Despite the mediocrity at large, these films had me in raptures for the emotions they evoked within as a cheering audience, critic and cinephile.
Dinesh Raheja views Raj Kapoor's cinema through his women, while celebrating his birth centenary on December 14.
Shailendra's songs were attuned to Raj Kapoor's explorations of the themes and dreams of the Everyman.
Love, Sitara doesn't flesh out the people or their problems enough to give us a glimpse into their minds, observes Sukanya Verma.
The chemistry between the motley bunch of actors works in fits and starts but Akshay Kumar's gift of the gab, Taapsee's bumbling comedienne and Fardeen Khan's dry wit come out tops, notes Sukanya Verma.
'You changed me, you told me what to do, you have brought me into politics.' 'I will work tirelessly for you. It is in your fingers to support me.' 'My career peak I have left to be with you.' Superstar Vijay is the latest actor to enter politics, and his speech at his new party's first public meet on Sunday offers a glimpse into his worldview.
Former United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday is cruising towards winning the race for the White House in one of the greatest political comebacks in American history by almost defeating his Democratic rival Kamala Harris in an election that virtually divided the country into two camps.
'The border deal offers a hedge for India against Trump's unpredictability when it comes to his approach to competition with China.'
We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
People turn a corner and overhear secrets, men change stripes so as to acquire shades of villainy most convenient to advancing the plot, secondary characters confess to past sins just so that the leading women are absolved of all responsibility, notes Sreehari Nair.
In a move likely to influence future drug price regulation in the country, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has started a process to understand how other countries carry out this function.The authority has already studied the relevant regulatory systems in at least eight major countries. It has also finalised a round-table meeting on April 11 in New Delhi to sensitise stakeholders on the need to have an international outlook.
Despite director Homi Adajania's ease around quirky ensembles and macabre touches, Murder Mubarak fails to draw the viewer into its shallow world of the vain and wealthy, feels Sukanya Verma.
'Episodes of targeted attacks on Muslims established that for a section of people and, sadly, even officials of the State, the election results conveyed no lessons.' 'Opposition parties must not be hesitant in speaking out whenever the mob with tacit State support targets Muslims,' asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
'Das is friendly, but he finally does what he does. The quality of engagement is very good.'
Fighter's distressing lack of thrills and sizzle reduces the exercise to an excuse for tedious amounts of Pakistan bashing, observes Sukanya Verma.
All India Rank achieves a fine balance of authenticity and sensitivity in the fine portrayals of its young actors and old.
Rajkumar Hirani has a mastery in bromance. In Dunki, Sukanya Verma doesn't feel that chemistry one bit, it's more like SRK babysitting a bunch of clueless kids running helter-skelter in a garden believing the grass is always greener on the other side.
'The common ground between a film-maker and a film critic is a mad masochistic love for the movie.'
'When my father travelled 5,000 miles to build a new home in Ireland, I doubt he ever dreamed that his son would one day grow up to become its leader.' Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com profiles Dr Leo Varadkar who will step down as Ireland's taoiseach (prime minister) next week.
'But he was very quick and did a very stylish adab.' 'Of course, I didn't expect him to hug.'
In Khufiya, a mother's journey, a lover's vendetta and a country's mission, skewed patriotism and moral disengagement coalesce and highlight the nature of the spying business, notes Sukanya Verma.
As India's stock rises, the resolution of the border row may become even more difficult, warn Harsh V Pant and Kalpit Mankikar.
The Theory of Evolution, proposed by the English naturalist, explains that all living beings evolved through natural selection, which favours inherited traits that improve an individual's ability to compete, survive, and reproduce.
Pratinav Anil is able to foresee some agency and assertion on the part of India's Muslims. His hope emanates from the citizenship rights movement of Muslims in 2019-2020, notes Mohammad Sajjad.
India's Right-wing has sought to own our democracy by making itself appear the stuff of majority, and sometimes, a national ethos older than the Constitution on which our democracy is based, argues Shyam G Menon.
As Kuttey hits the screens this Friday, Sukanya Verma looks at the 10 best ensemble Hindi movies in recent times.
Hands down, the winner of Anurag Kashyap's patriarchy and privilege pooh-poohing exercise is Amit Trivedi and Shellee's spirited soundtrack, notes Sukanya Verma.
'India's specific concerns about whether Russia will be a reliable defense supplier and diplomatic partner in the event of heightened hostilities with China has undoubtedly accelerated the process of US-India defense and intelligence cooperation intended to support Indian military positions along the Line of Actual Control.'
We are currently in a transition phase and its resultant turmoil as a titanic struggle between Indian and Western value systems is being waged, argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Siya captures the wounded soul of its protagonist with deeply felt grit and pathos, observes Sukanya Verma.
India and China will complete the disengagement process in the Gogra-Hotsprings area in eastern Ladakh by September 12, the External Affairs Ministry said on Friday.
Netanyahu, who has won the backing of 64 Members of the Knesset (Israeli Parliament), has been assigned the task to form the next government, a statement from the Presidency said.
'It was Maulana Azad's foresight which created the IITs, UGC, science academies across the country.'
Cirkus is boring and puerile, notes Sukanya Verma.
Following the controversy over a paragraph from class 8 Kannada second language textbook on V D Savarkar, which had gone viral on social media, for apparent "glorification" of the freedom fighter, the wife of the author has released a statement saying that the bulbul imagery in it is "nothing but a metaphor."
Mili establishes Janhvi Kapoor as an actor striving to be taken seriously, observes Sukanya Verma.
Where Laal Singh Chaddha succeeds most is heart, notes Sukanya Verma.
Year after year, Malayalam cinema throws stunning surprises at us. 2022 was no exception.
'I'd rather eat a hearty meal, meet deadlines, make money, meet a friend for coffee or even tend to that long-neglected corner in my oddly-shaped living room, than spend my Saturday morning romping in bed.'
Doctor G is outwardly all for women, but evidently has no interest in them, observes Sreehari Nair.
