These films, even at their saddest, darkest and grossest, retain their sense of humour, their sense of proportion, which again is something you associate with a Malayali.
The suave actor of the world, sometimes called the last of the Mohicans and familiar to students of cinema anywhere in the globe, acted in 14 Ray films and over 300 others, gracefully transitioning into commercial cinema in a variety of roles.
Soumitra Chatterjee -- one of the finest Indian actors of our time -- meant so much to Aseem Chhabra.
'We'll certainly have Hollywood productions, so why wouldn't we have Bollywood?'
'I am a dreamer, so I always dreamt that Village Rockstars would go places.' 'But I never ever imagined this.' 'The way people are responding... they come to me, hug me, they call me, shower me with love and I feel wonderful.'
104 years after it was first written, and 76 years after the poet's clarification, the controversy surrounding Rabindranath Tagore's Jana Gana Mana refuses to go away.
'Many who haven't even seen the documentary are claiming that it defames and damages the image of India, makes it sound unsafe, and gives the rapist a forum.' 'This couldn't be further from the truth, and the film shows the best qualities of India and Indians in standing up against evil as much as it shows the unvarnished truth.'
This piece is a tribute to that corner of film criticism that they call subtextual film criticism.
In this excerpt from a conversation with Samik Bandopadhyay, Mrinalda discusses three legendary actors he has worked with.
'It's a performance that puts the Bachchan hysteria to shame,' observes Sreehari Nair.
Aseem Chhabra watched some great films and some huge disappointments in 2020.
'This is a movie, which if you allow it to, will wash itself all over you, so that you emerge from it a little drenched but wide awake,' says Sreehari Nair.
'He never went to the Bombay industry.'
Satyajit Ray. Films from Italy, Iceland and Albania feature on Aseem Chhabra's list.
'In 2015 I watched films in so many places. I attended several film festivals around the world -- Berlin, Tribeca (New York), Telluride, Toronto, Zurich, Mumbai, Dharamsala and Goa,' says Aseem Chhabra, author of a forthcoming book on Shashi Kapoor.
Shatranj Ke Khilari was Satyajit Ray's first Hindi film. The Master set the Premchand story against the backdrop of the First War of Independence in 1857. Bijoya Ray, his wife, reveals fascinating glimpses behind the making of the epic in this exclusive excerpt from her memoir.
Shoojit Sircar takes Rediff.com's Ronjita Kulkarni behind the sets of October, and right inside his beautiful mind.
Shatranj Ke Khilari was Satyajit Ray's first Hindi film. The Master set the Premchand story against the backdrop of the First War of Independence in 1857. Bijoya Ray, his wife, reveals fascinating glimpses behind the making of the epic in this exclusive excerpt from her memoir.
'Today if you look at the way India is growing many people are saying the sleeping elephant has finally woken up, is dancing!' 'I have travelled extensively, in about 60 countries. In all these the moment you say India, the first thing they mention is either an actor's name. Or they start humming a song.' 'I wanted to be in Bollywood. It is the most powerful medium we have in this country. That's soft power.' Listening in on Shobhaa De, Kabir Khan, Vikas Swarop and Saffron Art CEO Hugo Weihe speak on India's Soft Power, Hard Influence.
One of India's greatest actors -- someone who acted in 14 Satyajit Ray films -- doesn't get good movie roles anymore.
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