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Saturday, January 3, 2026
TopicFilmi Flashback

Topic: Filmi Flashback

Manchali is Bollywood’s masala take on Shakespeare—a husband for hire and his bratty bride

Directed by Raja Nawathe, Manchali is about a rich, spoilt heiress who can access her inheritance only if she marries. So, she hires a husband.

Raaj Kumar & Meena Kumari’s chemistry saves ‘Kaajal’

Known for his unique dialogue delivery and often stylish avatars, Raaj Kumar opts for subtlety in Kaajal. His eyes alternate with ease between anger and pain.

A ghost, war veteran & a lost nation—Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Naukri was ahead of its time

Similar to what Charles Dickens did in A Christmas Carol, the ghost in Naukri becomes a device to teach the living the meaning of life.

Amitabh and Amjad’s real-life friendship played out in Yaarana. It’s usually different on-screen

Tere Jaisa Yaar Kahan—a Kishore Kumar classic—not just echoed the friendship between the characters in the movie, but also how the duo stood by each other in real life.

Satyajit Ray’s 1960 Devi shows God-fearing rural Bengal—and devotion delusion

Sharmila Tagore delivers one of the most haunting performances of her career in Devi. She was only 14 years old.

Bachchan’s revenge drama Adalat heralded the ‘woman in refrigerator’ trope of 1980s

‘Adalat’ was one of the biggest blockbusters in 1976. However, it is often not counted among Bachchan’s iconic portrayals in the '70s.

RD Burman was the last resort for Rajesh Khanna’s ‘The Train’. It gave him 12 more films

A robbery, a hotel, and criminal masterminds—suspense thriller ‘The Train’ took Rajesh Khanna beyond romance.

A pocket watch, a broken toy, and a lifetime of regret —Anmol Ghadi was blockbuster

In Anmol Ghadi, Noor Jehan, Suraiya & composer Naushad made longing a box office hit.

Aamne Samne is one of Bollywood’s best thrillers. Somebody’s out to kill Sharmila Tagore

Director Suraj Prakash manages to hoodwink his audience till the very end, with a new red herring at every turn. Sharmila Tagore and Shashi Kapoor hold the film together.

Gharana wasn’t just any family drama. It exposed a hypocrisy at the heart of Indian homes

In SS Vasan’s 1961 film Gharana, Lalita Pawar plays Shanta, a stern matriarch who rules her house and its members. But she also has a softer side.

On Camera

India’s most consequential decade & chronicling it as part of the dream team of journalism

You’d think the decade of 1985-95 is long over. Not really. The issues that erupted in that decade are still shaping Indian conversations.

India’s urban co-op banks are turning the page—crisis to cautious revival, one metric at a time

With bad loans shrinking & capital buffers stronger, urban co-op banks’ new umbrella body NUCFDC is now prioritising rollout of digital transformation.

Greece looking at TATA’s WhAP infantry combat vehicle for army procurement

If deal goes through, Greece will be 2nd foreign country to procure vehicle. Morocco was first; TATA Group has set up manufacturing unit there with minimum 30 percent indigenous content.

A year-end Mea Culpa in National Interest—The Army-Islam combo doesn’t kill democracy

Many of you might think I got something so wrong in National Interest pieces written this year. I might disagree! But some deserve a Mea Culpa. I’d deal with the most recent this week.