opinion
Opinion: The Magic Of Madhuban Mein Radhika…Desecrated
Don’t shoot the messenger.Don’t blame Sunny Leone for the atrocious gyrations to the sound of Madhuban mein radhika nache re. She is only doing what she has been asked to. The words originally written by the great poet, the bade dinon ke bard, Shakeel Badayuni for the film 1960 film Kohinoor, instantly evokes fond reverential memories of the great Mohammed Rafi singing for the mighty Dilip Kumar as Kum Kum danced on the elegant rhythms of maestro Naushad’s composition. I remember Dilip Saab talking at length about this monumental musical | Click Here...
Opinion: Is Indian Idol Trying To Generate Interest By Creating Controversies?
Is Indian Idol making a fool of all of us? Could all this tamasha about guest judges being asked to make only favourable comments about the contestants be a ruse to boost the TRPs? A source very close to the show who’s also an expert on reality television says these ongoing controversies are self-generated. “Suddenly you have contestants being pulled up for being not good enough, you have judges pulled up for not being honest enough. These are all planned gimmicks ,” the source inform me adding, “The platform is open to many interpretations on | Click Here...
OPINION: Rajiv Kapoor’s Property: The Kapoors Should Let His Live-in Partner Have It
On seeing the Kapoor parivar all poised to fight for Rajiv Kapoor’s property I am reminded of a song that Mukesh ,coincidentally a close family friend of the Kapoors, sang to immortality: Bahot diya dene wale tujhko aanchal hi na samaay toh kya kijiye.To translate Shailendra’s sublime poetry crudely... ‘The Almighty has given you amply, so much so that there is no space in your embrace for it all to fit.’ The Kapoors are blessed with a rare wealth , creative and otherwise. Kareena Kapoor Khan alone is worth millions, and when we supplement her wealth with her husband’s Pata | Click Here...
OPINION: IPL On Disney Plus Hotstar: Coffers Over Coffin
It’s repugnant. Almost macabre. It’s akin to that dirty ugly distasteful burp that makes one’s muscles twitch in disgust after having a meal which is unbearingly unsavoury and grotty. It is, indeed!!! The ongoing IPL season on Disney Plus Hotstar network is a smearing slap on the face of millions as India stands ravaged under the ravenous claws of COVID 19. It’s the horrendous, harrowing wallowing of the willows as burning pyres mist the skies in pain and despair. But who cares as long as Virat Kohli hits the winning runs or Shah Rukh Khan cheers for his team as | Click Here...
Opinion: In Oscars 2021, Why Anthony Hopkins Beat Chadwick Boseman?
Standing ovation for the 93rd Academy Awards. Giving the best actor award to the redoubtable Anthony Hopkins in place of the late(and no doubt great) Chadwick Boseman is an act of great courage and integrity specially since Boseman in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is exceptionally cogent, a tour de force of a farewell performance. To not honour the dead(specially one so deserving) and to see more merit in the living is a feat beyond the jury members of our awards to understand. I am happy to say I have seen Anthony Hopkins in The Father. Some actors are so above the | Click Here...
Opinion: That IT Moment When A Star Is Born
It happens like magic. That precise moment when a star is born . The shot where Kareena Kapoor splashes water on her face and Abhishek scolds her for wasting water in Refugee. That moment when Rishi Kapoor sees Dimple Kapadia(then all of 15) in a miniskirt and polkadot top in topshot from staircase landing of his bungalow in Bobby. And when Kartik Aryan in Pyaar Ka Punchnaama rattles off that ‘Problem’ monologue about what women want(“Maang bharna and phir zindagi bhar bhar maang poori karte rahna”) a star is born. Remembering that moment when ‘It’ | Click Here...
Column: Why Should I Return To Theatres To See Madam Chief Minister?
The one and only lacuna in my life during this entire pandemic has been my movie screenings. Until the second week of March 2020—when my last screening, of Angrezi Medium was held every Wednesday or Thursday producers would arrange a preview screening for me at the only multiplex in Patna. The mid-week screenings were the central attraction, the raison d’etre of my life. The screenings were my lifeline. I’d wait for Thursday excitedly. The thrill of watching films in a movie theatre was even more heightened for me than your average movie buff. The screenings | Click Here...
