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Beyond a legend in Bengali cinema, Uttam Kumar, who would have been 102 years old on September 3, couldn’t make much headway in Hindi cinema. In fact, his first hit in Hindi Amanush, happened very late in his career.

When Uttam Kumar passed away, Suchitra Sen had wailed, “Now whom am I going to work with?” The two were to Bengali cinema what Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn were to Hollywood.

The joke about Uttam Kumar was, he didn’t have to go to Bollywood: Bollywood came to him. Filmmakers and actresses, especially the Bengali ones were falling over one another to work with him. But Uttam Kumar was happy being...

A Journalist Once Compared Rajesh Khanna To The Great Napoleon – Here’s Why ( Photo Credit – Facebook )

Rajesh Khanna is the bona fide superstar of Indian cinema. At the peak of his career, he made many superhit and blockbuster movies. His stardom was unimaginable, and a journalist once described it. Keep scrolling for more.

Khanna redefined the romance genre in the Hindi film industry. Bollywood is defined by different eras; his era was romance, great songs, and superb dialogues. Female fans went crazy over him, sending marriage proposals and everything. His on-screen charisma and Kishore Kumar’s soulful voice created magic together. People often spoke and wrote about his immense stardom in tabloids and videos.

Pawan Singh Anjali Raghav Viral Stage Moment HD(Photo Credit –Instagram)

A video from a Bhojpuri song promotion recently created a huge storm online. The video caught in the limelight renowned actor Pawan Singh, touching actress Anjali Raghav’s waist at the event in Lucknow. Initially, she smiled on stage, but later she clarified that it was not as relaxed as it appeared. According to her, the gesture was sudden and without consent.

Speaking through her Instagram, Anjali explained that she smiled on stage because she thought it might just be her outfit tag or blouse tag issue. But later, she realised it was an unwanted gesture. She confessed she...

With the 4K restoration of master Bimal Roy’s “Do Bigha Zamin” (Two Acres of Land) set for its world premiere at this year’s Venice Film Festival’s Classics section, India’s Film Heritage Foundation director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur is reflecting on the monumental effort to restore the 1953 Indian cinema landmark — and why the film remains essential viewing seven decades later.

“Bimal Roy made ‘Do Bigha Zamin’ two years before Satyajit Ray’s ‘Pather Panchali,'” Dungarpur tells Variety. “Satyajit Ray said about Bimal Roy that he was able to sweep aside the cobwebs of the old tradition and introduce a realism and subtlety that was wholly suited to the cinema.”

For Dungarpur, Roy’s film represents cinema’s power to endure across generations. “The deep humanism and compassion that he showed in the film highlighted the plight of the marginalized, the issues of the migrant labor, and the...

When Abhishek Bachchan Was Petrified Of Sitting Next To Aishwarya Rai On Flight Before Their Marriage (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan & Abhishek Bachchan have been the ideal Bollywood Couple for a long time. The two Bollywood superstars have been married for 18 years, and stories and anecdotes about their love and how Abhishek has been besotted with Aishwarya. While Bachchan has shared stories of his personal life with Aishwarya, he also recently revealed that he thought she would never romance him in the initial phases of working together before they married.

Abhishek & Aishwarya are known for openly expressing their love for one another during media interactions; their chemistry, both on and off-screen,...

All Karan Johar Films Ranked From Worst To Best (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Karan Johar needs no introduction. A director, producer, reality show judge, talk show host, and costume designer, the man is a master of all trades. That being said, his first love and most acclaimed talent still remains filmmaking.

Over his 25-year-long career, KJo has directed seven feature films, and while a couple of his projects received mixed reviews, the audiences have always embraced his work. So much so that all of his directorials have succeeded at the box office. With such a successful track record, choosing the filmmaker’s best work might be challenging. Hence, we are here to help you.

“People Were Not Accepting His Films”: Ameesha Patel Talks About Hrithik Roshan’s Difficult Phase ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Directed by Rakesh Roshan, Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai is one of the most iconic films of Hindi cinema. The film marked the debut of Ameesha Patel and Hrithik Roshan and was a massive blockbuster at the box office. Let’s look back at the time when Ameesha Patel made candidly revealed about Hrithik Roshan’s disturbed state of mind post Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai after giving back-to-back flop films in the same year. Read on to know more.

Ameesha Patel On Hrithik Roshan’s Disturbed State Of Mind

In an interview with Siddharth Kannan,...

Raj Kapoor & Dilip Kumar Shared A Frienship Beyond Cinema. (Photo Credit – IMDb)

It was on the unfateful day of June 2, 1988, when the Showman of Indian Cinema, Raj Kapoor, breathed his last. The superstar passed away after struggling for his life. But in the last few days, his health deteriorated, and he slipped into Coma. While his family was by his side in these last days, his best friend Dilip Kumar was also informed about his condition.

