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Turning the focus on Arshad Warsi’s best performance, Subhash K Jha looks back at Sehar, which just turned 20 in this edition of his feature series This Day That Year.

Sehar is a small-big film about unlikely heroes. The police force , often shown to be brutal and self-serving, gets a commendable pat on the back from first-time director Kabeer Kaushik in this biographical account of principled police-man Ajay Kumar (Arshad Warsi) fighting “absolute power” emanating from extra-constitutional guns in Up.

The film’s parched ambience and relentless stress on telling it like it is, make it a kind of documented drama that’s still rare in Hindi cinema. The characters are all familiar quasi-stereotypes: gun-toting law-unto-oneself type of anti-socials who have been done to bludgeoning death in the cinema of Govind Nihalani and Ram Gopal Varma.

What makes the age-old combat between Good and Evil in Sehar reasonably riveting is...

If Jungle, which was released 25 years ago on July 14, were to be released today it would have probably met the same fate as Adipurush, though Jungle was a better far more intelligent film.

It was also a rigorous revisionist version of the Ramayan where ‘Sita’ played by Urmila Matondkar is abducted by ‘Raavan’ , played by Sushant Singh …not Rajput, the other talented Sushant Singh.

Singh played Durga Narayan Choudhary , a Veerappan styled dacoit in the jungle who abducts a bunch of tourists, uses them to negotiate with the government, releases them but decides to hold back one hostage , Anu (Matondkar) whom he has taken a fancy to.

The rest of the tense film shot in striking hues of light green and red, is all about ‘Rama’ Fardeen Khan rescuing his Sita. Significantly, Sushant’s character never touches his special hostage physically; also none of the characters were named after their counterparts in Ramayan.

Must-Watch Kay Kay Menon Performances on Ott Before Special Ops 2 Arrives ( Photo Credit – YouTube )

Special Ops 2, the next chapter in Neeraj Pandey’s gripping espionage thriller, is all set to premiere on Jio Hotstar on July 18, 2025. Starring the ever-dependable Kay Kay Menon as the sharp-witted Himmat Singh, the sequel promises high-stakes action and intense drama. While the countdown begins, there’s no better time to revisit some of Kay Kay Menon’s most powerful performances across film and series. From chilling psychological thrillers to gripping courtroom dramas, don’t miss these must-watch titles on Ott that showcase his acting prowess.

1. The Railway Men: The Untold Story of Bhopal 1984 (2023) Director – Shiv Rawail IMDb Rating – 8.5/10 Streaming On – Netflix

Plot: The series revolves around the heroic efforts of the railway workers to save numerous lives during the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy. Kay Kay Menon delivers a standout performance as Iftekaar Siddiqui, the station master of the Bhopal Junction.

The volume of violence in filmmaker Pulkit’ s Maalik would surprise and shock only those who haven’t seen his outstanding series, Bhakshak, which was about sexual violence.

Maalik is about the politics of violence. And the violence In politics. It is set in the city of Amitabh Bachchan, Allahabad, and there are some delectable references to the Superstar. I especially liked Rajkummar Rao’s deadpan response after a shootout in a movie theatre: “Manoranjan mein hinsa?!”

Writer-director Pulkit does the opposite: hinsa mein manoranjan. There is much to be said about a film that peels off layer after layer of commissioned violence in the Uttar Pradesh of the 1990s—long before Yogi’s operation cleanup—to reveal what we already know: the more we use violence as a tool of protest, the more its chances of becoming nothing but a weapon of mass destruction.

Would it be politically correct...

Enjoyed Thug Life Vibes? This Underrated Revenge Drama Deserves Your Attention ( Photo Credit – YouTube )

Thug Life, Kamal Haasan’s latest release, hit the big screen last month and received a mixed to underwhelming response from several critics. While the film’s lead performances and some other aspects earned praise, it was burdened by inevitable comparisons to Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan’s previous iconic collaboration, Nayakan (1987).

If you’re in the mood for a revenge-themed action thriller, then we recommend checking out one of the most overlooked films by Ram Gopal Varma. We are talking about the 2010 political action thriller Rakta Charitra and its sequel, Rakta Charitra 2. Read on to find out what they’re all about and where to watch them online.

Rakta Charitra 1 & 2 – Plot & Cast

Directed by maverick filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, the film follows the journey of Pratap Ravi (played by Vivek Oberoi), who makes it his...

Looking back at the gritty political thriller Sarkar, in this fascinating installment of Subhash K Jha’s This Day That Year series, where we also hear from the star Amitabh Bachchan about making the Rsm Gopal Varma film which released in 2005.

In Sarkar, nothing is as apparent as it seems. Take a look at the plot: a saviour-of-the-masses hero, his two heir-apparent – the bad son and good son, the tussle of power between the two sons in a world that Varma has over the years patented and portrayed inside-out.

Dark, gleaming, ominous corridors hiding anguished pain, characters who look like they could do with a bath… and a massage to release some of the nervous tension that comes from a blurred perception of crime and morality – these characterize the givens in a Varma film.

