- Don’t Dream It, Be It: Tim Curry (1946-2026) (August 27, 2026)
It’s hard to imagine a more impactful presence in the millennial mind, particularly the outsider, queer, or cinephile, than that of Tim Curry, the veteran actor of stage and screen who passed this Wednesday at the age of 80. Tony Award nominee, voice actor extraordinaire, honorary Muppet—all of these descriptors fit Curry’s decades of work, a body of acting best characterized by his resonant purr of a voice, deep, piercing eyes, and a flamboyance from which it was impossible to look away.
Curry was born in 1946 in Cheshire, the son of a school secretary and a Royal Navy Captain; the latter’s revolving door of assignments sent him everywhere from Hong Kong to a variety of British seaside towns before they settled down in Plymouth. It was mere weeks after that that Curry’s father suffered a stroke and later died from pneumonia complications in 1958. Curry was 11.
He literally burst onto the scene in fishnets, high heels, and thickly-lacquered lipstick as the libidinous mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter in 1975’s “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” a role he originated on the London stage. (He met the show’s playwright, and his co-star as Riff Raff, Richard O’Brien, when they did Hair in London.) A “sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania,” Curry’s Frank proudly flaunted all pretenses of good taste, and in the case of poor Brad Majors and Janet Weiss, the pearl-clutching norms of heteronormativity.
Roger Ebert said of Curry’s performance, “He’s the best thing in the movie, maybe because he seems to be having the most fun.” He vamped, strutted, and sneered his way through that picture, urging his fellow freaks and queerdos to “don’t dream it, be it.” Like Terence Stamp in “Teorema,” he seduced virtually every other character in the picture, and it was as liberating as it was chaotic. And Curry, with every high kick and bugged-out eye, embodied the queer freedom that a generation of young queer folks would cling to. (I had the CD of the film’s soundtrack in my car as a teen; little did I realize why those notes would stick with me so much.)
It was the kind of role that could ruin or pigeonhole a young actor like Curry and, well, despite a modest reception upon release, “Rocky Horror” would quickly become a midnight movie favorite, one that’s still screened in movie theaters to enthusiastic crowds (and audience participation) to this day. From there, he’d bounce into Hollywood with a variety of snarling villain roles perfectly suited to his particular brand of bombast: Rooster in 1982’s “Annie” (that mustache), the Satan-like Darkness in Ridley Scott’s gauzy 1985 fantasy “Legend” (those horns), a duplicitous preacher in 1988’s underseen “Pass the Ammo.”
On “Legend,” Roger Ebert would say of Curry that he “makes an effective Darkness; I liked his style. But, once again, the makeup people have done such a good job with his blazing eyes and gigantic horns that, in a way, almost any actor could be lurking inside there (only Curry’s sensuous lips give him away).”
But his next iconic role would be as the breathlessly expositing butler Wadsworth in 1985’s “Clue,” in which he chewed through scenery as if it were a steaming bowl of shark’s fin soup. “Clue” is murder mystery farce at its finest, and alongside his talented co-stars (including Eileen Brennan, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd) he met every gag, line, and frenzied dash from room to room with the same brio and clipped upper-crust accent we’d come to expect. Even when he went small, it felt big; when he arched his eyebrow, the ceiling always rose a couple inches.
Same goes for Pennywise in 1990’s “IT,” playing the demonic clown from Stephen King’s imagination with equal playfulness and menace. His villainy was always a bit impish, no matter the role; sure, he was a baddie, but he loved it, and that’s what made him so magnetic to watch. It’s what made him so cuddly even when he transgressed in such unscrupulous ways—it’s funny, considering the gender-bending hedonism of his breakout role, that he’d find himself snarling giddily through so many family films, from “Home Alone 2” to Long John Silver in “Muppet Treasure Island.” (As the cape-wearing Grand Wizard in the 1986 TV movie “The Worst Witch,” he threatened us with such Halloween horrors as a dog turning into a cat.) With every oily, smarmy retort, Curry let his characters relish in the delight of villainy, and we enjoyed every second of it.
In addition to his live-action roles, his reedy, musical voice made him perfect for voice acting. Here, too, he chiefly played villains in everything from “FernGully” to the Power Rangers knockoff “Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad”—no role was beneath him. (He did, of course, play the occasional virtuous character, as his long run as patriarch Nigel on Nickelodeon’s “The Wild Thornberries proves.) He’d even dabble in computer games, most famously as the Russian Premier Cherdenko in “Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3” (dusting off his Russian accent from the John McTiernan Cold War thriller “The Hunt for Red October”). In perhaps the hammiest line Curry would ever deliver, he asserted that he would flee to “the one place not corrupted by capitalism…. SPACE!”
But his first love was always the stage, and he’d return to it several times throughout his career. His first Tony nomination was as Mozart beside Ian McKellan’s Salieri in a production of Peter Shaffer’s “Amadeus”; in 1992, he earned another for “My Favorite Year” on Broadway. He originated the role of King Arthur in “Spamalot,” which snagged him his third nom in 2005.
Curry would work steadily in film, TV, theater, and a variety of other mediums until 2012, after a sudden stroke during a massage gave him mobility issues on his left side. He would use a wheelchair until his passing. Even so, Curry greeted his new condition with his signature humor, and went on to refer to his disabled left hand as “Teddy.” He still did the occasional voice work, including taking a stint as Emperor Palpatine in “The Clone Wars.” But his 2025 memoir “Vagabond” sums up Curry’s life as only he can tell it: ribald, witty, deliciously dry, and filled with absolute pleasure.
In a late-in-life interview with Ben Mankiewicz for CBS Sunday Morning, Curry said of his impending passing, “I don’t fear death. I try to avoid it [laughs] as I think we all do. But I suspect that in the end, I will welcome it… I think it may be comforting to go bye-bye, and I want to earn the privilege of not being here. I’m not galloping towards it, but I think I may well embrace it.” Wherever he may be, I hope he sees blue skies through the tears in his eyes.
- Home Entertainment Guide August 2026: “Project Hail Mary,” “The Sheep Detectives,” “Power Ballad,” More (August 27, 2026)
10 NEW TO NETFLIX
“The Big Lebowski““The Bling Ring““The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo““The Green Knight““I Swear““Moneyball““The Outrun““Poor Things““The Shallows““Swiss Army Man“
15 NEW TO BLU-RAY/DVD
“American Dream” (Criterion)“Harlan County, USA” (Criterion)
A new film by Barbara Kopple is an event for documentary lovers, and her “Union Town” premieres at TIFF next month. Kopple is quite simply one of the best non-fiction filmmakers of all time, and Criterion honored her this with month with the inclusion of two of her best films into the collection. Her masterpiece will probably always be “Harlan County, USA,” Kopple’s film about Appalachian miners fighting for their rights via the Brookside Mine strike in the ’70s. It won the Oscar for Best Documentary and really put Kopple on the map. The Criterion release includes not just a new 4K restoration but audio commentary, making-of documentary, and even an interview with John Sayles. Kopple’s follow-up, “American Dream” has also been given a Criterion 4K release with an interview and a conversation with Studs Terkel. These are great, essential releases.
