The cardinal rule for Mughal princes was 'Ya Takht, Ya Takhta' (the throne or the funeral pyre). They often went to battle against their brothers, even their father, to become emperor, points out Syed Firdaus Ashraf. Nothing bloodless about it.
The writing is on the wall -- and it is written in the blood of the women who 'died', 'ran off' or 'committed suicide' under mysterious, carefully unexplained circumstances -- that the only life that matters is one that belongs to an upper class, upper caste, politically connected male.
Love, fear, sadness, and many more, seen through the filmi lens.
'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.
Did any of these people who proclaim to be Sunanda Pushkar's friends do any thing else but listen at the time that they were faced with their friend's anguish, asks Malavika Sangghvi
Sanjay Dewan, a family friend of Shashi Tharoor and his wife Sunanda Pushkar and a key witness in her mysterious death case, on Wednesday said they were a "happy couple" and he was not aware whether she was suffering from any ailment.
Crimson Peak is not for everyone, but the mood is set very early on, says Raja Sen.
Back to Sheena Bora's grave, via e-time travel
Throughout, Mekhail spoke calmly, with hardly an inflection making even the barest attempt to hijack his tone. His tone was so empty it made his narrative all the more touching. And ugly and grey, as the monsoon sky beyond the window.
'Across the country -- in Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Manipur, Delhi, Bihar, West Bengal -- men were lynched on suspicion of being thieves by ordinary people armed with rods and sticks.' 'But none of these lynchings made big news.' 'None of these lynchings were cow/beef-related.' 'The perpetrators were unknown people, not so-called gau rakshaks.' 'So why were these instances of mob violence considered less newsworthy than cow-related lynchings?' asks Jyoti Punwani.
Manjunath is a lesson in humanity we all need at the moment, says Paloma Sharma.
Singh and Badami subsequently took Waghmare to a corner of the corridor outside, where others have no access, and gave him a lecture. The conversation was largely inaudible, except for a phrase here or there. The thrust was unmistakable. Waghmare had to learn not to give such detailed answers to the defence.
Sukanya Verma's super filmy week was high on emotions.
'Maneesh Sharma's Fan should be good. It will have Shah Rukh doing something entirely different from what he has been doing recently.'
'Indrani said she had some things to discuss with Peter, which he digested with minor surprise.' 'He looked mildly dismayed. And refused to sit down next to her, in spite of her welcome.' In spite of months of wariness from Peter's side, the ice was broken.
Ten memorable recent transformations where actors show such commitment to the craft that Robert De Niro, who owns this category for his bulked up look in Raging Bull, would be proud.
Gone Girl is a finely-made frustration, often too polished for its own good, says Raja Sen.
Was it best for J K Rowling to have ended the series with Harry Potter and the Deathly Gallows?
Criminal jurisprudence is based on an interesting saying, "It is better that ten guilty persons escape than one innocent suffer." However, that does not seem to apply to the Maharashtra Anti Terrorist Squad. There are several instances to show that the agency has botched up its investigation, the latest being Pune Bakery blast main accused Himayat Baig.
The movies that impressed, puzzled and stunned Sukanya Verma at MAMI this year.
'There is no way you can view the movie from a distance, from a moral high ground, and get to its core.' 'To truly appreciate what Anurag Kashyap is trying to do here, you may have to lose a part of yourself to it, first,' says Sreehari Nair.
A special investigation team of the Delhi police on Friday questioned senior journalist Nalini Singh in connection with the murder case of former union minister Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar.
The controversy over Sant Rampal and his army of followers taking the law into their hands has once again thrown the spotlight on the clout that India's godmen possess.
'Jaish aided by LeT attacked Parliament knowing mobilisation of Indian military assets would be the consequence.' 'That mobilisation happened, necessitating a military response from Musharraf who moved troops guarding back doors out of Tora Bora, facilitating Osama's escape.'
Brilliant movies from China, Ethiopia, Austria and India line up for Mumbai.
Sukanya Verma talks about her yet another fun filmi week!
Sukanya Verma shares her exciting filmi week with us.
As two recently declassified Intelligence Bureau reveal that the Jawaharlal Nehru government had spied on the family of Subhas Chandra Bose for nearly two decades, one of India's political mysteries takes centrestage. Rediff.com reproduces this 2006 report in which Sumit Bhattacharya reported that a website claims that Netaji, in fact, did not die in an air crash, as was being believed, and that Netaji had escaped to Russia.
'2016 was the age of convenience for Hindi movies; of down pat effrontery and planned feeling triumphing over attempts to discern something complexly beautiful,' says Sreehari Nair.
Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro is one of the best and most uncompromised films of Indian cinema, says Sukanya Verma.
Aseem Chhabra gives us the top films that enriched his year.
Two hundred years after George Stephenson built the steam-powered Blucher, Open Knowledge pays tribute to 200 years of rail transport.
Don't forget to make your pick for the newsmaker of 2015.
Bombay Velvet is an obviously shallow film, an all-out retro masala-movie with homage on the rocks and cocktail-shakers brimming with cliche.
'The military in Pakistan is capable and self critical, but intelligence is stuffed full of lifers who resist change, which is why career soldiers in Pakistan try with all their might not to be transferred into the ISI.'
Just as Billa-Ranga had become symbols of everything that was wrong with the system many years ago, Nestle is now portrayed as the wickedest of the wicked. Every known food crime in India is now attributed to Nestle including deliberately increasing the level of lead in their noodles, as well as deliberately destroying the health of millions. That's not only unfair, it's downright idiotic, says Rajeev Srinivasan.
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.
'Even the mafia has certain ethics and follow certain rules, but Abu Salem was so ruthless, so inhuman, there was no ethics at all. He had no basic humanity in him.' India's foremost crime writer S Hussain Zaidi on the dreaded gangster.
It is always wonderful to discover a gem of film at an international film festival. It is even more exciting when that film is from India.
