'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.'
'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.
'In a world which is full of categories, hatred and ideologies, there was this basic decency.'
Twice-fried plantains make a great base for any kind of topping, especially something with avocado in it.
Literary adaptations, whistleblower pursuits, kidnapped Santas and South India's biggest stars, Sukanya Verma lists them all on OTT this week.
Sean Baker broke a record by winning four Oscars just himself for Anora: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Editing and Best Original Screenplay.
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.
As Swades turns 20, Aseem Chhabra looks back at the film that spoke to him.
Here's a look at the expert predictions. Do send in your predictions too!
'Sudip sir keeps telling me that what I have done is very Hollywood.'
Karisma meets Maonj Bajpayee... Juhi wishes Alka Yagnik... Namrata enjoys a Parisian breakfast...
Aseem Chhabra presents his list of 100 best (and must watch) films -- many classics, some relatively new and several personal favourites.
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.
Check out who Rediff critics are rooting for this year!
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.
'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 Raja Sen, Sukanya Verma make their predictions.
'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.'
'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.
'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.'
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.
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.
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.
'The war ended in 2009 and I believe the new generation of Tamils don't know what was going on there.' 'I felt it was my duty to tell our story.' 'Since 2009, it seems like we are sleeping.'
Filmmaker Nisha Pahuja, whose widely acclaimed documentary opens in Indian theatres on June 6, in conversation with Aseem Chhabra.
Aseem Chhabra and Sukanya Verma -post their predictions for the major categories.
'I often wondered while watching the film/trilogy, what if Durga had lived. What if Ray made The Durga Trilogy.' Sandip Roy looks back at Pather Panchali's Durga and the woman who brought her alive, Uma Dasgupta.
Aseem Chhabra picks his favourite films from the recently concluded Berlin Film Festival.
'But when we actually express ourselves, sometimes our parents can surprise us, because they just love their children.' 'Sometimes it's just that simple. That is what I wanted to show in this film.'
'People riot against power cuts, get beaten up, killed,' Fahad Mustafa and Deepti Kakkar, who have made the powerful documentary Katiyabaaz, tell Aseem Chhabra/Rediff.com
The stars of MNIK, SRK, Kajol and Karan Johar, will be promoting their film in New York on February 1. And you can catch the action right here.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances