'There are a lot of things to make the series The Night Of relevant.' 'The decision to make it -- not only South Asian, but Pakistani Muslim -- is intensively relevant with what's going on today.'
Here are Aseem Chhabra's picks -- 'films that mattered to me, entertained me and will stay with me through the year.'
'He cooked chicken curry and so because of him, curries entered the British royal kitchens.' 'Eventually, he became a political advisor to the queen.' 'This guy was disrupting the royal household. It sent shockwaves...' Ali Fazal on his character Abdul Karim and working with acting legend Judi Dench.
'I know many actors living outside India put on accents in films because they think that is how Indians talk. I avoid that.' 'I don't have to prove anything through my accent. My psyche is Indian.' Anupam Kher gives us his 500th film!
Aseem Chhabra spots 10 must-see movies at the Berlin Film Festival.
Aseem Chhabra's recommendations for the Mumbai film festival.
'One of the director's primary jobs is to make sure that all the actors perform as if they are in the same movie, playing in the same band -- one is not acting in a different band than the other.'
'If you look at peacekeeping right now, it is fraught with accusations of sexual abuse or peacekeepers involved in deals that are outside their purview, human trafficking.' 'When a contingent of women walk through a camp, the women in the camp and the children respond to them, talk to them. Women are more open to talking about sexual violence and domestic violence to other women.'
Aseem Chhabra tell us how he watched 302 films in 365 days on airplanes, on Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, Google, Hulu, DVDs and even on YouTube.
Kanu Behl's Titli is one of the best films from India in recent years, says Aseem Chhabra from the Zurich film festival.
Meet Srihari Sathe. Producer. Director. Professor.
Scriptwriter of Baar Baar Dekho Sri Rao gets candid about his film and Bollywood.
Three films and one TV show old Suraj Sharma is glad that an acting career means he is not behind a desk. Aseem Chhabra finds out that despite a life that can be heady Suraj hasn't lost sight of reality
Vidhu Vinod Chopra takes stock of his Bollywood career and explains why he thought of foraying into Hollywood.
'We wanted to make a true coming-of-age story since all of us have been through adolescence.' 'Most people are afraid of commenting on what these boys go through behind closed doors.' 'We just wanted to bring out that truth. People know what adolescents do, but they do not know how they do it.'
'It was impossible to please everyone with Amy Winehouse's story because it is complicated and dark. Everyone has his or her own version of what was going on and I found myself caught in the middle of it.'
Aseem Chhabra picks his favourite movies from the Telluride Film Festival.
'I personally consider Indian cinema as one of the most creative and powerful forms of cinematic expression in the world.' 'An average Indian film is 10 times better than a costly American production because of the creativity involved.'
How things have changed for Dev Patel!
From Boyhood to The Grand Budapest Hotel, we've seen some brilliant cinema this year.
'In Carol, Cate Blanchett reminds us what a real movie star is and why we are enamored by her acting and looks.'
'Will anything change for you after the election?' And the man said 'Kuch nahin badlega.' And he had a smile on his face. He knew nothing was going to change.
'I kept telling Anurag, "I don't care about anything, I don't want any money. Just get the film made".' 'One day I called Anurag and someone else picked up the phone. He said, "Hello, Sir." I responded, "Hello, but who are you and why are you picking up Anurag's phone?" He said, "I am Ranbir Kapoor Sir". And he told me he was doing the film and he was very excited.'
Hemal Trivedi, a Hindu filmmaker originally from India, and Mohammed Ali Naqvi, a Muslim from Pakistan have made one of this year's most talked about films.
'It is ironic that the guy who set the standard of stardom was forgotten. It was his death that made us remember him again.'
It is always wonderful to discover a gem of film at an international film festival. It is even more exciting when that film is from India.
Sri Srinivasan, the first Indian-origin federal judge in the United States, is India Abroad Person of the Year 2013
'It's an experience of a lifetime. It's the first time I acted in a South Indian film where I was treated as an equal by an actor.'
'Having a voice at the table means the other side has to show up to listen. It became clear that wouldn't happen,' says actor Maulik Pancholy, one of the 10 members who resigned from the US president's advisory commission on Asian Americans.
Aseem Chhabra gives us the top films that enriched his year.
One of India's greatest actors -- someone who acted in 14 Satyajit Ray films -- doesn't get good movie roles anymore.
'The new Indian cinema has still not found its voice and identity. It's trapped under the deadwood weight of Bollywood and popular Indian cinema.'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances