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January 09, 2018
Golden Globes: When stars let down their guard
'To me,' says Aseem Chhabra, 'the Golden Globes hold the most meaning as one gets to see stars celebrating, getting emotional, letting their guard down and showing us their regular human side.'

January 05, 2018
The stars who will win the Golden Globes
If anyone thinks that the Golden Globes are insignificant, the Hollywood studios are out to prove them wrong.

December 05, 2017
Rest in Peace, Uncle Shashi
Gitanjali Gurbaxani remembers a dear friend.

November 16, 2017
What does the government have against <I>Nude</I> and <I>S Durga</I>?
Every time a filmmaker wishes to explore history or religion on his or her terms, self-appointed experts and limelight-seeking zealots swoop in to protest, says Sukanya Verma.

October 30, 2017
<i>Secret Superstar</i> removes the veil from Bollywood
'That the Muslim household is remarkably free from religious symbolism is also the strength of the film,' feels Mohammad Asim Siddiqui.

October 21, 2017
<i>Golmaal Again!!!</i>, in more ways than one
When a Hindi film does well in Chennai, it's time to sit up and take notice, says A Ganesh Nadar.

October 10, 2017
Super-Filmi Week: Ranveer's scarface, Sri's commitment!
Sridevi's amazing dedication, Ranveer Singh's Scarface, Ranbir-Alia on nepotism and more in Sukanya Verma's emotionally charged Super Filmi week.

October 09, 2017
Thank you for the laughs, Kundan Shah!
I am sad Kundan Shah is no more. I am sad he couldn't make the kind of films he wanted. But I am also grateful. He made me laugh. He made me cry. He made me believe in Hum Honge Kamyab and the power of a shooting star. Sukanya Verma salutes Kundan Shah.

October 04, 2017
Super Filmi Week: <I>Judwaa 2, Padmavati</I> and <I>Spyder</I>!
Prepping for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati, remembering Rajesh Khanna and Raaj Kumar's exclusive tramp club and picking Ranbir Kapoor's best performance in my Super Filmi Week.

September 19, 2017
How about Alia and Bhumi together in a movie?
Savouring Spielberg's fierce, fine movie; salivating over MAMI's line-up; gobbling a Shrek cake; visualising a desi Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants with Alia, Bhumi and more in Sukanya Verma's Super Filmi Week.

September 06, 2017
Super Filmi Week: Kudos to Kangana
Kangana Ranaut's guts, Amitabh Bachchan's venomous threat and dark TV serials occupied Sukanya Verma's super-filmi week.

August 30, 2017
Rethinking the Indian film critic
Do film critics need to do that too?

August 29, 2017
<I>Par Ek Din</I>: Flight of the Bumblebees
'Effortlessly graceful, this is a work of passion that conveys what being passionate about something truly feels like,' says Sreehari Nair.

August 22, 2017
Super <I>Filmi</I> Week: Kajol is the boss
Christopher Nolan's next, Gulzar's gussa, Shyam Benegal's Shivaji and RD's Lawrence of Arabia connection, catch all this and more in Sukanya Verma's super filmi week.

August 09, 2017
Is Shah Rukh Khan's career over? Not yet!
Picture abhi baaki hai, mere dost, assures Syed Firdaus Ashraf.

August 03, 2017
Can a man and a woman be 'friends' without having sex?
As Imtiaz Ali's Jab Harry Met Sejal releases, Aseem Chhabra feels it's the best time to revisit the Hollywood classic When Harry Met Sally, which tries to answer the question in the title of this feature.

July 25, 2017
A <i>lungi</i>, Anil Kapoor and the story of the Internet
Interviewing Anil Kapoor, Syed Firdaus Ashraf discovered, can be a real pleasure!

July 24, 2017
5 questions I have for J K Rowling
20 years after Harry Potter made his debut, Vanita Kohli-Khandekar has some questions for its author

July 18, 2017
Super Filmi Week: <i>John Wick</i>'s <i>Amar Akbar Anthony</i> moment
John Wick's Amar Akbar Anthony connection, filmi fundas from Gabbar Singh and best Bollywood songs of 2017 so far, everything you need to know about Sukanya Verma's super filmi week.

July 10, 2017
Super filmi week: When the bride cried Sallu
Sukanya Verma's super-filmi week was high on drama.

July 06, 2017
The Brilliance of Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Suparn Verma -- who directed Nawaz in Aatma -- tells us what it is.

June 29, 2017
Daniel Day-Lewis: The burning actor rushes to his bubble bath
And in the final phase of his acting career, says Sreehari Nair, America became his big theme, and the details... well, he just popped them out like waffles.

June 23, 2017
Blessed to have lived in the times of Daniel Day-Lewis
'He has given us a history, a heritage that we can share with generations to come,' says Aseem Chhabra.

June 22, 2017
5 Reasons Why Daniel Day-Lewis should not retire
Although famously reclusive and fitful in his creative output, Daniel Day-Lewis's decision to hang up his boots feels both untimely and unexpected.

June 14, 2017
Is <i>Court</i> the most sophisticated Indian film ever?
Chaitanya Tamhane's National Award-winning film seems more relevant today than when it released, says Sreehari Nair.

June 13, 2017
Dancing the <i>Munna Michael</i> way!
Sukanya Verma's super-filmi week was a complete blast from the past.

The role Roger Moore most cherished
But the role Roger Moore most cherished was a different one.

June 07, 2017
Enough of <I>Baahubali</I>!
'I hope against hope that Indian film-makers don't take their future cue from the creator of this insufferable franchise,' says J Jagannath.

May 25, 2017
An encounter with Brad Pitt: On screen and off it
'At the end of the day, just get on, feel the pain, embrace the suck.'

May 16, 2017
Shah Rukh Khan: The King's Speech
Satyajit Ray's fabulous use of fantasy to condemn fascism and Shah Rukh Khan's gift of enthralling oratory, Sukanya Verma's fantastic filmi week.

May 11, 2017
A non-Belieber among Beliebers
His daughter is a Belieber. He is most definitely not.

I have to say: Justin Bieber, never, ever!
'For me, the night was a dreadful waste of time,' says Jahnavi Patel.

Justin Bieber, you weren't singing, but lip-syncing!
'The night, I have to sadly admit, was a let-down and Mr Bieber, you kind of broke my heart,' says a Belieber.

May 06, 2017
<i>Baahubali 2</i>: A colossal bore
Beneath its dazzling veneer, this emperor has no clothes, says J Jagannath.

May 02, 2017
Getting ready for the Baahubali juggernaut!
Prepping for the Baahubali juggernaut, remembering a toddler Vinod Khanna and making Deepika Padukone dance to Jennifer Lopez's tunes, Sukanya Verma's super filmi week was pretty eventful.

April 28, 2017
Vinod Khanna: An actor with a touch of sadness
Aseem Chhabra sensed an internal turmoil in Vinod Khanna, which sometimes showed the moody person on screen.

When Bollywood switches off the limelight
Bollywood doesn't care for the fading star, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.

April 27, 2017
Farewell Vinod Khanna: Heaven must be full of swagger today
Sukanya Verma could not resist Vinod Khanna's charms, and salutes him in her tribute.

April 24, 2017
Super Filmi Week with <I>Hit Girl</I> Asha Parekh
Kamal Haasan's unrivalled make up skills, Jack Nicholson's haunting imagery, Asha Parekh's life as a Hit Girl and the surprise package of Beauty and the Beast, it's all there in Sukanya Verma's super filmi week.

April 06, 2017
We Indians love binge-watching!
The term binge-watching was the runner up in Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year in 2013. Indians may have come late to the party a little later, but we're making up for lost time, says Shuma Raha.

<i>Trapped</i>! A metaphor for Motwane's movies
'Here, in Trapped, this sensations-strangled-by-the-walls feeling becomes the movie's real tune,' says Sreehari Nair.

March 30, 2017
Goodbye Regal. Thank you for the memories
'I know all good things have to end someday. But memories, especially film memories are special,' says Aseem Chhabra.

March 28, 2017
A super <I>filmi</I> week with Anushka, Kangana and Jeetendra!
A lesson for Jeetendra from Raaj Kumar, Shashi Kapoor delivering gas and Susan Sarandon-Jessica Lange's caustic retelling of the infamous Bette Davis-Joan Crawford feud, Sukanya Verma's super-filmi week turned out to quite a blast from the past.

March 25, 2017
Bollywood autobiographies are the best!
'I cannot think of a single judge, politician, sportsperson or bureaucrat being so forthright in their opinion of their contemporaries,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.

March 21, 2017
Super filmi week: Feasting on Achari Alia, Mastani Papdi!
A week of bumping into trapped souls, savouring Achari Alia Paneer, envisaging Kishore Kumar crooning Kajrare and celebrating one year of Sukanya Verma's super filmi column.

March 07, 2017
Karan Johar sounds like Sakshi Maharaj!
What is the difference between Sakshi Mahraj asking beef-eaters to 'leave' and Karan Johar asking Kangana Ranaut to 'leave', asks Syed Firdaus Ashraf.

Super Filmi Week: KJo's call for grace!
Be it Oscars, Kareena Kapoor or Karan Johar, Sukanya Verma's super-filmi week is a study in grace for both the right and wrong reasons.

February 28, 2017
Oscars 2017: Much ado about a thing
The Oscar race is over, and here's the good news: both La La Land and Moonlight are genuinely commendable and worthy films, writes Raja Sen.

February 22, 2017
Who doesn't want to escape reality for a while?
'While there cannot be any doubt that the national anthem should be shown utmost respect, cinema halls are not the most appropriate places to play the national anthem.'

February 21, 2017
Just who was Fearless Nadia?
One of Fearless Nadia's most famous scenes had her fighting the bad guys on top of a speeding train! She was often showed working out in a gym, which apparently contributed to a fitness craze at the time as well. Getting to know Fearless Nadia.

February 20, 2017
At the Oscars: Politics inside and outside
J Jagannath on how he expects to see the Trump effect at the Academy Awards.

February 14, 2017
More power to Anushka Sharma!
Sukanya Verma discovers what she loves about Anushka Sharma's 'spirit' on more than one occasion in her super-filmi week.

February 09, 2017
Shah Rukh Khan's India
'Are we seeing the beginning of the communalising of one of the most iconic film industries in the world?' asks Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.

February 06, 2017
Why you don't admire SRK in <em>Raees</em>
Why you don't admire SRK in Raees

January 31, 2017
What's your baby watching?
How do the shows we watch and the songs we listen to, affect us? The question bothers Geetanjali Krishna after a domestic worker gushes about her six-month-old daughter's love for a nagin-themed TV show and Mika's Gandi Baat.

Why is Sanjay Leela Bhansali being targeted?
'The film industry will remain soft targets and continue to be picked upon with no respite, with no choice but to give in due to personal safety and financial compulsions,' says director Suparn Verma.

