Bollywood Takes on Gay Lives as a Film Focus
An urban middle class audience is giving films about gay male relationships enough box-office support for the trend to spread in India.
The New York Times / April 2016 / Culture
Writer and journalist currently based in Bangalore. A former staffer at The Indian Express and Tehelka, I have written extensively for The New York Times and Mint. Work until late 2014 appeared under the byline Vaibhav Vats.
An urban middle class audience is giving films about gay male relationships enough box-office support for the trend to spread in India.
The New York Times / April 2016 / Culture
Amid concerns over free speech, literary festivals are proving to be a lightning rod for politics and emotions.
The New York Times / February 2016 / Culture
On Masaan, Court and a new wave of Indian independent cinema
The New York Times / September 2015 / Culture
The passion and meteoric rise of Afghanistan cricket.
The New York Times / March 2015 / Cricket
A rugby nation in thrall to the cricket World Cup.
The New York Times / March 2015 / Cricket
A leaden, unsatisfying account on the many energies and convulsions of modern China.
Mint Lounge / October 2014 / Books
A Kannada novel, translated in English, lays bare the anxieties of a social strata profoundly unsettled by the modern economy.
The Hindu / February 2016 / Books
Reading between the lines in Sachin Tendulkar's Playing It My Way.
The Cricket Monthly / February 2015 / Books
The life and passion of Roger Page
Mint Lounge / April 2015 / Books
A remarkable cricket memoir filled with oddballs, entrepreneurs and fanatics, and a document of an altogether more innocent time.
Mint Lounge / May 2015 / Books
A disappointing work, devoid of both the perspective that comes from distance and the inside knowledge that comes from proximity.
The Hindu Business Line / March 2015 / Books
An underwhelming account of a fascinating region beyond the Great Wall.
Mint Lounge / November 2015 / Books
A glib, flimsy history of plutocrats across centuries
Mint Lounge / December 2015 / Books
Bradman, Adelaide and a story uniquely of Australia
Mint Lounge / February 2015 / Cricket
'Haider' Angers Hindu Nationalists but Excites Film Critics.
The New York Times / October 2014 / Culture
My pieces from 2013-14 for the New York Times' India blog.
The New York Times/India Ink / October 2014 / Politics
On Vishal Bhardwaj's Haider.
The International New York Times / October 2014 / Culture
Witnessing the last of Sachin Tendulkar's greatness.
ESPNcricinfo / November 2013 / Cricket
In conversation with historian Ramachandra Guha, about his craft and obsession.
Open Magazine / May 2012 / Books
After a promising start, a league's sporting credo is hijacked by celebrity and controversy.
Open Magazine / June 2011 / Cricket
On Iranian cinema, as a mirror to the nation and its dissensions.
The Indian Express / June 2009 / Culture / [Pdf , 449 KB]
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