Aseem Chhabra lists 10 of his favourite films that played in various sections at the 74th Cannes Film Festival.
'The prospect is of a self-confident and self-sustaining India will make it a more effective player in the global arena,' External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar points out delivering the Sardar Patel Lecture-2020: India and the Post-Covid World.
Home-grown fare, international discoveries, brand new seasons of hugely anticipated series, Sukanya Verma lists her top 10 OTT shows.
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.
Aseem Chhabra looks at the year's best Non-Hindi Indian movies.
Satyajit Ray. Films from Italy, Iceland and Albania feature on Aseem Chhabra's list.
India's cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar said he is excited about the ICC Women's World Cup scheduled later this year as the event has a big role to play in globalising the game.
Arpi deserves to be complimented for the commitment and hard work that have gone into this production. The frustrations of seeking reliable documentation from the catacombs of the Indian bureaucracy did not deter him from going after the best information available, and the result is one that he can take much satisfaction in. Ambassador Prabhat P Shukla, Member Advisory Council, Vivekananda International Foundation, reviews Claude Arpi's The End of an Era: India Exits Tibet.
Moothon's script won the Sundance Institute's Global Filmmaking Award. Geethu Mohandas's movie is now coming to a theatre near you.
'We are a young nation. But I wanted to explore the conflict between the young and the old.' 'The cynicism of people who have lived it versus the optimism and naivete of the young.'
'I used to go to Sanjay Dutt, give him the scene, and then act it out.' 'He would say, 'Arrey, Girishbhai kar lunga'.' 'But I would insist: 'Nahin, main karke dikhane chahta hoon'.' He said this was the first time in his career that someone was acting out the scene for him!'
'So much so we don't feel the need to create anything, but just bask in that glory.' 'It's time to move on.' 'How much burden can you put on a person or the legacy of the person?'
'China has gone too long as a rogue power, trashing international norms, agreements, and treaties as if they were not the paper they were written on.' 'The ill-advised attack on Ladakh may be the beginning of the end of that nonsense,' advocates Rajeev Srinivasan.
Aseem Chhabra is impressed by Rima Das's Bulbul Can Sing, Ritesh Batra's Photograph and eight other outstanding films.
The India-Japan joint naval exercises are a strategic signal for China, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
'The way the winners react and the speeches they deliver.' 'That is where the fun happens, when the actors and other winners let down their guard, challenge the system, talk about issues that should matter to us,' says Aseem Chhabra.
'Dev for me embodied all that kind of charm, optimism, energy, vulnerability, awkwardness and yet strength.' 'He's in every scene for two hours.' 'He has to play drama, melodrama, romance, pathos, comedy.' 'It was a relief when he said yes.'
Ansuya Dutt, who never stopped fighting for women's rights, can be an inspiration to us never to lose sight of our basic beliefs, never mind peer pressure.
'Essentially there are three things the government should be doing: Identify who you are going to get your vaccine from, figure out how you are going to pay for it, and figure out how you're going to deliver it and to whom.'
'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.'
May be the strong United States growth will lead the world back to a period of growth and help us all put this painful recrimination behind us.
'... That they should emerge as role-models to be emulated by the fellow countrymen; and that the middle classes should not stick only to hate-filled and scornful criticism and condemnation against the state of affairs,' remembers Mohammad Sajjad.
'China is concerned about its impact within Tibet.'
'He believes in his destiny and says "naseeb accha hai, chalne do".'
It would be a huge achievement if the new administration manages a successful transition to some sense of domestic and international normalcy in these frantic times marked by the pandemic and rise of illiberal regimes across the world, observes Shreekant Sambrani.
'It is vital that objects such as the Harihara -- and collections from South Asia generally -- remain here,' the British Museum tells Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
'Breaking down silos and ensuring a more integrated governance process is just as important to performance.' 'It has been a major priority in the last six years, especially in national security,' External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar points out when delivering the Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture-2020: India and the Post-Covid World.
To an award show that's famous for honouring artists belatedly, we have sent as our official entry one of our major film-makers's weakest work yet, feels Sreehari Nair.
The celebrations after the 2017 World Cup went on for the next few months. But there was one question that the Indian cricketers failed to respond to in their interviews. 'What was their next assignment?' Nobody knew; the players were waiting for the BCCI to tell them. The BCCI, with barely any time from its endless legal tangles, had nothing in mind immediately. The likes of Australia and England were back on the field, battling it out in the Ashes in front of sizeable crowds. But for Mithali Raj and team, there was no road ahead.
'The biggest disappointment at the Berlinale is the very small representation of Indian films.'
Be it Oscars, Kareena Kapoor or Karan Johar, Sukanya Verma's super-filmi week is a study in grace for both the right and wrong reasons.
'At the end of the interview, as he walked with us to the elevator, he looked at me and said, "Do you think it was my karma that I should have made this film?"' Arthur J Pais/Rediff.com recalls his encounter with Richard Attenborough.
'How do you expect me to tone down my anger when the most prominent culture in India today is the culture of corruption, in every sphere of life?'
'... and committed.' 'Priyanka had so much happening in her personal life...' 'Once we started, Priyanka rose to it.'
Bollywood's fortunes might not hinge on Pakistani actors and singers, but the forced ban on them sends out a disturbing message.
'Forget about sending in troops or raining down missiles, but don't rule out occasional covert operations that target specific terrorist leaders.'
Nivedita Mookerji finds out how Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma is handling his soaring popularity after the note ban as well as the criticism that comes as a package deal.
'The strategy has to be restoring order in one part and countering the very effective propaganda through a very nimble monitoring and response system,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain, who retired as the General Officer Commanding of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps.
During a war, there are just four possibilities a soldier faces. One: Victorious and safe. Two: Wounded. Three: Killed in action. Four: Prisoner of War. It was my fate to face the fourth, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) on the year spent as a prisoner of war in Pakistan during the 1971 War.
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