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Thursday, April 25, 2024
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Reel Take

Tax cuts, nationalism and Amit Shah’s blessings aren’t saving Akshay’s Samrat Prithviraj

As Samrat Prithviraj moves to the brink of abject failure, Southern films like Major and Vikram see massive uptick in viewership.

Jana Gana Mana is a carefully crafted cinematic gem that loses shine after interval

Streaming on Netflix, the film is a political thriller that means business. Right from the get go, it brings several uncomfortable debates at the forefront.

Samrat Prithviraj is so focused on Muslim invaders that it forgets the king himself

Every recent Akshay Kumar film has been the same but in different outfits. The business strategy of selling nationalism probably needs revision.

Major nails patriotism without jingoism, aptly recreates the horror of 26/11 attacks

Mahesh Babu-produced Major’s action scenes are well-directed, befitting India’s elite forces. The film focuses on showing what makes one a soldier and a hero.

What is life like as refugee? Oscar-nominated Flee shows Afghanistan at its best—and worst

From Kabul's 'liberated' heights to 1980s Soviet regime, Taliban invasion and refugee life—Flee shows the horrors of escaping a warzone.

Enjoyed ‘Anek’? Here are 7 films from Northeast that shed light on love, life & culture

From a tale of love in a submerged village to the unique food culture, Northeast India's films offer an unvarnished view of the region — without bias.

Don’t get lost in the bhool bhulaiya of remakes, see Mohanlal’s Manichitratazhu—the original

In the 90s, when most horror films took to special effects and prosthetic makeup to generate fear onscreen, Manichitrathazhu stood tall with a great storyline.

Anubhav Sinha’s Anek only mildly hints at AFSPA violence in Northeast but drives point home

It's heartening to see people from the Northeast represent themselves on screen, speaking their own language and their ‘Hindi’. It's a message for India.

HoiChoi’s Mahabharat Murders is modern-day Kurukshetra where Duryodhana takes revenge

The OTT series is a typical crime thriller—bureaucratic settings, revenge, romance. What's unique is the blend of myth and modernity in a new India.

Acharya is ‘hero-worshipper’ first, story later—watch it only for Chiranjeevi-Ram Charan duo

One would expect a lot from a movie that took three years to complete filming and has two Telugu superstars. But ‘Acharya’ is unimpressive on many levels.

On Camera

BJP has a problem of plenty in Phase 2. It can only go down from that

BJP’s fate in the second phase of 2024 Lok Sabha election will be decided in Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra, where it performed very well in 2019 but faces a stiff competition now.

Kotak Mahindra Bank shares drop 10% after RBI bans it from taking new customers via digital channels

The private lender's shares tumbled to be top Nifty 50 loser after India's central bank barred it from taking on new customers through online and mobile banking channels.

Rafale to Exercise Garuda, a look at Indo-French defence ties as Chief of Defence Staff visits France

Another addition to military cooperation has been the Strategic Space Dialogue, inaugurated in Paris in 2023. Last month, India participated as an observer to France’s AsterX.

These 6 states are key for Modi’s ‘400 paar’ target. They’re also where Opposition can stop him

While this contest looks so predictable in large swathes of our political landscape, it is also more keenly contested than 2019 in some states.