Latest news with #AvijitGhosh
Time of India
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
On death anniversary, gifted director Awtar Kaul remembered in rare photos
Avijit Ghosh is a associate editor with The Times of India. He is addicted to films, music, cricket and football—and not necessarily in that order. He is the author of Bandicoots in the Moonlight, Cinema Bhojpuri, 40 Retakes, and now, Up Campus, Down Campus, a novel set in 1980s JNU. He tweets from the handles @avijitghoshtoi and @cinemawaleghosh LESS ... MORE Awtar Krishna Kaul, whose 51st death anniversary falls today, is one of the could-have-been greats of Indian cinema. He produced, directed and wrote the screenplay of the iconic feature film, 27 Down (1974). Made on a tight budget of Rs 2 lakh by the young US-returned filmmaker, the movie won the national award for best film and best cinematography. The film also received the Ecumenial Award in the Locarno Film festival and the Dulcat prize at the Mannheim International Film festival. Rakhee, Rekha Sabnis and Om Shivpuri were some other actors in the film which was based on Ramesh Bakshi's Hindi novel, Athara Sooraj Ke Paudhe. Kaul was born in Srinagar. He came to Mumbai after spending 14 years in New York where he drove a taxi and graduated from a film school. He also worked with the famous director James Ivory in the film, Bombay Talkies. His death came under very unusual circumstances. Kaul died tragically trying to save a girl from drowning in the White House Area in Walkeshwar, Bombay. He was just 34. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
Time of India
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Guru Dutt @ 100: The cinematic genius who made the camera sing
Guru Dutt @ 100: The cinematic genius who made the camera sing Avijit Ghosh TNN Jul 8, 2025, 19:54 IST IST The director of 'Pyaasa' and 'Kaagaz Ke Phool', whose 100th birth anniversary falls on July 9, brought a lyricism to his craft that shone through in some unforgettable tracks Songs are bookmarks of mainstream Hindi films. Long after a movie disappears from theatres and memories, they suddenly waft over a cabbie's FM radio or emerge on an algorithm-driven app. They become a movie's reference point, keeping them alive. In Guru Dutt films, the songs are more eloquent. Works of care and empathy, they not only take you on a guided tour of his art and aesthetics, but also offer a peep into his emotional world. The songs also carry his signature. Dutt, who spent his early years in Kolkata, loved dance, having trained at visionary dancer-choreographer Uday Shankar's centre in Almora and performed with his troupe. The films he made had a dance director but his contribution to their picturisation is well-acknowledged.
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
‘Hindi cinema is a major connective space for Indian and Pakistani viewers…Diasporic youngsters watch it together'
'Hindi cinema is a major connective space for Indian and Pakistani viewers…Diasporic youngsters watch it together' Avijit Ghosh TNN Jul 2, 2025, 21:54 IST IST Translator and cultural theorist Meenakshi Bharat taught English at Delhi University. She talks to Avijit Ghosh about her latest book, 'Hindi Cinema and Pakistan', how movies on sensitive themes can become double-edged weapons, they can incense or console Q: Partition scarred India. How does Pakistan appear in the Hindi films of the early post-Independence decades? A: Early post-Independence Hindi films reflected the confusion and disbelief that Partition had indeed happened. Consequently, there is less figuration of Pakistan as a national entity and more focus on the immediate repercussions of the holocaustic event on the common people, as in the break-up of families shown in films such as Firdaus (1953), Dhool Ka Phool (1959), Amar Rahe Yeh Pyar (1961), and the highly metaphorical Waqt (1965), or on the rise of corruption and violence in the mayhem unleashed by the division.
Time of India
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
When T-20 Cricket Isn't Just Cricket
When T-20 Cricket Isn't Just Cricket Avijit Ghosh Jun 04, 2025, 21:33 IST IST Kohli found the last missing trophy. Bengaluru celebrations turned tragic. And two moments, both involving Bumrah, stood out as emblems of sporting excellence in IPL 2025 To the neutral fan, the final was underwhelming. Neither Royal Challengers Bengaluru nor Punjab Kings, both seeking a first IPL title, tried to seize the game by its throat. Both, instead, waited for the other to falter. Neither team played its natural game – they played the occasion. Which is why Tuesday's final that RCB won will be more remembered for its human drama than what transpired on the pitch. Over 18 years, Virat Kohli and RCB have become synonyms in franchise cricket – the cricketer's messianic appeal found nationwide backing for the city team. On Tuesday, the sight of Kohli in tears of bliss connected with millions. His personal emotion became a public memento. And it is extremely tragic that the much-awaited celebrations that followed in Bengaluru were blighted by the death of several fans.
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Kohli… that cover drive, that swagger, that aggression
Avijit Ghosh is a associate editor with The Times of India. He is addicted to films, music, cricket and football—and not necessarily in that order. He is the author of Bandicoots in the Moonlight, Cinema Bhojpuri, 40 Retakes, and now, Up Campus, Down Campus, a novel set in 1980s JNU. He tweets from the handles @avijitghoshtoi and @cinemawaleghosh LESS ... MORE In his days of pomp in Test cricket, Virat Kohli's cover drive reminded one of Robert Browning's lines, 'God's in his heaven and all's right with the world.' The quintessence of that stroke, a fusion of art and aristocracy, was timing. That gift of grabbing the moment was evident again in the way Kohli, the most complete batter of his generation, has chosen to sign off from the game's longest version. Read full opinion on TOI+ Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