Special Features:
“American Dream”
New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Barbara Kopple, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
Interview from 1992 with Kopple
Audio conversation between Kopple and historian Studs Terkel from 1992
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
“Harlan County, USA”
New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Barbara Kopple, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
Audio commentary by Kopple and editor Nancy Baker
Making-of documentary featuring interviews with Kopple, crew members, and strike participants featured in the film
Outtakes from the film
Interview with bluegrass singer-songwriter Hazel Dickens
Interview with filmmaker John Sayles
Panel discussion from the 2005 Sundance Film Festival featuring Kopple and critic Roger Ebert
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: Essays by film critic Michael Atkinson and musician and writer Jon Weisberger
“EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert“
When Baz Luhrmann was making “Elvis,” he came across hours of footage that had never been seen before, including an audio recording of Presley talking about his life and career. Much of the concert footage needed detailed audio recovery, which led the Oscar-nominated director to the production of this remarkable document, a movie that’s part bio-doc and part concert film. One of the most successful documentaries in years, this was a pretty sizable hit for Neon, who have now given it a stunning 4K home treatment. Of course, the most important thing: The audio mix here is incredible. I’m not sure why I put off seeing this for so long. I think I thought it was just another Elvis highlights reel. It’s not. There’s a passion to the assembly here by Luhrmann that illuminates his admiration and respect for the King in a manner that’s contagious. It’s fun, funny, and, of course, the music rocks.
Special Features:
TV Spots
Trailers
“Exit 8“
Kazunari Ninomiya stars in this adaptation of the 2023 video game of the same name, a movie that feels of a piece with the trend in horror this year of ordinary situations becoming surreal and terrifying in films like “Backrooms,” “It Ends,” and even “Obsession.” This one is the story of a man who essentially gets stuck in a neverending loop in an underground subway tunnel. As he tries to figure out how to escape, the anomalies speak to his real-world anxieties and fears. It’s a smart movie that deserves more attention on the VOD and Blu-ray market, although the Neon physical release is a little slight. (What’s up with no digital codes, Neon?)
Special Features:
NEW! Behind the Scenes of Exit 8
NEW! Cannes Film Festival Footage
NEW! Busan Film Festival Footage
Trailer
“Hokum“
The Neon party continues! This is actually one of their best films of 2026, a banger of a folk horror piece from the director of “Caveat” and “Oddity.” Adam Scott stars as an alcoholic asshole of a writer in this Stephen King-inspired piece about a man who goes to a very haunted hotel, searching for both secrets about his past and a way forward in his own existence. When a worker at the hotel goes missing, our protagonist gets sucked into the web of a witch who happens to live in the building. Director Damian McCarthy does wonders with forced POV and deep shadows. It’s a smart, riveting piece of genre filmmaking, one of the best horror films of 2026.
Special Features:
Audio commentary with Damian McCarthy
Behind-the-scenes making-of documentary
Short film: Jack the Donkey, A Family Favorite
Original teaser trailer
Original theatrical trailer
“Identity“
Long before he was making Peak Dad Cinema like “Ford v Ferrari” and “A Complete Unknown,” James Mangold directed this mind-fuck of a horror film, a flick that rode a wave of “twist” movies in the wake of hits like “The Usual Suspects” and “The Sixth Sense,” and has earned quite a cult following over the years. The words “cult following” and “Arrow Home Video” go together like peanut butter and chocolate. So it makes sense that they would give this John Cusack flick about ten strangers stuck in an isolated motel with a serial killer the full Arrow treatment. The new release includes HDR versions of both the theatrical and extended cuts, along with new interviews with star Pruitt Taylor Vince and producter Cathy Konrad. It also includes previously available material like deleted scenes and a commentary with Mangold. For Arrow, it’s a little slight, but slight for Arrow is better-than-average for most companies.
Special Features:
DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATIONS OF THE THEATRICAL AND EXTENDED CUTS OF THE FILM
Original lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Archival audio commentary by director James Mangold
Archival audio commentary by screenwriter Michael Cooney
I Met a Man That Wasn’t There, a brand new interview with actor Pruitt Taylor Vince
Producing Identity, a brand new interview with producer Cathy Konrad
On The Set, an archival behind the scenes featurette
Deleted scenes
Storyboard comparisons
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring two choices of original artwork
Collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by Andrew Cardno and original production notes
“Ju-On: The Grudge”
The influence of J- and K-Horror from the late ’90s and early ’00s still feels a tad underrated. Movies like “Ringu” and “The Eye” have a surreal visual language that clearly influenced the 2026 kings of horror like Curry Barker and Kane Parsons, with their chilling visions of reality gone askew. One of the most important films of this era was Takashi Shimizu’s “Ju-On: The Grudge,” which was technically the third film in a franchise that continued for years beyond this release, including 2004 and 2019 American remakes. The imagery most associated with J-Horror can be traced back to “Ringu” and “The Grudge,” and Arrow has given it a fantastic physical release with tons of special features, including deleted scenes, interviews, featurettes, and even a commentary with Sam Raimi, who produced the first American remake, along with excellent new writing on the film by some horror experts.
Special Features:
4K RESTORATION FROM THE CAMERA NEGATIVE BY ARROW FILMS
DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio plus stereo audio
Optional English subtitles
Introduction by writer-director Takashi Shimizu
Audio commentary by film historian David Kalat
Audio commentary by Sam Raimi and Scott Spiegel
Alternate English dub track in 5.1 surround
Haunting in Monochrome, an interview with Takashi Shimizu on the Ju-On films
Being Kayako, an interview with Takako Fujion her role as Kayako
The Evolution of Ju-On, a featurette with authors and Japan specialists Tom Mes and Zack Davisson discussing the cultural forces that shaped the series
Through a Glass Darkly, an archive interview with Takashi Shimizu
Whispers in the Dark, an archive interview with actor Megumi Okina on her role as Rika
Fade to Black, an archive interview with actor Kayoko Shibata, who plays Mariko
On-set interviews with Takashi Shimizu, Megumi Okina, Misaki Ito, Misa Uehara and Yui Ichikawa
Deleted scenes with commentary by Takashi Shimizu
Almost an hour of behind-the-scenes footage
Ju-On True Stories, two ghostly true-life tales that inspired the films, narrated by Hiroyoshi Kihara
Original trailers
Image gallery
Collectors’ booklet featuring writing on the film by Grady Hendrix, Jason Morehead, William Carroll and Lindsay Nelson
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dare Creative
“Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair“
In late 2025, the Movie Gods finally got around to gifting us with the long-awaited single film version of Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill,” originally released in two volumes in 2003 and 2004. Conceived as one cinematic experience, Tarantino had cut the films back together into one back in 2011, but it took almost another 15 years for it to get a digital and physical media release. The changes are most notable around the connection between the two volumes (the survival of B.B. isn’t revealed at the end of the first volume anymore), along with the “House of Blue Leaves” sequence now being in color and O-Ren Ishii’s anime sequence running longer. The physical release also includes “The Lost Chapter: Yuki’s Revenge,” a Fortnite-related animated short that played with “Whole Bloody Affair” in theaters.
Special Features:
DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
The Lost Chapter
40-page behind-the-scenes booklet, curated by Quentin Tarantino
70mm film still featuring artwork from the film
Five double-sided collectible character cards
Two posters from the theatrical screenings of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair
“Little Odessa” (Criterion)
Let’s hope this is just the beginning of a long relationship between Criterion and one of the best American filmmakers working today, James Gray. The director of “The Immigrant,” “Ad Astra,” and the upcoming (and excellent) “Paper Tiger” made his directorial debut with this 1994 thriller starring Tim Roth, Edward Furlong, and Vanessa Redgrave. Criterion has commissioned a new 4K restoration of the film, overseen by Gray himself, along with a making-of documentary and a new conversation between the writer/director and journalist Sean Fennessey. If that’s not enough, the physical release includes an essay by our very own Glenn Kenny.
