Looking at the Indian platter at the 58th Berlinale International Film Festival.
2023 was a good year for international cinema with many strong films premiering at the Berlin, Cannes, Venice and Toronto film festivals.
'We'll certainly have Hollywood productions, so why wouldn't we have Bollywood?'
'Pandi was promised something, that is not happening, so his anger is not of a villain's.' 'That's how all normal humans would react, or they stay silent.' 'Our violence is our silence. So in this world, everybody is innocent.'
Check out the star arrivals.
Satyajit Ray. Films from Italy, Iceland and Albania feature on Aseem Chhabra's list.
'Whatever I said and I said clearly that for me and my fellow jury members, it was and it is a vulgar propaganda movie that didn't have a place and was inappropriate for such a prestigious competitive section. I can repeat it again and again'
'The Iranians are very resilient people. So even when they are throttled, they try their best to survive.'
Kanu Behl's Titli is one of the best films from India in recent years, says Aseem Chhabra from the Zurich film festival.
'How do you stay so energised? So young?' 'Dev Anand flashed that familiar crooked grin and told me, "The mind never grows old. It urges you to surge ahead".'
Ready for the joyous cine fest on the French Riveira that Bollywood folk can't get enough of?
Aseem Chhabra lists the top 10 films at the recent Toronto International Film Festival.
A look at the top tweets from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
'The real test whether the movie has worked or not is when the people remember it five years later. Just like wine and relationships, the same is true for movies.'
How many of the 354 films Aseem Chhabra watched in 2017 have you seen?
Aseem Chhabra lists his favourite films from the recent Toronto International Film Festival.
Here are Aseem Chhabra's picks -- 'films that mattered to me, entertained me and will stay with me through the year.'
Aseem Chhabra's recommendations for the Mumbai film festival.
Aseem Chhabra highlights 10 films that moved him, films that may show up in theatres near you.
'I am really grateful to God with respect to the films I get because choosing them are not a conscious effort.'
'My worst performances are in those movies in which the directors showed me how to act,' Emraan Hashmi tells Arthur J Pais/ Rediff.com in Toronto.
'The pressure was very high because I am not a Saroj Khan or a Vaibhavi Merchant.' 'I am someone from a reality show.' 'I was a nobody who was given an opportunity to express myself in the best way I could.'
Deepak Sandhu, who has been an information commissioner for the last four years at the Centre, on Thursday became the first woman Chief Information Commissioner of the country.
'In Carol, Cate Blanchett reminds us what a real movie star is and why we are enamored by her acting and looks.'
Karma Cartel director Vinod Bharathan gives us an insight into his style of filmmaking.
'We had decided that if the audience liked Stree, then after two or three years we would plan a sequel.' 'Because of the kind of reaction we received for the film we have already started work on it.'
'When Covid first struck, the lockdown resulted in clean air in major Indian cities.' 'You were able to see the Himalayan range from Ludhiana.' 'In Delhi, you were seeing deer and stags all over the city because there was no traffic.' 'It was incredible. Nature was waiting to come back.'
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.
'Khaitan's film will continue to invite comparisons with Manjule's, but the fact that it is out there for viewers to see is perhaps a greater tribute to the original than is conveyed by the cautious desire to remake it,' says Vikram Johri.
The concluding part of the A to Z guide to a year that will soon become history.
Aseem Chhabra watched some great films and some huge disappointments in 2020.
The British pop singer dies at age 53.
'I don't come to the film with an agenda. I come to a film with a story. When the story excites me, I go bonkers.'
Umrika, which won the audience award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015, finally releases in India.
'He wrote a letter to his parents every night, and read the Gita every morning before going about his work.'
Can you guess even one of them?
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.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances