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 first film, Ginny Weds Sunny, appeared on OTT. It wasn’t great but decent. The era being that of Covid, the producer chose to see only the fact that it was…
It is futile to state that the film could have been funnier, studded with more gags and—maybe—crisper like a slice of bread toasted to perfection. Because what we do get…
Actor and filmmaker Riteish Deshmukh, hosting a recent episode of Bigg Boss Marathi Season 6, had stated that Salman Khan will be a surprise part of his dream project of ten…
Some series, we obviously know, will go on for future seasons. And the best part? They do not need cliffhangers in the way their story unfolds. Correction: stories unfold. A slim red…
This film is directed by the pioneer of not just successful but classy comedies (Hera Pheri, Hungama, Garam Masala) in India—Priyadarshan—but also of horror comedies with Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007). Akshay Kumar, his…
The Saiyaara team is back. After the film’s phenomenal success, the team of director Mohit Suri, producer Akshaye Widhani (CEO of Yash Raj Films), Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda are set to…
The first look and trailer of Neha Dhupia’s debut international film, 52 Blue, has been officially revealed, offering audiences a striking glimpse into one of the most transformative roles of her…
Art runs in his blood. Ram Sampath, known to Hindi cinema as the composer of films as varied as Khakee, Family, Delhi Belly, Fukrey and Laapataa Ladies and albums like Shiamak Davar’s Mohabbat Kar…
It was a long-felt desire. The need to answer detractors who said that Hindi cinema was finito and Telugu and South cinemas were supreme. In a crazy scenario, Hindi cinema,…
Asha Bhosle had once told me that she had been a “bandakhor” (rebel) since childhood. Though born into a family of Indian classical musician Pt. Deenanath Mangeshkar and his children…
An era has truly ended. The last of the ruling pantheon of singers—Asha Bhosle—is no more. If Hindi Film Music can be compared to a hand, then her elder sister…
This movie is—if I may term it so—a disgrace to the two films we have seen with the tagline Ek Prem Katha. The first was the exceptional Gadar—Ek Prem Katha in 2001, which…
A slimy property broker sells a single property to two people at the same time. What happens when the parties, one a hep ‘today’ urban couple who are living in,…
The series follows the Prakash Jha “tradition”: a good film followed by some mediocre ones. So far as my viewing his films down the years is concerned, I loved Mrityudand, Gangaajal and Raajneeti and…
The event was stereotype Prime Video: stretched with gimmicks, like a wafer-thin plot film expanded into two hours of “entertainment,” The gushy-gushy host, who tried to as usual show off…
It was an intimate Sunday evening with select media-persons. The venue: Jeetendra’s royal bungalow, Krishna. Correction: the terrace of Krisha, complete with closed and open chambers, cool air, hot food and chilled…
