'At parties and premieres, Meena openly showered affection towards Dharam. Sometimes she would even take his hand and the next day it would be in print. On one occasion, mischievously almost, she recited a love couplet from Ghalib, which left no doubt in the audience's mind about Dharmendra's position in her heart.'
The year 2025 started slowly at the box office but the summer is looking up for theatrical releases.
'Begin with a small investment, observe performance, then scale up gradually.'
'When Shahid, Ishaan and I are together, it is a madhouse because we are all performers.'
'Judges have transmitted a terrible message to citizens across the nation. All right-thinking individuals will be disturbed by what the Delhi high court judges have done.'
'We don't make films for profit and that's exactly why profit follows.'
Sickness on screen is a sure shot way of seeking audience sympathy and turning on the waterworks.
The veteran actor passed into the ages in the early hours of Friday, April 4, 2025. Sukanya Verma looks back at his most memorable performances.
'The EC should not have let the initiative go into the hands of the political leadership. By allowing this to happen, they have opened a Pandora's box.'
'Those movie stars are asking for Rs 35 crore and are opening to Rs 3.5 crore.' 'How's that math working?'
'Gen Z was devoid of love stories with sad endings like Heer Ranjha, Laila Majnu or Romeo Juliet; they have never seen something like this in their lifetime.' 'Saiyaara is a rooted love story.'
'When India opened its doors to the world, moving away from an agrarian to a market economy, everything, whether life or love, was commodified.'
'If you respect people, if you accommodate people, these are good attributes to have.' 'Like the whole world is a mixed bag of people, our industry is the same.'
He was a storyteller who made me feel the pulse of history, the stakes of human ambition, and the thrill of a well-told tale. Prem Panicker recalls his debt to Frederick Forsyth, who passed away on Monday.
'This (crash) is one of those times where there is no concrete explanation yet for what happened. I think that adds to my parents' worry.'
'I like to sell a dream. I like to tell stories. I'm a very good storyteller. I can convert the most boring topic into a riveting tale.'
While super hits like Jawaan are missing this year, it has been filled with a range of medium-range hits such as Crew, Teri Baaton Ne Uljhaa Diya and Guntur Kaaram, observes Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
Journalist and author Chitra Subramaniam has demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) make public its findings from the "box of evidence" received from Switzerland regarding the Bofors payoffs. Subramaniam, author of 'Boforsgate: A Journalist's Pursuit of Truth', expressed concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the evidence, questioning who opened the box, when it was opened, and what it contained. She also raised doubts about the official narrative regarding the alleged bribe in the Bofors case, suggesting the sum of Rs 64 crore may not reflect the full extent of the corruption. Subramaniam also alleged that the CBI planted stories about Hindi film actor Amitabh Bachchan to derail the investigation and launched a political vendetta against the Bachchans. She recalled that Bachchan had come to her home and asked if she had seen his name. The CBI has recently requested assistance from the United States in the case, seeking information from private investigator Michael Hershman, who claims to have crucial details about the scandal. The Bofors scandal, a major bribery case involving the Indian government and the Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors in the 1980s, pertains to allegations of a Rs 64-crore bribe in a Rs 1,437-crore deal for the supply of 400 155mm field Howitzers.
'With Chhaava, we had to look from a different lens.' 'We had to write it in such a way that apart from the sacrifice, the fight and the war, there's a lot more to understand about the history of the Marathas.'
'At a time when the 'my country, right or wrong' attitude is sweeping over the majority, the Pyaasa song Jinhe Naaz Hai Hind Par Woh Kahan Hain brings a much-needed sense of reality. It questions: How can one feel any sense of pride when women are treated like this? Utkarsh Mishra salutes Guru Dutt's classic that turns 68 this month.
'Some people tell me you're playing hard to get. But I'm not. It's the other way around.'
Novak Djokovic reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the 16th time but it proved a hard day's work at his Centre Court office.
The launch of the first-ever direct train service from Delhi to Kashmir would be a big turning point in the Valley's mood and its integration with India. He had to thwart it at any cost, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
An Air India aircraft with 242 passengers on board heading to London crashed in the Meghaninagar area near Ahmedabad airport on Thursday afternoon, the police said.
Joginder Tuteja looks at the most successful teachers in Hindi movies.
'At least 25 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of plastic chewing gum gets dumped.' 'And because the way people spit it out, there's no possible way this plastic can be recycled.'
'While I would never wish for anyone to go through what we are, it has brought out the best in us by making each one of us a better version of ourselves.' 'Being courageous, fighting for freedom, taking the burden of responsibility to help each other...' 'I know hundreds and hundreds of examples where Ukrainians are risking their lives for complete strangers and it is only in moments like this that we truly understand what it means to be human.'
159 dismissals in 36 Tests, 149 dismissals in 89 ODIs, and 89 dismissals in 70 T20s are very good by any standards. And yet they don't speak to Bumrah's true value and his special appeal, notes Sreehari Nair.
Vicky Kaushal does not mince his words when he interacts with the media. But when he was asked about rumours of his wife Katrina Kaif's pregnancy, it left the actor blushing.
Nitin Desai, who has known Dr Singh from 1971, extends his 'deepest condolences to his wife Gurcharan Kaur and to his three talented daughters Upinder, the historian; Daman, the writer; and Amrit, the human rights activist.'
From talking about their highs and lows to discussing their father Dharmendra's much-talked-about kiss in KJo's Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, the Deol brothers were a laugh riot on the show.
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 is one of 2022's rare blockbusters and Producer Murad Khetani understandably is in the mood to party.
We do not whistle for Hathiram Chaudhary. And yet the bond we feel towards him is spontaneous, almost effortless. This is because he shares something of our too-ideal dreams, our wry acceptance of our limitations, our useful frustrations, and our pointless sprints, explains Sreehari Nair.
We are back to being a country that talks about box office numbers as the measure for what an audience's real feelings about a movie are, laments Sreehari Nair.
Despite the mediocrity at large, these films had me in raptures for the emotions they evoked within as a cheering audience, critic and cinephile.
'Elections and audience interest in specific movies are often independent factors.'
Rahul Rawail remembers his mentor Raj Kapoor.
'We watched the film many times but each time, we would cry.' 'During the editing and sound mixing, my whole team would cry.' 'When we reached the music composing stage, it happened again.' 'Our producer said it is too much to be crying so many times.' 'But we never thought the film would be such a big hit.'
