Mayank Shekhar मयंक शेखर
@mayankw14
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Chiller (pretty much).
Bombay; FB/IG: mayankw14
Joined March 2009
“The last time I met Sushant Singh Rajput, over a smoke he was explaining his move to theatre, with a play, filmed with multiple cameras over multiple performances, edited with the best takes/shots kept for final cut. ”.Obituary: ‘This can’t be the end’.
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Salman, Shahid, others built/revived Hindi film careers w/ Telugu remakes. Why must audience not access originals instead—as w/ Baahubali, now #Pushpa. Doesn’t diminish Bollywood; widens choice, when language doesn’t matter! Column on @alluarjun (kinda).
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Truth may have multiple versions; a lie doesn’t have two sides. An absolute lie was concocted, day in & day out, to drill murder into a suicide case—for reasons best known to those who did. Never too late; so saying it again: Apologise, Arnab Goswami! .
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Look what I found! This 1935 book, published in Burma, for children of British officers in the Raj—adopted by missionary schools in post-independent India, to suck the living joy out of language, grammar, & love for an ever-evolving English for desi kids all over! #Wren&Martin :)
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Unsolicited advice for multiplex owners, for when they reopen, Oct. 15: If there is no new movie, consider re-releasing #Sonchiriya (that no one I know watched at a cinema). That would be greater #JusticeForSSR, than most phoney stuff we’ve seen play around the young star’s death.
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Simply can't top @RanveerOfficial over-the-top: "Tell me something I don't know!" Review, #SIMMBA
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Amused by Indian news-media’s super elites. Rahul is channel editor-in-chief, no less. Other one, Arnab, over 3 yrs, has become worth close to ₹1,200 crore (last checked), from a noisy podcast! Yet power is deemed to be headquartered elsewhere in some lane called Lutyens’ Delhi!.
Amused by the trolling. The Rajdeeps of lutyens have their own agenda. They will push it. I've never thought it necessary to wallow in the sanctimonious trough of unsolicited advice. Just don't have the time. I'm an employee not a crorepati consultant. Have to earn a living.
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Toughest toss-up between 3 shows for the best Indian series I watched this year. Going with:.1. Scam 1992.2. Paatal Lok.3. Panchayat.Or should be 2,1,3 or 3,1,2, or 2,1,3. What were your desi top 3?.
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Okay planning a movie-marathon. Pick your fav 1999 film?.Matrix.Sixth Sense.American Beauty.Fight Club.Magnolia.Run Lola Run.Blair Witch Project .Being John Malkovich.Notting Hill.Eyes Wide Shut.The Insider .Green Mile .American Pie.Boys Don’t Cry.Spy Who Shagged Me.Or, Sopranos!.
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Notting Hill (1999) has just dropped on @NetflixIndia—just letting the film’s millions of diehard fans know. Nothing quite as pleasurable to (aimlessly) rewatch than a ‘90s rom-com done right, no?.
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Pathaan (i.e. @iamsrk) makes a longish appearance in Tiger 3. That’s not a spoiler. It’s the only reason you’ll watch this film, if at all. I’ve done the festival needful for Bhai—sat full-frontal row, first day show. And felt nothing at all, throughout, but for that SRK cameo
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My favourite Dilip Kumar story: BR Chopra sacked Madhubala from the Dilip Kumar starrer Naya Daur (mid 50s), because of her father's interference. Chopra published an ad in film trade papers, showing Madhubala's name crossed out from Naya Daur, & replaced by Vijyanthimala. (1/3).
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A-level, scalable aesthete, Anurag Basu has filmed wonderful ideas before. Ludo is his most accomplished script—packed w/ countless ppl + plots, set in an equally atrangi world you wish to stay within all through. I did, so watched it twice! #LudoReview 👇🏽.
