'When you are a pioneer and someone who's put on a pedestal, but then the pedestal gets dusty, people don't look at the statue anymore.' 'They would say, 'Yes, yes, of course I know Bimal Roy. He made Do Bigha Zamin.'.'
'So my question was, 'What is it that you are proud of? What have you achieved? What is your contribution?' 'He had no answer.'
Rediff's critics -- Raja Sen, Aseem Chhabra and Sukanya Verma -- make Oscar predictions!
'These characters have huge spirits and they are fighting something that is much bigger than them.' 'The attempt was to portray how they navigate their lives, to retain that spirit and not let it die.'
'The value of a human being is being lost. That's my biggest worry.'
'I have always looked at people and said, 'You just have to accept. You just have to love. You just have to let this person be and the trouble would be less.' 'But we keep complicating things, and that is the tragedy -- our desire not to understand.'
Gene Hackman had a long and rich career, playing leading and supporting roles in many Hollywood films.
'If you look around the world at people of colour, religion, caste, sexuality or any of the marginalised communities, we are always talking in numbers.' 'We are always assigning them a statistic.' 'That is an easy way to assuage your urban guilt. Because you hide your apathy with hollow sympathy.' 'We are, in a way, making them invisible.'
Twice-fried plantains make a great base for any kind of topping, especially something with avocado in it.
'In a world which is full of categories, hatred and ideologies, there was this basic decency.'
Literary adaptations, whistleblower pursuits, kidnapped Santas and South India's biggest stars, Sukanya Verma lists them all on OTT this week.
Here's a look at the expert predictions. Do send in your predictions too!
Sean Baker broke a record by winning four Oscars just himself for Anora: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Editing and Best Original Screenplay.
Karisma meets Maonj Bajpayee... Juhi wishes Alka Yagnik... Namrata enjoys a Parisian breakfast...
As Swades turns 20, Aseem Chhabra looks back at the film that spoke to him.
Aseem Chhabra presents his list of 100 best (and must watch) films -- many classics, some relatively new and several personal favourites.
Through Bob Dylan's music, lyrics, and Timothe Chalamet's superb acting, we feel we have rubbed shoulders with greatness, even when it is full of flaws, self-doubts, warts and all, observes Aseem Chhabra.
'Sudip sir keeps telling me that what I have done is very Hollywood.'
Check out who Rediff critics are rooting for this year!
'When the phone's battery is running out, it will make a charming statement like "I'm feeling a little low. Please recharge me".'
Aseem Chhabra presents his list of 100 best (and must watch) films -- many classics, some relatively new and several personal favourites.
Aseem Chhabra presents his list of 100 best (and must watch) films -- many classics, some relatively new and several personal favourites.
Aseem Chhabra Raja Sen, Sukanya Verma make their predictions.
This year's Sundance Film Festival was rich with films and the theatres were warm, even as temperatures outside dipped to below freezing point. It snowed only once but the sidewalks remained slippery for a few days.
'One afternoon, I spotted Karan Johar and film critic Rajeev Masand having tea with Nina Gupta, the head of NFDC, and barged into their meeting.' Aseem Chhabra's IFFI diaries...
Aseem Chhabra lists must watch films, many classics, some relatively new and several personal favourites.
'He spent his lifetime writing about Africa, supporting the continent's desires to stand up against injustice. Watching him work, I learned to be tolerant, secular and liberal, values that now define who I have become.' Aseem Chhabra pays tribute to his father Hari Sharan Chhabra, one of India's foremost experts on Africa.
Rediff star reviewers tells us who they are rooting for.
'I hadn't worked for three-and-a-half years.' 'I felt industry was based on who you knew.' 'I didn't belong to a network.'
'The work of a film-maker is going out and making films.' 'And if you are in prison for 15 years, you can't make films.'
When mainstream Hindi cinema is preoccupied with romance, comedy, horror and action, stories about sisters and brothers are very rare. Vasan Bala has made a first-of-its-kind film where the leads play sister and brother, notes Aseem Chhabra.
Showing total disregard for the US constitution, Trump has said that this could be the last election to be held in the country. A Trump presidency could lead to mass deportation of undocumented migrants and harsh family separation, warns Aseem Chhabra.
His cinema of compassion inspired me, gave me tools to develop empathy for others. But it also made me understand that serious, socially committed cinema with deeply engaging narratives and great performances is an art form to admire, appreciate and explore. Aseem Chhabra remembers Shyam Benegal, who passed into the ages on Monday evening.
Filmmaker Nisha Pahuja, whose widely acclaimed documentary opens in Indian theatres on June 6, in conversation with Aseem Chhabra.
All We Imagine as Light has been on several critics' best of the year lists, including Sight and Sound (Payal Kapadia appeared on the magazine's cover, perhaps a first for an Indian filmmaker), to The New York Times, Time and it is the number one film recommended by Barack Obama. The future certainly belongs to Payal Kapadia, asserts Aseem Chhabra.
The Apprentice is a keenly observed and entertaining biopic about the making of a man who is mostly responsible for all that has gone wrong with current American politics, observes Aseem Chhabra.
Aseem Chhabra and Sukanya Verma -post their predictions for the major categories.
Aseem Chhabra picks his favourite films from the recently concluded Berlin Film Festival.
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