After a lifetime of showing us what it means to 'act at the top of one's bent and never hit a false note', Mammootty had the good sense, in the third act of his career, to pare down his style, become less mannered, draw directly from life. And getting a performer like that to play characters who seem 'completely dead inside', is, in my view, a betrayal of his legacy, his still-burning ambition, and his still-sharp feelers, observes Sreehari Nair.
Ponniyin Selvan has everything going for it, yet, there is something missing for a wholesome film experience, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'He was a very shy man of few words. Whenever we spoke about girls, he would run away.'
As Lord Ganesha arrives in our homes, Subhash K Jha brings you five devotional Ganpati songs.
But why is everyone getting so het up over what, after all, is a mere film? If you don't like it, don't watch it. Why create a public spectacle over it? asks Virendra Kapoor.
'I have been exceptionally lucky with my actors, whether it was Sushmita in Aarya or Kartik Aaryan in Dhamaka.'
Dear Friend is for those who idealised Dil Chahta Hai all out of proportion, and then warmed up to the premise that friendship could be a lot more complicated, and transient, observes Sreehari Nair.
'There are only two religions in this country: Films and cricket.' 'These two religions will unite all religions.' 'And that only happens in a cinema hall.'
If Netflix and the film's producers thought they would bring younger audiences to the master's works, many who might have aversion to decades-old black and white films, they have failed with the experiment, says Aseem Chhabra.
Cinema halls have been ordered to shut down in many cities after the COVID-19 scare, so films are being screened only at a limited number of cinemas.
Amitabh Bachchan was preparing to pack up his bags and return to Allahabad if Zanjeer failed.
'While men are brought up to be more vocal, women are taught to be more silent, resilient and self sacrificing. We have tried to explore this.'
Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein is watchable for its able cast of reliable veterans and talented youngsters, notes Sukanya Verma.
Aseem Chhabra lists his favourite Indian films of 2021.
'Of all artists who openly support the current political dispensation, she is far and away the finest,' argues Sreehari Nair. 'With the exception of perhaps Tabu, no Indian actress has done more to extend the range of the feminine mystique in Hindi cinema.'
On his 90th birth anniversary, Sukanya Verma lists 20 of her favourite scenes that reiterate his extraordinary grasp on the language of cinema and connect with the viewer.
In a tweet, after watching the movie, Sitharaman praised the cast for their "brilliant performance" and said she was "recharged" by the energy in the cinema hall.
Zee is estimated to have paid around Rs 225 crore for the complete rights of Radhe. The total revenue that it may earn could be around Rs 135 crore, implying a shortfall of Rs 90 crore.
Yuvraj Mehta remembers the time he, a first year college student, called on Soumitra Chatterjee at the legendary actor's home.
From family dinners to gymming, it's all in a day's work for film folk.
Deepika Padukone embodies to perfection the Gehraiyaan in the title, applauds Sukanya Verma.
'Laxmi and I firmly believed that while working, the egoistic word 'Main (I)' never interferes.'
'If we keep losing such institutions, we will soon become a city and culture of short-term memory.' 'Nothing to remind us of the years gone by and eventually with nothing to remember.'
'We are thinking on something like the 'Irrfan Memorial Award' given to the most promising new actor.'
Irrfan never stopped being hopeful about the endless possibilities open to actors and film-makers in Indian cinema.
'I don't look forward to seeing my films because this only sort of gives me a deep sense of dissatisfaction that I could have done better, and I lose my self-confidence.'
The Hindutva social media continues to present the DMK especially as anti-god, anti-Hindu and anti-Brahmin. The strategy did not work in the past, it has not worked in the present, and would not work in the future, as a massive vote-getter, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Here are Sukanya Verma's favourite female performances of 2021.
Badhaai Do carries its audience on the wave of those little farces that come with being queer in India, a land where masculinity still has some say, observes Sreehari Nair.
'Women use acting as a way to protect themselves.'
Joginder Tuteja looks at the big November hits in the past decade.
'The show is about women taking ownership of their lives.'
''The OTT platform has been taken over by dark dramas and thrillers.' 'So Baarish 2 is a enjoyable breeze.'
Buoyed by Sooryavanshi's success, the Hindi film industry is banking on 25-30 big movies lined up with a collective cost tag of Rs 2,000 crore.
Subhash K Jha lists Holi songs that you have probably never heard.
Anil Kapoor's mastery shows in how he finds the space between an actor reaching out to his actuality while remaining an actor while Anurag Kashyap's comfort in bullying his co-actor fuels their bickering camaraderie, notes Sukanya Verma.
'If you can tell the quality of a movie-watching experience, only and only by referring to set standards, you *aren't really* going to the movies,' argues Sreehari Nair.
The revived factionalism in the AIADMK, if not curbed now, has the potential to split the party vertically, warns N Sathiya Moorthy.
A Nedumudi Venu character was happiest when moving his head to a piece of music with his eyes closed; or, when inventing off of a note that a co-actor had left unfinished; or, when reciting a poem by Kavalam Narayana Panicker where a hymn about nature descends into a musing about cheating, depression and death, feels Sreehari Nair.
Sukanya Verma quizzes you to find out just how much you know about Kareena Kapoor.
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