Parveen Babi, A Life--by Karishma Upadhyay: Break-ups and break-downs Appearing out of nowhere, Parveen Babi made her screen debut with the film Charitra, acting opposite cricketer Salim Durani, in 1973. That was not the first film she had signed, which credit goes to Dhuen Ki Lakeer, released the following year. Her career really took off with Majboor (1974, co-starring Amitabh Bachchan) and she was seen in some 58 films totally, the last one releasing in 1991, years after she had given up a...

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent So there’s a poll, source may have some bias, that has determined that “80 percent of Americans want to go out to the movies in July.” We thank our friends at DDAPR for that stat, and with it comes the first movie out of the Pandemic box. UNHINGED starring Russell Crowe from Solstice Studios is set for July 1. “We made this decision after extensive consultation with the National Association of Theater Owners and leading...

Boy Erased, Review: Let the gay have their way Homosexuality is not a state of mind, a disease or a matter of choice. While we are getting increasingly aware of these facts in many parts of the world, there are at least 35 states in the USA where gay conversion centres try to rid the inmates of this ‘abnormality’ through therapy and methods that are both conventional and unconventional. The memoirs of one boy who was sent to such a home form the basis of Boy Erased, directed by ac...

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent Oh, admit it, the team of OG Box Office Ballers Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe in Universal’s new take on THE MUMMY slated for June 9 has definite possibilities, even if Russell Crowe is a wry scale-tipper these days, mostly divining water in indie films. Plus it’s an IMAX® hair-raiser. Tom Cruise, or TC to friends, is such a hot-button actor for his off-screen activities that it’s almost like a Kevin Bacon game of interconn...

  So, the tipsiest we'll get this season may be from a documentary about wine. From its opening pan of a cellar synced to "I Put A Spell on You," Red Obsession hints that we're about to be possessed by something pretty heady. The wine trade already has. Directors Warwick Ross and David Roach begin their beguiling film in the Bordeaux region of western France. As we learn from narrator Russell Crowe, nature and two millennia of experience in fermenting grapes h...

It was my first time doing the red carpet as a professional photographer. You can just imagine how exciting it was. Doing something the first time is special. You know, getting your First drivers license, kissing, making love, giving birth and you get the picture. Today I had the privilege and pleasure of shooting 'The Next Three Days', a drama staring my friend Russell Crowe. The shoot wasn't without incident either, such is the often the case i...

    Not even volcanic ash could keep some of the world's most prominent international film stars from arriving in Cannes for the opening ceremonies of the 63rd annual Film Festival. The premiere of Robin Hood Wednesday night was preceded by a star-studded red carpet event attracting fans and photographers from all over the world. Paparazzi camped out overnight on Tuesday to stake out the perfect shot of the evening's festivities.          Locals and tourists ali...

FIRST IMPRESSIONS The titles quickly fade up and extinguish, burning away like the tissued wrapping of a cigarette. The first image smashes like a thunderbolt upon the screen, a point of view shot from behind a cloth hood. We hear the slightest whispers of strained breaths as tribal drums pound furiously on the soundtrack. Not even thirty seconds into Michael Mann's 1999 film "The Insider" and we're already suffocating. The man behind the mask is Lowell Bergman, the venerable producer of "60...