As the year draws to a close, Rediff's Senior Contributor Roshmila Bhattacharya takes a look at the hits and misses, the highs and lows, the newsmakers and the dealbreakers in alphabetical order.
'They are as layered and complicated as life itself.' 'There is love, but there is also pain and fire.'
'It was Kishoreda who suggested to Sulakshanadidi that she should become an actress and sing her own songs in her films. This transformed her life and career.'
This turgid drama, solely designed to titillate male audiences, move from one hare-brained scene after another with intermittent over-acting, ear-splitting background music, and over-the-top dialoguebaazi, sighs Mayur Sanap.
'Today, Shah Rukh is sitting so high up that it will have to be something really spectacular for him to jump up and say, "Hey, yes, let's make this film!".'
'For him what's important is relationships, his role, and, of course, the script.' Rediff celebrates Shah Rukh Khan's 60th birthday on November 2 with a special series that introduces us to the man behind the superstar.
Ranveer Singh and team unleashed the fierce and ferocious trailer of the action drama, which marks Director Aditya Dhar's return six years after his 2019 blockbuster Uri: The Surgical Strike.
120 Bahadur is underwhelming, adding little fresh perspective and generally feeling like a standard war drama we have seen umpteen times before, notes Mayur Sanap.
'I am very fortunate that I am getting films where I am finally doing romance on screen, if not in my real life.'
Watch the launch of a new Thamma song called Poison Baby, a dance number with Rashmika sharing the dance floor with Malaika Arora.
'I spent the entire day with Alia and Raha and just did nothing.'
'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!'
Film-maker Imtiaz Ali and actor-musician Diljit Dosanjh have expressed joy over the two International Emmy nominations for their film Amar Singh Chamkila, calling it a recognition of Punjab and its artists.
Kannappa is a bloated mess of a film that underutilises interesting story ideas, observes Arjun Menon.
'I wouldn't change a single shot even if I could, the film is just perfect even with a supposedly flawed script!' Celebrating Sholay's 50th anniversary on August 15 with a special series, where contemporary film folk analyse the cult classic.
The venue for the Filmfare Awards shifted to Ahmedabad last weekend, and stars dazzled on the red carpet and on stage.
Lord Curzon Ki Haveli lacks the wit and the wickedness to go anywhere with the mildly intriguing setup, observes Deepa Gahlot.
'It is a beautiful balance between traditional old-world sanskaars, and new generations opening up to new worlds without renouncing respect,' observes Sandeep Goyal.
The top 10 films of the year may not be great by themselves but they stand out amidst the other OTT releases.
Check out the winners at the Zee Cine Awards.
Bijuria, the latest song from Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari's soundtrack, looks smashing.
'When the show was releasing, I think all the actors were under the impression that this is a limited series.' 'After seeing the response, I feel we should have a season two.'
It's 'not looking like a Diwali lineup, which is usually grand and has superstar movies.'
'Panchamda created an exclusive theme music for Gabbar Singh, which is used throughout the film every time the dacoit makes an appearance, and in both concept and sound, is so eerie and evil.'
While Nishaanchi is not a homerun for Kashyap, there's enough joy in this audience pleaser, notes Mayur Sanap.
'Every award that Naatu Naatu is getting is special, but the Critics Choice Award is more special since RRR also won in the Best Foreign Language Film category.'
The two leads are looking confident in the trailer, but whether their chemistry will translate into a convincing love saga is something that remains to be seen, notes Mayur Sanap.
With his killer smile, the sex symbol image, Robert Redford would go beyond just being an actor, remembers Aseem Chhabra.
His latest film Saiyaara is a blockbuster and has propelled him way into the big league.
Jugnuma has the unhurried pace of a stroll at dusk through the hills and the quiet delight in coming across jugnus (fireflies) twinkling in the trees, observes Deepa Gahlot.
'I'm totally focussed on finding the right energies around me. A lot of the treatment is psychosomatic, as my mother keeps reiterating, if you think positive, positive things will happen to you.'
'The evening show is coming to an end, and everyone is on the phone and I want to take everyone's call.' 'I want to ask how they liked the film. How did they feel when they left the cinema while crying?'
'I make films which I think have the possibility of being liked by a majority of people, and you present it with the right emotions.'
The actress got emotional as she accepts the award for Best Actress for her Gujarati film, Kutch Express.
'Bappi Lahiri was looking for a break so he and his father would meet me.' 'I told Director Bhisham Kohli about this promising young boy from Kolkata, and Bappi came over with his harmonium.' 'Bappi played this composition and Bhisham liked it immediately.' 'As we were discussing, I said I would give the words, and that's how I wrote this song.'
Sooraj R Barjatya was judged Best Director for the Hindi movie Uunchai at the National Film Awards.
'The way the anticipation is built up for Gabbar Singh's introduction scene with sound, image and details of his personality, like the combat boots he wears.' 'The camera comes so close -- not a tele lens shot, but a wide-angle close-up -- that you can almost smell Gabbar's breath.'
'Editor M S Shinde deserves full credit because, I'm told, Ramesh Sippy had shot 300,000 feet of footage, which was brought down to 18,000. 'He died in 2012, in a 126 square foot flat in Dharavi, penniless, a forgotten hero.'
'I don't know how long cinema will survive.'
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