'Today, if 50 songs are composed, one or two work. In the 1970s, all 50 would work.'
Ministers arrested post-2014 who, if the 130 Constitutional Amendment had been in effect, would have been unseated from office.
'Today's girls are freer than the earlier generation. They perform more freely.'
'Lakhs of transgender people's identities will get erased. Many of them will go into hiding and lead depressing lives.'
Gustaakh Ishq feels like a cinematic revival of everything we once loved about Urdu story-telling, observes Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'If the Opposition associates itself too much with the minorities, then it becomes easy for the BJP to get Hindu consolidation votes.'
'The US landed in this war without planning. The US felt that if they kill Ayatollah Khamenei the people of Iran will come out on the roads and do a regime change.' 'On the contrary, the US bombings on Iran has united the entire nation.'
'The jail staff told me Kasab was served only jail food and not biryani.' 'They told me that Kasab was beaten regularly after court proceedings.' 'And they filled Kasab's bottle with urine so that whenever he felt thirsty he used to drink urine.'
What lessons opposition parties need to learn post defeat of Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal elections? The election saw spectacular victor of BJP which rose from 3 seats in 2016 to 206 seats in 2026 assembly elections.
'When Sikhs were killed in the Afghan-Sikh war in 1837, the Afridis used to bury their heads like flowerpots in the ground,' writer and popular historian William Dalrymple tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'When Sikhs were killed in the Afghan-Sikh war in 1837, the Afridis used to bury their heads like flowerpots in the ground,' writer-historian William Dalrymple, whose latest book Return of a King is a historical work based on the First Afghan War, tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'The nepotism, corruption, bad governance and 15 years of rampant crime that has happened across West Bengal under her rule led to her ouster.'
'You cannot run Parliament with 800 MPs as nobody will get time (to speak in Parliament). And Parliament sits for barely 60 days in a year.' 'Look at the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. They have 650 MPs and they sit for 150 days on an average in a year.'
'If this region destabilises, then we are not far away. This region should not destabilise.'
'The Supreme Court stated that once the delimitation plan is approved by Parliament and receives assent of the President, it cannot be undone. Nor can it be modified.'
'We have given riot-free Maharashtra in our 18-month rule.'
'Who among Opposition party MPs has so much power that they raise some issue and the government implements it? The answer is no one except Raghav Chadha.'
'When you reach a good point in your life, you should never forget the struggle that got you there. I haven't. That is why I have not become swollen-headed.'
'Strikes into the Gulf countries are proof that the security guarantees offered by the US are ineffective and that the Gulf countries cannot rely on American security assurances for their safety.'
Dhurandhar's most dangerous idea is that Director Aditya Dhar envisions an Indian state run by a deep state -- an intelligence machinery not accountable to Parliament, courts, or voters. A future political system where unelected officials decide when Indian democracy is 'fit' to function, observes Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'TTP has vowed to take revenge for the attacks that Pakistan is carrying out against Afghanistan.' 'To diminish this threat, Pakistan is hitting Afghanistan hard.'
Avatar: Fire And Ash is visually stunning and emotionally engaging, offering strong performances and thrilling action, notes Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'She was not a yes person. She would tell the truth and her feelings to Indira Gandhi, and Indira Gandhi would value her opinion. The same was the case with Rajiv Gandhi who would value her opinion.'
Cirkus is not getting good reviews but its *huge* cast is quite excited to see it on big screen anyway.
'We are not AI. We are allowed to break, and rebuild.'
'Whether we like it or not, we have been separated by the Meiteis and therefore we have put up our demand for a separate administration in the form of a Union territory with legislature.' 'For us lasting peace is the achievement of our demand.'
Congress leaders are a jubilant lot after the results.
Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon 2 may be a comedy filled with chaos, but in its indirect way, it speaks about a time when the Constitution mattered more than one's religion and when the idea of India was larger than personal hate, observes Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Saif and Kareena moved to Satguru Sharan after Jeh was born.
'The unexpected turn of events and assertion of sovereignty by the Taliban has baffled the Pakistan security establishment.'
'Both Rahul and Modi are the same in the way they run their parties. Modi too wants faceless people and so does Rahul Gandhi.'
Dominic Xavier wonders whether Rhea is being made a scapegoat in a case which has clear political overtones.
'Even today illegal foreign immigrants live in Assam and their names might be on the voters list. This we can get rid of only by doing SIR.'
During Operation Kagar, 350 Naxalites have been killed so far, including some of the movement's top leaders.
The trade relationship between India and the United States has been strained by the imposition of 25% tariff by the US on Indian goods.
'Despite the large number of missiles and drones we have already launched, we still possess reserves and missile cities whose doors have not yet been opened,' says Iran's Consul-General Saeid Reza Mosayeb Motlagh.
Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf's excitement knew no bounds when he laid his hands on the 'poor man's iPad'. But the supposedly 'revolutionary' and 'game-changing' piece of technology that sells at Rs 2,500 a piece went kaput in 30 minutes flat. Yes, we are talking about the Aakash Tablet PC. Firdaus pours his heart out.
'If someone fiddles us on our religion then we will pay back five times more to that person. We have proved that time and again.'
'Without ground troops the US will not be able to oust the Iranian Islamic regime. Political change does not happen just by using bombs or planes.'
'The BJP only talks of Kashmiri Pandits when elections are held.'
