‘The Story Of My Life’ is an autobiography by Dosebai Cowasjee Jessawalla, the granddaughter of noted philanthropist Seth Cursetjee Manekjee Shroff – whose statue in Byculla (Mumbai) is fondly referred to as ‘Khada Parsi’. Dosebai Jessawalla (1832-1911) was among the first Indian girls to get an English education, thanks to the insistence of her mother…
Canadian resident, Omid Kaveh is an Iranian Zoroastrian who has authored ‘A Gift From Cyrus’, an intriguing novel inspired by true events, which Arya (central character) experienced in his life since he was 12, when the Islamic Revolution started in Iran. The book has also been gaining attention in the US, for its incredible story…
‘Who Is A Parsi’ By Prochy N Mehta At a time when debates abound between the uniform civil code versus religious personal laws, author Prochy N Mehta’s book, ‘Who Is A Parsi’, gives much food for thought. As per Mehta, “The tales we have heard for generations, and what has been handed down to…
When a film opens with the cryptic disclaimer, ‘Somewhat inspired by…’, the viewer is entitled to tread cautiously throughout the movie. On 18 August 2015, a Jet Airlines flight from Doha to Kochi hit turbulent weather and the flight deck crew had to go through similar relentless investigations. Seven years later, Ajay Devgn (Capt. Vikrant…
Traditionally, 24 June is observed as Midsummer’s Day in Britain. But little would the Clive Lloyd led West Indies team, camping in London, envisage the heat they would have to endure the next day at Lord’s in the epic World Cup final against underdogs – India, permanently altering the Indian cricket fans’ perception of their…
The past year has seen innumerable, multi-sized, hospitality / home-kitchen outfits spring up, all through the onset of the pandemic and continuing… A few have truly stood out in providing the much-appreciated combination of outstanding taste, excellent quality of food and packaging, generous portions and of course, superb service! In keeping with all the rave…
As sci-fi films go, this one manages to give the genre a bad name. Vin Diesel is expressionless, the plot is threadbare and the acting is nothing to write home about. Ray Garvison (Diesel) has just won a battle freeing hostages. His plans of spending quality time with his wife Gina (Talulah Riley) goes awry…
The text from Victor Hugo’s 1862 classic seminal novel of the same name, at the end of the film, sums it up succinctly – ‘There are no bad plants or bad men… only bad cultivators.’ The film, which opens with France celebrating its 2018 football World Cup win against the backdrop of Eiffel Tower and…
Not all fantasy and animation films fall within the realm of mere fun and adventure. Some have elements of tenderness and sympathy woven into the script. Add a dash of oblique brotherly love, and ‘Onward’, directed and co-written by Dan Scanlon, is one such film. Ian Lightfoot (voiced by Tom Holland) is an introverted teenager…
When it comes to honouring character actors (usually called sidekicks and junior artistes or derogatorily even ‘extras’ in this part of the world), one must hand it to Hollywood – there are numerous books and articles devoted to them. ‘Kaamyaab’ opens with a montage of hand-painted posters of (fictitious) films of the ’70s and ’80s,…
‘A marriage is a deal’, utters a character midway through the film. That this deal does not turn out to be ideal is the focal point of Anubhav Sinha’s two-hour-plus film, co-scripted by him and Mrunmayee Lagoo, with script finishing touches by Anjum Rajabali. Amrita Sabherwal is a loving, dutiful housewife (having given up her…