January 30, 2017
Was it really necessary for Shah Rukh Khan to take a train trip?
Read about Rishi Kapoor's page-turning debut, SRK's super-charged turn in Raees, Sridevi as potential Dhoom vamp, Sanjay Dutt's contribution to Andaz Apna Apna and more in Sukanya Verma's super-film week.

January 25, 2017
Will <em>La La Land</em> lose out at the Oscars?
There is a group of La La Land haters -- especially jazz aficionados who feel the film gives too much importance to a white man who sets out to save the musical genre associated with the African American community, points out Aseem Chhabra.

January 23, 2017
Talat Aziz's genius elevates <em>Majaz</em>
The film could have been an excellent biopic had it stuck to the poet's poetic self rather than his unfulfilled love, says Mohammad Asim Siddiqui.

Will we once again see a 'new' Shah Rukh Khan?
'2016 was the year when Shah Rukh Khan took risks and traversed along the path that would ensure the actor could shine more than the star,' says Aseem Chhabra.

January 17, 2017
<em>Haraamkhor</em>: The pervert wants you to hold your ears
Sreehari Nair explains why Haraamkhor may just be the most liberating Hindi movie made since Hazaaron Khwaishen Aisi.

January 16, 2017
What we learnt from Kareena-Sonam on <I>Koffee With Karan</I>
Sukanya Verma's super-filmi week marks a star-studded start to the year

January 09, 2017
Rocky showed up at The Golden Globes -- and she won!
Rocky showed up at The Golden Globes -- and she won! Raja Sen sums up the 74th Golden Globes perfectly.

'I am being used like a potato'
Subhash K Jha remembers conversations with the legendary actor who the world lost on Friday.

January 06, 2017
Om Puri gave a scene dignity just by his presence
He had no airs about his talent, he did not intellectualise it, he just lived and breathed acting.

December 28, 2016
Grieving for Princess Leia
'2016 may have been unkind, more than other years, but we are here and we owe it to the ones who are gone -- to live and love fully this wonderful gift of life,' says filmmaker Suparn Verma.

December 16, 2016
We, the schizophrenic Indian audience
Vanita Kohli-Khandekar on why Indian media and entertainment quality will remain a national gripe and why we, the viewers, are not blame free.

December 12, 2016
7 reasons why you must watch <em>Befikre</em>
Syed Firdaus Ashraf, who grew up in the 1980s, tells us why Befikre is a must watch to understand the new generation.

December 07, 2016
<em>Mera Wala Shah Rukh</em>!
From 'Mera Wala Shah Rukh' to Salman's Being Hygienic ways, my super filmi week, says Sukanya Verma, has a lot on its mind.

November 28, 2016
Ranbir-Ranveer, sigh sigh!
From Feroz Khan-Danny Denzongpa's bare skin to Ranbir Kapoor-Ranveer Singh bare soul, Sukanya Verma's super filmi week saw it all!

November 15, 2016
When Tabu struggled with a 500 rupee note
It was a crazy week for the world. Sukanya Verma cannot claim to be any different.

November 08, 2016
Of toilet tales and Bollywood masti!
Sukanya Verma shares her exciting filmi week with us!

How the North Indian <em>Launda</em> saved Hindi movies
'Soak it in; more power to the revolution, more wax to the candlelight vigils,' says Sreehari Nair.

October 18, 2016
Why we must support <em>Ae Dil Hai Mushkil</em>
Neither the filmmaker nor the actor who is being targeted, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf, has done anything illegal.

October 14, 2016
Nobel for Dylan carpers, go home


October 12, 2016
Why <I>Mirzya</I> is a classic
Through the film one can feel the pulse of Gulzar's brilliant poetry coursing through it, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.

Finding links of life in Dhoni's Ranchi and Madhuri's <I>Mujrim</I>!
Sukanya Verma shares her exciting filmi week with us.

September 27, 2016
Anushka wins <I>Ae Dil Hai Mushkil</I> hands down!
Romance died, came alive and lives on forever, off screen or on it, in Sukanya Verma's fabulously filmi week.

September 20, 2016
Sharing Salman Khan!
PINK, Penaz Masani and a precious picture of Nirupa Roy in and as Superman, a low-down of Sukanya Verma's fully filmi week!

Why Bollywood is not growing
'Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan now act in only about one film each year, and made money through advertisements and television.' 'This meant that many people, even if they had the money to spend on a movie and wanted to go, often had nothing available for them to watch.'

September 19, 2016
Sunny Leone, Arvind Kejriwal, Konkona: Stars in Toronto
Of all the Indian films screened in Toronto, three stood out for Aseem Chhabra -- A Death in the Gunj, Mostly Sunny</em> and <em>An Insignificant Man.

September 12, 2016
The irrepressible cuteness of Pooja Bhatt!
Pooja Bhatt's irrepressible cuteness, Rekha's amusing cartoon, Asha Bhosle's super songstress power, Akshay Kumar's sparkling white sneakers and shaved chest find a mention in Sukanya Verma's weekly column.

September 02, 2016
Thank you, Gene Wilder, for giving us pause
Raja Sen says his goodbyes to a true comic genius.

August 29, 2016
Can you recognise this actress?
Sridevi, Karan Johar, Tabu... Sukanya Verma's week was all about time travel and pleasant encounters with the super young avatars of Bollywood's famous folk.

August 22, 2016
When Saif wore Rishi Kapoor's sweater!
Sukanya Verma talks about her yet another fun filmi week!

August 20, 2016
Give Gowariker credit for <em>Mohenjo Daro</em>
'He awakens interest in the ancient civilisation of Harapppa and Mohenjo Daro,' says Asim Siddiqui.

August 12, 2016
Why SRK?!!!!!
'And Shah Rukh Khan happens to be one of India's most well known citizens.'

August 09, 2016
Getting nostalgic about Winona Ryder and Sharmila Tagore!
Old songs, retro fashion, 1980s pop culture, childhood icons and sharing space with Kundan Shah on paper, the theme of Sukanya Verma's super-filmi week was consistently nostalgic.

August 02, 2016
Why Naseer may have apologised for his Rajesh Khanna comment
'Besides, due care ought to be taken when speaking of the dead too.'

August 01, 2016
<I>Barsaat</I> on my mind
Sukanya Verma revisits Gulzar's Ghalib and finds Barsaat, and Free Love!

July 27, 2016
All hail the prolific, eclectic Ekta Kapoor
'If Kapoor sees something in a film, or an idea, she will ensure it reaches the most eyeballs -- by any means necessary,' points out Raja Sen!

July 23, 2016
A bridge to friendship, courtesy Rajinikanth
Maharaj Damodardas salutes the one and only Rajinikanth!

July 22, 2016
'<em>Neruppa da, Kabali da.</em>' Rajini sets the screen afire
Yet, Kabali is being projected as if the fans need the film, and the Tamil film industry needs it even more, says N Sathiya Moorthy.

July 21, 2016
Rajinikanth: Chennai Express
Decoding Indian cinema's biggest superstar.

July 18, 2016
Applauding Superman on screen...
...And Jennifer Aniston off it, in Sukanya Verma's super filmi week!

July 11, 2016
Tripping on Rahman, and Unicorn-like horns!
Sultan, Mohanjo Daro, and Pankaj Nihalani... Sukanya Verma shares her exciting filmi week with us!

July 05, 2016
<em>Udta Punjab</em>: Conservative's miscalculation, liberal's fantasy


July 04, 2016
A millipede and Kimi Katkar's monsoon romance!
Sukanya Verma shares her exciting filmi week with us!

Trip of the year
At a time when priapic sex comedies are ruling the roost in Bollywood, Udta Punjab is nothing less than a fresh blast of oxygen!

June 29, 2016
Why we should applaud Tusshar Kapoor
Tusshar Kapoor's decision is unique in a country where society still places so much emphasis on marriage and making a family, feels Aseem Chhabra.

June 27, 2016
To appreciate <em>Raman Raghav 2.0</em>, you will have to surrender to it
'To truly appreciate what Anurag Kashyap is trying to do here, you may have to lose a part of yourself to it, first,' says Sreehari Nair.

June 25, 2016
<em>Raman Raghav 2.0</em>: Bad cop, bad criminal
Raman Raghav 2.0 is unlikely to be remembered as one of Anurag Kashyap's finest movies.

June 23, 2016
Anurag Kashyap, making his own rules
There is something about Anurag Kashyap that puts the cinema watchdogs on alert, says Veenu Sandhu.

June 21, 2016
<I>Mohenjo Daro</I>: Campy trip to ancient civilisation!
Hrithik's intensity around Mohenjo Daro's rambling spectacle is touching even if the promos pack in more swagger than substance and reveal Gowariker's preference for opulence over realism, feels Sukanya Verma.

June 15, 2016
Censorship, <em>Udta Punjab</em> and the state of Indian cinema
Much as we'd like it to, all hasn't changed. In our country, the revolution must be polite and careful not to offend. Still, Raja Sen assures, there is hope.

June 14, 2016
On Planet Nihalani, reality is defamation
The most unusual howls of protest from Bollywood have shown that even people known for party drugs draw the line somewhere, says Mitali Saran.

June 13, 2016
<I>Udta Punjab</I>, worst casting decisions, and naheeee...!
Sukanya Verma shares her exciting filmi week with us.

June 08, 2016
<em>Balika Vadhu</em>: An insider speaks
'We felt why not have the hope that is intrinsic in every child's life, embodied in our happy protagonist and let viewers see the world full of double standards and confused adults around her through her innocent and questioning eyes?'

June 02, 2016
What Shah Rukh has in common with Pawan Kalyan
Both stars suffer from delusions of grandeur, feels J Jagannath.

June 01, 2016
Seeing Red at the Malayalam Movies


May 31, 2016
My name is Bond. Priyanka Bond
'The maverick, alpha male, super suave spy, who kills as efficiently as he charms the pants off women, doing the mother of all gender-benders and trading his tux for high heels?'

May 23, 2016
Funnier than Aishwarya's lips: The week in the movies
Sukanya Verma shares her exciting filmi week with us.

May 12, 2016
<I>Sairat</I> is beautiful, fascinating, intelligent...
Marathi film Sairat will stay with you for a really long time, raves Divya Nair.

May 11, 2016
<em>Dil Chahta Hai</em> is 15. Its spirit remains ageless
'But for a good percentage of these people from both categories, if there is one film to simply laze around with, a film that can extract them from their dull funk, it's definitely DCH.'

May 05, 2016
3 cheers for Kangana!
'For her admirers, the flouting of norms was in character because she has made her mark in highly competitive Bollywood on her own terms,' says Amulya Ganguli.

April 21, 2016
Dealing with anger, filmi style!
The Rage Machines in the movies.