Dilip Kumar, who was in Pakistan for an event, rushed back to Delhi to be by his best friend’s side. The superstar, however, did not know that this was the last time he...

In a new edition of his terrific series, This Day That Year, Subhash K. Jha speaks about Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Pade which starred Boman Irani and Farah Khan as it celebrates 13 years.

When two Parsis fall in love there’s bound to be friction. They are such a talkative community. At least that’s what we get to know from the eccentric bustle that our movies tend to create when dealing with the community. While watching Bela Sehgal’s sweet tender story of Shirin and Farhad passed the age of marriage, determined to find love and companionship in each other’s unexciting company one immediately thought of Basu Chatterjee...

The Notebook Primer introduces vital figures, films, genres, and movements in film history.Haider.First brought to South Asia in the hands of British imperial agents, William Shakespeare’s plays have since found a home in Bollywood, the Bombay (now Mumbai) film industry, where they have been adapted again and again for nearly a century. Each of these multifarious productions has absorbed the Shakespearean corpus and calibrated it to a distinctly Indian sociocultural context, indigenizing the most prestigious cultural export of the empire. Is the presence of the Bard in Bollywood a postcolonial protest, a commercialization of cultural interplay, or mere cosmopolitan hybridity? While a simple answer is futile, the narrative of Eurocentric primacy,...

Subhash K Jha Looks back at Suneel Darshan’s Barsaat, which starred Bipasha Basu, Bobby Deol and Priyanka Chopra that released in 2005.

At a filmy picnic the disgruntled husband Bobby Deol who wants to divorce his stunningly desirable wife Priyanka Chopra (only God and the scriptwriter know why anyone would want to do something so fool-hardy) is asked, “What’s the Hindi word for divorce?”

Talaq, comes the grumpy answer.

“Nope,” replies the wife with a coolness that caresses the film’s Himachal breeze. “Talaq is an Urdu word. We don’t have a Hindi word for dirvorce because the concept is alien to our culture.”

You may not agree with Kajal,...

There are plenty of contenders vying for victory in the category of "best company to host the Oscars," but no winner has been declared as yet. YouTube, in particular, has demonstrated a desire to diversify and expand into live events and, according to a new report, the Google-owned video-sharing platform is keen to become the new home of Hollywood's biggest night — but it faces some tough competition, not least of which includes from ABC, where the prestigious Academy Awards have been held for the past 48 years (and counting).

ABC's current contract deal is not due to expire until 2028, which means the network will continue to host the star-studded show for the foreseeable future,...

In the vast realm of Indian cinema, Mani Ratnam’s storytelling prowess contains a distinct and magical cinematic touch. Given his massive experimentation with imagery in mainstream filmmaking, it is surprising to know that Mani Ratnam entered the film industry without any formal training in filmmaking.

A typical management consultant dissatisfied with his work, Mani Ratnam found inspiration and purpose in cinema. One can say he learned from legends like Akira Kurosawa, Francis Ford Coppola, Stanley Kubrick, and others. Though his first two films were commercially unsuccessful, Mani Ratnam persisted with his desire to create pathbreaking works that significantly differed from the conventional film language of the era’s Tamil cinema. He kept on improving his storytelling brand, which slowly and steadily made the audience get acquainted with his visual storytelling techniques.

Recommended Read: Raj Kapoor – Director’s Study

Each of his films presents singular cinematography experiments that guide us...

Katrina Kaif has now spoken about being dropped from Sidharth Anand’s Bachna Ae Haseeno. Back in 2008, when the film was released the director had spoken to this writer about this unfortunately but unavoidable elimination.

Siddharth had explained, “If we had kept Katrina’s portion Bachna Ae Haseeno would’ve been one of the longest films in the history of Hindi cinema – much beyond three hours.”

The director admitted it wasn’t easy breaking the news to Katrina. “Nobody had the heart to break the news to her. When she heard she was out, Katrina was really upset. What to do? In fact, Katrina’s track was one of our favourites, but she saw our point of view when she saw the film.”

Ranbir Kapoor played the main lead in this romantic comedy and was seen courting Bipasha Basu, Minissha Lamba, and Deepika Padukone.

“The only reason we dropped the...

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s debut as a director in 1996’s Khamoshi: The Musical was a triumph of artistry. But a box office disaster. Looking back at this sleeper classic one can see it was flawless in its storytelling almost to the end, when suddenly the tragic end was changed into a happy one.

Some say Slb’s first film about the beautiful vulnerable Annie (Manisha Koirala) trying to cope with the possessive demands of her deaf and mute parents is still his most honest work.

