Year: 2018

1.     Kuch Bheege Alfaaz:  Onir’s elegiac  ode to a time when  love was  felt in the heart, and not in  the social media. In his latest directorial venture the prolific and insightful director Onir probes...

He not only had  four releases, he also branched into various directions. Telugu cinema’s fastest-rising star speaks to  Subhash K Jha How would you describe the year that was? I cannot complain. Lots...

Mrinal Sen who passed away  on  Sunday was  not only a brilliant  auteur  he was also very prolific until his health began  to fail and his pace  of filmmaking slackened.  Mrinalda’s last film as ...

On  Sunday  morning, as  2018  prepared  to dissolve into the  next year, Mrinal Sen passed away at the age of 95. His was a life well-lived,to put it  mildly Along with Satyajit Ray andRitwick Ghatak Mrinalda is ...

Ashwini Iyer Tiwari: Andha Dhun, Patakha,  Stree, Badhaai Ho, Raazi. Ali Abbas  Zafar: Raazi, Bhaddhai Ho, Sanju Milap Jhaveri: Padmaavat,  Sonu Ke Tutu Ki Sweety,Badhaai Ho, Andha Dhun, Stree,Parmanu, KGF, Sanju, Baaghi 2,Hichki, Raid, Sui Dhaaga and of course my own  filmSatyamev Jayate Hansal Mehta:  Stree, Andha Dhun and A Star Is Born. I am  also very proud of my ownOmerta. Suresh Triveni:  Andha Dhun, Badhaai Ho, Manto, Mitron(thought  it was  underrated),Raazi, Tumbaad, Soorma, Mulk, October,...

B 1.     Ishaan Khattar: He was seen  in Majid Majidi’s  Beyond The Clouds and then inShashank Khaitan’s Dhadak ,a rather lame remake of the Marathi masterpieceSairat.In both his debut films  Ishaan was a complete  natural, to the camera born.I found him...

The  Malaika Arora-Arjun Kapoor relationship  is  the  most open secret  in  tinsel town . The  couple is seen together at every important Bollywood event. The final seal of approval  was given when the discernibly  in-love  arrived ...

It’s not just about delivering the  hits. It’s also about using the power that those hits give you to generate a change  in the the audiences’ gaze as it falls...

1.     Patakha:  It’s been downhill all the way for Vishal Bhardwaj who for some strange reason continues to hold a messianic moviemaker’s reputation in spite  of  churning out dud after  dud. If you thought...

1.     Gajraj Rao in  Badhaai Ho:  A special award  for the one who thought of signing this  relatively unknown ‘invisible actor’ for the  role of a smalltime ticket collector in Delhi  who suddenly finds himself in the...

Simmba Starring Ranveer Singh,Ajay Devgan, Sara Ali Khan. Ashutosh  Rana Directed by Rohit Shetty Rating: *** ½(3 and a half stars) As far as  getting a kick out of  the movie-viewing experience  is concerned, there is ...

Anil Kapoor has waited patiently to  play his daughter’s father on  screen. The process took time. One can’t grab every  offer that comes  your way to do your real-life rishta on screen. “Neither Sonam  nor...

This Christmas  Katrina Kaif  decided to wash away her  prevalent phobia of  celebration  and parties  which dates  back to her birthday in  July 2008 when her then-boyfriend Salman Khan had  a public spat...

What  a year it has been for  Hindi cinema! The hits and the  critically  acclaimed films  kept rolling out. At the last count 10 films of  the year had jumped ...

Each year  the venue and  invitees at  Salman Khan’s birthday bash  remains   so  unchanged that the pictures from any birthday of Salman’s look interchangeable. The usual battery of relatives and friends  showed ...

Though he hates it  Salman Khan never ceases to be in  the news. He is a simmering bundle of contradictions. There’s the Salman who kept me awake till 3 in the morning with his...

1.     Every year Salman Khan’s  birthday is  brought  in at his family farm in  Panvel .Salman  hates cutting cakes on his  birthday. Since the family insists on  the  cake-cutting ceremony he makes one  of his ...

Newly married couple Deepika Padukone and  Ranveer Singh  have something in common to share  in  2018.  It is directorMeghna Gulzar who  will be  directing both Ranveer and Deepika,  though not in the same  film. While Deepika will be directed by Meghna  in the...

The dubbed Hindi  version of  the Kannada film KGF  starring Yash and directed  by Prashanth Neel, is doing better business than the new Shah Rukh Khan starrer  Zero. This should be  a cause for concern  for not just Shah Rukh but...

There were widespread  reports on Wednesday afternoon of  Thackeray  the  bio-pic of Balasaheb Thackeray  being censored hours before the trailer launch. As  per these  reports the Central Board Of Film Certification(CBFC) asked for...

After    her author-backed  role in Kedarnath,the  much in-demand Sara Ali Khan will be  seen  in a not-so-pivotal  role  in Rohit Shett’s Simmba this week And Sara  is not at  all unhappy with her  reduced...

Telugu star-actor Adivi Shesh who shot to  superstardom with the thriller Kshanam  had a favourable  year with Goodachari doing impressive boxoffice numbers. Adivi  looks back and looks ahead It was your birthday on 16 December.How did you spend your big day?...

Gone are  the days when Tamil, Telugu  and even Malayalam actors ran after  success in Bollywood, only to be  signed sealed and snubbed  in Bollywood.  Even the greats  like  Shivaji Ganesan, Kamal Haasan , Rajnikanth, Mohanlal, Chiranjeevi  andNagarjuna were  not spared. After...

Bollywood would remember 2018 for  the awakening of  the MeToo movement. It first shook the  foundation of  the  American  film industry. MeToo didn’t quite have  the same  effect on Bollywood. But the overfamiliar attitude of  leading men towards...

1.     Gajaraj Rao In Badhaai Ho: As Ayushmann Khurrana’s shy selfmade railway booking-clerk father  in Badhaai Howho willy-nilly impregnates  his wife at an  unthinkable age, Gajaraj Rao  brought  so  much  empathy and  warmth to his character, we never judge Rao’s character Kaushik.We are just happy ...

With Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety Kartik Aryan has  suddenly discovered stardom in 2018 .With it comes  the  burden  of sustaining and  furthering  his stardom. Hence we  have  stories at  regular  periods of the newest  entrant into...

In episode  after episode of  the  otherwise-enjoyable  Koffee With Karan we  can feel the host’s ineluctable desire to enter his celebrity guests’ bedrooms for a  peep into their sexual activities. Which  is  not such...

1.      Mr India: He was invisible on screen most of the time. But when he did show up  it was to either squabble with Sridevi , spar with Amrish Puri or play with the adopted kids.A...

Mrs Nick Jonas, a.k.a Priyanka Chopra has made many influential friends in Hollywood.  And they will all be  a part  of her grand wedding reception in Los Angeles.According to a  source  in...

If in Aanand Rai’s  Zero  Katrina Kaif has pulled  out all stops to play the heartbroken alcoholic superstar Babita Kumari  it is with reason.Katrina has channeled  her inner heartbreak to  play the  character.  Close friends say...

Has Shoojit Sircar and John Abraham’s  great friendship come to an end? The two  of them not only  created a sterling magic in Madras Café, easily one of John’s best films, they...

 The reach  of Indian cinema  is growing.And  who would agree with this more than  SanjayLeela Bhansali whose 2015 costume drama  Bajirao Mastani has now been  praised  by  American  billionaire Elon Musk . In a tweet that has gone...

Both  professionally and  personally , Alia  Bhatt is in  a very happy space  this year. While her  relationship with Ranbir Kapoor shows  every sign of fructifying into permanency, on the professional  front, Alia scored a...

With  due apologies to Aamir, Shah Rukh and Salman, the  biggest Khan superstar  of India  is Taimur Ali Khan. As he turns  all of 2 on December 20 his proud paparazzi-wary parents have whisked him away...

 Though this  is  not official yet and  won’t be for a  while now, a sequel to  the eagerly waited Zero is already  in the  pipeline. Sources in the know say the reach ...

 Not many  former boyfriends  would do what Harman  Baweja did on Thursday evening when he headed  for Priyanka Chopra’s wedding  reception to wish her the  very best.B Baweja was  a devoted boyfriend to Priyanka  for a ...

 Rahul Gandhi’s triumph  in  the Assembly Elections would have  a  “deep and serious” impact on  the  bio-pic on  ManmohanSingh –The  Accidental  Prime  Minister-- that is almost complete. Apparently the forthcoming  film which ...

KGF, Chapter 1(dubbed  Hindi Version) Starring Yash,  Srinidhi Shetty Directed  by Prashanth Neel Rating: *(1 star) “If you bad, I am your dad.”  I swear I heard the messianic hero  mouth  this line  in this ...

Starring Swara Bhaskar, Purab Kohli,Sumeet Vyas, Vivan Bhatena Directed  by Danish Aslam Rating: *** Some sharp writing  and plotting curves, not to mention  a certain maturity in the level of  some of the  performances makes Voot’s  new webseries It’s Not...

Composer Mithoon suddenly discovered  a leading riff from his beloved tune Tum hi ho in the film Ashiqui 2 being ripped off by  American rapper  T-Pain  in a  song called  ‘That’s Yo Money’.Instead  of apologizing Mr  Pain...

Zero Starring:  Shah  Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma Directed by Aanand L Rai Rating: **** ½(4 and a  half stars) When this achingly irreverent ode to misfits was over,I thought, how wonderful that Zero is  dedicated to Sridevi. No more...

After  a break of more than  a year Deepika Padukone  will  be back  before the camera to play a character  as far removed  from  Padmaavaat as  Ranbir Kapoor from Ranveer Singh. Deepika  plays Laxmi Aggarwal ,  a  victim  of  an acid attack. Her...

I really don’t know  who thinks up these casting marvels.  Every other  day we hear of one incredible casting feat or  the  other. Most of them , fabricated. The  latest...

There were reports yesterday  that Telugu star-actor Vijay Deverakonda  was injured and that his shooting had to be cancelled. Though the news was  not untrue Vijay says  there is no need for alarm, and...

f you go through Sanjay Khan's autobiography 'The Best Mistakes Of My Life', one comes across a very interesting photograph which has the current Prime Minister of Pakistan and former...

 Days and  hours ahead  of  the release  of one  of this year’s films, Aanand Rai and Shah Rukh’s Zero finds itself confronted  by  attempts to malign the  film with fake tweets and cooked-up reviews. Popular  ...

one more attempt to spread false rumours about your health? I don’t undertand why there’s  the need to report  so negatively about my health.It’s almost as though a section  of  the social...