April 18, 2016
When will the SRK of <em>Chak De</em> and <em>Swades</em> return?
Fan gives Shah Rukh Khan space to exploit the actor in him and he tries hard, with a nod to his creepy characters in Baazigar and Darr.

<em>Fan</em>: Not a vein opened; not a wound exposed
'I always have this feeling that that great Shah Rukh Khan turn that would somehow hold all his vaporously brilliant elements together is just around the corner.'

April 11, 2016
Ranbir's forgotten romance in <i>Bachna Ae Haseeno</i>
Sukanya Verma's nostalgic filmi week!

April 01, 2016
The most BLOCKBUSTER National Awards
Are the National Awards are bending over backwards trying to celebrate popular cinema, simply in order to gain more relevance and eyeballs, asks Raja Sen.

March 28, 2016
Of clashing superheroes and crying Khans!
Superheroes, Holi, apples and other happenings from Sukanya Verma's super filmi week!

March 21, 2016
A *perfect* gift for Aamir?


March 14, 2016
Arbaaz-Malaika, Arjun Kapoor and Raakhee! The week in the movies
Sukanya Verma shares her exciting filmi week with us.

March 11, 2016
Hanging out at the movies
How do you even define a movie that primarily exists as an invitation to its audience -- an invitation to come and merely laze around with a set of interesting characters, asks Sreehari Nair.

March 07, 2016
Who can be immune to Oscars magic?
'They are perhaps the only night when the stars, those celestial seraphs, become as vulnerable, as doggedly human, as the rest of us.'

March 04, 2016
Why we should be glad <I>Mad Max</I> didn't win the Oscar for Best Picture
For starters, Mad Max: Fury Road is gloriously nuts, says Raja Sen.

A homeless family, Alia Bhatt and <em>Do Bigha Zameen</em>
A generation of children may know Alia Bhatt's songs by heart, but don't know what the real India is all about.

March 02, 2016
Nothing mattered to Rajesh Pillai, other than movies
'Rajesh Pillai was a child at heart, crying at the sight of an injection syringe or making a fuss over the number of pills he was made to pop.'

February 10, 2016
Why <em>Peddlers</em> deserves to be released
'Peddlers isn't a movie of grand cinematic achievements, but one of small yet startlingly original victories.'

January 21, 2016
'Where's your turban?'
Aseem Chhabra points out how popular media still hasn't gained enough distance from accents and towel-turban fixations.

January 20, 2016
Facebook Posts Masquerading As Movies
'The directors of these movies to me are less like artists and more like red-pen remarkists, whose idea of a script is basically checking off the broadest of issues in the broadest possible ways: Sexism, Check. Misogyny, Check. Loving yourself, Check,' says Sreehari Nair.

January 15, 2016
Raja Sen's Oscars forecast: <em>Mad Max</em> will win!
Mad Max: Fury Road has a very realistic chance of sweeping the Oscars, predicts Raja Sen.

December 28, 2015
The top 5 Hindi films of 2015


December 23, 2015
Why Quentin Tarantino's mythology will outlive his filmography
'Which means that neither history nor cinema triumphs.'

December 22, 2015
<em>Bajirao Mastani</em>: The Grandeur of Movie Manufactured History
Bajirao Mastani has the potential to do for Maratha 'history' what Mughal-e-Azam did for Mughal 'history', says Mohammad Asim Siddiqui.

December 21, 2015
How the best Hindi movie of 2015 achieved true greatness
'Badlapur,' says Sreehari Nair, 'proves that sometimes there are more personal truths to be discovered in our trash cans than in our neatly arranged book-shelves.'

December 14, 2015
What makes <em>Tamasha</em> oddly beautiful
'Tamasha, in my mind, was so close to the idea he had planted in our heads that evening. The idea of embracing the unknown, sans baggage, of oddities adding that spark to our lives, and looking beyond the obvious, the conventional.'

December 03, 2015
A double-edged dagger from Marathi cinema
Sumedha Raikar-Mhatre examines the Marathi film industry, which annually produces around 190 dissimilar films that requires an investment of Rs 400 crores.

November 22, 2015
Saeed Jaffrey: The Great Entertainer
'Sent off to interview him in the late 1970s I met him in a cafe in New Delhi's Regal Building called The Parlour. With impromptu send-ups of Laurence Olivier, Sybil Thorndike and the rich, gravelly tones of a well-known All India Radio Hindi newsreader called Devki Nandan Pandey, he soon had the whole restaurant listening in.'

Time to have an adult as Censor chief
'I've always figured that it's the people who don't get laid enough, or well enough, who feel compelled to constrain and tear down anyone who looks as if they're having a good time.'

November 19, 2015
Raja Sen: The movie I can never review
It's *your* turn now, says Raja Sen.

November 17, 2015
Shashi Kapoor's good looks helped launch Saeed Jaffrey's film career in India
'Once Attenborough had locked the shot, Jaffrey turned to Amitabh and told him in a very controlled but stern voice that he should never talk to an actor in between takes.'

November 09, 2015
THIS is why Jio MAMI was totally worth it!
In spite of the glitches and scramble, the Mumbai Film Festival shaped into an enriching experience, feels Sukanya Verma.

November 05, 2015
Why <em>Aligarh</em> is a very important film
Aligarh is a milestone in the history of Indian cinema that should start the much needed conversation about how India treats gays and lesbians, feels Aseem Chhabra.

November 02, 2015
Why Charles scores over Titli
'Both Main Aur Charles and Titli are essentially stories of two plot-devices that became protagonists. You cannot relate to Titli or Charles, without submitting to the knowledge that neither of them are well-rounded characters; they are more like artifacts -- Charles, a schlock artifact and Titli, an artifact of spirit toughened by years of live brutality.'

October 29, 2015
The talented Indian
Priyanka Chopra, Irrfan Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui make a global statement on the power of Indian cinema, says Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.

October 05, 2015
<em>Talvar</em>: Closure, first. Propaganda, next. Justice, later
If you are swept away by the power of the movie, it's also sure to swing your perception in a certain direction,' says Sreehari Nair.

September 24, 2015
Why <em>Court</em> is a solid choice for the Oscars
'Good luck, Chaitanya Tamhane. May the jury system prove better for you than the bench trial did for your protagonist.'

September 21, 2015
Why <em>Meeruthiya Gangsters</em> is an absolute original


August 20, 2015
Why Jai is the true hero of <em>Sholay</em>
Raja Sen gives us a hint: It was all because he used a coin wisely.

August 17, 2015
The sins of <em>Sholay</em>
'Every time I watch Sholay telling myself that it is nothing more than a 'brazen potboiler,' the movie works. However, each time I take it for this iconic masterpiece, Sholay falls short; terribly short,' says Sreehari Nair.

August 14, 2015
How <em>Sholay</em> has played out in our lives again and again
Aseem Chhabra remembers seeing Sholay twice in the couple of weeks after it opened.

July 24, 2015
How <em>Bajrangi Bhaijaan</em> subverts ideology
'The most important aspect of Bajrangi Bhaijaan is the use of humour to touch some sensitive and potentially explosive political-religious and cultural subjects.'

July 15, 2015
What makes <em>Drishyam</em> so smashingly effective
'The true conceit of Drishyam is that it makes its audience an honorary accomplice in the crimes that its lead characters commit.'

July 01, 2015
Leaving on a Jet Plane with SRK
Shah Rukh and his family flew home to Mumbai last weekend. Roscoe Mendonza, who was on the same flight, captures his impressions of an unlikely encounter.

June 22, 2015
Why we must start a culture of spoiler-shaming
A headline or a tweet or a status update should not, in a civil world, be allowed to contain a spoiler, rants Raja Sen.

June 19, 2015
Jaws drove people away from beaches...and into theatres!
When Jaws released in June 1975, it changed the way Americans watch movies, says Aseem Chhabra.

June 18, 2015
40 years later, the water still scares Raja Sen
After all these years, Jaws still taps into the nightmares, says Raja Sen.

June 10, 2015
The hidden lessons of Dil Dhadakne Do
Dil Dhadakne Do joins the debate over the role of women in India.

May 26, 2015
Top 10 reasons why Max is Mad
And the one thing I couldn't work out for the life of me is what exactly is Max mad about. So, I humbly present my top ten reasons.

May 24, 2015
The beauty of Anurag Kashyap's failures
The truth of the matter is that without that tone-shift, most of these very critics would have been left bewildered by the supposed absence of a "well-defined storyline".

May 22, 2015
Why Hrithik tweeted about THE dress
Dear Hrithik, apply antiseptic on burnt area.

May 21, 2015
Mani Ratnam and the art of innocence
Yet, for all his belief in the goodness of life, Mani's films show that life is too complicated for goodness to permeate it completely.

May 20, 2015
It took a 100+ years for Bollywood to acknowledge that shit exists
Any subject is good enough for producing good art. Piku, and its obsession with 'emotion resulting from motion' is a perfect example, says Mohammad Asim Siddiqui.

May 06, 2015
'Salman is God's child'
'He's misunderstood, but has a heart of gold. Salman has a penchant for getting into trouble. But he means well, and is extremely kind-hearted,' Amitabh Bachchan once told Subhash K Jha.

April 17, 2015
We are prudes. Our movies need not be
Movies, like all forms of great art, are not meant to tell us how we ought to be, but honestly document how are.

April 06, 2015
Saying goodbye to America's best TV show
'That Mad Men is currently the best-written show and quite unlike anything else out there is an understatement.'

April 01, 2015
Catch a falling superstar
Two successive Rajni flops could well mean that Tamil cinema might come to a grinding halt, affecting the careers of other big-ticket actors, banners and filmmakers, says N Sathiya Moorthy

March 31, 2015
Shashi Kapoor: The quiet showman
the often underrated actor who acted in bad films so that he could make good cinema.

March 02, 2015
A salute to the supremely sexy Mr Spock
Leonard Nimoy let us all experience how sexy thinking could truly be, says Raja Sen.

February 24, 2015
Why we should celebrate this year's Oscars
Let the grandeur do the talking instead of the gags, says Raja Sen.

February 19, 2015
'D Ramanaidu lived and breathed cinema'
Radhika Rajamani pays tribute to the legendary film producer Daggubati Ramanaidu who breathed his last on February 18.

February 11, 2015
Why AIB has a right to roast (and why Aamir Khan is not right at all)
'For Aamir Khan, the producer of Delhi Belly, to shame these boys -- and the celebrities involved -- for swearwords and insults, is the most hypocritical thing in the world. Raja Sen calls out Aamir Khan on his criticism of the controversial AIB Roast.

February 03, 2015
All India Banality: The republic of taking offence
'A few people have begun to dictate what the country should wear, think, see, go about its lives. That is the real Indian bak****.'

The State has no right to give us lessons in Indian values
'The State has no right to come into our homes and teach us lessons in moral science and Indian values.'

