Sreenivasan could so willingly be 'our little man' because in his heart of hearts he never felt trivial or inconsequential. And to the very end he stayed that way, the shrimp who knew he was a giant. Sreehari Nair doffs his hat to the late legend.
Raat Akeli Hai 2 is watchable, but considering the strength of its predecessor, it could have been more engaging, with a greater sense of urgency and a sharper, cleverer story, notes Mayur Sanap.
Vampires, murders, superheroes and romantic reunions galore, it's quite a package of emotions on OTT this week.
Ichhapur tea-seller Shib Shankar Patra is one of two diehard fans handpicked for a special meet-and-greet with Argentine superstar Lionel Messi.
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.
The Maoists in Bastar went from one village to another with kits providing badly needed medical intervention. The medical help was one key reason why the tribals were attracted to the Maoists, points out M R Narayan Swamy.
'At times when the pressure, glitz and glam felt horribly garish, there he was with no pretences or guile. A sweet reminder that life is about the real things not the fluff.'
'These children possess catastrophically low birth weights -- often 1.4 kgs or less. Such extremely low birth weight results in profoundly compromised neo-natal immunity.' 'The escalation to 97 deaths in three months precipitated contemporary attention precisely because this magnitude concentrates the humanitarian emergency, rendering it impossible for the administrative machinery to ignore.'
As someone who could not predict a single beat in advance, who was exhilarated by its audacity to throw random elements together and take chances all over the place, Sreehari Nair thinks Odum Kuthira Chaadum Kuthira is one of the best films of the year.
Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari is one of those mindless fluff kind of date movies, where there is no real conflict, lots of singing and dancing in fancy outfits (as brief as possible for the ladies), observes Deepa Gahlot.
For spin great Neetu David it was a culmination of a lifelong dream -- to see the India women's team finally end their wait for a World title.
'I dreaded meeting him these days because every time he'd say: We have to fight this government, even if it means going to jail.' 'He'd been in jails run by the British, he'd also been in jails in independent India, now he was ready to go to jail under this government.'
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra condemned the killing of five Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza, calling it a "heinous crime" and expressing solidarity with Palestinians.
"Menopause is not a one-day thing," says gynaecologist Dr Nidhi Jha, who is also a founder and director at Care&Cure Clinic, New Delhi. "It's a gradual process that begins years before your last period and it's deeply influenced by how you live your 20s."
'If a parent was diagnosed at 50, the child should start screenings 5 to 10 years earlier (around 35 to 40).' 'Awareness of family history and age of onset helps catch the disease early.'
'If your environment is constantly negative or stressful, you'll start feeling that way too.'
rediffGURU Dr Upneet Kaur explains the pros and cons of entering into a relationship with your first cousin.
A new study reveals that water-only fasting may come with serious side effects.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 2nd Test between India and West Indies in New Delhi on Friday.
'They are clueless about the man on the currency notes.' 'They have been fed with WhatsApp forwards, so either Gandhi is vilified or deified. There's nothing in between.'
Sukanya Verma looks at instances of aristocrats falling for commoners on the silver screen.
'He is one of the most valuable players in India.'
'5465 was over 17,000 feet -- our eyes were out of the sockets by the time we got to the top.' 'We had not eaten in 2-3 days and climbed in extremely difficult terrain.' 'I was there for 5-6 days, but had to be evacuated because I started vomiting blood.'
Former Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto had acknowledged his country's tango with terror operatives, saying that Pakistan has a past.
'If you align your ambition with India's rise, the peak of your careers will unfold alongside the peak of India's power.'
Siddharth Anand's artistry bespeaks an upbringing filled with GI Joes, plastic combat boots and plastic bayonets, fake punching noises and fake sounds of gunshots, rudely interrupted by an adult voice saying, 'Beta, all this is good, but try bringing in some feelings too', observes Sreehari Nair.
Vinubhai Dabhi and his wife Lilaben, residents of Bhavnagar, Gujarat, recounted their harrowing experience during the Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir. Dabhi was injured by bullets while his wife witnessed the shooting of a young man, Smit Parmar. They both highlight the lack of security presence during the incident.
Rajbaris are a link to Bengal's rich past, of grand mansions, classical fine dining, and allow guests to be pretend zamindars for those few hours or days that they stay.
So the next time you're tempted to 'power through' on four hours of sleep or binge-watch one more episode, remember: Quality sleep is self-care -- and it's science-backed.
'Innocent lives lost. Tourists, families, people who were just... living. Seeking beauty. Seeking peace. And now there's only grief.'
Pahalgam Terrorist Attack: Dombivli families shattered in grief and grit. Demand dignity, justice and answers to unanswered questions.
The similarities between the two movies may be striking but where they differ is in the way each focuses your curiosity, observes Sreehari Nair.
'No words can heal the wounds of a mother who lost her child, or a friend who lost their companion. But we must speak, we must feel, and we must remember.'
Over the medium and long term, the BJP hopes to devour the AIADMK, they having identified the party as 'ideologically not as sound as the DMK', predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly unanimously passed a resolution on Monday expressing shock and anguish over the Pahalgam terrorist attack and resolved to fight resolutely to defeat the nefarious designs to disturb communal harmony and hinder progress.
The earthquake rocked many parts of Thailand including its capital Bangkok, the venue for next week's summit of BIMSTEC regional grouping that is scheduled to be attended by Modi among other leaders.
Ram Madhvani's series is all over the place and also boring to watch, complains Deepa Gahlot.
'We do not want to fall into a trap of uncontrolled escalation or all out conflict.' 'When the need arises we will do that.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said his party was fighting the 'Bharatiya Janata Party, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Indian state itself', triggering a row with the BJP alleging that everything the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha does or says is in the direction of breaking India and dividing the society.
An advocate was brutally attacked by a man in front of the court complex in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, on Wednesday, triggering protests by the members of the Bar in the district demanding protection to colleagues at their workplace. The assailant, identified as Ananda Kumar, inflicted grievous cut injuries with a matchet, allegedly due to previous enmity with the victim. The incident sparked a political outrage in the state with various parties criticizing the state government's law and order situation.
