News and Views

In his book, 'A Poem A Day', Sampooran Singh Kalra aka Gulzar, has selected and translated 365 poems sourced from 279 poets in 34 languages of India ever since the nation attained its independence. In this podcast, celebrity film journalist, Khalid Mohamed speaks with the man with golden words, Gulzar who reads three poems from the book - his labor of love, which took nine years of “disciplined ho...

It’s AK aka Anurag Kashyap Vs AK aka Anil Kapoor in this new Vikramaditya Motwane film that’s streaming on Netflix.  Written by Avinash Sampath , it has cameos by Sonam Kapoor , Harshwardhan Kapoor, Boney Kapoor . Now everyone here is playing themselves. So Anil Kapoor is very much the star who like we see in the trailer expresses a desire to work with the maverick filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. Kashya...

Turns out it’s not the horror films that are scary but the ones pretending too hard to belong to the genre that one should truly be afraid of. Durgamati ranks right up there with Akshay Kumar’s Laxmii in this regard. Was the coronavirus and this sad year not bad enough that we now are being made to sit through terrible remakes of South Indian films? Durgamati, a remake of the Tamil and Telugu bili...

Monty, a PT teacher at a school in Haryana, couldn't care less about his job. Readily giving up his allotted period so other teachers can complete their syllabus, Monty (played by Rajkummar Rao) seems quite content with the little life has to offer. His closest friend is his former teacher and present colleague Shuklaji (Saurabh Shukla). And while Monty’s mother threatens to dig in her heels and g...

Shanknaad, dhaak, ghonta, Chandipaath, Ulluldhvani, and pujor gaan. These are the sounds that bring Durga Puja alive, but this year pujo is going to be very different. The raging pandemic has forced us to stay away from any pandal-hopping and avoid any gatherings. However, you don't have to feel bummed out. If you have been working from home all this while, how about celebrating the pujo from home...

Who are you when no one’s watching ? Is it our actions that define us or the urges that we hide from snooping noses and judgemental glares? Also, what is it that we choose to do when no one is watching? Is that our little window to live our fantasy or do we hustle to keep up the pretence even then? That’s what Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare prompts us to think about. Tune in to the podcast fo...

In a century-old debate of Hindi-Urdu, the oft-asked question is, 'why do we need languages to perpetuate religious identities?' In this special episode on Hindi Diwas, we are trying to understand the famous divide between both the 'Hindustani' languages. We also try to understand if to be able to learn any language, one needs to belong to a particular religious or political identity. Or, even the...

Neena and Masaba Gupta are two dynamic women we love to love. Neena, a single mom who lives life on her terms, candidly talks about her choices and what she would or wouldn’t like to do differently, makes a stunning comeback to films and lights up the frame each time . Her daughter, Masaba, owns a successful fashion label of her own, is independent, talented with her head firmly on her shoulders....

Dance like no one’s watching, they say. And that is what Maryam wants to do too. Her feet sway automatically to the rhythm of the beats coming from the neighbourhood Bharatanatyam school. Dancing also makes her feel closer to her mom, who instilled in her a love for the art in the first place. But the watchful eyes of the custodians of religion and culture never let go of an opportunity to trip he...

India enters its 74th year of Independence amid a raging pandemic and economic distress that looks indefinite. While the country is slowly ‘unlocking down’ and restrictions are being eased, our anxieties about our health and future refuse to fade. What is it that must comfort a citizen of an independent ‘atmanirbhar’ country in these tough times - assuring policies? Promising employment? Freedom o...

When it comes to music, lyrics play as integral a role as the melody but alas, historically speaking, lyricists have not received the kind of recognition they deserve. To shed light on this, poet and lyricist Varun Grover took to social media to share a beautiful video with the loudest and the clearest message - CREDIT DE DO YAAR. Sung by Swanand Kirkire and penned by Kausar Munir, Varun Grover, S...

Little Gunjan or Gunju (Riva Arora), as she is lovingly called by her family, is enamoured by planes and flying. When she triumphantly announces to her brother that she wants to be a pilot he mocks her and says she should instead become an air hostess, because “ladkiyan pilot thodi na bante hain (How can girls become pilots?)”. The protective father walks in and explains that irrespective of wheth...

“Am I correct ?” asks a triumphant Shakuntala Devi every time she solves humongous maths equations in insanely inhuman pace and jumps at the applause with childlike zest. The cheering follows on cue. Accompanied with some rousing background score and in the brightest of sarees, Vidya Balan plays her with full-blooded commitment and a full-throttle signature laugh ! Vidya is luminous as Shakuntala...

