Shaikh Ayaz

Amitabh Bachchan's widely-parodied Vijay Dinanath Chavan turns 30 today. The crime drama holds a special place in the hearts of fans but did you know it was an epic flop on release? Trashed as a middling Scarface copy, today it is an oft-quoted cult film.

Here's revisiting the original cast and idea of Love Aaj Kal (2009), even as its sequel releases this Friday.

The Naseeruddin Shah-Vidya Balan romantic number plays out like a fantasy of an old man loopy in love. On Ishqiya's 10th anniversary today, director Abhishek Chaubey says, "Gulzar saab is the finest lyricist of this country, but even he can surprise you sometimes."

Lyricist-writer Javed Akhtar was once a part of the renowned writing duo Salim-Javed — best known for Zanjeer, Sholay and Don among more. But critics call Deewaar (1975) their finest hour at the movies. Even Amitabh Bachchan thinks so.

Handcuffed to fate: We revisit Ajay Devgn and Saif Ali Khan's previous screen collaborations and mutual friendship over two and a half decades.

In today's big release Darbar, Rajinikanth plays Mumbai's police commissioner. But did you know that in his initial years in Bollywood the Thalaivar made a mark with campy portrayals of police officers, most famously in 1991 films Hum and Farishtay.

There was just enough this year for everyone's needs, from Kangana Ranaut's loose cannon shenanigans and Citizen Akshay Kumar's Bharat-mode to the internet-breaking Khans-Modi selfie and Hrithik Roshan-Tiger Shroff bromance in War.

Anand (1971) may be Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Rajesh Khanna's most iconic collaboration, but it is their second movie Bawarchi that remains truly special.

Amidst the ongoing anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests, the politically-charged "Jinhe naaz hai Hind par woh kahan hai?" from Guru Dutt's 1957 classic Pyaasa is a reminder that poets and writers have always held a mirror to the ruling order. I wonder how the Left-leaning Sahir Ludhianvi, who braved Partition, would have reacted to the contentious bill and threats to India's long-cherished secularism and freedom of speech.

An ode to 1970s masala entertainers, Dabangg's memorable protagonist could have been written by Salim-Javed. To mark the release of Dabangg 3, we look at how Salman Khan brought Chulbul Pandey alive in the original and ended up making an indelible mark.

What was your favourite Hindi movie this year? Here are the ones we think made the cut. There's Bala which once again proves Ayushmann Khurrana's knack for locating humour and humiliation in small-town India, Gully Boy's dreams and disappointment, Uri's 'How's the josh?' belligerence and more.

Best known for his period spectacles, Ashutosh Gowariker's Panipat follows a familiar script. Before you watch Gowariker's ninth film as a director pitting Arjun Kapoor against Sanjay Dutt, read about his eight previous films that we have ranked in the order of worst to best.

Recently, a fan, who may have seen S Shankar's Nayak (2001) far too many times, suggested Anil Kapoor's name as Maharashtra's CM. It's true that Kapoor played the most ideal Chief Minister there could ever be. The film follows the rollercoaster ride of a journalist who accepts the challenge to become CM for a day and how the rookie deals with the dirty demands of politics.

Today, A R Rahman is known for putting Indian music on the global map. But as most music buffs will tell you, some of the Oscar winner's best works belong to the '90s, especially in Mani Ratnam's sensitive relationship-based films. One of them was Roja, Rahman's genre-defying debut that revolutionised film music in India.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.