Sarkar too takes us through a world governed by the rules of survival of the fittest.

Vishnu Manchu’s latest film, Kannappa, has taken the box office by storm. As it has made its theatrical release, the movie has not only caught the eyes for its storyline but also for the emotional resonance. With the release of movie, almost all the social media handles are buzzing with the reviews and reactions of viewers, and one of the most captivating reviews came from the renowned filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma.

Sneak Peek into the Kannappa’s Review

As we all know, Ram Gopal Varma is a well-known filmmaker, and he has expressed his immense and profound enticement for the movie, which moved Vishnu Manchu to tears.

After the release of Kannappa, Vishnu Manchu shared the screenshot of Ram Gopal Varma’s heartfelt review about the movie. Ram Gopal Varma clearly mentioned he does not hold the belief in the idea of gods, and due to this, he wouldn...

Kaali Venkat’s Madras Matinee Gets Its Ott Release Date (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Madras Matinee fared fairly well at the box office when it came out on June 6, 2025, and was welcomed with a mixed reaction from the people. The slice-of-life Tamil drama is now all set to find its way onto Ott. What makes the film stand out is the manner in which it presents the actual lives of working-class individuals, without attempting to present things as nicer than they truly are.

The makers have locked its Ott premiere on Sun Nxt, where Madras Matinee will start streaming from July 4, 2025. Sun Nxt confirmed the news with a post on their official X handle, sharing a poster of the movie with the caption, “Every street has a story. Every home, a heartbeat! Madras Matinee is a tribute to the unsung heroes around us — fathers who sacrifice, families who hold on, and...

Rohtak Kabza Ott Update ( Photo Credit – YouTube )

Stage App is ready to entertain audiences once again with its upcoming Haryanvi crime thriller Rohtak Kabza. Known for highlighting local stories with raw emotions and powerful storytelling, this film explores the world of crime and control in the streets of Rohtak. With a strong cast and intense plot, the movie is all set to grab the attention of viewers looking for something bold and real.

When & Where To Stream Rohtak Kabza

If you are eager to watch this regional drama, you can stream it now. Rohtak Kabza will begin streaming exclusively on the Stage App from June 26, 2025. The Ott release skips the big screens, aiming to reach audiences directly in their homes instead.

Stage App has been consistently building its Haryanvi content library, and Rohtak Kabza could very well be its most hard-hitting release yet. The film’s announcement was shared in local Haryanvi on social media,...

Rashmika Mandanna Shares First Poster Of Her Next Movie!(Photo Credit –Instagram)

Rashmika Mandanna is set to take over the big screen with another new project! The pan-Indian star is embarking on another journey after ruling hearts with her undeniable charm and back-to-back blockbuster offerings, including Kuberaa and Pushpa 2: The Rule.

Rashmika Mandanna Drops Powerful Poster For Brand New Project

On Thursday, June 26, 2025, Rashmika took to Instagram to share a surprise announcement. She dropped a brand-new poster for her next movie and asked the fans to guess the title.

“Can you guess what the title of my next could be? I don’t think anyone can actually guess.. but if at all you can guess it then i promise to come meet you,” the actress wrote in the caption of her Instagram story alongside the poster.

Trending Thug Life Ott Deal: Netflix Backs Out Of ₹130 Cr Agreement—Here’s...

Saaree Ott Release Update(Photo Credit –Facebook)

Ram Gopal Varma’s psychological thriller Saaree, which hit theatres earlier this year, is now ready to thrill audiences on Ott. If you missed watching it on the big screen, now is your chance to catch this intense drama from the comfort of your home. The film created buzz when its trailer and music were released before its theatrical release. Now, when its Ott release is just around the corner, even more people will get to watch this thrilling psychological thriller. The tagline, “Too much love can be scary,” exactly captures the crux of the film.

When & Where To Stream Saaree?

The wait is almost over! Saaree will hit the small screens on Lionsgate Play on June 27, 2025. The film will be available in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam so the pan-India audience can witness the edge-of-the-seat thriller.

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In a new installment of This Day That Year, Subhash K Jha revisits Salman Khan’s Tubelight, directioncted by Kabir Khan that released in 2017.

Faith, they say, can move mountains. The hero of Kabir Khan’s latest and his most…ummm… noble (if one can use that word without cynicism) film to date actually thinks he can move a mountain by just focusing hard on getting it right.

Tubelight is not a film for the cynics. But if you can toss aside your reservations about a world steeped in arcadian innocence and accept humanism rather than hedonism as a way of living, you can actually savour the supple undulating rhythms of Kabir Khan’s storytelling without questioning his right to create a world so far removed from practical, stressful concerns while addressing a theme as grim as war and its ravages.

This is a very simple story with a deceptively...

Subhash K Jha revisits and re-examines Kabir Singh, which starred Shahid Kapoor, six years later in a This Day That Year feature.

When Kabir Singh was released on June 21, 2019, I didn’t realize there could be anything deadlier than Covid-19. How could I? Covid was a good right months away. Regrettably, I praised the film for its gumption and audacity for daring to show its protagonist as a sodden, drugged, zonked out, chauvinistic, sexist pig who doesn’t think before slapping his girlfriend for defending her father, whom Kabir Singh (nee Arjun Reddy) had just insulted.

