From selling vacuum cleaners to Bollywood's poetic soul, Swanand Kirkire reveals the grit, heartbreaks, and coincidences behind his most iconic songs and life's journey.
This is just one of the things you can experience in the Mahindra museum -- The Museum of Living History -- whose sleek, immersive design made Rediff's Mayur Sanap feel he was walking into a Tron movie. Except, instead of neon blue tones, the dominant colour everywhere was Mahindra's signature red which made the space feel bold and dramatic.
'It's so liberating when there are two heroes in the film who are walking along and being each other's strength. When that happens, it shows on screen.'
A 40-year-old lost Malayalam cinematic gem, John Abraham's Amma Ariyan, has been meticulously restored in 4K by the Film Heritage Foundation and is now set to grace the prestigious Cannes Classics section
As Riteish Deshmukh turns director again with Raja Shivaji, we look at past actors who stepped behind the camera and delivered some of Hindi cinema's most memorable films.
'(Mahesh) Bhattsaab had wisely recommended him for the lead role, but I was young and stubborn then, and would instinctively push back against a producer's suggestion. I insisted on casting Shiney Ahuja as Daya Shankar. While he was excellent, in retrospect, I realise Irrfan would have taken the character to a different level altogether.'
Raja Ravi Varma's painting Yashoda and Krishna was recently acquired by Cyrus Poonawalla and his son, the vaccine manufacturer's CEO Adar Poonawalla, for Rs 167.2 crore, setting a new benchmark for modern Indian art.
Words can barely capture the depth and beauty of Asha Bhosle's voice, at once ethereal and ineffable. Her demise has created a void but the songs she sang will never die.
The multi-generational ensemble of world-class musicians dedicated to the masterful compositions and enduring legacy of the legendary sitar-musician.
'In culture, patriotism and modernity, the dream of a developed India, you see the pulsating energy of a New India.'
'Despite acting in some 100 films and television plays, people still remember the daadi of Hum Log.'
The broader theme of the performance will be -- 'Swatantra Ka Mantra - Vande Mataram' and 'Samriddhi Ka Mantra - Viksit Bharat', officials said.
Karan Fries is a synthetic cow breed developed by the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal.
Country's startups are carving a unique path by prioritising local, application-led innovation over the global pursuit of scale.
'We have tags of state animals and birds. However, the invisible world of microbes is doing a lot of things for us in nature, not just for human beings but for the entire life.'
Mardaani 3 star Rani Mukerji celebrates 30 years in the film industry with a heartfelt conversation with Karan Johar.
The fact that a major studio put out a silent film starring some of the biggest names in the industry in these concerning times for the film business is the one big takeaway from Gandhi Talks, notes Arjun Menon.
'It's harder to attract women initially, but once they come in, retention is significantly higher.'
'Vishal Bhardwaj gave me Hamlet in Haider, which is one of the most intimidating roles for any actor in the world.' 'I'm grateful that he called me again after seven or eight years of us not working together.'
'Once when he was on a flight, the plane hit an air-pocket.' 'The turbulence outside caused it to see-saw violently which caused a lot of panic inside. While his co-passengers were crying and praying for their lives, Salil kaku was writing a song in his head.'
Lucknow has been officially inducted into UNESCO's Creative Cities Network (CCN) under the 'Gastronomy' category, recognizing its culinary heritage.
'There will be no Malayali who does not recall, at least once a day, what Sreenivasan wrote, spoke or showed on screen.'
The platform has seen a growth of 70% in watch time for South content, which is more than the national average.The South has outperformed the rest of India in subscription depth, retention and connected TV adoption.
'As a nation, we create beautiful content and a high volume of it (films) but we are limited by the number of theatres and screen density.' 'You now have a living-room large screen available to showcase that.'
Whether it was in the company of superstars Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan -- or, on rare occasions with both together, among others -- Saravanan's demeanour would stand out, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
S D Burman is that unique composer who remained successful right up to his death with his creative engines never running on empty.
When O&M India's executive chairman Ranjan Kapoor appointed creative hot shot Piyush Pandey as his successor in 2004, he wasn't aware that he may be pioneering a trend in advertising where agencies put their creative heads at the helm of their businesses.
'Women weavers are hardworking, open to learning, resilient.' 'They finish their cooking, housework, puja, then they come to weave.' 'They care about design. They care about beauty.'
Few people have left the kind of imprint on India's advertising canvas as Piyush Pandey. An observer who seemed to know what made the country tick, a man who could find humour in life's everyday struggles and spin magic from it, one who understood that to reach the masses you needed to communicate with them in their language and context -- he was all of this and more.
'When you attend an RSS function, the nation is your first priority.'
'There'll be extended periods where things aren't working in your favour. But if you believe in the cause profoundly, then you simply persevere.'
Indian content studio Applause Entertainment has acquired the exclusive screen rights to six of Jeffrey Archer's best-sellers, The Clifton Chronicles, Fourth Estate, First Among Equals, The Eleventh Commandment, Sons of Fortune, and Heads You Win.
'Shah Rukh is such a generous person, such a giver, that I can only wish for life to give him all the love and happiness he deserves.'
This is the first time that an Indian has been elevated to this position, highlighting the growing importance of the domestic advertising industry in the global space.
Dinesh Raheja celebrates Lata's 96th birth anniversary on September 28 by picking some choice examples of her non-typical songs that are tinged with a rare eroticism.
By 10 am, Rakshit N Jagdale is already deep into the rhythm of the day, which promises to be a carousel of meetings, calls, and strategic decisions. As managing director of Amrut Distilleries, he balances ritual and ambition, tradition and transformation, like many other legacy players in India's alcoholic beverages sector who are staring at a rosy future.
'On the set, he was this big personality, the great Om Puri. But at home, he was like a fluffy teddy bear.'
Meet the dreamers of Bollywood, who come together for Chidiya.
'Bappi Lahiri was looking for a break so he and his father would meet me.' 'I told Director Bhisham Kohli about this promising young boy from Kolkata, and Bappi came over with his harmonium.' 'Bappi played this composition and Bhisham liked it immediately.' 'As we were discussing, I said I would give the words, and that's how I wrote this song.'
What looks like convenience today might well be shaping a future where essential human skills quietly fade away.
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