The opening sequence of Raat Akeli Hai plays out entirely in the dark with nearly no dialogues. A truck chasing a car, a subsequent crash, a murder, an aerial shot of two bodies being taken to an undisclosed location and a bone-chilling cry. We are just about settling in trying to make sense of the silhouettes and what they mean. And this sets the tone. Economical with its dialogues and a sophisti...

Born as Dhanpat Rai Srivastava on 31 July 1880 in Varanasi, Munshi Premchand is often referred to as the Charles Dickens of India. Premchand, who is known to have popularised the literary tradition of the short story in northern India, has written more than 300 short stories. Scholars argue that his works should not be seen as mere pieces of fiction, but as social commentary that is reflective of...

Sushant Singh Rajput's last film, Dil Bechara, is a tough one to watch. The directorial debut of Mukesh Chhabra, it also stars Sanjana Sanghi in a lead role. While watching the film, there's a constant thought that lingers on- Sushant Singh Rajput is no more. Be it his smile, the twinkle in his eyes or even his easy charm - Sushant is in his best form in the film. It just breaks our hearts to even...

Amit Sadh reprises his role of senior Inspector Kabir Sawant in Breathe: Into The Shadows, which also marks the digital debut of Abhishek Bachchan and Nithya Menen. While the latter lends novelty to the sequel of the 2018 series Breathe, it's only Amit Sadh and his unwavering conviction while playing a cop trying to search for a new beginning even as he makes amends for his past mistakes that make...

Clean Slate Films, founded by Anushka Sharma and her brother Karnesh, has a knack of backing projects with a distinct feminist tone - from NH 10 to Paatal Lok and even the latest Netflix original Bulbbul. Also, Anushka Sharma’s penchant for the supernatural is equally evident. From the friendly ghost in Phillauri, the scary supernatural presence in Pari to the feminine power as the mainstay in thi...

Sushant Singh Rajput has left much more than just a film legacy behind. He has left memories behind. Memories of a dreamer, a wide-eyed boy from a humble family in the search of the meaning of success and happiness. It wasn’t an easy journey for a shy young man from a middle class family preparing to be an engineer to make a gamble and drop out of college to pursue acting in Bollywood. He was told...

The biggest pull of Aarya, streaming on Disney+Hotstar, will have to be Sushmita Sen. Forever etched in our memories as Miss Universe in her crowning glory, Sushmita plays the eponymous character around whom the story unfolds. Based on the Dutch series Penoza, it has been created for the Indian audience by Ram Madhvani and Sandeep Modi. Madhvani, who has also directed the series along with Sandeep...

A renowned public health expert and orthopaedic surgeon at St Stephens Hospital in Delhi, Dr Mathew Varghese has been consulted by governments and institutions across the world. In 2018, Bill Gates had described Dr Varghese as one of the five real life heroes of the world. In an exclusive interview to The Quint, Dr Varghese speaks about where we are headed with the coronavirus pandemic, how it wil...

We hear Amitabh Bachchan even before we see him in Shoojit Sircar’s latest directorial Gulabo Sitabo (streaming on Amazon Prime Video). Huffing, panting , a slight groan before he stretches his slouching body to take a bulb out of its socket. What he does with it we get to know in the next scene and why he did it is clear subsequently. Big B, who has a prominent nose and beard, initially grabs our...

Anurag Kashyap’s latest collaboration with Netflix, Choked: Paisa Bolta Hai opens with a dark silhouette surreptitiously walking into a room carrying a briefcase full of notes…these are the Rs500 notes of yore. The image is striking enough and the said notes stand to reason since its still October of 2016 . Even before we can fully register the implications of the scene or who that man was we are...

In one unintentionally funny scene during an intense gun battle with zombies, one of the military squad commandant says, “Angrezon ne hamari naukri churai, sona churaya, zameen churai aur ab ye hamare bhoot bhi churaayenge!”. I absolutely cracked up given that these creatures from the dead are supposed to be part of a military regiment of the East India Company, who have retained their Chief Lieut...

The latest to drop on Zee5 is Ghoomketu. Written and directed by Pushpendra Nath Misra (who directed the lovely Taj Mahal 1989) it has Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead along with an extensive ensemble cast and a bevy of cameos by stars. Ghoomketu was shot back in 2014 but due to financial troubles the release date kept getting postponed. Initially slated for a release in 2018, it was only after the...