'I don't know what people will say, but as a liberal Muslim, I can say that I had no problems with the viewpoint of the film. Because we are not maligning any community, if we were I wouldn't have done this film...'
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
Voting is underway for the second and final phase of the Bihar assembly elections across 122 constituencies. Key candidates and political dynamics are in focus as the state decides its next government.
Even after 50 years, Sholay remains a lasting reminder of unity, shared memories and the joy of cinema, notes Mohammad Asim Siddiqui.
With nominations for the first phase of Bihar elections closing soon, the INDIA bloc is struggling to finalize seat sharing, while the NDA has announced its candidates. Key political figures are actively campaigning.
'I wanted to go for the heart, and at the same time, open the audience's mind.'
'A majority of filmmakers cannot truly understand the city because they don't live here,' says Anusha Rizvi, Director, The Great Shamsuddin Family.
'It was very clear in the Parliament election that there was an erosion of Hindu votes in southern Kerala from the CPI-M to the BJP.'
According to political observers, the AIMIM sees a catchment area in Bihar, where Muslims are more than 17 per cent of the total population but have never got a proportionate representation in the state legislature.
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, of Indian descent, has won the New York City mayoral election, becoming the first Muslim, first Indian-origin, first African-born, and youngest mayor in over a century. His victory is seen as a significant moment for the city and the Indian-American community.
According to an FIR registered at Edachery police station, around 200 people marched towards the Congress office carrying dangerous weapons and vandalised the building, causing damage estimated at around Rs five lakh.
The Tigers refused to forgive Douglas Devananda and tried to assassinate him repeatedly. He later said: "(LTTE chief Velupillai) Prabhakaran cannot kill me." Destiny proved him right.
'Raj Thackeray is working at the behest of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.'
'If you can have Rampur flown magically to Pakistan's borders, I might ask the nawab to accede to Pakistan. Else, I'm afraid we have no choice in the matter but to join India.'
'The question for the TMC is not whether it can hold its bastions, but whether it can expand effectively into regions where the BJP already possesses a good ecosystem.'
Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh's former first female prime minister and chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has died at the age of 80 after a prolonged illness.
According to the proceedings of the case, the complainant has alleged that the "Indian Railways serves only halal-processed meat in non-vegetarian meals, which creates unfair discrimination and causes human-rights violations".
'Now there is no fight between us (Thackerays); now the fight is with them.'
Let there be no doubt that Modi in these 24 years so far has reshaped politics and governance considerably, if not completely, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
The mass of voters chose Kejriwal and Mamdani for the simple reason that they were sick and tired of the stale promises and repetitive speeches belted out for long by mainstream political personalities, notes M R Narayan Swamy.
'Pakistan wanted India out of Afghanistan to which again the Taliban told Pakistan to take a walk.' 'Six months after they came back to power in 2021 India was back in Afghanistan at the request of the Taliban.' 'The Taliban realised that India has no agenda of its own in Afghanistan.'
Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has reserved the Bill pertaining to four percent reservation for Muslims in government contracts for the President's assent, citing constitutional concerns. The Bill, which has been a subject of controversy in Karnataka, was passed by both houses of the state legislature amid protests from the opposition BJP. The Governor's decision to reserve the Bill highlights the ongoing debate over the constitutionality of religious-based reservations in India.
An ECI statement issued from New Delhi put the voter turnout at 68.76 per cent. The female turnout (74.03 per cent) was significantly higher, compared with males (64.1 per cent).
Ghazala Hashmi, an India-born American politician, has been elected as Virginia's Lieutenant Governor, marking a historic moment as the first Muslim and South Asian American to hold the position.
Bihar recorded its highest-ever voter turnout of 67.14 per cent in the second and final phase of the assembly elections. The election is seen as a referendum on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Kishanganj recorded the highest polling percentage at 76.26.
'If Pakistan has fired one bullet at us then we have to respond by firing 10 bullets at them. It is our right to do so.'
'The BJP only talks of Kashmiri Pandits when elections are held.'
Siddiqa Begum, daughter and legal heir of Shah Bano, has served a legal notice on the makers "for immediate restraint on the publication, screening, promotion, or release of the upcoming film."
'Only because of the absence of a dedication record in writing, how can such properties be treated as located on misappropriated government land?'
It was a mixed bag for 11 seats with more than 35 percent Muslim voters, where six candidates of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi emerged victorious in the Maharashtra assembly polls on Saturday, while four seats went to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti alliance.
Justice Surya Kant has been appointed as the 53rd Chief Justice of India, succeeding Justice Bhushan R Gavai. He will assume office on November 24 and serve until February 9, 2027.
Humayun Kabir, a former TMC minister, has been suspended from the party after announcing plans to lay the foundation of a "Babri Masjid-style" mosque on December 6. This move has sparked controversy and raised concerns about communal tensions in West Bengal.
Writer and director Anusha Rizvi returns to cinema after 15 years with warmth, wit and many a laughs.
'He knew the world's eyes were on him, and he had to speak directly to the fears that immigrants in New York feel right now.'
Right-wing organizations, including Bajrang Dal and All India Karni Sena, held a 'shuddhikaran' (purification) ceremony and chanted Hanuman chalisa at a long-abandoned Shiva temple in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. The temple, located in a Muslim-majority locality, was "reopened" by members of these groups. The ceremony took place on Wednesday night amid tight security measures. Local residents, including a former Aligarh Mayor, have voiced concerns over the state of the temple and called for its restoration.
'Article 370 is now dug 70 feet deep in the ground. It cannot come out.'
The National Democratic Alliance was set to sweep the Bihar assembly polls, surging ahead in over 200 of 243 seats on Friday with the Bharatiya Janata Party emerging as single largest party with about 90 per cent strike rate, reaffirming the popularity and campaign clout of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the face of the ruling alliance through the poll battle in the highly sensitive political state.
Mrs Gandhi's power ebbed and peaked with the times. Mr Modi's has almost been constant, barring the few months of hard dip after the 240 seats of 2024, points out Shekhar Gupta.
If women voters are mobilised in big numbers to the voting booths on November 6 and 11 by the Nitish Kumar-led NDA, then it will be quite difficult for the Tejashwi Yadav-led Mahagathbandhan to defeat the incumbent government, points out Sheela Bhatt.
