'Basuda hardly spoke, but he had a sense of humour and that showed in his films.'

'Songs are a commercial compromise.''I had to invent tricks to fit songs into my films.'

The unfortunate thing is that the film will leave a poor impression of the IAF's and indeed of the armed forces's ability to handle sensitive social matters within their professional space, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).

Subhash K Jha remembers a decent, kind, gentle person, who didn't quite get his due.

'You have not understood the heart of the Indian Air Force,' notes IAF Veteran Nitin Welde.

'It's also a movie-crazed kid's idea of a great time,' discovers Sreehari Nair.

'I did not find anything atrociously out of place about the depiction of the IAF's image,' says Group Captain Murli Menon (retd).

'Acting, by definition, is a portrayal of a character other than oneself.''If every role is to be played only by someone answering to that precise description, most professional actors -- of all ethnicities and genders -- would be out of a job,' observes Indira Kannan.

It is the most potent symbol of India's soft power -- more perhaps than the IT industry and our managerial skill, notes Vanita Kohli-Khandekar

... And sometimes, that's enough, says Sreehari Nair.

'I can write a book about Kamal Haasan. No, make that three books.'

Subhash K Jha gives us an insight into Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Saawariya, as it completes 13 years in November.

'He always seemed one of us, part of the great aspiring middle class -- his values, his simplicity, even the intellectual snobbery which he could barely hide,' observes Mousumi Sengupta.

'I believe FFI has made a mistake,' notes Aseem Chhabra.

To an award show that's famous for honouring artists belatedly, we have sent as our official entry one of our major film-makers's weakest work yet, feels Sreehari Nair.

The Oscars is prestigious and all artists covet it but ultimately, the business of winning is ruthless and political. And India has seldom risen to the challenge, argues Sukanya Verma.

'I am not the kind of person who will stand up and complain. I have no complaints against anyone. If I've been away from the entertainment industry, it's because I am not into selling myself.'

'Once Mohanlal's ever-swelling entourage grasped his enormous worth, once it realized that the innate Mohanlal appeal could be profited from, it set about to exploit, to make uproars, to create the Mohanlal brand.''And he wasn't meant to be a brand. He was meant to be an artist, a tireless explorer of the unique seas inside him,' asserts Sreehari Nair.

Gehraiyaan seems to be aurally thin, which serves as a clue to the larger issues plaguing the movie, observes Rohit Sathish Nair.

Subhash K Jha celebrates Ajay Devgn as the movie star turns 53.

Ram Gopal Varma is 60 today, April 7.Subhash K Jha plots the once brilliant film-maker's declining movies graph.

Jaya is a woman of steel in the truest sense of the word.Despite being the first lady of filmdom, she's as real and rooted to the ground as anyone can get, notes Subhash K Jha on the actor-politician's 74th birthday.

What did Alia have that Ranbir's previous girlfriends did not? Mom Neetu Kapoor's blessings, observes Subhash K Jha.

Get your lowdown on what's going on in the world of movies with Subhash K Jha.

RRR isn't the "spectacle" it is made out to be, argues Sreehari Nair.

<em>Ms Marvel</em>'s first episode did not bore me, but it made me question the very existence of the first Muslim superhero, observes Subhash K Jha.

Friendships are not merely severed, but built over scuffles.And just about anything can stir things up -- a long-standing feud, a pointless stare, a disrupted moral stance, a fist that ricochets off a face and smacks another face in the near vicinity, observes Sreehari Nair.

A little bird in the know of things tells me that Allu Arjun will most likely become the face of a global cola brand very soon.And he has jacked his brand endorsement price to an unheard of Rs 7.5 crore per day, leaving the likes of Virat Kohli and Ranveer Singh trailing by quite a margin, reveals Sandeep Goyal.

Smita has left behind a rich haul of films that showcase her enormous ability to offer us a glimpse into her soul each time she performed a role.

The question 'Who was/were behind Aditha Karikalan's killing?' will continue to remain a historic mystery despite Mani Ratnam setting out to unravel it in his own way, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.

Kindness and compassion is all you need to survive and build your life. And that is what makes 2018's Kerala story so relevant, notes Divya Nair.

'Cinema or the sentiment of a people, disgusted by contemporary politics and wanting to feel whole by collectively recalling a moment of great difficulty that was also a cause for togetherness?', asks Shyam G Menon.

What is noticeable in both movies is the willingness with which both the ageing stars -- Kamal is 68 and Rajini, four years older at 72 with a kidney transplant that he has not shied away from acknowledging -- have learnt to respect their age and bodies, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.

We are back to being a country that talks about box office numbers as the measure for what an audience's real feelings about a movie are, laments Sreehari Nair.

'No small artistic film can even hope to win, except, maybe, as random tokenism,' asserts Deepa Gahlot.

There is no plot, no central story line or theme. It appears Atlee felt if he put a Shah Rukh Khan (there are two of them actually!) on screen doing just about anything, the film would sell, sighs Nitin Sathe.

She is superior to 90 percent of the performing fraternity and she knows it.Subhash K Jha salutes the actor who turns 52 on November 4.

At the Leo fete, Vijay had this also to tell his fans: 'I know you all are in my heart. But today, I also know that I am also in the hearts of all of you...'A typical politician's line, did you say, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.

For someone like me who studied Sam so intently, if a lump could form in the throat during the emotive scenes, I think the cast did a superb job, notes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).

Be it Kabir Singh or Ranvijay Singh, alpha males are nothing but grown men in diapers, observes Durba Dhyani.

'As I watched Mammootty 'try out' Mathew Devassy, I could hear from my theatre seat the ready-made appreciation of the liberal press, their applause for the great actor having flirted with queerness on screen.''But it is a flirtation and nothing more, for I could not detect in Devassy any hint of love, not for his homosexual lover, not for his wife,,' observes Sreehari Nair.

'I somehow felt that Muzaffar Ali was in Aligarh to feel the pulse of the Muslim youth, especially in the darker and harsher times that India is passing through,' notesMohammad Sajjad.

Since nothing irritates Lijo Jose Pellissery more than a throwaway critical judgment, Sreehari Nair carefully presents his opinions about Malaikottai Vaaliban, a good two weeks after he first saw the movie.

The reasons are too private to be discussed at a round table, listed out during a seminar, or uncovered in an academic course.A proud but insomniac connoisseur murmuring in his sleep may do a better job of explaining the phenomenon than an expert on a podium. Sreehari Nair airs his thoughts.

How wonderful it would be for all of us to watch the Oscar ceremony on March 2, 2025 and watch AWIAL win an Oscar, notes Aseem Chhabra.

When mainstream Hindi cinema is preoccupied with romance, comedy, horror and action, stories about sisters and brothers are very rare. Vasan Bala has made a first-of-its-kind film where the leads play sister and brother, notes Aseem Chhabra.

Recorded in an authentic tavern environment similar to what might have been experienced in 18th-century Williamsburg.

Colonial Williamsburg's Michael Monaco performs Peter Pelham's repertoire of 18th century music on the period keyboard instruments of the Governor's Palace.

On this recording of period music, the Cross Violin, Kirckman Harpsichord, Keene Spinet, Broadwood Pianoforte and three flutes are played just as they were in colonial times.

Selected performances from nine of Colonial Williamsburg's recordings, including fife and drum marches, chamber music, slave chants, and tavern songs.