Can India really succeed when it leaves some of its underprivileged so far behind that they simply do not matter, asks Aseem Chhabra
Akshay Kumar is King of the box office!
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.
Soumitra Chatterjee -- one of the finest Indian actors of our time -- meant so much to Aseem Chhabra.
The Slumdog Millionaire star has been nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for his turn as Saroo Brierley in the critically acclaimed Lion. The film has earned four Golden Globe nominations, including one for Nicole Kidman.
Lovers Rock is sexy, romantic, charming and hugely entertaining -- a perfect gift for movie lovers in these tough times, feels Aseem Chhabra.
The fascinating story of this man was one of the most searched topics on Google after the trailer was launched with Irrfan's Tomar, his gaze fixed at a journalist interviewing him, mouthing that iconic dialogue "beehad mein baaghi hote hain, dacait milte hain Parliament mein".
'...and showcased in their original beauty.'
'Love will always be a mystery.' 'The day it stops being a mystery it won't exist.'
'What an incredible opportunity to bring back one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema on the big screen.'
The hits and misses of the week.
Twists and turns, shocking revelations, explosions, chase sequences and a lot of moodiness make The Batman a riveting movie going experience, notes Aseem Chhabra.
Salman Khan's big Eid release Tubelight is also a major loser.
Salman Khan's much awaited Eid release Tubelight turned out to be a damp squib at the box office. Distributors stand to lose on their investments.
The hits and misses of the week.
'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.'
'He killed so many people, doing the kind of horrible things he did, and yet, he believed he was making the right choices.'
I have heard cynics say that Priyanka Chopra Jonas as we know her today is the creation of a PR machinery, but that is rather a poor reading of a determined woman and the work she has done to get to where she is. Aseem Chhabra salutes the movie star on her 40th birthday on July 18.
A look at the hits and misses of the week.
The Dhoni biopic is all set to lead the charts!
'It's everyone's dream to have their pictures show up on Google.' 'In the beginning, you're not used to it.' 'It's a bit weird and even now it's weird.'
Two men smiling, eyeing each other as they briefly let their guard down, with no care of what the world around them is thinking, that has almost never been shown in a Bollywood film, notes Aseem Chhabra.
The hits and misses of the week.
'Ishaan Khattar, with the please-fall-in-love-with-me looks in his eyes, carries the first episode,' observes Aseem Chhabra.
'I am a non-resident Indian. I didn't come to India to shine a light on its negative aspects.' 'I came to India to showcase what I think are remarkable aspects of India and Indians on a global scale.'
After winning awards at Sundance and Cannes, Director Shaunak Sen's All That Breathes has now been nominated for an Oscar in the Documentary Feature Film category.
'You made me realise that it is great to be brown, even if we are currently living under Donald Trump's false definition of America.' 'In my 36 years in America there have been few instances where I have laughed and cried so much watching a show about brown people.'
A look at the hits and misses of the week.
A look at the hits and misses at the box office this week.
Aseem Chhabra rates the movies he's watched in 2023, and tells you where you can watch them!
'There's this presence, a sense of patrolling and surveillance. And it's not coming from a place of safety.' 'It's coming from a place of 'You don't belong here'.' 'It's a malevolent force, the society at large is observing them.'
'The point about arranged marriages is -- because I come from a progressive family -- the idea was completely alien. But I have realised over time that there are instances of assisted marriages working very well. If you look at it, really, in a microcosm, it is the same thing as Tinder, isn't it? I mean, if you are trying to meet -- yes, no, yes, no, no.'
The hits and misses of the week.
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