'We don't have that support system.' 'The last six years has gone into making Manto and raising Vihaan and it has been tough.'
Politics, favouritism and poor taste in cinema have contributed to embarrassing choices for the Oscar race in the past. This little gem from India needs the love, emotional and financial support from the government as well as the Indian film industry, argues Aseem Chhabra.
A workshop on the LGBTQ+ community throws light on challenges they face. Meghna Chadha reports.
A Death in the Gunj is not a happy film at all times, but it is very entertaining says Aseem Chhabra.
What was life like for the confident Priyanka Chopra of today when she was a gawky teenager?
Aditya Chopra's film reminds us that a well-shot Bollywood romantic film can be so entertaining even when it does not offer anything new, says Aseem Chhabra.
Looking at Shah Rukh Khan's unusual onscreen professions.
Cook's statement is of major significance, especially given Apple's recognition as a global brand, says Aseem Chhabra.
'I never thought the European audience will love this film, but we had over 2,000 people at the screening.'
Umrika, which won the audience award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015, finally releases in India.
'Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts were tables away, seated next to each other, at the SAG awards. I was shamelessly staring,' Nimrat Kaur tells Aseem Chhabra/ Rediff.com
Tusshar Kapoor's decision is unique in a country where society still places so much emphasis on marriage and making a family, feels Aseem Chhabra.
'The idea was to show the simultaneity and coexistence of life in the city.'
A beautiful documentary from Delhi. A shocking satire that spares no one. A thriller about a serial killer in Iran. A Pakistan film about family secrets... Aseem Chhabra lists the best films he saw in Cannes.
2 States, for all its modern touches, is a very regressive film, deeply rooted in old fashioned values that surely make no sense in the India of 2014.
'Watching American protesters get their act together so quickly and so forcefully only reminds me of all the resisting that Indians should have been doing for the last three years,' says Mitali Saran.
The Hundred-Foot Journey treats its Indian characters with respect, discovers Aseem Chhabra/Rediff.com
'The richness of Buddhism makes it possible for us to create these stories and to interpret them.'
'When Covid first struck, the lockdown resulted in clean air in major Indian cities.' 'You were able to see the Himalayan range from Ludhiana.' 'In Delhi, you were seeing deer and stags all over the city because there was no traffic.' 'It was incredible. Nature was waiting to come back.'
'Gully Boy is a pulsating salute to the new angry India and its youth,' says Aseem Chhabra who watched Zoya Akhtar's movie at the Berlin film festival.
'He personified the kind of debonair charm, sublime sensuality and unabashed romance women fantasise about,' says Sukanya Verma.
Satyajit Ray. Films from Italy, Iceland and Albania feature on Aseem Chhabra's list.
In Danny Boyle's biopic, reports Aseem Chhabra from the Telluride Film Festival, 'we are left with Jobs -- the man, a genius as well as (what Steve Wozniak calls him in the film), an asshole!'
'It was a spectacular crime, wasn't it? Sepp is on the same scale. He's up there with Lance.' Director Stephen Frears, in an exclusive interview with Rediff.com
'We didn't know where the story was going. But I knew I was telling the story of an extremely lonely journalist.'
Meet Bollywood's finest casting director Mukesh Chhabra.
'Eight years of what Obama had achieved can be wiped out during the Trump administration,' fears Aseem Chhabra, who worries about his country under'an arrogant bully, who whipped up the worst out of his followers.'
'One week after the release of PINK, audiences in India will witness another strong feminist tale, this one set in rural India,' says Aseem Chhabra.
August 26, 1955. 65 years ago, Pather Panchali was released. Aseem Chhabra salutes the Masterpiece.
Lovers of good cinema should not miss this opportunity to watch one of the best Indian films of 2016, raves Aseem Chhabra.
'After living in the US for over three decades, where I would spend Diwali nights with close friends and eat Indian meals, I have recently started to return home during the festival. But none of that old Diwali exists for me.'
'I don't come to the film with an agenda. I come to a film with a story. When the story excites me, I go bonkers.'
The element of curiosity and chill is doubled when it's inspired from real-life manslaughter.
'Good luck, Chaitanya Tamhane. May the jury system prove better for you than the bench trial did for your protagonist.'
There is so much goodness in Garm Hava, says Aseem Chhabra/ Rediff.com
The Big Sick is packed with delicious details, moments and scenes that makes the film stand apart as a smart rom-com, says Aseem Chhabra.
Director Matt Brown tells Aseem Chhabra/Rediff.com what it was about The Man Who Knew Infinity that made him persevere for a decade to turn the book into a film.
Aseem Chhabra imagines a time, 20 years from now, when movie-watching in theatres will be long gone, thanks to the coronavirus, and pens a letter to his grandchild, explaining the magic of the cinema hall.
Aseem Chhabra sensed an internal turmoil in Vinod Khanna, which sometimes showed the moody person on screen.
Paatal Lok is definitely a must watch show. The credit for its success goes to the writers who enthralled us with their unique characters, but also to the wonderful band of actors who grabbed the opportunity to showcase their frightening raw talent, notes Aseem Chhabra.
