Oppenheimer was an event, much like a FIFA World Cup or the Olympics, which cuts across cultures and classes. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, with its close identification with American girlhood in a pink paradise, did not have the same resonance in India, where the Mattel doll has never been too popular
TCA Raghavan is a former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan and Singapore. His first book, Attendant Lords: Abdur Rahim and Bairam Khan: Courtiers and Poets in Mughal India, was awarded the Mohammad Habib Prize by the Indian History Congress. He is also the author of The People Next Door: The Curious History of India’s Relations with Pakistan and History Men: Jadunath Sarkar, G S Sardesai, Raghubir Sinh and Their Quest for India’s Past. His latest book is Circles of Freedom: Love, Friendship and Loyalty in the Indian National Struggle