Karthik Subbaraj's Aviyal is an eclectic mix of fun and interesting stories by five independent filmmakers.
'I belonged to a village where there was no light.' 'In Mumbai, I worked as a junior artiste, played small characters.' 'After struggling a lot, I got a break on television.' 'From there, I got a break in films.' 'It feels like a dream.' 'Sometimes when I feel low, I look back at my journey and feel inspired.'
'People thought I am doing this for promotions, but I wouldn't do that.' 'I have better things to do and better ideas to promote myself.'
'The appointment of 60 priests from the Dalit community is a historic moment.' 'Imagine this is happening in Kerala when Dalits are not even allowed to enter temples in some states even today.'
Tiger Shroff's dream woman is probably nothing like the bold, action-loving heroine of his new film Baaghi: A Rebel For Love.
'Minakshi Jafa Bodden is the first person to have ever taken Bikram Choudhury to trial and we greatly admire her courage.'
'When I met him, I was a behaving like a 16 year old!' 'He is incredible, very casual and chilled out.' 'He told me he would watch Gully Boy and then he said a dialogue from Gully Boy, 'Bahut hard!'.'
'I don't want to be normal.' 'I have worked so hard to get people to notice me that if they are noticing me now, I am very happy.' 'If they are saying anything -- good or bad -- I am fine with it.'
The bar's been raised again, says Sukanya Verma.
'I can finally tell my father that he need not go fix tiles in other people's homes.'
Radhakishan Damani is the only billionaire to see his wealth grow by around 20% during the lockdown.
She shares her terrifying story.
"On the sensitive issue of the huge price rise demanded by natural gas exploring companies in the Krishna-Godavari basin, Modi tried to be evasive but indicated that if required the price may have to be increased," says the interviewer, Dilip Gohil.
10-year-old Praggnanandha is the world's youngest chess International Master. His sister Vaishali is a Woman's International Master.
Shubir Rishi/Rediff.com speaks to rockstar saint Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insaan days before the release of the sequel, MSG 2.
AR Murugadoss talks about Akira, Sonakshi Sinha and much more!
'The challenges of the world are too great for any one religious tradition to address alone... The best way to learn about other religions is not from books, but from people... Go talk to someone from a different faith tradition. Get to know them. Build up some trust.' Dr Katharine Rhodes Henderson, who jointly won Hofstra University's Guru Nanak Prize for inter-faith champions in the United States, discusses religion and the challenges of extremism in this lively interview with Rediff.com's Arthur J Pais.
'Whenever you see him on television or anywhere else, he gives off grandfatherly vibes.'
Rediff.com gives you a throwback to an eventful 2017, in pictures.
'As a player, the biggest question you ask yourself is whether you are good enough to be on the same ground as Gavaskar, Dev, Border and company.'
In Virender Kapoor's latest book A Wonderful Wife twelve men write about the difference their wives have made in their respective lives.
Last September on the eve of the release of Gurmeet Ram Rahim's MSG: The Warrior Lion Heart, Rediff.com's Patcy N and Afsar Dayatar attended a huge concert in Sirsa, Haryana, to promote the film.
Revolver Rani could have been the movie of the year. It ended up as a confused film that can't decide who, or what it wants to concentrate on instead, says Paloma Sharma.
'You are a Kashmiri first. You are not an Arab.' 'Revisit our traditional sufi thought.'
His comment hat many of the people present at the funeral of the Mumbai blasts convict after he was hanged are "potential terrorists", sparking outrage.
'When it came to S D Burman, a Guide song was completely different from a Tere Mere Sapne song which was completely different from a Sharmilee song. Except for their quality, there is nothing to link them together.' 'Lata was his ultimate voice. He felt there was nobody like Lata. "Give me a harmonium, give me Lata and I will make music," he said.'
Indrani dressed in a short purple kurta and leggings, with a bandhini green-purple chunni, sindhoor glowing in her mang, was receiving a drubbing from her lawyers for the facts she had revealed before the court on Tuesday while arguing the rejoinder to her bail application. She was insisting: "But he asked me for a motive!"
'Important things like concentration, having a balanced mind, staying calm at all times, all these important things he learnt from his mother.' Arvind Pujara, the master batsman's dad, has been much praised for instilling the right values in his only child, but he tells Rediff.com's Harish Kotian that it was his late mother Reena who is majorly responsible for Cheteshwar's success.
'There were no singers like Lata, Kishore, Rafi or Mukesh. And until now, there is nobody. Nobody with that kind of voice, nobody with that kind of brain to learn. Not only to learn, but to improvise. We improvised music, we improvised the songs. Nowadays, they just listen and copy.'
India's freedom, its rambling but working Constitution, its parliamentary democracy, its lumbering administrative machinery all have many a father, but its greatest claim to fame, especially today, that of being a modern state, is due to but one person: Its first and longest-serving prime minister, Nehru, says Shreekant Sambrani.
'It was frightening to feel that you were in a war-like situation.' 'Why do I have to feel unsafe in my own country?' asks angry Panchkula resident Raashi Sethia.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Narendra Modi can pick up a tip from the Samajwadi Party ramlila. If he doesn't want L K Advani as President, he might anoint him Bharatiya Bhishma Pitamah, suggests Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
'He would dance and I would give him marks.' 'If I gave him five on 10, he would get disappointed.' 'So I would ask him to do better, and he would try and do better.'
What went on inside Kolkata's 'house of horror'? Indrani Roy/Rediff.com reports.
One of the best stories coming out of Bihar is about a place where Chandragupta Maurya, Buddha, Ashoka, Sher Shah Suri and India's Mona Lisa meet.
'She was once asked what the secret to political leadership was and she said it was the ability to like all kinds of people.' 'I don't think Rahul fundamentally likes people -- that's probably why he can't deal with them and it shows.' 'Sonia is a more talented political mobiliser than her son, but I think the decline of the Congress set in in 1969...'
'Lives are lost and the social fabric is torn. The progress of the nation comes to a grinding halt.'
When I met him last year for his 75th birthday, he seemed frail. There was a sense of urgency. I will miss Stephen. His passing fills me with sadness.
Looking forward to catch Kill Dill this weekend? Here's a lowdown on its director.
