Christopher Nolan's next, Gulzar's gussa, Shyam Benegal's Shivaji and RD's Lawrence of Arabia connection, catch all this and more in Sukanya Verma's super filmi week.

'The bumblebees in Par Ek Din may not be flying yet, but even as they dangle in mid-air, their stings hurt.' 'Effortlessly graceful, this is a work of passion that conveys what being passionate about something truly feels like,' says Sreehari Nair.

Over the last decade the Indian film industry has reinvented itself. Do film critics need to do that too?

Savouring Spielberg's fierce, fine movie; salivating over MAMI's line-up; gobbling a Shrek cake; visualising a desi Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants with Alia, Bhumi and more in Sukanya Verma's Super Filmi Week.

I am sad Kundan Shah is no more. I am sad he couldn't make the kind of films he wanted. But I am also grateful. He made me laugh. He made me cry. He made me believe in Hum Honge Kamyab and the power of a shooting star. Sukanya Verma salutes Kundan Shah.

'The Muslim identity of the family appears incidental to the subject of the film...''The self-sacrificing, suffering mother film could have belonged to any religion.''The abusive father, who prefers his son to his daughter, could have followed any religion.''That the Muslim household is remarkably free from religious symbolism is also the strength of the film,' feels Mohammad Asim Siddiqui.

Every time a filmmaker wishes to explore history or religion on his or her terms, self-appointed experts and limelight-seeking zealots swoop in to protest. Extreme prejudices are formed without even seeing the final product triggering a disturbingly destructive impulse, feels Sukanya Verma.

If anyone thinks that the Golden Globes are insignificant, the Hollywood studios are out to prove them wrong.

'To me,' says Aseem Chhabra, 'the Golden Globes hold the most meaning as one gets to see stars celebrating, getting emotional, letting their guard down and showing us their regular human side.'

'The way the winners react and the speeches they deliver.''That is where the fun happens, when the actors and other winners let down their guard, challenge the system, talk about issues that should matter to us,' says Aseem Chhabra.

In March 1972, The Godfather was first screened in a New York theatre. The movies were never the same again. Forty six years later, longtime Rediff film critic Raja Sen talks about why that film means that much, and how it led him to a unique tribute.

'There's no love for the song or Madhuri, no consideration for what it meant to an entire generation and zero respect for its iconic choreography,' says Sukanya Verma.

The Looming Tower reveals the bitter CIA-FBI turf battles that led to the worst terrorist attack in America's history.

Prisons aren't places to build bodies or boost egos, says Kishore Singh.

The problem is not that more people are not watching more TV, but that they are not finding anything of interest on Hindi television, says Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.

'Kaala's sin is not that it is presented as a mouthpiece for its director Pa Ranjith's political viewpoints, but that it makes a travesty of them.''Ranjith turns Marx into merchandise, all the while functioning as a hired hand for Brand Rajinikanth,' points out Sreehari Nair.

'In Sanju, Rajkumar Hirani has essentially found a Rajkumar Hirani story buried inside Sanjay Dutt's life.''Now if you think that's scary, sample the alternative: Perhaps Sanjay Dutt had been living his life to suit the narrative of a Rajkumar Hirani film,' says Sreehari Nair.

'What would a composite of Dawood, Rajan, and Arun Gawli be like?''What if an absconding mafia boss were to land in Mumbai tomorrow, tired from all the running, and tender his final apology to the city by narrating his story and narrating it with brutal honesty?'Sreehari Nair watches Sacred Games.

'Despite the pornographic quality of its name, Lust Stories is something of an event in Indian popular culture,' says Shuma Raha.

'I greet all my friends, Hindu or Muslim, with "Jai Shri Ram".'

'While censorship of any sort is anathema to the creative spirit, political correctness has become more and more the norm rather than the exception,' notes Uttaran Das Gupta.

'Khaitan's film will continue to invite comparisons with Manjule's, but the fact that it is out there for viewers to see is perhaps a greater tribute to the original than is conveyed by the cautious desire to remake it,' says Vikram Johri.

To say Aretha ticked all the boxes when it came to voice technique is like calling Cristiano Ronaldo an efficient footballer, says Kanika Datta.

Will Nana Patekar's role be deleted from Housefull 4? Will Subhash Kapoor lose the Jolly LLB franchise? Is Anu Malik's career in limbo?

Gajraj Rao's performance in Badhaai Ho is the finest by an actor in a Hindi film this year, applauds Sreehari Nair.

'Thugs is smarter than a lot of 'nationalistic' movies,' notes Rohit Sathish Nair.

Aseem Chhabra salutes the late Italian Master and his cinema.

Why were two of 2018's critically panned films awarded?! exclaims Aseem Chhabra.

The 91st Annual Academy Awards was anything but boring, feels Aseem Chhabra.

'When so many noted universities -- including the likes of Harvard and the University of California -- are spending their resources on studying the world of GoT, it is fun to assess whether this fictional universe conforms with the laws of our real universe,' says Kumar Abhishek.

'My mom is a riot! I thank her with all my heart.'

'Are we too close as well-off Indians, all with servants and drivers and tuition teachers ourselves, to be able to understand why it is all so awful?', asks Aakar Patel.

'In the early years of this century, barely 10 years after liberalisation, drinking Coke was still cool,' notes Uttaran Das Gupta.

Aseem Chhabra imagines a time, 20 years from now, when movie-watching in theatres will be long gone, thanks to the coronavirus, and pens a letter to his grandchild, explaining the magic of the cinema hall.

'Why would Destiny play such a cruel game?'

'You will be remembered for a long, long, time,' notes Sudhir Bisht.

The Fifes and Drums of Colonial Williamsburg carry forward the tradition of military music heard on the battlefields of Yorktown.

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.

New lyrics set to familiar (or some not so familiar) English melodies, recorded using 18th-century instrumentation to recreate the ambience of a small tavern or public meeting place.

From the Summer 2002 Journal: "Making "Cents" of Colonial Money"

From the Summer 2002 Journal: "Making "Cents" of Colonial Money"

From the Summer 2002 Journal: "Making "Cents" of Colonial Money"

Hear the words that were catalyst to the Revolution, read by Bill Barker, Colonial Williamsburg's Thomas Jefferson.

In October 2010, the hosts of Backstory visited Colonial Williamsburg's Kimball Theatre to perform a live show.