In Yogi Adityanath's Uttar Pradesh wayward Romeos would all be in the lock-up, says Sunil Sethi.
One would not think that a Facebook status or a tweet could land you in jail, at least not in India -- the world's largest democracy. However, the reality is a lot more brutal in India, which has a shameful history of locking up its citizens for dissenting viewpoints. According to Mint, at least 50 people have been arrested through 2017 and 2018 for posts on social media. Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com presents some of the most prominent cases.
'The city was never the same after the attack. It was scarred,' says Nicolas Saada whose movie Taj Mahal offers a unique view of the Mumbai attacks.
As the Omicron strain spreads across the globe and questions on vaccine inequity dominate discussions, scientists are still scrambling to learn more about emerging variants of the deadly virus that has claimed millions of lives and crippled economies.
The Omicron variant carries 'concerning' mutations that may make it more transmissible and allow it to evade immunity, scientists said on Monday, stressing that the one certainty in the uncertainty of the many things unknown is this -- COVID is not a short-term crisis and vaccines are still a critical tool.
Test opener Shiv Sunder Das will lead the team on the tour of England, from June 22 to August 3.\n\n
Among the finest Indian actors, voices and smiles to grace the stage and screen, Om Puri's uniqueness, always so fluid and natural, cannot be summed up in a few words, feels Sukanya Verma.
Aseem Chhabra watched some great films and some huge disappointments in 2021.
'Modi's political economy is more inspired by Indira Gandhi than Vajpayee.' 'She so wanted an Opposition-mukt Bharat.' 'Sounds familiar?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
'No short cuts, no sensationalism, but sheer talent is responsible for Nawaz's position as one of the finest actors of his generation.'
'You don't need a godfather to protect you from dangers of Bollywood because nobody will.'
'A friend said there was a new phenomenon occurring during every screening. Audience members were mouthing the dialogues with the characters on screen.' 'It was a truly amazing experience. It was impossible to hear what was being said on the screen. There was so much noise, laughter and celebration in the theatre. And the film was not even a month old.' Aseem Chhabra remembers seeing Sholay twice in the couple of weeks after it opened.
'To this day, not a year passes when Bollywood does not head to Kolkata to train its cameras on the magnificence of the bridge and the flow of life that pulses along the river across which it spans,' says Saibal Chatterjee.
'There is no discipline here -- only autocracy. The state is not governed by any democratic ideology. Democracy has ceased to exist here.'
Malavika Sangghvi gives us fascinating glimpses from Dilip Kumar's life.
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Rituparno Ghosh's swansong Satyanweshi is a bit of a letdown, according to Indrani Roy.
Saluting Amjad Khan on his death anniversary on July 27.
It reminds us why we like to watch films, writes Aseem Chhabra.
'We'll certainly have Hollywood productions, so why wouldn't we have Bollywood?'
'I asked all the actresses to stop waxing, shaping eyebrows, pedicures and manicures because I wanted a rustic look.' 'They are very glamorous women, so there was a bit of insecurity.' 'They would put on a little make-up on the sly, but I would sit like a school teacher and check make-up and nails!' 'I would make sure that every bit of unnecessary make-up was taken off.'
'What guides Monsoon Wedding through and through is Mira Nair's openness as a film-maker,' observes Sreehari Nair.
'Satyajit Ray was somewhat tolerable; you didn't have to hang your head in shame.' 'Sholay is a series of stereotypes and borrowed ideas... And we are still singing praises of that film.' 'What would I make of two grown men behaving in this manner? It's deeply embarrassing.' If you thought Naseeruddin Shah was too frank with his opinions, he'd have to take a back seat to wife Ratna Pathak Shah, who doesn't waste a second, giving you her strong views on matters movies and personal.
Aseem Chhabra imagines a time, 20 years from now, when movie-watching in theatres will be long gone, thanks to the coronavirus, and pens a letter to his grandchild, explaining the magic of the cinema hall.
Prepping for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati, remembering Rajesh Khanna and Raaj Kumar's exclusive tramp club and picking Ranbir Kapoor's best performance in my Super Filmi Week.
If you think the film is gutsy, you are simply being blind to the truth that the whole men-are-worthless slant is saleable right now, argues Sreehari Nair.
'We must not compromise with the standard, the quality. We don't need to be the first to launch a drug but what we need is a Made in India vaccine that the entire world can rely on'
Shashi Kapoor, the star who made us laugh, romance and cry, passed into the ages on December 4. We look back at the often underrated actor, who reinvested all his earnings as an actor into making films and keeping the theatre he established, Prithvi Theatre, alive.
'The scope of social networking as a form of journalism is limited. Yes, you can tweet a photo or write about, say, a policemen beating a protestor somewhere. But a real news story is complicated and analytical and it needs to be worked on... Journalism is not that simple,' Jonathan Franzen, arguably the greatest American novelist of his generation, tells Rediff.com's Sanchari Bhattacharya in a fascinating interview.
Indian Railways has to up investment to strengthen network just like China and Russia.
Despite its many problems, A Death in the Gunj is an important work says Sreehari Nair.
A look at the top tweets from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
'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.'
Raja Sen hated Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice and debates his reasons with Satyajit Chetri, who totally loved it.
Veteran actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar, who breathed his last this morning at Kokilaben hospital in Mumbai, will be remembered for his remarkable ability to make us both adore and abhor him with his on screen antics. Here's a look at his best performances.
'There are many stories that could be made in the North East.' And here's one of them.
