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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.'
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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.'
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| August 12, 2016 | | Why SRK?!!!!!
'And Shah Rukh Khan happens to be one of India's most well known citizens.'
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| 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.
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| 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?'
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| 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?'
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.'
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.'
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| 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.
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| 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.'
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| 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.
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| 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.'
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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".
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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
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| 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.
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| 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.'
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| 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.'
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| 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.
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| 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...
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.'
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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...
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.'
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| 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.
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| July 06, 2011 | | The Magic of Mani Kaul
Here's paying a tribute to the legendary filmmaker who passed away into the ages today.
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| 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.
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| 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 !'
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| July 06, 2010 | | RIP, Sourabh
Director Suparn Verma bids adieu to his friend and colleague Sourabh Usha Narang.
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| 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.
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| 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.'
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| 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.
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| May 19, 2010 | | The death of Sambha
Macmohan acted in 190 films. But he is most famous for three words.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| December 09, 2009 | | Auro's Aura
Amitabh Bachchan has made Paa a must watch film.
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| December 03, 2009 | | Show me the muscle!
Actors these days are depending more on their muscles than on their talent.
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| December 01, 2009 | | Genre bhi do yaaron
Many have tried unsuccessfully to recreate the magic of the classic film Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron.
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| August 19, 2009 | | Love, sex and adultery
Vikram Bhatt pens his views on adultery, the subject of his latest film, Three -- Love Lies Betrayal.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| December 11, 2008 | | Shah Rukh Can?
Raja Sen's column on whether Rab Di Bana Di Jodi will click at box office or not.
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| 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.
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| 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?
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| August 18, 2008 | | Get over the Knight
But now, the hype now isn't just deafening, it's claustrophobic.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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?
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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?
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| June 19, 2007 | | Chasing Angelina Jolie
A press reporter recounts being denied an interview of a lifetime with the actress of A Mighty Heart .
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| 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.
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| April 02, 2007 | | Gogol on my mind
Sandip Roy on how Indians in America often live out scenes from The Namesake.
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| January 29, 2007 | | Water down the drain
Suparn Verma travels back seven years and the controversy over the making of Water.
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| January 22, 2007 | | Beauty and the Brother
A British-Indian writes about Big Brother, and why Shilpa proves herself a great role model.
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| December 13, 2006 | | Remembering Smita Patil
On the 20th anniversary of her tragic death, the actress remains strikingly relevant.
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| 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.
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| August 02, 2006 | | Why Omkara blew my mind
Slow, hard to follow and depressing -- one of the finest Hindi films in recent times.
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| 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.
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| 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.'
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| 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.
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| December 09, 2004 | |
Hot jodis that fizzle!
Sukanya Verma finds out why some of the hottest offscreen couples fail to make hit screen pairs.
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| July 30, 2004 | |
Rafi, the unforgettable
Anil Dixit pays tribute to the evergreen singer on Rafi's 24th death anniversary.
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| 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.'
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