Rajinikanth; poster of ‘Prête-moi ta main’ This article written by Usman Feroze appeared in The Hindu on 26-01-2007 When K Balachander cast a young bus conductor from Bangalore in an insignificant role in his 1975 film Apoorva Raagangal, the Tamil filmmaker told audiences to watch out for the “fire in the actor’s eyes.” Now, more…
Last Updated:May 19, 2025, 10:19 IST Archana Puran Singh revealed her sons Aryamann and Ayushmaan have started throwing similar punches at her, mimicking Kapil Sharma’s gags. Archana Puran Singh admits she is paid to enjoy the show. Archana Puran Singh and Kapil Sharma share a strong comfort bond, often reflected in the on-stage banters. Archana,…
Violinist and authors Dwaram Durga Prasadarao | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement “The legacy of the Dwaram family doesn’t belong to us alone; it belongs to every student trained under the stalwarts of this tradition,” says violinist Dwaram Durga Prasadrao, with a quiet grace. Our institution has trained several students, many of whom lived with us…
Raj Bahadur greets me with a friendly smile at his residence in Chamrajpet, Bengaluru. At 80, he understandably moves slowly and has slight hearing challenges. Nevertheless, I am quickly in awe of his memory. “I met Rajini on June 03, 1970. He joined the Bangalore Transport Service (now Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation) as a conductor,…
Last Updated:August 12, 2025, 22:36 IST Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel opens the door to a possible exit from the US, while urging voters to keep an open mind about Trump. Jimmy Kimmel has acquired Italian citizenship amid concerns over Donald Trump’s presidency, calling the situation “worse than expected”. (IMAGE: REUTERS) Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has…
Bengaluru might be the only city in India to have a festival dedicated to international heavy metal (the Bangalore Open Air, for the uninitiated), but occasionally, there are reasons to look elsewhere, especially when it is an experiential and getaway music festival all rolled into one, like 70000TONS of Metal. The cruise festival held in…
With Gandhi in the Toronto International Film Festival and Saare Jahan Se Accha on Netflix, Pratik Gandhi is fast emerging as the new chameleon in the film world. From playing Harshad Mehta to Mahatma Gandhi and Jyotiba Phule in between, his versatility is quietly making a statement. “I love human drama. I like exploring different mindsets without judging them,”…
Last Updated:May 19, 2025, 10:31 IST Rahul Vaidya had earlier claimed in his posts that Virat Kohli had blocked him on Instagram. Rahul Vaidya later thanked Kohli for unblocking him. Actor-singer Rahul Vaidya has been at the centre of a controversy for a while now, owing to his multiple comments on Virat Kohli. From calling…
(from left) Umayalpuram Sivaraman on the mridangam, vocalist Sikkil Gurucharan, Shree Sundarkumar on the kanjira and V. Sanjeev on the violin performing at the Kalyani Menon tribute concert at TAG Centre in Chennai | Photo Credit: R. Ravindran All the artistes on the stage shared the spotlight equally as Sikkil C. Gurucharan sang the niraval…
Shatarupa Bhattacharyya found herself fascinated by Medea, the Greek mythological character, when she first read about the sorceress many years ago. “I have been practising theatre for a good 14-15 years now, and in the middle of my theatre journey, I realised that I only wanted to do plays with strong female characters…which talk about…