Should Laxmmi Release Simultaneously On OTT & In Theatres? Trade Experts Speak
Many trade experts feel that this Diwali’s big release Laxmmi(earlier entitled Laxmmi Bomb) has all the qualities of a blockbuster including the presence of Akshay Kumar. Sadly it’s been earmarked for release on the OTT platform when it could’ve been the ideal vehicle to turn around the doddering fortunes of theatre exhibition. Apparently last-minute talks are on to release Laxmmi in selected movie theatres. Says trade analyst Girish Johar, “Ideally all big films should be a theatrical release but since cinemas are not open pan-India with certain | Click Here...
Bigg Boss 14 Kicks Off To An Entertaining Season
The much-talked-about Bigg Boss season 14 has commenced and dabangg Salman Khan is back with his swag on Colors. Bigg Boss is the perfect fit for him, no season more so than the current one when the pandemic has left people home stuck. The inaugural episode on Saturday night was trended. The contestants were an interesting mix, though no major Bollywood face, hope they have enough might and masala to entertain. On stage one of the contestants who goes by the name of Nikki Tamboli was trying to cute-flirt with Salman. “I don’t know how to flirt,” she whined i | Click Here...
The Witch Hunt & Fall Of Rhea Chakraborty
The arrest of Rhea Chakraborty brings to a close to the worst witch hunt that I've ever come in modern times. It was very simple, really. If you can't nail her for Sushant's death then pin her down for something else. But she had to go in. Someone had to pay for Sushant Singh Rajput's death. A very prominent filmmaker while discussing the current unsavoury salacious back-and-forth on Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, observed that Rhea Chakraborty’s career is over. “Not that it ever started,” he added, not intending it as a cruel barb. Nothing that can be said about Rhe | Click Here...
The Nepotism Debate Loses Its Momentum
The sudden and shocking death of Bollywood star Sushant Singh Rajput on June 14 has triggered off a raging debate on the wages of nepotism in the Indian entertainment industry. Rajput, 34, who was found hanging in his bedroom has become the face of the struggling outsider in Bollywood, while producer-directors Karan Johar and Mahesh Bhatt are being seen as the ugly faces of nepotism and favouritism in Bollywood. However actress Swara Bhaskar, herself an outsider in Bollywood and a successful one at that wonders how Rajput who was part of many blockbusters like D | Click Here...
Disney Plus Hotstar Multiplex Launch and Everything That Was Wrong About it
What seemed grandeur had a veneer of palpable graveness. Big movie faces skipping theatrical release to become digital stars, if we could put it that way. How’s the feeling? Certainly the energy during the conference seemed rather stumpy. We are talking about the much-coveted Disney Plus Hotstar Multiplex virtual press conference. While Star India big boss Uday Shankar kept reiterating the fact that the strategy is an enabler and not a destroyer, one really wonders if all these biggies would want their movies to go digital first once the God forsaken pandemic is over. | Click Here...
Love it, hate it, can’t ignore it: TikTok India’s ‘reputation’ battle
It was late in the evening when a top-rated TV star rang up. Star:“Hi, could you please not mention me as a TikTok star or influencer in the articles. Just avoid TikTok please” Reporter:"So, you going off TikTok?” Star:“No, no. It’s a fun platform and we make some good money. These days, you know all the ban thing, just don’t mention na…please (sic)” Interesting, indeed. The world of TikTok, the famous or rather infamous app, is a quagmire. “You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.” Yes, TikTok is | Click Here...
(Covid-19 Impact) To Shoot or Not to Shoot: Time to Fix The Dilemma
It’s getting a tad tougher now, to be precise... depressing and fretful. Now that all food and household chores pictures are shared on social media, depleting savings account and ‘never experienced before’ Coronavirus situation has hit all hard. Reason? No one knows what next or till when. It’s said you can fight market forces, but how do you defeat God’s will? It’s impossible to run away from this collective suffering of human race. More and more delay in accepting the sheer helplessness is a sign of denial of the obvious. As grim scenes of mass hung | Click Here...
Aditya Narayan-Neha Kakkar marriage gimmick took sheen away from Indian Idol 11 winner?
Ratings matter, in fact, it’s everything in the television business. Creatives and programming gurus toil day & night to weave plots which would send ratings through the ceiling. Mazaa for audiences means moolah for networks (tongue-in-cheek anyone?) And we have no quibbles with it. However, what gets a tad annoying is when the soul of a show, or the core theme of a project, go for a walk in the park, leaving behind attention-grabbing frivolity. But what if the | Click Here...
