'In Boyhood, I saw the father that I had been to my son: Not always perfect, but never giving up on the child I helped to bring to this world.'

Can India really succeed when it leaves some of its underprivileged so far behind that they simply do not matter, asks Aseem Chhabra

Beautiful movies, from across the world.

Twitter broke down the barrier between movie stars and their fans, says Aseem Chhabra.

From Boyhood to The Grand Budapest Hotel, we've seen some brilliant cinema this year.

'It is ironic that the guy who set the standard of stardom was forgotten. It was his death that made us remember him again.'

'67 years after India gained independence, its people still get offended by the slightest issues in films.'

'My biggest challenge was getting into the head of the character.' Aamir Khan talks about his big release, PK.

'As some of the marchers shouted, "Hum apna adhikar mangte, nahin kisi se bheekh mangte, (we are fighting for our rights; we are not beggars)," the message of the parade was clear.'

'Medha had been so alive, smiling in the pictures she posted on Facebook and the comments she left on my profile page. I did not think she would leave us so soon.'

'One afternoon, I spotted Karan Johar and film critic Rajeev Masand having tea with Nina Gupta, the head of NFDC, and barged into their meeting.' Aseem Chhabra's IFFI diaries...

Cook's statement is of major significance, especially given Apple's recognition as a global brand, says Aseem Chhabra.

'Sonakshi Sinha, Imran Khan and other stars say MFF is their film festival. In reality, the festival belongs to Mumbaikars, who wait in long lines, rushing from theatre to theatre.'

'After living in the US for over three decades, where I would spend Diwali nights with close friends and eat Indian meals, I have recently started to return home during the festival. But none of that old Diwali exists for me.'

'When I least expect it, I start to find traces of India in foreign lands.'

Can a film and the voice of its actor really influence us, and change our lives? I like to believe so, says Aseem Chhabra.

>What happens when two teenagers -- one Israeli and one Palestinian -- discover that they were accidentally switched at birth? The Other Son is a wonderful vision of Israel and Palestine. There is no positive future for the region and its people without this vision, feels Aseem Chhabra.

Aseem Chhabra mourns the passing of the gentle and knowledgeable Mr K D Singh, who owned a quaint bookshop in New Delhi.

Why has a nation created on strong secular principles slowly chipped away those essential values? Why are so many Indians willing to compromise their freedoms and those of their compatriots for the cause of economic progress and to see a shining India,' asks Aseem Chhabra.

2 States, for all its modern touches, is a very regressive film, deeply rooted in old fashioned values that surely make no sense in the India of 2014.