January 30, 2015
When did Bollywood develop a sense of humour?
In this era of oversharing, retweeting and everything-instagramming, the star is not any kind of enigmatic figure of mystery; s/he is one of us, says Raja Sen.

January 20, 2015
Farah Khan on Bigg Boss 8: So far, so meh!
Sukanya Verma on why she is unimpressed with the Happy New Year director's hosting stint on Bigg Boss Halla Bol.

Has Rajinikanth lost his mojo?
In the wake of lukewarm response to his last two films Lingaa and Kochadaiyaan, T E Narasimhan and Urvi Malvania examine ways in which Rajinikanth can reclaim past glory.

January 16, 2015
Oscar nominees 2015: Everything isn't awesome (but that's okay)
Raja Sen takes stock of the Oscar 2015 nominations.

January 12, 2015
Something for everyone at the Golden Globes 2015
Raja Sen takes stock of the recently concluded Golden Globes.

Why every parent must watch <em>Boyhood</em>
'In Boyhood, I saw the father that I had been to my son: Not always perfect, but never giving up on the child I helped to bring to this world.'

January 06, 2015
Rs 400 crore riding on Bollywood's Generation Next this year
'While they are a long way off from the box office muscle that the Khans enjoy, a host of young stars are entering the Rs 100 crore club that was earlier the reserve of the seniors. This year will see a lot of young stars in action.'

January 05, 2015
The NEW Way to know Bollywood's stars up close, and personal!
Twitter broke down the barrier between movie stars and their fans, says Aseem Chhabra.

PK wouldn't have understood <em>PK</em>
'It is beyond him to understand how human beings can say the same thing to mean so many different things.'

December 24, 2014
'Indians need to grow up'
'67 years after India gained independence, its people still get offended by the slightest issues in films.'

December 18, 2014
Hackers and the rise of Digital Terrorism
'Today it is a studio being held to ransom, tomorrow it will be a government, an entire nation. I don't see anyone laughing when that happens,' says Suparn Verma.

December 01, 2014
'Medha Jalota was beautiful and very charming'
'Medha had been so alive, smiling in the pictures she posted on Facebook and the comments she left on my profile page. I did not think she would leave us so soon.'

November 26, 2014
Why you should head to Goa RIGHT NOW!
'One afternoon, I spotted Karan Johar and film critic Rajeev Masand having tea with Nina Gupta, the head of NFDC, and barged into their meeting.' Aseem Chhabra's IFFI diaries...

November 17, 2014
Why YOU must watch Garm Hava
There is so much goodness in Garm Hava, says Aseem Chhabra/ Rediff.com

November 13, 2014
Classic Revisited: Aamir Khan's coming-of-age in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar
Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar masterfully weaves a compelling human story, says Sukanya Verma.

November 11, 2014
EVERYTHING you should know about Garm Hava
Read this before you watch MS Sathyu's iconic film Garm Hava in theatres this Friday.

October 31, 2014
Want the perfect movie holiday? Click here!
The best of India and the Middle East, now at the Dharamsala Film Festival.

October 30, 2014
How to find your ghost (and keep it!)
Want to get your spook on this Halloween? Just follow these rules.

Bollywood for all its genius has only one Salman Khan
'His is a naive genius which eludes the sophisticated. He is natural, lazy, effortless. He is no match for other stars. His acting is poor, his dancing is worse. Yet Salman as Salman is miles ahead of them....'

October 28, 2014
Aishwarya can save the Mumbai Film Festival, BUT...
'Sonakshi Sinha, Imran Khan and other stars say MFF is their film festival. In reality, the festival belongs to Mumbaikars, who wait in long lines, rushing from theatre to theatre.'

<I>Happy New Year</I>: The Good, Bad and the Ugly
Happy New Year's moral compass has been twisted so bad that it looks more like a piece of Fusili, says Paloma Sharma.

October 22, 2014
MAMI Diaries: Welcome to movie heaven!
The 16th Mumbai Film Festival had a delicious spread of movies.

October 20, 2014
MAMI Diaries: Must Watch Cinema, now playing in Mumbai!
Brilliant cinema at the ongoing Mumbai Film Festival, raves Sukanya Verma.

October 15, 2014
Anurag Kashyap's favourite story of all time
Raja Sen brings us all the action from the first day of the 16th Mumbai Film Festival.

October 13, 2014
Shah Rukh: Life is not as easy and glamourous as it looks
Having captured media attention when Shah Rukh Khan displayed a six-pack for Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om, seven years later he was determined to better his feat in the soon-to-be-released Happy New Year, writes Malavika Sangghvi.

October 08, 2014
3 Ways To Be A Super Spy!
Bang Bang, at its core, is really an educational film, informs Paloma Sharma.

'A film one has to live through, not just watch'
'Vishal Bhardwaj, Haider will ensure you a permanent place in the galaxy of filmmakers like Guru Dutt and Satyajit Ray.'

September 26, 2014
Happy Birthday, Lataji. And thank you!
'Imagine Hindi cinema without Lata Mangeshkar? Actually, you can't. And thank heavens for that.' As Lata Mangeshkar turns 85, Raja Sen pays a rich tribute to doyenne of the film industry.

September 16, 2014
A sexy woman doesn't cease to be a human being
'When a woman uses stunning sexy photo shoots to make a splash and be noticed by the audiences and the industry, it doesn't mean she can be broken down to breasts, buttocks, legs, navel and oh... a pretty face,' says movie director Suparn Verma.

August 14, 2014
Saluting Robin Williams
Can a film and the voice of its actor really influence us, and change our lives? I like to believe so, says Aseem Chhabra.

August 12, 2014
Robin Williams is forever!
Sukanya Verma pays tribute to Robin Williams, who passed into the ages on August 11.

July 24, 2014
Why films give me hope in these times of war
The Other Son is a wonderful vision of Israel and Palestine. There is no positive future for the region and its people without this vision, feels Aseem Chhabra.

June 23, 2014
The World Before Us
The World Before Her is a remarkable film, if for no other reason than that it tells the story of India's women centred on them alone.

June 06, 2014
The World Before The Indian Woman
In the documentary The World Before Her, a young girl has to submit to the will of her father for a most gut-wrenching reason: 'He let me live... I am a girl... but he let me live.' Is that reason enough, asks Suparn Verma.

May 18, 2014
What they don't tell you in Hindi teen romances
Always thought their was something off about how our teen romance films represent youngsters but could never put a finger on what it was? Nineteen-year-old Paloma Sharma busts some big Bollywood myths.

May 01, 2014
Why you MUST watch 1999's Tarzan
Don't waste your money on the latest Tarzan. Watch the old film instead.

April 21, 2014
Modern or shockingly regressive? The <em>2 States</em> of mind
2 States, for all its modern touches, is a very regressive film, deeply rooted in old fashioned values that surely make no sense in the India of 2014.

The National Awards continue to confound
In a year where we can find positives in wins for the great Gulabi Gang documentary and ace cinematographer Rajeev Ravi, the silver lining doesn't seem as wide if our priorities remain as skewed.

April 07, 2014
Happy 75th birthday, Francis Ford Coppola
Raja Sen wishes Francis Ford Coppola, the legendary filmmaker who transformed The Godfather into an immortal screen classic, a happy 75th birthday.

April 01, 2014
Satyamev Jayate 2 finale: No closure at this closing ceremony
If only Aamir Khan had resisted spoon-feeding his audience...

March 28, 2014
God save the Queen
The fact that a woman-centric film can challenge those increasingly inane hero-vehicles is certainly cause for celebration, raves Raja Sen.

March 13, 2014
Gulaab Gang is a thought-provoking, masala movie
Hindi cinema seems readier than society to focus on women. It is not just rape one is talking about, though an act of rape and its consequent injustice unfolds most narratives. Suddenly women are central not just as problematic but as possibility, as agency, as alternative, feels Shiv Visvanathan.

March 10, 2014
Is Satyamev Jayate a right platform for police reforms appeal?
The second episode ably shed some light on the lesser known side of police apathy -- another topical issue that has evoked nationwide anger lately. But did the topic fit in the show's format, asks Nishi Tiwari.

February 24, 2014
Why you MUST watch Gulabi Gang
The writing is on the wall -- and it is written in the blood of the women who 'died', 'ran off' or 'committed suicide' under mysterious, carefully unexplained circumstances -- that the only life that matters is one that belongs to an upper class, upper caste, politically connected male.

February 05, 2014
Bollywood doesn't know what to do with a national treasure like Tabu!
'I miss Tabu's beauty, her graceful presence, her delicate smile and the texture of her voice, with which she can convey so many things -- the lonely mother, the lover, the seductress, the wronged woman, or a young woman charmed by an older man,' says Aseem Chhabra.

February 04, 2014
Philip Seymour Hoffman was a male Meryl Streep
'He was not a matinee idol. He was overweight and mostly seen in crumpled clothes. His scruffy, unshaven look had become his identifier and he did not seem to give a damn.'

February 03, 2014
Why Salman Khan's Muslim fans are angry
Salman Khan's latest, Jai Ho, didn't set the cash registers ringing, and one reason could be that his diehard Muslim fans were put off by his support for Narendra Modi, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.

January 21, 2014
'Suchitra Sen was the perfect Paro'
An icon of grace and beauty, the charismatic heroine of outstanding films, Suchitra Sen will forever remain the brightest star on the horizon.

January 17, 2014
Oscar nominations 2014: It's disappointing omissions galore this year
Oscar nominations 2014: According to Raja Sen, this year's chosen ones are (mostly) loud and showy examples of the best in the craft.

January 14, 2014
Why <em>Dedh Ishqiya</em> is an important film
'I salute Dixit and Qureshi for playing roles that are not in line with what mainstream Bollywood expects of its female stars,' says Aseem Chhabra, noting how Dedh Ishqiya makes important points in the most nuanced way.

Golden Globes 2014: Leave it to the Wolf
Raja Sen looks back at all the 'genuinely thrilling' films and artists that were honoured at the 71st Golden Globes.

January 02, 2014
'The scene in Bazaar is guaranteed to draw tears from stone'
'Suddenly, a deafening silence surrounds us. Broken occasionally by the sighs of those who admired this consummate actor, this splendid human being, and trying to grapple with the impermanence of mortal life.' Rinki Roy Bhattacharya, legendary filmmaker Bimal Roy's eldest daughter, celebrates Farouque Shaikh's life.

January 01, 2014
Why Wolf Of Wall Street is an irresponsible film
Martin Scorsese's The Wolf Of Wall Street could set a bad precedent, feels Aseem Chhabra.

December 31, 2013
'Look at me. This happens with me all the time'
Mahesh Nair, who directed Farooque Sheikh in his directorial debut Accident On Hill Road, reveals a lesser-known side of the late veteran -- of a passionate actor, who took failures in his stride with a rare dignity.