The truth is Khamoshi: The Musical fell prey to dishonesty when the original tragic ending of Annie’s death had to be changed on distributors’ demand. The dark passionate redemptive tale was rejected on the day it was released. Manisha immortalized herself with her porcelain looks and delicately nuanced performance. Salman sportingly slipped into a supporting role, just to give his friend a boost up in his directorial debut.

Writer-producer-director Suneel Darshan’s Andaaz 2 is in no way related to his Andaaz in 2003. But don’t go away: there is a Priyanka in the film. A hotheaded lustful music entrepreneur, Priyanka, played by Natasha Fernandez, is , what you may call, a go-getter. From Mala Sinha in Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi to Amrita Singh in Aaina ,the kind of women in our cinema who never come to a happy ending.

After her first meeting with the film’s virginal hero Aarav Priyanka is in the shower imagining him soaping her in places where angels fear to tread.

A little later Priyanka plants a liplock on Aarav who seems surprised. “That was fast!” …Perhaps the only speedened component in a film that otherwise takes its time to tell the story of a musician Aarav and his two friends Tony (Srikant Maski) and Ehsaan(Parmarth Singh) who form a band get insulted by music company heads.

Subhash K Jha looks back at Teree Sang, Satish Kaushik’s film on teen pregnancy that released in 2009, in a new installment of his popular feature series This Day That Year.

This is Raj Kapoor’s Bobby with furtive sex and a baby thrown in for good measure. Otherwise the boy-meets-girl formula never seemed more homage-bound. Soft to the touch, but underpinned by a strong message on sex and the single parent, Teree Sang is a sweet and likable spin on premature parenthood.

The prim ‘n’ propah Rajat Kapoor and Neena Gupta, playing the debutante Sheena Shahabadi’s stiff-upper-lipped parents, could well be the painfully-young Rishi Kapoor’s parents in Bobby-Pran and Sonia Sahni — with their social airs and graces borrowed from a tacky soap on Page 3 mores.

Sonia Sahni had dropped her pallu to show her disdain for motherhood. Neena Gupta doesn’t seem sure of what to drop.

Songs celebrating friendship are so prevalent in our cinema that it becomes difficult to say which came first: dosti or dosti ke gaane. Subhash K Jha lists his selections for the best dosti ke gaane.

In recent times, the only really rousing friendship song was heard in the Kartik Aaryan starrer Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety. The song ‘Tera yaar hoon main, Tu jo rootha toh kaun hansega,Tu jo chhoota toh kaun rahega, Tu chup hai toh yeh darr lagta hai, Apna mujhko ko ab kaun kahega, Tu hi wajah…Tere bina bewajah bekar hoon main, Tera yaar hoon main’ written by Kumaar and composed by Rochak Kohli is sung by Arijit Singh with exceptional feeling. Arijit counts this among his personal favourite songs. Kartik Aaryan’s sincere and heartfelt emotive acumen added substantially to the song’s impact.

‘Tera Yaar Hoon Main’ is indeed comparable with ‘Diye jalte hain Phool Khilte Hain,...

Bollywood and the underworld have often had shadowy overlaps, especially during the 1980s and 90s. One such unexpected story comes straight from the autobiography of legendary actor Rishi Kapoor, who candidly revealed his encounter with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.

In his memoir, Rishi Kapoor mentioned that he met Dawood not once, but twice—first in 1988 and again in 1989, both times in Dubai. What began as a brief interaction turned into a four-hour-long meeting filled with conversation, tea, and revelations.

Dawood’s Favorite Bollywood Stars

During their second meeting, Dawood Ibrahim opened up about his admiration for several iconic Bollywood actors. According to Rishi, Dawood had a deep appreciation for the Kapoor family, particularly Raj Kapoor. He also expressed fondness for classic actors like Dilip Kumar, Mehmood, and Mukri—legends who shaped Indian cinema during its golden age.

Rishi Kapoor himself was on Dawood’s list of favorites. In fact, Dawood...

Once again looking at a movie of the past, Subhash K Jha focuses on Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai in the new installment of This Day That Year. Directed by Milan Luthria, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, which is celebrating 15 years since it hit the big screen, the dramedy starred Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut, Prachi Desai and Randeep Hooda.

Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai takes us back to the beginnings of gangsterism in Mumbai. Milan Luthria excels in creating smouldering combustive stress between two mean menacing men… Remember Devgan and Saif Ali Khan in Luthria’s Kachche Dhaage and on a more satirical note, John Abraham and Nana Patekar in Taxi No 9211.

In Once Upon A Time…. the conflict between Devgan (who is Not Haji Mastan) and Emraan Hashmi (who is Not Dawood) is placed in a far more complex and challenging scenario. The screenplay...

In an exclusive interview Mahesh Bhatt eloquently speaks with Subhash K Jha about his loved 1991 romance Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin, which starred Aamir Khan and Pooja Bhatt.

How do you look back on Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin, your only film with Aamir Khan?

