Plus: Reviews of ‘Deva’, ‘Queer’ and ‘The Girl with the Needle’. Here are this week's top stories from The Reel

Indira Gandhi, India’s first and only female prime minister, was often only seen as a photograph or portrait at a government office in films. Now she’s everywhere, with Kangana Ranaut’s Emergency being the latest sighting.

What’s behind the Indira Gandhi screen revival?

The former prime minister was often only seen as a photograph or portrait at a government office. Now she’s everywhere.

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Has it really been half a century since Yash Chopra’s Deewar, written by Salim-Javed and starring Amitabh Bachchan?

Why the Hindi film classic ‘Deewaar’ still stands tall

Yash Chopra’s film, based on a screenplay by Salim-Javed, ranks among Amitabh Bachchan’s finest achievements.

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While we celebrate Deewar once again, let’s not forget its non-Hindi brothers.

Amitabh Bachchan starrer ‘Deewar’ was remade in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam – and Chinese

‘The Brothers’ sticks to the plot of Yash Chopra’s classic, written by Salim-Javed.

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In an essay on Bollywood and soft power, academic Swapnil Rai argues that certain movie actors have “star switching power”, which helps them “exceed the confines of their networks and create connections where none existed before, allowing them to create inroads into new markets for Hindi film in diverse regions ranging from Azerbaijan to Germany”.

Bollywood beyond borders: How stars become cultural diplomats

Indian megastars have cultivated soft power despite government apathy towards cinema and showcasing the ‘high culture’ of classical music and dance.

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Here's what the week’s releases looked like.

Shahid Kapoor is on fire in a cold and unfeeling thriller:

‘Deva’ review: Style trumps substance in cop thriller

Rosshan Andrews directs Shahid Kapoor.

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Daniel Craig was inexplicably overlooked for a career-best performance in Queer:

‘Queer’ review: Daniel Craig shines and burns as a man in love

Luca Guadagnino’s erotic drama is out on MUBI.

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An Indian American family battles zombies and more:

Sundance 2025: In ‘Didn’t Die’, an Indian American family battles zombies

Meera Menon’s film stars Kiran Deol, Samrat Chakrabarti and Vishal Vijayakumar.

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The Oscar-nominated The Girl with the Needle is a film about abortion and adoption that you didn’t quite expect:

Start the week with a film: ‘The Girl with the Needle’ is a superbly crafted, haunting fable

Magnus von Horn’s Oscar-nominated movie is out on MUBI.

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