'Why was Top Gun: Maverick made? 'And the only reason I can think of is that the new film was made to emphasise and re-establish Tom Cruise's superstar status,' notes Aseem Chhabra who watched the Top Gun sequel at its premiere in Cannes.
'Mrinalda, the world, and for sure my world won't be the same without you,' Nandita Das tells Subhash K Jha.
'Once I left my photographs at Ram Gopal Varma's office.' 'I told a friend I was concerned no one had contacted me. My friend said, "Itni jaldi nahin hota idhar. Time lagega".'
'I guess things happen when they have to happen.' 'And the film got delayed by COVID a little bit. But yeah, it's been a decade which I do not regret.' 'I feel like I have grown so much, as an artist, as well as just a human being.' 'So much life experience to channel into films that I think is an advantage almost.'
'When democracy first came to Bhutan people had no idea and they were like 'What is that?' Oh it's that thing they have in India where the leaders are always fighting and arguing.' When I screened the film to Bhutan's film committee, they thought my film was good but they were concerned about that line. They wanted me to change that line. They said, 'We don't want to offend India.' I tried to tell them that Indians have a great ability to laugh at themselves but they insisted I change it.'
It was heartening to see so many women -- young and old, many in hijab and burqa shaking their bodies, raising their arms and singing with complete abandonment.
'The idea of this movie is to trace these journeys and not to blame.' 'We could have talked what happened in 1948. This is what the Israelis did. This is what the Palestinians and Arabs did.' 'We didn't want to go there.'
Aseem Chhabra remembers Master Chef Floyd Cardoz who died of coronavirus in New York on Wednesday.
'I know all good things have to end someday. But memories, especially film memories are special,' says Aseem Chhabra.
The hits and misses of the week.
'Agra is about sexuality and sexual repression, and the relationship of sexuality to the physical spaces that we are in.'
One could be anywhere -- huddled around a transistor radio at home in the evenings, walking past a neighbour's house, or waiting at a bus stop and Lata Mangeshkar's voice would reach us. Aseem Chhabra pays rich tribute to The Legend.
The hits and misses of the week.
The death of his beloved wife was a blow Shashi Kapoor never recovered from, reveals Aseem Chhabra.
The Oscars is prestigious and all artists covet it but ultimately, the business of winning is ruthless and political. And India has seldom risen to the challenge, argues Sukanya Verma.
Trade analyst Vinod Mirani gives us the weekly verdict.
As 2022 readies to bid adieu, Sukanya Verma raises a toast to the 10 high points of the year.
'I wish I could find a party that could offer the best of the three parties,' best-selling novelist Chetan Bhagat tells Rediff.com's Aseem Chhabra in New York.
Aseem Chhabra on his friend, the firebrand Nepali journalist Kanak Mani Dixit, who was arrested last week. Aseem, who has known Dixit for 35 years, believes the charges are trumped up.
Like Slumdog Millionaire, RRR will remain a one-time phenomenon until another big, larger-than-life, Indian film connects with the critics in the West, predicts Aseem Chhabra.
The Oscars are only days away, and Rediff.com's Terrific Trio have already placed their bets.
The documentary released in India on June 6 this year.
'The only violence I have had in any film of mine is a slap.' 'When Nikhil narrated the film to me, I was blown away.' 'I was literally screaming out of my chair.'
'Love will always be a mystery.' 'The day it stops being a mystery it won't exist.'
The hits and misses of the week.
'...and showcased in their original beauty.'
'He killed so many people, doing the kind of horrible things he did, and yet, he believed he was making the right choices.'
'What an incredible opportunity to bring back one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema on the big screen.'
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