It is a memory that refuses to die. There is one truth I’ve come to know deeply: all the works of mortal men lie under a sentence of mortality. They live among things destined to perish. Seneca said this centuries ago—and it holds just as true for films, no matter how iconic.

It is one your most loved films?

In an age where my brilliant protégé Mohit Suri’s blockbuster love story Saiyaara has cast a spell on the global consciousness of cinegoers, it feels almost miraculous that a reference to Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin still draws smiles. That it continues to...

In this new This Day That Year feature, Subhash K Jha looks back at 2004’s Julie. Julie isn’t a great film. But it’s an honest and moving work deserving of an attentive audience Here’s a tale of a hooker that hooks you. Go with open eyes and mind, and you will come away an enriched person from this elevating film about a Fallen Woman. She’s Julie. A nice, wholesome, impish girl from Goa who ends up in 5-star hotels of Mumbai peddling what in the words of the film’s excellent dialogue writer , “a woman’s most effective weapon”. Her body.

There have been many films on an unsullied woman’s journey into the arms of corruption—some outstanding, others mediocre, and then the rest plainly exploitative.

Deepak Shivdasani’s film falls in a different,refreshing and often startling , niche.

The segmented plot (tautly written and...

Anand Bakshi remains the most successful lyricist of Hindi cinema. He came to Hindi cinema in 1956 but found real success as a lyricist in 1965 with Jab Jab Phool Khile in which every song composed by Kalyanji-Anandji from ‘Yeh samaa samaa hai yeh pyar ka’ to ‘Pardesiyon se na aankhiya milana’ was a superhit.

It was composer Kalyanji-Anandji who introduced Bakshi to Lata Mangeshkar. She remembered him as a poet of many talents who composed many superhit songs credited to professional composers. When I had asked Lataji to name some of these songs ghost-composed by Anand Bakhi, she demurred. “When Bakshi Saab never spoke about the songs he had ghost-composed, why should I?”

Anand Bakshi had a storehouse of Punjabi numbers from his childhood. Many of the superhit Punjabi-styled songs he wrote were secretly composed by him. He had a vast knowledge of music and songs. In fact, he was keen...

Subhash K Jha, asked Filmistan for their lists of their favorite performances of iconic and esteemed Pran, both where he played villain and the good guy and they all had overwhelming praise for the actor.

Shatrughan Sinha: “Upkar, where Pran Saab stole the show from the hero-director-producer Manoj Kumar. For a villain to transform so effortlessly into that epitome of human kindness, Malang Chacha. Hats off! I also loved him in Raj Kapoor’s Bobby . He was a disciplinarian father but never cruel.”

Amitabh Bachchan: “Madhumati, Johnny Mera Naam, Zanjeer… so many!”

Sudhir Mishra: “Johnny Mera Naam and Zanjeer. He played almost parallel parts to the hero.”

Aanand Rai: “Where do I begin? Do I single out Pran Saab in Upkar? Or do I talk about Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, Parichay or Madhumati? Pran Saab was never anything but brilliant. To single out any one...

Astrologer Vikkramm Chandirramani Shares An In-Depth Astrological Insight Into Ranbir Kapoor’s Career (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Ranbir Kapoor’s foray into cinema began early, with short films he created in his early twenties – a subtle yet telling expression of the creative legacy passed down from his iconic grandfather, Raj Kapoor, who himself directed his first feature at just 24. That inheritance is reflected not only in spirit but also in name: Ranbir was named after his grandfather, whose full name was Ranbir Raj Kapoor.

Long before he appeared on screen, Ranbir immersed himself in the process behind it. He assisted on Prem Granth (1995), helmed by his uncle Rajiv Kapoor, and Aa Ab Laut Chalen (1999), directed by his father, Rishi Kapoor. These early experiences were formative, grounding him in the workings of the industry. His most significant apprenticeship, however, came with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Black (2005), a film he worked on closely behind the scenes.

Subhash K Jha turns the spotlight on Rituparno Ghosh’s KhelaAntar Mahal. Or he could be a filmmaker, like Prosenjit in Khela. Bearded, brooding, intense and idealistic Prosenjit wants to make a film about little Buddha.

And he wants only little Akashneel for the role.

Akashneel, a delightfully shrewd calculating and clever observer of adult quirks, suggests the director ‘keednap’ him when his parents refuse permission to shoot.

There begins a charming endearing journey into a world of creativity and manipulation.

The little boy’s tantrums brought to a close with never-ending bars of chocolate by the ever-patient dress designer (Raima Sen) will ring a bell in all those filmmakers who have shot with kids from Raj Kapoor in Boot Polish to Shekhar Kapoor in Masoom to Aamir Khan and Amole Gupte in Taare Zameen Par.

Beautifully capturing inner and outer landscapes cinematographer Aveek Mukherjee fuses his characters’ lives with...

