'67 years after India gained independence, its people still get offended by the slightest issues in films.'
'He has given us a history, a heritage that we can share with generations to come,' says Aseem Chhabra.
'We are blessed, that in this age of crass, commercial filmmaking, there is a special corner reserved for Wes Anderson to inhabit this wonderful, magical life. And we thank him from the bottom of our hearts for letting us experience his dreams in full colour and grandeur,' says Aseem Chhabra after watching The Grand Budapest Hotel.
'Her death has left a small hole in me. That little space that her songs and her screen image always filled in me. She had not worked in films for years, but somehow I always sensed she was there, somewhere in Bombay where movie magic is made.'
The Wolf of Wall Street has its moments but it is director Martin Scorsese's weakest attempt at film-making, says Aseem Chhabra.
Aseem Chhabra encounters an Indian dinosaur at the Goa film festival.
'Richard Corliss started loving Bollywood late in his career, but he gave everything he had in his power as a critic to promote India's Hindi cinema.'
The journey of the digitally restored version of The Apu Trilogy is packed with dark stories and years of near detective work by those determined to preserve some of Satyajit Ray's finest works.
'We are dealing with a size of the world that equaled England and France combined. We are talking about 250 years of history.' Sultans of Deccan India, 1500-1700: Opulence and Fantasy -- a first of its kind exhibition anywhere in the world -- opened at the Met, April 20. Aseem Chhabra spoke to Navina Haykel, the curator of the show.
'Talvar belongs to Irrfan Khan, who plays the chief investigating officer. With each new film, this very fine actor continues to surprise us and delight us.'
How many of the 319 films Aseem Chhabra watched in 2018 have you seen?
'The biggest disappointment at the Berlinale is the very small representation of Indian films.'
Aseem Chhabra picks the scenes that left him impressed this year.
'You can't take your eyes off him.'
'He was a magnificent looking man -- perhaps the best looking international actor of the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, even in the current century. And quite definitely the first actor from Asia to make it big in the West,' says Aseem Chhabra.
Aseem Chhabra's take on the highlights of Indian cinema this year.
When Jaws released in June 1975, it changed the way Americans watch movies, says Aseem Chhabra.
'I salute Dixit and Qureshi for playing roles that are not in line with what mainstream Bollywood expects of its female stars,' says Aseem Chhabra, noting how Dedh Ishqiya makes important points in the most nuanced way.
'John Lasseter gave me such good advice. He said the reason why he wanted me to tell the story was because it was about my dad and me. He said if it is a father and son story, it will relate universally.' Star Pixar animator Sanjay Patel tells Aseem Chhabra/Rediff.com the back story behind his new film, Sanjay's Super Team, which features Hanuman, Vishnu and Durga as superheroes.
'That Mad Men is currently the best-written show and quite unlike anything else out there is an understatement.'
Aseem Chhabra lists the movies that taught him about the Idea of India.
>What happens when two teenagers -- one Israeli and one Palestinian -- discover that they were accidentally switched at birth? The Other Son is a wonderful vision of Israel and Palestine. There is no positive future for the region and its people without this vision, feels Aseem Chhabra.
Just when everything seemed picture perfect for brown faces on American television, Showtime reverts to form with its new series Billions. Aseem Chhabra points out how popular media still hasn't gained enough distance from accents and towel-turban fixations.
'When we make these action machismo films, the stupidest thing is to show that the hero sails through a thousand people. It's a tradition we have grown up with.' 'We don't have the basis of creating a Bruce Lee or a Jackie Chan.'
'I want to go back to India after my success here.'
Aseem Chhabra has been trying to get an interview with the superstar since 2005, and has been lucky only once.
'My biggest challenge was getting into the head of the character.' Aamir Khan talks about his big release, PK.
Aseem Chhabra looks at the year's best Non-Hindi Indian movies.
Civil rights activist Lakshmi Sridaran argues why South Asians must stand on the right side of history and resist the Trump administration's "systematic attack on the entire spectrum of the US immigration system."
'Sonakshi Sinha, Imran Khan and other stars say MFF is their film festival. In reality, the festival belongs to Mumbaikars, who wait in long lines, rushing from theatre to theatre.'
'It is rare that a Hindi language film delivers so much promise in the first half. And so it is extremely disappointing when the director and his script lead us on the journey that starts to meander and eventually fizzles out, collapses and dies in front of our eyes.'
'That night -- when Gandhi won Best Picture at the 1983 Oscars -- belonged to India and it meant a lot to a young student like me, who was trying to establish his Indian identity among the Americans around him.' Aseem Chhabra/Rediff.com, who worked as an extra on Richard Attenborough's acclaimed biopic, salutes the late legend.
These Birds Walk is on the long list of documentaries to qualify for the Academy Awards. Filmmakers Omar Mullick and Bassam Tariq tell Aseem Chhabra their fascinating story.
Aseem Chhabra is heartbroken that India overlooked the acclaimed film, The Lunchbox, as its Oscar nominee.
Sukanya Verma shares her exciting filmi week with us.
'We have used Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party as characters in the story of Indian democracy.'
After working on Mr India and Sagar, Partho Sen-Gupta left to study filmmaking in France at 26. He returns with the dark and moody Sunrise.
'She is a genuine, real, person who wants to be with girls who are suffering the way she suffered.'
'Arthur was a charming, quirky, funny, smart journalist who loved all things about films. And he would change my life forever.'
'I miss Tabu's beauty, her graceful presence, her delicate smile and the texture of her voice, with which she can convey so many things -- the lonely mother, the lover, the seductress, the wronged woman, or a young woman charmed by an older man,' says Aseem Chhabra.
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