Titu Ambani, Review: Titular harakiri You cannot but help notice it. You cannot even overlook it. It is so much in your face. After all, it is the title of the film. And it has nothing to do with the film. India’s richest person is Mukesh Ambani, for a few years in a row, and he also features closely behind the top ten wealthiest persons in the world. In one scene, the lead actor of the film says, “Ambani is Ambani because he has his hand in so many pies.” Very true. No disp...

Village Council ‘Panchayat’ to have second session on Amazon Prime Video from 20 May One of the most loved web series, Panchayat, is all set to return on your small screen for its Season 2. Amazon Prime Video launched its long trailer at a packed media gathering at the swanky J.W. Marriott Hotel, Juhu, Mumbai, on May 09.  The village comedy-drama is based on the premise of a city man migrating to a village and the situations he faces there, which are poles apart from city iss...

Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW), Review: Uncooked meal, raw deal Espionage, as a film genre, is more than 84 years old. A master, no less than Alfred Hitchcock himself, made The 39 Steps in 1935. So it is baffling that a spy thriller, made in 2017-18, is oblivious of the rudimentary ingredients entailed to engross audiences. Ennui and crawling pace are anathema to a spy story. When the yard-sticks are James Bond and even John Le Carré, a shoddy script, amateurishly executed, stands no chance ...

Ghode Ko Jalebi Khilane Le Ja Riya Hoon, Review: Escapist dreamscapes When translated, the title becomes Taking the Horse to Eat Jalebis, jalebi being an Indian sweet preparation. This is one of the longest film titles in recent times, in the tradition of yesteryear movies like Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) and Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad (1967). Ghode Ko Jalebi Khilane Le Ja Riya Hoon (GKJK...

RIFF selections Here are some of the films selected for the Rajasthan International Film Festival, Jaipur, January 19-23: Short Film "#AkhbaarWala (The #Newspaper #Vendor)" India, | Hindi | 14 min, Directors: #AnandSinghChouhan & #Sayed Sharafat Ali, Produced by #DS Chauhan. Hindi Short Film "#BLURRED" India l Hindi | 16 min Director: #Raghav Sharma & #Madhav Bairathi, Produced by #Devansh Ahuja. Short Film "#Adhura Antariksha" India...

Irrfan Khan, Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri’s Alma Mater, NSD’s Theatre Olympics India’s National School of Drama (NSD) has produced many a luminary in the field of film and television, both in front of and behind the camera. An autonomous institution under Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India, it is located in New Delhi. The first batch of students came in 1961. Since then, between 10 and 33 students pass out every year. NSD is now holding its 8th Theatre Olympics in Mumbai, ...

Newton, Review: Gravity of the situation Had he been alive in the modern period, the British scientist would have bagged multiple Nobel prizes for his pioneering work in Physics. As it happens, the film of the same name, not a biopic of Sir Isaac, rather about an idealist in the Indian bureaucracy, has been eliminated from the race for the Oscars. A million or more Newtonians are feeling heart-broken that a film that they considered a breakthrough, and the best film made in India in recent t...