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Saturday, November 8, 2025
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Reel Take

Daag, Yash Chopra’s debut as producer, broke the mould with its shades of bigamy

Starring Rajesh Khanna, Sharmila Tagore and Rakhee, the film was a daring choice for Yash Raj Films to debut with, but its massive success made it a risk worth taking.

Feroz Khan’s Qurbani is stylish and sexy and doesn’t take itself too seriously

A high-octane action flick starring Feroz Khan, Zeenat Aman and Vinod Khanna, Qurbani was a smash hit in 1980 and is great fun even today.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Majhli Didi is a family drama driven by strong women

Based on legendary Bengali author Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel Mejdidi, the movie stars Meena Kumari and Lalita Pawar in a progressive take on adoption.

Ijaazat is a strangely poetic take on divorce that was rare in 1980s Hindi films

Naseeruddin Shah and Rekha's portrayal of a divorced couple in this Gulzar film is more loving and honest than many marriages that do last.

Khel Khel Mein had Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh at their fresh-faced, adorable best

Ravi Tandon's 1975 movie was part college romance, part murder mystery. And it had great songs by RD Burman.

Bawarchi — the Hrishikesh Mukherjee classic that humanised Bollywood’s first superstar

Rajesh Khanna, who delivered 17 hits in a row & had a fan following which included women who married his photos, was akin to a deity. Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Bawarchi made him more relatable.

Gol Maal, with Amol Palekar & Utpal Dutt, was the perfect foil to the Angry Young Man

Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Gol Maal is a crazy romp that turns the classic trope of twin-themed movies on its head, and features a delightful cameo by Amitabh Bachchan.

Vijeta is the war film with a difference that deserves a rewatch this Independence Day

Govind Nihalani’s gentle coming-of-age movie stars Shashi Kapoor, Kunal Kapoor, Rekha and some great footage of MiGs in the sky.

Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi — the hit musical comedy that Kishore Kumar had hoped would flop

Even after more than 60 years, the movie is immensely watchable, thanks to easy-breezy comedy, great chemistry, Kishore Kumar's energy and S.D. Burman's tunes.

Pakeezah is that rare film whose making is as much of a story as the actual plot

Kamal Amrohi's Pakeezah took a decade-and-a-half to be made, but is now synonymous with its star, Meena Kumari, who died just after it finally released.

On Camera

I am a dog lover, but we don’t know how to win the war on strays

We have failed terribly at two important things. One, we are reacting to this issue only emotionally, not logically. And two, we are not asking the right questions.

In NCLAT’s WhatsApp ruling, reminder of India’s cautious view of competition disputes involving Big Tech

WhatsApp privacy policy case is among a string of matters involving practices like restrictive platform rules, pricing & billing policies, reflecting India’s tight scrutiny of market dominance.

‘Let them see’: Putin says new nuclear-powered missiles in the making, in message to Washington

At a ceremony felicitating Russian military engineers, Putin highlights Moscow’s 'parity' in defence technologies for the next century.

Bihar is where politics moves, and everything else stands still

Bihar is blessed with a land more fertile for revolutions than any in India. Why has it fallen so far behind then? Constant obsession with politics is at the root of its destruction.