Basu Chatterjee (1930-2020): 12 slice-of-life films served with love and humour

The 93-year-old filmmaker died in Mumbai on Thursday.

Nirupama Kotru

· Jun 04, 2020 · 01:28 pm

Book versus movie: Rajendra Yadav’s prose comes alive in Basu Chatterjee’s ‘Sara Akash’

The 1969 movie was drawn from the Nayi Kahani writer’s pathbreaking novella.

Nirupama Kotru

· May 25, 2020 · 11:30 am

Book versus movie: Revisiting ‘Yehi Sach Hai’, the short story that inspired ‘Rajnigandha’

Spot the similarities and differences between Manu Bhandari’s short story and Basu Chatterjee’s screen version.

Nirupama Kotru

· Apr 19, 2020 · 10:00 am

Film flashback: Remembering Kaifi Azmi’s dialogue in verse for the classic Hindi film ‘Heer Raanjha’

The Progressive writer and film lyricist left his distinctive stamp on the 1970 adaptation of the Punjabi romance.

Nirupama Kotru

· Jan 18, 2020 · 09:15 am

How ‘Delhi Crime’ and ‘Soni’ speak for all the ‘Madam Sirs’ in the police force

The movie and the web series dig deep into the challenges faced by women in the police force.

Nirupama Kotru

· Apr 14, 2019 · 12:00 pm

Do real-life friends make good co-stars? Yes, if they are Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah

For evidence of their crackling chemistry, look no further than Vishal Bhardwaj’s ‘Maqbool’.

Nirupama Kotru

· Apr 05, 2018 · 08:15 am

Farooque Shaikh said he did not wish to be remembered, but his films make him impossible to forget

The celebrated actor’s untimely death on December 27, 2013, has left a gaping hole in Hindi cinema.

Nirupama Kotru

· Dec 27, 2017 · 09:15 am

Book versus movie: ‘Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda’ is a masterly adaptation of a brilliant novel

The themes of Dharamvir Bharti’s novel are beautifully explored in Shyam Benegal’s adaptation.

Nirupama Kotru

· Dec 13, 2017 · 01:30 pm

Don’t stop believing: ‘Satyakam’, ‘Newton’, and the importance of the upright public servant

Directors Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Amit Masurkar provide contrasting and yet similar accounts of what it means to be honest and duty-bound in India.

Nirupama Kotru

· Oct 02, 2017 · 09:15 am

Films that are 50: A Dilip Kumar double treat in ‘Ram Aur Shyam’

The thespian proves that comedy is as easy as tragedy in the 1967 hit comedy.

Nirupama Kotru

· Feb 08, 2017 · 01:30 pm

Om Puri may be no more, but Indian New Wave cinema will always be relevant

The formative years of at least two generations of Indians were shaped by the non-mainstream cinema of the 1970s and ’80s.

Nirupama Kotru

· Jan 10, 2017 · 01:30 pm

Sharmila Tagore bridged the gap between art and commerce way before the rest

The multi-faceted actor, whose birthday is on December 8, was at ease with both Satyajit Ray and Shakti Samanta.

Nirupama Kotru

· Dec 08, 2016 · 01:30 pm