Special Features:
New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director James Gray, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
Audio commentary from 2000 featuring Gray
Once Upon a Time . . . “Little Odessa,” a making-of documentary by David Thompson produced for French television
New conversation between Gray and critic and podcaster Sean Fennessey
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by film critic Glenn Kenny
“The People vs. Larry Flynt“
I always loved how much Roger loved Milos Forman’s “The People vs. Larry Flynt.” He wrote, “Milos Forman’s “The People vs. Larry Flynt” argues that the freedom of speech must apply to unpopular speech, or it is meaningless. Beginning with this belief, Forman constructs a fascinating biopic about a man who went from rags to riches by never overestimating the taste of his readers.” A story of fighting against the systems that are trying to destroy free speech in this country couldn’t be timelier in 2026, which makes the drop of this gorgeous Arrow Home Video release even more essential than Forman or Flynt could have imagined. Arrow has not only remastered the film in 4K but commissioned new interviews with the brilliant writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, star Woody Harrelson, and producer Janet Yang. They’ve also included a ton of great archival special features, including two commentaries, a 1997 interview with Forman, and a featurette about Flynt narrated by Dennis Hopper. This is one of the essential movies of the ’90s, given its best physical media treatment to date.
Special Features:
DISC ONE – 4K BLU-RAY
DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
Original lossless stereo audio and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio option
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Archival audio commentary with cast members Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, and Edward Norton
Archival audio commentary with screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
DISC TWO – BLU-RAY
Hail Larry, a brand new interview with lead actor Woody Harrelson
Satire in Satin, a brand new interview with Columbia Pictures’ ex-production president Lisa Henson and producer Janet Yang
Only in America, a brand new interview with screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
À la lumière de l’évidence, an archival interview with cinematographer Philippe Rousselot
Miloš Forman on The Charlie Rose Show, a 1997 interview with the director
Free Speech or Porn?, an archival featurette about the making of the film
Larry Flynt Exposed, an archival featurette narrated by Dennis Hopper
Deleted Scenes with optional audio commentary by Woody Harrelson and Larry Karaszewski
Theatrical trailer
TV spots
Image galleries, including the original script
Reversible sleeve featuring original artwork
Collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by Miloš Forman expert Andreas Halskov, an archival essay by screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, and an archival Forman interview conducted by director Adam Davidson
“Power Ballad“
John Carney earnestly believes in the power of music to change your life. You can see that belief in every frame of “Once,” “Sing Street,” and even “Flora and Son.” His contagious love for creative expression infuses this fun comedy with a big heart. It’s the story of a wedding singer (Paul Rudd) who spends a drunken night with a pop star (Nick Jonas), only to discover that the heartthrob has taken his tune and turned it into a hit. Who owns creativity? And what does it mean to sing a song that you don’t feel in your heart? Rudd and Jonas are great in a movie that’s consistently engaging, and lands with one of 2026’s most satisfying twists.
Special Features:
The Making of Power Ballad
The Music of Power Ballad
The Power of Paul Rudd
Theatrical Trailers
“Project Hail Mary“
The 4K release of this gigantic box office hit looks and sounds spectacular, which is the most important thing about this release, but it does feel kind of slight in the bonus material department for one of 2026’s biggest films. People may have forgotten a bit about Rocky and the story of “Project Hail Mary” in the wake of the Summer 2026 blockbusters, but I still suspect this film will have a resurgence on home video, not just for fans who want to see it again, but as it becomes an awards season major player. (It’s getting into Best Picture and Actor, almost certainly.) “PHM” was a phenomenon because it crossed so many demographics, appealing to both young and old viewers, and because it presented a relatable story of a reluctant hero, someone forced to be a savior who never thought he could become one. It’s a truly well-made piece of popcorn entertainment that plays nearly as well at home as it did in theaters. (Note: This is another release in the column without a digital code. A disconcerting trend emerging.)
Special Features:
DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
DOLBY ATMOS /AUDIO TRACK
Audio Commentary by Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
“Earth’s Favorite Eridian” featurette
Five Deleted Scenes
“The Sheep Detectives“
The best family film of the year has been given a lackluster physical media release, one with no special features at all, and not even a digital copy. Maybe Criterion or Arrow could one day save this one, but until then just enjoy the story of a group of mystery-loving sheep who get wrapped up in solving the murder of their shepherd. A sort of hybrid of Agatha Christie and “Babe,” this is a movie that works for all ages.
“Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu“
Audiences couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being asked to pay theatrical prices for a mini-season of a Disney+ show, which led to Jon Favreau’s blockbuster becoming one of the few true bombs in the “Star Wars” universe. While $345 million worldwide sounds like a lot, it’s actually the lowest gross for a live-action “SW” film. The relatively awful previews that made Favreau’s flick look duller than it actually is didn’t help. I’ll admit to kind of dreading it, but actually found it goes down relatively smoothly at home, where the sense that you’re watching extended TV doesn’t hurt as much. It’s still a misfire (the Ratta CGI is criminal), but not the disaster you may have heard. And the physical release is pretty strong, including featurettes and a Favreau commentary.
Special Features:
Audio commentary by Jon Favreau: Watch the film with audio commentary by director Jon Favreau.
Featurettes:
Crafting “The Mandalorian and Grogu”: Discover the craft behind an epic Star Wars adventure! Go behind the scenes with artists creating the stunning puppetry, miniatures, sound design, and visual effects that bring the worlds, characters, and creatures of “The Mandalorian and Grogu” to life.
Biomes—From Snow to Swamp: Voyage with director Jon Favreau and his crew to a pair of brand-new worlds that may seem a touch familiar to fans of the original Star Wars trilogy. Discover how the ingenious filmmakers constructed snowy landscapes and a living swamp from the ground up!
Welcome to Shakari: A bustling metropolis like Shakari cannot simply be found—it must be made. Join the film’s fabrication as they build an entire Star Wars city with a downtown warehouse, conjuring an epic playground for Mando and his young apprentice.
Dejarik for Real: Sometimes it’s the little things! Who can forget the Millennium Falcon’s charming holochess game introduced in 1977? Witness how the tiny creatures featured in the game were lovingly brought to giant-sized life for the Mandalorian’s big-screen debut!
“Troy”
The folks over at Arrow Home Video are smart enough to time their 4K restoration of Wolfgang Petersen’s underrated “Troy” to ride the wave of the pop culture domination of Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey.” Petersen’s film was dinged at the time for its lack of historical realism, but it would be absolutely destroyed in today’s social media outrage cycle. Yes, some of “Troy” is clunky, but it works as the old-fashioned swords-and-sandals that Petersen set out to make largely due to its strong technical elements and a truly great performance from Eric Bana. It has never looked or sounded this good, restored from an original camera negative in 4K for the first time. Bonus material is largely archival, but the release does include new writing on the film by the brilliant Priscilla Page.
Special Features:
DISC ONE – 4K BLU RAY: THEATRICAL CUT
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE CAMERA NEGATIVE
DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
Original lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio plus stereo audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
DISC TWO – 4K BLU-RAY: DIRECTOR’S CUT
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE CAMERA NEGATIVE
DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
Original lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio plus stereo audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Troy Revisited, an archival introduction by director Wolfgang Petersen
DISC THREE – BLU-RAY: EXTRAS
In Movie Experience, an archive picture-in-picture commentary of the film
Troy in Focus, a series of archival behind-the scenes featurettes
In the Thick of Battle, an archival behind-the-scenes featurette
From Ruins to Reality, an archival behind-the-scenes featurette
Troy: An Effects Odyssey, an archival behind-the-scenes featurette
Attacking Troy, an archival behind-the-scenes featurette
Gallery of the Gods, an archival introduction to the Greek Gods
Easter egg
Trailer
Image galleries
Collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by Priscilla Page and Laurie Maguire and an excerpt from the original production notes
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain
- “Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy” Shifts Tone of Cinematic Franchise (August 26, 2026)
It’s an understatement to say that games like “Uncharted” and “The Last of Us” have had a profound impact on the video game industry. As cornerstones of narrative-driven games, they’ve inspired many studios to replicate the cinematic formula to create their own blockbuster hits. They may even be adapted into TV shows and movies one day!
Asobo Studio is one such developer that rose to the challenge with the series, “A Plague Tale.” The first two games, 2019’s “A Plague Tale: Innocence” and its direct sequel, 2022’s “A Plague Tale: Requiem,” set themselves apart from the rest of the rat pack thanks to their disease-ridden setting of Southern France and focus on stealth mechanics. A touch of mysticism from being able to control hordes of rats also gave them a fascinating edge over their gun-or-sword-based contemporaries. The heartwarming dynamic between the two siblings Amecia and Hugo also created gut-wrenching stories rivaling even “The Last of Us.”
The latest game in the series, “Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy,” is more like “Uncharted.” It trades what made “A Plague Tale” unique for a more conventional yet polished third-person action-adventure game.
“Resonance” is actually a prequel, set 15 years before “Requiem.” It follows a new protagonist: Sophia, whom Hugo and Amecia meet in the latter. Cursed with horrific visions, she heads off to the mysterious Minotaur Island to find the key to stopping them. While the story in “Resonance” doesn’t hit the same emotional highs as the previous games, it incorporates a dual timeline structure involving Greek myths, particularly Theseus, to keep things interesting as Sophia uncovers the island’s darkest secrets.
Instead of the meek Hugo and physically incapable Amecia, Sophia is a smuggler pirate who cuts down her enemies with ease. That’s certainly reflected in the gameplay too. You’re not extinguishing fires so that rats can eat your enemies alive. You’re slicing them up with your sword and dagger. Sophia has her standard combo attacks with her sword and can charge up her dagger for even more damage. Parrying is important here, as it leaves enemies wide open to further assaults.
Plus, there are no healing items in “Resonance.” Sophia’s HP bar is split into three parts, and three only. The only method of healing is to kill an enemy, which replenishes a segment. As a result, you’ll need to play swiftly yet methodically, or else you’ll be torn apart. The combat is incredibly fluid, making Sophia feel like a swashbuckling dancer. The hits are responsive and tactile, a stark contrast to the clunky, unwieldy combat in the first two games.
After clearing enemy encounters, Sophia earns Resonance Points that she can use to upgrade her skills. These include parrying previously unblockable flashing red attacks, or granting Sophia a second dodge to avoid multi-hit assaults. It’s a very straightforward upgrade system that’s easy to understand.
“Resonance” is split into 14 different chapters, and you’ll be swinging around, navigating through dungeons, and solving light-based puzzles throughout. It’s reminiscent of “Tomb Raider.” While the level design is rather linear, you’re often rewarded for exploring around a bit. You can find extra Resonance Points lying on the ground, or a collectible that expands on the game’s worldbuilding and lore.
Sophia can also find charms that grant her passive perks like surviving a lethal hit or increasing the parry window. She can find additional swords as well, which come with their own passive abilities, like the Kopis blade that deals stun damage on the last hit of a combo. These RPG-lite elements provide enough customizability to feel satisfying without being confusing.
“Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy” sets itself apart in the series as the one that mainly focuses on action, but, in the wider context, it isn’t exactly groundbreaking or original. After all, there are no rats here (at least, not literal ones), which were central to the mythology and identity of the franchise thus far. It may not feel as unique as the first two games in this series, but “Resonance” is a third-person action-adventure game that plays well. If that’s the tale you’re looking for, you’ll be satiated.
Publisher Focus Entertainment provided a review copy of this title. It will be released for PS5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on August 27, 2026.
- I Will Always Love You: Dolly Parton (1946-2026) (August 26, 2026)
When answering the Vanity Fair Proust Questionnaire in 2012, the late Dolly Parton said her motto was “Dream more, learn more, care more, and be more.” Parton’s life was lived to the fullest and cannot easily be summed up in words. She was a rhinestone that shined as bright as the stars, pulling others up along with her as she reached for her dreams.
Dolly Parton was a uniquely American icon whose artistic output touched music, film, television, fashion, and even theme parks over a seven-decade career. She was a compassionate philanthropist. She once said she wanted to put her money where her heart was. And so she did, dedicating the profits from her music and other business ventures to uplift childhood literacy, advocate for AIDS research, support disaster relief, create jobs and pathways for others to achieve their dreams through the creation of Dollywood near her hometown in Tennessee, and pursue other philanthropic avenues.
Born in a one-room cabin on the banks of the Little Pigeon River near Pittman Center, Tennessee, on January 19, 1946, Parton was the fourth of 12 children born to her mother Avie Lee Caroline and Robert Lee Parton Sr. As a child, she learned Great Smoky Mountain folklore and old country ballads from the Welsh immigrants who settled southern Appalachia. Growing up in the mountains later inspired her song “My Tennessee Mountain Home.”
Parton began performing as a child, singing on the local radio and eventually appearing at the Grand Ole Opry. Although she was pitched as a “bubblegum pop singer” when she first signed with Monument Records in 1965, her big break came when country music entertainer Porter Wagoner invited her to join his syndicated television program The Porter Wagoner Show and later helped her get signed by RCA Victor. In 1973, Parton’s single “Jolene” became her first big hit as a solo artist. In response to her break from her professional relationship with Wagoner, she wrote “I Will Always Love You,” which went number one on the country chart and later proved even bigger after Whitney Houston recorded it for “The Bodyguard” in 1992.
From there, Parton reached a whole new level of success. Her style, her wit, and her soft, yet incisive, feminist leanings allowed her to stand out, carving a singular path in American entertainment. After appearing on dozens of television shows and specials in the 1970s, Parton made her film debut in the feminist workplace comedy “9 to 5” opposite Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. The tale of three underpaid secretaries dealing with office misogyny was inspired by Fonda’s relationship with the founders of 9to5, National Association of Working Women, a workers’ rights organization founded in 1973.
In his review of the film, Roger Ebert likened Parton’s debut as something for the history books akin to the debuts of Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, writing, “she contains so much energy, so much life and unstudied natural exuberance that watching her do anything in this movie is a pleasure.” Parton earned an Academy Award nomination for her theme song and a Golden Globe nomination for her performance. A succession of theatrical and television movies followed throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” (1982), “Rhinestone” (1984), “A Smoky Mountain Christmas” (1986), “Steel Magnolias” (1989), and “Straight Talk” (1992).