December 30, 2013
I have lost a part of my life with Farooque Sheikh's death
'He represented the warmth, gentleness and goodness that existed in Hindi cinema before Bollywood became a loud commodity.' Aseem Chhabra on the legendary actor he admired for over 40 years.

Farooque Sheikh: The actor who NEVER gave a bad performance
'The film industry could never exploit his versatile range as actively as it should have. To not have delivered a *single* bad performance in one's career is an exceptional feat.' Sukanya Verma retraces her steps to the time she became a dedicated fan of Farooque Sheikh's work for life.

December 16, 2013
Decoding the Golden Globes 2013 nominations
It is a spread so full, rich and varied it'd satisfy most cinematic gluttons.

No man on screen was ever quite as magnificent as Peter O'Toole
'He was the manliest of them all, a true man's man. Warrior, King, Pioneer, Thespian, Womaniser, Drunkard, Scoundrel -- he made it all look grander than ever, and he did so with fluent effortlessness.' Raja Sen salutes the great actor who passed into the ages on Sunday.

November 27, 2013
Goa IFFI: Bureaucracy on the Beach
Aseem Chhabra encounters an Indian dinosaur at the Goa film festival.

November 04, 2013
Why Is A Nation of Brown People Obsessed With White Actresses?
It would be wrong to blame only Bollywood or the fairness cream industry, or the masses that cater to both, because clearly, all of us encourage this lust for whiteness that films and companies only cash in on.

October 28, 2013
That Lou: A tribute to rock legend Lou Reed
Paragraphs of prose just didn't feel right, so here is Raja Sen's tribute to rock legend Lou Reed, who passed away on October 27.

October 11, 2013
Kumar Pallana, we will miss you!
Actor Kumar Pallana, 94, who passed away on October 10, has acted in films like in Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Darjeeling Limited. Aseem Chhabra pays tribute.

October 07, 2013
Dear Woody Allen, thank you for standing up for SMOKING
Woody Allen, I salute you for taking a position against the anti-smoking messages in theatres, writes Aseem Chhabra.

September 23, 2013
View: How India may have blown its best Oscar chance
Aseem Chhabra is heartbroken that India overlooked the acclaimed film, The Lunchbox, as its Oscar nominee.

September 11, 2013
Young love beats anew with Shuddh Desi Romance
Raja Sen isn't reviewing Shuddh Desi Romance or telling you its story because he thinks you should have seen it already. Here's why he thinks this film is one of the year's most important releases.

September 03, 2013
Indian Lunchbox wows west, and other gems from Telluride
India scored at the recently-concluded Telluride Film Festival, reports Aseem Chhabra.

August 30, 2013
Raja Sen: Why Ben Affleck will make a GOOD Batman
The SuperBat movie could be a massive letdown, but it won't be because of Ben Affleck, believes Raja Sen.

August 28, 2013
Telluride Film Festival: The Mecca for lovers of cinema
Aseem Chhabra celebrates 40 years of the prestigious Telluride Film Festival.

August 27, 2013
Cleavage, stalkers, item gals: Has Bollywood got it WRONG?
They say that cinema is a reflection of society. If that is true, what kind of society are we living in, asks Paloma Sharma.

August 10, 2013
Why <I>Love In Bombay</I> should NOT have released
Love In Bombay is a piece of history, a fragment of a time that was. Letting us gaze at it is a great idea. Expecting it to compete with films shot six months ago, on the other hand, is dead wrong, writes Raja Sen.

August 09, 2013
Bollywood's Stereotype Saga
For a long time now, countless films in Bollywood have tried to stereotype certain traditions and customs of Indian people.

July 28, 2013
Chasing Shah Rukh Khan
Aseem Chhabra has been trying to get an interview with the superstar since 2005, and has been lucky only once.

July 22, 2013
Remembering Vaali
People from all walks of life and political inclinations, budding and aspiring poets and lyricists, looked at Vaali for inspiration, writes N Sathiya Moorthy.

July 16, 2013
The Brilliance of Pran
Millions of kids and young adults were terrified of Pran and believed him to be a villain in real life, writes Arthur J Pais, in his tribute to the legendary actor who passed away on July 12.

July 15, 2013
Pran was the KING of villains
Pran lived a full life, entertaining and scaring the hell out of many people, writes Aseem Chhabra, in his tribute to the legendary actor who passed away on July 12.

July 07, 2013
The Curious Case of The Nefarious K
There's always the option of changing the channel, but change to what? Maybe a nine o'clock news anchor screaming his lungs out at all those who dare contradict him would act as an appropriate substitute to the drama of the K-serials.

June 17, 2013
Why I am so excited about Pedro
Here was this filmmaker, who has won so many awards, including a couple of Oscars, and there was not an ounce of arrogance in him, says Aseem Chhabra.

May 30, 2013
Rituparno, tender as night: Raja Sen salutes the talent
In a career spanning two decades, Begali filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh directed movies that spoke volumes of his deep understanding of human emotions and relationships. Hailed as one of the most important Indian directors of his time, Ghosh's journey to cinematic greatness was abruptly cut short when he passed away in his sleep early Thursday morning. Raja Sen remembers the late maverick.

'Rituparno Ghosh was extremely lonely'
Former journalist and event manager Yajnaseni Chakraborty pays a tribute to late Bengali filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh.

May 12, 2013
Hindi cinema FINALLY plays its age!
It is enormously heartening to see young people play young people in the movies.

May 09, 2013
Why Go Goa Gone could be Saif's Tropic Thunder
Rediff.com's film critic Raja Sen, who has written the dialogues for the zombie-comedy Go Goa Gone, tell us why Saif Ali Khan's character is such a gamechanger.

May 05, 2013
Gippi and the Age of Change
The cheerful arrival of Gippi is an indicator of healthy trend that Bollywood has given up with the formula films.

April 05, 2013
Thank you, Mr Ebert, for taking us on this journey
Roger Ebert was a prolific movie critic, author of half a dozen influential books on cinema and a brave fighter against cancer, which had robbed him of his voice and finally, his life, on April 4.

March 28, 2013
50 pieces of silver: The Gospel according to Quentin Tarantino
As Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino turns 50, Raja Sen comes up with a light-hearted write-up on what would happen if the director decided to make the Bible no less.

March 21, 2013
Just why are we OBSESSED with Bollywood?
The national media gave the impression that Hindi films swept the National awards which is far from the truth.

March 11, 2013
Will the real RGV please stand up?
From the sublime to the ridiculous, Ram Gopal Varma's films have been at the extreme ends of the Bollywood spectrum. Ranjeeta Ganesan decodes the original poster boy of "new wave" cinema

February 27, 2013
Showbiz and artistry: Can the two co-exist?
The dynamic between showbiz and creativity may well be one domain where the relationship between market forces and society is at its most delicate, says Rajni Bakshi

February 24, 2013
Argo or Lincoln : Who will take home the big prize?
The final battle will be between Argo and Lincoln at the Oscars, and Argo will win with flying colours.

February 23, 2013
Why I don't like Argo
Aseem Chhabra is sure that Argo will win the Best Picture at Oscars but he still doesn't like the film. Here's why.

January 26, 2013
Watching The Clock at MoMa
New York City's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) showcased The Clock, a meticulous effort showing clocks and watches from thousands of films from the last 100 years of cinema.

January 14, 2013
Golden Globes get it mostly right!
Raja Sen raves about the big wins at the 70th Golden Globe awards.

January 11, 2013
Oscar 2013: Royal snubs for Tarantino, Bigelow
Directors of Best Film nominees like Zero Dark Thirty, Django Unchained and Argo miss out on Best Director nominations.

Oscars 2013 Nominess: Decoding Hits And Misses
Raja Sen makes note of hits and misses this year.

November 15, 2012
Diwali: Bollywood's favourite festival?
Three very different kinds of Diwali songs from Bollywood films

November 10, 2012
Yash Chopra's perfect plan
For Aseem Chhabra Yash Chopra's last film, Jab Tak Hai Jaan, signals the end of an era in Bollywood.

October 28, 2012
Yash Chopra's cinema was grand, indulgent, beautiful
Hundreds of lovely adjectives can describe Yash Chopra's films. Bollywood specialist Beth Watkins attempts a few.

October 25, 2012
Jaspal Bhatti was too good for Indian television
Raja Sen salutes Jaspal Bhatti.

October 23, 2012
Yash Chopra definitely knew how to entertain
Aseem Chhabra salutes legendary filmmaker Yash Chopra.

October 11, 2012
Raja Sen salutes Amitabh Bachchan
Here's thanking you for being you, writes Raja Sen.

September 24, 2012
Barfi! just CANNOT decide what it wants to be
Ranbir Kapoor is like a livewire rolled up with a breath of fresh air: Barfi's face, his antics, his winsomeness light up every frame he's in. So much so that in the few scenes where he's baffled and hurt, Kapoor makes you feel that hurt viscerally, almost more than he makes you feel Barfi's sunny side...

August 24, 2012
Tony Scott, who taught us how thrills work
Raja Sen pays tribute to the great director Tony Scott.

July 20, 2012
Rajesh Khanna was the Shah Rukh, Tom Cruise and Cary Grant of my generation
The man lived a life so grand, touched and entertained millions. He defined my early teenage years and in some ways who I am today. For that I will always be grateful to him, says Aseem Chhabra.

July 19, 2012
Celebrating Rajesh Khanna on All India Radio
When it mattered most, when it concerned the beloved Superstar of my childhood, it was Vividh Bharathi that did not let me down where all the rest failed.

Yeh kya hua, kaise hua, kyun hua...
To understand Khanna's maniacal craze, one needed to be have been born in the 1960s. What you see today in television re-runs is a mere rewind into shredded fading memories. It was sheer madness, says Sanjay Jha.

Rajesh Khanna: The Death of Romance
Rajesh Khanna's demise marks the passing a gentler, more romantic era. For today's generation, bred on cinematic blood, gore and violence, it sounds a warning bell, says Sheela Bhatt.

July 18, 2012
Watching Rajesh Khanna reach his height of success
A Ganesh Nadar recalls what it was like to watch an RK movie in the theatre in the 1970s.

July 17, 2012
Give the Bollywood woman some respect!
Rinki Roy, daughter of noted director Bimal Roy, pens her thoughts on how women have been portrayed in Hindi cinema through the years, and why the stereotyping should STOP!

July 16, 2012
Raja Sen's Amazed, Spoiler-Filled Take On Spidey
Some words on The Amazing Spider-Man ONLY for those who have already watched it. After writing a completely spoiler-free review, lifelong fan Raja Sen finally explains why the reboot matters.

July 09, 2012
Raja Sen: Why we must root against Bol Bachchan
Raja Sen lists his reasons for not wanting to watch Rohit Shetty's latest comedy Bol Bachchan.