The other ‘Kamra’ rises
Is it in the surname or the impact of the rising ‘intolerance’ in the country? Whatever be it, TV star Kritika Kamra has been rather surprisingly vocal pertaining to ongoing burning issues in the country. Kritika, demure and dashing in real life, is a superstar in TV space with legions of global fans. Her show Kitani Mohabbat Hai is undoubtedly a classing in the context of desi television programming. As an actor, she is par excellence and now, she has earned the | Click Here...
Crime Shows for Entertainment: Time to Stop
One of my fondest memories from my childhood days has always been my passion to read various interesting crime books. During my school days, I made sure to keep myself busy with books from the Sherlock Holmes series, the master craftsman at solving crime cases. I vividly remember my keen interest in the detailing involved in the books to reach the culprit/solution. I was amazed at the very clean way in which every brutal killing or death was reported in the books, without making the reader cringe or feel bad. Well, my interest in the crime-related stories found bigger means wh | Click Here...
Blast from The Past: When Zeenat Aman was thrashed in full public by a Macho Khan & his wife
The alluring Zeenat Aman could have any man she wanted. But she chose to fall in love with men who almost invariably ill-treated her. I jokingly told her this. “You are a terrible judge of human beings. And the men in your life are proof of it.” And she laughed throatily. But what happened in 1980 when she was in the throes of a passionate love affair with a married Khan hero, was no laughing matter. The Khan was not only married with multiple kids he was also an over-ambitious filmmaker whose latest opus starring Zeenat and he, had gone ridiculous | Click Here...
Opinion: Has Dance India Dance judge Kareena Kapoor Khan’s magic failed on screen?
Bollywood actors do not limit themselves to just acting but try their hand at a lot of things. From hosting shows to judging them, and sometimes even participating, they do it all. The shows tend to include our B-town celebs in their judges’ panel, so as to increase their credibility and their popularity also results in higher numbers. While the trend was started by the likes of Karan Johar and Malaika Arora Khan, recently, Kareena Kapoor Khan also made her TV debut on the reality dance show, Dance India Dance on Zee TV. This year, the excitement hit the roof, as the gorgeous Bolly | Click Here...
Why selectively target TikTok when many web series also have nudity?
The honourable Chennai High Court has lifted its earlier ban on the Chinese short video App TikTok with a caveat that violations will be treated as contempt. Understanding the importance of the Indian market to its business scheme of things, TikTok has moved quickly to remove 1000 offending videos. While we agree that TikTok content is not classy, does this merit attention ASAP or can it wait a bit before the immediate demons i.e. national security and economic distress are first dealt with? Having said that, any kind of child pornography is a deal breaker and the platf | Click Here...
I support and stand by Shashi Sumeet Productions: Raghuvir Shekhawat on Pehredaar Piya Ki
Raghuvir Shekhawat, a credible name in the entertainment industry, which every writer surely adores. The talented man has many hit shows in his kitty, like Balika Vadhu, Madhubala, Veera, Diya Aur Bati Hum, Tu Mera Hero, Bhabhiji Ghar Pe Hai, Na Aana Iss Desh...Laado, Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi. He is currently weaving magic in Zee TV’s upcoming show Bhootu. When we ask Raghuvir as a writer what is his take on Pehredaar Piya Ki, he shares, “It would be not right on my part to comment on somebody else’s work. But if you ask me personally, why only this show, there are man | Click Here...
The Pain of Posthumous
It was late in the morning when my Whatsapp beeped with a message which knocked a cold thud in the heart, '45 year actor Inder Kumar is no more. He suffered an heart attack at his residence in Four Bungalows, Andheri, Mumbai at around 2 am today. He worked in more than 20 films, also few with Salman Khan - Wanted, Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge and many others. These days he was shooting for his next film Phati Paid Hai Yaar.' (sic) The news business in today’s time is all about speed. Instead of being humane and deliberating on the deat | Click Here...
The Curious Case of Tanmay Bhat
Hearsay is a type of storytelling too. Often a figment of one’s imagination, which, thanks to today’s social media prowess and access, often leads to conjectures and conniving consequences. The space of digital, potent and precarious, has evolved into a monstrous influence, its impact reverberating in the minds of teeming millions, sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes dire ugly to the extent of being notorious. And one name which pops up while conversing on social media is Tanmay Bhat. Tanmay and controversy go hand-in-hand, which is public knowledge. He seems t | Click Here...