Ayasofya, Istanbul’s defining landmark at the heart of the city in history-soaked Sultanahmet is often referred in guidebooks as one of the greatest monuments a traveler will ever see. From the outside it isn’t very impressive – its exposed brickwork and peeling façade only downplaying and readying you for the dizzying effect it has upon [...]

Our new critic, Upperstall’s flyingrodent heroically volunteered to review YRF’s latest Pyaar Impossible. Five minutes into the movie he called me and after a bucketful of incomprehensible insults, stated that he’s going to be continually texting me through the film. It seemed I had to endure it as well.

Except for some cussword starring and [...]

Since its launch half a decade ago, Reva, India’s only electric car manufacturer, has sold 3000 cars in 24 countries. Not bad for a product that (unfortunately) looks like a glamorous rickshaw and is still having teething problems (fuse box issues, slow, safety issues, et al). Issue no. 1 seems to have been addressed [...]

How often do you come across articles and vignettes of conversations with cabbies? A lot. Once a week at least, and if you are the sort who scans all editions of all newspapers plus the internet for stories, probably five times a day. Editors love this. But then so do greenhorn literati. Somehow for most [...]

Here are the stats: Rs. 80 crore is what Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) spends on cancer-related drugs annually. They buy this medicine at a subsidized rate (upto 30% less than market price) and sell it at cost in their basement dispensary. Hundreds of people – from all over South Asia and spanning the cross section [...]

The wily Mr B Ramalinga Raju of Satyam couldn’t have timed his confession better.  He had a good 4 days to go into hiding, analyze the aftermath, and resurface. If news channels are to be believed (and really everything they say nowadays should be taken with a pinch of salt) it gave ample time for [...]

It’s that time of the year again when we pick our favorite Hindi (that is to say, Bollywood) films of the last 12 months (and before farcical award shows begin dumping everything on Ghajini). A couple of us here at Upperstall have compiled this list. Feel free to agree or disagree and also pick your [...]

I spent last week traveling through UP and Bihar, those wonderful states where people live their lives on their own terms. Global economic recession? Bandwidth overdrive? Obama? Health food? Pah. Lives are unchanged. The poor are still focused on their next meal and visits to the annual mela, the middle class still take small [...]

Film trade magazines usually have a ‘this day in history’ sorta section full of useless interviews, facts, and box office figures that have no meaning any more. Some of the scribbling under a section titled ‘Tit Bits’ of 1983 includes: Himmatwala is tipped to be the quickest film to collect 1 crore in under a [...]

It’s been five weeks since Neeraj Pandey’s A Wednesday released. It’s gone from being perceived as a well-crafted thriller to Oscar contention to seeding the hot new debate: is vigilante action against terrorists justified?
Clearly, with the film’s collections of 45 lacs in the 4th week in Mumbai alone gives box-office credence that people are enjoying [...]