May 21, 2012
Sorry Aamir Khan, kal baat nahin bani
We should have seen the depths of horror that the greed for dowry can plumb to. What we saw, and heard, should have been seared in our eyes, and hearts, never to be forgotten. That didn't happen, says Savera Someshwar.

May 18, 2012
Why we love to HATE Shah Rukh Khan
Let's kick the superstar when he is down, for God knows he makes good copy and helps us grab eyeballs , says Sanchari Bhattacharya.

May 08, 2012
Aamir Khan's Satyameva Jayate played it safe
Fine packaging is not desirable when the stuff inside is about the real India, says Sheela Bhatt of Aamir Khan's television debut.

May 07, 2012
Aamir Khan's concern should be ours too
The women who unburdened themselves of their anguish on television won't win a gift hamper sponsored by a corporate; but if it could make us pause and think, Aamir Khan's effort will not have been wasted, says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.

January 26, 2012
This is not an Agneepath review
Suparn Verma salutes the memory of Mukul Anand, who first made Agneepath

January 25, 2012
'The new Agneepath will be a fun ride'
Suparn Verma feels that the Agneepath remake has got everything going for it.

January 12, 2012
Sherlock Holmes and the tragedy of Feluda
The contrast in the fates of Arthur Conan Doyle's and Satyajit Ray's super sleuths is a study in despair, says Sumit Bhattacharya.

December 13, 2011
'One never associated Dev Anand with death, only life'
From their first meeting to the last, Dev Anand etched himself on Dinesh Raheja's heart and mind.

December 12, 2011
My first love, Dev Anand
'Standing there, I was smitten by his charm all over again. I actually ran my fingers through his hair and since he wore a wig, he didn't know it. Twice, I laid my hand on his head and in the crowd, he didn't notice. But I had my fill. I had got to touch the man I loved the most and I was on cloud nine.'

December 09, 2011
Watching first day, first shows of Dev Anand movies
Dev Anand's films offered, for most part, unalloyed entertainment and had little melodrama and silly fight scenes like most other films. And that was the prime reason to see them, hoping that they would help me prepare better for the exams, remembers Arthur J Pais.

December 06, 2011
Dev Anand taught me what it meant to be hip, cool and Indian
'Dev Anand was the king of my generation -- Western in his sensibilities and very carefree. I was in love with those movies and the promise of the exciting world that they presented,' recalls Aseem Chhabra.

December 05, 2011
What made Dev Anand different from Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar?
Sudarshana Dwivedi looks back at her encounter with the legendary Dev Anand.

October 21, 2011
Shah Rukh Khan: The Lover Or The Superhero?
Aseem Chhabra wonders if Shah Rukh Khan's G.One will match up to his Rahul charm.

July 15, 2011
Deathly Hallows-2 ends Harry Potter in style
Director David Yates set up the finale perfectly in the first part.

July 06, 2011
The Magic of Mani Kaul
Here's paying a tribute to the legendary filmmaker who passed away into the ages today.

May 03, 2011
Film criticism is a double-edged sword
In a world of high stakes where one film can make or break careers, the critic lays himself on the line when giving his opinion, says Suparn Verma.

March 29, 2011
How can your life be censored?
'They banned the word sexy from the song Sexy Mujhe Log Bole , which starred Karisma Kapoor in an Anu Malik number. Yet, the same Censor Board allows the word to be used years later when Amitabh Bachchan lovingly calls the cancer-ridden kid Sexy in Cheeni Kum !... They will allow Vishal Bhardwaj to use cuss words in Omkara , but not in Kaminey !'

March 01, 2011
How the Oscars bamboozled us
Raja Sen feels severely let down by this year's Academy Awards.

January 28, 2011
Where Biutiful meets Elektra
Rajeev Srinivasan on one of the best film festivals in India.

January 25, 2011
A taste of Cannes in India
Rajeev Srinivasan on one of the best film festivals in India.

January 18, 2011
Snark saves the silly, safe Golden Globes
The Brit host was one of the few, who made the pretty meaningless award show, watchable.

November 04, 2010
Would you watch Shyamalan's Devil ?
If Shyamalan can even churn out a solid, riveting B-movie, it would be a step in the right direction.

September 08, 2010
Mourning the loss of a mild-mannered hero
Pavithra Srinivasan remembers the Tamil actor who passed away at a young age of 46.

July 15, 2010
He loved irony, but how I wish it loved him less
'And then came a mail from Sourabh, talking about how I'd forgotten his birthday but also --in that offhand way -- mentioning how he'd been diagnosed with cancer.'

July 06, 2010
RIP, Sourabh
Director Suparn Verma bids adieu to his friend and colleague Sourabh Usha Narang.

June 25, 2010
Worshipping the King of Pop
Rediff staffer Anisha Ralhan pens this heartfelt tribute to the man who takes the numero uno spot in her life.

June 10, 2010
The Magic of Bollywood
'Our films are part of India's soft power in the world, and today they are reaching ever-wider international audiences: During the last year three of them, including Kites last week, opened in the US amongst the top ten grossing films of the week. Indeed, it's Bollywood that has helped India demonstrate that is a player in globalisation, not merely a subject of it.'

June 03, 2010
Remembering Indian cinema's greatest showman
Today, twenty-two years have passed since Raj Kapoor's passing. And in those twenty-two years, not even our best film directors, including Govind Nilhani and Shyam Benegal, have been able to take his place.

May 19, 2010
The death of Sambha
Macmohan acted in 190 films. But he is most famous for three words.

April 08, 2010
Was Love Sex Aur Dhokha real after all?
In a medium like cinema, the very idea of realism can be highly misunderstood or simplified.

April 05, 2010
Why the White House is not enough for this actor
Kal Penn is moving to a more financially viable career, albeit only nine months after he took up a public office in President Barack Obama's White House.

March 09, 2010
Why the Oscars weren't worth waking up for
The 82nd Annual Academy Awards were, without question, the most badly written and weakly produced show in the last two decades, and quite likely one of the most drab shows of all time.

February 03, 2010
The war for the Best Director award
Raja Sen's shares his thoughts.

January 15, 2010
The name's Man, Spider Man
Here's why Sony and Marvel should pitch Spider-Man as a prestige franchise like James Bond.

December 16, 2009
The Senterfold take on the Golden Globes: Yawn
Raja Sen smells unashamed crowdpleasing in the list which reads like the top ten most popular films on a bittorrent site.

December 09, 2009
Auro's Aura
Amitabh Bachchan has made Paa a must watch film.

December 03, 2009
Show me the muscle!
Actors these days are depending more on their muscles than on their talent.

December 01, 2009
Genre bhi do yaaron
Many have tried unsuccessfully to recreate the magic of the classic film Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron.

November 18, 2009
2009: Bollywood's year of blahs
The year has been an exceptionally unremarkable year for Hindi film buffs.

August 19, 2009
Love, sex and adultery
Vikram Bhatt pens his views on adultery, the subject of his latest film, Three -- Love Lies Betrayal.

August 10, 2009
Why everyone should watch The Breakfast Club
Remembering John Hughes, the wonderful filmmaker with the ability to tap into all our childhoods.

July 02, 2009
To Michael, with love
Michael Jackson appealed to people of all ages. One of his dear fans, Kshamaya Daniel, 9, pays a tribute.

June 30, 2009
Remembering Lohitadas
Shobha Warrier gives us a rare glimpse of the Malayalam filmaker.

June 26, 2009
Gone too soon -- RIP, Michael
A surreal life and a tragic death -- here's to the late Michael Jackson, King of Pop.

June 11, 2009
How Indian television's stretching the point
The major reason Indian television winds on forever is that shows are built around a set-up instead of an actual plot.

May 29, 2009
Why Archie should marry Veronica
For once, Archie has gotten it absolutely right. He's gone with the girl he wants, not the one everyone thinks he should end up with.

May 13, 2009
99 not out, and nervous as hell
Raja Sen tells us why we should watch 99, a film starring Kunal Khemu, Boman Irani, Cyrus Broacha, Amit Mistry, Soha Ali Khan, Mahesh Manjrekar and Vinod Khann, which he has written the dialogues for.

April 30, 2009
How Bollywood could react to IPL 2
Raise a toast and check out what Raja Sen thinks could be the filmi fallout of IPL 2009.

April 29, 2009
'Feroz Khan lived a public life'
Suparn Verma pays a tribute to his mentor, father figure and friend, Feroz Khan.

April 10, 2009
Senterfold: Oh shut up, Warner Brothers
Dear WB, put a sock in it, willya? The megalithic movie studio has now suddenly issued Indian producers a notice saying they have no right to remake one of their movies. Stern action, they promise, will be taken.

March 18, 2009
Senterfold: The Reader Review Champions
Raja Sen reveals the winning ones.

February 23, 2009
Just why am I a champion of Slumdog?
India is too great a country to have its reputation made or broken by a single movie.

India conquers the Oscars
Indian cinema has gone from winning two Oscars in all its lifetime -- a lifetime achievement Honorary Oscar for Satyajit Ray, one for Bhanu Hathaiya for Costume Design in Gandhi -- to adding three more in the same day. Wow.

February 20, 2009
An India where anything is possible
Slumdog is a hopeful look at today's India. It is a powerful reflection of a country that was tied up in shackles with flawed socialist visions. Everybody -- from the slum dwellers to the middle class young adults who work in call centers to the rich elite and even the gangsters -- wants a piece of the booming India, And nothing seems to be able to stop them.

February 16, 2009
Slumdog : 'Poverty porn at its worst'
It was not necessary to rake up the dirt to create a film to bring Oscars to India.

January 29, 2009
Is Slumdog Millionaire worth the praise?
Slumdog Millionaire is contrived, pretentious, absurd, hollow, inauthentic, a pseudo-statement about social justice. And yet today the film stands on the precipice of Hollywood's highest honour, the Academy Award for Best Picture.

January 21, 2009
Slum Dil De Chuke Sanam
My current obsession just happens to be the world's pin-up girl, but even if they weren't slathering over Slumdog Millionaire, I would have been.

January 20, 2009
Why you just can't keep Akshay Kumar down
Even as the criticism against Chandni Chowk To China gathers momentum, our columnist, on the other hand has some very nice things to say about the film and it's protagonist.

Why you just can't keep Akshay Kumar down
Even as the criticism against Chandni Chowk To China gathers momentum, our columnist, on the other hand has some very nice things to say about the film and it's protagonist.

January 13, 2009
India shines when Rahman leads
The composer becomes the first Indian to win a Golden Globe award.

December 22, 2008
Forget everything... even the 'inspired' tag
Aamir Khan's upcoming Ghajini is masala so hardcore it makes SRK seem subtle.

