If Irrfan could have been our finest professor of empirical philosophy, and Nawaz is our foremost poet of that space halfway between the gutter and the stars, then Jaideep Ahlawat has to be our greatest artist-scientist, asserts Sreehari Nair.

With several political stalwarts of Uttar Pradesh no longer on the scene, it will be keenly watched how their children lead at the hustings this time without their formidable presence.

The cons are dull, the chemistry is off, the zingers are in short supply and a kitschy display of brand logos and hammy accents takes centre stage, sighs Sukanya Verma.

'Modi's image is a myth.'

The IPL, by giving a large pool of Indian talent the opportunity to compete with the best international players, has also come to be seen as the cauldron that spews out the most exciting talent for not only the shortest format but also the longest and the one in between, says Suveen Sinha.

As Fahadh Faasil turns 39 on August 8, Subhash K Jha looks back at his favourite films featuring the brilliant actor.

'You will still want to take all the necessary precautions, which is the right thing to do.'

Despite all its drawbacks, I was engrossed in Toofaan and the intensity Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra imbues it with for most part, observes Sukanya Verma.

Sukanya Verma lists significant memories in our 1996 recap.

'I have been advising investors since the last couple of months to at least take their capital out.' 'Most of the people have made 50-60 per cent in the market, if not more, they must at least take their capital out.'

Behind the movement are shock-workers functioning quietly to ensure that a seemingly spontaneous, apolitical, grassroots mobilisation sustains itself without dribbling into chaos or violence. Sai Manish lists some of them.

It is not clear as to whether we are in a bubble in technology stocks. What is clear, however, is that there is no reason why this potential bubble will pop anytime soon, notes Akash Prakash.

As dry as the martini Bond enjoyed, Connery's 007 was a tour de force of comicbook heroism replete with set pieces and choreographed stunts which he carried off with a Scottish virility, notes Subhash K Jha.

'The reality is no one, including some of the names that have shown up in the last few weeks, have any unilateral decision-making power in this,' Facebook India MD Ajit Mohan tells Peerzada Abrar.

Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries:

'In a gang, the person who controls the finances is the most important key person.' 'Cut the finances of a gang and it will vanish.'

'Caste-based power politics made him think that he can get away with murder.'

Millions of Indian children lack access to online education as they do not have smartphones, computers or an Internet connection.

Dabangg 3 is the kind of indulgent rubbish that dispels the fundamentals of filmmaking to highlight its hero's virtue and vigour at any cost, sighs Sukanya Verma.

'I would get very pampered on the sets so my grandpa used to get very scared about that.' 'He would think I would feel great from inside and my life would get messed up.'

Salman Khan kicked off the promotions of his December biggie Dabangg 3 with the trailer launch in Mumbai.

According to an insider, "Winning is all that matters to the BJP. The leaders were warned that he was an undesirable character but they said look at his victory margin."

Aishwarya is visiting Sydney until January.

Sonchiriya is that rare Bollywood film, one that soars wildly above others in its genre, notes Ritwik Sharma.

Sonchiriya is an entire mood within a movie, feels Sukanya Verma.

Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit get ready to make Total Dhamaal on the big screen again!

'A jumbo mess of warped notions and random ambition, Why Cheat India trivialises education and shows sympathy for deceit,' says Sukanya Verma.

Haaziq Kazi, disturbed by the damage we have done to marine life, has designed a solution to save the oceans.

Veena Balakrishnan and Vighnesh Vancheeshwar tell us how they planned it.

'Tamil Nadu's youth bulge will soon be 70 per cent of the population, many of them smartphone-toting millennials looking for gains more tangible than what screen gods can give,' says Sunil Sethi.

'In one mansion we visited, I was told the doors in the back courtyard had to be kept closed because to have the front and back doors open at the same time would result in Chettiar wealth flowing away,' notes Rahul Jacob after a memorable visit to Karaikudi.

Ranbir's daku aspirations, Alia's magical transformation, Aishwarya's mommy love and more in Sukanya Verma's Super Filmi Week.

For the first time in the history of Budget-making in India, a single Budget will touch 65 crore Indians, says Shailesh Haribhakti.

'There is economic danger: Not inflation, but a slowdown that feeds an employment crisis,' says T N Ninan.

Bollywood glorifies Mumbai's dons in its movies.

While actor Arjun Rampal's portrayal of gangster Arun Gawli in Daddy is gutsy, producer- writer Arjun Rampal pushes the audience to discover more plot holes than Mumbai citizens encountered this monsoon, says Prasanna D Zore.

'The Naxalite strategy is to periodically attack police forces to provoke a reaction.' 'Once the security forces over-react and cause suffering to innocents by high-handed actions, the people will be alienated and support the revolution.' 'This appears to be the Naxalites' strategy and hence, their recent brutal killings of policemen,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).

Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar also said that an alliance similar to the one stitched up in Bihar is needed at the national level for the next Lok Sabha elections.

'The role in Warris is challenging because I have to leave my femininity aside. I have to be snappy like a boy. I worked on my body language and voice modulation. Being a guy is maintenance-free. I let my eyebrows grow and didn't have to bleach or do a facial.' Meet Warris actor Farnaz Shetty.

Instead of being a facilitator, each political formation has only tried to be an ATM for freebies, feels Veena Sandhu