'If you look around the world at people of colour, religion, caste, sexuality or any of the marginalised communities, we are always talking in numbers.' 'We are always assigning them a statistic.' 'That is an easy way to assuage your urban guilt. Because you hide your apathy with hollow sympathy.' 'We are, in a way, making them invisible.'
'In a world which is full of categories, hatred and ideologies, there was this basic decency.'
'I have always looked at people and said, 'You just have to accept. You just have to love. You just have to let this person be and the trouble would be less.' 'But we keep complicating things, and that is the tragedy -- our desire not to understand.'
'The value of a human being is being lost. That's my biggest worry.'
Gene Hackman had a long and rich career, playing leading and supporting roles in many Hollywood films.
Martin Scorsese, 'the reigning king of cinema', gets an honorary Golden Bear at the 74th Berlinale.
Sean Baker broke a record by winning four Oscars just himself for Anora: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Editing and Best Original Screenplay.
Through Bob Dylan's music, lyrics, and Timothe Chalamet's superb acting, we feel we have rubbed shoulders with greatness, even when it is full of flaws, self-doubts, warts and all, observes Aseem Chhabra.
'Sudip sir keeps telling me that what I have done is very Hollywood.'
Three days to Sunday's 96th Academy Awards, and everyone has their predictions ready!
'I hadn't worked for three-and-a-half years.' 'I felt industry was based on who you knew.' 'I didn't belong to a network.'
This year's Sundance Film Festival was rich with films and the theatres were warm, even as temperatures outside dipped to below freezing point. It snowed only once but the sidewalks remained slippery for a few days.
'We are driven by a passion for storytelling and a commitment to bring fresh, diverse narratives to the forefront.'
Literary adaptations, whistleblower pursuits, kidnapped Santas and South India's biggest stars, Sukanya Verma lists them all on OTT this week.
As Swades turns 20, Aseem Chhabra looks back at the film that spoke to him.
'But when we actually express ourselves, sometimes our parents can surprise us, because they just love their children.' 'Sometimes it's just that simple. That is what I wanted to show in this film.'
All We Imagine as Light has been on several critics' best of the year lists, including Sight and Sound (Payal Kapadia appeared on the magazine's cover, perhaps a first for an Indian filmmaker), to The New York Times, Time and it is the number one film recommended by Barack Obama. The future certainly belongs to Payal Kapadia, asserts Aseem Chhabra.
His cinema of compassion inspired me, gave me tools to develop empathy for others. But it also made me understand that serious, socially committed cinema with deeply engaging narratives and great performances is an art form to admire, appreciate and explore. Aseem Chhabra remembers Shyam Benegal, who passed into the ages on Monday evening.
'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.'
'I often wondered while watching the film/trilogy, what if Durga had lived. What if Ray made The Durga Trilogy.' Sandip Roy looks back at Pather Panchali's Durga and the woman who brought her alive, Uma Dasgupta.
Showing total disregard for the US constitution, Trump has said that this could be the last election to be held in the country. A Trump presidency could lead to mass deportation of undocumented migrants and harsh family separation, warns Aseem Chhabra.
'The work of a film-maker is going out and making films.' 'And if you are in prison for 15 years, you can't make films.'
When mainstream Hindi cinema is preoccupied with romance, comedy, horror and action, stories about sisters and brothers are very rare. Vasan Bala has made a first-of-its-kind film where the leads play sister and brother, notes Aseem Chhabra.
The Apprentice is a keenly observed and entertaining biopic about the making of a man who is mostly responsible for all that has gone wrong with current American politics, observes Aseem Chhabra.
Aseem Chhabra picks his top 10 Indian films of 2024, which includes films that have had theatrical releases or are streaming on OTT.
'The war ended in 2009 and I believe the new generation of Tamils don't know what was going on there.' 'I felt it was my duty to tell our story.' 'Since 2009, it seems like we are sleeping.'
Aseem Chhabra lists his favourite 2024 films that he watched at film festivals held in Berlin, Cannes, Toronto and India.
How wonderful it would be for all of us to watch the Oscar ceremony on March 2, 2025 and watch AWIAL win an Oscar, notes Aseem Chhabra.
'Whenever people say to me that all my work looks unique, I say to them originality is the art of concealing your source.' 'You can't see the sources that I take from because usually, they are Indian.' 'But then Indians don't find my work Indian.'
'I think of that young baby, still in her diapers, balancing with her arms held up by her mother, a Tamil woman wearing a salwar kameez and a dupatta, seated on a stoop,' recalls Aseem Chhabra.
'I made it very clear even at the casting process that there was going to be a lot of nudity.' 'And I wanted to be sure that it would be done with ease.'
'It's such a mishmash of wonderful things, so many different cultures, subsections of society and weird histories.'
Angry Young Men misses some important elements of the Salim-Javed story including an understanding of the duo's creative process. In fact, the two men do not even appear together in the same space in the series.
Twice-fried plantains make a great base for any kind of topping, especially something with avocado in it.
Aseem Chhabra's Top 10 Films/ Series from TIFF 2024 includes films that he watched for the first time in Toronto. The films were impressive due to their rigor, passion, unique storytelling style and sometimes exploring the vulnerable sides of big name stars.
Karisma meets Maonj Bajpayee... Juhi wishes Alka Yagnik... Namrata enjoys a Parisian breakfast...
Here's a look at the expert predictions. Do send in your predictions too!
Aseem Chhabra presents his list of 100 best (and must watch) films -- many classics, some relatively new and several personal favourites.
'I think because India is a bigger country and Bollywood is such a well-oiled machine, the star thing has become so much bigger than the actor thing.'
In the biggest surprise of the night, Emma Stone grabbed the Best Actress trophy for the complex portrayal of a Frankenstein-like character Bella, in Yargos Lanthimos' electrifying and most original film Poor Things. Aseem Chhabra recaps the 96th Annual Academy Awards.
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