Through Manorathangal, M T Vasudevan Nair makes himself available to a whole new generation of uninitiated viewers, who can familiarise themselves with his rich body of work and hope to learn a thing or two about life in all its messy grandeur and flawed imperfections, notes Arjun Menon.
'Before every scene, Sanjay Leela Bhansali would play two or three songs over and over again, especially when Sharmin and I would shoot, because it invoked his emotion. One of the songs was from The Last Samurai. Everything is in rhythm for him. If he doesn't have that rhythm in place, then something is off.'
'I'm there in every frame of this film.' 'The film is named after the character that I play.' 'It's about a feeling like you are capable of shouldering a film entirely on your own, which is a belief that I may not have in myself always.'
'I think because India is a bigger country and Bollywood is such a well-oiled machine, the star thing has become so much bigger than the actor thing.'
A special screening of the film Major, starring Adivi Sesh, Saiee Manjrekar, Sobhita Dhulipala, Prakash Raj and Revathi, was held in Mumbai last night.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday deprecated criticism of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and calls for reverting to ballot papers, saying the electoral process in India is a "humongous task" and attempts should not be made to "bring down the system".
'We bonded over the fact that we are both from Delhi and he spent a lot of his childhood in the same neighbourhood as me.'
In its closure report on Rohith Vemula's death, the Telangana police claimed he was not a Dalit and died by suicide in 2016 as he feared that his "real caste" would be discovered.
'All through the making of Dil Daulat Aur Duniya, Rajesh Khanna never acknowledged me.' 'Dev Anand couldn't carry off a dhoti in Insaaniyat. He told me that he would never wear one again.' 'Shammi Kapoor and I began on an icy note during Raajkumar, but once the cold vibes thawed, we became the best of buddies.'
'He told me he was very happy to see the realistic portrayal of the cockpit too.' 'His wife told me that I carried the same kind of personality as her husband in my performance.'
Zoya Akhtar's popular film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara turned 13 on July 15, and that sent its cast -- Katrina Kaif, Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar and Abhay Deol -- down memory lane.
Titled Ul Jalool Ishq, the film has been produced by Manish Malhotra, and the designer promptly invited his cast members and friends over for the wrap-up party.
Rohit Shetty's Singham Again just got itself a terrifying villain.
Sri Lanka on Saturday appointed former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed as their fast-bowling coach until the completion of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in June.
Former ISI DG Faiz Hameed's arrest sends a strong message to PTI supporters that Imran Khan's culpability for the May 9, 2023 violence could well be drawn within the purview of military courts, especially if General Hameed turns approver to save his skin, explains Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
'I have no family (in the industry), no network, no mentor.' 'Still, I'm consistently working since 20 years and now I have a National Award.' 'It may take time, but if you're consistently at it, nothing can stop you.'
And possibly in all of Asia, going by his reported fee of Rs 275 crore for Thalapathy 69, his coming movie.
'Coming out of a burning building with a machine gun in your hand, that is badass because you don't get to do that in real life.'
Bollywood turns up to watch Laal Singh Chaddha.
'...without looking into yourself.' 'What matters most is human relationships and the human mind.'
'If we are unable to move out of catering to people's tantrums or their unreasonable demands or people treating other people badly or being okay with differential treatment, it will affect the storytelling and the creativity.'
If you are looking for an average political thriller with good performances, Thalamai Seyalagam may interest you, suggests Divya Nair.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi asserted that the Congress will protect the Constitution and the reservation system at all costs and foil "conspiracies" of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
There is a lot more to Bollywood than the unguarded glimpses Showtime offers, observes Deepa Gahlot.
'I used to think I'll become a big heroine by 21-22, then I'll make a big, successful movie and then I would buy a house.' 'But when this was not happening for me, it was heartbreaking.'
With the Lok Sabha elections going on, May is rather silent when it comes to new Bollywood theatre releases.
'That's how big this taboo is.' 'It would be difficult for them to understand what I am trying to show with Jaggi.'
Original's goodwill, natural bonhomie amongst the actors and wild card entries, Stree 2's spirited return sure has its high points, notes Sukanya Verma.
'This isn't a post about Dimple's talent though she has that in spades, it's about the little I saw of her character. During a very difficult phase in my life she was one of a mere handful of people who publicly stood by me.'
Our caste warriors will not even ask these questions, let alone explore better solutions to address the problems of inequality and skewed life outcomes, argues R Jagannathan.
As news of Hasina's departure spread, hundreds broke into Hasina's residence, vandalising and looting the interiors, providing dramatic expression to the anti-government protests that have killed more than 100 people in the last two days. At the centre of people anger is the Hasina government's controversial quota system reserving 30 per cent jobs for families of veterans who fought the 1971 liberation war. With volatile crowds taking to the streets -- some clambering on Hasina's father and Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's statue and smashing it with hammers in a lasting image underscoring the fickleness of history -- Army chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman announced that the 76-year-old prime minister has resigned.
Comedies are a difficult genre to pull off in today's day and age, thanks to the audiences' increasing exposure to diverse content and dwindling attention spans. Still, there are quite a few Tamil movies that can bring on the laughs. Arjun Menon lists the recent releases you can watch at home.
'If there is a push towards a Marxist oriented government it will be dangerous.' 'We have seen this in Nepal and Myanmar and it will be a concern for India if it is surrounded by countries with such political dispensations.'
Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao played host at a screening of Laapataa Ladies.
'Whenever there is a women-oriented film, people think that it will be a serious film, or there will be men-bashing. But there's nothing like that. Women can do comedy very, very well.'
Arjun Menon looks at some Tamil films from the last decade that tick all the right boxes, and lists where you can watch them.
There's been so much interesting content on OTT. Subhash K Jha picks his Best Original Feature Films on digital platforms.
Mammootty is towering as the unflinching enigma that prevents Bramayugam from being a middling genre exercise, observes Arjun Menon.
When Adil Hussain declared that he regretted starring in Sandeep Vanga Reddy's Kabir Singh, he didn't know what he was getting into.
'Rather than criticising the kind of candidates fielded by political parties from our living rooms, NOTA in a sense implores the electorate to say this by turning up in person at a polling booth to ensure their protest is registered.'