Shahid Kapoor’s Kabir Singh comes from a place of complete toxicity. He does exactly what he wants, including performing a life-saving surgery in an inebriated condition, predictably killing the patient. This man should have been barred from not just the Medical Association but from being part of any cinematic narrative and discussion.

Yet,...

Recently producer Madhu Mantena dropped a video on social media announcing Mad Man’s goals as a movie-making production house.

The impact of the video has proved far-reaching in the entertainment industry.

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A post shared by Madhu Mantena (@madmantena)

Producer-director Ram Gopal Varma who has collaborated by Mantena in the past, is impressed. “Madhu was always full of interesting ideas. He is now implementing his ideas in a streamlined game-changing way. The video shows how serious he is about out-of-the-box ideas.”

Sources tell me Madhu Mantena has several projects in the process of development with both A-list stars and newcomers. Quite a number of new faces from outside and within the film industry would emerge from Mantena’s Mad Man production in the coming two years.

There is an action franchise being developed , and a horror-comedy franchise but one very far removed from Stree and Bhool Bhulaiya.

Kajol’s Maa Box Office Day 1 Potential! ( Photo Credit – Instagram; Prime Video )

Kajol is all set to make her horror debut with Maa. What makes it more special? It’s produced by Ajay Devgn and reportedly carries forward the Shaitaan universe. But do you know that the actress could make almost 372% higher opening than her husband’s first film in the genre? Scroll below for a detailed box office analysis.

Maa Box Office Prediction

Vishal Furia’s directorial is enjoying a massive pre-release buzz. It is the most anticipated film on IMDb and has already registered 15.3K interest in BookMyShow. The only possible roadblock is its clash with Sonakshi Sinha & Paresh Rawal’s Nikita Roy, which is also a horror film. The footfalls could get divided, impacting its box office collections.

According to current trends, Maa is set for an opening in the range of 6-8 crores at the Indian box office.

Subhash K Jha revisits the sequel to the comedy Hera Pheri, titled Phir Hera Pheri, which starred the ensemble cast of Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, and Paresh Rawal that released in 2006.

Phir Hera Pheri, released six years after the cult comedy Hera Pheri, did what the forthcoming Part of the Franchise couldn’t: it brought Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar together. In case anyone had forgotten the first part Phir Hera Pheri serves up constant and whopping reminders of what once was.

To writer-director Neeraj Vora’s credit, he succeeds in establishing a sense of continuity between the first part and the new edition of the Hera Pheri series (we presume it’s a series because the film ends on an open note). The three protagonists, Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, and Paresh Rawal, are still bumbling through what looks like a labyrinth of mind-boggling zigs and zags. Their bickering is still school-boyish but noisily entertaining.

Subhash K Jha looks back at the 2005 Ram Gopal Varma drama D, which starred Randeep Hooda, in a new installment of This Day That Year.

After Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya and Company, after Mahesh Manjrekar’s Vaastav and Hansal Mehta’s Chhal D gives us this day our daily dread… Enough about unwashed men washing their conscience in the blood of the slain. Enough of this swivel-and-snarl routine with blood-red eyes, slurring speech, and smoking guns.

That reminds me…. Why are the censors so worried about smoking people when they should be concerned about those blazing guns that signal urban anarchy? In places D glamorizes violence with disdainful words and crackerjack visuals to a point where you wonder whom the script supports.

“Why do people look at us as freaks? We’re just doing our jobs like doctors and engineers,” Deshu tells his ‘gori chamri’ girlfriend. That’s how...

Ram Gopal Varma’s eerie Bhoot, which clocks 22 years on May 30, stars, hold you breath, Rekha, Tanuja, Urmila Matondkar, Victor Banerjee, Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgan, Fardeen Khan….Varma is nothing, if not a pathbreaker. His Bhoot would be considered his finest directorial undertaking to date if Satya and Company hadn’t come along earlier on. Bhoot lacks the the spatial dimensions and dramatic impact of Company. While the “action,” if it can be called that, in Bhoot is largely situated in and around a highrise apartment in Mumbai , there are constant undercurrents of smothered expressions threatening to implode on Varma’s stunningly mounted frames. But like bits of bright molten lava, the tensions always recede just in time to remind us that in life, as in art, drama isn’t about what we see, but what we feel.

Throught this 2-hour song-less excursion into the realm of the supernatural, Varma...

Ram Gopal Varma’s Veerappan is a frenetic frenzied near-hysterical take on the brutal life of the jungle outlaw Veerappan who, apparently, could kill with an impunity that made mass murder a political issue. To his credit Rgv has done his homework well. There is enough evidence here to convince us that Veerappan was a dangerous psychotic socio-political outcast who deserved to get the death that he finally did. The dark brooding earthy atmosphere created in the film adds to the feeling of dread.

