'It's such a mishmash of wonderful things, so many different cultures, subsections of society and weird histories.'
This is the full text of the address to the nation by President Droupadi Murmu on the eve of India's 78th Independence Day.
'She was lying there and I mustered up enough guts to lay next to her and hold her tight.' 'And she said, "Oh my, Girish, isn't he supposed to be nervous?"' 'Making light of the situation, Girish said, "No, he's been practicing with a pillow the whole day".'
Set to tune by celebrated music composer A R Rahman, Jai Ho received an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 81st Academy Awards in 2009, and also won in the category of 'Best Song Written for a Motion Picture' at the 52nd Grammy Awards in 2010.
Celebrating the maestro, who turned 52, January 6, and his music.
The actress promoted the Tamil film in Mumbai, and even gave everyone a live performance of her hugely popular song, Kaavaalaa.
'We used to give these boxers a hammering in the ring and now they are teaching youngsters how to defend. Come on man!' 'People like Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar were among the top boxers in the world, but instead of choosing them to train young boxers they are picking people who are yes men.'
Chandu Champion is Kartik Aaryan's most ambitious work so far and the actor's muscular gusto is undeniable. There's visible fire in the man's belly but not enough soul, observes Sukanya Verma.
'We can't sit back clutching our memories of the riots. The country, the future of our children are more important.' Jyoti Punwani reports on an unusual election meeting in Mumbai.
Under intense scrutiny, Iyer looked rusty at the start of the IPL and got out for a two-ball duck in their opener against SRH. He had some significant contributions later on but his efforts were all overshadowed by Narine and Salt's explosive batting.
'I received many threatening calls and letters.' 'A fatwa was issued against me.'
'I would also like to congratulate the team of The Elephant Whisperers on their win today bringing another Oscar to India.'
Mirabai Chanu fell on her back to injure herself while finishing fourth in the women's 49kg weightlifting event.
A beautiful documentary from Delhi. A shocking satire that spares no one. A thriller about a serial killer in Iran. A Pakistan film about family secrets... Aseem Chhabra lists the best films he saw in Cannes.
Like Slumdog Millionaire, RRR will remain a one-time phenomenon until another big, larger-than-life, Indian film connects with the critics in the West, predicts Aseem Chhabra.
Today, Anirudh Ravichander's name on a film's poster is enough to pull in audiences, notes Arjun Menon.
'You make a song, it gets rejected, you have to make 10 more.'
The Naxal movement has such a complex history that several books have been written to understand it. Bastar: The Naxal Story seeks to reduce it to bullet points and stereotypes, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Mukesh was most emotionally bonded to this tune, so all we will do is look at his songs engaging with this raag in films. In his fascinating book, Windows To The Soul: And Other Essays on Music, Manek Premchand reveals something we don't much know about the legendary singer, who was born 100 years ago on July 22.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country is proud and elated with "Naatu Naatu" winning an Oscar and hailed the song as one that will be remembered for years to come.
At this time, sixty years ago, Brigadier John Parshuram Dalvi and a majority of his men were captured as prisoners of war by the Chinese during the 1962 war. His son Michael Dalvi, 77, has preserved his father's memory and the story of the gallant men of the 7th Infantry Brigade with honour.
Tokyo -- the songs Japan, Love In Tokyo and Sayonara from the 1966 Hindi film automatically pop up in the mind -- is buzzing and crowded like any other metropolis, discovers Deepa Gahlot. The modern apartment blocks are built cheek by jowl, so close together that one can open the window and borrow sugar from the neighbour in the next building. One of the fears of the Indian traveller is the unavailability of vegetarian food. Every city and town in Japan has an array of Indian restaurants that serve every variety of cuisine, right from Gujarati to Punjabi to Andhra and Kerala meals.
'It is the first-time voters and the agnostics who are often influenced by political advertising.' 'These swing voters tend to make a huge difference in the outcome of any election.'
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday came down heavily on the Congress government in Karnataka for flaunting their 'rich fortunes and luxury lifestyles' following a viral video on social media showing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his cabinet colleague B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan in a private jet.
While the country is gripped by Ram Mandir frenzy, Danish Husain -- without shouting from the rooftops -- silently staged his opinion with this play on one of India's best-known poets, observes Neeta Kolhatkar.
Singer Nakash Aziz gets candid about his journey in Bollywood!
'Israelis have great love for India,' says Ashish Mehrotra looking back at his memorable visit to Israel a few years ago.
'I will always cherish the fact that I received the first big award of my life, actually two, in the company of legends for an incredible collaboration.'
'Every day, after 'pack-up', Khansaab and Deepika would come for dance practice and rehearse till around 1-1.30 am.' 'The weather was a challenge because while on screen, it looks warm and sunny, it was actually bitterly cold, with a sharp, stinging wind which had the actors and dancers shivering in their summer clothing.'
On the 25th anniversary of the battle that made his war cry 'Dil Maange More' part of national lore, we republish that feature to salute Captain Batra's ultimate sacrifice for the nation.
Asked how many seats INDIA bloc will get, Gandhi said, "Have you heard Sidhu Moose Wala's song '295'? So 295 (seats)."
'People had a perception that I may be angry as a person.' 'Or I'm older than I really am.' 'Or I can't speak in English because of the characters I've done at the beginning of my career.'
Sukanya Verma goes down memory lane to recap the desi sightings at the Oscars.
With 28 Grammy wins in total, Beyonce breaks the record set by veteran singer Alison Krauss.
'Since God was being shown in live action on such a large scale, Prasanth was initially sceptical about going with an animated character.'
RRR threw a lifeline, or so it seemed -- to a world that was down in the dumps. Keeravani and his Naatu Naatu just happened to be in the right place at the right time, notes Saibal Chatterjee.
Aseem Chhabra lists his favourite films, most of them shown at international film festivals held virtually (Berlinale and Rotterdam), hybrid (Toronto) or physical (Cannes and Venice).
'I can't help it if people don't love the minorities, the Dalits and Adivasis; they are as much of this country as any other Indian.' 'If I love them, it does not mean I do not love my country.' 'It is ironic and funny that they have laid such severe anti-national charges against me.'
'Sheikh Abdullah ruled the state with secular values. Post 1953, when he was sacked, corruption took over governance.'
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