December 18, 2008
The Ghajini craze
Ever twiddled your fingers in anticipation of Friday? Love the sound of 'First day first show'? Will defend your beloved movie even if it means challenging your boss? Judge people by their favourite film? Consider samosa, popcorn, coke as cinema cuisine? Congratulations, you're a certified-to-the-point-of-no-return film buff!

December 16, 2008
The mad joys of listmaking
When you're a features writer, you end up having to make up lists. Of greatest this and worst that. Of gangster movies. Of soundtracks.

December 11, 2008
Shah Rukh Can?
Raja Sen's column on whether Rab Di Bana Di Jodi will click at box office or not.

December 09, 2008
Go watch 2008's finest and unluckiest film
Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye is a movie to love. And one that makes the audience feel just like the hero: really, really lucky.

November 25, 2008
The Reader Review Challenge
Pick a movie you absolutely loathe and then spend 100 words telling our columnist Raja Sen just what makes that particular movie truly godawful.

November 19, 2008
Riffing With The Readers, Vol 2
Raja Sen answers some of your most burning questions.

November 14, 2008
An Open Letter to Sir Salman Rushdie
A fan's plea to let Midnight's Children be.

October 23, 2008
Who's who in India's Fab Four
What if the Beatles were aces in sports? Can we compare Sachin to Paul, Saurabh to John, Laxman to George and Dravid to Ringo?

October 16, 2008
The father of all DVDs
The Godfather, its fantastic sequel and that misunderstood third film have been spiffied up digitally and restored to super quality -- complete with remastered sound -- in a lovely box-set called The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration, and for all of us fans, it's a DVD-set we can't refuse.

October 13, 2008
When being mean is in
It's, in fact, rapidly turning into an evil medium that openly thrives on bitching, provocation and unkindness. The idea is to grab attention of the remote control-bearing viewers at any cost. And with so many channels on the fray, the scenario keeps getting dirtier by the day.

October 03, 2008
Remembering Rahim Murga
Directors Rajat Nagpal and Devashish Makhija present Rahim Murge Pe Mat Ro. This spirited one-minute film has caught the attention of writers, film critics early into the festival. The film delivers a first person account of Rahim le Cock, a poultry cock in the final minute of his life just before he is 'halaal'-ed for a customer.

October 01, 2008
The man who kept Rafi on his toes
Elitist critics dismissed him as a workhorse compared to singing thoroughbred Mohammed Rafi. For all that, Mahendra Kapoor -- who passed away on September 27 -- stayed the course, with a hoi-polloi following of his own, through 50 years. As a playback artiste of rare mental discipline, Kapoor never really went away.

September 24, 2008
Performances that made our jaws drop
At a time when computer-generated graphics can impart heartrending emotions on the face of robots and pandas and superstar is an easy tag to earn, acting in its visceral, creative-most form is a real treat. Hopefully, with a burst of novel themes and interesting ideas on the scene, India's answer to Marion Cotillard may just be around the corner.

September 23, 2008
Bollywood's most interesting bloggers
There indeed exists a tribe of filmi bloggers from our very nation who use the medium wonderfully well, provide insight and perspective and humour, and deserve to be celebrated. These are the folks making sure the sky isn't falling on our heads just yet.

September 17, 2008
Is Abhishek Bachchan trying too hard?
Abhishek Bachchan is playing some sort of mythic superhero and -- while there could definitely be something interesting bubbling under the bright-gold surface -- the actor seems decidedly miscast in the role. Again, we are judging based on pre-release imagery, but even if the role is a great one, I daresay most of us would be surprised. There's just something about Abhishek that doesn't quite lend itself to a simplistic superhero movie.

September 09, 2008
The children's cinema stalemate
If our kids want Mallika more than Malgudi, there's clearly something very, very wrong.

September 04, 2008
Getting nostalgic about Farooq Sheikh
Some live life like a short story, in the fast lane. Others plan a grand novel, almost akin to an investment. Still others dwell from moment to moment.

September 02, 2008
An appreciation of Pixar's Wall-E
On the whole, Wall-E works in the same way that Charlie Chaplin does: an unlikely trampy hero embarks on a silent-movie romance with an elegant, far more attractive female. The odds are stacked against them, the protagonist is klutzy beyond repair, and the poetry found in their impossible dalliance is banal, slapstick -- and, quite simply, timeless.

August 26, 2008
The funniest show you've never seen
Or if you actually have seen HBO's sensational comedy show Flight Of The Conchords, then more power to you, mate. I just had to spread the word.

August 21, 2008
Rendezvous with Chiranjeevi
Radhika Rajamani talks about meeting the Telugu megastar and how she was bowled over by his simplicity and humility.

August 18, 2008
Get over the Knight
But now, the hype now isn't just deafening, it's claustrophobic.

August 06, 2008
They can't Come Soon enough
One of the reasons movies disappoint audiences often is because of how good the trailers are. It is, admittedly, easier to cut 90-150 seconds of the finest, most tantalising footage from over a 100 minutes of film and look way cooler than the film itself, but the best trailers increase anticipation to almost unreal levels --- and the ensuing films seldom live up to that kind of hype.

August 04, 2008
Kuselan disappoints
The movie was good in parts. The best part was the climax. The movie is carried forward by three characters, all yuck!

Rajni lost and found
He is not your run of the mill superstar. In fact he is not like your other superstars, and I am not talking only of him outstripping the others in the number of crores earned per film.

July 24, 2008
Too many stars spoil even the idiot box
Shah Rukh and Akshay might be the most overexposed stars in the country today, and Salman's close enough. And they're still trying to show us more, nudge us into laughing, get us glued to the screen.

July 22, 2008
Reflections on a comedy gig
Ranjit Souri on the place of traditional values in unconventional careers.

July 16, 2008
What if Heath Ledger messes up?
We stand poised on the brink of certain history. I will take wagers -- at whatever odds you offer -- that despite The Dark Knight coming to theatres only on Friday, there is already more than enough guaranteed buzz about its central performance to nab it a posthumous Best Actor Oscar nomination.

July 09, 2008
The book-to-film debate, round one
I open up this space to you now, dear readers. Write in to me with examples, good and bad, of books being adapted to film, and your thoughts on the questions I'm currently thinking about. There is much I still want to discuss, and over the coming weeks this column will, from time to time, keep revisiting the subject at length.

July 08, 2008
Decline of the small music stores
To music fans like me across the world, music stores like Mumbai's Rhythm House are exactly what book stores are to bookworms or what malls are to shopaholics -- wonderful refuges from the big bad world.

July 01, 2008
Review: Best Batman Ever
Now, days before the undeniably, lipsmackingly promising The Dark Knight hits the screens, we have Batman: Gotham Knight, the single greatest screen version of any Batman ever, and it's simply marvellous.

Why Aamir left me disturbed
Saisuresh Sivaswamy tells us that it is the the passive connivance we see in the film that enables its grim denouement.

June 26, 2008
Wishing for the Yash Raj theme park
Yash Raj Films have pioneeringly signed on to create a Bollywood-themed park in Dubai. Built in association with Dubai Infinity Holdings, the glitzy Yash Raj Films Entertainment District is set to open in 2012.

June 20, 2008
What we need to learn from The Love Guru
Vineet Chander shares five poignant lessons that he learned from watching The Love Guru.

June 19, 2008
The art of inflation control
An independent central bank, free from political interference, is in the best position to ensure low and stable inflation over time.

June 17, 2008
Fathers, films and freakin' awesomeness
Father's Day is really a bit of a stretch in terms of a day of celebration, but, especially in our mother-worshipping motherland, dads take what they can get. So I decided this week's column ought be a look at how our cinema usually says papa.

June 16, 2008
Kamal Haasan disappoints
The biggest failure of Dasavathaaram is the lack of a proper story, a tight screenplay and well connected characters. One gets the feeling that because Kamal Haasan wanted to make history by portraying ten different characters, he created them. Otherwise, one cannot think of any justification in him appearing all sorts of get-ups.

June 10, 2008
If Aishwarya Rai was a man
Why is it that directors think their interviews aren't relevant enough to last beyond the week of pre-release hype? It's insane. They say anything they want to promote their film, but what is the need for absolute falsehood? Public memory might be short, but newsprint -- and weblinks, today -- live on, yet our directors continue to say things for the heck of it.

June 04, 2008
A little Sex didn't hurt anybody
In tough times such as the present, what is wrong if Sex and the City lets women dream a little, imagine a world with earthly pleasures of shoes and expensive designer name dresses? Nobody questions Steven Spielberg when he sends Indiana Jones on a long, ridiculous journey looking for a crystal skull. So why cannot women aspire to buy a pair of Manolo Blahnik, even at a price tag of $525?

Riffing with the readers, Vol 1
Our guest columnist, Raja Sen answers five of the most frequently asked questions posed by our readers.

May 27, 2008
Naach Basanti Naach
The other day I was re-arranging some old stuff in my drawer when I discovered an old stack of dusty comic books. One of them happened to be good ol' Tinkle --mother to beloved desi toons like Kaalia-The Crow and Shikari Shambu.

May 26, 2008
Why angry old men shouldn't blog
Raja Sen on Amitabh Bachchan's blog, and why the superstar needs a crash course on celebrity blogs.

May 23, 2008
Subjecting cinema to the world
Sumann Gon focuses on films which are innovative in their use of the formal elements of cinema in the service of a higher aesthetic purpose and sometime define and inspire a particular genre.

May 19, 2008
Movies we don't admit we love
was quite horribly ill the day Iron Man released, which is why, despite being a hardcore Marvel Comics fanatic, I couldn't review the film -- or even see it till 5 days later, while friends raved breathlessly and cruelly dropped me spoiler bits. The film is a blast, of course.

May 12, 2008
Leave Amitabh Bachchan alone
Surfing for some decent entertainment on the idiot box can be quite a struggle. Like I keep discovering every time I have the remote control all to myself.

May 07, 2008
Where have all the stoner movies gone?
It's been a disastrous year for Hindi cinema, what with us in Month 5 and not one unanimously loved film among the lot. What we do have, however, are films of unparallelled idiocy, comedies each more harebrained than the other, thrillers that plumb the depths of low farce.

When I met Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro launched the Tribeca Film Festival as a measure to revive the lower Manhattan area devastated by the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Seven years later, the festival has become the largest film event in New York City. Manhattan is a perfect place for the festival -- combining the city's high film culture with its ability to party and celebrate.

April 23, 2008
Cow-spotting!
Cows holding up traffic are irresistible lens fodder for a director out to find the 'authentic' Indian experience.

We want cricket, not cellphone commercials
Raja Sen rants against the unending ads that spoil our cricket games.

April 22, 2008
The commercialisation of Darsheel Safary
If he's not walking the runway for a designer at some random fashion week, he is inaugurating a gaming arcade at a mall or launching comic books with other actors. Could the commercials be any far behind?

