Curious Case: By Radhika Bhirani

Radhika Bhirani -- rbhirani@gmail.com -- In between the barrage of Whatsapp sermons wishing a 'good morning', photographs from the family members' personal gardens are a soothing wake-up sight for sleepy eyes every morning... errrrr.... for some! Shades of green bring serenity to a mind clouded by the complexities of life. And the pops of pink, purple, peach, red, orange and yellow pep up the heart with a hope of a better today and tomorrows. What green fingers my lovely family and their gardeners have! On days there were even pictures of pumpkins and strawberries from my mother's terrace garden, or guavas, tomatoes, brinjals, bottle guards and more from my aunts' and uncles' gardens, all signifying new life at a time when death talk filled the social media space. Flowers, I have realised especially since the lockdown saga happened to life in 2020, have a real effect on mood and on life. For me, a pink bougainvillea plant ...

Radhika Bhirani for Zenger News ~~ rbhirani@gmail.com ~~ A rescued mother cow, described as “drop-dead gorgeous” with “striking eyes” and “long, dark eyelashes”, has been named Kim Kowdashian, after reality TV star Kim Kardashian. The ode to the “ Keeping Up With The Kardashians ” star is to do with her turning vegan, animal rights organization People for Ethical Treatment of Animals ( PETA ) India told Zenger News. The organization rescued the cow, originally named Rani , back in 2019. Rani was being beaten, dragged, and pulled by her owner on a busy street in India’s financial capital Mumbai when onlookers complained to PETA officials. The onlookers said the owner was using her for begging in the middle of a busy street. The ailing cow — then lactating and separated from her calf — was rescued with the help of police officers. She was admitted to a veterinary facility, and then PETA moved a legal application to seek interim custody. Once PETA secured the custody, Rani was housed in ...

Radhika Bhirani for Zenger News ~~ rbhirani@gmail.com ~~ After months of waiting for an opportune time for a theatrical release amid the raging Covid-19 pandemic, a Bollywood film is taking the hybrid route to reach an audience. Come May 13, film star Salman Khan’s “ Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai ” will become the first big-budget Hindi extravaganza that will have a multi-format release. The movie will also have a wide theatrical release internationally, giving the audience the flexibility to watch it whenever they want. “The pandemic forced us to innovate,” Shariq Patel, chief business officer, Zee Studios, said in April. A Salman Khan Films spokesperson said in a statement they would support theater owners by releasing the film in “as many screens as they can, keeping in line with the Covid-19 rules laid down by the government”. “But considering the guidelines and safety measures, we also need to devise ways to ensure that the film reaches all of our audience. We don’t want to deny th...

Radhika Bhirani -- rbhirani@gmail.com -- Irrfan Khan was a deep thinker, a reservoir of thoughts... thoughts worth thinking about, thoughts worth sharing. There was beauty in the simplicity he found in complexities and expressed what he truly felt. And in that sense, I would always remember him as an interviewer's delight who left you with more than you would ask for. One of my conversations with the actor struck me particularly as I scrolled through some memories. Over the years and after experiencing controversies around some of his films or remarks, Irrfan admitted he had become very careful about what he would say. He also resented not having a place to express or say what he wanted to. Social media, he felt, wasn't best suited either. "Social media is 'wahiyaad'," he told me in his inimitable style, one that I can almost hear as I type. Explaining why, he shared, "One feels that the Internet exposes you to different things in life. But it...

Radhika Bhirani ~~ rbhirani@gmail.com ~~ "I live in New Delhi and working as a good writer looking for good gigs to write." Don't go by the grammar! On a Monday morning, I'm just curious... and I wonder if taking a leaf out of actor Neena Gupta's famous, career-altering appeal for work on Instagram, would work for a common man? "I live in Mumbai and working as a good actor looking for good parts to play," the actor wrote back in 2017, after which there has been no looking back for her. The least she did was ask. The pandemic, unprecedented in its repercussions, and seemingly endless in its existence, has hit the country's employment sector hard. Every glance at the LinkedIn news feed shows up at least 10-20 posts -- all earnest in their "looking out for new opportunities" appeals, sadly not just because they are chasing better opportunities, roles and salary prospects, but because they were suddenly rendered jobless. Some got a day's no...

Radhika Bhirani for Zenger News ~~ rbhirani@gmail.com ~~ In 2018, 82 women climbed the Cannes’ Palais des Festivals’ steps — a striking statement by the French gender parity movement 5050×2020 against inequality in the movie industry. That image remains entrenched in the mind of Indian film producer Guneet Monga. On April 13, Monga, at 37, became one of the youngest film producers to be conferred the French honor Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier dans I’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) for her contribution to world cinema and her efforts towards women empowerment through her recently founded cinema collective Indian Women Rising . “It feels like life has come a full circle, and there’s so much to be grateful for,” Monga told Zenger News, reflecting on her journey from an intern on the set of French-Indian-German co-production “Valley Of Flowers” to a producer associated with Oscar-winning, globally lauded projects that have redefined the way the world looks at Indian ci...

Radhika Bhirani for Zenger News ~~ rbhirani@gmail.com ~~ Around the same week that Italy officially abolished film censorship, India scrapped its movie certification tribunal, leaving several filmmakers debating on whether this is a step forward or backward. The Tribunals Reforms (Rationalization and Conditions of Service) Ordinance , 2021, issued by India’s Ministry of Law and Justice on April 4, did away with the Appellate authorities across nine laws. The Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), established in 1983 under the Cinematograph Act 1952, served as a platform for filmmakers aggrieved by decisions of the country’s Central Board of Certification (CBFC). It would either reaffirm or reverse the CBFC’s decision. But now, the only recourse for filmmakers is to approach the high courts. Filmmaker Ritesh Batra, director of internationally acclaimed “The Lunchbox” (2013), wrote: “It’s not good for art or business to direct filmmakers to an overburdened judiciary.” “Such a sa...