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In all my Bollywood, read Hindi movies, viewing experience this should be the first movie with a serious attempt to deal with an air disaster or a possible air disaster, a genre that the commercial Hindi films never really tried to explore barring a few on plane hijack, most prominently the intense drama of Neerja (2016) based on a real-life brave air hostess. The movie Runway 34 , also loosely based on true incidents and released on the occasion of Eid in April-end this year, tells the story of a flight from Dubai to Cochin that entered the vortex of a raging cyclone nearly crash-landing in the Trivandrum airport with 150 passengers on board, and then followed by the grueling investigation into the near-crash. The first half of the film dwells entirely on the flight starting at the wee hours from Dubai and is a gripping saga of what happened on its course from the takeoff onward, told with the required details and intensity that are always missing in most commercial Bollywood movies.

Why should any film director, let him/her be a seriously famous or crass commercial maker, make a movie like the ’12 O’ Clock’ (2021) while still in the right frame of mind? I’m saying so because the film, placed in the ‘horror’ genre, is ludicrously absurd, inadvertently funny and with superimposed superficial characters. The angst of the viewers is particularly aggravated if that filmmaker happens to be an era-defining and a prolific one for over three decades. I cannot restrain myself from quoting the Hindi teaser that goes like this, ‘ Tera barah baj gaya kya ?’ (Have you got done with it?) while avoiding the Sardar jokes associated with the ’12 o’ clock’ phenomenon. Mind you, I’m far from trying to be offensive or insulting in any possible manner for I’ve been a devout admirer of the filmmaker since the 90s. As the title suggests I’m just asking as to what may have been happening with him in the recent years. However, it’s a far cry as regards the remotest possibility of this piec

Irrfan Khan, a powerhouse of incredible acting talent, passed away in a Mumbai hospital today morning leaving a vacuum in the Hindi film industry, a loss irreparable. He was only 53, and had so much to offer to the film lovers yet.   There was disturbing news circulating in 2018 about Irrfan contracting a serious disease which, after months of distressed speculation, was confirmed as neuro-endocrine tumor, one of the rarest forms of cancer. Since then he was fighting, fighting and fighting. He got treatment in the US and then in London for months. He returned to India a few months back, and could not take part in the promotion of his last movie, Angrezi (English) Medium , and the movie too could not be released due to the nation-wide lockdown. More saddening, he lost his mother only a few days back and could not attend her last rites in Jaipur, again due to the lockdown. Irrfan’s demise is a huge tragedy to strike when the country is reeling under Coronavirus and lockdown.

Pran—a name that terrorized us as little kids; a name that we loved to adore as we grew older and a name that has remained with us till now and forever. We were struck with awe by his villainous portrayals and yet we could not stop liking him—his gait, his style of talking, his looks, his smart dress code and the eternal cigarette in his hands. That time we were not capable of judging him as an actor, but the way he kept us spellbound was only due to his intensely powerful and effective performances. Since we loved him so much even as a villain we longed to see him as a good guy on the side of the fighting-for-truth hero. And, we got that hugely satisfying and gratifying experience too. Pran Krishan Sikand (born 1920) turned 93 in February this year and yesterday, the 12 th of April, 2013, he was chosen for the supreme honour of Indian cinema—the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2012. Maybe a little late as the classic Bollywood actor is almost unable to walk around or talk articu

Article first published as Now Showing the Celebrity Baby! on Technorati. Yesterday early morning Aishwarya Rai went into labor and delivered a baby girl just before 10am. There was no maddening breaking news everywhere in the media. The Bachchan family wanted it to happen personally and it eventually went like that only with the news personally given in the internet. Today morning Amitabh Bachchan thanked the media for the restraint and understanding shown.  The  proud father, Abhishek Bachchan informed all the baby was fine and doing very well. Big B who has become granddad now described the celebrity baby as the cutest one.  Read More...

Amitabh Bachchan, the host of the current version of Kaun Banega Crorepati , invited Shahrukh King Khan for a special show yesterday, the 20th of October, 2011. Running for nearly two hours the show had everything the great Twosome was capable of delivering, acting, enacting and just talking.  Basically King Khan came to the show as a publicity stunt for his forthcoming science fiction movie Ra..0ne (meaning Random Access-Version 1.0). But once on the hot seat one has to play. And, Shahrukh played on with his customary wit and presence of mind matched equally point to point by Big B and won 5 million rupees for charity. The invited audience had a treat of lifetime seeing two huge favorites playing it out right before them.  They taunted each other, made jibes at each other and also exchanged seats for brief while. Shahrukh even walked up to Big B and massaged his back trying to catch a view of the host's monitor screen while telling how the massage eases up tension to play the ga

The superstar of the millennium is shining bright, as ever. From hair oil to cricket to politics the name of Amitabh Bachchan has become synonymous with success. Anybody launching anything needs him to succeed.  When he was growing a little old there was brief stopover in his success graph in the early nineties. But 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' made him roar back to mainstream. Everybody understood how much Amitabh Bachchan was loved adored and respected by one and all and in all fields of activities. His growing age was a challenge accepted by the producers, the directors, the advertisers, the industrialists and the politicians  Indian films began to be centered on him and his age, and special protagonist or even antagonistic roles were created to fit his age. The channel producers wanted him to launch their reality shows or events or even serial. The advertisers wanted him for every product to ensure its popularity. The superstar was a must for any launch of any service or b

You invite a celebrity because s/he is a celebrity. Because s/he has accomplishments to make you proud and to add grace to your event. No longer valid in India that is wonder. Just don't even bother about her/his national or international acclaim. Just concentrate on which caste s/he is born with, which religion s/he adheres to, which language s/he speaks and what are her/his political affiliations. Have the final assessment based on these parameters and decide whether to invite or not to invite. As the Bandra-Worli Sea Link event controversy in Mumbai still rages on you must put things in focus. Political parties in India always talk about national integration, but when it comes to integrity they bother only about their own party priorities. They stop recognizing the existence of different states within the wonder that is India, the existence of different languages, cultures or religions, the existence of the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and opinion and even