Cinema, Karam, Kapi

I When I wrote this movie review on the fifth week of its release, I continue to be surprised how and why mediocre films that are hyped by the right wing and the media alike become top box office hits.  Dhurandhar, by far would be the top grosser for the year 2025. The film is said to have made over INR 1,000 Cr in box office collections back then and is still running. I watched the movie in a Tier-3 town in Tamil Nadu called Erode. It was a night show, and the 120-seater was houseful indeed. In a city where predominantly the population is Tamil-speaking, it was surprising to see a large diaspora watching a Hindi-language film with English sub-titles! Content is King. Content is Queen. Content drives audience. Period. Hamza Ali Mazari (Ranveer Singh) reaches Lyari Province in Karachi, Pakistan as an immigrant, crossing from Afghanistan border. He joins a juice shop as a helper and gains the trust of the locals.  In an instance when the elder son of dreaded don, Rehman Dekait ...

Off late, there have been so many films about former RAW Agents and their lives. Mission Majnu is one such. Released on Netflix on 20 Jan. ahead of India’s Republic Day, the film is gaining a lot of positive response from viewers.   Taariq (Siddarth Malhotra) is a devout Muslim residing in Lahore, Pakistan and works at his uncles’ tailoring shop. He falls for Nasreen Khan (Rashmika Mandanna) at first sight, though she is vision-impaired. The two have their Nikkah solemnised by both families although her father is initially reluctant and is not pleased with Taariq as he doesn’t have a “real job”. The story moves slowly for us to understand that Taariq is indeed an undercover agent, Amandeep Singh, living in Pakistan for a few years now.  Indira Gandhi’s Government test fires Nuclear Bomb which irks Pakistan. Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto decides to build and test a Nuclear site, however without the rest of the world knowing about it. He decides to join hands with noted sci...

“Yeh Dil Maange more” was a popular tagline of a Cola-drink brand in the 90s. And the same was also used by Capt. Vikram Batra of our Indian Army who fought from the front during the Kargil War which Pakistan waged against India and lost miserably. Vikram and many other Indian soldiers martyred their lives to ensure India captured P 4875, one of the top peaks in the Himalayas which could give access to the enemies to enter and capture an important route and region of Jammu & Kashmir. The move, which was instigated by none other than the former Pakistan President and Army Chief Pervez Musharaff was dealt with a severe blow by the then Indian Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his Defence Minister Mr. George Fernandes. India lost over 500 soldiers but made a statement to our loving neighbour that we shall not be shied away by such war threats and mongering. It is to our record that Bharath – our country, has never waged a war against any kingdom or country in the past 2,000...