Every major awards ceremony in the West this year has seen celebrities talk about diversity, inclusion and politics, sometimes even mentioning US President Donald Trump and his policies by name.
Here's what celebrities had to say about Arun Jaitley's Budget.
There is something about Anurag Kashyap that puts the cinema watchdogs on alert, says Veenu Sandhu.
What makes Badrinath Ki Dulhania work, really, is the intent and the two principal actors, observes Raja Sen.
A look at the top posts on social media from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
Patrick Ward is nothing but appreciative of the warm hospitality of his Nepalese hosts, who are slowly, but surely on the recovery path after the massive earthquake that jolted the country in April 2015.
The stars behind the biggest films of the year like Prabhas, Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan may have been absent, but IIFA was quite an extravaganza.
No-Punchline humour reminds us how in our daily lives, we all are by turns 'The Corrupt Politician we criticise,' 'The Chauvinist Male we frown upon,' 'The Rule Breaker we deride through our Facebook posts,' 'The Communal Virus we so easily lampoon' and 'The Bad Artist we spoof.' In a land where the aforesaid prototypes are our major sources of 'funny,' is there an audience for the NPL kind of humour, asks Sreehari Nair.
From Feroz Khan-Danny Denzongpa's bare skin to Ranbir Kapoor-Ranveer Singh bare soul, Sukanya Verma's super filmi week saw it all!
'Mulk gets a lot of things right, including its vision of the country as a place where underneath the punctilious, forced-secular surface there are volatilities waiting to go off,' says Sreehari Nair.
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Shuddh Desi Romance conveys a simple but underrated philosophy in the most fun way possible.
'I prefer calling myself a 'film activist' rather than a filmmaker,' Mahesh Kathi tells Radhika Rajamani/ Rediff.com
The gifted actress passed into the ages on January 21, 1965.
Sukh Ram and Raja were charged with corruption during their tenure as telecom ministers. Sukh Ram was convicted while Raja has been acquitted. One had cash found under his bed; in the case of the other the trial judge mockingly asks: Where is the money? And if there's no money, where is the corruption? So, pronounced innocent. Sukh Ram is a Brahmin. 'Maybe he strayed just that one time, people like that aren't usually corrupt.' And Raja is a Dalit. 'Can you expect any better?' What race is in some places, caste is in India, says Shekhar Gupta.
What your favourite celebrities are saying on social media.
Besharam is so unbelievably sloppy and senseless, not even the best actors in the business can redeem it.
Veteran actor Vinod Khanna passed away on Thursday after battling cancer. He was 70.
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.
'I never imagined I would be a father and complete my family without getting married.' 'I'm privileged that my parents supported me, a lot of people don't have that.'
A look at the top posts on social media from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
Shoojit Sircar takes Rediff.com's Ronjita Kulkarni behind the sets of October, and right inside his beautiful mind.
'We have created an enemy we can't even see and that enemy is entertaining us while tightening the noose around our necks.' 'As the radiation increases, it will affect everything -- from your little bumble bee to plants to every living cell.' 'By the time the effects are understood, it might be too late.'
'I remember I was doing The Hate Story and had finished shooting all the other bits with Paoli (Dam, actress), only the erotic bits were left. It was the first time I was doing lovemaking scenes and I had no clue how to do that. My wife was like, 'don't worry, just be comfortable, it's your job.' It was comforting coming from my wife.' Knowing Gulshan Devaiah better.
'Any Muslim who shows even the slightest hint of revolutionary thought is marked as 'infected'.' 'At that point, he is taken to the nearest Detention Centre where a procedure called Reconditioning awaits him.' 'Areas with a high Muslim population have been designated as Scheduled Religion Zones.' 'To be an active participant in this social cleansing ritual, there is only one prerequisite: You have to be an undying patriot whose friend and family is his country.'
'The beauty of my job is that no matter how much well I do it, people will say this guy is insensitive, romancing Sonam, dancing with Jacqueline, going to Poland to shoot a film, when he has a hunting case and an accident case against him. He's enjoying himself; he's earning Rs 600 crore but people don't know how much I have. All my good work goes against me.' Salman Khan gets candid.
'Bollywood runs on the idea of age.' 'The moment you're single, even if you're 40, you're still appealing, you're still young.' 'The moment you're married, even if you're 25, it's uh huh. She's not sexy anymore.'
And no, the list doesn't start and stop with Boman Irani!
'I was hesitant initially because I thought Amrish Puri's role was bigger than mine. But when I shot for the film, I realised Adi's casting was so good that no character could be replaced.' Anupam Kher goes back in time.
From the UK to Poland, each of these festivals attract the best of crowds. Have you booked your tickets yet?
'I wasn't initially convinced about Finding Fanny. I didn't know what the hell Homi (Adajania, director) had written.' Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah gets candid.
Nargis Fakhri is really fun to be around, discovers Patcy N/Rediff.com.
Here's everything you need to know about To Kill a Mockingbird.
'I have done a lot of films for friendship and, whenever I have done that, I have suffered.' Ajay Devgn gets candid about his career, and Drishyam.
Here's a glimpse at what happened around the world last week.
Aseem Chhabra gives us the top films that enriched his year.
Aseem Chhabra's recommendations for the Mumbai film festival.
From Boyhood to The Grand Budapest Hotel, we've seen some brilliant cinema this year.
Aseem Chhabra lists the elements that he loved and was pleasantly surprised by in the movies.