Depending on your age, your entry point for Parton may vary. It could be her music, her television appearances in the 1970s, any one of her movies, or even her recurring role as Aunt Dolly on the Miley Cyrus-led Disney Channel teen sitcom “Hannah Montana.”
For me, it was “Straight Talk,” the 1992 Chicago-set workplace romantic comedy in which Parton plays a small-town dance instructor from Arkansas who leaves her stick-in-the-mud boyfriend, moves to Chicago with dreams in her eyes, and accidentally becomes a beloved national radio call-in therapist. The film is preposterous, but as a kid who loved preposterous rom-coms, and especially loved watching them with my mother, it was one we returned to time and again. In the film, as in real life, Parton recalls Mae West, with a sexuality that was playful and witty, overtly feminine and seductive without being predatory. She made being sexy seem fun, and being sexual not something to be ashamed of. She even wrote a little bop that praises the female gaze.
She poked fun at her own love of over-the-top fashion and makeup, with songs like “Backwoods Barbie.” She likened her style to that of drag, even sharing once that if she’d been born male, she would surely have become a drag queen. Early on in her career, she addressed backlash to her looks by quipping, “I’m not offended by all of the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb…and I also know that I’m not blonde.”
In 1986, Parton bought a stake in an amusement park near where she grew up, which was subsequently renamed Dollywood. With approximately 4,000 people on its payroll, it is the largest employer in the area. Along with bringing steady employment to the area, Dollywood has a program called GROW U, which offers employees 100% free tuition to over a hundred different educational programs, with workers becoming eligible from day one of employment.
In 1987, Parton was named one of Ms. Magazine’s Women of the Year. In the issue, Gloria Steinem wrote that Parton was honored for “creating popular songs about real women, for turning feminine style into humor and power, for bringing jobs and understanding to the mountain people of Tennessee.” The next year, she founded the Dollywood Foundation, whose aim at the time was to improve educational opportunities for children in her home county of Sevier County, Tennessee.
Around that same time, Parton formed Sandollar Productions, a banner through which she produced films like “Father of the Bride” and the cult television show “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997–2003), but also Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s Oscar-winning documentary “Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt,” which told the story of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. A staunch LGBTQ ally, for the last few decades Parton raised money for many AIDS-related charities and healthcare facilities. In 1993, she was one of several country music stars, including Tammy Wynette, Kris Kristofferson, and Willie Nelson, who participated in an AIDS Awareness campaign known as “Break the Silence.” Aimed at showing that AIDS was not just a city problem, the series of public service announcements advocated for sex education and safer practices.
By the mid-1990s, Parton launched a literacy program called Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Founded to honor her father, who never learned to read or write, the program mails one free book a month to every enrolled child from birth until kindergarten. Now in its 31st year, the program has sent out over 300 million free books to kids across the U.S., Canada, the UK, Australia and Ireland. Her proudest achievement, Parton once said, “If I’m remembered 100 years from now, I hope it will not be for the looks but for the books.” You can learn more about the history and legacy of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Nick Geidner’s 2021 documentary “The Library That Dolly Built: Celebrating the People Who Made Dolly’s Dream Come True.”
In a 1984 conversation between Parton and Andy Warhol in his Interview Magazine, the iconoclastic artist says to her, “You could be a great preacher,” to which Parton replies, “What do you mean? I am a great preacher.” For Parton, her ministry was the way she lived her life, with equal amounts of passion and compassion. When she received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last year, she sent a short video message to accept the award. Rather than spend ten minutes rambling as recipients are often wont to do (which, don’t get me wrong, is always welcomed from those legends), Parton got straight to the point with a simple, effective autobiographical anecdote. She said, “I grew up in a house with twelve kids. Now, that alone teaches you how important sharing is. Don’t get me wrong, we didn’t have that much to share, but my mom and daddy showed me by example that the more you give, the more blessings come your way.”
This open-hearted approach to life gave Parton an almost supernatural glow, one that shone so bright she became beloved by strangers around the world. Stories of Parton from those who knew her either center on her humility, her humor, or her otherworldly aura. In his memoir Life Itself, Roger Ebert recalled that she had a “strange ethereal grace,” something he and his At The Movies co-host Gene Siskel would often discuss in wonder. Longtime friend and co-star Jane Fonda described Parton as “simultaneously a naughty, playful southern gal from the hollows of Tennessee and a deep, soulful thinker who could see through people right down to their true selves. She was many things…lyricist, songstress, player of many instruments, writer, prankster, visionary, loyal friend, who’d never go to bed before she and her friends had laughed so hard they’d have to cross their legs.”
During her 2023 appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, the host noted that Parton is always true to herself and her beliefs, but that she also always includes everyone else. To that notion, Parton replied, “I know that nobody would be the way they are if they could be different…I want to be loved and accepted, so the least I can do is to try to love and accept other people. And I love the differences in people, just like the spice, the variety of life. I mean, if everybody was the same, it would be a boring life.”
With the passing of Dolly Parton, it seems that one of America’s brightest lights has gone dim. She transcended cultural barriers and united us all under her warm smile, sly wit, and irrepressible charm. She showed what was possible when you live your life with your arms open, pulling people up with you. She embraced the communal values of Christianity: to love others as you want to be loved, and to not judge others lest you want to be judged. She believed in the social contract, that we are all in this together. She was the best of us.
I’ll end this tribute with the letter she sends to Imagination Library graduates when they receive their final book from the program:
“There is no limit to what you can do or how far you can go. Just remember the lessons my family taught me — dream big dreams; learn everything you can learn; and care for all those who care for you. You do all of these things and you can be anyone you want to be.”
- Shabana Amzi on Her Career, Vulnerability, and “Batwara 1947” (August 26, 2026)
Ask any working actor today in the Hindi film industry, and chances are they’ll cite Shabana Azmi as an inspiration. Over a career of 160-plus films that began in 1974, not to mention a record five National Film Awards (India’s equivalent of the Oscars; the most won by any Indian actress), Azmi has demonstrated an extraordinary range that few have approached since.
Though she also worked in commercial Hindi films, Azmi primarily made her mark through the Parallel Cinema movement, a school of filmmaking that prioritized social realism. Without Azmi’s presence, the simmering class tensions of “Ankur,” the marital heartbreak and eventual resilience of “Arth,” or the shocking violence of “Nishant” would lose their main emotional anchor and their long-lasting resonance today. As she built her prolific film career, Azmi also performed onstage, including in “Tumhari, Amrita” (“Yours, Amrita”)—an Indian context adaptation, written by Javed Siddiqui, of A.R. Gurney’s play “Love Letters”—a play she performed for 21 years along with co-star Farooque Sheikh.
In addition to her Indian filmography, Azmi’s body of work includes collaborations with Deepa Mehta, Gurinder Chadha, Blake Edwards, Roland Joffe, John Schlesinger, and Ismail Merchant. Currently, she stars in “Batwara 1947,” a Hindi film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and based on a play by Asghar Wajahat. Set during the upheaval of Partition, the film follows the Muslim Mirza family (a married couple, played by Sunny Deol and Preity Zinta), forced to leave India and resettle in Lahore, Pakistan. Although they are allotted a local house, they are startled to find it still occupied by an elderly Hindu woman (Azmi), who refuses to leave. Her refusal to depart triggers an emotional conflict both inside the home and in the community at large.
