In half a century, actors have aged or passed away, the shape of the city has altered, the film industry has changed beyond recognition, most single screens have made way for multiplexes, audiences tastes have changed, rural life is very different now, and inflation has devalued the rupee. But a great film is forever. Deepa Gahlot salutes Sholay, as it re-releases in theatres.
'Dharmendra, Shashi Kapoor and I were inseparable while we struggled together.' 'When a disillusioned Dharmendra was packing his bags to return home, I prevailed upon him to give himself two months.' 'Five days later, he was signed for Shola Aur Shabnam and I signed Picnic.'
'After Om's untimely demise, he would call us every Sunday for the next two years to ask, "How are you doing my dear? How's the young fella?"'
Aseem Chhabra presents his list of 100 best (and must watch) films -- many classics, some relatively new and several personal favourites.
'With passage of time, Kamal did move away from the humdrum of commercial cinema, using it only as a peg to launch a new concept or new technology, as no other actor/film-maker has done in Indian cinema.' N Sathiya Moorthy assesses the career and politics of movie legend Kamal Haasan on his 70th brthday.
Aseem Chhabra lists must watch films, many classics, some relatively new and several personal favourites.
Thousands of movie buffs remember the double deckers of Mumbai, associating them with stars and blockbuster songs of yesteryear, recalls Debarghya Sanyal.
'But Ranveer is a great actor who can really transform himself into the character and it will be interesting to see what he brings to the character of Don.'
All you have to do is answer this simple question!
Tokyo -- the songs Japan, Love In Tokyo and Sayonara from the 1966 Hindi film automatically pop up in the mind -- is buzzing and crowded like any other metropolis, discovers Deepa Gahlot. The modern apartment blocks are built cheek by jowl, so close together that one can open the window and borrow sugar from the neighbour in the next building. One of the fears of the Indian traveller is the unavailability of vegetarian food. Every city and town in Japan has an array of Indian restaurants that serve every variety of cuisine, right from Gujarati to Punjabi to Andhra and Kerala meals.
Notes from the recent Keral film festival: how two great films handle the delicate issue of death.
Raveena gets ready to bite the dust and more Bollywood gupshup.
'I met him in September, just days before he was hospitalised for Covid, for a documentary that his daughter was making.' 'He was in the pink of health, conversing with everyone the whole day.'
'Film shooting is a long process, and it is important to have a good bonding with the person you are going to spend six to eight months of your life.' 'Baaki, film toh bann jaati hain.'
When compared to the 1960 original, The Magnificent Seven thrills only sporadically, says Dhruv Munjal.
'The training started with guns, knife fights...'
Aseem Chhabra presents his list of 10 international films that mattered to him, stories that he connected with and characters that gave him a better understanding of the human condition.
Sukanya Verma remembers the star in some of her significant movies.
'If the minister does not resign, then it will be the darkest incident of Indian democracy where power prevailed over the people.'
The suave actor of the world, sometimes called the last of the Mohicans and familiar to students of cinema anywhere in the globe, acted in 14 Ray films and over 300 others, gracefully transitioning into commercial cinema in a variety of roles.
August 26, 1955. 65 years ago, Pather Panchali was released. Aseem Chhabra salutes the Masterpiece.
Dharmendra was fascinated by Gabbar's role, then he said he would like to play Thakur. 'I told him he won't get Hema Malini.' 'He laughed and said okay (to play Veeru).'
'Use your emotion well. My own Vedanta guru would say, "Anger should be like a handkerchief. Take it out of your pocket, use it, and then return it to your pocket".'
Sukanya Verma lists her favourite frames from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.
This is an alternate list of 10 screen roles that saw Soumitra Chatterjee, a paragon of gentility, venture beyond his comfort zone and deliver masterclasses of subtlety and depth, lists Saibal Chatterjee.
Soumitra Chatterjee -- one of the finest Indian actors of our time -- meant so much to Aseem Chhabra.
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.
'I don't look forward to seeing my films because this only sort of gives me a deep sense of dissatisfaction that I could have done better, and I lose my self-confidence.'
Veteran actor Vinod Khanna passed away on Thursday after battling cancer. He was 70.
'Every time I watch Sholay telling myself that it is nothing more than a 'brazen potboiler,' the movie works. However, each time I take it for this iconic masterpiece, Sholay falls short; terribly short,' says Sreehari Nair.
Aseem Chhabra looks at the year's best Non-Hindi Indian movies.
Celebrating Bollywood's most loved film of all time on its 40th anniversary.
The journey of the digitally restored version of The Apu Trilogy is packed with dark stories and years of near detective work by those determined to preserve some of Satyajit Ray's finest works.
'The fragility of this case is that taking a side could be a fallacy to do. Because you don't have all the answers. So how do you take one particular side?' Meghna Gulzar asks Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com
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