'In the BJP I realised they are a different people with different mindset. They had a different ideology which was more rigid, and somewhere I was not comfortable.'
When an actor has worked for as long as Manoj Bajpayee, one tends to lose their sense of originality under the sheen of stardom. But the actor's versatility sparkles in his willingness to start on a fresh note every single time, applauds Sukanya Verma.
When he left his job in Calcutta to go to Bombay to become a film actor, Amitabh Bachchan took his driver's license along.
For the first time in his political career, he failed to carry his party to even a working majority -- and again, for the first time in his career, he finds himself in a situation where he cannot rule by dictatorial fiat, points out Prem Panicker.
The strikes are targeting tunnels, ammunition, and rockets all around Shifa. Hamas expects the IDF will enter the hospitals in one or two days.
Concerned over the washout of Parliament this week, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said Parliament is not meant for "disruptions" and also appealed to his "political colleagues" to keep aside politics from major economic decisions.
In nearly 100 seats, the BJP stands almost no chance of winning. In 200 seats, it is a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress where the BJP has an upper hand. In 243 seats, the BJP is pitted against regional parties and it is not going to be easy. That is why 400 seats may end up as a pipe dream, states Ramesh Menon, author of Modi Demystified: The Making of a Prime Minister.
The Opposition's stand on the Ayodhya consecration is puzzling. Their only objection seems to be that the BJP has hijacked a religious event for political benefit. In saying this, the Opposition is either being naive or hypocritical, argues Jyoti Punwani.
'Today, it doesn't and shouldn't matter if you marry late, marry and divorce, marry for the second time, marry younger or older or not marry at all.'
'Nobody really talks about the middle of relationships or the mundane parts... (When the end comes) we think, "Wow, this is the worst time of my life. This is horrible. It's never been worse". But actually, I feel the endings are what makes us who we are.'
Subhash K Jha picks his favourite films of 2023 from south India.
Arsenal beat Manchester City 4-1 in a penalty shootout to win the Community Shield on Sunday
When the Constitution is viewed from the context in which it emerged, it is nothing short of remarkable, he asserted.
Blind's drab narrative has no place for emotions or edge. Its prolonged cat-and-mouse game goes on and on till it arrives at its (literally) eye-popping conclusion, notes Sukanya Verma.
One looks upon the coming new year with foreboding as current wars in Ukraine and Gaza spill over and escalate and new ones erupt in incipient fault lines across the world, notes former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Today, with China centrally seated and located, the Global South has an intriguing road ahead. Odds of it becoming a Chinese bloc in the emerging new bipolar world are higher than we'd wish them to be, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'Criticism is one thing, and cynicism is quite another.' 'However, we are undaunted by this negativity because we know the truth.'
'There are many options before opposition parties and this nation has a wealth of leadership.'
Sukanya Verma celebrates her milestone 40th birthday on July 16 by looking at the 10 important performances of her career.
There they were, showing the world that there are still people motivated not by religious structures, not by past glories, not by hatreds deliberately stoked. These were ordinary folks doing something extraordinary purely because they think that effort might shake a nation out of a spiralling miasma of division, mistrust, cynicism, sophistry and violence.
The Maltese resolution envisages a win-win situation, which the two parties fail to see in their mood to bring each other to book. It may well mark the beginning of the end of war, predicts Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Delving into deeper topics, fleshing out a timely satire, rooting for womanhood while being full of beans, dance, music, charm and comedy, Greta Gerwig's creativity knows no bounds, raves Sukanya Verma.
For the most battle-hardened, specialised and successful counter-insurgency army in the world, this is an unfamiliar, first-time experience of dealing with the north east's deepest complexities, observes Shekhar Gupta.
The UN Security Council on Wednesday failed to adopt a Brazil-led draft resolution that would have called for humanitarian pauses in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict to allow full access for aid to the Gaza strip after the US vetoed the text.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
In Khufiya, a mother's journey, a lover's vendetta and a country's mission, skewed patriotism and moral disengagement coalesce and highlight the nature of the spying business, notes Sukanya Verma.
'A large portion of youngsters who aspire to join the civil services are not motivated by the spirit of public service and idealism of which the civil services offer in abundance.' 'When they join the mandarin club they look for the loaves and fishes of office, rather than make a difference and wipe what Mahatma Gandhi called 'every tear from every Indian',' points out Rup Narayan Das.
Clubbing in multiple weddings in one go dilutes some of the conversation. Conflicts are resolved too neatly and grey areas of complicated equations are left on a note of ambiguity, observes Sukanya Verma after watching the second season of Made in Heaven.
Watch Jubilee's concluding episodes. Radhika Apte is a housewife turned spy. Mithunda makes his OTT debut. Sukanya Verma lists her recommendations.
Amid the spirited debate, the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly approved a draft resolution on combating the glorification of Nazism by a recorded vote of 105 in favour to 52 against, with 15 abstentions.
Zombies, multiverse, tragedy, Japanese culinary traditions, you'll find it aplenty on OTT this week.
Those who consider the rupee as a proxy for virility have started thumping their chests and dreaming of dethroning the dollar from its coveted position, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Not so hatke after all, but no reason to stay bachke either, notes Sukanya Verma.
Mukesh was most emotionally bonded to this tune, so all we will do is look at his songs engaging with this raag in films. In his fascinating book, Windows To The Soul: And Other Essays on Music, Manek Premchand reveals something we don't much know about the legendary singer, who was born 100 years ago on July 22.
Many films and shows go back in time to bring alive so many fading and forgotten memories.
The challenge is to enhance opportunities for people to generate livelihoods through entrepreneurship, both big and small, argues R Jagannathan.
After a dry, dreadful, spell of darkness and desolation, it looks like Bollywood love stories are ready to rock the silver screen again.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup match played between USA and Wales on Monday.
