'When films resonate with the audience, it gives you the confidence to take more risks.'
Anjali Lama tells Anita Aikara/Rediff.com how she struggles to find acceptance in society and work in the city.
'Life has been my greatest teacher.'
At 27, Uppma Virdi is telling stories, connecting cultures and making a killing out of chai.
A look at models who wowed the Cannes red carpet.
Dear readers, we had asked you to send in your personal finance queries to be answered by Basis founder and CEO Hena Mehta. Here's the first batch of responses.
'I always wanted to play a negative character, so I was like why not play it with Mr Bhansali?' 'As they say, be careful what you wish for.' 'I wanted to play an antagonist and I got the most evil one ever.'
An illuminating excerpt from T C A Raghavan's History Men: Jadunath Sarkar, G S Sardesai, Raghubir Sinh And Their Quest For India's Past.
'On Saturday, I drove my wife over to Beverly Hills for sushi.' 'Two blocks before Rodeo, we turned the car around, because we saw hundreds driving pickup trucks and marching down sidewalks, yelling, donning MAGA gear, and waving huge Trump flags.' I tell you... It was scary.' 'And this didn't look like a defeated throng.' 'These folks looked like they knew something we didn't,' notes Rajiv Satyal, the Los Angeles-based comedian and host.
'Feeling claustrophobic and humiliated by the manner in which the Congress vice-president was treating him, he started toying with the idea of floating his own party.'
'They will talk about secularism, but communalism -- they just won't say there exists such a beast.' 'It's harmful for society to brush it under the carpet.' 'If we talk about secularism, we must talk about communalism.'
Savji Dholakia, the diamond magnate who sent away his son to gain a 'hands-on' life experience, likes to do things the hard way.
'I am not minimising either the seriousness or the complex nature of the current situation.' 'Naturally, we have to do what it takes to secure our borders.' 'We are talking to the Chinese, both through military channels and diplomatic ones.'
'In fact, they work in tandem.' 'When it comes to finding a solution, this must be predicated on honouring all agreements and understandings.' 'And not attempting to alter the status quo unilaterally.'
The crash between a Kazakhstan Airlines Ilyushin Il-76 and a Saudia Boeing 747 over Charkhi Dadri in Haryana occurred 24 years ago.' During the lockdown, journalist Bhavya Dore reported on it from her home. Her article found a proud mention in the Bloomsburg Jealousy List 2020.
'I want to play the heroine.' 'Why not?' 'I can dance, I can act and hopefully through Begum Jaan, people will notice me and say, 'Chalo isko yeh bhi karathay hai.'
'The 17-year-old boy, who pulled out Nirbhaya's intestines, should have got the harshest punishment because he was not human at the time.' 'Instead, he was given a sewing machine and some money to have a new beginning!' 'Are we giving out incentives?' 'Are we telling our unemployed youth that if they do something like this, the government will give them jobs?'
'Reports in a section of media regarding Union Minister Shri Arun Jaitley's health condition are false and baseless. Media is advised to stay clear of rumour mongering,' Government Spokesman Sitanshu Kar tweeted.
Sharmila Nair's campaign '18 Shades of Black' is inspiring Indian women to talk about the restrictions they faced while growing up and encouraging people to find solutions.
'When the Americans are talking about colonising Mars by 2030, India cannot be lagging behind.'
President Ram Nath Kovind addressed the nation on the eve of India's 75th Independence Day. Here's the text of what he said:
'During casting calls, people want you to a copy-paste version of who they think is good enough to be in Bollywood, especially if you are a girl. I didn't fit into that at all.'
As soon as he entered his barrack, Rahul noticed a group of seven inmates seated on their mattresses under the television set. They must be the terrorists, Rahul thought to himself. He knew that such accused are usually housed in murder barracks, far from jingoistic gangsters, who tend to abuse and attack them. A fascinating excerpt from Gangster On The Run: The True Story Of A Reformed Criminal.
You'll be forgiven for salivating over these droolworthy pics that will give you a 'foodgasm'!
Ananth Mahadevan takes on the audience.
Parita Patel, a born and bred Mumbaikar, has found herself returning, again and again, to an unknown -- probably forgotten -- part of Jharkhand to teach girls. This is what compells her do it.
'People don't want to watch a screaming channel if given a decent alternative.'
'For people who are fed on nothing else but the media, what were prejudices become facts of life.' 'What my neighbour may see as just news, for me is a source of fear, living as I do, surrounded by non-Muslims.' 'So I would say it is important to talk to a Muslim, be it your neighbour or your colleague.' 'Have that conversation about what's happening to Muslims.'
'IndiGo 2018 is a harsh, ultra-lean, mean, zero asset, fighting machine with aspirations of taking on the global long-haul low-cost market.'
'I'm a rebel. I'm not easy.' 'Once a top actor wanted me to sing a song and a top music company was involved. They wanted changes in the song. I told them not to take pangas with me.'
'The relationship between Victoria and Tagore was one of mutual admiration and respect.'
Captain Pradeep Shoury Arya is an Income-Tax officer whose mission against terrorists in J&K won him the Shaurya Chakra.
Two decisions handed down by the Supreme Court have spread gloom in Kerala as they have shaken two basic faiths of a majority of the people in the state, says T P Sreenivasan.
'I had to convince myself that I was steely enough to operate on a cold-blooded killer.' 'For all my medical experience, this was something I had never done!' 'If something happened to Charles, I knew my fate was sealed for me.' 'I would be called Doctor Death until I breathed my last.' 'Success was my only hope of escaping that fate.' A fascinating excerpt from heart surgeon Dr Raamesh Koirala's Charles Sobhraj, Inside The Heart Of The Bikini Killer.
What inspired, engineering graduate Pooja Mor to quit her career and take up modelling?
Designers Shraddha Nigam and Mayank Anand tell us why they're committed to the cause of empowering Indian weavers through their label.
Three young designers from Kutch, Lakshmi, Tara and Tulsi, make their mark on the LFW runway for the first time.
'If you ask me what is God, I'd say, God is Mr World.'
'On June 15, 1965, Major A K Afridi of the Pakistan army was captured by Papa's 1 Mahar unit near Vigokot, when he accidently walked into Indian territory.' 'While he was being airlifted to Delhi from Kutch, Major Afridi made a request: He wanted to watch Sangam>, the movie starring Raj Kapoor and Vyjayantimala. It was a request that the Indian Army fulfilled.' 'Major Afridi was sent with armed escorts to watch the movie in Ahmedabad and then sent to Delhi for further interrogation.'
Satyarup Siddhanta has just one mountain to go before he completes the Seven Summits, the tallest mountains in each of the seven continents.
'The original dream of people like Faiz was that Pakistan would be something different from the old India: Progressive, forward looking, democratic (if not socialist), tolerant, diverse and pluralistic.' 'I don't think anyone foresaw the catastrophe that Partition was to become.'
