Sushant Singh Rajput’s demise: Muck hits the fan
By Vinod Mirani The filmstars love to be in news, have always been. And they do need the publicity to stay visible, relevant. But lately, over a decade and a half, filmmakers are trying to…
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French Biriyani Review: Cooks up a kooky dish (Rating: *** )
French Biriyani (Kannada film streaming on Amazon Prime); Cast: Danish Sait, Sal Yusuf, Disha Madan, Rangayana Raghu, Sindhu Srinivasamurthy, Nagabhushan, Michael Madhu, Mahantesh Hiremath; Direction: Pannaga Bharana; Rating: * * * (three stars) By Vinayak…
‘Bad Boys For Life’ directors want Shah Rukh Khan in Bollywood version
By Sugandha Rawal New Delhi, July 25 (SocialNews.XYZ) Moroccan-Belgian directors Adil el Arbi and Bilall Fallah love the world of Bollywood. In fact they would tell you have an eye on Hindi filmmaking. The director…
Dil Bechara Review: Sushant Singh Rajput leads a stellar cast (Rating: *** )
Dil Bechara (film streaming on Disney+ Hotstar); Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Sanjana Sanghi, Sahil Vaid, Saswata Chatterjee, Swastika Mukherjee; Direction: Mukesh Chhabra; Rating: * * * (three stars) By Vinayak Chakravorty Let us just pretend…
Katy Perry: Push myself into thinking in a different way
By Sugandha Rawal New Delhi, July 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) Singer Katy Perry likes to push the darkest moments of her life and channel her emotions into upbeat songs. The pop superstar, who has gained global fame…
A Confession Review: Layered retelling of a crime (Rating: ***1/2 )
A Confession (series streaming on Sony LIV); Cast: Martin Freeman, Imelda Staunton, Joe Absolom, Siobhan Finneran, Florence Howard, Charlie Cooper; Direction: Paul Andrew Williams; Rating: * * * and 1/2 (three and a half stars)…
Cursed Review: Fantasy drama lacks enough magic (Rating: **1/2 )
“Cursed” (series streaming on Netflix); Cast: Katherine Langford, Devon Terrell, Gustaf Skarsgard, Daniel Sharman, Sebastian Armesto, Lily Newmark, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Peter Mullan; Created by: Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler; Rating * * and 1/2 (two…
Industry grows: Scope and prosperity beckon
By Vinod Mirani What started as the film industry has now expanded its scope as the entertainment industry. It encompasses television, short films and, lastly, fast growing OTT platform. The innovations and developments in the…
British magician Dynamo recalls meeting Shah Rukh Khan
By Arundhuti Banerjee Mumbai, July 18 (SocialNews.XYZ) British magician Steven Frayne, popularly known as Dynamo for his magic show “Dynamo: Magician Impossible”, is all set to release his new television series titled “Dynamo: Beyond Belief”…
Virgin Bhanupriya Review: Runs out of gags (Rating: ** )
“Virgin Bhanupriya” (film streaming on Zee5); Cast: Urvashi Rautela, Gautam Gulati, Rumana Molla, Rajiv Gupta, Archana Puran Singh, Brijendra Kala Direction: Ajay Lohan Rating: ** (two stars) By Vinayak Chakravorty Geeky good girl in the…
Kiara Advani: Have good maternal instincts
Mumbai, July 17 (SocialNews.XYZ) Actress Kiara Advani believes she has good maternal instincts, and says she feels happy in the company of children. “I have changed diapers and I have done everything that I could…
Arjun Kanungo: Not sure if I’m going to survive in music industry for next 3 years
By Natalia Ningthoujam New Delhi, July 17 (SocialNews.XYZ) Arjun Kanungo is one of the most successful non-film singers right now. It took him a few years to get noticed but he says there is no…
Indian underdog salsa duo courts global fame
By Sugandha Rawal New Delhi, July 17 (SocialNews.XYZ) She is 15, and comes from a village with no electricity. He is 20, and hails from a lower middle-class family with bare access to daily resources….
‘Hanna’ creator David Farr: Women bring difference to politics of the set
By Sugandha Rawal New Delhi, July 15 (SocialNews.XYZ) British writer-producer David Farr is narrating the story of “Hanna” through a female gaze, and says women leading the show behind the camera not just influences the…
Yagna at Kolkata’s Amitabh Bachchan temple for recovery of ‘Guru’
By Ahana Bhattacharya Kolkata, July 14 (SocialNews.XYZ) Ever since their “guru” has been hospitalised with Covid-19, Amitabh Bachchan fans in Kolkata have started praying for his speedy recovery. While the veteran actor was hospitalised on…
Rahul Dev among first few actors to resume filming after lockdown
By Ahana Bhattacharya Mumbai, July 14 (SocialNews.XYZ) Rahul Dev is among the actors who have hit the sets soon after shooting resumed post lockdown, and he is enjoying being back at work. “I’ve been among…
Amit Trivedi: I am ‘out of the box’ by all means
By Arundhuti Banerjee Mumbai, July 13 (SocialNews.XYZ) Bollywood composer Amit Trivedi says he cannot stop experimenting with music. Perhaps, that has become his signature sound. It would seem like a trademark for the young National…
Raftaar: India has a fair share of favouritism and nepotism
By Sugandha Rawal New Delhi, July 13 (SocialNews.XYZ) Popular rapper Raftaar feels muscle and money power are great tools to intimidate those who are fresh in the music business, adding that we need to give…
OTT vs Cinema: It is complicated
By Vinod Mirani After my column, “OTT wants first strike: Bad news for cinema” (Column: B-Town, published on 28.6.20), the question that I am asked is: will the OTT continue to be as interested and…
Shilpa Shetty: There is no free lunch in the world
By Durga Chakravarty New Delhi, July 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) She has been in the Hindi industry for almost 27 years. Actress-entrepreneur Shilpa Shetty Kundra agrees that stardom does not come easy and that one needs to…