Saltwater crocodiles are the world's largest reptiles, and these had already disappeared from the coasts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh by the 1970s. In all of Bhitarkanika, there were only 96 of them left. The census this January noted their count at 1,682.
'Movie plots clearly don't excite director Dileesh Pothan as much as true stories where life had come dizzyingly close to becoming like a movie and then, had fused back with life.' 'This means that a conversation he overhears at a tea shop is more likely to give Pothan a setting for his next picture than a brainstorming session inside a conference room,' says Sreehari Nair.
The 2G judgment suggests many bureaucrats have poor application, inadequate interest and are unwilling to be active participants in the policy process, says Babu Jacob.
Why 'anti-Romeo'? Why not 'anti-loafer' squad? Or 'anti-Majnu' squad?' wonders Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'If Rao had, in fact, given a word to President Clinton in 1994 that India would not test, he would not have encouraged Vajpayee to test. The note, said to have been handed over to Vajpayee by Rao with the words, 'Now is the time to accomplish my unfinished task' may not have been a reference to nuclear tests at all,' says T P Sreenivasan.
In these dark, divisive times, Ajitha's humanity gives us cause for hope.
'Mahesh Bhavana is a young man who is beaten up in the town's marketplace and who consequently pledges that he won't wear his slippers again, till he avenges the beating.' 'But Mahesh can't get his revenge that easily -- his punisher is off to a distant land. So what does Mahesh do? He waits. And the town waits with him. And we wait with him.' 'Maheshinte Prathikaram is one of those movies where I didn't know what hit me. I don't remember another movie -- at least in recent times -- that I surrendered to with such happiness,' says Sreehari Nair.
India is mushrooming with Deve Gowda wannabes because being a former prime minister is better than being a former chief minister, says Shekhar Gupta.
The success story of Adani's Mundra Port in Gujarat, in terms of efficiency, technology and management, should be replicated at Vizhinjam to ensure that this ambitious project does not fail, say Shehzad Poonawalla and Riya Sinha.
'Criticism that Amnesty is interested in those in favour of independence for Kashmir is unfounded.'
After 20 plus years of threatening to offer us new sensations, Nagesh Kukunoor has finally let it rip, raves Sreehari Nair.
Kerala, Andhra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are facing a severe drought this year, affecting livelihoods as well as lives.
Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal, who had frosty relations with Narendra Modi when he was chief minister of the state, was tonight sent off to Mizoram in a reshuffle of governors effected by the government.
'In the medium term, the advantage is still with the BJP.' 'One reason for this is Shah's talent. He is a terrific organiser and builds his strategies around the grassroots worker,' says Aakar Patel.
In the year 2016, 8132 human trafficking cases have been reported in India.
'Although the Election Commission remains convinced about the EVM's integrity, as a fair umpire of the game it was necessary to travel the last mile to convince political players that the entire process was not only fair but transparently so.' A fascinating excerpt from former Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla's new book, Excerpted from Every Vote Counts: The Story Of India's Elections.
The new entrants are young, enterprising Chinese men and women who want to tap into the promising Indian market.
For the remaining projects, it is difficult to arrive at an estimate.
He pointed out that such a restriction is not prevalent in many Islamic countries.
'A film is not all about the hero. He is part of the journey, yes, but there is a lot more to the story.' After Maheshinte Prathikaram, Fahadh Faasil is back with a bang!
The All India Football Federation believes that the FIFA U-17 World Cup, beginning October 6, can be a catalyst for the sport.
'I stand here as a helpless father.' A retired soldier awaits the release of his son languishing in a Kenyan prison.
'There are many more bad marriages than we want to acknowledge,' says Deepa Narayan.
'I served the Indian Army and I am an ex-serviceman.' 'I look at this as a battle I am fighting after I left the army.' 'I will not leave till I get her back as my daughter Akhila, and I believe it will happen one day.'
In the crazily complex cauldron that is India, where caste, community, class and cash are just the primary ingredients, no one has yet come up with a fool-proof method to ascertain how voters make up their minds, on which button to press, in the privacy of their 'confessional' booths, notes Krishna Prasad.
The dent on India-US relations caused by L'affaire Devyani will not remain for long as those will be determined by strategic and economic considerations, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'He is still compulsively an operations man. Just a whiff of a live operation, and he is back in the field, at least in his mind. That is why the immediate decision to send the NSG to Pathankot.' 'But there is a difference between classical intelligence or counter-terror operation and dealing with a larger threat to a place as sensitive and sprawling as an air force base. This is what led to confusion and mix-ups,' says Shekhar Gupta.
A look at Indian celebs who got bowled over by foreigners!
The celebrations after the 2017 World Cup went on for the next few months. But there was one question that the Indian cricketers failed to respond to in their interviews. 'What was their next assignment?' Nobody knew; the players were waiting for the BCCI to tell them. The BCCI, with barely any time from its endless legal tangles, had nothing in mind immediately. The likes of Australia and England were back on the field, battling it out in the Ashes in front of sizeable crowds. But for Mithali Raj and team, there was no road ahead.
The movie may prove to be another turning point in the recent new wave Malayalam cinema.
We sorted through countless photographs taken around the world to come up with the top photos of 2019. Together these images tell the story of the year -- capturing moments of hope and heartbreak, triumph and tragedy.
'We have won our political freedom, we have liberalised our economy and now it's time to liberate our minds also. That is why this film.' Director Ketan Mehta lists his reasons for making Rang Rasiya.
'My wife was asked to get out of an autorickshaw because she was married to me. My children were targeted and branded a traitor's children. In spite of the Supreme Court and the NHRC having cleared my case, the state government is yet to close it. Local politicians are behind this. Why can't they close the case, give me compensation, accepting gracefully that they have wronged me?' Dr S Nambi Narayanan, the scientist who was accused and then exonerated in the 1994 ISRO spying case, speaks to Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier about his continuing travails and his recent meeting with Narendra Modi.
'The only choice we have is to strengthen ourselves militarily and economically and develop friendships with others without alarming our neighbours, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Dayanita Singh, artist and curator, is giving photography a new art form.
'My feeling is that these parties will not learn their lesson despite their electoral drubbing. They cannot put forward a leader. They have no record of improving their constituents' lives by providing basic services. All they offer is their "'secularism",' says T V R Shenoy.
'Errant bikers wearing branded t-shirts sponsored by local political parties raced through traffic, almost taking our breath away. Young kids stood at the edge of the roads, clicking selfies amid playing 'catch up' with their buddies, least bothered about the festival or its relevance.'
'In a relationship that does not permit cricket, how can the prime ministers embrace and send a false message,' asks Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.