In Tamil Nadu, the alternative to one Dravidian party has been another, and for one actor-politician CM, there is another. Their initial popularity may owe to their filmi charisma, but their continued acceptance owed to their government's policies and programmes targeting the poor and the needy in the state, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Thousands of people hailing 'Puratchi Thalaivi Amma' (Revolutionary Leader Amma) walked with the cortege.
Sai Dharam, nephew of Chiranjeevi, talks about his debut film Rey.
JP was a People's Hero unmatched in Independent India. Archana Masih goes to Jayaprakash Narayan's village looking for Bihar's greatest son as the claimants of his legacy go to war in what is being called the Election of Elections.
Rajinikanth seems to have ended the recently-revived speculation about his imminent launch into direct politics, unlike in the past, when he had expressed specific or indirect support one or the other of the two 'Dravidian majors', says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Christopher Nolan's next, Gulzar's gussa, Shyam Benegal's Shivaji and RD's Lawrence of Arabia connection, catch all this and more in Sukanya Verma's super filmi week.
Fan gives Shah Rukh Khan space to exploit the actor in him and he tries hard, with a nod to his creepy characters in Baazigar and Darr.
The 2017 movie release calendar is out, and filmmakers have picked the major festival/ holiday time to release their films.
Calculated or otherwise, if Azhagiri's firing of the first salvo after Karunanidhi's death does not create some space for him to politico-electorally exploit at a later date, there may not be any space left for him at all, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
RailYatri offers a host of travel-related services to a 4.5 million user base. Shine Jacob finds out what's next for the app.
Which one are you looking forward to?
Mumbai fans celebrate the release of Rajinikanth's latest film, Kabali.
Sukanya Verma looks at the debutants of that year and how they've fared since.
'I'm getting to play different characters now, from the ones in my earlier years, when I was a leading actor. Then, you fought with the villain and got the girl at the end of every film. Today, we have different shades of characters -- a man on wheelchair, a 13-year-old child, a mad character like mine in Shamitabh. The roles are wonderful.' Amitabh Bachchan gets ready for Wazir.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on range of issues -- from Rafale deal to Ram temple and triple talaq.
'With his envious academic record, extraordinary research calibre and unparalleled work experience, we can trust him to become the first Indian -- fully Indian, not one of those Americans of Indian origin -- to win the Nobel Prize in Economics,' says Sudhir Bisht.
The Sri Lankan cartoon faux pas has revived the slackening pan-Tamil mood in Tamil Nadu, says N Sathiya Moorthy
'Having learnt her lesson in popular democracy, Jaya would become more populist than the DMK and more so than the imagery that mentor MGR had created in the Tamil voter's mind, both as an individual and as an elected ruler.'
As superstar Rajinikanth begins shooting his newest film Kaala Karikalan in Mumbai, there is much speculation about which Tamilian ganglord the Thalaivar is bringing to life.
BJP's Member of Parliament Tarun Vijay on why he chose to demand national status for Tamil
The presence of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa was not the only reason why Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa stayed away from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The governments at the Centre and in the state were unprepared to handle the massive response to the large numbers of people, as they were not aware of the groundswell of public admonition that was against the Establishment, says N Sathiyamoorthy.
With the images of Rajendra Babu, Radhakrishnan, K R Narayanan, V V Giri and Kalam in my mind, the image of my beloved hero dancing ungainly to 'Merey angney main tumharra kya kaam hai', doesn't make a smooth transition, says Sudhir Bisht.
'He only talks about what concerns our home, like what I have made for lunch or dinner. No politics at home and no controversies too.' 'If I want to know something, I have to update myself from the newspapers or the local people; unfortunately no inside information.' 'He is like a strong fort, which no one can break and get in, not even his wife.'
Veteran Telugu film producer Dr Daggubbati Ramanaidu passed away into the ages on February 18. In an interview he had granted Rediff.com in September 2010, he tells us how he started making movies.
Aseem Chhabra lists the elements that he loved and was pleasantly surprised by in the movies.
'He only talks about what concerns our home, like what I have made for lunch or dinner. No politics at home and no controversies too.' 'If I want to know something, I have to update myself from the newspapers or the local people; unfortunately no inside information.' 'He is like a strong fort, which no one can break and get in, not even his wife.'
'Whenever a new film of his releases, he uses politics to hype his film.' 'Her party can manage for a short period without Jayalalithaa as the chief minister but if her absence is for a long term, the AIADMK will start crumbling and disintegrating.' 'What keeps the DMK going despite its corrupt image is it is a democratic party in comparison to the AIADMK... Also, many social welfare measures in Tamil Nadu were brought in by the DMK. So they do have a place in the political scene despite corruption.' Gnani Sankaran, the well-known political analyst, discusses the fallout of Jayalalithaa's conviction on Tamil Nadu politics with Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com
The stock exchange does not store and display the numbers of investors. That would be like a bank publishing the details of its customers for everyone to see.
The DMK still wants to look elsewhere for excuses to its electoral debacle, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
One year later, Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar travels to Ilavarasan's village, and finds out that cast culture still prevails at its worst in Tamil Nadu
People from all walks of life and political inclinations, budding and aspiring poets and lyricists, looked at Vaali for inspiration, writes N Sathiya Moorthy.
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