Azmi recently spoke with RogerEbert.com about life in film and theater, working with frequent collaborators, and feeling naked, literally and figuratively, at different moments in her career.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity. Parts of the interview have also been translated from Hindi to English.
There’s a scene in “Batwara 1947” that really intrigued me. Mai, your character, is being verbally assaulted and physically threatened by Javed Mirza, who has been radicalized by the violence he has witnessed during Partition. He promises to either evict Mai by force or kill her. Javed’s mother Hamida stands in shock, witnessing her son’s newfound vitriol, while Mai cowers in fear.
Immediately after he leaves, Mai turns to Hamida and says, in complete sincerity, “This is your son, isn’t it? Who was missing? I’m so glad he’s come home to you safely.” She’s able to possess two dissonant realities simultaneously: she’s terrified, and yet overjoyed for the safe return of a son who is vowing to kill her. Can you talk to me about your approach for that scene?
It’s very important that you pointed out that moment because nobody else has, and I do think it is a very important moment. For me, that moment expresses the strength of humanity. For me, when you are able to rise above your own terror and your fear, for something which is the very essence of who you actually are as a human being and the values that you bring to life. Now, with Mai, you see that all the time with her that there is just basically a humanity in her, that even when she’s frightened, when these people come, she basically changes within two minutes, as though the sun turned into shade. In one moment, she says, I’m not leaving from here. And then she says [to Hamida], there is wood [to make a] fire over there, and make sure that you speak to the rickshaw driver in the beginning; otherwise, they’ll take you for a ride. That’s what makes her very, very much like very many women that I knew of that age.
I assume that you were familiar with the play. Was there a discussion about maintaining the play’s beats within the script?
I saw the play a long time ago. So I just have memories of moments in it. But after that, when I was given the script, I stuck with it, and I didn’t try to find moments that were different from the play. I just went with the script that came to me. For me, the part that I had to struggle with is…I don’t know how to say that. I felt there is a goodness to her that I, as Shabana Azmi, don’t have, and that was a big struggle for me, because as a person, I am strong, strong-willed, and opinionated. In my heart, because I know women of that kind—who are just goodness embodied—it was very difficult for me to reach that, to climb over everything that Shabana Azmi is—[and] reach that moment of purity.
You once said that your preferred method for working is to start in the middle, because you haven’t yet inherited the world of the character. Have there been times, either during rehearsals for a play or on the set of a film, that you found your way to a character very quickly?
There are very different ways in which I inhabit the world of a character, and there is no method to it. It sort of dictates itself. Sometimes I feel I open the window and then shut it. Sometimes I just peer from behind the glass door. Sometimes I jump straight into the living room. I don’t know what propels me to do either of those, to make either of those choices. But if I were to say broadly, for instance: when I did “Mandi,” I went “Boom!” right there. I was there in the center space, as compared to “Khandar,” which I was filming simultaneously. “Khandar” I did almost immediately after that, and there I was, looking through parted windows, looking gingerly, not knowing at what point I could enter, and that process in itself becomes a way of inhabiting the world of that character.
That’s why I find acting so fascinating. Because it allows you to imagine through your work that you love, it allows you to inhabit the world of characters you would never have known, and gives you the opportunity to live the life of that character at the same time as you give that character the life that you, as a person, have lived.
Shabana Azmi (l) and Farooque Sheikh (r) performing “Tumhari, Amrita.”
You and the late, great Farooque Sheikh performed “Tumhari, Amrita” for 21 years. The director, Feroz Abbas Khan, famously told you both that “You must not learn your lines,” which feels like such a counterintuitive directive. What did you both discover about yourself and Amrita over the course of playing her for so long?
I have to give credit to Javed Siddiqui, who wrote her so beautifully. She’s such a beautifully written part. In fact, she’s my favorite person that I have ever played. She’s full of faults; she’s angry, she’s petulant, she’s lovely, she’s generous, she’s warm, she’s mad, and she’s so many things. But listen, it was a huge challenge to have your director tell you, don’t learn your lines. The first thing that you ever learn is to learn your lines, and then forget about them. So that at the time of the performance, the lines don’t get in the way of the emotion. That’s the whole point of knowing the lines. So you don’t have to struggle with the lines. You’re only dealing with the emotion at that time.
And here was a director who was saying, “No, I don’t want you to fake reading the letter. You are actually reading the letter, and if you don’t actually read it, you will fake it, and it won’t come.” So the penny dropped here, and then I realized that, all right, this is a discipline that requires me to unlearn everything I’ve learned before that. Of course, if you were doing it for 21 years, it’d be impossible that you wouldn’t know bits. But I didn’t know right up till the end what followed what each time, and so that gave an aliveness, if there is such a term, to [the performance] because the audience is a very important third character of “Tumhari, Amrita.” With every breath that they take, with every little giggle that they [give], something changes in the two characters because after all, you’re just sitting on two chairs and reading. And the interesting thing is that A.R. Gurney challenged [us] and said, “It is not a radio play. I promise you, you will have a theatrical experience. It will not be. I have written it so,” and you had to honor that because that was his vision. When people saw “Tumhari, Amrita,” they said that it didn’t sound like a radio play. You experienced the whole lives of these characters over the years you played them.
So sometimes, depending on where I was coming from and what was happening, I played her more vulnerably. Sometimes she was more defiantly played. I didn’t have a fixed way of playing her, and I never decided I would. Also, what is challenging in a live performance is learning to anticipate the audience’s reactions. So you brace yourself: all right, I’m going to take this pause now, and they are all going to burst out laughing. Woe betide you if you start depending on that, because I promise you, you will let yourself down the minute you are there expecting: now comes the laughter. You will be shocked because nobody will react at that particular moment. That is what makes it so fascinating. You cannot take it for granted, and the minute you become overconfident, you’ve lost it. The minute you become cheeky, you’ve done three good shows, three nights one after the other, and the fourth night you say, “I know it all.” You will do the very worst thing that you can ever do. It has happened so unerringly that whenever we’ve tried to feel smug, it hasn’t worked, so it keeps your humility.
You grew up with two legends for parents: an actress mother, Shaukat Azmi, and a poet father, Kaifi Azmi, and your home was regularly visited by luminaries from the worlds of theater, music, film, and literature, who attended your parents’ mushairas. I wondered whether early exposure to this recitation of language from so many different voices, from so many different backgrounds, may have affected how you later approached learning and delivering dialogue.
I would also wake every morning to see my father sitting with my mother and giving her the [dialogue] cues, because she would recite her lines and he would give her cues over tea. That was a ritual I saw every day. So the importance of words and sensitivity to words was something that, again, [happened] by a process of osmosis.
You’ve mentioned a love for Ingmar Bergman, and have cited Liv Ullman as an inspiration for your career. One of my favorite films of yours is “Tehzeeb,” which is inspired by Bergman’s “Autumn Sonata.” There are multiple layers to that film: you’re playing the part based on Ingrid Bergman’s role, and Urmila Matondkar plays the part originated by Liv Ullman. This was the first time you and Matondkar were reuniting onscreen since she debuted as your child in “Masoom.” What was shooting that film like?