NBC announced today that the previously announced Wicked concert special, led by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, will air on November 6, two weeks ahead of the release of the sequel Wicked: For Good.

The two-hour special event at L.A’s Dolby Theatre will air on NBC and stream next day on Peacock.

Erivo and Grande will be joined by their co-stars and other surprise guests to perform songs from the first movie — “and maybe, just maybe, a little bit from the upcoming film,” the network teased in its release.

Released last November, Wicked became a global phenomenon and grossed more than $750 million at the worldwide box office to become the biggest Broadway musical adaptation of all time. The film went on to become Universal’s biggest PVOD title of all time and Peacock’s biggest Pay 1 streaming launch ever. The film earned 10 Academy Award nominations and two wins.

Ben Winston...

A live “Wicked” special will air on NBC on Nov. 6, two weeks ahead of the theatrical release of “Wicked: For Good.”

Taking place at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theater, the special will be led by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, who star in “Wicked” and its sequel as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively. The pair, alongside their co-stars and other surprise guests, will perform songs from the first movie — and it can be assumed that they’ll tease music from “For Good” too, as a press release from NBCUniversal says to expect “maybe, just maybe, a little bit from the upcoming film.”

The two-hour special was first announced at NBCUniversal’s presentation at upfronts in New York in May. After broadcasting at 8 p.m. on Nov. 6, it will stream on Peacock beginning on Nov. 7.

“Wicked” was released in November 2024 and became the biggest Broadway musical adaptation in history, grossing more than $750 million at the box office,...

Subhash K Jha looks back at Manish Jha’s Shocking Mathrubhumi: A Nation Without Women, which released in 2003, in a new edition of This Day That Year.

Somewhere in the future when female foeticide has felled the female population a group of barbaric sex-starved men in Bihar marry one woman and rape her night after night in turns in Manish Jha’s film… that’s when they are not busy making out with boys and cows or whatever outlet is obtainable or available.

Manish Jha’s sinister sordid and ceaselessly appalling view of patriarchal perversity is at once shocking and intolerable . As in Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen the immediate impulse while watching this film about male-maid madness is to turn away and walk out….Jha turns the gender corkscrew so hard that you, the audience, go beyond squirming to a region of response to the visual stimuli that borders on the repugnant.

Ratna Pathak Shah Once Spoke On Naseeruddin Shah’s First Marriage ( Photo Credit – Instagram; Facebook )

Veteran actors Ratna Pathak Shah and Naseeruddin Shah are one of the most iconic couples of Bollywood. Their love story began in the world of theatre, and after dating for a couple of years, they tied the knot in 1982 and now have been together for over four decades. Let’s look back at the time when Ratna Pathak Shah opened up on her marriage with Naseeruddin Shah. Read on to know more.

Ratna Pathak Shah’s First Meeting With Naseeruddin Shah

In an interview with Humans Of Bombay, Ratna shared how she first met Naseeruddin for the first time. She shared, “We were doing a play together. It was precisely called ‘Sambhog Se Sanyas Tak.’ I don’t know when we realised we wanted to be together, but we did. By pretty soon actually we met,...

Subhash K Jha turns the spotlight on the brilliance of Dilip Kumar on reel as one of the finest actors, comedy and drama and everything in between, in the world.

He didn’t act. He reacted. Dilip Kumar was to the acting profession what Lata Mangeshkar was to playback singing. Take them away, and what are we left with in Hindi cinema?

Born as Yusuf Khan in a family of 12 children, the future doyen of on-screen dramatics moved with his family from his native town in Peshawar to Mumbai, where the Khans made a living as fruit sellers. For a brief while, Yusuf Khan even worked in an army canteen, when Devika Rani, the wife of the legendary Himanshu Rai of the Bombay Talkies studios, spotted the lanky but intense young man in a crowd.

Yusuf Khan was re-christened Dilip Kumar by Hindi litterateur Bhagwati Charan Verma. He made his...

Dilip Kumar Demanded 42% Of This Blockbuster’s Budget & Walked Out In 6 Hours! (Photo Credit –Prime Video/YouTube)

Indian Cinema is a goldmine when it comes to the stories of how some iconic films were made. What went right, what went wrong, who was initially cast, and who was finally replaced? One such iconic and cult films in the history of Indian Cinema is Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa, or rather we should say Dilip Kumar’s Pyaasa?

The First Choice Of Pyaasa – The Og Superstar!

The first choice for Pyaasa was the Og superstar of the Indian Cinema – Dilip Kumar! While he was witnessing a never-seen-before stardom during the 50’s, Guru Dutt decided to cast him for his passion project, because he wanted the best actor to lead the film!

Pyaasa Budget Vs Dilip Kumar’s Fee!