April 15, 2008
Written By... some guy sitting abroad
It really hurts that the very act of writing the Friday reviews has been reduced to a sort of pattern these days. We talk about the stars, the director, sum up the effort in a few brief lines, and then, almost inevitably, go on to discuss exactly which DVDs the spanking new film has been filched from. It's disgraceful, and, frankly, rather tiresome.

April 07, 2008
Goodbye, Mr Heston
On Saturday, April 5, Heston passed away. He was 84, and had publicly spoken about his having contracted Alzheimer's disease a few years ago.

April 01, 2008
All they say is Mahi Ve !
When it comes to Bollywood influences, Indians seem to have shed rigid regional biases and duly accepted the heavy doses of Punjabi that make their way into their living rooms with every hit film. Irrespective of regional origin, desis all over the place are claiming to know and learn Punjabi through their television screens.

The Age Of The Couch Potato
American television today, thanks to edgy networks like Showtime and HBO, is producing intelligent, mature, adult content that is far superior, especially in both character development and consistency, to most anything out there on the big screen. This week, then, we'll take a look at a few shows you should hunt out DVDs for, or use your broadband connections to acquire.

March 27, 2008
Why I gave away the Race ending
Ever since it was published on Friday, the 1.5-star review for Abbas-Mustan's Race has generated considerable curiousity in terms of my revealing the film's ending. The film's makers have been constantly hounding me since late Saturday night, demanding that I take off the spoiler, simply because they just don't see the point.

March 21, 2008
Goodbye, Shobhan Babu
Shobhan Babu was a different person who worked in the film industry on his terms, and to him discipline was the most important thing in life.

Farewell, Raghuvaran!
In a clichéd world filled with a thousand rules and explanations about what acting really is, Raghuvaran managed to set a trend all by himself, using words only as the last resort to convey his emotions.

February 26, 2008
No Country For Young Men
It's been the best Oscar year in ages, and here's why we should be toasting the golden boy.

February 07, 2008
Vanity Unfair: Applause to a great mag
In a show of solidarity with the striking writers, Vanity Fair has withdrawn its annual bash.

January 23, 2008
Heath Ledger: A Killing Joke
Heath Ledger died like his rock idols, but he was just getting started.

January 14, 2008
Did the Golden Globes really happen this year?
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has come up with a relatively cowardly list, a list that -- in a year brimming to the top with violent masterpieces -- is too scared to pick up the gun.

January 07, 2008
Khan: The magic Bollywood word
2007 was dominated by the three Khans -- Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir -- who delivered the biggest hits of the year.

December 27, 2007
Super Salman Mania
Reader Apurva Bose can't stop raving about Salman.

December 06, 2007
Critics, on critics, in their own words
What is the role of a film critic? How important are they? The critics respond.

November 21, 2007
Critical questions about film critics
What value do you place on film criticism? Do reviews help you decide which movies to watch, and which to avoid? Has a critic ever influenced you in favour of, or against, a film, and/or its maker? Has a critic ever enhanced your understanding/appreciation of a particular film?

November 15, 2007
Why Anurag Kashyap is like Bhansali
Experimental cinema lives and breathes in India, thanks to No Smoking and Saawariya.

November 12, 2007
OSO : Kitsch kitsch hota hai
Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om works well as a spoof, but can't smoothly transition from bling to bhoot.

November 07, 2007
Of Deepika, and her virginity
Why has Deepika Padukone forgotten that she has acted down South, even as she calls OSO her debut? Oh wait, it's Bollywood tradition.

November 05, 2007
Why I like Farah Khan
It took the director of Om Shanti Om a long time to reach where she is today. Her talent will continue to explode and surprise us.

November 01, 2007
Why 2007's been great for Bollywood
2007 marks the year indie cinema finally finds it's niche in Bollywood.

October 24, 2007
What's wrong with Bollywood this year?
While last year was a great year for the Hindi film industry, the year 2007 has barely seen any big hits.

October 17, 2007
The Mind of Karan Johar
Bolly Woods column captures the man behind the camera.

October 16, 2007
Aneek wins, Himesh loses
In the last few weeks of watching SaReGaMaPa, what Himesh Reshammiya did to pull Raja down shows his true traits: Insecurity, envy, greed.

October 08, 2007
Colour me impressed, Johnny
A glowing unofficial 'review' of Johhny Gaddaar from a fan.

October 03, 2007
Chased by the moral brigade
chosen for attack?

Are film critics 'retards'?
Bolly Woods does not think so.

September 26, 2007
The story of 'S'
Bolly Woods is here to to talk movies, and to hear you talk back: about the movies you watch, about what you like and don't, about your thoughts on movies in general.

September 10, 2007
Please retire, Mr Bachchan!
Should the Big B be or not be seen on the big screen? It's a tongue-twister, but also an increasingly relevant question. An open letter to Amitabh Bachchan, whose participation in the sullying of our Sholay memories was the final straw.

August 30, 2007
The truth about Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Your weekly dose of gossip.

August 23, 2007
Bollywood: Just like 2005
There's something very familiar about Bollywood these days, says our columnist.

August 16, 2007
Mein Hoon Rajni ka boss
BPI is back with more Bollywood gossip.

August 13, 2007
SRK and the M word
Much as the script overtly downplays any mention of Kabir Khan's faith, it is Khan's dilemma as a Muslim in today's India that courses through the narrative.

August 03, 2007
Shamita ki sexiness ka raaz
Get your weekly dose of Bollywood masala right here!

July 26, 2007
Chak De creates Bollywood record!
Launching a new Bollywood column.

June 21, 2007
Why we should pray for Himesh's Moviee
Jhoom Barabaar Jhoom flopping and Himesh's film succeeding would be the best thing to happen to Bollywood.

June 19, 2007
Chasing Angelina Jolie
A press reporter recounts being denied an interview of a lifetime with the actress of A Mighty Heart .

June 04, 2007
Does Bollywood no longer adore Amitabh?
The Hindi film industry's goodwill, alas, appears to be waning behind Mr Bachchan's back.

May 25, 2007
An ode to Bagha & Goopy
Looking back at Satyajit Ray's 1968 film, Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, the most original Indian film ever made.

May 24, 2007
Well done Jordin, but we're waiting for the Blake CD
Raja Sen's take on 2007's American Idol.

April 18, 2007
Dancing with Ash's security
Matthew Schneeberger gets his first dose of Bollywood stardom.

April 02, 2007
Gogol on my mind
Sandip Roy on how Indians in America often live out scenes from The Namesake.

March 29, 2007
Why we should support The Namesake
Aseem Chhabra feels every Indian-American should support The Namesake.

March 28, 2007
Karan Johar: Definitely not targeting non-Asian audience
Maria Giovanna examines attitudes of Hindi filmmakers and industry insiders toward non-Indian audiences in America.

February 27, 2007
Oscar's a Good Fella after all
Raja Sen's take on the 2007 Oscars.

January 29, 2007
Water down the drain
Suparn Verma travels back seven years and the controversy over the making of Water.

January 22, 2007
Beauty and the Brother
A British-Indian writes about Big Brother, and why Shilpa proves herself a great role model.

January 19, 2007
Why India shouldn't respond to the Shilpa Shetty incident
Arun Krishnan's take on the Shilpa Shetty incident.

January 17, 2007
A Queen sweep at the Golden Globes
The Golden Globes do well to keep out Clint Eastwood and those pesky penguins.

December 13, 2006
Remembering Smita Patil
On the 20th anniversary of her tragic death, the actress remains strikingly relevant.

November 22, 2006
Nalini By Day, Nancy By Night
Nalini By Day, Nancy By Night will be a trailblazer for a number of movies.

November 21, 2006
The most underrated James Bond ever
In defence of Timothy Dalton.

September 25, 2006
Dance was Padmini's passion, not films
A tribute to the legendary actress who passed away this morning

September 01, 2006
Madhuri makes a comeback again!
Our insider gives us all the movie news.

August 30, 2006
Art for heart's sake
Hrishikesh Mukherjee's films have transcended libraries and genre, to become a part of who we are.

August 02, 2006
Why Omkara blew my mind
Slow, hard to follow and depressing -- one of the finest Hindi films in recent times.

June 13, 2006
Superheroes, all over the place
We have the heroes, but not enough capes for them all.
March 31, 2006
How fair are reality shows?
Mahesh Peri analyses reality shows on television.
February 24, 2006
How you spell money for reality shows
If you vote/SMS for reality shows, please note that you are part of a business strategy.
February 06, 2006
Why award shows are a bit of a joke
'What happens when you have 100 prizes to offer, and just about 10 contenders?'
February 03, 2006
Column: Saluting Rang De Basanti
Sonia Chopra tells us why Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's film touched her deeply.
February 02, 2006
My heart goes out to Debojit
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa made me sit up. Crass commercialisation, ignorance, jingoism. You name it. It had it all.
January 20, 2006
Why I won't watch Zinda
'I applaud the strides you have taken in terms of slick production values and groundbreaking soundtracks, but the lack of originality in your films is tragic.'
December 09, 2005
IFFI: Bit of a damp squib
This was, eventually, a film festival where the films took second place.
November 09, 2005
Celina misses an Oscar nomination
All the latest Bollywood gossip.
October 13, 2005
Comedy scores over cleavage
A look at how funny films are taking over the box office.
September 27, 2005
Why Paheli's better than Black
A look at why Amol Palekar's Paheli is the perfect choice as India's Oscar ambassador.
June 02, 2005
The day art went up in smoke
'Movies today, books tomorrow, your life the day after, art yesterday.'
May 05, 2005
2005: Dull, boring so far
Five months have gone by. Five unexciting months, during which an odd mix of indescribably awful, genuinely awful, just-about-awful and not-so-awful movies made it to the celluloid screen.
April 27, 2005
Back when Bachchan was cool!
Ramesh Sippy's Shaan is a big entertainer, but feels too dated today.
December 20, 2004
Want to know how Kareena kisses?
Our columnist debates the issue of movie-star privacy.

December 09, 2004
Hot jodis that fizzle!
Sukanya Verma finds out why some of the hottest offscreen couples fail to make hit screen pairs.

December 02, 2004
What do Sridevi, Kajol and Preity have in common?
Sukanya Verma answers that for you!

November 18, 2004
Tall, dark & handsome - No way!
Bollywood actors who made it, no thanks to their looks

November 11, 2004
Sukanya's Corner
Idealism and filmi idols

October 25, 2004
Why do good films end tamely?
A film is paisa vasool only if it gives value for money till 'The End'.

July 30, 2004
Rafi, the unforgettable
Anil Dixit pays tribute to the evergreen singer on Rafi's 24th death anniversary.

July 27, 2004
The Casting Couch Syndrome
'There are enough ambitious women throwing themselves at industry men. Just as there are enough women who do not compromise on their principles.'

July 13, 2004
Like to see a sequel to Sholay?
Some screen characters are hard to let go, hence the need for an encore.

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