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Film Review: Ikkis is a Great Beginning to 2026
Some films are just meant to be. And meant to become what they are. Ikkis is one such film. The life story of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal of the 17th Poona Horse Regiment,…
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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The January-Born Film Denizens
January, the first month of the year, saw a number of distinguished celebrities from Hindi cinema taking birth. The month is also noted for Sankranti, with its prominent planetary significance,…
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2025 Recap Part 4: The Best of the Year
Here is looking at the best in cinema and web series in 2025. A year when merit was often sidelined by the audience, the movie halls, the trade and even…
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Web Review: Mrs Deshpande is a Solidly Adapted Thriller
A serial killer to catch another? Well, crime dramas where criminals are freed or called in to catch other criminals are a cinematic dime a dozen, but this time, it…
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2025 Cinema Recap Part 3—Hits and Misses
2025 was replete with lessons for the film industry and trade, should they ever bother to see a rather too-transparent writing on the wall. Several filmmakers have stated that they…
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2025 Cinema Recap Part 2: Of Akshaye Khanna, Sequels and More
Here’s a lookback at a year so unique, as said earlier (2025 Cinema Recap Part 1, South Asian Herald) that the word gets a new connotation in the context of…
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The A to Z of Salman-ians on His 60th Birthday
Salman Khan has always been the different Khan. And it’s not me alone saying it, but the industry (including most of his heroines, co-stars and filmmakers), trade and other observers. The Eternal…
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Film Review: Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri is a Romp With a Message
Ah well! Movies whose two halves are as different as chalk from cheese have become quite frequent of late: the trend in today’s times probably began with Kyun! Ho Gaya Na… way…
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2025 Cinema Recap Part 1: Of Critic-Proof and Other Eccentric Cinema
2025 has been—in cinema—a year like no other. Unique even by standards of uniqueness. And I would like to begin its recap too in a unique way. By looking at…
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Mohammed Rafi: The Voice of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Today, the youngest-at-heart playback singer of Hindi cinema would have been 101 years old. But barely a few minutes, if at all, must be passing even today without a Mohammed…
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Film Review: The Great Shamsuddin Family is Just What the Doctor Ordered
It makes you involved in their problems. It makes you laugh at their idiosyncrasies. It makes you sympathize with and wish that all their issues are favorably resolved. Finally, it…
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Indian Edition of Wheel of Fortune Features Akshay Kumar
Following the much-anticipated announcement of Wheel of Fortune, Sony Entertainment Television has unveiled the first promo of the iconic global game show, marking its grand arrival in India. The promo is…
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Web Review: Single Papa is a Tale of Two Cuties
The baby is immeasurably (if I may use the term!) cute. By hook or by crook (technology!) he smiles, cries, gurgles and looks blank all at the right moment. The…
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Teaser launch of Dacoit: Ek Prem Katha Held
The Hindi teaser of Dacoit: Ek Prem Katha was launched at the Hotel Novotel on December 17, in the presence of actors Mrunal Thakur, Adivi Sesh and Anurag Kashyap, and director Shaneil…
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Exclusive: Shehzad Sippy on the Sacred Mission of Restoring Sholay
A perennial remains a perennial. Not for nothing is Sholay the biggest-ever hit in Indian cinema. This was a film that ran for 250 weeks continuously in Mumbai, beginning August 15, 1975.…
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Inside the Unseen World of Indian Customs: Netflix Reveals Taskaree
Neeraj Pandey and Emraan Hashmi unite for Taskaree: The Smuggler’s Web, exploring the high-stakes world of Indian customs. Produced by Friday Storytellers, created by Pandey and directed by Raghav Jairath, the…