Even in those days, actors and their paychecks were huge! Dilip Kumar demanded 42% of...

Abhishek Bachchan talks with Subhash K Jha and reflects on the experience of making Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai, which released 24 years ago today!

How do you look back on the experience of Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai?

I look back very fondly on that experience. I enjoyed working with my friend Goldie and Jackie Shroff, Rani Mukerji and Sushmita Sen.

Why do you think the film didn’t work?

To be very honest, the lack of experience went against Goldie and me. We became so emotionally involved with the story that we lost all objectivity. We were like two boys chasing a dream. But I don’t regret it. I think Goldie did a fine job. The film gave me a lot of scope to perform. I hope I didn’t let him down.

Your character had a graph from an innocent smalltowner to compromised city slicker?

I played...

“Vagabond” in Hindi, “Awaara”, was Raj Kapoor‘s third feature as a producer-director and his twenty-second as an actor. His sense of scale was grand. His ambitions were even grander. His message was as clear as the lenses he chose. And the result was, for better, worse, and everything in between, one of the most extravagant explorations of love’s triumphs in the history of cinema.

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The tale starts with the main character Raj (Raj Kapoor) sitting in court, on trial for the attempted murder of Judge Raghunath (Prithviraj Kapoor). As the presiding judge explains, the case seems straightforward: Raj, a working-class man with a known past as a criminal, attacks a respected public servant without apparent provocation. That is, until his attorney and apparent lover Rita (Nargis) begins to argue that despite his flagrant guilt, there is a deeper story behind the act.

Box Office: Abhishek Bachchan Ruled The Box Office In 200 For 120 Days With Record Opening! (Photo Credit – Prime Video)

Abhishek Bachchan has started shooting for his next film, King, which stars Shah Rukh Khan, Suhana Khan, and Deepika Padukone. Meanwhile, another film by the actor Kaalidhar Laapata is all set for a digital release! The actor made his debut 25 years ago, on June 30, 2000, with Jp Dutta’s film Refugee, and what if we tell you that he held one of the most important records that year for quite a long time?

Refugee – 2nd Biggest Opener Of 2000

Upon its arrival, Refugee opened at the box office with a collection of 1.52 crore. It was the biggest opening of that year, and of course, it had to be since everyone was keen to see the son of Amitabh Bachchan & Jaya Bachchan and the granddaughter of Raj Kapoor!

Abhishek Bachchan Ruled The Box Office For 120 Days!

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has extended invitations to join the organization to a new class of filmmakers. Over 500 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to motion pictures are now welcome to join one of the Academy’s 19 branches.

“We are thrilled to invite this esteemed class of artists, technologists, and professionals to join the Academy,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang via statement. “Through their commitment to filmmaking and to the greater movie industry, these exceptionally talented individuals have made indelible contributions to our global filmmaking community.”

The list of new invitees includes several of the cast and crew of “Anora,” including Best Actress winner Mikey Madison, Best Picture winners Alex Coco and Samantha Quan, and Best Supporting Actor nominee Yura Borisov. Other 2025 Oscar winners like “A Real Pain” star Kieran Culkin, “No Other Land” directors Yuval Abraham,...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is expanding its membership, inviting 534 artists and executives to join its membership this year. The new class represents a wide cross-section of the film industry, from actors and directors to cinematographers, costume designers and visual effects artists.

Naomi Ackie, Gillian Anderson, Dave Bautista, Rachel Brosnahan, Jodie Comer, Kieran Culkin, Danielle Deadwyler, Stephen Graham, Ariana Grande, Mikey Madison, Jason Momoa, Aubrey Plaza, Margaret Qualley, Sebastian Stan, and Jeremy Strong are among the actors who received invites.

“We are thrilled to invite this esteemed class of artists, technologists, and professionals to join the Academy,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang said in a joint statement. “Through their commitment to filmmaking and to the greater movie industry, these exceptionally talented individuals have made indelible contributions to our global filmmaking community.”

Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O’Brien, Molly McNearney, Raj Kapoor, and Katy Mullan are...

In this throwback interview Karisma Kapoor spoke with Subhash K Jha in 2003 about her wedding plans.

So you’re marrying the Delhi industrialist Sanjay Kapoor?

Yes. I had to keep it under wraps until all of us were sure of what we wanted to do. Sanjay and my family have known each other for many many years. We’ve been childhood friends . We’ve grown up together. Interestingly, my mom became friends with his mom, who’s Raunaq Singh’s daughter, when she was 18. In fact my mom(Babita) in her heydays, shot one of her movies Haseena Maan Jaayegi in my mother-in-law-to-be’s house. They’ve remained friends since then. All of us kids from both the homes grew up together. His sisters are very close to me. We were in school together. So it was almost like love was arranged into a marriage(laughs).

Well, put. But when...

