In half a century, actors have aged or passed away, the shape of the city has altered, the film industry has changed beyond recognition, most single screens have made way for multiplexes, audiences tastes have changed, rural life is very different now, and inflation has devalued the rupee. But a great film is forever. Deepa Gahlot salutes Sholay, as it re-releases in theatres.
Dharmendra's oeuvre was so phenomenal that there was never a phase in his professional life when he was in danger of falling into a rut, in terms of either the kind of films he starred in or the sort of co-actors he worked with.
Film folk pay their last respects to Anand Sagar, who passed away on February 13.
Members of the film industry trouped in to say their last goodbyes to Manoj Kumar at a prayer meet held on Sunday evening.
Nearly three months after students and teachers launched protests demanding the removal of Tezpur University Vice Chancellor (VC) Shambhu Nath Singh, the Ministry of Education (MoE) asked him to proceed on leave and ordered the setting up of an enquiry panel to probe into the allegations against him, according to officials.
'I have always broken my image every time I went on screen. I don't know what it means to be a Greek God but people used to call me one.'
'I wanted to do something different, so I turned Dharamji into Hardy, making him waddle with Naseer's stick-like Laurel.' 'People enjoyed seeing him in these avatars. When you work with an evergreen superstar like Dharamji, you can make such 'items'.'
The film industry bid an emotional farewell to Manoj Kumar, one of Bollywood's legendary actors.
Former Janata Dal-United president R C P Singh joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday in the presence of Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, after which he accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, once his mentor, of compromising with crime and corruption in his pursuit of "kursi" (chair).
The investigation into the Lamborghini crash in Kanpur takes a new turn as a man claims he was driving, contradicting police evidence that points to the owner's son.
Intense lobbying continues among NDA partners in Bihar to finalize cabinet berths and the Assembly Speaker post ahead of the swearing-in ceremony. Consensus is being sought between BJP and JD(U) for the Speaker's position, while new faces are expected in the cabinet. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for November 20.
NDA partners engage in intense lobbying to finalize cabinet berths ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the new Bihar government led by Nitish Kumar. The new cabinet is expected to include fresh faces from BJP and JD(U), along with representation from smaller alliance partners.
'The move to appoint a person with a profile, markedly lower than the leader Nitin Nabin will replace, has the potential to put the brakes on the careers of several others in the party and government in the positions they currently hold,' points out Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
'At times when the pressure, glitz and glam felt horribly garish, there he was with no pretences or guile. A sweet reminder that life is about the real things not the fluff.'
'Sholay had a sargam of human emotions.'
Winnability to be paramount in selection of candidates, followed by clean public image and proven loyalty to the BJP.
'I made a big fuss about playing Manoj Kumar's mother, but he had made up his mind. He said he would wait until I made up my mind. I was about 40 then. He was so large and I was so tiny!'
Even after 50 years, Sholay remains a lasting reminder of unity, shared memories and the joy of cinema, notes Mohammad Asim Siddiqui.
Less than 10 days are left for filing of nomination papers for the first phase of the Bihar polls.
Here's a roundup of all Ranji Trophy matches played on Day 1 on Wednesday.
'It's there in everyone's heart. That's the beauty of masterpieces.'
Cracks appear within Bihar's ruling NDA alliance as partners bicker over seat sharing ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. Jitan Ram Manjhi's HAM demands a respectable number of seats, while Chirag Paswan's LJP seeks more than initially agreed upon.
Each leader will look after six assembly constituencies.
Most of these leaders are known for their organisational skills and successful management of elections in their respective states.
Besides the national capital, polling will be held Saturday in 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, all 10 seats of Haryana, eight seats each in Bihar and West Bengal, six seats in Odisha, four seats in Jharkhand and one seat in Jammu and Kashmir. Simultaneously, polling will be held for 42 assembly constituencies in Odisha.
'The way the anticipation is built up for Gabbar Singh's introduction scene with sound, image and details of his personality, like the combat boots he wears.' 'The camera comes so close -- not a tele lens shot, but a wide-angle close-up -- that you can almost smell Gabbar's breath.'
Internal discord within the INDIA bloc has led to alliance partners contesting against each other in at least eight assembly seats in Bihar. The Congress, RJD, and Left parties are facing challenges in seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming elections.
What if Sholay were produced now, in our technologically advanced era, with AI vying for our attention?, asks Atanu Biswas.
Dharmendra Kumar Singh says the Bihar chief minister may be fighting a losing battle.
'I make films which I think have the possibility of being liked by a majority of people, and you present it with the right emotions.'
'Panchamda created an exclusive theme music for Gabbar Singh, which is used throughout the film every time the dacoit makes an appearance, and in both concept and sound, is so eerie and evil.'
'I wouldn't change a single shot even if I could, the film is just perfect even with a supposedly flawed script!' Celebrating Sholay's 50th anniversary on August 15 with a special series, where contemporary film folk analyse the cult classic.
'The way Helen ma'am grooves, she's so seductive.'
'The second Sunday after Sholay's release, Amjad and Shehla had taken Shadaab to Juhu beach. They were strolling leisurely when, to Shehla's shock, he suddenly picked up their son, grabbed her hand and pulled her along, urging her to run. They raced towards their car and had just managed to get in and lock the doors when all hell broke loose. Hundreds started banging on the car, shouting, 'Gabbar Singh bahar niklo!''
Sholay's Basanti is the face of women's empowerment and gender equality. That's why, half a century after the movie first released, we're still talking about her.
'Editor M S Shinde deserves full credit because, I'm told, Ramesh Sippy had shot 300,000 feet of footage, which was brought down to 18,000. 'He died in 2012, in a 126 square foot flat in Dharavi, penniless, a forgotten hero.'
Jammu and Kashmir's Shubham Khajuria struck a fighting, unbeaten century to rescue North Zone, but South Zone remained favourites to progress to the Duleep Trophy final, in Bengaluru on Saturday.
Veteran filmmaker Chandra Barot, best known for directing the 1978 Amitabh Bachchan-starrer 'Don', passed away on Sunday due to cardiac arrest at a hospital in Mumbai. He was 86.
Today's Hindi film mothers are younger, trendier, more mischievous. But, truth be told, says Dinesh Raheja, I still do miss sometimes the comforting presence of the trad mother.
'Dharmendra was paying a little extra attention to me and she didn't like it.'
