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Saturday, November 8, 2025
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Reel Take

Sahir Ludhianvi’s hard-hitting, haunting words make ‘Phir Subah Hogi’ relevant even today

This 1958 Raj Kapoor and Mala Sinha-starrer was all about criticising the government, talking about cruel realities and helping the disadvantaged.

Mr India may have been played by Anil Kapoor but Sridevi was the best thing about it

Arguably India’s first superhero movie, Mr India is the result of things not working out as planned — and no one is complaining.

Nutan’s understated yet powerful performance in Bandini is a masterclass in acting

Bandini is special for many reasons — Nutan’s performance, Bimal Roy’s direction, and Gulzar’s debut as a lyricist.

Madhubala and K Asif’s grandeur is what makes Mughal-e-Azam an epic

A film with one of the highest production costs and the biggest collections, Mughal-e-Azam’s success can be put down to Madhubala’s grace and beauty.

‘Arth’ may have been based on Mahesh Bhatt’s life, but Jagjit Singh played a starring role

Jagjit Singh's haunting ghazals compel listeners to question the meaning of love, loss, life and identity.

OP Nayyar’s music turned Howrah Bridge from a movie to a whole mood

Madhubala and Ashok Kumar-starrer Howrah Bridge has music as a character.

Anand Math is the anti-establishment film to watch and learn from

Starring Geeta Bali, Bharat Bhushan and Ajit, the film shows the struggle behind rebellion and poses some uncomfortable questions.

Shabana Azmi is what Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay thought of when he wrote Swami

The 1977 film is an excellent tribute to Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s book, which put the woman and her desires and angst in the forefront.

Chashme Buddoor, aka Saeed Jaffrey, and the art of making a small role fill the screen

The 1981 rom com and buddy film starring Saeed Jaffrey shows you don’t have to be centre stage or mainstream to have an impact.

1942: A Love Story — the swansong that brought R.D. Burman back to stay

Music company HMV had told Vidhu Vinod Chopra it wouldn’t pay if he signed R.D. Burman. Thankfully, he didn’t listen.

On Camera

Trump’s unpredictability is not the absence of strategy—it works on everyone but China

The Italian term sprezzatura—a studied nonchalance that conceals intention—best captures the spirit of Trump’s foreign policy so far. The pattern is unpredictability, transactionalism, and disruption as diplomacy.

Asia’s ‘weakest’ link: Yunus on a tightrope as Bangladesh tries to fix banks without breaking economy

With 20.2 percent of its total loans in default by the end of last year, Bangladesh had the weakest banking system in Asia. Despite reforms, it will take time to recover.

‘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.

Trump’s trade wars have rewritten powerplay, but India didn’t get the memo

This world is being restructured and redrawn by one man, and what’s his power? It’s not his formidable military. It’s trade. With China, it turned on him.