'The parents have seen the documentary. They have liked the documentary. They called me to say, "Aap log himmat mat hariye (You don't lose heart)".' 'After that I don't care what people think. I got goose bumps when they said, "Aap log piche mat hathiye (You people don't back off)".'
A round-up of our favourite photographs from the week gone by.
'...that it takes fantasy seriously as a part of real life'... A fascinating excerpt from Jonathan Gil Harris's book, Masala Shakespeare: How A Firangi Writer Became Indian.
Jyoti Punwani examines the relevance of the Sairat, the hit Marathi film everyone is talking about, in today's times.
Robbed of prey as people fled, Omar Perez came marching back and shot bullet after bullet into Prudhvi Raj Kandepi's head, thus ensuring that a man he had never met before, known nothing of, would never get up again.
Rapes happen because we raise our children inappropriately. Not our daughters, but our sons, says Vaishnavi Prasad.
'The blood that runs in the veins of our family can never be anti-national.' 'They called Kanhaiya a traitor for questioning the Indian Army. Do they know that our cousin was killed by militants in Manipur while serving with the CRPF?' Archana Masih/Rediff.com travelled to the land of Lal Salam, Lal Sitara and comrades to find out what moulded India's most talked about student leader, Kanhaiya Kunar.
The various theories and statements about the culpability/innocence of 1993 blasts accused Yakub Memon present him with a Rashomon act, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
When the Muslim Personal Law Board promises 'advisories' and nikahnamas to the Supreme Court, one has to remember not only its recent campaign against any change in Muslim personal law, but also its past record of inaction on the question of triple talaq, says Jyoti Punwani.
Can a foetus hear the tinkle of bangles? Will drinking milk help produce more milk?
It is always wonderful to discover a gem of film at an international film festival. It is even more exciting when that film is from India.
The inspiring story of Birubala Rabha who will go to any lengths to protect the 'witches'!
'Dalvi, you are saying you asked a question, but don't remember the answer?' asks Pasbola incredulously. 'Yes.' 'You are lying.'
From a laidback boy with poor dietary habits, Kidambi Srikanth has become an attacking player who can quickly deploy his considerable skills against tough opponents, writes Anand Datla
'Bangladesh is a country of immensely organised terror outfits.' 'His murder has left a deep scar. Why, why, why, my mind asks me. How could this happen to my Avijit?' asks Professor Ajoy Roy.
'It affects our economy, it is very important in many ways.' 'So we have to be the foremost experts in the world on the monsoon.' 'But the best minds in India have not devoted their time to the study of monsoon and they have followed the fashions of the West.'
It would seem that Indrani's application was not something prepared or maybe even sanctioned by her lawyers and was a courtroom enterprise she had embarked on by herself, perhaps not realising it distracted from the main business of the trial and didn't help her cause.
'It's very tough for someone, who doesn't have a filmi background, to get work in Bollywood. It's not a smooth ride unless you are really lucky. But I think one has to be prepared for that. I must have given 30 auditions for films alone.' Rajkummar Rao survived the struggle to give us some brilliant films.
The jury of the 58th annual World Press Photo Contest has selected an image by Danish photographer Mads Nissen as the World Press Photo of the Year 2014.
Satyarup Siddhanta has just one mountain to go before he completes the Seven Summits, the tallest mountains in each of the seven continents.
Nine hundred and forty-seven people are said to have died in grief after J Jayalalithaa's demise on December 5. But how true is this claim?
'What you saw in Gangs Of Wasseypur is only two percent of what really happens. Murder and other crimes are a daily affair even today. There is no value for life. People can shoot someone for Rs two! Once, I was talking to a person. I turned around to ask for tea, and when I looked at him again, someone had shot him dead.' Meeruthiya Gangsters director Zeishan Quadri talks tough.
'What will we drink if we start fearing these wells?'
'Young Indians are reading, but the wrong stuff.' 'They are reading and sharing Pappu jokes, Alia Bhatt memes and all the irrelevant material online.' 'My aim is to get them interested in books.'
'The Kopardi rape/murder was the immediate cause of the unrest.' 'However, there is a feeling of isolation and anger that has been simmering within the Maratha community.' 'The protests gave Marathas a sense of belonging.' 'They felt they have a stake in the protests and the issues being raised.' 'As for the future, let us see what happens.' 'All I can say is it will not stop here.'
'From the beginning (I have told her) "Whatever it may be -- you are losing or winning -- on the ground you're not going to cry!" She never cried.' '"I don't want you to project that you are a loser. You are a winner".' Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com speaks to Leela Raj about her famous daughter, now in the West Indies for the women's T20 World Cup.
'In the last ten days a mastermind has emerged who is misleading him and using him like a pawn. We made Hardik the face of this agitation. Hardik was the smallest mohra in this agitation.' 'The mastermind is doing Hardik's makeover. He is increasing his face value. But this is helping us in pushing forth for our demands. Because Hardik's face value is increasing, our agitation is benefiting. What is the motive of this mastermind in doing what he is doing is a different issue.'
A young IT grad jailed for visa fraud committed by his agent, gives an insider's view of life in jail.
Saurabh Shukla, one of our finest character actors, on his life and movie career.
Lupita Nyong'o's speech at the 2014 Academy Awards is a classic example of a brilliant speech says Rakesh Godhwani, author of What to Say and When to Shut Up!
Maharashtra registered over 64 per cent voter turnout while a record 76 pc polling in Haryana, which witnessed stray incidents of violence, in the first eight hours of polling on Wednesday in the riveting contest to elect assemblies in the two states.