Dhokha and Being a Muslim in India

Mukesh Bhatt’s Muzammil Ibrahim starred ‘Dhokha’ or ‘Betrayal’ is the Bollywood’s latest offering that raises several questions about Muslims and their identity in India.

Aamir - A Film Review

Most of the film is shot in the rough, mean streets of Mumbai and captures the cold, indifferent character of the city and its people.

Forgotten President & Shape of Things to Come?

A new kind of voting belt is being created where people are more aware of the larger issues, of national causes and increasingly form opinions under the spell of Urdu media?

Local Liberal Dribble

I think it's time we start addressing irrationally-charged matters like religious fanaticism as a psychological issue rather than an intellectual or an ideological one.

A Stage For - V for Vendetta

"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."

Creating Magic For The Audience - An Interview with Afia Serena Nathaniel

Any change begins with a simple idea, Afia believes. ‘Those who can present ideas are in a unique position to effect change in their societies, ‘she says.

Harold and Kumar Escape From Gitmo

This time the duo attempts to explain the difference between a Bong and a Bomb aboard an airplane to Amsterdam in a post 9/11 environment.

Akbar and Alexander

Jodha Akbar has stirred considerable interest in the historic Akbar but it mostly shows his softer romantic side and rather little of his tougher character.

Charlie Wilson's War Stretches the Imagination

How does a US Congressman learn about helping the Afghan resistance to the Soviet Empire in 1980? By listening to Dan Rather on TV while soaking in a Jacuzzi full of young women.

Movie Review: The Kite Runner

Khalid Hosseini, like many Afghan’s is a poet at heart. Here with the assistance of screenwriter David Benioff, the essence of The Kite Runner remains intact

Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema

His skin color is not fair; his acting skills are too loud; he is less muscled than neighborhood gym boys; and he is rumored to be gay! How did this Khan become a Sultan?

Saawariya Targets Eternal Love

Sony Picture’s “Saawariya�, a new Bollywood-Hollywood movie is set to release in the United States and worldwide on November 9th. Based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's short story, White Nights.

Dev Anand - Romancing Life at 83

The launch of Dev Anand's autobiography Romancing with Life is being done by no less than PM Manmohan Singh.

Chunari vs. Topi

When will we learn that the 'Daag' isn't imported and not on the 'Chunari' at all.

Icarus and The Filmmaker

I’ll be doing what I have a calling for, what I am most passionate about, and what makes me fly across the country just for a one hour interview, in the hopes of 'landing' the story.

Jaane kahan gaye voh din!

But a new generation of the young and restless cine fans had replaced the old generation and they had neither the time nor the taste to savour the slow intoxication of the old style of music.

Losing one’s culture

Now Showing on a DVD Near You

If Bollywood were to take a leaf out of a Hollywood director’s simultaneous release idea, it is hard to see how it will adversely affect its fortunes at the box office. India is already no stranger to the piracy market

Devrai: Story of a Schizophrenic

You’re married living in a small Indian town, have a school-going child, and besides are burdened with an elder brother who is a patient of schizophrenia.

Communal Stereotyping in Bollywood Movies

The latest offering by Rahul Rawail uses cheap punch lines like ‘No if, no but, only Jutt’.

O’ Karachi Part III

Shopping malls killing Karachi’s cinemas.

Parveen Babi Passed Away

Parveen was a glamorous actress who brought charm and unique attraction to the Bollywood film screen. The first time I saw her was in Kranti.

The Magic of Kara - Director’s Cut

With the diversity of Pakistani talent emerging on the scene in all spheres of the entertainment industry, the next few years promise to be exciting with respects to exploration and discovery of identities and cultural contexts.

Dystopia: After the cliché

Dystopia. The opposite of Utopia. Or a Utopia gone bad. An idea and vision of a perfect world getting lost when translated into concrete reality.

Hindi films in Iraq and Palestine

In a war torn country where the Mahdi army stomps and fights and where Jordanian born militant Abu Musa Zarqarwi stalks the land with his band of militants you can see Shah Rukh Khan hoardings endorsing Kenstar products at busy Baghdad intersections.

The Village: Philosophical Derivatives of the Movie

Our true demons are perhaps within us. They are fed by our continual unwillingness and resulting inability to acknowledge the natural existence of our fears, let alone face them.

Films, Television and Women

Sex and violence are the two usual targets for anyone to take on the film industry. With every controversial film, whether it is ‘Girlfriend’ or ‘Fire’, the debate once again comes to the fore as to where to draw a line between &

The Bollywood Effect – is Reema the next Rani?

Singing of Pakistani songs is now passé and instead we must have 8 elaborately choreographed dances, to the upbeat tempo of Indian tracks, including sets and props!

A Tale of Two Stars

Amitabh and Nadeem have never been rivals but they share striking resemblance.

Tomorrow never came

Maybe Johar was finally discovering that cinematic quality he has banished from his pastel-coloured universe: subversion. Maybe this was the real love story: a love triangle between two men and a woman!

Ahmed Rushdi

The journey which Rushdi had started from Mehdi Zaheer’s ’Bunder Road’ in 1954 had ended at Azar Hafiz’s ’Aanay walo suno’ in 1983.

Bollywood: The Show Must Grow On

Indian films have enabled us to see our dreams with eyes wide open. The film industry has responded to our ethos with much experimentation and innovation.

Days of Yore

These cyber cafes and personal computers are rarely used for any education (unless you count sex and appreciation of opposite sex as education)