Nikita Dutta is bindaas, and doesn't shy away from any kind of question, no matter how controversial or personal it may appear. So yes, body shaming, going under the knife, casting requests, romance, her starry co-stars... she's got it all covered on The Rediff Podcast.
'You can't put an an arm around Naseer sir and say, "sir, ek aur take karte hain". You got to be clear why you want it.'
Try making bitter gourd a different way -- grated, with onions and coconut adding extra body to the preparation.
'Ego is a part of the film industry, be it Bollywood or the South Indian movies.'
'I do have a couple watches that I like very much, one my dad gave me. But I only wear it with a more formal kind of a look... Otherwise, in my day-to-day life, I don't wear a watch.'
Soft, bite-sized baby idlis are layered with a spiced minced meat mixture as they steam and the result is a delightful north-South fusion teatime treat.
Recipes that we learned from our Mothers are almost sacred for us, especially when we no longer have them with us anymore. Here are 14 wonderful Mummy recipes Our Mummies often don't write their recipes down but every time our Ammas make a particular dish, it's more spectacular than the last time they made it! Without doubt, right? We were fortunate to get a few of our Ammis to jot down how she made a certain oh-so-yummy preparation
'If you're so sick, so ill, how will you show that power?'
'Lovemaking involves your partner's brain, imagination, emotions, tuning in to you, and your response to your partner.' 'If you look at it as something transactional or something that's a part of a relationship formula as determined by society, then it's fornication, not lovemaking.'
'Sometimes it can get a little difficult to assert yourself, whether it's an opinion or your presence. It gets really exhausting.' 'They're still not able to accept that an intelligent woman can also really love wearing red lipstick!'
All of India gets ready for the mid-winter harvest festival, turning out laddoos, Pongal, Puran Poli and other endless delights.
'People are talking about Vijay Crishna's roles in cinema, the few roles that he did, but his real body of work was on stage.'
'It's rare to see Ranveer Singh off-camera. He disappears. He doesn't like to be on set. Only when the shot is ready, he is there. He doesn't want any nonsense, no interaction. If anything would go wrong, he would really get pissed. He doesn't like noise and would tell everyone on the mic to be quiet. Ranveer loves to work, so he would keep telling everyone to be dedicated.'
Pitha is a snack, which can be had with Chole Chaat or just a cup of tea.
'As soon as Salman saw me, he immediately left Aamir's side and came towards me. He hugged me.' 'Then he introduced me to Aamir, saying, 'This is J K Bihari who launched me in Biwi Ho Toh Aisi".'
The best way to really take in the English countryside is to go narrowboating.
'In almost every film, Shah Rukhbhai has done a lot of his own stunts.'
'Homebound stands for something very beautiful at a time where the world is starting to feel like there is a lot of othering going on and it's starting to feel divided.' 'We are starting to become less human, more disconnected.'
'People ask me about my biggest action sequence; this is it, because it involved two giants of Indian cinema.'
Mumbai, infamous for its voter apathy, stepped out to exercise its franchise on Wednesday.
You can e-mail your pictures to getahead@rediff.co.in (My Lord Ganesha Pix) with your name, location, details about your Lord Ganesha and what this festival means to you. We will publish the best entries right here on Rediff.com.
The Bodoland Territorial Region in Assam is slowly picking up the pieces and finally finding peace after being subjected to decades of insurgencies and violence.
The Kumars, like everyone else in Mumbai, are celebrating Ganesh Utsav with dance, excitement, food and of course, prayer.
'They can't take even the smallest step.' 'The mental abuse is so insidious that sometimes they don't even realise it's happening.'
'At least 25 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of plastic chewing gum gets dumped.' 'And because the way people spit it out, there's no possible way this plastic can be recycled.'
'Aamir Khan and Salman Khan were already very busy. Then, Raveena Tandon and Karisma Kapoor started signing more films, Paresh Rawalji also got busy... 'Rajkumar Santoshiji got offered Damini he was very excited about it. He told dad that since her dates were available, let me do this film quickly. But aisa hota toh nahin. That film also took time. 'So sabke dates ka problem ho gaya, including the director's.'
'The male-dominant Indian culture displays a lot of violence, a lot of aggression towards women.'
'When they took my name, I went numb.' 'Before I went on stage, my dress got caught in my shoe!' 'I said, stay calm.' 'Then I started walking and was like, okay, now think of what you're going to say, quickly!'
'This is about history and history is important.' 'It is the history of my ancestors, my parents, my grandfather, my chacha...'
'It's very heartening because it's a kind of underdog story and you know, we're not a big film, we're not with big people, we have not been able to plaster ourselves all over the place to make ourselves be seen and watched.' 'But still, we have managed to somehow get here.'
'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.'
'Maggie was very reserved and private. Nobody would dare to ask Maggie personal questions.' 'She was not that kind of person. She didn't share and would not want you to share either!'
'Russia is aiming at demoralising Ukraine as a nation.' 'They want to bomb the infrastructure, the electric stations so that regular citizens will not to be able to live, to cook, to give comfort to their kids.'
'I'm there in every frame of this film.' 'The film is named after the character that I play.' 'It's about a feeling like you are capable of shouldering a film entirely on your own, which is a belief that I may not have in myself always.'
'There's a very strong feeling of sisterhood that I feel is missing in Indian households.' 'I genuinely advocate the feeling of sisterhood because I feel that some of the strongest bonds, friendships and support groups could be our immediate relatives.'
It's one of life's many wonders until God's priceless creation stops walking on Earth for good.
'She was lying there and I mustered up enough guts to lay next to her and hold her tight.' 'And she said, "Oh my, Girish, isn't he supposed to be nervous?"' 'Making light of the situation, Girish said, "No, he's been practicing with a pillow the whole day".'
Entertainment Editor Ronjita Kulkarni shoots the breeze with rediff readers.
'Personal reasons required me to take some time off.'
