Ashakal Aayiram can be celebrated for the return to form for Jayaram, who owns every scene he is in, but the film around him drags and drags, with no end in sight, notes Arjun Menon.
Vaa Vaathiyar ends up being a bland yet fascinating iteration of a masala film funnelled through the prism of a quirky humorist, notes Arjun Menon.
The cricketing fraternity on Monday paid glowing tributes to veteran actor Dharmendra, who passed away in Mumbai at the age of 89.
Dharmendra's oeuvre was so phenomenal that there was never a phase in his professional life when he was in danger of falling into a rut, in terms of either the kind of films he starred in or the sort of co-actors he worked with.
'I have always broken my image every time I went on screen. I don't know what it means to be a Greek God but people used to call me one.'
'I made a big fuss about playing Manoj Kumar's mother, but he had made up his mind. He said he would wait until I made up my mind. I was about 40 then. He was so large and I was so tiny!'
'The industry has lost a legend... and we've lost someone who shaped the very soul of our cinema.'
'What's amazing is that many of his fans are not Indians.' 'Even in countries where they don't speak or understand Hindi, Shah Rukh is hugely popular.'
A senior citizen in his 70s said he has never seen so many people getting killed in a stampede at a political party's event and blamed the youths for their anxiety to somehow take a look at the actor.
Seventy years after Pather Panchali released on August 26, 1955, we finally get it. Shuttling between the village of Boral and a studio in Calcutta, caught between worrying about the next purse of funds and wondering which item to mortgage next, Satyajit Ray was explaining Indians to themselves, discovers Sreehari Nair.
Guru Dutt took an overdose of pills twice, once even swallowing opium, calling out for Geeta Dutt even when he was not fully conscious. One suicide attempt, according to sister Lalita Lajmi, was definitely deliberate with Guru Dutt leaving a letter for brother Atma Ram asking him to take care of the production company, his wife and the kids. But she always wondered if the third attempt was actually suicide since there were no calls and no letters.
No author in the Malayalam literary canon has influenced and profoundly changed the way normal people interact with each other than the ever-relevant, eclectic yet elusive body of work left behind by MT Vasudevan Nair, notes Arjun Menon.
Kamal has a crisp pen when it comes to writing short and yet powerful film dialogues. But while speaking ex tempore -- and that has been his style -- he looks every bit a confused man, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Young Indians seem genuinely enthusiastic about craft brands that are hip, aspirational and have plenty of the novelty quotient, says Dhruv Munjal.
...the DMK chief minister's campaign -- which includes criticism of the BJP's 'pro-Hindutva, anti-Tamil, anti-federal' policies and building on his own government's social welfare programmes targeting especially women and youth -- appeals to Tamil Nadu's voters in next year's assembly election, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
Paresh C Palicha feels Malayalam film Matinee tackles a dark subject with much conviction.
Get your lowdown on what's happening in the Malayalam film industry.
'All through the making of Dil Daulat Aur Duniya, Rajesh Khanna never acknowledged me.' 'Dev Anand couldn't carry off a dhoti in Insaaniyat. He told me that he would never wear one again.' 'Shammi Kapoor and I began on an icy note during Raajkumar, but once the cold vibes thawed, we became the best of buddies.'
As Thalapathy Vijay embarks on a career in politics, Arjun Menon looks closer at his glorious filmography.
The film's focus lies in humanising a larger-than-life star and breaking down his celebrity, aimed at a simplistic takedown of the 'superstar' myth, observes Arjun Menon.
'Uttam Kumar transcended the conflict between being a star and an actor... he combined both and became a cultural and social icon for the Bengali race.'
The reasons are too private to be discussed at a round table, listed out during a seminar, or uncovered in an academic course. A proud but insomniac connoisseur murmuring in his sleep may do a better job of explaining the phenomenon than an expert on a podium. Sreehari Nair airs his thoughts.
At the Leo fete, Vijay had this also to tell his fans: 'I know you all are in my heart. But today, I also know that I am also in the hearts of all of you...' A typical politician's line, did you say, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
Dapper dads who look good at every age.
'How do you stay so energised? So young?' 'Dev Anand flashed that familiar crooked grin and told me, "The mind never grows old. It urges you to surge ahead".'
What is noticeable in both movies is the willingness with which both the ageing stars -- Kamal is 68 and Rajini, four years older at 72 with a kidney transplant that he has not shied away from acknowledging -- have learnt to respect their age and bodies, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'If it weren't for Om Puri, a whole range of our big city experiences wouldn't have found their honest representations on the screen.'
A statue of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MG Ramachandran was on Tuesday found damaged in Thanjavur, with the opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagam strongly condemning the incident and calling for action against the "anti-social elements" behind the vandalism.
Tamil Nadu's obsession for honorifics appears to be a never-ending story. The latest is the "Ezhuchi Nayagan" (rising leader) title for All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's new interim general secretary K Palaniswami, proposed by the party's presidium chairman Tamil Magan Hussain in Chennai on Monday.
Had he not taken his final curtain call on April 23, 1992, Satyajit Ray would still, undoubtedly, have been making movies.
'Then, one fine morning, I returned to my first love.' 'All the top directors of the time were waiting for me.' 'In one day, I signed 12 films.' 'Prosenjit Chatterjee was back!'
Their number is dwindling, but single-screens believe they have a place in the entertainment space
'I knew things were not going well, but there was always that hope.'
During rehearsals, when Dilip Kumar improvised, Gulshan Grover was quick to point out that he had got the lines wrong.
It is not unlikely that ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP government comes up with more imaginative schemes aimed at constituency-building. The party under Modi's leadership has a more modern thinking in such matters unlike its rivals, which are still steeped only in ideology, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Sukanya Verma reminds us why we love going to the movies.
'This novel, even after 1,000 years, is still relevant.' 'The politics and psychology is still relevant.' 'It is as contemporary as you can get.'
'What an incredible opportunity to bring back one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema on the big screen.'
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