Mark Tully on the India he loves.
'Designing the Bigg Boss sets is total dhamaal!' 'They are so happy with the way I design the sets that no questions are asked.' 'Contestants live there for three months, and so, the sets also become a character.'
'When I was staying in Teen Batti (in south Mumbai), I had one washroom and we were 10 people. Today I have three washrooms and I am the only one using all of them. Can you see the quantum leap that I have taken in life?' Jackie Shroff gets candid.
Anurag Kashyap explains why he is finally releasing his long delayed film, Ugly.
In our special series re-visiting great Hindi film classics, Sukanya Verma looks back at Madhubala and Kishore Kumar's Half Ticket (1962).
How the Galti Se Mistake song was filmed, and other stories from Jagga Jasoos...
'As the burkha-clad beauty Husna in Mere Mehboob, she inspired Shakeel Badayuni to compose Mere Mehboob Tujhe Meri Mohabbat Ki Kasam/Phir Mujhe Un Nargisi Aankhon Ka Sahara De De. Hasrat Jaipuri showered epithets like Nargis-e-Mastaana and Phoolon Ki Rani, Baharon Ki Malika on her in Arzoo.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi stirred up a hornet's nest when he said that 'if there is electricity during Ramzan, there should be electricity during Diwali too'. Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf speaks to Shailendra Dubey, chairman, All India Power Engineer's Federation, to ascertain the truth.
'Did she, for a minute, think of what I've gone through or what my parents have gone through?' 'I've gone through hell. I wasn't given a chance to grieve for Pratyusha.' 'It was her financial mess that landed her in depression.'
We bring you glimpses of the Raksha Bandhan moments in Bollywood.
Union ministers fanned out across the country to highlight the crackdown on black money to mark the first anniversary of demonetisation on Wednesday which the Bharatiya Janata Party celebrated as "Anti Black Money Day" while the Congress-led Opposition observed it as "Black Day" with street protests.
'When the forensics have collapsed, approver is clearly proved to be a liar from the beginning to the end... Does the prosecution genuinely believe that we ought to remain in judicial custody despite showing that their own story is not being corroborated by evidence, for another 192 witnesses?'
'Working with Papa was the toughest,' confesses Varun Dhawan.
Sushil Kumar's fight for an Olympic berth suffered another blow with the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) strongly hinting that they would prefer Narsingh Yadav for the Rio event by insisting on not having a trial given the quota winner's "consistent performances". Following the Delhi High Court directive, a special WFI committee, formed on the instruction of the court, held a meeting with the two-time Olympic medallist, to sort out as to who between Sushil and Narsingh would represent India in the men's 74kg freestyle category at the mega-event in August. "Sushil has put forward his views before the committee and has maintained what he has been saying since the very beginning that he should get a chance to undergo a trial," WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh told reporters in New Delhi. "We have told him that 'you have put Indian wrestling at a pedestal and we cannot ignore your contribution and we all respect you'. But on the other hand, there is another wrestler who has brought the Olympic quota and also has been giving consistent performances. So, can we be unfair to him also?" Brij Bhushan added.
Were Kareena and Priyanka catty enough? YOU tell us in this poll!
'We worked hard, brought a very positive manifesto saying this is what we have done and this is what we will do.' 'But people liked something else.' 'They didn't like expressways, they want a bullet train.' 'I have realised that in a democracy, the poor doesn't know what they want.'
Indrani is easily the most striking woman arriving in the court complex from jail on trial days. For those who don't know who she is, there is absurd puzzlement written large on faces when they bump into her. When she reaches or leaves the premises, one notices heads swivelling in jaw-dropping curiosity, as did a pair of transsexual undertrials who crossed her path at the last hearing of 2018, who were, not surprisingly, a less unusual sight than Indrani.
'Often reviled, mostly ignored, sometimes venerated, he has taken it all in his stride.' 'He has stood by the nation through thick and thin,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'Will anything change for you after the election?' And the man said 'Kuch nahin badlega.' And he had a smile on his face. He knew nothing was going to change.
