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

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
Radhika Apte
Insight

Radhika Apte Says She's ‘Deeply Disturbed’ by Violence Becoming Mainstream Entertainment

The actor warns that the industry’s reliance on gore, misogyny and shoddy storytelling is ‘harmful’, urging artistes to stop normalising brutality on screen.

BY Anushka Halve
Radhika Apte in a still from 'Saali Mohabbat'
Interviews

Radhika Apte on 'Saali Mohabbat' and the State of Indian Theatres Today: 'It’s Chaos And It’s Noise'

Radhika Apte returns with 'Saali Mohabbat' and a clear-eyed critique of an industry addicted to noise, speed and spectacle.

BY Anushka Halve
Gurinder Chadha
Interviews

Gurinder Chadha: 'I've Created My Own Genre, Really: Diaspora Filmmaking'

The 'Bend It Like Beckham' filmmaker speaks to THR India about reimagining Dickens through a South Asian lens, making a Capra-esque Christmas film for her children’s generation with 'Christmas Karma,' and navigating an industry in flux.

BY Anushka Halve
A still from 'Zootopia 2'
Theatrical

'Zootopia 2' Movie Review: Lightning Can Strike Twice

Judy, Nick and a lisping blue viper return in a sequel that’s funnier, warmer and stranger than expected, but in all the right ways.

BY Anushka Halve
Sophie Choudry
Travel

Inside Sophie Choudry's Reset in the Alps: 'It’s Just Me, the Lake, and the Silence'

Every year, singer and actor Sophie Choudry trades Mumbai’s noise for a week of stillness in Maria Wörth, a lakeside Austrian village where silence is the main attraction.

BY Anushka Halve
Lilly Singh visits the IMDb Portrait Studio at SXSW 2024 on March 10, 2024 in Austin, Texas.
Interviews

Lilly Singh on Culture, Courage and Claiming Space: 'I'm Not Chasing Virality'

As she brings her podcast to India and debuts an award-winning feature, the multi-hyphenate leans into discomfort, nuance and the actual work of representation.

BY Anushka Halve
A still from 'It Was Just An Accident'
Insight

IFFI 2025 Short Takes: Jafar Panahi’s 'It Was Just an Accident' Turns Absurdity Into Slow-Burning Dread

Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner begins as wry, disorienting comedy and slips into a nightmare of memory, complicity and state-sanctioned terror.

BY Anushka Halve
A still from 'No Other Choice'
Insight

IFFI 2025 Short Takes: 'No Other Choice' Turns Layoff Panic Into Park Chan-wook’s Funniest, Fiercest Thriller

Lee Byung-hun anchors Park’s savage, dark satire, a homicide-laced howl against capitalism that keeps upping the stakes until they curdle.

BY Anushka Halve
A still from 'Father Mother Sister Brother'
Insight

IFFI 2025 Short Takes: Jim Jarmusch’s 'Father Mother Sister Brother' Finds Harmony in Parts, Discord in the Whole

Jarmusch’s star-studded triptych glints with moments of quiet absurdism and tender observation, but its pieces never cohere into the haunting family portrait they seem to promise.

BY Anushka Halve
Suhasini Maniratnam and Khushboo Sundar
Insight

IFFI 2025: Khushboo Sundar and Suhasini Maniratnam Break Down their Craft at ‘Luminary Icons’ Workshop

The two veteran actors offered a rare mix of technique, philosophy and humour as they unpacked their journeys, acting methods and the discipline behind powerful screen performances.

BY Anushka Halve
A still from 'Wicked: For Good'
Theatrical

'Wicked: For Good' Movie Review: Soars, Stumbles, and Splits in Two

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo lift 'Wicked: For Good' into rare air, but the two-part structure leaves this half-film floating without momentum.

BY Anushka Halve
Priyanka Chopra Jonas
Interviews

Priyanka Chopra Jonas on Her Upcoming Production 'Born Hungry' and Why Hyperlocal Narratives Travel Globally

Priyanka Chopra Jonas speaks to THR India about producing 'Born Hungry,' championing resilience, and maintaining the delicate balance between instinct and commercial sense

BY Anushka Halve
A still from ‘Laalo – Krishna Sada Sahaayate’
Interviews

Ankit Sakhiya on His Superhit Gujarati Film ‘Laalo – Krishna Sada Sahaayate’: 'This is Not Political; This is Philosophical'

With ‘Laalo – Krishna Sada Sahaayate’ becoming a genuine breakout and pulling Gujarati cinema into the national spotlight, director Ankit Sakhiya speaks to THR India about rooted storytelling, creative truths, and why his film is not about religion

BY Anushka Halve
Behind-the-scenes from 'Rang De Basanti' (2006).
Interviews

Behind The Lens | 'Rang De Basanti': Binod Pradhan's Revolution on Film in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Classic

How cinematographer Binod Pradhan traced light, colour, and idealism across 'Rang De Basanti’s' frames.

BY Anushka Halve