'The idea was to not give any morality lessons.'
The Indian author was born August 21, 1915.
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.
'Garm Hava understands that the scorching, hate-filled, doubt-filled affair between Hindus and Muslims is our national love affair.' Sreehari Nair revisits M S Sathyu's classic film, featuring the incomparable Balraj Sahni at his finest in his final role.
Shabana Azmi regards Basu Chatterjee as the true father of Middle Of The Road cinema.
What you need to know about M S Sathyu's classic Garm Hawa.
Bollywood has dealt with same sex relationships before, but homophobia runs deep.
'Who will cast me?'
'It's all about how many Instagram followers you have, which ramp you're walking on,' the actress who is sensational in Sacred Games tells Rediff.com's Ronjita V Kulkarni.
In its preoccupation with drama, Begum Jaan neglects to reveal its soul, feels Sukanya Verma.
There is so much goodness in Garm Hava, says Aseem Chhabra/ Rediff.com
Rediff's film critic Sukanya Verma lists her top Hindi movies of 2014.
Garm Hava is a product of like-minded artistry and resourceful acumen that hasn't spared any effort to reserve its special place in movie history, says Sukanya Verma.
'Yes, seriously. This was the time she was going through a bad phase; her personal life was a mess after her alleged affair with Amitabh Bachchan ended and her career was going nowhere.'
How well did these actors play homosexuals? RATE THEM!
'I salute Dixit and Qureshi for playing roles that are not in line with what mainstream Bollywood expects of its female stars,' says Aseem Chhabra, noting how Dedh Ishqiya makes important points in the most nuanced way.
The Hindutva brigade's silence on the rape may possibly be explained that this incident is an intra-Hindu affair for them. What is even more intriguing is that vocal gender activists have preferred to almost ignore the incident. Why? Is it because homosexual rape does not involve the woman either as victim or as aggressor, asks Mohammad Sajjad.
If Manto, the film, falls short of being a masterpiece it's because Nandita Das could not quite crack the Manto code: She couldn't quite see the wholeness of her subject with the same eyes that Manto saw his people. This imperfection in the film, in a way, becomes the greatest tribute to Manto, feels Sreehari Nair.
Aseem Chhabra lists the movies that taught him about the Idea of India.
While the row over allowing women into the AMU library has been wrongly portrayed, it does not mean gender biases are non-existent in AMU. The campus does have its own shares of all kinds of cultural and ideological prejudices prevalent in the world outside. The AMU campus is not a segregated island, says Mohammad Sajjad.
'Manto is the only writer to grasp what the project of Pakistan would eventually mean,' says Aakar Patel, who has translated a collection of Saadat Hasan Manto's essays in a just-released book Why I Write.
'They are busy making films that suit their purpose. If it suits their purpose to make a Slumdog Millionaire, they will make it.' 'Why are we so upset about not getting an Oscar or producing Oscar quality work? Just look at the quality of work that is venerated by the Oscars. It is not particularly great work. Why are we so desperate to get acknowledgment from the West?'
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