At a time when many women were forbidden by their caste-conscious families from taking up acting assignments in an industry not deemed respectable, Phalke wanted to cast his wife as the female lead in Raja Harishchandra.
'Whatever scrapings are left is dished out to people like me.'
'I can tell shareholders we're going to be very responsible with our capital, we're going to be absolutely execution focused.'
The Tatas don't want any court to pass any ex-parte orders without hearing their side of the story
Sacred Games transports you back in time when Mumbai was struggling to return to normal after the horrific communal riots of December 1992 and January 1993, says Urvi Parikh.
Joginder Tuteja looks at the new release schedule for actress next year.
Varsha Bhosle salutes that effervescent icon of Indian cinema, Dev Anand.
If Manto, the film, falls short of being a masterpiece it's because Nandita Das could not quite crack the Manto code: She couldn't quite see the wholeness of her subject with the same eyes that Manto saw his people. This imperfection in the film, in a way, becomes the greatest tribute to Manto, feels Sreehari Nair.
The insatiable greed for money and power is too large, too repugnant to thwart. And no one epitomised that better than Harshad Mehta, notes Dhruv Munjal.
'Cyrus was also generous, hospitable, sharing of whatever he had.' 'He never ever acted like the inheritor of great wealth.'
The Sebi order is vindication of Sinha's stand, but it has not brought him much relief as his money is still stuck.
We bring you *that story*, and a lot more, in this fascinating excerpt from Roshmila Bhattacharya's Matinee Men: A Journey Through Bollywood.
'That only a certain Mumbai story -- look at Salaam Bombay and Slumdog Millionaire for other examples -- gets made when an international audience is as much a target as the desi viewer, should invoke questions of representation,' notes Vikram Johri.
Decades after he received a letter from someone by the last name of Biden from Mumbai, soon after becoming a senator, Biden learned that his 'great, great, great, great, great grandfather' had worked in the East India Company. "There are five Bidens in Mumbai, India," Biden, then Vice President, told a Washington audience in 2015 at an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of India-US civil nuclear deal.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra on Parinda.
An encounter with movie veteran Chandrashekhar.
'Anger comes from a sense of righteousness, when you believe that you are right.' 'Nothing makes me angry.'
'Good actors are supposed to be guys who wear kurta-pajama and look soft and nice.' 'People like me are not in that category.'
The man who led this journey is 50-year-old Kalanithi Maran, chairman and managing director of the Sun Group.
Where a few film-makers are sensitive in their treatment as noted in the depiction of lesbian love in Hindi movies, a significant number is prone to poking fun for cheap laughs.
The change in ownership is expected to give a fresh lease of life to the company that has often been dragged by financial stress in its close to three-decade journey under the Khaitans, reports Ishita Ayan Dutt.
Dilip Kumar remains an inspiring example of how one can build a career from scratch, fuelled purely by passion and hard work.
Aseem Chhabra watched some great films and some huge disappointments in 2021.
Bappida's softer more creative work got buried in the noise, rues Subhash K Jha as he picks the late lamented composer's most soulful songs.
The Ramayan offers important life lessons.
This divisiveness is upsetting social cohesion and can throw the bright young people thronging to Bengaluru with billion dollar ideas in their creative minds off balance, warns Shekhar Gupta.
From sports to history, Rediff reader Sabyasachi Dutta shares a selection of books for you to add to your reading list in 2020.
It goes way beyond a fantastic team!
'Laxmi was insistent that our homes should never have name-plates, because the name Laxmikant-Pyarelal should never be separated!'
'... their love was jinxed.' 'His celluloid path to his partner's heart was seldom smooth; it had to contend with greedy relatives and indecisive sweethearts, who were more ready to sacrifice than woo and wed.'
Joginder Tuteja lets us know what to expect.
'I knew that since I would be designing for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film, the aesthetics would have to be correct.' 'He doesn't show poverty in his films.' 'He won't show someone standing on the streets in phate hue kapde.'
"I would reflect and -- the strength that this alone time gave me still helps me to handle life and its various experiences," Modi said.
Discover a hidden gem in Mumbai where you'll find the city's best brownies.
Dibaker Banerjee tells us why he chose to be a part of Bombay Talkies and his emotional attachment to the film.
You aren't dealing with a normal, civilised, law. The NDPS Act, in its preconditions for bail, and insistence on evidence of innocence rather than guilt, is worse than UAPA. Imagine yourself or your child at the other end of this, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'I never thought an invisible character like Radhiya would get me that much visibility.'
The likes of iconic actor-director Guru Dutt, South star Silk Smitha, actor Jiah Khan and now, Sushant Singh Rajput gave up on life in the Indian film industry.
