'I'm a rascal, I'm going to play a paramahansa?!'
'Peddlers isn't a movie of grand cinematic achievements, but one of small yet startlingly original victories.'
Rediff.com reproduces the 1997 feature about Laxman, his passion for crows, and of course, his genius.
The truth is not that Chandrababu Naidu's centre-right policies led to his defeat but rather almost the reverse: his defeat, and for that matter that of the NDA at the Centre, was widely -- but falsely -- interpreted as a rejection of their economic policies, rather than put down to bad luck and conventional anti-incumbency., say Vivek Dehejia and Rupa Subramanya.
Empowered in the Modi government, junior ministers have enough on their plate.
Here are some of the best images of winners and finalists.
'His Common Man, with his unforgettable bewildered look, will live on for a long time to come, as will so many of his cartoons. They captured important moments in half a century of India's political and social development that no words could.'
'There is no evidence that it was Nehru who ordered this surveillance (on Netaji's kin). It was a very low-level Bengal-based operation.' 'Netaji's grandnephew Sugata Bose has written in his book on the leader that the existing evidence that Subhas Bose died in that plane crash is overwhelming. No historian looking at that evidence can come to a different conclusion.' 'Contrary to popular belief, there were very little differences among the three (Netaji, Nehru and Gandhi). Netaji was of the opinion that some amount of violence was necessary to bring independence for India.' Historian Rudrangshu Mukherjee says that the controversy over the alleged spying on the kin of Netaji is a damp squib.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday
It is time to reset expectations as government will move with alacrity on social policy, not on economic reforms.
Sharad Yadav, President of the Janata Dal (United), is one of the architects of the proposed merger of six political parties who trace their roots to the erstwhile Janata Dal. Yadav tells Archis Mohan how the grand alliance with Left parties and even the Congress is the need of the hour.
Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar masterfully weaves a compelling human story, says Sukanya Verma.
'He was the only new face in a sea of superstars and slowly talk started in the unit that perhaps Ramesh had made a mistake by casting him.'
Saurabh Shukla, one of our finest character actors, on his life and movie career.
'As Rai spoke, in an unbelievably dead pan, almost off-the-cuff tone, about helping plan the murder of two youngsters, drugging them with vodka and whiskey spiked with dava (medicine), smothering one, dragging a body in rigor mortis out of a car, burning a corpse, destroying evidence, and so on, it felt like he was discussing nothing more surprising than the intricacies of the weather.'
The winners of the 60th annual World Press Photo Contest have been announced. The winning shot was taken by Turkish Associated Press photographer called Burhan Ozbilici, with an image he has simply titled An Assassination in Turkey. Showing Mevlut Mert Altintas shouting after shooting Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, at an art gallery in Ankara, Turkey, on December 19 2016.
Raja Chari is in training to go to space in 2019. Vaihayasi Pande Daniel presents the story of his journey from Cedar Falls, Iowa, to NASA. A Rediff.com Exclusive!
Economist Arvind Panagariya tells Suman Guha Mozumder that the rupee is doing a much-needed clean-up job, raising exports and cutting imports.
'Her greatest strength is not her acting or her dancing abilities, but that she has an incredible number of fans.'
'I don't care about how people are used to seeing me -- that is their problem. They make little compartments in their heads and they want to fit everybody into that, but I don't really abide by it.' Richa Chadha, in a candid chat.
Following the Supreme Court ruling against liquor being sold within 500 metres of state and national highways, the infamous Indian jugaad is in play once again. Veenu Sandhu, Nikita Puri, Ranjita Ganesan & Avishek Rakshit find out how India is coping.
'She hasn't done anything wrong; she fought against the bad, she fought for justice.' 'So, I know she will get justice one day.'
'Badlapur,' says Sreehari Nair, 'proves that sometimes there are more personal truths to be discovered in our trash cans than in our neatly arranged book-shelves.'
'Put cricket, first and foremost, at the centre of every decision you take.' 'The bottom line must always be the sport that we love.' Rahul Dravid as eloquent as always in his M A K Pataudi Memorial Lecture.
Malayalam film audiences, who had spent close to two decades waiting for something truly interesting to watch at the movies, seem to be finally getting their due.
The new Spider-Man film gets everything wrong except the girl, feels Raja Sen.
They are shaken by the mass molestation in the city on New Year's Eve. But they are not waiting to be rescued. Nikita Puri reports.
Binu Alex, co-founder and editorial director of www.commodityonline.com, in an interview to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com, says demand-supply imbalance arising out of the government's inability to preserve the crop for non-harvesting season is the root cause behind the price rise.
'Human beings are voyeuristic by nature. We love to imagine some things. Like Salman and Katrina were ex-lovers, and are now working in Ek Tha Tiger. Oh my God, what must be going on between them...? We, as an audience -- and I include myself in that -- talk like that. If Salman and I announce a film tomorrow, I'm presumptuous enough to say there will be interest in it.' Katrina Kaif on life and love.
'Sonia is trying to become a politician again. Will she succeed?'
The man who inspired Dangal tells Saurabh Duggal how the quest for an Olympic gold began.
'The impression I get is bread and butter matters more than freedom and choice. And China is providing bread and butter in plenty.' Saisuresh Sivaswamy/Rediff.com takes the road less travelled -- to Tibet.
The second part of journalist Rajdeep Sardesai's interview to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
Sree Sreenivasan recalls his encounters with the pioneer of sound who passed away on Friday and gives a sense of how many lives he touched -- in big and small ways.
The winds of revolution are blowing all over the Arab world. A bit, slowly in Saudi Arabia, perhaps, but nevertheless. Some women did drive, defying the ban and were duly arrested. But the day is not long, may be, just another century at most, when women can actually drive, in women-only lanes, of course, says B S Prakash.
Depression is not just stress, nor is it only sadness. Depression is an illness.
The book Effective People by Dr TV Rao features inspiring examples of success icons from across the world.
Vijay Nair, CEO and co-founder of Only Much Louder, released a statement about what exactly went wrong, leading to the show's cancellation.
There's something quite serene about an endless stretch of barren land discovers Abhishek Mande Bhot/Rediff.com
