Mira's films are alive, rocking and so true to the reality I know. They are gifts that I keep revisiting, and I cannot wait for what more she will share with us, notes Aseem Chhabra.
Fan gives Shah Rukh Khan space to exploit the actor in him and he tries hard, with a nod to his creepy characters in Baazigar and Darr.
'If you don't have children, that's also a problem.' 'There's no right way to live because everybody has an opinion about your personal life, and how you should live.' 'You have to listen to them, unless you can pick a fight with everyone.'
Can a film and the voice of its actor really influence us, and change our lives? I like to believe so, says Aseem Chhabra.
Films that amazed Aseem Chhabra at the El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt.
Aseem Chhabra watched some great films and some huge disappointments in 2021.
Bollywood's biggest overseas event, the IIFA Awards, will be held in the US for the first time. Aseem Chhabra reports.
Fans of the Before trilogy have grown up with Celine and Jesse... The films, says Aseem Chhabra, are charming, funny, romantic and very talky, but also close to real life.
'I sat down and asked them what they would want in their new school. One student said a football field, another one asked for computers. One little girl came and sat next to me and said, "A separate toilet for the girls." I think these small things make a huge difference in the future of education in India,' Nita Ambani tells Aseem Chhabra/Rediff.com
'We went around with the story, but no one came forward to finance it. They would say 'Who would want to watch this?' Or they would say 'Ek to ladka dal do is me.' We said no, we didn't want to compromise.'
'If someone is consistently horrible to you, for me, I would ask myself, what am I doing?' 'Why am I continuously putting myself as a target for this?'
Bengali film Asha Jaoar Majhe is a must watch, a once in the lifetime kind of work that should be supported by film lovers and experienced on the big screen, writes Aseem Chhabra.
.gif)
Anand Gandhi's directorial debut is a film we've all been waiting for.
Pran lived a full life, entertaining and scaring the hell out of many people, writes Aseem Chhabra, in his tribute to the legendary actor who passed away on July 12.
The 91st Annual Academy Awards was anything but boring, feels Aseem Chhabra.
It reminds us why we like to watch films, writes Aseem Chhabra.
Anurag Kashyap has a lot of talent, says Aseem Chhabra. He just needs to stop making films that are very similar.
Aseem Chhabra lists his favourite films, most of them shown at international film festivals held virtually (Berlinale and Rotterdam), hybrid (Toronto) or physical (Cannes and Venice).
'Responding with outrage is not enough. It is the time, and the responsibility of all who hold those rights dear, to fight back, says Aakar Patel.
'No country has moved from bigotry to equality fast, and India, with its leisurely, elephant-like pace for the most non-controversial of things, will only take longer.'
'In Boyhood, I saw the father that I had been to my son: Not always perfect, but never giving up on the child I helped to bring to this world.'
'Medha had been so alive, smiling in the pictures she posted on Facebook and the comments she left on my profile page. I did not think she would leave us so soon.'
Shakespeare Wallah had been out of circulation for a long time, but a restored version of the film opened in New York on November 10. It will travel after that to other cities in the US and hopefully, soon to India as well, says Aseem Chhabra, author of the bestseller Shashi Kapoor: The Householder, The Star.
'The Maoists want the tribals to boycott the election while the police think the election is a farce and do not want to risk going deeper in the conflict zone.' 'Newton (played with sincerity and deep felt passion by Rajkummar Rao) wants to make sure that the locals cast their vote, a right given to them by the Constitution.'
'We cannot be the country that created the Kamasutra and then we show flowers kiss and a child is born.'
There is a group of La La Land haters -- especially jazz aficionados who feel the film gives too much importance to a white man who sets out to save the musical genre associated with the African American community, points out Aseem Chhabra.
Will Priyanka start a family? Or does she have some career aces up her sleeve? Longtime Rediff.com contributor Aseem Chhabra, author of
'I swayed my arms in the air with strangers when George Michael sang Careless Whispers' 'I was in heaven.'
'That night -- when Gandhi won Best Picture at the 1983 Oscars -- belonged to India and it meant a lot to a young student like me, who was trying to establish his Indian identity among the Americans around him.' Aseem Chhabra/Rediff.com, who worked as an extra on Richard Attenborough's acclaimed biopic, salutes the late legend.
Besides the five Indian films that are playing at the Toronto International Film Festival this year -- a rather large collection at an international film festival, says Aseem Chhabra -- there are more films with an Indian connect.
Aseem Chhabra mourns the passing of the gentle and knowledgeable Mr K D Singh, who owned a quaint bookshop in New Delhi.
In March 1972, The Godfather was first screened in a New York theatre. The movies were never the same again. Forty six years later, longtime Rediff film critic Raja Sen talks about why that film means that much, and how it led him to a unique tribute.
Aseem Chhabra lists his favourite films from the recent Toronto International Film Festival.
Salman Khan features in five of these movies!
'People were apprehensive when I cast Nawaz. Especially after Sacred Games, people told me you are diminishing Manto.' 'But he is an actor and actors don't diminish.'
As Imtiaz Ali's Jab Harry Met Sejal releases, Aseem Chhabra feels it's the best time to revisit the Hollywood classic When Harry Met Sally, which tries to answer the question in the title of this feature.
'Despite its noble attempts, tight editing, terrific sound design, good performances and a compelling story, Hotel Mumbai tells a big lie.'
The actress, who turns feature film director with A Death in the Gunj, discusses the cinema she is comfortable with and why she loves being an outsider.
'We are blessed, that in this age of crass, commercial filmmaking, there is a special corner reserved for Wes Anderson to inhabit this wonderful, magical life. And we thank him from the bottom of our hearts for letting us experience his dreams in full colour and grandeur,' says Aseem Chhabra after watching The Grand Budapest Hotel.
The Wolf of Wall Street has its moments but it is director Martin Scorsese's weakest attempt at film-making, says Aseem Chhabra.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances