Aamir Khan is undoubtedly one of the most influential actors in Indian cinema, with a career filled with landmark films and a reputation for perfectionism in his craft. However, the growing debate around whether he should be considered a “role model” for youngsters is not just about films – it is about the gap between public image and personal life, and how that gap is now being judged in the social media era. A role model is not just someone who succeeds professionally, but

Mumbai: Playback singer Suman Kalyanpur was always compared with legendary Lata Mangeshkar. There was a reported rift between them over certain issues. However, Kalyanpur, who passed away on Sunday night in Mumbai, had dismissed the speculation in an exclusive chat with this correspondent almost three decades ago. She had responded with characteristic grace and a smile: “I have nothing to say about this. Lata-didi is like my elder sister. We respect each other. I just do my

Mumbai: Come October 2, Maharashtra’s dark secrets known to the Nashik Bhondubaba, Capt. Ashok Eknathrrao Kharat – currently in custody - may now explode on the silver screen. A prominent film director Swaroopp B. Sawant has announced a new Marathi crime thriller, “Maharashtra Epstein Files” which threatens to rip open the sleazy and exploitative world of Kharat before it started crumbling in March when his murky deeds tumbled into the public domain. An online poster rel

Mumbai: As Raja Shivaji marches steadily towards the Rs 100 crore mark, the film has reignited debate around the future of the Marathi film industry. Having already crossed Rs 80 crore at the Indian box office, the historical drama is now only the second Marathi film after Sairat to achieve the milestone. Its success has raised a larger question within the trade: can a major blockbuster finally attract sustained investment into Marathi cinema, an industry often marked by cycl

Sadly, marital rape is not a punishable crime in India. More than half of the world’s countries do not criminalise sexual assault in marriage, including OECD countries like the Czech Republic and Japan. But is marriage the right solution even at a suggestive stage in countries like India where domestic violence on wives by husbands is very high? Many such violent acts are directly linked to violent rape never mind whether the wife is willing or not, whether the wife is batte

Mumbai : The legendary singer Asha Bhosle - who passed away here aged 92 on April 12 - once lived far from the arc lights of fame, in the distant north-west suburb of Borivali, in the early 1950s, when she was still a struggling artist finding her voice. In those difficult days, she developed an enduring affection for the humble trains. When buses and taxis were beyond her means, Asha-tai relied on the Western Railway’s suburban locals, travelling across the city for her re

Mumbai : From the narrow lanes and arterial roads of Mumbai dotted with chawls and skyscrapers, a sea of humanity bid a tearful farewell to the legendary Asha Bhosle - whose body in pastel coloured sari, a white pearl necklace and traces of make-up - was taken in a flower-bedecked white and yellow van, with a large portrait atop, showing her sporting her favourite ‘nath’ (nose jewel), and her trademark large red ‘bindi’. The city appeared to pause as thousands of Mumbaikars

Legendary singer Asha Bhosle dies at the age of 92 following chest pain Mumbai: With the passing of Asha Bhosle, Indian music’s daring and rebellious diva – the country has not merely lost a singer, but a symbol of sound, emotions, reinvention of a voice that conveyed mischief, sensuality, passions that will haunt listeners for generations. If Asha could sing a frolicking and timeless qawwali, “Nigahen milan ko jee chahta hai…” (Dil Hi To Hai – 1963), she could croon a velvet

Amrita Pritam’s Pinjar remains one of the most powerful literary explorations of the Partition, womanhood, and loss. Amrita Pritam is the most important voice of Punjabi literature in the twentieth century: bold, lyrical, and deeply human. — Khushwant Singh The statement is both a tribute and a precise critical assessment, encapsulating Amrita Pritam’s literary genius and cultural significance. To understand the depth of this remark, one must examine the thematic richness

New Delhi: Asha Bhosle chose unpredictability in an industry that thrived on predictability. She quietly turned that into a power that could not be robbed, replicated, or replaced. She didn’t just lend her voice for playback singing; she challenged norms and redefined femininity in films. She went on to build a career spanning over eight decades on choices many wouldn’t dare to make. She defined herself not with rebellion that shouted but with one that sang boldly, sensuously

Mumbai : Veteran playback singer Asha Bhosle - of the legendary Mangeshkar clan - passed away following cardiac complications and multi-organ failure at the Breach Candy Hospital on Sunday morning, her son Anand Bhosle announced. She was 92. She is survived by her children and grandchildren, as well as her siblings Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Usha Mangeshkar and Meena Khadikar, and other family members, many of whom are associated with the entertainment industry. Her elder son H

In today’s Hindi blockbusters, patriotism is no longer just a theme — it is a trigger. Mainstream Hindi cinema today follows a pattern that is no longer subtle; it is engineered. The recent success of some of the industry’s biggest hits has hardened a new formula: nationalism fused with stylised violence, wrapped in a spectacle, and delivered with emotional certainty. Placed against this backdrop, Dhurandhar fits comfortably into an ecosystem where patriotism is no longer j

Anton Chekov is one of the most universally recognized playwrights in world theatre. ‘Bhanu’ is the Bengali adaptation and contemporisation of the original play first staged in 1899, two years after the Russian playwright’s play was published. The first staging of the play was directed by none other than Konstantin Stanislavky noted for founding the internal and emotional involvement of actors in the characters they were cast in. Many performances of ‘Uncle Vanya’ have been s

When the comedian and television host Kapil Sharma recently welcomed the veteran screenwriter Salim Khan onto his show, he made a striking claim. India, he joked, has a national bird and a national animal; it ought also to have a national film. That film, he suggested, would surely be Sholay. Few would quarrel with the sentiment. Released in 1975 and directed by Ramesh Sippy, Sholay has long been treated as the Everest of Hindi popular cinema -quoted endlessly, revisited by

Dhurandhar’s continuing box-office smash reveals how Bollywood’s patriotism has evolved from chest-thumping emotion to cool-headed statecraft. Bollywood has always moved in cycles. At one point, it obsessed over star-crossed lovers, in another phase, it was family melodramas or vigilante revenge. Yet one theme returns with almost metronomic regularity: the nation at war with itself or with others. Patriotism, in Hindi cinema, is not merely a genre but a barometer of national

From AI experiments to restored classics, the 56 th edition of IFFI has widened the frame of Indian cinema and hinted at where it is headed next. Last month, on the sunlit banks of the Mandovi River, the western Indian state of Goa once again transformed into a brilliant mosaic of reels, voices and visions. From November 20 to 28, the 56th International Film Festival of India saw Panaji turned into a carnival of stories, with each frame a portal to distant lands, untold live

The iconic filmmaker’s scathing verdict on India’s National Film Awards exposes how India’s highest cinematic honour has drifted from art to appeasement. Adoor Gopalakrishnan is not a man who intervenes casually in public debate. He does not issue press releases, chase relevance or offer opinions to stay in circulation. His appearances in the public square are infrequent, and when he speaks, it is usually in the measured cadences of someone who has spent a lifetime observing

I n an era where artificial intelligence quietly slips into every corner of modern life, "Chiranjiv Perfect Bighadalay" arrives as a timely, refreshing, and deeply relevant theatrical experience. Presented by seasoned theatre stalwart Chandrakant Kulkarni, the play captures the quirks, conflicts, and chaos of today's tech-driven youth with wit, emotional depth, and striking clarity. Originally born as a one- act play that swept all awards at this year's Akhil Bharatiya Marath

While government grants and corporate sponsorships help keep it afloat, India’s professional theatre faces an existential challenge in...

The 71st National Film Awards will be remembered for the silence that buried a four-decade prize for cinema’s writers. “Silence is...