Ae Watan Mere Watan tries to get a grasp on the mind of youngsters, shaped by the words of inspiring leaders, committed to the cause of independent India. It's significant because their support isn't based on 'andh bhakti', but leadership that encourages questions, observes Sukanya Verma.
An excerpt from Mumbai novelist Siddharth Dhanvant Shangvhi's second offering, The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay
'He had a lovely, lovely, sense of humour, very subdued and very, very subtle, but it was very, very, prominent.'
'In our days, we used to write letters and then there used to be phone calls.' 'We would give blank calls.' 'Now, just listen to the songs.' 'Romance has changed.'
In narrating the Maria story, Vatsala Mendonca, in the tradition of Margaret Atwood's A Handmaiden's Tale, Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street and Arundathi Roy's The God of Small Things, places the protagonist challenges within the context of class and caste and religious and, most of all, patriarchal conflicts and ultimately finds strength and hope, inspiring readers to pursue their dreams and carve their own paths.
For Chef Thomas Zacharias, Chef Floyd Cardoz, was a partner, mentor. And family.
'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.'
'When you walk on to a Sanjay Leela Bhansali set, it is complete surrender. You have to become a sponge.'
Mumbai Fables author Gyan Prakash stands by its cinematic outing, Bombay Velvet.
A judicial magistrate (first class) granted bail to the 17-year-old boy's father Vishal Agarwal, a prominent builder, and his grandfather, who were arrested in May-end and are currently in judicial custody.
Wonder why Bombay is trending on Twitter?
'Some icons are living textbooks, teaching us about leadership, success, and legacy. Extraordinary yet human and approachable, they inspire and guide us.' 'India has lost a true son and champion.'
Students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay have lodged a police complaint against a professor and a guest speaker for allegedly speaking in support of Palestinian militants during a virtual lecture, an official said on Friday.
'When Bad Newz was given to me to direct, the first thing I did was go back to my childhood.' 'It's an ode to Hindi cinema.'
National-award winning actor, producer, hotelier, ex-politician, cricket team owner, philanthropist, highest tax payer, reality show judge, animal lover and, above all, people's hero -- Mithun Chakraborty -- who has been conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award -- is truly a force of nature, notes Sukanya Verma.
'Dibakar Banerjee isn't simply giving a particular fascistic regime the finger.' 'Here, he wants to offer us a preview of the invisible forces and human tendencies that drive fascism, blind conformity, and mass hysteria,' says Sreehari Nair.
A look at the top tweets from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
Piku, on the other hand, is a big hit.
'The chances of The Shameless passing through the censorship board in India are slim to none.'
'You have to be good in your project that's releasing today for you to be working on something tomorrow. That will always be the case.'
As Ae Watan Mere Watan and Swatantra Veer Savarkar release this week, Utkarsh Mishra takes us down history and reminds us about India's freedom struggle.
'I was very keen to make another film and I was dying to say action and cut and get back into creating characters and creating worlds.' 'But I just didn't have a script I was happy with.' 'I was working every day on the writing and I was struggling with that.'
'What's sad today is that there are so many people who cannot find work, not because the country is devoid of that opportunity, but because we are not doing enough in the country.'
They realised that the Portuguese were better prepared to defend Daman than Dadra and Nagar Haveli. If reinforcements from Daman were to reach Silvassa, there was no chance of defeating the Portuguese. They decided that cutting Daman's communication lines would have to be their top priority before attacking Silvassa. A fascinating excerpt from Neelesh Kulkarni's new book, Uprising-The Liberation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Harnoor Channi-Tiwary visits the spanking new restaurant and returns impressed.
A look at the top tweets from your Bollywood celebrities.
Bombay Velvet spends too much time on period details and loses focus, notes Aseem Chhabra.
Aseem Chhabra lists his favourite films from the recent Toronto International Film Festival.
'China is struggling to get out of its property bubble.' 'Japan took 35 years to walk out of its equity bubble.' 'Bubbles can be difficult to forecast.'
'I think some of us, like Mukesh Ambani, myself and those of us who head industrial units, ought to really focus on what we can really do to make the world a safer place, maybe 50 or 100 years from now.' 'For instance, how can we deal with climate change and global warming, right now?' 'The effects of it may not be felt now; in fact, we may pay a price for it today, but it will help the generations to follow.'
To tell us about your father, just mail us at getahead@rediff.co.in (subject: My father) along with your name, the place where you live, your father's name and picture and your message about him.
'I come from a very small town. I never had my own house in Bombay.' 'Today, that experience helps me as actor.'
'I came to hear you sing Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon. I am glad I have heard you sing.'
'The othering of religious groups inevitably leads to violence.' 'It is sadly a narrative that has echoed through the centuries since man first discovered God.'
After Rs 800 million makeover, Bombay House reopened on July 29, 2018. The earlier dull interior with low technology has given way to a lot more colour and vibrancy.
'It would have made (Producer) Ramesh Taurani very happy if I taken two Bombay stars, but the reason why I kept mentally rejecting the regular sort of casting was to discover this excitement, you know, can I crack it?'
'We need to understand and respect wildlife behaviour.'
