Anushka Halve

Anushka Halve

Staff Writer

Anushka Halve, who goes by Kaira, is a writer and storyteller with a passion for all things pop culture. A former reporter for Film Companion and a contributor to The Established, Kaira is also a theatre actor, voice-over artist, and social media content strategist.

MORE FROM ANUSHKA HALVE

Sumukhi Suresh
Interviews

Exclusive | Sumukhi Suresh on Her Debut US Tour and 'Why She Was Born' to Write 'Lust Stories'

Between her stand-up special 'Hoemonal' going international and a very NDA-guarded series, the comedian-actor reflects on fandom, film sets and more

BY Anushka Halve
Farida Jalal in her Mumbai home.
Interviews

Exclusive | Farida Jalal: 'No Actor Has Come Back The Way I Did'

Farida Jalal looks back on a life in cinema shaped by friendship, restraint and a refusal to compromise.

BY Anushka Halve
A still from 'Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups'
Insight

Exclusive | Yash's 'Toxic' Locks Record-Breaking ₹105 Crore Overseas Deal with Phars Film

The Geetu Mohandas-directed film secures a ₹105 crore overseas advance for its Indian-language editions, marking one of the biggest pre-release international deals for an Indian film.

BY Anushka Halve
Geeta Gandbhir has been nominated for two Oscars at the upcoming 98th Academy Awards
Interviews

Exclusive | Documentary Filmmaker Geeta Gandbhir Interview on Her Dual Oscar Nominations Ahead of the 2026 Academy Awards

In an exclusive conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, the filmmaker discusses her two Oscar-nominated projects 'The Perfect Neighbor' and 'The Devil Is Busy,' her background in social justice storytelling, and why restraint, form and access matter more than ever.

BY Anushka Halve
Bobby Deol and Ranbir Kapoor in 'Animal'
Interviews

Cinematographer Amit Roy On Why 'Animal’s' Climax Rejects Guns for Fists

Cinematographer Amit Roy explains the philosophy, physicality and emotional greyness behind the Ranbir Kapoor-Bobby Deol showdown in 'Animal'

BY Anushka Halve
Director Lakshmipriya Devi and a still from 'Boong'
Interviews

Exclusive | Lakshmipriya Devi on How 'Boong' Found Its Way to the BAFTAs Without Losing Its Innocence

Nominated for Best Children’s and Family Film at the 2026 BAFTA Awards, Lakshmipriya Devi’s tender Manipuri-language debut travels from childhood memory to global recognition.

BY Anushka Halve
Maanvi Gagroo
Travel

How Maanvi Gagroo Celebrated Her Birthday in Vietnam: Hanoi, Da Nang and a Slower Way to Travel

The 'Four More Shots Please!' actor traded scripts for street food, cruises, and coffee on a birthday trip to Vietnam.

BY Anushka Halve
A still from 'Dhurandhar'
Insight

Exclusive | T-Series Boards Ranveer Singh's 'Dhurandhar 2' as Music Label

The Ranveer Singh–led spy franchise shifts music labels for its second instalment, slated for a 19 March 2026 theatrical release; the first film is now streaming on Netflix.

BY Anushka Halve
Stills from 'O Romeo' and 'Dhurandhar'
Insight

Anything But a Lighter: From 'Dhurandhar' to 'O'Romeo,' The Most Unhinged Ways to Light a Cigarette

From bombs and machine guns to burning teddy bears and flying sparks, cinema's favourite smokers have turned lighting a cigarette into an extreme sport

BY Anushka Halve
A still from 'In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones'
Insight

Exclusive | In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones, Again: Arundhati Roy and Pradip Krishen on Taking Their Film to Berlinale 2026

37 years later, Arundhati Roy and Pradip Krishen’s scrappy, tender film about dissent, language and young failure returns in a newly restored version, with a screening scheduled at the Berlinale on February 16

BY Anushka Halve
Haazri 2026
Insight

Haazri 2026: Four Masters Return as Students to Honour Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan

A.R. Rahman, Hariharan, Sonu Nigam and Shaan came together at Mumbai’s Jio World Garden on the late maestro’s barsi, turning a packed concert into an evening of remembrance.

BY Anushka Halve
Vir Das; the poster of 'Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos'
Interviews

Why Vir Das is Betting Big on Laughter in a Violent Theatrical Landscape With ‘Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos’

As cinemas fill up with alpha heroes and grim spectacle, Vir Das makes a case for unapologetic, joke-dense comedy.

BY Anushka Halve
Diego Calva in 'The Night Manager'
Interviews

'The Night Manager': Diego Calva on Becoming the New Antagonist in Season 2

Taking over from Hugh Laurie, actor Diego Calva speaks about humanising Teddy, avoiding clichés, and the charged tension opposite Tom Hiddleston in the second season of the hit show

BY Anushka Halve
Tom Hiddleston in 'The Night Manager'
Interviews

Exclusive | Tom Hiddleston on 'The Night Manager' Season 2 and How 'Devdas' Was The First Indian Film He Watched

As the series returns, actor Tom Hiddleston speaks about trauma, moral clarity and why his character Jonathan Pine’s calm exterior hides a far more dangerous man.

BY Anushka Halve
Stills from 'Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari,' 'Saiyaara' and 'Bison'
Insight

Mid-Budget Films Revived Indian Theatres in 2025, What Will 2026 Look Like?

As tentpoles faltered and OTT safety nets vanished, 2025 forced theatres to relearn an old truth: survival lies not in spectacle alone, but in a steady diet of films that connect.

BY Anushka Halve
Transmedia
Insight

Lights, Camera... Gameplay: Is India Ready for The Magic of Transmedia?

Indian cinema’s unpredictable future has an unexpected solution — and it lives in our gaming consoles.

BY Anushka Halve
A still from 'Avatar: Fire and Ash'
Theatrical

‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Movie Review: James Cameron’s Beautiful Return to a World That No Longer Surprises

This third trip to Pandora with 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' is ravishing, earnest, and emotionally overloaded.

BY Anushka Halve
Kalki Koechlin
Interviews

Kalki Koechlin: 'Streaming Has Plateaued; There's Too Much Content and Nobody Knows What To Watch'

Kalki Koechlin reflects on her new Franco-American film 'Her Song,' the tyranny of spectacle, and the disappearance of indie cinema.

BY Anushka Halve
Radhika Apte in 'Sister Midnight,' Rashmika Mandanna in 'Thamma' and Kalyani Priyadarshan in 'Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra'
Insight

From 'Lokah' to 'Thamma,' Here's Why 2025 Was The Year of the Vampire On-Screen

After years of hypermasculine heroes, the monstrous feminine finally found its place in 2025, as India discovered its bloodlust with vampires in 'Lokah,' 'Thamma,' 'Sister Midnight' and 'Sinners'

BY Anushka Halve
Tisca Chopra and a poster of 'Saali Mohobbat'
Interviews

Tisca Chopra on 'Saali Mohobbat': Acting is Inward, Directing is Observational

In her directorial debut 'Saali Mohobbat', streaming on ZEE5, Tisca Chopra turns her decades of curiosity into an unsettling drama.

BY Anushka Halve