Shaikh Ayaz
Shaikh Ayaz is a contributor based in Mumbai. He writes about Bollywood.
Articles By Shaikh Ayaz
On your way to watch Bala? Here’s a quick glance at Ayushmann Khurrana’s taboo-breaking subjects for you
Ayushmann Khurrana's latest is a satire on balding. 'Unusual' subjects are not so unusual for the Chandigarh-born star, as we compile a list of his many quirks and complexes that make for a laugh riot on Bollywood screen.
In praise of Gulzar’s Tujhse naaraz nahin and the puzzling joys of life
Penned and composed by the indomitable Gulzar-RD Burman team, "Tujhse naaraz nahin zindagi" from Masoom (1983) plays out in two different versions (Anup Ghoshal and Lata Mangeshkar), suggesting the helplessness of a father on one hand and narrating the emotional state of a woman dealing with her husband's illegitimate child, on the other.
As Shah Rukh Khan turns 54, here’s celebrating the Zero star’s magical aura and ever-enduring stardom
American chat show host David Letterman, whose recent My Next Guest with Shah Rukh Khan is currently the talk of the town, was taken aback by the Bollywood superstar's mass popularity. "This is beyond anything we ever imagined," he exclaimed. Sure enough, King Khan may be box-office poison these days but nobody can deny that he can still command an audience.
Film of the Month: Catch ‘Humans of South Bombay’ in action in Govind Nihalani’s biting satire Party
With an awful lot of serious talks and fascinating arguments and counter-arguments, this ensemble skit that released 35 years ago is still extraordinarily relevant for having the audacity to expose the pettiness and pretensions of the educated elite. Party's fundamental question, 'What is the role of art (and artists) in society?' remains just as intriguing today.
Why Chhote Nawab is the most exciting Khan, who is blazing his way like a dark horse
From Ole Ole to Omkara and from Surakshaa to Sacred Games, meet Saif Ali Khan 2.0. For those planning to watch Laal Kaptaan this weekend, here's a lowdown on SAK's eventful journey.
The making of Amitabh Bachchan: How Zanjeer helped Big B become a star
There's so much to B Town's Shehanshah, Amitabh Bachchan, that it's difficult to cover everything about him. So, instead of a sweeping panorama of his five decades in cinema, we cut straight to Prakash Mehra's Zanjeer, a film that gave Hindi cinema a new star – an 'Angry Young Man', if you will.
Rekha: The enduring fame and pain of Bollywood’s original diva
On Rekha's 65th birthday today, here's our ode to the Umrao Jaan star's enigmatic life and how a movie-obsessed India looks at her, with awe and oodles of mystery. She is at once accessible and yet, forever unknowable. So much of Rekha and her various affairs and eccentricities are out in the public domain. We think we know so much about her and still not enough.
On Lata Mangeskhar’s 90th birthday, spend the day listening to these five iconic Latadi songs
As the melody queen turns 90, with a special event being planned by her family, we try to hash out the five essential Lata songs. They may not be her best, but you can still spend the day listening to them and finding new details and touches.
Song of the Month: Mughal-E-Azam’s “Teri mehfil mein” holds clues to the film, predicting Anarkali’s doomed fate
In a soundtrack as watertight as Mughal-E-Azam's, it is difficult to pick one favourite song. By common consensus, “Pyaar kiya toh darna kya” is easily the film's most famous song but it is the qawwali “Teri mehfil mein qismat” that is the more complex, multilayered and interesting one.
Fathers, Sons, Nephews and Daughters: The ultimate Deol debut compilation
The adage 'It's all in the family' holds true for the House of Deols. As Sunny Deol's son makes his showbiz debut, we trace the arc of Bollywood's most unassuming and sons-of-the-soil family through their own first steps. Wonder if paterfamilias Dharamji has a poem for the occasion.
Film of the Month: Yash Chopra’s Chandni foreshadowed Bollywood gloss
Released on September 14, 1989, the jukebox Chandni came at a time when Yash Chopra, the maker of Deewaar, Trishul and Kaala Patthar, was disenchanted with all the "violence" and action stuff. It was a rare "no-compromises" film, as the director has put it – the ultimate tribute to the budding poet and incurable romantic in him. The Sridevi-starrer was the first of his out-and-out romantic pictures. But thankfully, not his last.
Watch these five Ayushmann Khurrana movies before you see Dream Girl
Touted as the most fun actor in Bollywood today, Ayushmann Khurrana has built a reputation for picking interesting concepts, what he has called a "good marriage between content and entertainment." On the eve of his new film, in which he disguises himself as a 'Dream Girl', we take a trip through his five top films.
Film of the Month: Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi tells us everything that is wrong with the Left
Author Kiran Nagarkar praised Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi as "one of the finest political films." The 2005 political drama exposes the hypocrisy of the Left movement by revealing the huge gap between its naïve romanticism/intellectual activism and its utter failure to make a better and more just world.
Song of the Month: Haqeeqat’s “Ho ke majboor” finds the sweet spot between romance and pining in the time of war
Just as the recent blockbuster Uri had the belligerence of Narendra Modi writ all over it, Haqeeqat is soaked in Nehru-ism. The Chetan Anand film also offers newer and deeper meanings of patriotism in the Modi-era zeitgeist.
Khayyam: The star composer was one of the last links to Hindi cinema’s golden age
"If there was no Khayyam saab, there would be no Rekha," declared Umrao Jaan's alluring leading lady in an award function some years ago. With the passing away of the legend, an era comes to end.
25 years of Tabu: Why sassy Simi is one of Bollywood’s most respected leading ladies
The Andhadhun star is on a roll. While many of her contemporaries have long bowed – or booted – out, the unstoppable Tabu just rolls on. As she recently celebrated her 25th year in Bollywood, here’s assessing the 47-year-old’s career and how she has remained at the top of her game.
Gully Boy, Article 15, Photograph: The best Hindi films of 2019 (so far)
We are more than halfway through 2019, which gives us a good excuse to look at how Bollywood has fared in the first half and which films are among the best.
Here’s looking at the rollercoaster ride that has been Hrithik ‘Mr Nice’ Roshan’s life lately
Rakesh Roshan's son Hrithik Roshan, who heartthrobed his way into stardom at the dawn of the millennium, has spent the last few years fending off one controversy after another. The alleged Kangana Ranaut affair was a PR disaster. To add to his woes, the much-talked-about divorce from childhood sweetheart Sussanne Roshan left the Roshan clan in shock.
Mogambo khush hua: Five most eccentric Amrish Puri characters
On Amrish Puri's 87th birth anniversary, here's remembering the legendary actor with a diverse range of roles that attest to his shape-shifting versatility.
Bharat is yet another Salman Khan film designed singularly to flatter the ‘Bhaijaan’ mythology
A look at what works in Salman Khan's latest Eid release and what doesn't. Mostly though, it plays out like a three-hour-long “Being Human” advertisement, telling us how good Bharat is and how he is a metaphor for India itself.