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.
'I have no family (in the industry), no network, no mentor.' 'Still, I'm consistently working since 20 years and now I have a National Award.' 'It may take time, but if you're consistently at it, nothing can stop you.'
The country's leading music companies are grappling with a new problem: how to sell their music. Sale of cassettes and CDs are on the decline, while online sales have been severely undercut by free downloads.
'I was completely in awe of him. After the shot was okayed, I would quickly run back to my chair and sit quietly till I was called again.'
'Today, music directors do not work on a song that turns out to be the biggest hit of the year.' 'Their main focus is on creating a song which becomes an instant hit.' 'Whether the audience remembers that song after a couple of months or not, that does not concern them anymore.'
It's not uncommon for performers to become bigger than the stories they are placed in and Sreehari Nair would happily pay to watch Isha Talwar and Paramvir Singh Cheema riffing on love, bad life choices, psychology, rhythm, and oven-baked Kulchas in Chamak.
'There have been and will continue to be, so many captivating stories in colonial India.' 'Obviously, most of the white people were British, so if I am going to take on a role in a film set in one of the most turbulent periods of Indian history, then it only stands to reason that my character would be of British descent.' 'But that doesn't mean all my roles are negative.'
'I would think a hundred times before I wrote a gay character or a mentally challenged character because it requires a lot of research and empathy. That's the reason I shy away entirely from stories that have rape. I just can't. It's just terrifying for me, as a woman, to handle subjects like that because it's so sensitive.'
'I have made a new rule: When I'm having my morning tea, a guy keeps the harmonium on my bed.' 'So while I'm writing what my plan for the day is, that harmonium is in front of me and I do riyaz of 40-50 minutes.'
'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.'
Here's some sizzle from the IIFA Utsavam night, which was dedicated to the south film industries of Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.
Sukanya Verma's OTT recommendations this week.
Known as the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll for her blistering performances and powerfully gritty vocals, Tina Turner died on May 24 after a long illness. She was 83.
'I grew up in an environment which is very submissive and conservative. People would judge you if you wore a short skirt.' 'I made my way up from there to Mumbai and landed a big song Aila Re Aila with a huge star like Akshay Kumar.'
Eleven global music giants have sued Yahoo! China, owned by e-commerce giant Alibaba, over its alleged involvement in illegal downloading and playing copyrighted music.
It is not nepotism nor 'gangeism' that is the bane of a newcomer's existence. It's these draconian contracts.
'It was my job to read out their lines to the actors and make sure they spoke them with the right diction, accent and pronunciation. If you look at my photographs from the Sadma set, you will always find me with a file in hand, even when I am in my costume. While Kamal and Sridevi were diligent about their Hindi dialogue, Silk Smitha, while always respectful, was not too interested in her lines or my instructions.'
Noted music composer Naushad Ali died of old age in Mumbai on Friday, family sources said.
The legendary music director passed away at a private hospital after suffering from geriatric problem.
India's appetite for music tourism is only growing.
'The air would be filled with the aroma of biryani and kheer getting ready in the kitchen, and the visitors would overflow from the lobby and drawing room into the garden.'
'My trajectory right now is five steps forward, two steps backwards.'
'But it is also an industry that is very accepting when they see talent and hard work.'
Desai, 57, was found dead at his studio in Karjat near Mumbai last August.
Time was when you turned on your car's ignition, all that happened was that the mechanical system fired up your engine and made it run. Today, the moment you do so, your stereo system probably lights up, connects to the Bluetooth on your smartphone, and lets you make calls through an audio assistant or play music from your phone, which you can hear on the car's speakers. All these smart features in a car are powered by semiconductors, or chips, as they are commonly called.
The legendary singer's contribution to the golden era of Hindi films is unparalleled.
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.
'How to hold people's attention is challenging.'
'People worship Krishna. People don't worship Ved Vyas, who wrote the Mahabharata.' 'It's a cultural thing because we don't see the heroes behind the screen, we see the heroes who are in front of the screen.'
Telugu composer Mickey J Meyer on making the music of Happy Days.
Throughout its 155 minutes, every scene is doused in blaring background music and melodrama. Disappointment alone won't do, it must feel like a full blown catastrophe, observes Sukanya Verma.
'How many voices from that time have stood the test of time?' 'There have been RJs before him and after him, but no one has enjoyed his popularity and longevity.'
It is refreshing to note that Srikanth Deva has shaken off his tendency to copy others and scripted a somewhat above average fare.
Proving that all the financial action in the movie business is on the digital platform currently, Director Kabir Khan's underproduction biopic Chandu Champion -- on the life of paralympics winner Murlikant Petkar -- has been purchased for satellite, OTT and music rights for...
'If we see that romance only belongs to the young or to a particular age group, then the whole definition changes.'
Mithun Chakraborty started from scratch in bit roles and had no Godfather backing him. Yet, remarkably, his career now straddles six decades and he continues to win acclaim, observes Dinesh Raheja.
The court ruled that the Indian Performing Right Society Limited(IPRS) is not entitled to claim or demand royalty or licence fees from FM Radio channels for the songs and music they broadcast.
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary special premiere of Sarfarosh, actor Aamir Khan treated fans with a big update on the sequel of the film.
The music composer was not keeping well for the past few days and had been in coma.
