Hindi
Hawai University at Hilo to screen Indian films with national identity
MUMBAI: The University of Hawai at Hilo has organised a festival of modern Indian films that showcase issues of gender, class and national identity.
The festival kicks off on 13 April with the screening of Lage Raho Munna Bhai that starred Sanjay Dutt and Vidya Balan. This film takes a comedic look at life in urban Mumbai, pitting the forces of development and capitalism against the morals and principles of Gandhi.
On 20 April, the Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai-starrer Devdas will be screened. A modernised urban remake of Bimal Roy‘s 1955 film, it follows a man‘s descent into alcoholism and the two women who defined his life. The film is based on the novel by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay.
On 27 April, the festival will screen Mira Nair‘s English Monsoon Wedding that explores arranged marriage, women‘s sexuality and class/caste from the perspective of the overseas Indian diaspora.
4 May will see the screening of Water, a controversial look at the practice of child marriage and the exploitation of widows as sex workers in the era preceding independence. The last film in a trilogy by Deepa Metha, Water was shot in Sri Lanka due to protests from the Hindu community in Varanasi, where it was originally set.
Hindi
Rashmika Mandanna, Shanaya Kapoor and Naila Grrewal climb IMDb’s Indian celebrity rankings
Upcoming films and returning shows are driving fan interest across Bollywood and streaming
MUMBAI: Bollywood’s popularity contest has a new weekly scorecard, and the numbers are telling. IMDb’s Popular Indian Celebrities list for this week places Shanaya Kapoor at number six, buoyed by buzz around her film Tu Yaa Main. Naila Grrewal slots in at seven on the back of the returning comedy series Maamla Legal Hai, while Rashmika Mandanna climbs to eighth, riding mounting anticipation for Cocktail 2.
The list, available exclusively on the IMDb app for Android and iOS, tracks trending Indian entertainers and filmmakers each week, drawing on data from more than 200m monthly visits to the platform worldwide.
Further down the rankings, Raaka is keeping two of its biggest names in the spotlight. Deepika Padukone holds 11th position, with Allu Arjun close behind at 13th, as the film continues to find traction with audiences.
The list offers fans a weekly pulse on who is breaking through, who is holding steady, and who is fading. It is a barometer as unsparing as the box office itself.