'Freedom of expression is not a freedom to abuse those who do not agree with you.' 'It is also about being liberated from prejudices and intolerance.' 'To me, freedom is the right to be who I am and what I am without hurting the same rights of others.'
Who was Mohammad Azharuddin? More crucially, *what* was he? Those are precisely the questions that, as the end credits roll after 132 minutes of run-time, remain unanswered, feels Prem Panicker.
Long before Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, Rajshri made some beautiful movies.
'By the time the ground dries up, considering that the homes are still submerged, winter will be here. By the end of October, it is going to be very, very cold. By the end of November, it will be freezing, and it would have snowed by mid December. So before the ground can dry up, there will be snow.' 'The anger has not receded with the water. It persists. The floods have completely finished whatever 5 per cent chance Omar Abdullah had left with the public... He is seen as someone who is highly arrogant and is coming across as one who has no feelings for his people.' A Kashmiri whose family has lived in J&K since before Partition, tells Archana Masih/Rediff.com how the government and media failed the people when flood waters turned Paradise into hell.
Criticising various provisions in the proposed GST regime, Moily said it will be a "technological nightmare" and the anti-profiteering provisions in it are "far too draconian."
'Laxmikant-Pyarelal called upon Abba to ask him to sing this ghazal. "Please sing this ghazal for us. The producer is keen that only you should sing this ghazal, so that it will have the desired effect. But he doesn't have money enough to pay you".' Abba's heart was bound to melt on hearing this. He consented immediately. His daughter-in-law Yasmin K Rafi remembers the legendary Mohammed Rafi who would have been 91 today.
The BJP took a gamble and won; Uddhav Thackeray is down, but not out; Sharad Pawar accepts Modi's clout... The many meanings of the election results.
'Gujarat is number one in public relations and marketing. Gujarat's PR is strong, it washes like a strong washing soap... The third phase is ours. It is our family and household elections, let him come there... Banaras and UP have taken on the challenge.' Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav tells Rediff.com contributor Neeta Kolhatkar how he plans to keep Narendra Modi at bay.
'I love him (Sidharth Malhotra), there's no stress. I am not nachaoing him, in films or in real life.' Alia Bhatt gets candid about what she loves.
Sukanya Verma shares her exciting filmi week with us.
'After household expenses, we are left with nothing...' 'Sometimes I think it is better to shut the store...'
'We realised that the government and police were shielding the Dera chief.' 'From 2002 to now, irrespective of which political party, the Dera has always been protected.'
Aseem Chhabra picks the scenes that left him impressed this year.
Pasbola had a number of queries about the nails of the corpse found at Gagode Khurd. Did it have nails? Nails, in a case of strangulation, are key because they often have particles and skin beneath them to show the victim had been grasping something as s/he was strangled.
'Our story was really made after we saw what was happening in Punjab.' 'Earlier it was 'drug film, cool thriller, hipster movie.' Then we went to Punjab and we said, "Boss!"'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday cautioned against "commodifying" yoga, saying using it as some sort of business will do great damage to this world heritage.
During a war, there are just four possibilities a soldier faces. One: Victorious and safe. Two: Wounded. Three: Killed in action. Four: Prisoner of War. It was my fate to face the fourth, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) on the year spent as a prisoner of war in Pakistan during the 1971 War.
'I kept telling Anurag, "I don't care about anything, I don't want any money. Just get the film made".' 'One day I called Anurag and someone else picked up the phone. He said, "Hello, Sir." I responded, "Hello, but who are you and why are you picking up Anurag's phone?" He said, "I am Ranbir Kapoor Sir". And he told me he was doing the film and he was very excited.'
'I get scared of horror films. Chak De! India was (first) offered to me but Shah Rukh Khan also needs to get some good films. When has Aamir seen me without clothes?' When Salman Khan was in the mood for fun.
Has Salman Khan accepted Arijit Singh's apology? Subhash K Jha speaks to the singer to find out.
