'...But my strong suit will not be dancing,' Kal Penn tells Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com, in the concluding part of the interview.
'The way the winners react and the speeches they deliver.' 'That is where the fun happens, when the actors and other winners let down their guard, challenge the system, talk about issues that should matter to us,' says Aseem Chhabra.
The prayer, Sarvejana Sukhinobhavantu, or let the whole universe of living beings be well, helps. So do profound and relevant Ancient Wise Words and aphorisms: Vasudaiva Kutumbakam, or the whole world is one big family, interconnected, interdependent. And a sense of humour, jokes, pranks, writing, conversations. And, last but definitely not least, the rippling waves of inner realisation on the background mind-track -- about the insignificance of ego, the importance of humility, the wasted opportunities in life, the wrong moves, the strokes of luck, the past 'sins', the what-ifs.
When TV stars take on the big screen...
'After the trailer was out, people felt it did not look like ancient India, but how much you do know about Mohenjo Daro? We have found certain coins and objects like a dancing girl, a bearded man... it is difficult to create a world based that only. There are certain things that you have to imagine.' Mohenjo Daro actor Nitish Bhardwaj defends his film.
The hits and misses of the week.
Is Mumbai done with shared lives and overshared living spaces?
'Jurassic World is a perfectly passable blockbuster with a B-movie heart -- but why on earth would you want to watch something so unremarkable when Mad Max: Fury Road is still in theatres and gets better on each viewing?' asks Raja Sen.
'At a festival that has shown so many brilliant films, I cannot be more thrilled to receive this award,' said Slave's director Steve McQueen.
'People ask me if I miss living a normal life, since I don't have privacy, and I tell them I don't want to have a normal life. I want people standing outside my house, I want to be loved by them. I have been fortunate enough to live like a star for 25 years and I would like to die as a star.' Shah Rukh Khan, unplugged.
Madras Cafe is a swift, smart and serious study of an inglorious chapter of history, writes Sukanya Verma.
'Single life is pretty good. I like the attention. If I feel lonely, I just call my mom and she sleeps in my bed,' Kalki Koechlin tells Rediff.com contributor Paloma Sharma.
We present our alphabet of 2020, pulling in everything you'll remember about this year we'd rather forget.
'Saaho is one of the biggest films I have worked in.' 'Recently, we shot one of the biggest action sequences you will see in Indian cinema.'
A look at the red carpet.
Sukanya Verma's super-filmi week marks a star-studded start to the year
A hard, unrelenting film that doesn't give in to over-sentimentality, Citylights is like the city of Mumbai -- it beats you down and when you are broken, takes you in its arms and loves you. Suparn Verma, who has directed films like Aatma, Acid Factory and Ek Khiladi and Ek Haseena, raves about the film.
A look at the top tweets from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
'Director Ali Abbas Zafar has directed a monstrous film, one with a repellent 70s-set storyline that makes no sense whatsoever, and a cast who should all hang their heads and offer up a minute's silence for assaulting their respective filmographies,' says Raja Sen after watching Gunday.
Here come the gorgeous guests!
The hits and misses of the week.
The film is based on the Arushi Talwar murder case.
Bollywood celebrities mourn the death of the charismatic actor.
'This is a giant film, a magnum opus drunk on its own magnum-ity, and it is perfectly clear early on, as the narrative races out the gate and gauntlets are flung up in the air and shot through with arrows, that a film like this can only work as opera,' says Raja Sen.
Sukanya Verma looks at the various baap-beti equations depicted on the screen.
Aseem Chhabra picks 10 fascinating films he watched in Macao -- a blend of Asian, independent, Hollywood projects and even a 66-years-old classic Japanese film that still stands the test of time.
'Salman has changed a lot in the past few years. He was totally different when I shot with him for Jai Ho. He has mellowed down, but I don't like him like this.'
Om Puri was that rare actor who could carry a film on sheer power and versatility of his performance
Raja Sen feels The Lunchbox id this generation's Masoom.
Great movies coming up, led by Bollywood's gorgeous ladies.
A look at the Holi releases in the past decade.
More Indians are watching films across screens, TV, online and other platforms than ever before. Whether it is by tackling costs, processes or revenues, the trick is to find a way of making money from all of them, says Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
Haider is a remarkable achievement and one of the most powerful political films we've ever made, a bonafide masterpiece that throbs with intensity and purpose.
'Films were made on a very low budget, so if there was a small defect, we would let it pass, and audiences often didn't catch those defects.' Shyam Ramsay tells us his 'horror' story.
'When the same rotten paratha is served to someone year after year, it shocks them when all of a sudden there is a change in taste.' Kay Kay Menon justifies why he took up Yudh.
