An Actor’s Actor-Sanjeev Kumar: The Authorised Biography of Sanjeev Kumar A riveting black and white picture of the late actor, in mid-close, looking a little to his right, greets you on the cover of this eminently readable biography of the actor, who, arguably, was an actor’s actor. And so, the authors, Mumbai-based Hanif Zaveri and Delhi-based Sumant Batra, are not exaggerating when they give him that exalted title. As far as the ‘authorised’ bit is concerned, the du...

IFII 51, 49: Avijatrik, a sequel to Satyajit Ray’s Apur Sansar In an edition where the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) pays tribute to legendary film-maker Satyajit Ray, there was a fitting entry in the Indian Panorama Feature Film section of the festival, which builds on his rich cinematic contribution. Avijatrik, a sequel to Ray’s The Apu Trilogy, often cited as the three greatest films in Indian film history. The trilogy comprises the Bengali films Pather Panchali ...

MIFF 2020: The torch-bearers of Indian animation A protégé of the legendary animator Ram Mohan, who passed away recently, Chetan Sharma has curated an exhibition as an homage to his Guru, and two other of his Guru’s contemporary masters, who also left for their heavenly within short spans of each other. The exhibition, titled The Torch-bearers of Indian Animation, which is dedicated to V.G. Samant and BhimSain too, is located in the basement of the NMIC building. &ldquo...

Tom Alter: Actor, Cricketer, Urdu lover and Caucasian Unlikely combination of professions and hobbies for a man named Thomas Beach Alter, who hailed from a family of American missionaries. His acting abilities were never in doubt, and the barest accent betrayed his ethnicity. But his skin and hair distinguished him from other Indian co-actors quite noticeably, and he had to be content with parts showing him as a British colonial or modern day baddie. There were occasions when he was made to s...