October, the tenth month of the year, sees a number of distinguished celebrities taking birth. The month is also noted for the birthdays of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri …
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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Film Review: Kantara Chapter 1 is Fast, Furious and Fantastic
by Rajiv Vijayakar 4 minutes readLet me use another ‘F’ word: Fabulous! Wait a moment: this last adjective does not encompass the entire experience. It is for Rishab Shetty’s epic direction and his incredibly-nuanced and potent …
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Akshay Kumar, who has also been a steady support for lawmakers and the Armed Forces and has dutifully depicted real and fictional police personnel in his movies, recalled a recent …
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Kantara: Chapter 1: The Legend has predictably broken all records in its opening, and has amassed immense attention globally as well. It is the latest in the series of successful ‘pan-Indian’ films. Now …
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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 …
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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, …