This is no country for the sensitive. And if you are the kind who visits the cinema for emotional release Veerappan is not your thing. While the first-half of the film shows a government spy Lisa Ray befriending and winning over the confidence of Veerappan’s wife (played with excellent tonal correctness by Usha Yadav) to get her to squeal on the outlaw, the second-half is...

Kapkapiii Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Shreyas Talpade, Tusshar Kapoor, Siddhi Idnani, Sonia Rathee, Dinkar Sharma, Varun Pande, Abishek Kumar, Dherendra Tiwari, Jay Thakkar, and Zakir Hussain.

Director: Sangeeth Sivan

Kapkapiii Movie Review Out ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

What’s Good: Shreyas Talpade and Tusshar Kapoor try to carry the day.

What’s Bad: Story, script, and more!

Loo Break: Feel free to go.

Watch or Not?: Definitely—if you are a moneyed masochist! Otherwise, stay away.

Language: Hindi

Available On: Theatrical release

Runtime: 138 Minutes

User Rating:

A group of vella (unemployed) buddies from diverse parts of the country stay in a semi-ramshackle ‘apartment’ in Faridabad, where two girls also reside in a parallel setup. Only one of the boys earns, and he is romantically involved with a mysterious girl on the phone.

For want of things to occupy their time, Manu (Shreyas Talpade) decides to play with the Ouija board,...

In a career of 45 years Mohanlal has been ‘dare’ , done it all. His range of roles and spectrum of characters could put Burton, Brando and Bachchan to shame. Though some of his finest performances are in obscure films. Here is my pick of Mohanlal’s most memorable .

1. Kireedam (1989): A smash hit. Many consider Kireedam Mohanlal’s most influential film to date . It is the story of Sethumadhavan ths son of an honest police constable who ends up on the wrong side of law when he rescues his father from being assaulted by a local gangster’s henchmen. Director Sibi Malayil brings out the best in Mohanlal, showing him as both a loving son and a ferocious anti-social. Audiences loved maverick Mohanlal in both avatars. Mohanlal’s buddy Priyadarshan remade the film in Hindi as Gardish with Jackie Shroff in Mohanlal’s role. It wasn’t the same.

2. Kilukkam (1991):...

Yuva, which was released on May 21, 2004 is that rarity which can be watched both as an entertainer and a vehicle for projecting socio-political ideas. The easiest thing in the world is to sneer at someone who attempts to be unconventional through conventional routes. In that sense, Mani Ratnam and Michael Mukherjee, his protagonist in his latest film, share the same predicament.

Like Ajay Devgan’s fascinating character, who wants to bring about a change in the social order, Ratnam’s cinema signifies tremendous leaps in the way we perceive popular entertainment in this country.

A riveting blend of social message and entertainment is what sets Yuva apart. Like Ratnam’s first Hindi film Dil Se, Yuva is an extremely restless film about young characters who are on the lookout for a relevance to their existence. While Michael wants to use student power to change the festering fortunes of Indian politics,...

Subhash K Jha looks back at the one where Mohanlal fell out with Ram Gopal Varma over Company.

The fallout had all the makings of a classic Greek tragedy. But with elements of high comedy thrown in. Ram Gopal Varma and Malayalam superstar Mohanlal were as thick as thieves during the making of Varma’s Company. The actor couldn’t stop praising the director. Varma reciprocated in kind, going as far as to say, “Lal is the best actor and human being I’ve ever worked with.”

Then suddenly things soured between them. Mohanlal filed a case against Varma’s production house for breach of payment. Why was a mild-mannered actor-gentleman like Mohanlal forced to take such drastic action?

Mohanlal explained to me, “When Ramu and the producers of Company came and quoted a fee to me, I said I cannot do the film for the quoted fee, but I...

As Ram Gopal Varma’s Department turns 13, Subhash K Jha looks back at the drama in this new installment of This Day That Year.

Welcome to Rgv’s world of muck and mayhem. The one definite thing that must be said about Rgv is that his exploration of the nexus between the law and the underworld is ceaselessly seeking new modes of storytelling. Department is one breathless surge of aggression and violence. Shot with cameras that capture the actors at their quirkiest and most candid, the film is not for those who think cinema is all about style. Rgv left his stylish days behind in Rangeela and Company.

Repeatedly and mercilessly, Rgv dismantles all conventions of pretty storytelling and aims for the jugular. The camera angles are often much too casual to be considered ‘cinematic’. But breaking rules is a given in Rgv’s cinema. He breaks them in Department...

Aamir Khan’s 10 Best Movies To Watch On Ott (Photo Credit – Prime Video)

Aamir Khan’s next film, Sitaare Zameen Par, is slated for a theatrical release on June 20th, 2025. As fans eagerly await the film’s release, we’ve rounded up a list of the top ten highest-rated Aamir Khan films, ranked by their IMDb ratings. To keep it practical, we’ve only included films currently available on Indian Ott platforms, making it easy for you to stream these acclaimed movies before Sitaare Zameen Par hits the big screen.