It couldn’t have been more complicated and crazier than that. So what we decided was to get away from the enormity of it all and really dumb ourselves down. One of the things that we did constantly was “I hate Urmila Matondkar in real life, and I hate Dia Mirza in real life,” because I was constantly on a diet when I was playing that [part], and both these slim girls with perfect figures would eat batata vada in front of me and eat bhajiya every single day, and I would curse them. “You’re just the worst co-actors anybody can have. You have absolutely no empathy for the fact that I’m just eating steamed fish every day.” They would have the time of their lives, but they both continue to be very, very dear friends and part of a very small coterie of very dear friends that we have. So I always feel very fortunate that I tend to have relationships with my co-stars that go far beyond the film. Normally it’s a project, and then after that you don’t meet up. But fortunately, that’s not the case.
Did you observe a difference in Khalid Mohammed’s approach to technique or character on the set of “Tehzeeb” because of his background as a film critic?
I think I looked for it, even if it was not there. I think he was able to keep the critic away and focus on what he was trying to make. I don’t think it’d be fair if I said that his being a film critic hampered his being a director. I don’t think so.
When you look back at what you did in “Ankur,” your debut film, and for which you won a National Film Award, can you pinpoint the artistic decisions you made, or was it just a sort of alchemy with Anant Nag and Sadhu Meher?
For me, the physicality of it was what took away a lot of my attention. I had to wear the palla of the sari very short, which means it keeps falling down, and obviously you can’t pin it in a particular way. So you have to get used to that movement. I couldn’t sit on my haunches, and that for [director] Shyam Benegal was a no-no because most of my work [as Laxmi] was in the hut, in which I’m sitting on my haunches and cooking. He told me, “You’re not going to sit at the dining table with us and have lunch. You sit on the ground, in the corner, and you have your lunch there.” I did that diligently.
On about the fourth or fifth day, while we were shooting, a group of college-age boys came by the set and said, “Where is the heroine?” So I said, “She hasn’t come today.” They said, “Who are you?” I said, “I’m the ayah.” They said, “Ah, okay, okay, come, come, let’s go.” Shyam was watching this from the corner of his eye, and he said, “Now you’ve earned your place. Now you can come and sit with us and have lunch because you convinced those people that you were actually sitting on your haunches and eating.”
That was the kind of discipline I had to [engage in], and the emotions took second place. [Even] the [harvesting] of the red chilies, there’s a certain rhythm to it, and the village women would laugh at me that I was an urban person, and I didn’t even know something as simple as that. It was the first time I’d ever entered a village. I was this St. Xavier’s College, English-speaking child who’d gone there, and for the first three days, Shyam said, “Just wear your costume and just walk in the village. Familiarize yourself with the contours of the village.” That did something to me because I made friends with the village women. As I walked, I talked to them, and that broke the barrier between [us and them]. It was like we became kind of a family.
The one scene that I remember that I became completely dry is the scene where I wake up and I notice that Sadhu Maher has come back and I’m pregnant with his child. I could feel nothing, and so Shyam called for a break. We had lunch, and then he just started talking to me, not [asking] me why I had dried up, just talking to me about other things, and then talking to me about a woman that he had seen in a documentary on a Bengal famine, something about how vulnerable and helpless [she] looked. Suddenly, I just looked at him, and I said, “I’m ready.” [Cinematographer] Govind [Nihalani] was ready, because Shyam had told Govind that you have to be absolutely ready, and I went and boom. The dam broke, and it happened. Now, it could not have happened with a less sensitive director. He understood the block, and he worked it in a way that made me feel that if he had just said, “Oh, why are you doing this? Don’t worry, it’ll happen,” it would have made me even more nervous. So we had a different system. He was a psychologist in that kind of way.
I remember I was very upset with him in the scene in “Nishant” when [Sushila, my character] gets raped by those boys. [Shyam] was on top with the camera, and I was lying on the floor. And in those days, we didn’t have walkie-talkies. We didn’t have mics. You had to shout down orders, and from there he shouted at me, and he said, “Open your blouse! Open one more button of your blouse.” I felt so humiliated. I said, “He’s treating me like an object. He doesn’t even realize that I am here on a set, when there are so many people watching me.” I hated him; I hated the moment. After that, I broke down, ran out of the room, and wept and wept and wept.
Then that sweet Anant Nag came; he was sitting next to me, he was holding my hand and saying, “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry this happened to you.” It was so sweet of him, and then he told Shyam that she was very upset that you said that. Then, of course, Shyam being Shyam, gave me a big hug and said, “I was very insensitive. I’m so, so sorry, Shabana. I’ll make sure nothing of that kind ever happens,” and it never happened in all the 40 years that I worked with him. You don’t know when you suddenly start to feel very exposed.
Shabana Azmi in “Batwara 1947.”
In fact, in “Batwara 1947,” there is that scene where you know the villain [rips my clothing] in the final act. I was lying on the street, and all the assistants went running to the monitor to see if the shot was okay, and not even one single girl assistant came up to me and tried to cover me up. Because I was lying like that, I could do precious little about it. I felt so humiliated and [it was so] horrible, my god! Then [executive producer] Amir [Khan] had come that day on the set, and I wept and howled, and then of course he called everybody. But in that moment, when I was feeling like that, when Sunny Deol came and just put that dupatta on me, I really felt he was my protector and my son. That moment is very, very, very strongly etched in my memory. So, being an actor and experiencing humiliation of this kind can be really tough. It can be very, very difficult.
I’m so sorry that happened to you. So, there are no intimacy coordinators in the Hindi film industry?
No, no, no. There weren’t. Now, I think, in intimate scenes, they’ve started doing that. Earlier, there was no such thing, but you know, this kind of sensitivity is only now being spoken about. Because otherwise, see, you were shooting 12 films at one time. Who had the time to think of anything, except that you just wore your makeup and said your lines and went away to the next? It was completely mad, the way we used to work.
In the West, intimacy coordinators are also a more recent creation. It’s not just for intimate scenes. It’s also for scenes of rape or assault, like the one you were in. It requires clearance from everyone in the scene: that this piece of your clothing will be ripped here, is that okay? But I don’t know what equivalent protections exist in the Hindi film industry.
I think we are learning on the job. But the fact that that was one of the rare days that Amir had come on the set, and he was so shocked to see me so vulnerable, and of course, then he called everybody, and then a big thing was made about it. It was just that I felt naked. I felt stripped. It was very, very, very difficult.
What you felt comes through very clearly in the scene.
And especially when [Mai] says, “Look what they’ve done!” Almost like a child, she says, “Look what they’ve done to my clothes!” But I remember similarly, I did a scene in “Arth” with Khulbhushan Kharbanda when I’m asked [his character] to give me one more chance, and I’m literally begging, and Mahesh Bhatt told me, “You’re not to cry.” Here I was, experiencing begging and humiliation, insulted, yet trying to keep my dignity. And of course, after the scene happened, I broke down and just wept for so long. Mahesh just said, leave her alone. She’ll get over it. After you worked for 50 years, you think that things should become mechanical. They can, but something triggers at some time, and some vulnerability of yours gets attached to that. I don’t think I can explain it in any way except that it happens sometimes, and it doesn’t happen sometimes.
Shabana Azmi in “Masoom.”
“Arth” and “Masoom” are interesting taken together because they’re both about infidelity. But they reach very different conclusions. Your character in the latter, Indu, chooses to forgive her husband because there’s an illegitimate child who needs a home, while “Arth” prioritizes a woman’s interiority, and your character, Pooja, walks away from that marriage with her spine intact. How have your own impressions of the films changed over time, given that you are two very different people in both films?
