The 1980s. For those who grew up in the decade, the era continues to be fascinating. Both a link to the old, almost sleepy India of the decades preceding it and a bridge to the new India of the ’90s when liberalization changed everything, the ’80s occupy a special place in India’s socioeconomic, political and cultural space. Be it hosting the Asian Games, India’s World Cup cricket victory, the assassination of Indira Gandhi, or the Babri Masjid / Ram Janmabhoomi and the Mandal agitations, the ’80s are engraved in our collective consciousness.

However, where it resides most is in the memories of those who were part of the era’s zeitgeist. Seema Sethi was one of them. And in Romancing the 80s she explores aspects of the decade that were an indelible part of the era and are probably now lost forever – Nirula’s and audiocassettes, Chitrahaar and Doordarshan, disco and Nazia Hassan, single-screen theatres and Indrajal comics, Hamara Bajaj and the Ambassador, among many others. This is one unforgettable ride down memory lane.