'Badlapur,' says Sreehari Nair, 'proves that sometimes there are more personal truths to be discovered in our trash cans than in our neatly arranged book-shelves.'
'Freedom of expression is not a freedom to abuse those who do not agree with you.' 'It is also about being liberated from prejudices and intolerance.' 'To me, freedom is the right to be who I am and what I am without hurting the same rights of others.'
'I find it hard to watch my own films. I prefer to watch my face when it is covered with some facial hair. I like certain moments in my films. Most of them are in Lootera.'
And you won't guess which film tops Raja's list! And why.
'After Gully Boy, many interesting projects started coming my way.' 'But things really changed with the Filmfare. Now, people notice me.' 'It's a good space, where you don't have to tell people who you are.'
Despite four screenplay writers and Salman Khan's best efforts, Kick fails to impress, says Sukanya Verma.
Indians took to social media to pay their respects.
'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.
Old songs, retro fashion, 1980s pop culture, childhood icons and sharing space with Kundan Shah on paper, the theme of Sukanya Verma's super-filmi week was consistently nostalgic.
There is something about Anurag Kashyap that puts the cinema watchdogs on alert, says Veenu Sandhu.
Nandita Das on why she wants to make Manto so badly.
'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.
Hindi Medium works because it manages to stretch itself beyond its scrubby elements, easy half-baked jokes, lessons about consumerism and our love for English, into a simple story about a boy who would do anything to see his girl smile, feels Sreehari Nair.
Sujatha Gidla's scathing observations about Mahatma Gandhi and other highlights from Jaipur Literature Festival 2018.
'2015 gave us a set of Hindi films that brought to light, the true uncorrupted joys of filmmaking even in their roughness.' 'Films which told us why we loved films in the first place. Films that were less ashamed of revealing their weakness and ones that took chances with audience expectations.'
Read about Rishi Kapoor's page-turning debut, SRK's super-charged turn in Raees, Sridevi as potential Dhoom vamp, Sanjay Dutt's contribution to Andaz Apna Apna and more in Sukanya Verma's super-film week.
'Trust me, it's a disadvantage because people don't take you seriously.'
We look at 52 of them, spread over 52 Fridays, in a two-part special. Here's the first part.
Aseem Chhabra picks the scenes that left him impressed this year.
'As a director, I am happy to take the blame because that's mine but I get blamed for everything.' Anurag Kashyap gets candid.
'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.'
'I don't get angry in real life and to get this anger out in front of the camera was tough.' Varun Dhawan gets ready with Badlapur.
'If I have become a star with limited talent, I think of myself in these 25 years. I need to believe that people have given me so much, they expect some of it back.' Shah Rukh Khan gets reflective.
Preetisheel Singh lets us into some star secrets.
'My work hasn't reached many people, and I hope that changes.'
Raja Sen feels The Lunchbox id this generation's Masoom.
More than 25 years after the Babri Masjid was destroyed, another generation proclaims its commitment to building a Ram temple.
'It's like a railway compartment which is really crowded and you have to make your own space, work harder for that seat.' Divya Dutta makes her presence felt.
How many of the 319 films Aseem Chhabra watched in 2018 have you seen?
Sreehari Nair presents his Top 20 movies of the decade.
'Of the countless protagonists I encountered at the movies in 2015,' says Sukanya Verma, 'these seven are enduringly unique and notable. They possess that extra something that's not always on paper but earns distinction on the silver screen.'
Putting together a play about the Father of the Nation is no easy task. But when that play is a musical, the challenges increase.
Kareena: Bajrangi Bhaijaan will be the biggest hit of the year
Meet Bollywood's finest casting director Mukesh Chhabra.
If Manto, the film, falls short of being a masterpiece it's because Nandita Das could not quite crack the Manto code: She couldn't quite see the wholeness of her subject with the same eyes that Manto saw his people. This imperfection in the film, in a way, becomes the greatest tribute to Manto, feels Sreehari Nair.
'You don't need a godfather to protect you from dangers of Bollywood because nobody will.'
A big part of October's charm is in its taking of a cinematic tragedy and presenting to us how we may experience it in real life, says Sreehari Nair.
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