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Read Abhinav Kashyap’s note on Dabanng (on Facebook). Tragic. Had interviewed Arbaaz Khan late Dec, 2019 on this. He said:.—Had offered Abhinav to direct Dabangg 2.—Salman spoke as well.—Gifted him SUV post Dabanng success (1/2)
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Iski maa ka Sakinaka! What's it like to watch #Deadpool2 in Hindi, in @RanveerOfficial's voice? Went to check it out :)
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Soon after Devdas premiere, Bhansali and Aishwarya drove off to ICU where Saroj Khan was admitted. Dazed under medication, barely able to talk, Khan excitedly mumbled, “Gaane pe seeti baji ki nahin; paise ude ki nahin?”.Obituary: ‘Death of the institution’.
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Lost my best friend forever, Aditya Saikia, yaaron ka yar, classmate from @StStephensClg (Eco, ‘01). Hard to make sense of any of this. Be well, Saiks—see you on the other side some day. So close for almost 25 yrs, taking presence & love for granted, don’t even have pix to share.
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Books behind me are from the private collection of Nargis & Sunil Dutt, that you can browse through, while sipping tea/coffee, or savouring the most authentic Persian food in Bombay, at Cafe Mommyjoon (Bandra). The Dutts clearly owned a library of record—rather than simply an
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Best memory from Angoor? Bit when Sanjeev Kumar arrives at rly station of a town, w/ cash—everyone seems to know him, mistaking him for twin he doesn’t know he has. He assumes there’s a “gang”. The way he lowers voice, purses lips to say “gaenng” is a thing of eternal beauty….
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Easily, Kantara is to Kannada cinema + this year, what Pushpa was to Telugu + last year: Similarly raw, muddy/earthy, set in the forest, around rustic hero from the underclass, connecting w/ crowds, clapping away in packed halls (even at a Tue, post-midnight screening in Mumbai!).
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"Well past midnight, when a drunk Om Puri started knocking on my hotel-room door. " My obit on the unlikeliest star
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Not that there's much competition, but Lust Stories (short film anthology directed by Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Bannerjee, Karan Johar), is by far the best Indian thing on Netflix!
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Wrote Paan Singh Tomar, Highway, I am Kalam, Sahib Biwi Gangster, among other films. Former journalist. Fabulous raconteur. A thinking man. Fine, friendly, warm presence, always adding life to an evening. Will be missed forever. #SanjayChouhan
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Best Romance/Comedy: Mismatched (@NetflixIndia).Best Thriller: Asur (@VootSelect).Best Non Fiction Series: Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives (@NetflixIndia).Best Film (Hindi): Serious Men (@IAmSudhirMishra).Best Film (Other Indian Languages): Soorarai Pottru (@sudhakonda) 2/n.
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Drained out for obvious reasons, besides long obituary. Had to put it all in: 'India's greatest acting export no more--for all worthy, local tributes pouring in, fact is, if it wasn't for the West, Hindi cinema wouldn't have known where to place Irrfan.'
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Sushant Singh Rajput ‘blind items’: And since we (in the news media, of all hues) have made it a profession to tell the world what they should/shouldn’t do; maybe it’s time we introspected a little bit, too. Of course applies equally to the salivating voyeur/reader.
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Munawar is jailed writer/comic in his 20s. Other side is elite, son of MLA/mayor, running hurt-based religious group w/ political muscle/base—too many such. This isn’t new India re-evaluating religion. It’s the oldest story from feudal traditions.
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Sad to hear Bhanu Athaiya, Oscar winning costume designer for Gandhi, no more. Also, invented ‘Mumtaz saree' (w/ readymade pleats & zipper) that became a rage after the song 'Aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche har zuban par' in the Shammi Kapoor starrer Brahmachari.
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Tale of two city-spies: Two desi espionage thrillers, almost simultaneously dropping on Netflix (starring @emraanhashmi), Bard Of Blood; and on Amazon (starring @BajpayeeManoj), Family Man. Binged the hell outta both, 12-plus hours straight. And? Column:
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No, this isn’t about Arnab—adorable TV actor-anchor, faking anger, getting abusive on his show, while he discusses bullying! In line with his love for drama, let me break the news, in case you haven't noticed since corona/lockdown: As we speak, there is no Bollywood left only!
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My favourite sports headline (ever), by @Aakar__Patel. #Natwest2002 Found it thanks to @ClaytonMurzello’s Facebook page!
