Payal Kapadia's understanding of what it means to be a woman is as poignant as her authentic portrait of Mumbai's hoi polloi, observes Sukanya Verma.

'With passage of time, Kamal did move away from the humdrum of commercial cinema, using it only as a peg to launch a new concept or new technology, as no other actor/film-maker has done in Indian cinema.' N Sathiya Moorthy assesses the career and politics of movie legend Kamal Haasan on his 70th brthday.

Mehmood and R D Burman shiver, wail and flail when they encounter a stuffed tiger that wags its tail, furniture that moves on its own volition and dancing skeletons and mummies. Dinesh Raheja revisits a must-watch.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) failed to furnish direct evidence linking Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to the proceeds of crime in the money laundering case against him, a Delhi court has said while ordering his release on bail.

'It's such a mishmash of wonderful things, so many different cultures, subsections of society and weird histories.'

For these dedicated folk, cosplay is more than just masks and costumes. Months of effort -- they often create their costumes from scratch -- go into making their outfits. Some even invest thousands of rupees to perfect their look.

Vineeth Sreenivasan deserves applause for striving to blend the past with the present and revoking your memories, states Divya Nair.

Despite director Homi Adajania's ease around quirky ensembles and macabre touches, Murder Mubarak fails to draw the viewer into its shallow world of the vain and wealthy, feels Sukanya Verma.

You will appreciate the Mammootty of this movie better if you do not take the servile reviews to heart, for this is a grand, broad, almost proudly comic performance, assures Sreehari Nair.

The Tamil film industry won't forget Vijayakanth's large-heartedness, how he took care of fellow industry persons, male or female, rich or poor, young or old...recalls N Sathiya Moorthy. How he sent money quietly for the family of a stunt artiste to meet his funeral expenses, how he always ensured that all female co-stars, including junior artistes, had secure accommodation on outdoor shoots, and how he would always the first to rush help if anyone from the fraternity was in distress.

It was a year of so many contradictions and contrasts that it became dangerous to talk about movies, people lost their heads discussing Friday releases, psychiatrists began dabbling in film criticism, and film critics turned into psychiatrists, says Sreehari Nair.

What should have ideally been a slow-burn thriller pretty much turns into a game of predictive, uninteresting moments that simply delay the almost obvious climax, notes Divya Nair.

Much, much, much before Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani fussed over What Jhumka, Asha Bhosle trilled in her alluring voice and teased us with tantalising details about the events leading to her precious Jhumka's loss. Sukanya Verma celebrates the singing legend who turns 90 on September 8.

'When I told Mr Narayan Murthy, he said it was great that I was following my dream.'

Ayushmann Khurrana is ready to repeat the flirtatious woman deed second time around in Dream Girl 2.

The splendid rock figures around Cappadocia and the silent, eternal ruins of Ephesus made a trip to Turkey even more memorable.

Even the worst movies have a song, a scene, or a performance that makes all the effort of making a film worthwhile. This one should have been scrapped at script stage, declares Deepa Gahlot.

Deepa Gahlot picks a list of 10 essential RGV movies though there are 84 to wade through.

Known as the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll for her blistering performances and powerfully gritty vocals, Tina Turner died on May 24 after a long illness. She was 83.

Music School tries hard to make a case -- like 3 Idiots and Taare Zameen Par before -- to let children follow their artistic passions and not try to fit them into pre-set moulds, to which people might nod their heads in agreement before packing their children off to coaching class, notes Deepa Gahlot.

These films, even at their saddest, darkest and grossest, retain their sense of humour, their sense of proportion, which again is something you associate with a Malayali.

Aditya Chopra may be a household name in India, but few have seen his face, recognise his voice or know the brain behind the business outside his tight inner circle. The Romantics makes sure it has its own to brag about when he, finally, appears before the camera, notes Sukanya Verma.

The hour-long episodes lurch from adrenaline-pumping to yawn-inducing, observes Deepa Gahlot.

In a year of overwrought spectacles that slavishly sucked up to the audience, I found refuge in a bunch of 'mainstream' Indian films that espoused such old-fashioned values as dedication to craft, close observation and casual bravery, explains Sreehari Nair.

There is nothing exceptional in the plot that will blow your mind away, warns Divya Nair. Yashoda Review

Sukanya Verma gives a toast to the man, the movies and the many, many, MANY memories he's made on big screen through 80 Amitabh Bachchan moments.

While Russia focuses its attack on the east and south of the country, the threat of Russian missile strikes on Kyiv remains.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said two major terror modules were busted in the state in a "nationally coordinated operation".

Pellissery's women continue to express the beauty in our common humanity. And often, these women go so far into expressing our hopes, desires, absurdities and follies that they end up acting at variance with the ethical prescriptions of our age. And this, I believe, is precisely why they remain "invisible" to a whole bunch of viewers, says Sreehari Nair.

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

'Would you want to bring kids into a world that could run out of drinking water before they reach adulthood?'

Mammootty plays the despicable Kuttan with absolute integrity, observes Divya Nair.

The new amendment, which came into force on April 21, has been introduced to detect discrepancies between the expenses and incomes of people who do not have to file tax returns.

Something in Alia has surely changed after Gangubai. Her entire performance is about proving to herself and not to the world what she can do, feels Sukanya Verma.

'Oscar has been given to A R Rahman.' Ringa Ringa Ringa, Choli ki peeche kya hai -- What's the difference? Exactly the same. Also, Jai ho.' 'I did Ramba ho in 1985.' 'Rahman combined three of my songs and got Best Original Score.' 'The Ho came from me.' 'Bappi Lahiri brought the Ho to Bollywood.'

'The wish is that 2022, if not bring us into happier times, at least sees some easing of the pain,' hopes Aakar Patel.

Here are Sukanya Verma's favourite female performances of 2021.

How did a superstar provoke the break-up? 50 years later, the truth can finally be told. A revealing excerpt from Hanif Zaveri and Sumant Batra's An Actor's Actor: An Authorized Biography of Sanjeev Kumar.

Films that amazed Aseem Chhabra at the El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt.

The estimated size of the Durga Puja economy could be about Rs 2.75 trillion in 2021 had there been no pandemic, points out Atanu Biswas.