Cinema has always been a mirror, but particularly in the last decade, it has started holding that mirror at a rather flattering angle. The reflection now has a bit more nationalism, a bit less nuance, and sometimes, an entire political manifesto playing in the background. The trailer for "The Taj Story", which asks whether the Taj Mahal might once have been a temple, does not merely invite curiosity; it stages curiosity as corrective history. It is the newest actor in a growing ensemble of movies that treat doubt like doctrine and cinema like a courthouse. And while we once saw filmmakers wrestle with moral ambiguity; in present times, the only ambiguity lies in whether you are watching entertainment or an election campaign.
Actor-politician Mithun Chakraborty has been named as the recipient of the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award, which is the highest Indian government honour accorded for contributions in the field of cinema.
Vivek Agnihotri has served West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with a legal notice after she stated that "The Kashmir Files" was "meant purely to humiliate a particular section of society."
