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Thursday, December 4, 2025
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Reel Take

Abhimaan, the timeless classic, had shades of Amitabh & Jaya Bachchan’s real lives

Director Hrishikesh Mukherjee is better known for his family-friendly comedies, but in Abhimaan, he dealt with feminism & a love story with many shades of grey.

Umrao Jaan’s captivating music is a lasting testament to Khayyam’s musical genius

Khayyam masterfully blended ghazals, shayaris and classical Hindustani music to create melodies that made the story of Umrao Jaan.

Kabuliwala is the heart-rending childhood tale of innocence, love & fate

Balraj Sahni’s Kabuliwala perfectly captures the essence of a wonderful friendship that builds against the backdrop of hardship.

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.

On Camera

Why Bihar migrates has a 500-year old answer — from Mughal taxpayers to peasant warriors

Migration in North India isn’t just due to lack of development today. It was shaped by the evolution of labour markets under Sher Shah, Mughals, and the East India Company.

India’s Russian oil imports are showing up in cryptic new places. The crude map stands redrawn

December oil imports from Russia may drop nearly 50%, but Indian buyers already shifting to non-designated Russian entities and opaque trading channels to keep Russian oil flowing.

From nuclear cooperation to defence, trade to oil, what is expected from Putin’s two-day India visit

New Delhi is interested in firming up bilateral agreements for increased trade, mobility, upgrade of Su-30 MKI fighters and the increased range of BrahMos supersonic missiles.

Gaali cricket: Bavuma stands tall, India’s Test ego cut to size

The India-South Africa series-defining fact is the catastrophic decline of Indian red ball cricket where a visiting team can mock us with the 'grovel' word.