Stories are legion about the Karatmeter's use at that time. Hundreds of people standing in queue for testing, customers breaking down after discovering the actual purity of their jewellery and then becoming irate about the jeweller who had gypped them, the local jewellery industry leaning heavily on the Tanishq franchisees to desist from using it, some jewellers even threatening violent action.
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack begins by asking why the hijack lasted seven days and ends in wondering if the good guys fought the bad ones hard enough, observes Sukanya Verma.
Even as our tier-2 and tier-3 cities become increasingly well-mapped, and well-documented through myriad tech-driven data, the Indian film-maker's dominantly urban gaze turns to regions not crowded by data, area codes, or directions, observes Debarghya Sanyal.
From the 'khiladi' brand of movies rocking his boat to a love for starring in biopics and scripts inspired by true stories to headlining endless remakes of South Indian hits, there's a pattern to the man and his methods.
Paramount Global has agreed to sell its 13 per cent stake in its Indian TV business to Reliance Industries for Rs 4,286 crore, the Indian firm said on Thursday. In a stock exchange filing, Reliance said it has signed a binding agreement with two subsidiaries of Paramount Global to acquire 13.01 per cent equity stake of Viacom 18 Media Private Limited held by Paramount Global. Similarly, in a filing on the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Paramount Global said the closing of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of certain customary conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, as well as the completion of a previously announced joint venture involving Reliance, Viacom18 and Star Disney.
A new entrant, whether a popular actor or not, has not been able to sweep the polls, as their fans had hoped for. Given a proven pattern, it should hold true for Vijay as well. Or, something drastically has to happen between now and 2026, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The whole narrative will change from TV is dying to TV-plus-digital is the future.'
Questions that the state had come to recognise over time but consistently delayed treating seriously because doing so requires an overhaul of perspective and lifestyle, notes Shyam G Menon.
'In terms of ticket sales, Hindi is at 50-60 per cent while the South markets are at 80-90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.' The patchy performance of Hindi, the largest segment of the business is the nub of what is bothering Indian cinema.
The fate of the $10 billion merger between Zee Entertainment Enterprises and Culver Max Entertainment, formerly Sony Pictures Networks India, is hanging by a thread, with the two parties unable to finalise an agreement as the end of the one-month grace period looms. The two parties are yet to come to an agreement over Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) MD and CEO Punit Goenka leading the merged entity after Sony expressed concerns after market regulator Sebi barred him from holding managerial posts in Zee and any of the entities in a fund-diversion case.
The luminous Waheeda Rehman will be honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award this year,
A stake sale of Reliance's real estate portfolio would help it raise anything between $1-5 billion and could be one of the triggers for the company's shares to break out.
'India has the largest slate of local original content outside the US.'
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) is seeking rapprochement with Sony Group as it makes a last-ditch effort to resurrect a $10 billion merger, according to industry sources. After the Japanese multinational firm pulled the plug on its $10 billion merger deal in January, the Indian company reached out again to Sony to reconsider the termination and offered for talks this month, a source said. On the other hand, Sony is understood to be evaluating the proposal from Zee.
'We share everything with each other.'
Today, Anirudh Ravichander's name on a film's poster is enough to pull in audiences, notes Arjun Menon.
Priyanka Chopra, Irrfan Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui make a global statement on the power of Indian cinema, says Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
Culver Max Entertainment, formerly known as Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), has terminated merger agreements with Zee Entertainment, which could have otherwise created a USD 10 billion media enterprise in the country.
Watching Aavesham is like sprinting through the whole history of our mass-masala movies and seeing it in a new light, notes Sreehari Nair. And this, incidentally, is the story of Fahadh Faasil's career too.
Dazzling, dancing and decked to the hilt, courtesans in Hindi films are a breathtaking mix of shiny fantasy and flirtatious poetry to behold.
Khichdi needs a lot more masala, observes Deepa Gahlot.
'You have to fight your own battles and I fought mine.'
Indications are that the DMK combine will win more seats than the AIADMK and BJP, but is facing a tough fight in about half a dozen from the rest, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy of the electoral contest in Tamil Nadu.
Sharmin Segal is described as a "combination of Divya Bharti and Preity Zinta" while Mizaan Jaaferi is said to convey the "reckless passion" of Shah Rukh Khan and the "bridled intensity" of Ajay Devgn.
Ironically, rival Tamil Nadu governments expend the most on social welfare schemes, especially targeting women and youth and children, but that money comes only by selling more liquor. There is always the specious plea, which has been peddled very many times in the past, that without licensed liquor, drinkers would go after hooch and there could be more hooch tragedies and hooch deaths. No one is convinced, but no one can dispute it either, comments N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Israeli envoy said Nadav Lapid has abused the Indian invitation to chair the panel of judges at IFFI Goa, as well as, the trust bestowed on him.
Reliance's network includes the wide reach of IM Global,
Gadar 2 and OMG 2 have collected Rs 72.50 crore (Rs 725 million) between themselves on August 15, the Independence Day holiday.
Ghoomer is an efficient crowd-pleaser that puts a lump in the throat, a tear in the eyes, and a smile on the face, all at the same time, applauds Mayur Sanap.
Assume Voot, JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar are merged into one entertainment app, and you have a streaming service with more than 233 million unique visitors. That is a reach just under half of India's largest streaming app: YouTube. 'This level of consolidation does not exist even in the US.'
'If the South starts shooting on IMAX more, it will be beneficial. And likewise, it will benefit Bollywood directors.'
'Depicting the genocide of 3 lakh #KashmiriHindus cannot be called vulgar.'
In 1989 when Bajaj came out with their legendary and elegant Hamara Bajaj campaign, that looked more at apna India, rather than the scooter, and at all hues of scootered Indians, it drew millions of eyeballs and was brilliantly successful.
'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.'
10 recipes our readers savoured this year.
Unfazed by the widespread criticism of his comments against the Hindi film The Kashmir Files, Israeli director and IFFI international jury chair Nadav Lapid said he stands by his remarks as he "knows how to recognise propaganda disguised as a movie".
The acquisitions were made in areas which are closely related to Reliance's key businesses - telecom, internet, retail, digital, media, education, digital, chemicals and energy.
Seven years ago, Ravishankar Venkateswaran heard a story during a bus ride.
'If he has not achieved 'Congress mukt Bharat' even now, the question of his creating a 'DMK mukt Tamil Nadu' does not arise,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
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