1. 3 Idiots Year of Release – 2009 Available On – Amazon Prime Video IMDb Rating – 8.4/10

Plot: The buddy comedy film starts with two college friends, Farhan (R. Madhavan) and Raju (Sharman Joshi), who are in search of their long-lost friend Rancho (Aamir Khan), a charismatic genius who disappeared after college. The film also focuses on the time the three friends spent on the campus...

Ram Gopal Varma’s Sarkaar 3 rises far above the wasteland of a stagnant crime-drama to give us an insight into a life of outlawry that is richly layered with blood and drama.Bal Thackeray is dead. Long live Bal Thackeray. In Amitabh Bachchan’s persona–steely, gritty, imperturbable, granite-hard and yet malleable and vulnerable–the Thackeray doppelganger is uncanny. The walk, the talk and the ability to walk that talk to places where the dialogue writer would never have imagined….Take a bow, Mr B. They don’t make ‘em like you anymore.

It takes courage to build one more plot around that formidable and imposing figure from Maharashtra’s politics who rewrote the rules of politics and who gave political arrogance a sexy edge. The last Sarkar film came 9 years ago. And the figure of Subhash Nagre is now threatened with obsolescence, if not complete irrelevance.

And yet—here...

In another installment of This Day That Year Subhash K Jha revisits 2005’s Kaal, which starred Ajay Devgn, John Abraham, Vivek Oberoi, Esha Deol, and Lara Dutta.

Karan Johar’s Kaal, directed by Soham Shah (not the Tumbbadd actor-director), shows us how horror needs to be done without dumbing down the genre or stepping too hard and fast on peripheral scares…Creaky doors are out, and rustles in the jungle are in. Catch the mood of growing foreboding as a bunch of yell-matched cocky and quip-equipped youngsters step into the uncharted territory of an animal sanctuary.

Wildlife, anyone? You got it! The best thing that debutant director Soham Shah has done is to take his ingenious plot into the great wild outdoors. Unlike Ram Gopal Varma’s Jungle which used bizarre camera movements to stress the predatory mood in the wilderness, Kaal lets you into the secrets of the jungle without getting technically complicated.

Manoj Bajpayee’s Top 5 Highest-Rated Movies ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Manoj Bajpayee’s reputation as an actor in the film industry is synonymous with intensity, brilliance, and versatility. From playing a variety of roles, from an honest cop in Shool, to a dreaded gangster in Satya, and a helpless father in Joram, he nailed them all.

On his 56th birthday today, we have collated a list of the National Award-winning actor’s top five highest-rated movies as per their IMDb scores, and where you can watch these films on Ott platforms. We have considered only those feature films in which Manoj Bajpayee played the lead role or at least had a significant role, and that are available on various Ott/online platforms.

1. Satya Year of release – 1998 Streaming Platform – SonyLIV IMDb Rating – 8.3/10

The cult gangster thriller follows the titular protagonist Satya (J.D. Chakravarthi), who becomes friends with a dreaded gangster Bhiku Mhatre...

In another This Drivel That Year feature, Subhash K Jha looks back at Ram Gopal Varma’s horror Phoonk 2 which released 15 years ago.

Phoonk 2 is definitely Not the scariest film we’ve seen. Varma’s terror theme has clearly run its course. What we see here are the remnants of another Friday. And definitely not Friday The 13th.

Perched somewhere between crowing (ahem ahem) about the supernatural and crying over the nerve-wracking disruption of domestic harmony by a ghost which just won’t go away Phoonk 2 is like that promised rollercoaster ride which gets aborted in the first lap because of a short circuit.

It’s not really Varma or his director Milind Gadkar’s fault. It’s the nature of the material. Ram Gopal Varma’s love for horror has never extended beyond the there-something-under-the-bed kind of unwarranted foreboding that we all feel in a new environment. In a majority of his horror films,...

Taking a look back at Khamoshh: Khauff Ki Raa, Subhash K Jha wonders if anyone remembers this horror-ible thriller in an unique installment of his feature series this time titled This Drivel That Year.

The biggest suspense about this film is, what’s Juhi Chawla doing here??!! Sporting reading glasses and trying earnestly to look like a criminal psychologist who has just unearthed the biggest mystery about serial killing, she brings in a kind of mellowness that the shrieking proceedings don’t deserve.

And then there is Shilpa Shetty, last seen giving a rousing and sensitive performance in Phir Milenge. Here she’d back to doing what she’s best known for—wriggling her posterior and making 101 faces into the camera. Shilpa is a sex worker who thumbs a ride with newcomer Rajeev Singh, who’s secretary to a dangerously under-dressed music-video floozie (Rakhi Sawant) who gets bumped off midway…...

Ram Gopal Varma who last directed the prolific Manoj Bajpayee in Satya 25 years ago, is excited about collaborating with Manoj again.

Sharing details, Ramu tells me, “It’s called Police Station Mein Bhoot. It is a horror comedy. I have written it myself, and we will start in June. Manoj plays a cop who accidentally kills a criminal who comes back to haunt him as a ghost. The idea is, where does the cop hide when he is pursued by a criminal? Let’s see if the audience finds it funny. This is a new genre for Manoj and me. We start shooting in June. Besides Manoj, I can only confirm Abhishek Banerjee at the moment. I think he completely owned the first half of Stree. I have signed a newcomer for the ghost’s role. I don’t want to reveal his name at the moment.”

