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Thursday, December 4, 2025
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Reel Take

‘Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se’ was a remake of an American novel. Here, parents aren’t villains

It steers clear of the traditional Bollywood stereotype of the Christian woman who goes on dates and loves to party. Lily is shown as an intelligent, studious and ambitious woman.


‘Mashaal’ mixed news media with melodrama. It made Anil Kapoor an ‘A-grade hero’

The 1980s were a tough time for Yash Chopra. He directed Mashaal after two of his major films, Silsila and Faasle, flopped at the box office.

‘Julie’ tackled pre-marital sex and pregnancy sensitively. It still fell prey to stereotypes

What stands out the most in Julie is the music. Music director Rajesh Roshan says he created the song Dil Kya Kare in 10 minutes. And Kishore Kumar was at his magical best.

Disturbing, unsettling, but necessary—Shyam Benegal’s ‘Nishant’ could easily be a 2024 story

Benegal’s 1975 film is violent and brutal, an unflinching gaze on everything that can go wrong in a society where illiteracy is rampant and landlords hold all the power.

‘Boot Polish’, comedy drama with a critical view of a newly independent India

In an era when most Hindi films featured adult characters as protagonists, 'Boot Polish' stood out with its child lead roles—Bhola and Belu.

Parinda introduced gritty realism to Bollywood. A fire on the set injured Nana Patekar

Parinda depicted a new side of Mumbai—the underworld with raw authenticity, unlike the glamorisation seen in earlier films like Deewar.

A courtesan without shame or guilt—1966 film ‘Amrapali’ gave us a proud, powerful heroine

Every tawaif is said to be a corpse in ‘Pakeezah’. In ‘Amrapali’, however, the heroine fights for her status as a ‘nagarvadhu’ and takes pride in it.

Manoranjan—1974 film defied moral police. Zeenat Aman played an independent sex worker

Bright outfits, exaggerated comic scenes, and the lack of long-drawn emotional moments make Manoranjan entertaining. But it was a box office failure.

Raj Kapoor was awed by the global fame of Pather Panchali. He made ‘Jagte Raho’ in Bangla

A film without a lead pair, no romance, or masala and a purist director who belonged to theatre is recipe for commercial failure in Bollywood even today.

An Evening in Paris marked an iconic moment. Showed Indians the Parisian life in desi flavour

Sharmila Tagore’s winged liner, little black dress, sarees paired with knotted blouses to her bikini and puffed hairstyle, everything was on point. Even Shammi Kapoor’s tailored suits, or his colourful shirts were tasteful.

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.