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Reel Take

Desmond Tutu, Dalai Lama are mischievous spiritual brothers— ‘suffering’ vital for compassion

Both leaders have a shared history of fighting authoritarian regimes in China and South Africa. Directors Psihoyos and Callahan give you exclusive insight.

Stranger Things season 4 is mediocre. Duffer brothers amplify mistakes from the past

The Netflix original has mostly descended from being an enjoyable summer watch every couple of years to a soulless slog.

Rocketry isn’t for Bollywood masala fans. It’s Madhavan’s show as ISRO’s Nambi Narayanan

Rocketry doesn't sacrifice essence for dramatic moments. And watch out for SRK’s cameo.

Rashtra Kavach Om another action dud from Bollywood. Watch only for Aditya Roy Kapur

The cast boasts of veterans like Prakash Raj and Ashutosh Rana, but even they can’t save the undercooked universe director Kapil Verma has tried to create.

Anya’s Tutorial is better than Bollywood horror. But has same-old haunted house, voodoo dolls

While Hindi horror cinema seems to be losing its authenticity entirely, web series Anya’s Tutorial tries to salvage the genre’s reputation.

Too many minions, too many times—Minions: The Rise of Gru has nothing new to offer

In what has been a fairly dull 2022 for animation films, Minions: The Rise of Gru is just another subpar serving.

Only Murders in the Building 2 retains its quirky taste—crime and podcast both get better

Streaming on Disney+Hotstar, Only Murders continues its original style of storytelling. Steve Martin, Selena Gomez, and Martin Short are back.

A funny, layered entertainer, why Kissi Se Na Kehna deserves all the love but no hate

Released in 1983, a still from Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Kissi Se Na Kehna has landed Alt-News co-founder Mohammed Zubair in trouble.

Pankaj Tripathi-Neeraj Kabi’s cracking chemistry nearly salvages Sherdil’s shoddy screenplay

Set around the Philibit Tiger Reserve, Srijit Mukherjee’s ‘Sherdil’ has a stellar cast but plays it too safe.

‘Forensic’ doesn’t know what to be an expert in — investigating murders or cramming twists

Zee5's Hindi adaptation of the 2020 Malayalam movie 'Forensic' is a flimsy replication that tries to play clever but is done in by shoddy writing.

On Camera

Why Modi, BJP should worry about bad blood between CEC Gyanesh Kumar and Rahul Gandhi

If there is bad blood between the CEC and the Opposition leaders, it will shake the people’s faith in election results. It’s the worst thing that could happen to Indian democracy.

Navigating Trump’s tariffs is no child’s play. Indian toymakers are losing out on orders, enquiries

Indian toymakers are now exploring new markets, but they want govt to negotiate a trade deal with US soon, introduce incentives and subsidies to make the industry more competitive.

Pakistan signs $1.5 billion deal to sell lethal combat weapons to Sudan’s junta

The deal, believed to be paid for by a third nation, will give the Sudanese Armed Forces access to light attack aircraft, engines, armoured fighting vehicles & unmanned aerial vehicles.

War of IAF, PAF doctrines: As Pakistan obsesses over numbers, India embraces risk, wins

Now that both IAF and PAF have made formal claims of having shot down the other’s aircraft in the 87-hour war in May, we can ask a larger question: do such numbers really matter?