Author: Madhuri Prabhu

Ajay Devgn’s nocturnal thriller, Bholaa meets your truck-load of expectations only in bits and pieces. Cast: Ajay Devgn, Deepak Dobriyal, Gajraj Rao, Amala Paul, Vineet Kumar Director: Ajay Devgn Writers: Original Story by Lokesh Kanagaraj, Screenplay and Dialogues by Aamil Keeyan Khan, Ankush Singh, Sandeep Kewlani and Sriidhar Rajyash Dubey “Yeh gym se aaya hain ke jail se?” a character asks another in one of the scenes in Bholaa. Likewise, Ajay Devgn pumps up the scale in his version of Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Tamil hit, Kaithi but fails to retain the essence of its source material. What’s Yay: The scale of…

Despite a formulaic story, Dasara achieves victory because of Nani’s solid act, Sathyan Sooryan’s rustic frames and Santhosh Narayan’s effective background score. Cast: Nani, Keerthy Suresh, Dheekshith Shetty, Shine Tom Chacko, Sai Kumar, Samuthirakani Director: Srikanth Odela Writers: Srikanth Odela, Jella Srinath, Arjuna Paturi, Vamsi Krishna. After witnessing a horrific event, Dharani (Nani) hides in a cowshed, cowering with fear. There’s chill in the air. The haunting imagery conjured by Nani, director Srikanth Odela and cinematographer Sathyan Sooryan lingers long. Dasara may consist of familiar tropes but it’s the way this trio adds their own flavours that makes this film…

Do you know Mumtaz was offered both the female lead roles in Dev Anand’s Hare Rama Hare Krishna? However, the actress refused the sister’s role and chose to romance Dev Anand in the film. When it comes to Dev Anand’s stellar body of work, one film which continues to receive a lot of love even today is his 1971 musical drama, Hare Rama Hare Krishna starring himself, Zeenat Aman and Mumtaz. While Zeenat essayed the role of Dev Anand’s sister in this cult classic, Mumtaz played his romantic interest. However, do you folks know that before signing Zeenat to play Jasbir aka…

Waheeda Rehman and Dilip Kumar worked together in a couple of films and one of them is Tapi Chanakya’s 1967 hit, Ram Aur Shyam. Waheeda Rehman, one of the finest actresses of the Hindi film industry, has shared screen space with some of the biggest male superstars of the country. One of them is thespian Dilip Kumar. The duo worked together in films like Dil Diya Dard Liya, Ram Aur Shyam, Aadmi and Mashaal. Today, we bring you an interesting anecdote from the sets of Ram Aur Shyam which featured Dilip Kumar in a double role as twin brothers. Waheeda…

In an exclusive interview with Cutting Shots, actress Arshi Khan of Bigg Boss 14 fame looks back at her journey so far. Arshi Khan was one of the most popular contestants in the reality show, Bigg Boss 14. The Afghan-born actress shifted to Bhopal with her family when she was four. After dabbling with theatre there, the actress rose to prominence with her participation in Colors’ popular reality show, Bigg Boss 14 where she struck a chord with the audience for her outspoken personality. Later, Arshi featured in TV soaps like Savitri Devi College & Hospital and Tere Ishq Mein…

Anubhav Sinha’s reminder of a recent tragedy holds your attention with Rajkummar Rao and Pankaj Kapur’s powerful performances. Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar, Pankaj Kapur, Ashutosh Rana, Dia Mirza, Kritika Kamra Director: Anubhav Sinha Writers: Anubhav Sinha, Saumya Tiwari, Sonali Jain Following the government-imposed COVID-19 lockdown, as pale and weary faces wait for their fate at an important checkpost between two unnamed states, Balram Trivedi (Pankaj Trivedi) asks his friend, “Border ban gaye apne hi desh ke andar?” Anubhav Sinha’s latest outing, Bheed hits you hard the most when moments like this appear on screen. What’s Yay: Performances, some hard-hitting…

Sunny Kaushal and Yami Gautam’s heist thriller lands safely despite some mid-air bumps. Cast: Sunny Kaushal, Yami Gautam, Sharad Kelkar, Indraneil Sengupta Director: Ajay Singh Writers: Shiraz Ahmed, Amar Kaushik Streaming Platform: Netflix In one of the scenes in Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga, Neha (Yami Gautam) smugly tells a character, “Tu mere saath khel raha tha?” Par khela toh maine hain tere saath.” Thankfully, Ajay Singh’s Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga never makes you feel played despite some minor flaws in the writing. What’s Yay: Performances What’s Nay: A few predictable turns, lack of well-fleshed supporting characters Story Chor Nikal Ke…

Looking back at Mani Ratnam’s filmography, we list down some of our favourite shots from his movies. “Everything you like goes into your film- your taste, your aesthetic, your restraint. You bare yourself,” Mani Ratnam had once said in one of his interviews. Known to be one of the finest mainstream directors in Indian cinema, it’s hard to believe that this man who conjures magic on screen has no formal training in filmmaking. The way Ratnam fills the frames in his movies with beauty, authenticity and metaphors makes watching his films an exhilarating experience. Below, we handpick some of our…

We bet you didn’t know this interesting trivia about Amitabh Bachchan-Zeenat Aman’s 1978 blockbuster film, Don. “Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahi namumkin hai.” This dialogue is just enough for you to guess the film that we are talking about! Released in the year 1978, Chandra Barot’s crime action thriller, Don is still remembered for its charismatic star cast, nail-biting acting scenes and celebrated dialogues. Amitabh Bachchan’s swag and Zeenat Aman’s fiery screen presence added more to the madness on screen. Remember the scene in the film where Amitabh Bachchan’s Don meets Zeenat Aman’s Roma for the first time and…

Upendra-Kichcha Sudeep’s period action film, Kabzaa turns out to be a poor man’s KGF despite some promising names in its cast. Cast: Upendra, Kichcha Sudeep, Shriya Saran, Murali Sharma, Nawab Shah Director: R Chandru Writers: R Chandru ‘If you want to play with me, I will play the game. If you want to kill me, I will end the game,’ says Arkeshwara (Upendra) to one of his opponents in the midst of an action sequence in R Chandru’s latest outing, Kabzaa. Unfortunately, the audience isn’t fortunate enough to get this option to stop the assault on their senses that the…