'The bumblebees in Par Ek Din may not be flying yet, but even as they dangle in mid-air, their stings hurt.' 'Effortlessly graceful, this is a work of passion that conveys what being passionate about something truly feels like,' says Sreehari Nair.
Phee Teik Yeoh says that the worst is behind them.
India's foremost architect and town planner was renowned as much for his 'breathing' spaces as for his irascible personality
'Thirty years ago, if you walked into a chawl, there would be three TV sets in 30 houses. Today, you'll see TV sets in all 30 houses. So the viewers have increased, but of a certain strata. Sadly, the educated and upper classes have stopped watching TV shows because of the availability of the Internet.' Balika Vadhu writer Gajra Kottary tries to explain to Ronjita Kulkarni/ Rediff.com where Indian television is going wrong.
'I want to be murdered at your hands, so I can live on in history. The verdict of who is or is not a traitor cannot be pronounced by a secret agency, but by history.' Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir, who survived an assassination attempt on April 19, challenges his enemies to dub him a traitor and says nothing will stop him from exposing them.
'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.
'He was a legend, he changed kathak and brought it to a whole different level.' 'He held very high standards and his energy was beyond imagination. He was god-like to see; he expressed such positive vibes.' Amid dance and music, friends and family mourned the loss of Kathak maestro Pandit Chitresh Das, who passed away on January 4 of a heart ailment. Touching tributes were made for the great dancer. Ritu Jha/Rediff.com reports
'Probably because he was aware that this was his 100th ODI. Or probably because, in the first of its knock-out games, his team had produced the sort of all-round display that induces smiles.'
In the near term, the key driver will still be the government's fiscal spending.
Ten trade unions with a combined membership of 15 crore workers in public and private sector, including banks and insurance companies, are on a nationwide strike to protest against changes in the labour laws.
'The best Indian movies today are ones that portray life as "something that doesn't end when the movies do".' 'There's no real arc to traverse or easy lessons to learn. And Irrfan and Nawazuddin -- who can both swerve a movie purely on the strengths of their instincts -- are just the perfect actors for this kind of movie sensibility,' says Sreehari Nair.
'Both nations have a common problem: A rampaging, jingoistic and hostile China which is making substantial territorial claims. In the long run, Japan and India are going to be the victims of Chinese aggression -- so they might as well hang together to contain China,' argues Rajeev Srinivasan.
The full transcript of the exclusive interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The controversy over Sant Rampal and his army of followers taking the law into their hands has once again thrown the spotlight on the clout that India's godmen possess.
'If fame, money and comfort are the only factors that drive us, then we are playing cricket for entirely the wrong reasons.'
'When he cover drives, who the hell cares about where the ball pitched? I only know that he seems to move so lazily and has all the time in the world to make incredibly elegant and powerful strokes. He has something that other don't...'
As the Master announces his retirement from the game after his 200th Test, we republish another Master -- Varsha Bhosle -- on Sachin Tendulkar.
'When he cover drives, who the hell cares about where the ball pitched? I only know that he seems to move so lazily and has all the time in the world to make incredibly elegant and powerful strokes. He has something that other don't...'
As the Master announces his retirement from the game after his 200th Test, we republish another Master -- Varsha Bhosle -- on Sachin Tendulkar.
Prem Panicker, on the Rediff chat, delves on what went wrong for Team India and what to expect from Sunday's trans-Tasman World Cup final.