Ramu’s fights...

To celebrate Ram Gopal Varma’s birthday, Subhash K Jha shares memories of the noted director’s reel and real life.

I have known Ram Gopal Varma for a longer time than I know almost anyone else in the film industry except Shabana Azmi and Sanjay Leela Bhansali, whom I have been friends with for much longer. These two apart, Ramu is a friend who has come many times.

We became friends soon after Satya was released. Back then he was seen as the best thing to have happened to Hindi cinema since R D Burman. The whole industry was in awe of the raw. Ramu couldn’t care less. To him Satya was just another film which acquired a super-cult status. “I worked harder on Daud. And look at what happened to that!”

In his self-definition of creativity, Ramu is a true democrat. To him, there is no difference between Shiva,...

From balancing between two motorcycles in his maiden film Phool Aur Kante to chewing gham in Singham….that’s Ajay Devgan for you. Quietly accomplished…and quite accomplished, thank you! Since, Phool Aur Kante Devgan has learnt to effortlessly stride different kinds of cinema without making a song and dance of his versatility.

If, on one hand, he played the smirking villain to vamp Aishwarya Rai in Khakee, on the other hand, he was equally home playing her shy lover from the past in Raincoat. Ajay’s directorial roster includes everyone from Prakash Jha to Kuku Kohli.

True, he doesn’t have the support of the Chopra-Johar group of powerful filmmakers in Bollywood. But Devgan has managed to make his place without depending on the brand-name directors.

“I don’t put labels on films and directors. To me, every film I make is important. And whether it’s Prakash Jha,...

This edition of Subhash K Jha’s Thus Day That Year features looks back at Durga, which released in 2002.

Chakravarthy, who played the title role in Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya, has gone on record to claim some experience in filmmaking before attempting to make this film. We don’t know how far this is true. As far as we know, Chakravarthy was spotted on the sets of a movie by Varma and cast in Satya.

By borrowing heavily from Satya and even cartlifting a face from Varma’s camp to play his best friend and sidekick, Chakravarthy cannot claim to be qualified to make a feature film. He makes a mayhem-gorged mess out of a plot that’s ridiculously self-important.

Like Ram Gopal Varma’s Shiva, Durga opens on a college campus where we see the protagonist Durga and his friends behaving like overgrown adolescents looking for a first date.

Many cineastes think Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather is the most influential film of all times. I would have to go with that. So would Feroz Khan, who’s been in two of the worst Godfather-influenced films of all time. Here’s saluting The Godfather clones, good, bad and the awful.

1. Dharmatma (1975):

Feroz Khan was always ahead of his time. So, it’s no surprise that he was the first Bollywood filmmaker to jump on the The Godfather bandwagon with this wildly out-of-control remake—an almost scene-by-scene reaffirmation of the original with Feroz playing Al Pacino and Premnath as Marlon Brando. A laughably crude homage to the original, the silver lining was the beauteous Hema Malini as Reshma, the exotic Afghani lass whom Michael, sorry Feroz, falls in love with. Hema dancing to Lataji’s ‘Mere galiyon se logon ki yaari ho gayi’ would have probably given Coppola...

In this wide-ranging and completely fascinating interview, the brilliant actor Rajpal Yadav, who has been working in Hindi cinema since 2000, talks with Subhash K Jha about life, the incredibly versatile roles he has played in his varied career so far and so much more.

You are now a year older; how has your journey been so far?

The journey so far is amazing. I have enjoyed myself a lot. Dukh aur sukh dono sar aankhon par. I saw many ups and downs in twenty-five years and got the opportunity to do many scenes, from one scene to a hundred scenes, sometimes as length, sometimes as strength in the film, sometimes as a guest appearance, sometimes supporting, sometimes negative, sometimes positive, sometimes comedy. I think in half a century, I got a chance to live five hundred lives through characters.

How would you sum up your journey so far?

I started...

I can’t deny Aamir Khan is one of the most adventurous performers in India. Aamir has constantly taken risks, gone against the flow, and generally has been more than just a mega-star. What’s more, I’ve always found him to be incredibly true to his word. If he had ideological differences with Ram Gopal Varma, no amount of reasoning would convince him to the contrary….If he thought popular awards were rigged, he didn’t change his mind about boycotting them even when Lagaan won, and Aamir won a truckload of trophies..

At one point in time, very long ago, I was actually close enough to Aamir to reason with him. He seemed to listen to what I had to say, though I suspect he made his own decisions independent of extraneous opinion.

Aamir was too polite to argue back. But I knew he was capable of fighting...

This Day That Year: Subhash K Jha revisits Nishabd 18 years later and shares a throwback interview with Mr Amitabh Bachchan about the film.

Ram Gopal Varma’s Nishabd, with its pulsating but humane play of light and shade within the sprawling, gorgeous greenery of a tea estate, is the closest you’re going to come to the passion of a Renaissance painting in Hindi cinema.

