The attacks on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo is merely one in a long list of attacks on the media by extremist groups that would like to mandate what and how of free press. So, for the uninitiated, we take a stroll down recent times to see how the media and media persons have seen fearful responses to perceived transgressions.
A love triangle between reality and imagination? A courtroom turned into a reality television? Animation, satire or science-fiction? What would you like to watch on OTT this week?
When he took over as the district collector of Kozhikode, Prasanth Nair perhaps had little inkling that being active on the social media could earn him the wrath of politicians, says Venu Muruvelil
Along with Salman Khan's Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan and Keanu Reeves' action blockbuster John Wick: Chapter 4, we have Nawazuddin Siddiqui's rom-com Tiku Weds Sheru releasing on OTT this week and much more.
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA in Chhattisgarh and former state minister Brijmohan Agrawal has stoked a controversy as he said that those who call inflation a national calamity should stop eating food and using petrol.
Professor Dr Abrar Ahmed, however, said his tweet had been 'misunderstood' and he had posted it as a 'satire' on how minorities are being 'targeted' by the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).
On Sunday, the 29-year-old Yair, who is very active on social media and often defends his father's policies, posted a picture of the Hindu goddess Durga, with the face of Liat Ben Ari, the prosecutor in his father's corruption cases, superimposed over the goddess' face. Her many arms were also raised giving the middle finger.
The stencil mural which appeared on the wall of a house in Totterdown depicts elderly woman in a headscarf and without a mask holding a handkerchief as she emits a big sneeze. The artwork shows her walking stick and handbag falling out of her hand and her dentures flying out.
Bangistan is not the political satire it claims to be, says Nishi Tiwari.
The boy from Kanpur kept his audiences in theatres, on television and lately on social media platforms engaged with vivid societal sketches, be it about travelling in Mumbai's famous locals or lampooning queues at wedding buffets.
'The 2019 election and the run-up to it will certainly see bots being deployed in large numbers on all sides.'
A behind-the-scenes from the short film, of which we are fairly confident will win a peace prize or five.
'People in India take offence because maybe that joke doesn't suit their narrative.' 'But they will laugh at a joke by that same person if it's in their favour.'
Government on Tuesday made it clear that it differs with the UPA regime's stand on Section 66A of the IT Act.
Government on Tuesday made it clear that it differs with the UPA regime's stand on Section 66A of the IT Act.
Essentially a message movie, Jayeshbhai Jordaar masks its horror in humour to play out like an on-the-run road trip, observes Sukanya Verma.
Trade pundits and quick think piece experts can speculate all they like, but what works at the box-office is a mystery as always.
An Action Hero's oil and water combination of genres doesn't always gel, gets overly far-fetched in places but still holds up on the strength of whimsy and surprise, notes Sukanya Verma. An Action Hero Review.
The bizarre challenge started in China but has followers all over the world.
S Saraswathi gives us the latest updates from the Tamil film industry.
Opinion is divided on the message that Charlie Hebdo was trying to send across using the cartoons depicting Aylan.
'303 seats ki sarkar has problems with a cartoonist.'
Here are various roles that a bigot can play, disproving that s/he is one-note and uni-dimensional, and is in fact a versatile, multitasking person.
Tandav is as mainstream and contrived as it gets, but not completely without its moments of charisma and drama, observes Sukanya Verma.
Akash Banerjee is posing tough questions to the establishment -- and getting away with them.
The well-known satirist, who has issued a statement saying his comments weren't intended to insult the country, found backing from Trinamool Congress member Mahua Moitra as well as Congress leaders Kapil Sibal and Shashi Tharoor.
The Al Qaeda network is plotting a terrorist strike in Britain to inflict mass casualties similar to the newsroom massacre at the satirical French weekly Charlie Hebdo that killed 12 people, Britain's spy chief has warned.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf wonders why no one objects to jokes about Rahul Gandhi, but are upset when Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar are mocked.
'Succession is a great show that inspires me to push the boundaries of creativity.'
Taking a veiled swipe at the Congress party, he said one of the things he found when he came to Delhi was that those who got opportunity to rule the nation for "many, many years, loved to keep things in a pendulum mode".
France is mourning the deadliest attack in the country in four decades in which at least 12 people were shot dead by heavily-armed gunmen shouting Islamist slogans at the office of Charlie Hebdo, a controversial satirical magazine, in Paris.
Kaagaz completely relies on Pankaj Tripathi's unassuming talent and sarcastic might to pull it off, notes Sukanya Verma.
The tools he uses are logic, the reputations of the sources, and how much emotions influence the content.
While critics and protestors have multifarious arguments to offer, the defence of CAA has been uni-dimensional and uni-focussed as has been the case with most policies of the Modi government and the political positions of his party. But to be drawn into an issue that has assumed more than local and national dimensions, Rajini has knowingly or otherwise, taken the plunge and in favour of the BJP -- or, so it has come to be seen, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
A "Peace for Paris" symbol, combining the city's beloved Eiffel Tower with the peace sign of the Sixties, has gone viral following the Paris terror attacks.
'Have we finally gotten over the holy cow syndrome?' asks Saisuresh Sivaswamy after watching Aisi Taisi Democracy in action.
If the Congress lost in Tamil Nadu in 1967, never to return, or the DMK and the AIADMK have kept their place in power and electoral politics since then, it owes not to their love or hatred for gods or for one religion over another. Instead, they had always been linked to performance and incumbency/anti-incumbency factors. There may be something in such constructs for Rajini's strategic team to consider, especially if the superstar is to enter direct politics by around this time next year. But then, they would need to brush up their homework more than at present, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'It all runs on sugar-coated lies. If I like something, I will want to believe it.'