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The view from room (in Kargil). Kinda reminded me of the tricolour :) Hope you had a #HappyIndependenceDay, India—what w/ mayhem not too far away!
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Skipping the press preview, to watch #Brahmastra on IMAX 3D instead, first thing in the morning—at this point, anything to vastly beat the home entertainment experience; anything!.
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‘Sadness of this film will last forever!’ A script so wholly coded w/ death that I’m waiting for Internet to explode, pointing out cross-references & ironies. More metaphysical than all of Sushant Singh Rajput’s #selfmusings combined. Review, Dil Bechara.
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Christian Bale on being oblivious as an actor, Bagheera (for Mowgli); and @Varun_dvn, Dhoom 3 (well; sort of). Spoke to Batman, briefly! :)
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These two have the same cinematographer.
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Hey guys! Learn about what happened in Gujarat in 2001 through the very well-crafted, news documentary #BhujTheDayIndiaShook on @discoveryplusin. Narrated by @AnupamPkher, you will feel the pain of the helpless survivors, rescuers, and the firefighters. Watch it now!
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We’re hardly engaged citizens. Just being reduced to reality TV audience. Perhaps forever.
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Ever since I heard the anecdote in Bhopal—about a guy in the 1990s, who died, jumping off one of the city’s lakes, because Sonali Bendre was once visiting town, and he couldn’t see her—I’d been meaning to ask Bendre, if she knew about this, herself!. “Yeh sach hai? [Is it true?].
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A friend for whom YRF was a client met Adi Chopra at his office, circa 2005. Poster on wall was City of God (2002). Adi’s phone kept ringing. He finally answered, barking at a major movie star at the other end, “Who died? If I’m not picking up, can’t you tell I’m busy?” .Column👇🏽
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So good!.
"Corona se mar sakte hain par bhook se kabhi nahi." These words have been ringing in my ears since the time I heard a daily wage earner speaking about his life in lockdown. I have tried to articulate the things I have deeply felt since then. #IForIndia @GiveIndia
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Attended the stunning Swara Bhasker & a dapper Fahad Ahmad’s walima (wedding reception), in Bareilly! .Besides to wish the couple, ofc—for the inimitable food, & the surprisingly wealthy, cosmopolitan UP city, that has nothing to do w/ jhumka or barfi (btw)!.Piece👇🏽#SwaadAnusaar
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As per all (Netflix) a/cs, romantic period drama, Queen Charlotte, premiered at #1 across, incl. India, when it dropped in May, 2023. And we're from India (in São Paulo). Can’t resist soon as we meet the show's lead, India Amarteifio: "Hey, is there a story behind your name?"👇🏽
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Not very often do you get to quote Salman Rushdie in a review for a Salman Khan film. #Bharat is that exception, I guess:
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Gulzar-Vishal Bhardwaj's musical combo is top of the charts’ stuff. But Vishal’s first mentor, from the world of poetry was, in fact Dr Bashir Badr, whom he calls the “greatest poet of the century, an asset to [his hometown] Meerut,” who had to flee Meerut, however, because of
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If a great film can’t generate this level of extreme empathy, then what good is it anyway. Watched the Lebanese masterpiece #Capharnaum, which releases in Indian theatres today, with my teary eyes, half-closed! A ****1/2 review:
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43 yrs hence—Gol Maal’s Ram & Lakshman (Lucky), both of whom were actually Ram Prasad Dashrath Prasad Sharma! Checked in on the great Amol Palekar, 78, now from Pune (where he devotes his life to painting). Always wanted to! And of course wrote about it 👇🏽.
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जो नहीं हो सके पूर्ण काम.उनको करता हूँ मैं प्रणाम!.— नागार्जुन.
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"A notch above super!" **** review of the stunningly inspirational, @aamir_khan starrer/production, #SecretSuperstar
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Know exactly what you should have for dinner tonight—Chicken a’la poos. Make it up (in white sauce). It’s a randomly French sounding restaurant dish Basu Chatterjee invented for Chhoti Si Baat (1976) :) RIP.