Varma’s mastery over visuals, which tells a tale of reclamation and retribution, has never been in doubt. The qualities that have always made his cinema look unique have been applied to a theme that has so far remained forbidden to Varma’s range of vision.

In narrating a 60-year-old ‘happily’ married man’s sudden passion for his daughter’s 18-year-old friend, Ramu goes for the jugular. The luminous language of Nishabd makes you grope for new words to describe the experience of watching a...

Subhash K Jha revisits Ram Gopal Varma’s finest filmmaking with the drama The Attacks Of 26/11 that released in 2013.

Somewhere in Ram Gopal Varma’s The Attacks Of 26/11, the re-telling of the saga of the bloodbath, torrential shower of bullets and bombs that rained down on Mumbai on 26 November 2008, a little child sitting lost amidst a carpet of corpses in the posh hotel lobby of the Taj weeps on the gleaming white marble floor now reduced to a bloodied mess. We then hear another round of gunfire, and then the child’s weeping ceases.

The way the soundtrack is used to denote unimaginable brutality and violence in that sequence reminded me of the massacre sequence in Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay, where Gabbar Singh sadistically raises a gun, points it at a defiant child (Master Alankar) and then the soundtrack cuts to the sound of a train chugging into the railway platform.

The iconic Amitabh Bachchan spoke To Subhash K Jha about the drama Vidhu Vinod Choorake Eklavya before its release in 2007. Read on to see what the esteemed actor had to say about working with the director, Saif Ali Khan, Vidya Balan, and so much more. This is a must-read!

Vinod Chopra and you seemed to have established a very special rapport in Eklavya?

He’s a kind human being, and very passionate about his work. He has a keen eye for aesthetics. He creates an atmosphere conducive to good work. We waited thirty years to work together. All directors must work towards building a rapport with their actors. Eklavya is an intriguing film. The visuals may suggest a mythological or a period film. But Eklavya is a modern contemporary thriller. It’s set in today’s Rajasthan.

Eklavya is a very short film….

It’s just about two hours long.

Vidhu

Vinod Choora’s period drama Eklavya was released 18 years ago, and Subhash K Jha revisits the film that featured an all-star cast including Amitabh Bachchan, Sharmila Tagore, Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Vidya Balan, Raima Sen, Jackie Shroff, Jimmy Sheirgill and Boman Irani.

How do we define the plot of Eklavya? It partly borrows the dark, undefinable pathos of Shakespeare’s tragedy and partly reverts to the palatial pathos of the Mughal Empire, where patricide frequently collided with complex Oedipal equations. Eklavya takes us into a territory totally unexplored and designed to create an ethos of infinite resonances.

Eklavya is a film of many virtues. Screenwriters Abhijat Joshi and Chopra aim for a sense of heightened tragedy that underlines the cinema of Kurosawa and the music of Mozart. The quality of the sound design (Biswajit Chatterjee), background score (Shantanu Moitra), and cinematography (N. Natarajan Subramaniam) elevates the bizarre tale...

Why Did Krishna Vamsi Apologize? (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Krishna Vamsi is a well-known creative director. His last film was Ranga Maarthaanda starring Prakash Raj and Ramya Krishna. The movie received praise from critics. But it did not perform well at the box office.

Krishna Vamsi often interacts with his fans, answering their questions about his old films. Recently, a fan asked him a question on X (formerly Twitter). The fan wanted to know why he intimately showed actress Charmme Kaur in Sri Anjaneyam (2004).

Sri Anjaneyam was a devotional film starring Nithin in the lead role. Although it did not succeed at the box office, many people still liked the movie, and it has a dedicated fan following.

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Krishna Vamsi replied to the fan’s question.

R Madhavan, who spent two years of his life bulking up to look like the raging ex-boxer in Sudha Kongara’s pugilistic drama Saala Khadoos, was floating in the air after Mike Tyson tweeted that he wanted to see his boxing film. Subhash K Jha revisits Madhavan’s brilliance in the film, which released in 2016.

Director Sudha Kongara Prasad gives us an unusual film where the stereotypical character of the cantankerous boxer meets his match when he picks up a foul-mouthed uncouth boxer for training into championship. There is nothing in the plot to suggest even a whiff of the unexpected.

As a fast-fading boxing coach who finds redemption in a livewire protégée played by newcomer Ritika Singh, Madhavan generates enough power through his performance to nourish the narrative and take us through two hours of unstoppable drama, conflict, humour, and pathos.

The first time when Madhavan’s raging coach...

Did Suchitra Krishnamoorthi want to marry Ram Gopal Verma? (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Well, Ram Gopal Varma took it seriously. He called her to his office and tried to convince her not to marry him.

Suchitra shared this story in her autobiography Drama Queen. She recalled sending a text to Ram Gopal Varma that said, “Will you marry me?” She explained that it was meant to be a joke. But Ram Gopal Varma was frightened. He immediately invited her to his office to talk about it.

