Cinema is more than just a part of our cultural identity. It shapes and informs our understanding of the world, thereby shaping and empowering our ability to change the world we live in. This month we shine the Spotlight on a film production studio that hopes to leverage this very power of cinema to make it easier for us to practise our rights and duties.

So come along to know more about Civic Studios, founded in 2019 by Anushka Shah and find out how they are building a global community of creators and storytellers for social impact through media.

For a lot of Indians, animation starts with manga series like Naruto and Shin Chan (admit it, you still watch it too) while it ends with American animation like Toy Story and Bojack Horseman. Animation from India isn't even a part of this conversation. Indian animation has had a long and (somewhat) illustrious journey through the years.

From the cult classic Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama to the forgettable Roadside Romeo, join journalist and traveller Aniket Singh Chauhan as he takes us on a journey through the illustrious highs and disastrous lows of the Indian animation industry.

There are a lot of fantasy movies coming up for release in the Indian market. This got me thinking about the several Indian fantasy films I watched growing up that left an indelible imprint on my mind. They had great-ish visuals, well-told stories and hey, the female characters in them were way more than interior decoration! No one talks about these movies when the topic of fantasy comes up. No one mentions that some of them were pretty big hits in their time. No one talks about fantasy as a genre with several time-tested, respectable tropes and a language of its own.

And that realization annoyed me enough to write this article as a sort of Hina’s list of Top 5 Indian Fantasy Films. Read on for some 90's vibes and pop culture filmology to find out if the Indian imagination has what it takes to tell fantastical stories.