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Tuesday, September 30, 2025
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Reel Take

Meena Kumari was more than just the tragedy queen and 1955 film ‘Azaad’ shows us why

Meena Kumari plays a happy and carefree character in S.M. Sriramulu Naidu’s 1955 film.

Uttam Kumar’s Saptapadi is the 1960s’ inter-faith love story that rings true even today

Saptapadi’s famous, moving Othello scene, which was directed separately by Utpal Dutt, deserves special praise.

Do Raaste cemented Rajesh Khanna’s position as Bollywood’s first superstar

Do Raaste shows how a middle-class Indian family tries to adjust when people with different outlook share the same roof.

On Guru Dutt’s birth anniversary, a look at Pyaasa that continues to leave Indians in awe

Guru Dutt’s magnum opus – second only to Kaagaz Ke Phool – is the perfect example of art-house cinema marrying Bollywood.

In Uttam Kumar & Sharmila Tagore’s film ‘Amanush’, floods restore faith in human spirit

Directed and produced by Shakti Samanta in both Bengali and Hindi, Amanush is a classic and a lesson in the complexity of human emotions.

As Chennai grapples with water crisis, Do Boond Pani shows what Day Zero can look like

The film exposes the broken government system, and the shoddy execution of welfare projects.

Anyone who is not a doctor should watch Pankaj Kapur’s Ek Doctor Ki Maut before blaming them

Tapan Sinha's brilliant 1990 film shows the slow death of innovation in India's health sector due to a broken and corrupt system.

In Manthan, Girish Karnad showed why change matters through the Amul story

Manthan is not a simplistic do-gooder story about rescuing a village with new ideas. The film is beautifully layered and had an outstanding cast.

An IAF pilot, a love triangle & Raj Kapoor: Why Sangam is a Bollywood hit even after 50 yrs

The film, which was originally four-hours long with two intervals, was hailed as Raj Kapoor’s magnum opus and his finest performance.

Mujhe Jeene Do: When Sunil Dutt shattered inter-faith marriage taboo while playing a dacoit

Written by Sunil Dutt’s closest friend, Aghajani Kashmeri, the script of this 1963 film isn’t black and white, even if the picture was.

On Camera

Bodoland poll loss a wake-up call for Assam BJP. Zubeen’s death puts CM Sarma in a tight spot

Assam CM can’t celebrate that the Congress drew a blank in the Bodoland Territorial Council polls in 2010 as well as 2015, and bagged only one in 2020.

Market regulator SEBI clears Adani Group of impropriety alleged by Hindenburg Research

SEBI probe concluded that purported loans and fund transfers were paid back in full and did not amount to deceptive market practices or unreported related party transactions.

Aerial warfare analyst Tom Cooper faults India’s military PR, says Pakistan does it better

In post on social media, Cooper narrated experience of MiG-21 researcher from Germany who wanted to attend aircraft’s farewell ceremony in India, and the roadblocks he faced. 

Something’s hidden in the Oval Office photo of Trump, Munir, Sharif. India must look closely

What Munir has achieved with Trump is a return to normal, ironing out the post-Abbottabad crease. The White House picture gives us insight into how Pakistan survives, occasionally thrives and thinks.