In the book Suchitra mentioned that Ram Gopal Varma was very scared after receiving her message. He rejected her request saying he has a different opinion on women. He also told her that he preferred women for not their brains but for some other.

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Ram Gopal Varma’s Rann, which starred Amitabh Bachchanm, that was produced by Madhu Mantena-Sheetal Talwar’s Phantom Films, is a rare cinema about the collective conscience that we often like to think has gone out of style. Like Mehboob Khan’s Mother India and Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Satyakam, Rann shows how tough it is to hold your head high in dignified righteousness in a world where ethics crumble faster than cookies in a wide-open jar left out too long in the sun. Ironically, there isn’t much sunshine in Rann. The film has been shot in an anemic light, symbolizing a world that’s largely losing light.

Cleverly, Ram Gopal Varma situates his morality tale in the cut-throat world of the electronic media, where the Trp is God and deadlines the devil. And may the voice of the conscience rest in peace. Without fuss or wastage of time, Varma...

Has Kapil Sharma Started Filming For Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon 2? (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Kapil Sharma is one of India’s biggest celebrities, and his talk shows have redefined the country’s comedy and interview genre. While his comedy timing and hosting abilities are well known, Sharma has also ventured into acting occasionally. He had a cameo in 2024’s Crew and played a leading role in Zwigato and Firangi, both of which were hailed critically. However, his acting career began in 2015 with Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon.

In the movie, he played the role of Kumar Shiv Ram Kishan Punj and starred opposite four actresses, Sai Lokur, Manjari Fadnis, Simran Kaur Mundi, and Elli Avram. Besides them, the movie also starred Arbaaz Khan and Varun Sharma in major roles. Directed by the duo of Abbas-Mustan, the film was made on a budget of ₹16 Crore and had a box office gross of about ₹72 Crore.

Will Shah Rukh Khan Get A 9 Crore Refund From Maharashtra Govt.? (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Shah Rukh Khan is an icon of cinema, hard work, and dedication. Coming into Bollywood with no connection, Khan proved himself in the competitive industry and became known as the King of Bollywood. He is an idol for every budding individual in India and a symbol of ambition and success. His sprawling mansion, Mannat, located in the prime locality of Bandra, Mumbai, is as much a part of his identity as his film career.

Mannat is more than a residence; it’s a landmark that attracts thousands of fans and tourists who dream of catching a glimpse of the superstar or simply experiencing the aura of his luxurious abode. Over the years, Mannat has stood as a testament to Shah Rukh Khan‘s journey from humble beginnings to superstardom. However, Mannat has recently been at the center of an unexpected development.

Exploring Emiway Bantai’s Passion For Rap Music (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Emiway Bantai is one of the most celebrated hip-hop artists in India. He catapulted to fame with his chartbusters like ‘Asli Hip Hop,’ ‘Machayenge’ and ‘Aur Bantai.’ However, did you know that his passion for rapping came from legends like Eminem and Lil Wayne? Here’s exploring the rapper’s passion for rap, net worth, and love life.

Emiway Bantai’s Passion For Rap Came On The Tenth Grade

In a throwback interview with The Teenager Today, Emiway Bantai revealed that he had first listened to his batchmates singing a song by the legendary rapper Eminem when he was in tenth grade. The song in question was ‘Not Afraid,’ and Emiway did not have any idea who the artist was, but he inevitably got hooked on the track. He looked up to the singer and learned more about rap music,...

Ram Gopal Varma Recalls The Sholay 2 Idea Pitched By Sascha Sippy (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Ram Gopal Varma is one of Bollywood’s most famous directors, best known for movies like Rangeela and Satya. However, he was also behind Rgv Ki Aag, a 2007 remake of perhaps the most iconic Indian film, Sholay. Despite the vision of Varma and a star cast of Mohanlal, Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, and Sushmita Sen, the film was a commercial and critical flop. However, Varma has now revealed that this was not the only movie in which he would incorporate the elements of Sholay.

Speaking to Galatta India, the maverick filmmaker revealed that Sascha Sippy, nephew of Sholay director Ramesh Sippy, once pitched the idea of a sequel centered around Gabbar Singh’s son. Furthermore, Sippy also wanted to cast Jackie Chan in a role for the movie. However, the concept didn’t sit well with Rgv,...

E. Niwas’ third feature film Dum, which clocked 22 years on January 24, is like a newspaper report. Grim, dark, traumatic, and yet thrilling. In the working class hero’s fight with a corrupt law enforcer, the audience might mutter: “Thank God it isn’t us.”

Protagonist Uday Shinde, played by Vivek Oberoi, takes on the immoral might of a villainous cop Shankar, played by Atul Kulkarni, a human being so degenerate and debased that he makes Sholay’s Gabbar Singh seem like a comic strip character.

There’s nothing colourful, uplifting or comforting about Dum. If you regard cinema as a form of escapist entertainment, then Niwas’s film is a no-no. But if you regard cinema as a mirror of social reality, then Dum is a hard sock in the jaw.

A corrupt cop barges into an honest colleague’s home and tries to gas his wife to death. When she escapes,...