8 Member of Parliaments were suspended from Lok Sabha for tearing & throwing papers at the Chair till April 2. Uproar started when Rahul Gandhi was barred from citing former Army Chief, General M M Naravane's memoir on 2020 India-China clash. Rediff.com brings you the details of these MPs who were suspended.
We continue to celebrate the Thalaiva's 75th birthday with Divya Nair's premiere playlist that celebrates his magnetic swag, emotion and larger-than-life persona.
As the year draws to a close, Rediff's Senior Contributor Roshmila Bhattacharya takes a look at the hits and misses, the highs and lows, the newsmakers and the dealbreakers in alphabetical order.
Global consumer preferences can be influenced through music, films, literature, yoga and sports because they create interest and a sense of familiarity that can help our businesses to access foreign markets, suggests T N C Rajagopalan.
Ahead of the release of Rajinikanth's film Jailer, his fans offered special prayers at the Thiruparankundram Amman temple in Madurai.
Divya Nair is spoilt for choice, but picks her favourite Rajini films.
>Ask any true Rajini fan and they'll agree that it's been 20 years since the superstar has produced anything bigger or better than Padayappa. And Darbar, at least going by the trailer, doesn't seem to get any closer to that benchmark 1999 film, says Divya Nair.
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.
Megastar Rajinikanth turns 70 on December 12.
'It's the film you can take your appa, amma, pati, or even your girlfriend and everyone will walk home with a smile,' says Divya Nair.
Directed by K S Ravikumar, the film will also star Sonakshi Sinha and Anushka Shetty.
Here's a look at potential future heroines for Rajni.
The superstar has made over 120 films. Now you choose which is his best.
Actor Manivannan talks about working with Rajnikanth in Sivaji.
Celebrating the Thalaiva's birthday.
K S Ravikumar's Lingaa works only because of the charisma and enigmatic screen presence of the Superstar, says S Saraswathi.
An extra point to them for performing the daunting task of sharing screen space with the formidable superstar!
Overall, the Thalaivi trailer is a convincing experience, says veteran Tamil Nadu politics watcher N Sathiya Moorthy.
Rediff.com's Rajesh Karkera and Divya Nair bring you the action from the Kaala screening at Mumbai's Aurora theatre.
Rajinikanth's style isn't his only talking point...
Rajinikanth's visible electoral strength is his constant mouthing of the term, 'aanmiga arasiyal', or 'spiritual politics', without he having to explain what it is. By implication, it is all that what Dravidian politics is not about. It may imply anti-corruption, being against Periyar's forgotten anti-god, anti-Brahmin dictum, but also ends up covering 'Tamil pride', which begins with Tamil language where, as a Maratha from Karnataka, he has more to defend himself. However, in the contemporary national context, aanmiga arasiyal is seen as a front for Rajini to market his brand of 'soft Hindutva' but identified even more with the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in political terms, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tamil Nadu has time and again proved that it needs a decisive leader even if corrupt, rather than an indecisive leader, however good-hearted, good-natured and honest he may be, writes N Sathiya Moorthy.
If Team Rajini expected Kaala to carry the superstar's political message off-screen, it may have proved counter-productive. If the not-so-infrequent presence of Muslim residents of Dharavi, including that of Kaala's ex-love Zarina, in many scenes is expected to convey a political message, it is a no-brainer, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Superstar Rajinikanth needs a box-office hit after two successive flops in Kochchadaiyaan and Lingaa, both 2014. Yet, Kabali is being projected as if the fans need the film, and the Tamil film industry needs it even more, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
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