Note the plus-es: the superficial one first: no numerology in the title! That alone shows confidence in a product! Second, within a rom-com about wrong partners for boy and girl …
Rajiv Vijayakar
Rajiv Vijayakar
Rajiv Vijayakar is the Entertainment Editor at South Asian Herald. He has been a journalist and critic for over 25 years and was part of the National Film Awards Jury in India in 2011 and 2015. He has authored four books, the latest of which, “Music by Laxmikant Pyarelal,” won the National Award for Best Book on Cinema in 2021. He also was on the 2025 jury for choosing the Indian entry for the Oscars.
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Web Review: The Ba***ds of Bollywood is Campy, Cornily Entertaining with a Whopper Twist
by Rajiv Vijayakar 6 minutes readIt’s campy, crazy, corny and even callous. But it’s entertaining! And the title, so well thought-of, is explained summarily in the last episode. Believe it or nuts, not only does …
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Kantara: Chapter 1 Set to Stun Viewers on Dusshera
by Rajiv Vijayakar 4 minutes readThe modest Kannada film, Kantara, released pan-India and globally in 2022 and created an international storm. Rishab Shetty, its whizkid hero who is also incredibly its main writer and director, is …
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Hindi Cinema to the Fore in 71st National Award Winners
by Rajiv Vijayakar 4 minutes readLike the recent Oscar nomination that had 11 Hindi films, a clear majority, among the 24 entries, Hindi cinema also dominated the 71st National Film Awards, held on October 24 at …
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Film Review: Aata Thambaaycha Naay! (Marathi) Entertains, Educates, and Elevates
by Rajiv Vijayakar 5 minutes readThis was among the films that offered the tightest competition to the Oscar nominee this year. The tightrope of realism and entertainment is perhaps the sharpest in movie-making, and it …
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Prime Video Announces Global Streaming Premiere of Psychological Action Thriller Madharaasi
by Rajiv Vijayakar 3 minutes readPrime Video has announced the exclusive global streaming premiere of Madharaasi. Written and directed by A.R. Murugadoss, the psychological action thriller features Sivakarthikeyan, Rukmini Vasanth, Vidyut Jammwal, Biju Menon, Vikranth, …
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This is a late review, and as it happens, of a very unusual sequel. Late because I was busy choosing the right Hindi film for the Oscars and had no …
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Who does not know the immortal line, Prem naam hai mera—Prem Chopra? The sole sentence his villainous character got to speak in his brother-in-law Raj Kapoor’s cult classic, Bobby, got Prem Chopra …
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Homebound Press Meet Stresses on Film’s Universal Message and Honesty
by Rajiv Vijayakar 3 minutes readThe press meet had been decided even before the Oscar Jury (which included this writer!) had finalized Homebound as India’s official entry in the Best International Feature category. The film had also …
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Prime Video’s Unscripted Original Talk Show, Two Much with Kajol and Twinkle, Set to Premiere
by Rajiv Vijayakar 3 minutes readPrime Video’s Unscripted Original talk show, Two Much with Kajol and Twinkle, will be premiering in blockbuster fashion on September 25 with superstars Salman Khan and Aamir Khan as guests on the first episode. …