Mili, Review: Chilly A remake it is. And an ideal vehicle to draw boundless sympathy from audiences for the lead actress, Janhvi Kapoor. For who would not root for a girl locked in a freezer chamber and subjected to temperatures of -12 degrees to -18 degrees Celsius? What if hypothermia sets in, and she freezes to death? No chance. Mili is producer Boney Kapoor’s mini Titanic tale, minus the boy, and killing her would be like committing suicide. So, once the premise of a girl battling s...

Kahani Rubber Band Ki, Review: Precaution first, protection afterwards No, it is not the story of a rubber band. The term is used as a euphemism for something that was known as French Leather in the latter part of the twentieth century. Towards the end of the twentieth century and till now, the term ‘protection’ has taken its place. It appears from the film, set in Varanasi, that in towns and Tier III (small) towns at least, men are still shy about saying the word “condom&rd...

Rudra, Review: Drastic crimes call for Rudrastic punishments How important is the name of a TV programme or a web series? Should the name convey something about the programme, or anything that sounds good is good enough? Some names that come to mind are Sacred Games, The Family Man, Delhi Crime, CID, Crime Patrol, Crime Watch and Special Ops. Whereas the iconic Sacred Games gives no hint about its content, The Family Man is misleadingly titled, being about a family man who is into tackling te...

RIFF 2019, Jaipur, January 19-23, Winners list, Part I Here is the first part of the list of award winners announced at the closing ceremony of the Rajasthan International Film Festival (RIFF), on 23 January 2019, at the INOX Insignia, GT, Jaipur: *Lifetime achievement award in Hindi Cinema: KAMAL KUMAR BARJATYA, RAJSHRI PRODUCTIONS *Theme Award: RAJIT KAPUR for THE MAKING OF THE MAHATMA (THE MAHATMA ON CELLULOID) *PRIDE OF RAJASTHAN: ASHISH SHARMA Honorary Awards for Excellence &n...