Sharmajee Ki Beti's airy-fairy approach doesn't quite convince. It's like the women are all angels readily accepting any change or transgression while the men are either super supportive or super schmucks, notes Sukanya Verma.
Shoojit Sircar picks two Oscar-winning, slice-of-life films which say a lot with the minimum of fuss.
Doctor G is outwardly all for women, but evidently has no interest in them, observes Sreehari Nair.
The Kalki Universe might just take off, but it will still owe its gee-whizery to Hollywood movies, observes Deepa Gahlot.
If there's one thing the full-of-beans star knows, it's how to stay happy, observes Dinesh Raheja.
Uzbekistan lives comfortably in several centuries but is also a forward-looking nation, Deepa Gahlot discovers on a visit to this Central Asian country.
'Suddenly the audience pool feels bigger, like everyone is watching everything now.' 'It's no longer limited in terms of boundaries, like a state or a language.' 'Whether it's a series, a movie or even a Korean film, the audience has access to all of it.' 'Slowly, the boundaries are blurring, so that's great for actors.'
Kareena's sombre performance lingered on long after I had left the theatre, notes Sukanya Verma.
'Let's get a woman to be the antagonist, who really throws me around and hammers the s**t out of me. That would be fun.'
'Though a foreigner on campus, she carried herself with confidence.'
'We called him Sher-e-Kashmir but we realised he was no lion but a pussycat who surrendered.'
'I felt more deeply moved by my character Mahima than I have with any other character.'
"Just three months more," says mom-to-be Deepika Padukone in a witty reply when asked if she is still in her character of a pregnant woman from her coming film Kalki 2898 AD.
'It not only required physical training, but also a rigorous emotional procedure to get close to her character.'
'I wish every year to be like this where I have amazing but different films coming up.'
What are the reasons why a girl's education falls by the wayside? Why was Safeena a casualty too? Maybe because the education system doesn't give youngsters enough options? Or there are societal issues or pressures?
Raakhee, who turns 77 on August 15, remains an enigma wrapped in a riddle. Dinesh Raheja remembers Raakhee telling him how she loves the rains and how she would drive down to Tulsi Lake in the 1970s and float paper boats in the water. He would like to imagine that Raakhee still does that at her farmhouse.
Aseem Chhabra lists the best non-Hindi language films he watched in 2020, with the hope that they will have a wider reach in the new year.
This is the kind of film to watch with friends and maybe a six-pack. It has some risqu bits but nothing so vulgar that the pause button would need to be hit if Mummyji walks into the room, notes Deepa Gahlot.
'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.
Some of her best films are not available on streaming platforms, but Deepa Gahlot looks at her Hindi cinema oeuvre on OTT.
Zindaginama keeps its tone hopeful and steers away from making the stories tragic or depressing, observes Deepa Gahlot.
In a tribute to yesteryear actress Fearless Nadia, an Australian composer presents a magnificent film and music show.
There are so many female-oriented movies, from Mother India to Arth to Pink. But there are some absolute gems that never got their due.
'I was scared and sceptical because I was not brought up to raise my hand on a woman.' 'So I didn't think I would look convincing in a hand-to-hand combat with a woman.'
'Family is the most important thing in a society.' 'That's why I am always thinking about family and society. I want it to be better.'
Regaling fans since decades with her brand of charm and charisma, Bollywood's eternal diva has channelled lot of these attributes in her chartbuster songs.
Love, Sitara doesn't flesh out the people or their problems enough to give us a glimpse into their minds, observes Sukanya Verma.
'If someone fiddles us on our religion then we will pay back five times more to that person. We have proved that time and again.'
Sukanya Verma gives you some interesting options to choose from.
Yami Gautam's career is flying high. Her latest film Article 370 is a superhit and adds to the list of successes to her credit, right from her debut film, Vicky Donor.
'The stories I want to tell are very important.'
Films that amazed Aseem Chhabra at the El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt.
'If you are a strong-minded, opinionated woman, scars are inevitable.'
Among Hindi cinema's leading men of the last century, Sunil Dutt, who passed away 16 years ago on May 25, did not hesitate in doing women-oriented films which addressed the issues of their upliftment, empowerment and equality.
MLA of the ruling CPI-M and actor M Mukesh was on Tuesday formally arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the rape case against him on a complaint by a female actor.
A 30-year-old woman was allegedly gang raped by four persons, who also made a video clip of her, in Sikri village under Bhopa police station in the district, police said in Muzzaffarnagar on Monday.
'Hope is about being more accepting of each other, the kind of solidarity and friendship that even our families may not be able to give.'
