Dono, Review: Between Dono and Donot It takes two to get married. Three into two won’t go. So how about four? That’s a no-no. No, not four persons getting married ensemble, but the bride and the groom, plus two heart-broken souls. That sounds an interesting premise. Even as the couple are preparing to exchange vows, there is a man around, who secretly loved the bride-to-be, and there is a woman, who has broken-up with an abusive and domineering boy-friend, who is around too. Nothi...

Dhaakad trailer launch: Kangana Ranaut takes on the enemy, this time in the 21st century After the period piece about a freedom fighter, Manikarnika, Kangana Ranaut doing an action film should not come as any surprise. Dhaakad (a forceful person to contend with; formidable) brings you a few centuries forward and places the action in a modern-day setting, with hi-octane action of the James Bond ilk. The trailer was screened recently for the media at the high-profile PVR Phoenix Mall auditorium...

An Actor’s Actor-Sanjeev Kumar: The Authorised Biography of Sanjeev Kumar A riveting black and white picture of the late actor, in mid-close, looking a little to his right, greets you on the cover of this eminently readable biography of the actor, who, arguably, was an actor’s actor. And so, the authors, Mumbai-based Hanif Zaveri and Delhi-based Sumant Batra, are not exaggerating when they give him that exalted title. As far as the ‘authorised’ bit is concerned, the du...

IFFI 52, 043: Indian Film Personalities of the Year “One Sky is less, bring me more skies”. Yes, this is what Prasoon Joshi, renowned lyricist and Chairperson, Central Board of Film Certification said on being presented the Indian Film Personality of the Year Award for 2021, at the closing ceremony of the 52nd International Film Festival, in Goa. The award has been conferred on him, for his contribution to cinema, popular culture and socially significant artistic work. Joshi sa...

Shimla Mirchi, Review: Chilly? Don't be silly! Several highs dot the career graph of director Ramesh Sippy, right from his debut in 1971 as a 24 year-old, with the remake of A Man and a Woman (Claude Lelouch, France, 1966) under the title, Andaz. Crests include Seeta Aur Geeta, Sholay and Buniyaad (TV series), relative high points were reached with Saagar and Shakti, and troughs bogged him down when he attempted Shaan, Bhrashtachar, Akayla and Zamaana Diwana. Completed 19 years after Zama...

DILIP KUMAR: Me and the Padma Vibhushan winner Getting the nation’s second highest civilian honour at 92 years and 45 days of age maybe a good example of beating the clock by the proverbial whisker, and Dilip Kumar is a most deserving recipient. But his art has already bagged all possible honours in the 54 year acting career he had, from 1944 to 1998. As a teenager, I earned tons of appreciation for mimicking him in the famous temple-deity confrontation scene from Dil Diya Dard Liya. L...