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Wednesday, November 5, 2025
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Reel Take

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.

‘BR Ambedkar: Now and Then’ strips the Brahmin gaze off the Bahujan story. It’s a must watch

Jyoti Nisha’s documentary makes it clear that the ‘popular’ story of India is not necessarily the real story of India. At the very least, the story is incomplete.

What’s more potent than Ambedkar today? Lakhs of Ambedkarites at Chaityabhumi in Mumbai

Somnath Waghmare's documentary on Babasaheb’s resting place at Dadar serves as a walking tour for those oblivious to the drumbeats of Dalit assertion that plays out every 6 December.

Mission Impossible goes on a hunt for thrill. Like Tom Cruise and his enemy, it’s everywhere

Dead Reckoning has little to worry about critics who say its plots defy logic. Should you choose to accept the mission, nothing is impossible.

Lust Stories 2 on Netflix shows OTT’s obsession with anthologies and a problem they must fix

If one would like to look at Lust Stories 2 in totality –– is it to be viewed through the startling clarity of Sen-Sharma or the overstated sermon on sex by R Balki?

Social Currency shows OTT’s marriage with content creation. Influencers have finally arrived

Netflix’s Social Currency is a pastiche of reality shows like Roadies, Splitsvilla, and Bigg Boss with bits of Fear Factor thrown in. But one aspect sets it apart.

On Camera

India’s think tanks double up as lobbyists, give no disclosures. Hurt policymaking

Many 'independent' reports, intended to shape policies, are sponsored by industry groups or entities with deep pockets and vested interests. This process must become transparent.

India may cancel green projects struggling to find clients

While the move could free up grid capacity struggling to keep up with rapid renewable rollout, it would be a major setback for green ambitions. India aims to double clean power capacity to 500 gigawatts by the end of the decade.

India & Israel ink agreement to share, co-develop & co-produce advanced defence tech

Agreement signed during 17th Joint Working Group (JWG) on defence cooperation. Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh met Director General in Israeli Ministry of Defence Amir Baram Tuesday. 

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.