Vijay Anand's film ‘‘Guide’’ (1965) remains one of the most admirable classics of Hindi cinema that promoted secular values, emancipation of women and a philosophical approach to songs.     Hindi film ‘‘Guide’’ (1965) can be hailed as the first major, effective collaboration between an Indian writer writing in English and Hindi film industry. It is based on the novel by RK Narayan that won the prestigious Sahitya Academy A...

Farzi: ‘Fake’ encounter with the team of Amazon Prime Video’s new show and trailer launch Creators of the mega-hit web series, The Family Man, Raj and DK are back in action with the crime thriller Farzi, which marks the digital debut of Shahid Kapoor and ‘Makkal Selvan’ Vijay Sethupathi (full name: Vijaya Gurunatha Sethupathi). The series also stars Kay Kay Menon, Raashii Khanna, Amol Palekar, Regina Cassandra, Bhuvan Arora and Kubra Sait, in pivotal roles, and w...

Gangubai Kathiawadi, Review: Guess what is the oldest profession in the world, and meet its President Gangubai, a variation of Ganga, is the most common name of Maharashtrian maid-servants in Mumbai. Ganga becoming Gangu is quite normal, while the Bai here refers to her designation as maid. An engaging film was made in 2013, with the maid as the central character, only it was spelt phonetically more correct, Gangoobai. In other parts of the country, Bai could mean a courtesan, a classical sin...

IFFI 51, 16-24 January 2021, 20: Rahul Rawail retraces Hindi film history, ‘In-Conversation’, online The 1970s saw influx of new ideas, new experiments and a new genre of action films in Hindi cinema. Those were also the golden years for unconventional films and emergence of new techniques, said acclaimed film-maker Rahul Rawail, in an online ‘In-Conversation’ session on “Film-making in 50s, 60s and 70s”, at the 51st International Film Festival of India (I...

Newton, Review: Gravity of the situation Had he been alive in the modern period, the British scientist would have bagged multiple Nobel prizes for his pioneering work in Physics. As it happens, the film of the same name, not a biopic of Sir Isaac, rather about an idealist in the Indian bureaucracy, has been eliminated from the race for the Oscars. A million or more Newtonians are feeling heart-broken that a film that they considered a breakthrough, and the best film made in India in recent t...

Siraj Syed reviews Wajah Tum Ho: Rapists and therapists, aka Serial Killing on a News Channel Some people just deserve to die. There must be a mistake. Are you talking to me? Are you suggesting that I have done something that ... No, not you. Then who? The corrupt Assistant Commissioner of Police who preys on young lovers in parking lots, and extorts sex the teenage girl-friend in a guest-house, in return for letting them off. Isn’t this the same cop who is blackmailing a Mumbai-ba...