Sab Kushal Mangal, Review: Well, well! Marriages at gunpoint are something of a norm in Bihar and Jharkhand, the latter having been a part of Bihar. On the movie screen too, such marriages have provided fodder for a few ventures, very recently in Jabariya Jodi. It is a burning societal problem that joins usually unwilling grooms in married unity, with a girl they have never seen or met before. The practice prevails because parents of educated grooms-to-be demand dowry that runs into seven fig...

Raavan ki Ramayan: Puneet Issar dominates like a colossus Coconut Theatre and The Films and Theatre Society, staged the play Raavan Ki Ramayan, in two-acts, in Mumbai, on the 5th of May. The venue, Bal Gandharv Rang Mandir, Bandra West, used to be a popular location for rehearsals, and even stagings, back in the 70s and 80s. A couple of years ago, it threw its doors open again to events and plays. The play was revived after one and a half-year with back to back shows, schedules at 5 and 8 pm....

@ Farooque Sheikh: Memories and Musings on his 70th birth anniversary-II Ramesh Talwar on Farooque Shaikh Director Ramesh Talwar, who directed films (Doosara Aadmi, Sahiban, +5) and plays (Apan To Bhai Aise Hain, Darinde and many, many more), directed Farooque when he was still a student at Xavier’s. Talwar had studied at Khalsa College but had already earned a reputation as a man of great merit. Farooque invited him to direct Dekh Kabira Roya (about one boy and three girls) and Mirza S...

Chehere: A Modern Day Classic, Review: What’s in a name? Even seven years after it was shot, Chehere: A Modern Day Classic, was unlikely to see even the light of modern day. That it has managed to reach the screen is a miracle, as is the survival of its lead actress, Manisha Koirala, who was battling cancer when the film was almost complete. First screened at the Pravasi Film Festival, New Delhi, in 2010, probably short of a few Manisha scenes, the film was initially titled Badalte Cheh...