Jab faagun rang jhamakte hon tab dekh bahaaren Holi ki
Holi cannot be imagined without invoking Nazeer Akbarabadi, the 18th-century poet whose verses capture its unbridled joy. For those who have immersed themselves in the colours of Braj’s Holi, its essence is visceral; outsiders, glimpsing it only through screens, remain forever distant from its spirit. Braj’s Timeless Revelry Over recent decades, Braj has transformed amid […]
SC OFFENDED ON “GHOOSKHOR PANDAT”
NEW DELHI, Feb 2026 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday sent a message to public officials in high constitutional offices – ‘don’t vilify and degenerate any community’. The court stressed that public figures, particularly those holding high constitutional offices, such as ministers, must not target any community on the basis of religion, caste, language, or […]
SALMAN KHAN’S SCREENWRITER FATHER HOSPITALISED IN MUMBAI
NEW DELHI,17 Feb 2026 : Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan, 90, father of film actor Salman Khan, has been admitted to a private hospital in Mumbai. The writer’s eldest son and Bollywood superstar Salman Khan left Lilavati Hospital in Bandra an hour ago after visiting him, sources said. According to PTI, Salim Khan was hospitalised in […]
The Eternal Timelessness of Mirza Ghalib
February 15 marked the 157th death anniversary of Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib (1797–1869), the crowning jewel of Urdu and Persian literature. A nobleman of the fading Mughal court and a witness to the seismic shifts of 1857, Ghalib was more than a poet; he was a philosopher of the human condition whose relevance has only […]
ACTOR RAJPAL YADAV GETS BAIL IN RS 9-CR CHEQUE BOUNCE CASE
NEW DELHI, 16 Feb 2026 : Actor Rajpal Yadav, who has been in Tihar Jail in connection with a Rs 9-crore cheque bounce case, was granted bail by the Delhi High Court on Monday. The 54-year-old actor, known for his comic timing, had borrowed Rs 5 crore from M/s Murali Projects Pvt Ltd to finance […]
*Pahle naav Ganesh ka, lijiye sees nawae*The Syncretic Echoes of Nazeer’s Mahashivaratri
In the hush of midnight vigils on Mahashivratri, as devotees fast and chant through the lengthening shadows of February, Nazeer Akbarabadi’s verses transport us to a time when faith flowed unbound by rigid divides. This 18th-century Muslim poet, revered as the “People’s Poet,” opens his nazm *Mahadev-ji ka Byaah* with an invocation to Ganesha, seeking […]
The Eternal Valentine: Remembering Madhubala, the Venus of Indian Cinema
On February 14, while the world celebrates the ephemeral nature of modern romance, cinema lovers pause to honor a more enduring flame. Today marks the 93rd birth anniversary of Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi, known to the world as Madhubala. That she was born on Valentine’s Day is no mere coincidence of the calendar; it feels, […]
SC NOTICE ON CASTEIST TITLE OF A HINDI FILM
NEW DELHI,12 Feb 2026 : The Supreme Court has issued notice to Hindi film Ghhoskhor Pandat makers over casteist title, stating that “Tell Us New Name Or Won’t Permit Release.” Directed by Neeraj Pandey, Ghooskhor Pandat, starring Manoj Bajpayee, has been in the eye of the proverbial storm for allegedly hurting the sentiments of the […]
Echoes of a Golden Era: A Masterpiece Reborn at the Mumbai’s NMACC’s Grand Theatre
There is a certain audacity required to adapt a cinematic monument like K. Asif’s 1960 magnum opus, Mughal-E-Azam, for the stage. To tamper with a legacy defined by Dilip Kumar’s brooding intensity and Madhubala’s ethereal defiance is a Herculean task. Yet, as the curtains rose at the Grand Theatre, Nita Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) in […]
The Architect of the Avant-Garde: Remembering Vijay ‘Goldie’ Anand
On January 22, 1934 (or 1935, as some chroniclers suggest), a man was born who would eventually teach Bollywood how to dance with the camera. Yet, before he became the legendary Vijay Anand, the mastermind behind noir classics and soul-stirring dramas, he was simply “Goldie”—a shy, Hindi-medium student at Mumbai’s St. Xavier’s College, fighting a […]