Box Office: Aamir Khan & Two Bollywood Superstars Own 3 Rare China Bo Records (Photo Credit – Prime Video)

Aamir Khan is generating a lot of buzz with his new arrival at the box office – Sitaare Zameen Par. The actor brought the 100 crore club to Bollywood with Ghajini and has been the leader for most of the most significant box office achievements of Indian Cinema! One of the strongest moves of the actor is said to be tapping the China Box Office!

Aamir Khan Rules The China Box Office!

Most people think that Aamir Khan is the first Indian actor to rule the China box office with Dangal. In fact, one of the film’s most significant achievements was earning 100 crore in a single day in the territory, a feat no Hindi film has ever achieved!

Bollywood’s First China Record!

However, what if we tell you that it was not Aamir Khan but his father,...

Exclusive! Kussh S. Sinha Opens Up About Making Nikita Roy ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Kussh S. Sinha, who directs Nikita Roy (which releases on June 27), is the deviant in his family. While dad Shatrughan Sinha (also a singer and producer on occasion), mother Poonam (also a one-film producer), sister Sonakshi (who has also sung in a film), and twin brother Luv have all been actors, Kussh has always wanted to direct movies.

What was the reason for you changing channels, so to speak?

I think it is all instinctive. You know what is right for you—you just know it! I have seen how those who want to be actors notice how existing actors present themselves and interpret scenes, learning from them. But I would look at the totality, including the acting, when watching any movie. I would note every aspect, including the way the scenes and sequences were written and filmed and even the music.

1975 was the year of some of the biggest Bollywood blockbusters of all times: Jai Santoshi Maa (the low-budget mythological that raked in insane profits), Pratiggya (Dharmendra thinks it to be a better film that Sholay), Deewaar, Sanyasi (Manoj Kumar’s comeback film), Julie and of course the mother of all blockbusters Sholay.

Mili was a middling success. Not one of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s best, but assuredly an important work. It was a sort of gender-reversed version of Hrishida’s Anand where everyone’s favourite character is stricken with a deadly disease.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee used to tell a joke. Once a journalist asked him why someone or the other always died in all his films except Sabse Bada Sukh, the biggest flop of Hrishida’s illustrious career.

“Oh, you are wrong. Someone did die in Sabse Bada Sukh. The poor distributor,” Hrishida laughed.

Mili which was released in 1975 manifested two of...

The Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest) proudly announces the official programme lineup for its highly anticipated 8th edition, set to take place from 19 to 27 July 2025. Staying true to its mission as a cultural bridge between Malaysian and global cinema, this year’s MIFFest places a spotlight on bold, diverse, and impactful storytelling from around the world. In its ongoing celebration of cinematic legends, the 8 th MIFFest is proud to pay tribute to the iconic Ti Lung with the Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the Extended Special Programme under the Master At Work series.

This year’s Malaysia Golden Global Awards (Mgga) sets the stage for an electrifying competition, with several standout titles leading the nominations. These critically acclaimed films reflect the depth and diversity of global storytelling celebrated at MIFFest. The Malaysia Golden Global Awards (Mgga) takes place on 26 July 2025 at Zepp Kuala Lumpur. The event will be streamed...

The 8th Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest) will open July 19 with “Ninavau,” a Malaysian feature exploring cultural identity and emotional heritage by director Bebbra Mailin, and close July 27 with “Transamazonia,” an environmental epic spanning France, Brazil, Germany, Switzerland and Taiwan from director Pia Marais.

The bookend titles underscore MIFFest’s dual mission of championing homegrown storytelling while embracing international co-productions, as the Kuala Lumpur-based festival positions itself as a key player in the Southeast Asian circuit with a robust 62-film lineup spanning 48 countries.

The fest will honor Hong Kong action icon Ti Lung with a lifetime achievement award. The 78-year-old star, whose career spans the golden age of martial arts cinema, will receive the honor at the Malaysia Golden Global Awards ceremony July 26 at Zepp Kl.

The tribute includes screenings of John Woo’s “A Better Tomorrow” and Jess Teong’s “The Kid from The Big Apple,” with Ti Lung...

When Rishi Kapoor Revealed An Unpleasant Memory Of This Superstar During ‘Bobby’ Shoot( Photo Credit – Facebook )

Rishi Kapoor was a versatile actor whose charm made him a household name and a symbol of romance over the years. He is part of the Kapoor clan and once shared an unpleasant memory of a superstar while filming Bobby. The film, which Raj Kapoor directed, featured Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia in leading roles. Keep scrolling for more.

Bobby, released in 1973, was Rishi’s first leading role and Dimple’s debut movie. It was a rage and is still deemed an iconic classic. The film reportedly introduced the teenage romance genre with the rich-poor clash backdrop, which became a prominent plot in the films after that.

