India needs to shed its policy of lethargy and inhibitions to engage the Taliban with an intent to maintain its influence in Afghanistan. This would not just put a spanner in Pakistani designs, but also incentivise the Taliban not to be the puppets of GHQ, Rawalpindi, asserts Colonel Nikhil Apte (retd), who served on the Af-Pak desk at the Military Operations Directorate.
Sania Mirza, Sanna Bhambri and Somdev Varman lost in the singles first round at the French Open.
Many towns in Gir Somnath turned into islands as the district has been witnessing heavy rains for the third consecutive day.
Indian Matchmaking has clearly been produced to pander to Western audiences's awful fascination with the institution of arranged marriage, notes Kanika Datta.
'What can I do for my India except make films that showcase it's greatness to the world, which touch on national issues and arouse the feeling of patriotism?'
'The role in Warris is challenging because I have to leave my femininity aside. I have to be snappy like a boy. I worked on my body language and voice modulation. Being a guy is maintenance-free. I let my eyebrows grow and didn't have to bleach or do a facial.' Meet Warris actor Farnaz Shetty.
The hits and misses of the week.
One wonders if Dangal will beat Sultan's box office records when it releases on December 23. Then again, Aamir has the mind of a genius.
Mourad Laachraoui, the brother of one of the Brussels suicide bombers, has won gold at the European Taekwondo Championships and is now set to compete for Belgium at the Olympic Games in Brazil.
'Unlike Dr Manmohan Singh, who quailed and turned away because the darkness was too frightening, Modi has taken a leap to the other side. He deserves applause for this fearlessness,' says Aditi Phadnis.
An unrepentant Mukesh Singh says that the rape and beatings were to teach the girl and her friend a lesson that they should not have been out late at night.
Sachin Tendulkar led the cricketing fraternity in lauding the fighting spirit of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand.
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.
The curse of stardom, especially in a country like India -- which wants its Gods to be tidy and punctilious -- is that stardom forces you to stop exploring the frozen sea inside you, and instead inspires you more and more to perform out of a small puddle, observes Sreehari Nair.
Billie Ellish had a history-making night at the 62nd Grammy awards, as she swept the four biggest prizes: Best New Artiste, Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year.
Initially we sit tight in our seats expecting something very gripping to happen but, nothing of that sort happens.
Be it bad loans resolution or his uncanny focus on inflation fighting which earned him criticism of being a policy hawk, Acharya was at the centre of it all and deftly steered the policy machinery.
Venugopal is valued highly by Mrs Gandhi and Mr Gandhi. They consider him a loyalist, more to the point, one who can deliver.
Young Rishabh Pant's dismissal in the penultimate over "changed things", according to India captain Virat Kohli.
Maine Pyar Kiya, Biwi No 1, Dabangg, Kick... the list is endless!
'Only when I lose the girl, the story moves ahead.'
Everything you need to know about the Chinese New Year and its traditions.
'I do drama with the same intensity as any comedy.'
Australia still searching for their best formula in ODIs, says Finch
'Everyone at home has a very strong point of view about how it should have been.' 'So opinions clash, points of view clash.' 'Everyone will have their favourites, and that '"I didn't like that moment in your performance".' '"This was such a kaam-chalao thing you did".'
Hockey greats Balbir Singh (Sr) and Ajit Pal Singh hailed India's Asian Games gold medal-winning effort but felt the players still have a mountain to climb to succeed at the World and Olympic level.
The official data maintained by the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research put the condition at severely polluted. The Particulate Matter 2.5 level was recorded at 146 while the PM 10 was at 233 in New Delhi.
Shah Rukh Khan had David Letterman in his grip, giving him no quarter whatsoever, declares Sreehari Nair.
We have a generation of youth in our country with fire in their bellies and the 'tamanna' to emulate the Indian soldier. Such is the image that has been created by our soldiers over time. The proposal for civilians into the Military fray for a short stint must be considered favourably keeping the national interests foremost, says Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd).
South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn is targeting a return to Test cricket in the third match of the series against Australia this month, he said on Tuesday.
BWith a distracted president brooding in the White House, Pompeo seems to think his day has come. He seems to be pushing a personal agenda before a target audience in America, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Budhia Singh: Born To Run is not so much a film as it is a passionate appeal to remind and regain an opportunity for Odisha's erstwhile Wonder Boy, now a forgotten teenager, writes Sukanya Verma.
Relationship problems? Let Love Guru help.
Government data shows getting justice is a long-drawn-out process for rape victims.
'Here I am, at a forum where perhaps I do not have many whose thought process is similar to mine but there are enough thinking people whose constructive criticism is something I greatly look forward to'
Sanjeev Nayyar offers a roster of things to do to see the India of our dreams.
On planes, on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, Zee5, Hulu, MUBI, Kanopy, film festivals... Aseem Chhabra tell us how he watched 309 films in 365 days.