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The party is over,” is what I hear Bombay’s producers, even the bigger ones, tell me, when casually asked, “How’s it going?” What was this party, exactly?. Well, to start with you literally notice its absence in the evenings out, in Andheri West, Mumbai’s showbiz capital, where
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Over breakfast at Flury’s, a cellphone buzzes with the series Succession’s theme track. I tell the gentleman, love that ringtone. He says, I’m a Roy too. #JustCalcuttaThings :).
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Make no mistake: Constant outrage aimed at bringing censorship on OTT platforms—cloaked as demand expressed by public. Who loses? The public itself, that can’t decide anymore what they can watch, w/o govt/politicians telling them so. Besides, how d’ya control Internet? #TandavBan.
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Exactly 30 years since Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander, just had to tell ‘Rajput’ boy/jock Shekhar Malhotra (Deepak Tijori) that he shouldn’t have pushed Ratan Lal (Mamik) off the frickin’ cliff! And, ofc, write about it👇🏽.
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Found this fun, inexhaustive listicle (1st by me), on @mrsfunnybones’ site, @TweakIndia—linking less-obvious, (relatively) recent Hind films, to Indian towns/cities they’re set in & help you navigate. Some armchair sightseeing, since no travels in sight?
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While @ayushmannk deserves audience love, it’s @Vaaniofficial who must walk away w/ critical notice for picking part that I can bet my bottom buck, Bollywood stars will turn down, fearing subsequent loss of core male fans! Review, #ChandigarhKareAashiqui .
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For Mid-day’s 40th anniversary, got directors #ShyamBenegal & @anuragkashyap72 (at Mr Benegal’s office), to discuss how Bombay & cinema shaped them (& each other)—two generations apart. This is for keeps!.Read: Watch (full video):
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What did Dilip Kumar do at the court that fired up the press next morning? .Professed his love for Madhubala before the judge! (3/3) #RIPDilipKumar.
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TOP INTERNET SENSATION . Aditya A (Chaand Baaliyan, YouTube). Ali Sethi (Pasoori, Coke Studio, YouTube). @munawar0018 Munawar Faruqui (Lock Upp winner). @TheRupali (Anupama). Srushti Tawde (rapper, MTV Hustle 2.0). @sumedhcaddy (mimic, YouTube).
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The public declaration of love essentially to explain breach of contract. The fact that the father did not approve of their love—and therefore the casting choice (for Naya Daur).
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Let this sink in: A 28-yr-old w/ bro in early 20s still in jail for possible consumption of cannabis—not even possession, let alone (organised) peddling. Greater proof to nail 25% of North Indian men on Holi; or half of India’s sadhus & college campuses.
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Everytime I see a video/picture of someone talking/posing against their bookshelf at home (most common backdrop)—inevitably pause for minutes to patiently zoom-in and read titles on the shelf (not to judge of course; just to know, generally!). Happens to anyone else?.
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Found the original Sudhir.👇🏽Presuming an inspiration for Hardik Mehta’s warm, touching, partly hilarious #Kaamyaab, starring the inimitable, superb @imsanjaimishra. Do catch on Netflix (if you haven’t already?).
In early years of his career he played a hero and later, as a side hero and supporting actor.
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Noted down a few quotes/points (for you to read) from @JeffBezos’s rather illuminating talk in Mumbai (Thursday night), hosted by the onscreen wit @iamsrk, & offscreen whiz, Zoya Akhtar.
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If there’s 1 Indian film you’d wish to show someone who hasn’t seen any—to get a sense of India, &/or its cinema—what would it be? It’s not a question I have an immediate answer—just curious to know what you think, Twitter!.
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What is being called nepotism in the Hindi film industry by some, is just networking everywhere else. Yup I hate it too. On that N-word, one last time!.‘Who are the actual Bollywood bosses, so to say?’.
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In the book, Talking Life (2023), which is writer @Javedakhtarjadu, 78, in conversation w/ Nasreen Munni Kabir, Javed defines old age—it’s always ten years ahead of you. Meaning, if you’re 15, you think 25 is old age, and so on and so forth. In that respect, Javed’s
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1st clip is the 1st song that Rekha & Vishal Bhardwaj performed together, live, in public, ever! .Ofc, they ended it w/ a bang—or dhan te nan! A reason they hadn’t sung together, Vishal says, is ‘coz she’s high-pitched & he’s low. Together they were pitch-perfect, Sat night,
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About 24 years after the said incident, I drove up an hour & half to Goregaon (West), simply to tell Bhau Thakurdas Jhawle, that he should not have killed Bhiku Mhatre! :) #Satya #GovindNamdev #BollywoodVillain
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Lived long enough to know you don’t simply review movies aimed so directly at the gut, in dark hall—you rate the damn experience! Yes, they can get exhaustingly guttural (often, in fact). That’s the genre’s flaw. Jawan is far from it. Why’s that? Review👇🏽.
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The great actor Salim Ghouse no more: Among a massive body of work, will remember him forever from a haunting scene—him walking deliriously sozzled into the sea—in the anti-drugs, TV/DD show, Subah, late ‘80s. Must’ve hugely inspired an entire generation then to say no to drugs!.
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"Can't recall any Hindi mainstream movie, in the colour of its language (1st-rate dialogues), and the tone of its very being, that's managed to capture what it's actually like to be on an Indian campus — 'freshy' (fresher), onwards." **** #ChhichhoreReview
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Equally liked @actorvijay’s father in the film—@realsarathkumar: measured, mature, despite a potentially simplistic/grandiose role alone. #Varisu = Waaris (Heir), which might be a rare Tamil word, w/ exactly the same word for it in Urdu/Hindustani?
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Forrest Gump plot. Not same film. Remake seeped in desiness. For? The India that must also watch its own story, entertainingly told. & to return Laal Singh Chaddha all that love, since good things happen to good people—ofc only in the movies! **** Review👇🏽.
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Absolutely the only meaningful test for leadership is empathy. Rest can be learnt.
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@anuragkashyap72 @mubiindia @IAmSudhirMishra Also spotted “Apna time aayega”—pivotal line in Saeed Akhtar Mirza’s Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro (1989).
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Veteran actor Arun Bali, 79, I’m told, passed away. This👇🏽is probably his last screen presence, that also released in theatres today. Plays Neena Gupta’s father—ailing in hospital bed. Film is called #GoodBye. RIP.
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—Differences arose before release of Dabanng 1.—The film was chopped from 2 hrs. 43 mins. (Abhinav’s cut), to 2 hrs. 3 mins. (producer’s final cut)
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#FamilyMan2 ofc is on @PrimeVideo, but @BajpayeeManoj is absolutely at his prime! Sorry couldn’t resist—now back to wrap the last couple of episodes :).
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No, no, you don’t get it—watched Raging Bull in the (massive, Regal) theatre tonight! :) #Bombay
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Madhubala, in turn ran an ad showing her upcoming films, crossing out Naya Daur from it. Law suit & counter law suit followed, w/ crowds lining up outside magistrate's court in Girgaum, where Dilip Kumar was brought in as one of the witnesses in this breach of contract case (2/3).
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While pissing, Cop Balbir tells Cop Garundi: “Know the problem w/ Punjab? We don’t confront truth.” True for Punjab’s portrayal in mainstream cinema as well. What’s it about the state, onscreen lately, that it evokes such unflinching grimness? Grahan, Tabbar, CAT… & Kohrra👇🏽
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"Instantly stuns the viewer into submitting themselves before grand visuals on a giant screen." Review #Baahubali: http://t.co/qazXyy2T1u.
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"So filmy -- much fun" (to my own surprise!) *** review of Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania http://t.co/ClrgKKt9z6.
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Can someone explain to me why Jesse Armstrong's phenomenally fun, fabulously feisty 10-part HBO series #Succession (on Hotstar) is not talked about in smashing terms? Or, for that matter, talked about at all? Tryin' to change that a li'l bit here:
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What to remember from @rajndk’s #FamilyMan2? Lots—LTTE, action + chase, @BajpayeeManoj’s emotional + funny scenes, Bong woman as Indian PM. Also, can’t take Asif Basra off my mind. Plays psychologist. After this, died from suicide. So did irony. Review👇🏽.
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Everywhere around me I see: Artists dying for validation from a world that, through their art, they pretend to hate!.
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