'Cinema is such a powerful medium. It is not just the emotional impact, but some of these films are so strong that your entire body cannot help but react.'
Payal Kapadia, celebrated for her Grand Prix win at Cannes, has been appointed jury president for the 65th Cannes Critics Week.
A 40-year-old lost Malayalam cinematic gem, John Abraham's Amma Ariyan, has been meticulously restored in 4K by the Film Heritage Foundation and is now set to grace the prestigious Cannes Classics section
Pankaja and O'Sey Balamma bring deeply personal yet universally resonant stories to Sundance. They represent a new wave of South Indian storytelling, blending cultural authenticity with cinematic innovation, and mark an important step in amplifying regional voices on the international stage.
'We are not AI. We are allowed to break, and rebuild.'
Om Puri would have been 75 in October. We look back at his early years through these 16 pictures from his life.
With Piravi, Shaji N Karun joined the select group of great masters of film. Malayalam once upon a time used to produce such films. Today, it is only mindless violence, politics and grotesque humour. The films have no soul, although they are technically quite good. With Shaji's passing, and earlier with his mentor G Aravindan's untimely death, an era is coming to an end. Rajeev Srinivasan salutes the master, who passed into the ages on April 28.
From India's entry to the Oscars to the foodie flamboyance of Bollywood's first family to Srikant Tiwari's hope for a hat-trick and Korean entertainment in deeply dark mode, it's raining OTT goodies this week.
'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.'
Never before in history have Cannes and its sidebars found space for eight Indian, or India-themed, films.
More screens, more films, and longer windows will convert to more people watching, assuming they know a film is releasing, points out Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
'He was a tremendous artist of a very high order, gone too soon. He not only reshaped the visual language of Indian Cinema through his cinematography in Aravindan's films, Shaji sir gave us all a sense of direction through his mainstream work as a cameraman.'
'Naseer does not have the sense of humour that Om Puri has. 'Also Om has a great deal of compassion as a human being. Naseer was too focused on his own self.' A fascinating excerpt from Sangeeta Datta's book, Shyam Benegal.
'Thank you to the Cannes Film Festival for having our film here. Please don't wait 30 years to have another Indian film.'
'My family are the mainstream audience and think I am wasting my time. Until I make a Rs 100 crore film, they won't be convinced.'
'Agra is about sexuality and sexual repression, and the relationship of sexuality to the physical spaces that we are in.'
The Malayalam actor has signed on to star in Abhay Simha's Kannada film Shikari. Talks are on to rope in Konkana Sen Sharma as the female lead.
'I hadn't worked for three-and-a-half years.' 'I felt industry was based on who you knew.' 'I didn't belong to a network.'
'I have always looked at people and said, 'You just have to accept. You just have to love. You just have to let this person be and the trouble would be less.' 'But we keep complicating things, and that is the tragedy -- our desire not to understand.'
Asked about the students' agitation in FTII, he said he will talk about it only after taking charge but added that it was a "difficult situation" and he hoped to do his best.
Prashant Pathrabe, a 1992 batch officer of IIS, has been given temporary charge as director of the FTII.
'Mrs shows a dark side to the son and the father.' 'I had to do things that I wouldn't dare to do in real life.'
It is the first Indian film in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 30 years.
'What a tragic loss for cinema, for India.'
In a special series, we will put YOU to the test everyday!
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.
Mithun Chakraborty started from scratch in bit roles and had no Godfather backing him. Yet, remarkably, his career now straddles six decades and he continues to win acclaim, observes Dinesh Raheja.
His cinema of compassion inspired me, gave me tools to develop empathy for others. But it also made me understand that serious, socially committed cinema with deeply engaging narratives and great performances is an art form to admire, appreciate and explore. Aseem Chhabra remembers Shyam Benegal, who passed into the ages on Monday evening.
Satish Kaushik passed away following a heart attack early Thursday morning, said his close friend and industry colleague Anupam Kher.
'He used to do his homework before singing a song.' 'He used to find out who the hero of the movie would be or the situation in which the song would play in the film.' 'Accordingly, he moulded his voice.' 'For example, he sang Tel Maalish and Main Bambai Ka Babu for Johnny Walker in Johnny Walker style.' 'He would sing in different tones for Shammi Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Guru Dutt.'
A non-strategic investor like Poonawalla brings in not only capital but also creative freedom. Indian cinema needs more investors like him, reports Vanita Kohli Khandekar.
The FTII students, faculty and alumni have reacted sharply against the measure arguing that it conveyed a wrong impression of the situation at the Film and Television Institute of India and projected the students as "criminals or terrorists".
When contacted, Pathrabe had told PTI earlier in the evening that he had been gheraoed by the students, but was "safe".
'What is Balaji without Ekta (Kapoor), what is Dharma without Karan (Johar?)'
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.
'I have nostalgia for Ladakhi culture, which is common to both Muslims and Buddhists.' 'It is kind of a Buddhist way of life. You are compassionate and nice to each other.' 'You are good human beings.'
'I defy all the controversy. For me, it is meaningless. They say the students are unhappy that I have been appointed as the head of FTII. They have not seen my work so how can they be unhappy?' Gajendra Chauhan tries to justify his appointment to head the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India.
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