I was. Pooja to me is the person that you see only because of [director] Mahesh Bhatt, because there was such a strong chemistry between Mahesh and me. It was like he knew exactly how to press my buttons. We were very good friends. There was no complete script. There was just a story idea, and we wrote the scenes as we went along. I remember that scene in which I make an ass of myself at the party scene, where I go and confront [Kavita, the mistress character played by Smita Patil]. And what happened is that Babu Ram Ishara—who’s a friend of ours and of Mahesh and everybody—he spoke to Smita and then came and told Mahesh and me that, “Smita is feeling very uncomfortable about the scene, and I agree with her. I think that a woman like Pooja wouldn’t fall to such depths. She wouldn’t do such a thing.” This confused the daylights out of me because we thought of Babu Ram Ishara as a very liberal person, and I was getting ready for this scene, and then this happened. Then Smita’s costume wasn’t ready, so that day we didn’t shoot. Imagine you’re prepared for a confrontation scene, and it doesn’t happen.
The next day you go at it again, and Kiran, Mahesh’s wife, comes on the set, and I tell her, “Kiran, Babu-da is saying Pooja wouldn’t behave like this.” Kiran said, “Pooja would lift a slipper and hit someone. What do they mean? Nothing of the sort. She’d pick up a slipper and hit someone.” Oh my God! That gave me so much moral courage, I can’t tell you! Because that’s coming from right within her, and that gave me the strength then to do that scene. It takes a lot to let yourself go [for a scene like that]. So there were so many moments that just killed me in “Arth.” But it was a film we believed in so strongly, especially the ending.
When the distributors saw the film, they said it’s a wonderful film, it’s a beautiful film, but this ending won’t work: An Indian woman is not forgiving her husband after he’s asking for forgiveness. This film will not run a day! Mahesh and I just dug our heels in and said, “We’ve made this film for this end, and come what may, we will not change the end.” Thanks to Kuljit Pal, the producer, who went along with us, the film was released and became not only a critical success, but also a big commercial success. That shows you how often distributors are not in tune with what the audiences are ready for. The audiences were ready 20 years ago. At the same time, I did a film called “Yeh Nazdeekiyan,” [which has a similar plot] and finally [the wronged wife] goes back to her husband, and we thought that was the safer film. That film didn’t work, and “Arth” did, so people were ready for that.
You mentioned “Nishant” before. It’s the very last line of that film that haunts me. The mob is nearly upon Vishwam (Naseeruddin Shah) and Sushila (you), as they gasp for breath on a hill, and Vishwam asks, “How did this happen?” And Sushila simply says, “Will knowing the answer make it easier to die?”
So Vijay Tendulkar.
And then the movie ends. I don’t know what sequence you shot that in, but did you feel that in your body? How was it to film that scene?
So draining. So draining. Just the simplicity of that line is so powerful because that’s what Vijay Tendulkar’s writing is. He can just cut to the chase. And I remember when it was shown at Cannes, too. People talked about that film nonstop, and they talked about the violence in it. Actually, the actual violence that you see in the film is so little compared to what Hindi cinema routinely does. But just the strength of having that violence seem almost like it’s just around the corner.
For Vishwam, the violence has only now caught up to him. But for Sushila, this is just the logical extreme of everything that’s happened in the film. And this brings me to your lengthy onscreen collaboration with Naseeruddin Shah. You’ve said that working with him was always a pleasure because if you look your co-star in the eye and they’re always telling you the truth, your job was halfway done. What did you learn from working with him?
When I used to watch him, I realized he could calibrate his performance. I want to give 100% in every shot of mine. I want to please the director. Naseer has worked it out for himself, and he’s worked out that in this shot he needs to give only 70%, because then three scenes later, he’ll give 85%. It sounds all very calculated. It’s not like that. It’s almost instinctive, but there is a craft to it that he understands very, very well. But if you haven’t watched Naseer on stage, then you don’t know what kind of magic this actor has on stage. I can’t find any other words except to say I’ve never seen an actor breathe like him onstage. He could well be sitting in his drawing room. There is no tension whatsoever. He’s a brilliant, brilliant actor, and I’ve been very fortunate because we’ve played so many different roles together.
“Madame Souzatka.”
Speaking of collaborations, John Schlesinger directed you and Shirley MacLaine in “Madame Souzatka,” and watching that gave me the same pride as watching Om Puri and Helen Mirren in “The Hundred-Foot Journey,” because amazing things can happen when legends from different film industries work together. What was it like to work with the two of them?
Firstly, for a long time, Asians have been saying, why are we cast only for our ethnicity? Why can’t we move? Why can’t we have colorblind casting? So it’s really only as recently as “Halo,” when I played Admiral Paragonsky, that I did not have to change my accent. I didn’t have to change the color of my hair or eyes or whatever. So that is happening now.
But at that time, I remember I was the only Indian on the set, the only Asian on the set. So it was a very strange experience for me to be on that set, but Shirley MacLaine was lovely. She was so generous and so warm. We had some shots to do, and she wanted to go watch a play, so John took her close-ups. Then she came to me, and because they were my close-ups after that, and these were just silent close-ups, she said, “Shabana, I’m getting late. If I remove my wig and I give you your cues, would you mind?” I said, “Shirley. Such a thing does not happen in Hindi films. The actual actor never comes and gives you cues.” She said, “What do you mean?” I said, “Some third assistant screams things. Nothing of that kind happens, and you’re being so considerate [by offering to just remove your wig].”
It was so generous and so wonderful, and she was so hardworking. She was so passionate. I remember the first couple of days I was staying at John Schlesinger’s house, and there would be Shirley MacLaine every day with her script, saying, “I’ve thought of yet another way that we can do this.” So for me, it was all very strange because this was Shirley MacLaine, and she was behaving like a newcomer. It was a completely different kind of experience,
The American actor Carrie Coon, who, like you, is a theater-trained actor, said her life isn’t lived on red carpets, and that she doesn’t define her life by box office numbers. She lives her life in rehearsal and in finding her character, exploring the beats of a scene with her co-actors, and trying to find the truth in any artistic endeavor she undertakes. Is that true for you? Is your life lived in the moments that we, the audience, don’t see?
Absolutely, absolutely. She couldn’t have said it better, and she couldn’t have literally echoed my thoughts. The red carpet and all that is such a small little part of this whole thing, honestly. Social media and this obsession with it is taking away from so many things and making everything so lightweight. We have to shut it out and say, this is what we are doing, and everything else has got absolutely nothing to do with my work over here. Uske bat bonus ya minus that is something completely separate. But this is what we need to concentrate on.
That’s not happening so much, unfortunately. Christopher Nolan said to me, “Hollywood is not interested in making films; they are making projects.” I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “Well, don’t you see that it’s just big companies coming together and how they can make the maximum money and all that? It’s all speculative business. It’s not that you have a story that you’re dying to tell, and so you want to make it. And that seems to be happening the world over.” I only hope that it is a passing phase, because it would be very, very, very sad if the purity of telling a story is not the reason that you make a film.
It must remain that, because all the cinema that stays with you is because the filmmaker—whether it’s Satyajit Ray or whether it’s Ingmar Bergman or whether it’s Kurosawa—wanted to tell a story because we are all fascinated with stories, and I think that’s what we should keep our concentration on.
“Batwara 1947” is playing in theaters now.
