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Reel Take

Anamika married melody and mystery. It gave two evergreen songs — for romance and heartbreak

Raghunath Jhalani’s 1973 film Anamika starring Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bachchan shows how inherent biases can blind someone to reality.

When a Doberman stole the show over Rajesh Khanna’s double role in ‘Sachaa Jhutha’

Manmohan Desai knew well that no Bollywood masala was complete without a loyal animal companion tugging at heartstrings, a trope that would later become central in many films.

Khandhar is Mrinal Sen’s most poetic film. It’s a masterpiece of stillness and silence

Khandhar’s emotional core lies in what is left unsaid. Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah's towering performances convey unspoken yearning and forbidden longing without relying on dialogues.

Shatrughan Sinha was Bollywood’s villain. ‘Kalicharan’ made him a hero

Before Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Don’, Shatrughan Sinha played a cop-and-con double role in the 1976 film ‘Kalicharan’.

Sunil Dutt sold 7 cars to make Reshma Aur Shera. It’s an Indian Romeo & Juliet story

Set in Jaisalmer, Reshma Aur Shera is a love story caught in the crossfire of family vengeance. It was a Box Office flop but its visual boldness is timeless.

With Aavishkar, Basu Bhattacharya turned his troubled marriage into a masterpiece

Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore played a couple falling apart in Aavishkar. Basu Bhattacharya based it on his own marriage and even filmed it in his house.

Hariyali Aur Rasta was a romantic drama that questioned arranged marriages

While Manoj Kumar’s Shankar is easy on the eyes in the first half and turns into a Devdas-like figure in the second, it’s the two female leads who drive the storyline.

Feroze Khan’s Dharmatma released the same year as Sholay and Deewar. It still stood out

Feroze Khan paid close attention to the sartorial choices of each character. His eclectic wardrobe featured colourful scarves paired with shirts left unbuttoned till his navel.

‘Love Story’ launched Kumar Gaurav as teen heartthrob of 1980s India. He was a nepo baby

Music carries the film’s romance. Songs such as ‘Dekho Maine Dekha Hai Yeh Ek Sapna’ and ‘Kya Ghazab Karte Ho Ji’ express the hope and the giddiness of young love.

Ek Dil Sau Afsane exposes a society obsessed with male child. It remains relevant even today

The grandmother's insistence on consulting a girl’s astrological birth chart to determine her capacity to bear a son underlines how superstition and patriarchy are deeply intertwined.

On Camera

Manipur has seen too much pain to be seduced by promises

Nehru learned the truth the hard way when 3,000 Nagas walked out of his 1953 rally. The people of the Northeast aren’t easily seduced by baubles.

What’s behind bond yields’ logic-defying spike? The market’s concern over the future

While bond yields tend to fall amid low inflation & interest rate cuts, market experts say they’ve been rising due to concerns over tax collections, fiscal deficit & potential impact of US tariffs.

Navy gets first Tata-made Spanish 3D surveillance radar for its warships, 19 more to come

It is one of the most advanced long-range air defence and anti-missile radars. It has been acquired under an about USD 145-million deal signed in 2020.

Gen Zs have taken down the Nepal regime. Here’s why this will never happen in India

To be truly functional and durable, even eternal, a state doesn’t just need a leader, a party or an ideology. It needs functional and robust institutions.