In 2025, the top actresses remained absent, the ones who could have commanded strong roles. In any case, great roles for women are not even written in mainstream cinema, but when they get a role worth working for, they did their best.
'He is truly the most deserving actor for the most prestigious award.'
The cricketing fraternity on Monday paid glowing tributes to veteran actor Dharmendra, who passed away in Mumbai at the age of 89.
Bhansali Productions will retain creative control, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali, founder, Bhansali Productions, said that for him, powerful and meaningful cinema requires time, trust, and a deep respect for the process, which the company was able to align with Saregama India.
'The industry has lost a legend... and we've lost someone who shaped the very soul of our cinema.'
Writer and director Anusha Rizvi returns to cinema after 15 years with warmth, wit and many a laughs.
The year had a variety of films to choose from. Not all of them were successful at the box office, but had merit.
Rajinikanth may have made his last Hindi film two decades ago but he can still set the screen alight, blazing away with a gun that has dozens of barrels. As Thalaiva turns 75 on December 12, Dinesh Raheja looks back at his 17 year journey in Hindi cinema.
Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol unveiled a bronze statue of their iconic characters, Raj and Simran, from Aditya Chopra's blockbuster Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge in London on December 4.
'A life-changing moment would be when I met Anushka, because I saw a different side of life. It wasn't similar to my environment; it was a different perspective, a different point of view, so that's what is life-changing.'
The court, however, found six others, including prime accused Sunil N S alias Pulsar Suni, who directly committed the crime, guilty.
Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon 2 may be a comedy filled with chaos, but in its indirect way, it speaks about a time when the Constitution mattered more than one's religion and when the idea of India was larger than personal hate, observes Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Quite similar to the hero introduction scenes in Kollywood movies, the elaborately staged sequence combines slow-motion shots, silhouettes, and high contrast lighting to enhance the dramatic narrative.
Despite suffering a personal tragedy weeks ago, when his father -- the legendary actor Dharmendra -- passed away, Sunny Deol stoically returned to work, and put the spotlight on his upcoming film, Border 2 at its teaser launch in Mumbai.
'I won't do anything I don't believe in just for money.'
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.
We look at the longest Hindi movies through the years, and interestingly, most of them have done well.
Christmas Karma narrowly misses being a highway pile up, mainly because its heart is in the right place, believes Deepa Gahlot.
Why did Lifestyle Asia magazine honour these Bollywood personalities?
She is no longer Samantha Ruth Prabhu. She will be known henceforth as just Samantha.
Raveena Tandon's daughter Rasha Thadani is all set to make her Telugu debut opposite Mahesh Babu's nephew Jaya Krishna Ghattamaneni, in a film to be directed by Ajay Bhupathi.
'It feels like the universe gently whispered, 'Pause, don't rush away yet, there's a story waiting for you here'.'
'I was just a little kid in a darkened theatre, and I remember that beam of light just cut across the room, and I remember looking up, and it seemed to just explode on the screen.'
Gustaakh Ishq feels like a cinematic revival of everything we once loved about Urdu story-telling, observes Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'The audience has accepted Tere Ishk Mein with all its flaws. My film doesn't need any other validation.'
'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.'
'We have come to the point in civilisation where emotion seems to be something you hide or you have to be discreet about, or to be ashamed of.'
'Every film had its challenges, but Mr India, Sadak and Gandhi were the toughest.' 'Mr India needed imagination, Sadak needed sensitivity and Gandhi demanded historical authenticity.'
Dhurandhar's most dangerous idea is that Director Aditya Dhar envisions an Indian state run by a deep state -- an intelligence machinery not accountable to Parliament, courts, or voters. A future political system where unelected officials decide when Indian democracy is 'fit' to function, observes Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Dharmendra's demise means the loss of one of the biggest icons ever in the Hindi film firmament.
'Just before his death, he did Bhoot Bangla with me. What a honour for that boy from the village who watched him in Sholay!'
Siddhant Chaturvedi is all set to play the doyen of Marathi and Hindi cinema, V Shantaram.
A court in Kochi sentenced six individuals to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment in connection with the 2017 actress assault case. The convicted were found guilty of gang rape and other offenses, while actor Dileep was acquitted.
'Most of us try to be good human beings; he was genuinely a good person.'
Dharmendra got his He Man image with Phool Aur Patthar, which was so strong that he never managed to fully shrug it off.
'Gujarati films are crossing the Rs 100 crore mark, Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra has surged past Rs 300 crore, Marathi film Dashaavtar has already topped Rs 50 crore and Tamil blockbuster Coolie has raked in over Rs 250 crore.' 'These successes show that regional cinema is no longer niche.'
Like Naseeruddin Shah said in his tribute to ANI, 'a Dharmendra-sized hole is impossible to fill.' And it truly is, thanks to the actor's rich contribution to cinema through his 65-year career.
Kamini Kaushal was one of Indian cinema's long-lasting actresses, who went from playing Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand's heroine to Manoj Kumar and Rajesh Khanna's mother.
'This so called trend of giving money, in the disguise of marketing a film, to ensure good 'hype' for a film is created or else 'they' will continuously write negative things (even before the film is released), until you pay 'them' money feels nothing but kind of extortion.'
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