Sunday book pick: Past imperfect, future tense for young Indian men in Snigdha Poonam’s ‘Dreamers’

“The madness of modern India boiled down to the same thing: the anxieties of young men who no longer know their place in the world. What they find hardest to deal with are women who do.”

As the ultra-violent, ultra-masculine, ultra-jingoistic, sexless Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge outdoes its predecessor Dhurandhar’s box office numbers, the surer the female audience becomes about the death of India’s most enduring export – the charming Bollywood hero who’d do just about everything, from defying his family to his country, to win his sweetheart’s love. Just like the Dhurandhars, these romances too require a suspension of disbelief. But unlike the former, by the time the end credits roll in, the woman – and the man – in the audience are energised by the promises of a sweet romance, and not frothing at the mouth, eager to avenge make-believe enemies. Hate makes blockbusters – and Bollywood is ready to pump out more muscular, bloodthirsty patriots to create this winning formula.

It is not the women but the men who will be the biggest losers of this phenomenon – a youth devoured by misdirected anger.

The saffron men

Journalist Snigdha Poonam’s book, Dreamers: How Young Indians Are Changing Their World, was published in 2018. She spoke to young men and women in...

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