime drama that was written, produced and directed by Vishal Bhardwaj in 2014. It stars Shahid Kapoor and Tabu as the lead roles. Set in the Kashmir conflicts of 1995, Haider is a modern day adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Haider, the protagonist, is a young poet who returns to Kashmir at the peak of the conflict to reach to the depth of his father’s disappearance. He ends up being tugged into the politics of the state.  Hamlet consists of a lot of blank verses that prove to be extremely impactful and pivotal. Haider certainly bores the same power when it comes to blank verses. The play and the movie both have notable references and commentary about the prevailing social conditions. They end at a very open cliff, leaving the audience to interpret on their own; it also plays on psychological levels. The most striking similarity between the play and the movie, according to me, has to be the chilling gravedigger scene. The primary differences between th...

  When William Shakespeare originally wrote his play Othello in the 17th century, he could possibly not have imagined Bipasha Basu performing Beedi in 2006, but here we are. Omkara is the second part of Vishal Bhardwaj’s Shakespeare trilogy based on Othello, following Maqbool and followed by Haider. Omkara details the story of its eponymous character, Omkara (Othello), a man from a lower caste, who falls in love with Dolly, (Desdemona), who comes from an upper caste. Like Brabantio - Desdemona’s father in the play - does not approve of Desdemona’s marriage to Othello because of his ‘moorish’ backgrounds, Dolly’s father Adv. Raghunath Mishra does not approve of Omkara’s caste. Othello’s military pursuits are now Omkara’s equally ruthless and bloodthirsty Indian elections. Othello’s manipulative friend Iago is Tyagi, who lies and cheats and moves around Kesu, Raju, like pieces on a chessboard until the culmination – convincing Omkara to kill Dolly, and an assassination attempt on Kes...

  With the rise of Bollywood’s popularity, adaptation films have been playing a prominent role in its success. These adaptations are being made to represent the good old classics with the twist of modernism in it. One such sentimental adaptation is Maqbool. It is a 2004 Indian crime drama film directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, which is based on the prominent play Macbeth, written by Shakespeare. With the Mumbai underworld on its backdrop, this film revolves around the love story of Miyan Maqbool (portrayed by Irrfan Khan) and Nimmi (Tabu) who is a mistress. The love between them leads to the murder of Jahangir Khan a.k.a. Abba Ji (Pankaj Kapoor), who is the employer of Maqbool and also the Don. His murder leads to transfer of the Don’s throne to Maqbool which leads to guilt and a series of unfortunate events. Also, two corrupt policemen (played by Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah) play an excellent supporting role by giving rise in numerous conflicts and playing a crucial role in the climax...

  Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates is one of the leading public figures in the fight against coronavirus pandemic, but also a target of several conspiracy theories.  Conspiracy theories and misinformation linking Bill Gates to the coronavirus' origins were mentioned 1.2 million times on television and social media between February and April this year, according to an analysis by the New York Times and media analytics company Zignal Labs. Several theories linking the Microsoft co-founder to coronavirus have flooded social media ever since the pandemic broke. So, how did Bill Gates become the voodoo doll of COVID conspiracies? The genesis of these distorted tidings dates back to 2015 when an unassuming-looking Gates issued a dire warning from the stage of TED conference in Vancouver saying that "if anything kills over 10 million people over the next few decades, it is likely to be a highly infectious virus rather than war." The fact that he has...

 The Bermuda Triangle is also known as the Devil's Triangle. It's a region in the western part of North Atlantic Ocean where a significant number of ships and airplanes have mysteriously disappeared. The Bermuda triangle vicinity is one of the most heavily traveled places in the world with ships constantly passing through it to reach the American, European and Caribbean lands. Commercial and private plants routinely fly over it. Conspirators believe that paranormal activities or extraterrestrial beings have to be credited for the history of disappearances. The first unusual appearance happened around September 17th, 1950. Several ships and airplanes were reported missing. Flight 19 being one of them. In an article written by American legion magazine the author informs that Flight 19 was recovered in April,1962.  The flight leader was heard saying, "We are entering white water, nothing seems right. We don't know where we are, the water is green, no white." The Navy...

 False Memory is a phenomenon where a person recalls something that did not happen or recalls it differently from the way it happened. In 2010, this shared false memory phenomenon was dubbed as the ‘Mandela Effect’ when Fiona Broome claimed that she and a thousand other people had a false memory of the death of Nelson Mandela. He actually died in 2013. Theories surrounding this theory: 1. Strength Hypothesis - it states that during powerful situations people are expected to demonstrate rational behaviour. Most people, no matter how daring will adhere to the laws of the land in order to gain protection and security. 2. Construction Hypothesis - this claims that if a true piece of information can alter a respondent’s answer, then so can a false piece of information. Upon asking a respondent a question that provides a presupposition, the respondent will provide a recall in accordance with the presupposition. 3. Skeleton Theory - the procedure in which a memory that is recalled c...

  Conspiracy Theories gained popularity in the 1960s when POTUS John F. Kennedy was assassinated. During this time people really started to understand the impact such conspiracy theories could have on the society- psychologically and sociologically. The Psychology in Conspiracy Theories Psychologically, conspiracies can be harmful. It is associated with an increase of paranoia and believing in them is related to a mental disorder known as schizotypy. Conspiracy theories often make use of complicated and detailed arguments, including ones which appear to be analytical or scientific. Experts assert that explanations related to conspiracy theories can often be ‘consistent.’ Psychological motives that lead people to believe in conspiracies can be epistemic, existential or social. Vulnerable and disadvantaged people are the targets of them. Instead of helping them overcome such weaknesses, conspiracies help worsen them. Furthermore, they also make people less likely to take actions that...