Marking its tenth anniversary on January 7, 2020, is filmmaker Raj Kumar Gupta’s No One Killed Jessica. The screen adaptation of the controversial Jessica Lall Murder Case, the film stirred the nation’s collective conscience – just the way the brutal incident did. Unlike several other Hindi films based on real […]
Read Time : 11 Minutes
When ‘Salaam Namaste’ Made Our Hearts Go “mmmm….”
It was 2005 and Bollywood was still hypnotized by grand NRI romances. The trend existed for a reason as it was when the impact of liberalization had finally plummeted and consolidated in India. The economy grew and it was not a distant dream to plan a trip to a city […]
Read Time : 24 Minutes
50 Reasons To Fall In Love With Manisha Koirala
August 16, 2020 – It’s the date when Manisha Koirala celebrates a milestone birthday. Well, if the actor turns 50 today, my virtual love affair with her turns 25, this year. As duly mentioned in the About Me section, it is Manisha Koirala’s Bombay which turned me into a cinephile. […]
Read Time : 11 Minutes
‘The Blue Umbrella’: A Vibrant, Magical Tale With a Hint Of Suspense
I clearly remember watching Vishal Bhardwaj’s The Blue Umbrella back in 2007. If Tinder were to exist then for teenagers, ‘voracious reader’ would have been the first two words in my bio. Ruskin Bond, to me, was the story-telling grandpa I never had. So much so that I even remember […]
Read Time : 10 Minutes
‘Rajnigandha’: About a Fragrance That Smells Like Love
“Adhikaar ye jabse saajan ka har dhadkan par maana maine Main jabse unke saath bandhi, ye bhed tabhi jaana maine Kitna sukh hai bandhan mein…’ Rajnigandha phool tumhare bikhre yunhi jeevan mein…” Writes lyricist Yogesh for Basu Chatterjee’s Rajnigandha. The words roughly translate to: “Since I’ve given him every right […]
Read Time : 11 Minutes
‘Bunty Aur Babli’: High on Energy, Chemistry, and Delicious Bollywood Spice
Released in Summer 2005, it is a mystery how a Hindi feature like Shaad Ali Sahgal’s Bunty Aur Babli would become a major commercial success. Small town stories might be the toast of the town on this date but the early 2000s were known for NRI themes and urban coming-of-age […]
Read Time : 17 Minutes
The Immortal Appeal of Swarnalatha’s Golden Voice
Back in the early ‘90s when I was slowly being enticed by the magic of film music, it was easy to observe K S Chithra‘s unparalleled reign across Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu languages. Chithra was the heroine’s voice and her name hogged the cassette inlay cards. For any other […]
Read Time : 16 Minutes
‘Jodhaa Akbar’: Chronicling the Original Power Couple
“Aankhon mein hain bahaarein, dil mein khiza…” [It as if spring blooms merely in the eyes, but in the hearts there’s autumn]. Javed Akhtar wrote for the male protagonist in Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Jodhaa Akbar. Reflecting the thoughts of an emperor who is slowly being enticed by his ethereal new bride, there couldn’t […]
Read Time : 12 Minutes
‘Saathiya’: A Bollywood Romance That Brims With Middle-Class Energy
Saathiya. A film that marked the debut of director Shaad Ali is a remake, as we all know. A prototype of the much-admired subgenre called ‘The Mani Ratnam Romance’, the film is unlike umpteen misled Tamil features by somewhat clueless filmmakers who repeatedly failed in emulating this winning formula. This formula […]
Read Time : 10 Minutes
‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’: When Fresh Technique Met Classic Bollywood Melodrama
Well, Karan Johar’s cinema invokes nostalgia in many of us. While their perceived quality is debatable, it can’t be denied how his brand of cinema is amongst the most widely watched. Though we can’t really claim that his films have aged very well, the one that has actually stood the test of […]