'Which is your favourite scene in the film?' 'The scene where I get beaten up by the police in the lock-up and my friend Murad (Ranveer Singh) comes to meet me.' 'It was an emotional scene and showed a tough guy like Moeen in a vulnerable state.' 'Also, you witness a deep friendship in that scene.' 'I know the value of friends and I know that a friend can unconditionally help another.' 'It's very reflective of my own life.'
'When Nawazuddin Siddiqui -- one of India's finest actors -- was told not to perform in a Ramleela, I realised how much Hinduism has been hijacked by Hindutva forces in the last 30 years,' says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'I can't remember seeing Dhoni do wicket-keeping drills at the nets'
The ruling AIADMK is leaving no stone unturned to win the Vellore Lok Sabha poll and push its tally to two in the state, with its candidate even donning the skull cap to woo minority votes. But the DMK's stars are clearly on the ascendant in the lone constituency that goes to the polls on August 5. A Ganesh Nadar reports.
The film leaves much to be desired, writes Nishi Tiwari.
In an era when the misguided youth of today are trying to build political careers by subscribing to divisive ideologies, they need to look to independent thinking icons such as Acharya Kripalani, says Mohammad Sajjad.
There was a leadership crisis in the Board of Control for Cricket in India following the passing away of former chief Jagmohan Dalmiya, forcing the wise men in control of the all-powerful sports body to get into a huddle and recall Shashank Manohar to helm the Board yet again, four years after he had finished off his first term.
'Karan Johar is the busiest person in Bollywood, but he still talkS to us to know just what are we wearing to what event and what promotions.'
'Rich Indians don't give cash, they give gold. Why?' 'Because cash is spent by temples on prasad or doing some charitable work.' 'Gold remains intact with god,' says Aakar Patel.
18-year old Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra had recently scripted history by becoming the first Indian athlete to become a world champion at any level when he won a gold medal at the U-20 World Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland on July 23. His 86.48m effort brought India's first World record and the country's first-ever gold in any World athletics championships. An attempt at a wild card entry into 2016 Rio Olympics didn't materialize and Chopra will now be one of India's top medal hopes at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
From the Aadhaar verdict to #MeToo's arrival in the country to the entry into the Sabarimala temple -- India had a newsworthy 2018. As we step into 2019, these are the top moments from the year gone by.
A look at the top tweets from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
Were Kareena and Priyanka catty enough? YOU tell us in this poll!
Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat, 21, received the Mahavir Chakra in the 1962 War with China. Such was his valour that a temple and museum stands on the land he died defending in the icy valley of Arunachal Pradesh.
'India has always been a land of acceptance of diversity. But if the evangelical activities continue unabated, there is no doubt this will cause a backlash.' 'One exclusive ideology begets another. The hit list will spread. The more strident the evangelists, the more strident the voices for Ghar Wapsi will grow.'
The lasting influence of Amitabh Bachchan's Supremo, hitchhiking with Salman Khan, a taste of Tom Alter, Padmaavat's best scene and more in Sukanya Verma's Super-filmi Week.
'This was Kohli's veneration for his master: The man who had inspired him to pick up a cricket bat in the first place, the man he had grown up watching. Just that now, he was exactly like him, or, dare it be suggested, maybe a shade better while chasing down daunting totals,' says Dhruv Munjal.
'I have only this to say to those who talk about Mewar rulers and Akbar's brutality -- do you expect a king to not expand his kingdom?' 'You have entire cities named after Muslim rulers. It's time our heroes got their due.'
Reshma Qureshi's face was destroyed by acid. It did not stop her.
With the images of Rajendra Babu, Radhakrishnan, K R Narayanan, V V Giri and Kalam in my mind, the image of my beloved hero dancing ungainly to 'Merey angney main tumharra kya kaam hai', doesn't make a smooth transition, says Sudhir Bisht.
This Puja-typical behaviour invariably tells you how enthusiastic Bengalis are when it comes to Devi Durga and dhunuchi naach and everything in between.
Sreehari Nair is *not* impressed by this lot of films at all.
As Kerala Blasters kick-off their ISL campaign against NorthEast United FC in their opener in Kochi on Tuesday, October 6, Spaniard Josue Currais-Preito is looking forward to wow Indian crowds with his technical acumen.
Amitabh Bachchan is the most popular movie star on the platform.
'It was a big relief to get it out of the way. Now he can concentrate on future progress.'
Mohan Bhagwat said the temple would be constructed in the same grandeur as it existed before, using the "same stones" under the guidance of those who were the flag-bearers of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement for the last 25 years.
'I have been cast in the lead in an Australian medical drama, Pulse.' 'It is a huge break for my career.' Aussie actress Pallavi Sharda on Begum Jaan, working with Vidya Balan and why she hopes Bollywood will offer her a comedy or romantic film soon.
'It was only relatively recently that Subhash Kapoor was able to secure the sources in India, Afghanistan and Cambodia, that allowed him to get the really highest level objects, and that helped propel him in recent years up the ranks.'
R K Laxman immortalised the passive, hapless common man with an uncanny perception
Modi has debunked the uncontested wisdom of foreign and strategic policy remaining unchanged and running on a broad national consensus. This is clearly seen in his unhesitating embrace of the US and the clear hardening shift in India's stance on Pakistan, says Shekhar Gupta.
A cathedral premises and a Catholic school where people had gathered for a religious convention were vandalised allegedly by Hindu activists at Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.
'Sasikala went to jail in a 19-year-old case.' 'Dinakaran went to jail in a case of attempting to bribe the Election Commission.' 'How can you link the BJP to these two cases?'
The HRX story will be watched closely by many, for Bollywood stars have rarely made the transition from movies to business.
'We aren't so unreasonable as to demand that he should have fully reversed Indira Gandhi's worst economic legacy, bank nationalisation.' 'But he could have made a beginning by selling off the two most stressed small public sector banks, and then announced that each year for the next 10, one government bank with the most messed-up balance sheet will be sold.' 'It would have electrified the markets, shocked his other banks into better behaviour, and marked his name among the great reformers,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
Fighting heavy odds, J Jayalalithaa proved her detractors wrong again with her grit and determination as she steered the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to power for a second consecutive term, bucking the tradition since 1989 when no party has retained power in Tamil Nadu.
Economist S Janakarajan, in an interview to Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com warns that without proper infrastructure, India will never be able to build a market economy.
If Manto, the film, falls short of being a masterpiece it's because Nandita Das could not quite crack the Manto code: She couldn't quite see the wholeness of her subject with the same eyes that Manto saw his people. This imperfection in the film, in a way, becomes the greatest tribute to Manto, feels Sreehari Nair.
'Is there a connection between the way we pitched the entire issue of Udta Punjab's censorship and the apologetic, full-of-very-specific-answers tone of the movie?' 'Maybe it's just me, but as an Indian liberal, I am more scared of us liberals than I am of the average Indian conservative bloke,' says Sreehari Nair.
Heading to Kanyakumari? You won't regret a visit to the Thirparappu waterfalls.
'My age? It keeps changing every year. I can't remember it. I don't like ageing at all,' dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai, who passed into the ages on Thursday, told Jasmine Shah Verma in October 2004. Reproduced with kind permission from Harmony - Celebrate Age magazine.