Rishi Kapoor’s Unpleasant Memory of Rajesh Khanna During Bobby

An old report by The Indian Express revealed Rishi Kapoor’s excerpt from his autobiography. In it, the...

In Satish Kaushik’s Badhai Ho Badhai, which was released on June 14, 2002, Anil Kapoor bulked up to play an overweight man, the reference point being Adnan Sami from his pre-weight-loss phase.

But not to worry, it was all prosthetics. There’s a thin Anil Kapoor and a fat Anil Kapoor, and the twain do meet in Satish Kaushik’s split-level comedy about love, sunshine, and music—not necessarily of a very melodious kind.

Most of Kaushik’s directorial ventures have been faithful adaptations of Tamil-Telugu blockbusters. Badhaai Ho Badhaai is no exception. It adheres to the original Tamil Poove Unakkaga in most vital and not-so-vital details, and emerges with a frothy fun fare that tries to make a statement on two critical social issues: communalism and obesity. There’s a tragic mix-up of issues. Kaushik’s statements on Hindu-Christian amity suffer from obesity.

Fortunately, the episode about an overweight Raja...

Malaysian director Bebbra Mailin’s local drama Ninavau is set to open the 8th Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest), which will be closed by Pia Marais’s Transamazonia.

The festival will take place in Kuala Lumpur from July 19-27 and has programmed 62 films from 48 countries, up from the 50 titles selected last year.

Opening film Ninavau marks Mailin’s feature directorial debut and is based on a short she directed in 2019. It tells the story of a Kadazan woman who returns from the peninsula to her devout Catholic family with a change of heart in a film that explores cultural identity.

Producer Mahesh Bhatt talks with Subhash K Jha and delves into one of his favorite films, 2015’s Hamari Adhuri Kahan, directed by Mohit Suri and starred Vidya Balan, Rajkummar Rao and Emraan Hashmi.

It is ten years of Hamari Adhuri Kahani featuring Emraan Hashmi, Vidya Balan, and Rajkummar Rao?

It was Raj Kapoor who once said, “The child who loses the race is the one you remember. The world embraces the winner. The lights follow the victor. But your heart lingers where the pain did.” And I’ve lived long enough to know how true that is. When I think of Hamari Adhuri Kahani, that’s the film I return to—not because it triumphed, but because it bled.

The beautiful love story was considered regressive by some?

People tell me it was regressive. That it wore the idiom of television. That the maker of Arth turned the clock back.

Ranbir Kapoor’s Film That Broke His Heart ( Photo Credit – Facebook )

Many Indian films couldn’t set the box office on fire at the time of their theatrical release, but struck the right chord with the audience. For instance, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan-starrer Andaz Apna Apna didn’t do well in theatres, but eventually gained a cult following. There’s another such gem that deserves more love and features Ranbir Kapoor in the lead role. Can you guess which one?

That film is Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year, which was helmed by Chak De! India director Shimit Amin. If you missed it back then, it’s time to give this one the attention it deserves. It’s one of those rare films that quietly stays with you. In an earlier interview with Rajeev Masand for CNN-News18, the Animal (2023) actor confessed that the film’s failure broke his heart.

When Tanushree Dutta Took A Dig On Her Initimate Scenes With Emraan Hashmi ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

The title track of ‘Aashiq Banaya Apne’ featuring Tanushree Dutta and Emraan Hashmi from the 2005 film of the same name marked one of the boldest songs for that time. The actress’ chemistry with Hashmi stood out in a prominent manner. However, did you know that while fans were left raving about the chemistry between the duo, the actress was not that impressed about sharing the intimate sequences with the actor.

Tanushree Dutta Was Left Unimpressed With Her Intimate Scenes With Emraan Hashmi

According to Bollywood Shaadi, in a throwback interview with Filmygyan, Tanushree Dutta had taken a subtle dig at her bold sequences with Emraan Hashmi. The actress also claimed that they lacked a solid chemistry. She said, “Emraan, for me, has always been an actor from Day 1. I did three films with him.

When Mandakini Defended Her Breastfeeding Scene In Ram Teri Ganga Maili ( Photo Credit – YouTube )

The green-eyed beauty Mandakini had left the hearts of many fans racing with her beauty and appeal in Raj Kapoor’s 1985 musical-drama Ram Teri Ganga Maili. While the film spoke of an emotional love story which witnesses ups and downs, it also grabbed a lot of eyeballs for the actress’ bold scenes. Be it a sequence of her near the waterfall in a white see-through saree or a scene of her character breastfeeding her newborn baby, these scenes not only grabbed a lot of attention but were also considered to be a little too ahead for those times.

However, in a throwback interaction with Hindustan Times, Mandakini had broken her silence on the same. She not only defended her breastfeeding scene in Ram Teri Ganga Maili but also pointed out the difference between the same and...