Tim Rocket Duarrr

Jugjugg Jeeyo’s apologetic feminism aims to cater to both feminists and conservatives. As a consequence, it is neither here nor there and may as well be nowhere. In some ways, the new Hindi film Jugjugg Jeeyo (Live Long and Prosper) reminds me of the recent Malayalam release Jo and Jo. The latter was about a daughter facing discrimination from her mother who dumps household chores on the girl while leaving her son free to lounge around. Jo and Jo was so fearful of antagonising the audience beyond their threshold of tolerance for liberalism, that each time it showed the daughter rightly protesting against an injustice within the family, it also swiftly softened the blow by trivialising her and her concerns. Raj Mehta’s Jugjugg Jeeyo – written by Anurag Singh, Rishhabh Sharrma, Sumit Batheja and Neeraj Udhwani – is more committed to its ideals than Jo and Jo, but it too is at pains to soften the blow of its explicit feminism by balancing out every criticism of a husband’s infidelity and ...

Anup Jalota said, “Solah Baras Ki Baali Umar and Aisi Laagi Lagan were from two very different genres, but they established me as a singer.” It was a regular work day at Mehboob Studios. It was the early 80s and Bollywood’s famous composers Laxmikant-Pyarelal, lyricist Anand Bakshi and SwarKokila Lata Mangeshkar were busy working on the song Solah Baras Ki Baali Umar (from the then yet-to-released super hit film 'Ek Duuje Ke Liye', 1981). At that time, music director Madan Mohan Kohli’s daughter brought along a young man in his 20s to the studio saying that he wanted to witness a song recording. That man was the son of respected bhajan singer Purshottam Das Jalota, Anup Jalota. “I knew that Lata Mangeshkar was recording a song there and I went over to see her. Once she was done with her recording, she left and I too prepared to leave. Then, Laxmikant-Pyarelal stopped me saying, ‘Arre rukiye, chai peeke jaiyega (wait, you must have tea with us)’. And then they asked if I would s...

Miriam Toews’s novels are often described as tragicomedies, populated by war survivors, and set in or around Mennonite communities where Toews, too, grew up. In works such as All My Puny Sorrows, following the relationship of two sisters, and the spectacular Women Talking, about cloistered women who gather in secret after a series of sexual assaults, Toews grapples with the humiliations of motherhood, the burdens of sisterhood, abuse, grief and suicide: a wound from her own life that she nurses throughout her work. Her novels are heart-wrenching and raw; they’re all, in some way, about the drudging ordinariness of female pain, everyday indignities from which she extracts big tearful belly laughs. “To be alive,” Toews writes, “means full body contact with the absurd.” Toews’s primary theme is the battles of women in a world of cruel men, and intergenerational misfires as mothers try to protect and warn their daughters. Her eighth novel, Fight Night, is an ode to grandmotherly defiance, ...

Nawazuddin Siddiqui speaks about the importance and relevance of film festivals in a world where box office is considered to be the end game, representing India on a global scale, treading foreign waters and more. After delivering a slew of critically acclaimed performances and winning big at film festivals over the years, actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui added yet another feather to his cap last month when he was honoured with the Excellence in Cinema award at the French Riviera Film Festival, 2022. And seems like there’s no stopping him as the upcoming months will see him having a chock-o-block schedule along with many releases lined up. Later in the year, he will be jetting off to New York to shoot for an American project titled Laxman Lopez. In a chat with us, Siddiqui speaks about the importance and relevance of film festivals in a world where box office is considered to be the end game, representing India on a global scale, treading foreign waters and more. Excerpts from the interview: ...

In an exclusive conversation with Firstpost, Prakash Jha talks about Aashram 3, flexibility on OTT and the growing debate on Hindi Vs South Indian languages. Season 3 of Bobby Deol's 'Aashram' is all set to release on MX Player on June 3 and the makers are ready to re-create the success story that the first two chapters have created. Titled ‘Ek Badnaam… Aashram 3’, the story of chapter three revolves around the meteoric rise of godmen in India and how the masses blindly follow them in the name of religion. During the launch of the third season of the show in the capital, producer-director Prakash Jha spoke about the creative independence that the OTT platform gives to a maker. “For me, whether it is a web –series or a film, I work similarly. I don’t see any difference in doing films or OTT shows but yes Creative liberty must be done with responsibility and I do that with both the medium,” he said. "I think OTT has little flexibility because you have the option of watch...

Does singing exert pressure on the heart? Do live concerts take their own toll in the context of energy consumed and physical pressures? Should a singer with heart ailment avoid singing in the interest of longevity? Krishnakumar Kunnath aka KK, passed away doing what he loved – singing on stage. His going away suddenly and at a young age left thousands of fans grieving and questioning the circumstances under which he collapsed. While there is a melancholic comfort in knowing that a musician died doing what he loved but the tragic circumstances – the fact it played out in front of a live audience – makes it even more unfortunate. Also, there have been several instances of musicians dying while performing. Playback singer KK, was singing at a live concert at Ultadanga Gurudas Mahavidyalaya at the Nazrul Mancha stage when he fell ill during a performance on stage. Known to be a non-smoker, teetotaller and generally fit; what killed KK? That is the big question. KK was repeatedly saying on...