'The maximum struggle that I have gone through in this industry was to try to get a film made which had a female action star.' 'And that film never got made, despite reaching out to some of the biggest actresses.'
A Sydney cafe that was the scene of a deadly 16-hour siege reopened on Friday, over three months after two hostages died in the terrorist attack staged by a Iran-born gunman inspired by the Islamic State militant group.
We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
The cricketing extravaganza became a business opportunity for everyone, from five-star hotels to cafes to street vendors across the country on Sunday.
Several people, including an Indian techie, were taken hostage by an armed man at a popular caf in Sydney and forced to display an Islamic flag, triggering a security alert in Australia and leading to evacuation of key buildings, including the Indian Consulate.
Questions that the state had come to recognise over time but consistently delayed treating seriously because doing so requires an overhaul of perspective and lifestyle, notes Shyam G Menon.
The Matunga restaurant, known for its cleanliness and quick services, was established by Gopal Purshottam Kamath.
The Malayalam movie brings together celebrated directors and outstanding actors from the movie industry.
She wept when the director took 101 takes to shoot a song for Heeramandi.
Indbank Merchant Banking Services (Indbank), a subsidiary of public sector Indian Bank, opened its first 'trading cafe' for stock trading in Chennai. It plans to open another 20 such cafes and 18 new branches during 2008-09 across the country.
M Padmakumar talks about his film Nostalgia, one of the short stories that make up the Malayalam movie Kerala Cafe.
Mongolia can take a lifetime to happen but rewards the intrepid traveller with enduring memories of a surreal, delightful land.
Grenades and gunfire gripped Sydney as the tense hostage situation at the Lindt Chocolate cafe ended after 17 long hours.
Even though the NIA claims that more than 90 per cent of cases charge-sheeted have ended in conviction, the figure is likely misleading. To date, very few cases investigated by the NIA have resulted in a completed trial, points out former CBI joint director Navneet Rajan Wasan.
'Everybody who is outraged about the film hasn't even seen it yet. It is absolutely disgusting that people should ask for a ban on art, be it books or films. We have a large population of young, educated people who want to explore new things, stay with the times and then there is a vast section of uneducated people who politicians try to exploit. I think that is what is happening here in the name of Tamil pride,' says television journalist Dibang, who makes his acting debut in Madras Cafe.
13 of the 17 militants who were presumed to have plotted the attack were killed in encounters so far, said police.
Sukanya Verma quizzes you to find out just how much you know about the movies.
Answer this simple question and win!
Madras Cafe is scheduled to release on August 23.
With Enfield Cafe Racer being displayed at an exhibition recently, we tell you the history behind the highly uncomfortable bikes.
"Our effort is to open up as soon as possible. Maybe, we will start our operation tomorrow only," the cafe's owner Farhang Jehani told PTI.
'The nation cannot afford a government indifferent to its plight/'
A British national and a student of a Canadian University have been arrested for their alleged involvement in Bangladesh's worst terror attack at a cafe in Dhaka last month that killed 22 people, including an Indian girl.
A 17-hour-long hostage drama in which a lone heavily-armed man of Iranian-origin held 17 people hostage at a cafe in central Sydney ended late Monday night (Indian Standard Time) with the police storming it, resulting in three deaths.
The Bangalore police, which busted a terror module that was planning to carry out a series of assassinations, on Monday arrested a cyber cafe owner by the name Omar.
After launching the 500 cc version of the Thunderbird, Royal Enfield is set to bring to India its iconic Cafe Racer model.
The second branch of the cafe aims to rehabilitate five survivors -- Farah, Aruna, Reshma, Sunita and Rani -- all of whom were initially trained at the Sheroes Hangout in Agra.
To re-connect with its consumers who have moved up the economic ladder in the last few years, Cafe Coffee Day (CCD), India's largest cafe retail chain, will soon reveal a new look for its lounge outlets. The company plans to convert its existing lounges into the new design and set up 50 new lounge outlets by the end of this financial year.
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Thursday said sleuths investigating into the blast at Bengaluru's popular eatery 'The Rameshwaram Cafe' last week have got certain 'good leads', as the prime suspect changed his clothes after the incident, and travelled by a bus.
Christened Smart Choice, PepsiCo launched the first such cafe in Chennai recently to promote its key category -- the health segment - which was marketed under the name Snack Smart.
Tori Johnson, the 34-year-old manager of Lindt Chocolate Cafe who was one of two persons killed during the Sydney siege, is being remembered as a hero with some reports claiming that he tried to snatch the weapon from the gunman to allow the other hostages to escape.
Master cricketer Sachin Tendulkar is all set to expand his restaurant business with another venture -- a 'sport's café' named Sachin's.
A teacher of a private coaching institute in Madhya Pradesh's Indore was stripped and beaten up on Wednesday by a group of people, who later took him to a police station for allegedly indulging in obscene acts with a 17-year-old girl preparing for NEET exam, an official said.
There will be work today, there will be work tomorrow, there will be work the day after, but nothing will make up for the eternal regret of not seeing a friend when he was dying.
Police have claimed to have identified the cyber cafe from which the e-mail, purportedly sent by Indian Mujahideen terrorists, to eliminate BJP leader L K Advani during his Shillong visit on September 29, was sent.
Over 40 Australian Muslim groups have expressed "utter shock and horror" over the siege at a popular Sydney cafe in which a number of people have been taken hostage, including an Indian techie.
If Michael's lucky number wasn't 15 it certainly is now. Michael -- who did not give his surname -- missed the Sydney siege at the Lindt Chocolat Cafe by just 15 minutes and his receipt was number 183.
Which are India's most impressive lakes? Choose and journey there now!
These restaurants should be on your bucket list this winter!
Madras Cafe has some interesting songs in its soundtrack that seem to go with the flow of the film. Still, one feels that the tempo should have been raised a bit to keep up with its spy thriller theme.
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