Stunning landscapes, natural beauty, clean beaches, cultural wealth, mouth-watering food, shopping options, safety for solo travellers, warm hospitality, easy visas, and connectivity make Vietnam a must-visit destination, discovers Ramesh Menon.
A quick look at the winners of the 95th Annual Academy Awards.
There are challenges galore before him, and it is not going to be easy. In the next four years, he has to conjure a system that changes the optics about him and the BJP both nationally and internationally so that he can ride back on his own, claim the top slot, and not have to lean on a coalition, asserts Ramesh Menon as Modi 3.0 completes a year in power.
Wedding photography is pushing the limits of creativity with photoshoots around the world.
February has some promising original content streaming on OTT.
'When the girls said they want to play football, the mothers were encouraging.' 'It was the fathers who were against the idea.'
Front-running is a fraudulent practice where traders exploit advance knowledge of large client orders for personal profit.
'I have always looked at people and said, 'You just have to accept. You just have to love. You just have to let this person be and the trouble would be less.' 'But we keep complicating things, and that is the tragedy -- our desire not to understand.'
Smile Pinki: A real world fairly tale, which celebrates the work of the plastic surgeon Subodh Kumar Singh in providing free surgery to fix the cleft lip of poor young children, won the Oscar in the best documentary (short) category on Sunday night.
'I'm angry. Angry at Will Smith. Angry at Chris Rock.'
There were so many beautiful moments from Oscar night.
'Being in his company was learning at every moment.'
Modern Masters aims to showcase Rajamouli's enigmatic career and paints a context of what makes him the singular voice that defined his generation of film-makers, for millions, observes Arjun Menon.
Desai, 57, was found dead at his studio in Karjat near Mumbai last August.
In the biggest surprise of the night, Emma Stone grabbed the Best Actress trophy for the complex portrayal of a Frankenstein-like character Bella, in Yargos Lanthimos' electrifying and most original film Poor Things. Aseem Chhabra recaps the 96th Annual Academy Awards.
Jyoti Amge, the shortest lady on the planet, met Rumeysa Gelgi, the tallest woman on earth, for afternoon tea on the occasion of the 20th annual Guinness World Records Day at the Savoy Hotel in London last week.
Sukanya Verma goes down memory lane to recap the desi sightings at the Oscars.
There's also Call Me Bae, Ananya Panday's OTT debut.
At a time when many women were forbidden by their caste-conscious families from taking up acting assignments in an industry not deemed respectable, Phalke wanted to cast his wife as the female lead in Raja Harishchandra.
The claims made in his video reflect a widespread anger in India, especially among nationalists, who believe the BBC's India's Daughter unfairly maligned the country and made false generalisations about the attitudes of its men.
This is a film that should appear on every year-end 'Best of' list, recommends Mayur Sanap.
With its age-old fascination for education, southern states have done better than the North. Start-ups, IT hubs, and industry majors setting up shop have changed the face of the South. Nearly 79% of global offices set up by international conglomerates in India are in the South. Almost 46% of tech unicorns are from the South. The GDP per person in the South is 4.2 times higher than the North. None of these indicators can be ignored by any central government, whatever the political compulsions, notes Ramesh Menon.
Aseem Chhabra picks his top 10 Indian films of 2024, which includes films that have had theatrical releases or are streaming on OTT.
'Naseer does not have the sense of humour that Om Puri has. 'Also Om has a great deal of compassion as a human being. Naseer was too focused on his own self.' A fascinating excerpt from Sangeeta Datta's book, Shyam Benegal.
Upon his arrival, the PM was accorded a welcome by the pachyderms and he fed sugarcane to some of the elephants in the Theppakkadu camp at the tiger reserve in Mudumalai.
'Salman wanted to do the interview properly. That's why he was nervous, you know, that dad should be happy.'
'This is a film that speaks to the spirit of women who have been cast into the bottom of India's social hierarchy, and how they have navigated their way to redefine the meaning of power.'
India got a special seat at the 95th Oscars luncheon table, as our film folk mingled with Hollywood's biggest stars.
A quick look at the winners of the 93rd Annual Academy Awards, listed in bold.
Love them, hate them but the Oscars have a way of sneaking up on you.
Deadly dolls, skeletons in the closet, haunted homes, this is just a warm-up on what to expect on OTT this week.
'We're not looking at the importance of men standing up for women. And that, to me, is the power of the film.'
We ask our Rediff readers if the ban on the film due to be broadcast on March 8, International Women's Day, justified.
The two leaders had a complex relationship yet formed a partnership and even after their parting of ways, the two admired each other in their efforts for India's freedom.
Icelandic photographer Bettina Vass takes the crown as the 8th International Wedding Photographer of the Year!
What India needs more than one simultaneous election is better governance both at the central and state level. Yes, we need reforms, but our priority should be to make elections less expensive, make it more democratic, do away with freebies which are actually bribes before elections, allow only those who are educated to contest, and bring in a bill to make it impossible for criminals to contest, advocates Ramesh Menon.
'Ensure that all property-related documents are up-to-date.' 'Relying on outdated documents can create legal complications.'
In Their Shoes is heartwarming, says Sukanya Verma.
'But when we actually express ourselves, sometimes our parents can surprise us, because they just love their children.' 'Sometimes it's just that simple. That is what I wanted to show in this film.'
Sukanya Verma gives you some interesting options to choose from.
