Butchers of Sopore and Birmingham

Nine years of calm before icy storm

Kashmir turns crimson with blood of Pandits

AN UN-ISLAMIC KIDNAPPING AND CHAOS IN THE VALLEY

The illusion of azaadi and Kashmir’s historic deception

How Pak's terror policy evolved in Kashmir

Birth of social media jihadists, death of Article-370

Operation Sindoor: When Indian missiles rained on Pak terror parade

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<p><span><strong>Ashok Kumar</strong></span><figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-entity">
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<figcaption>Ashok Kumar</figcaption>
</figure></p><p>By 1947, Ashok Kumar had already been a star—Hindi cinema&rsquo;s first male star—for years, and was about to see a pivotal new generation take over. He lingered as protagonist, and as a significant presence in films like <em>Bandini</em> (1963) or the handful built around a trio with Pradeep Kumar-Meena Kumari. But for decades, &lsquo;Dada Moni&rsquo; retained a vital relevance as a character actor, occasionally stretching himself in edgier or more central roles in, say, <em>Jewel Thief</em> (1967) or <em>Aashirwad </em>(1968), then settled down into being one of our best-loved grandfatherly figures. None of that erases the young Ashok—the accidental 25-year-old hero of <em>Achhut Kanya</em> (1936), the slick hipster of <em>Kismet </em>(1943) and many other B&W classics, producer at Bombay Talkies, mentor and friend to younger talents.</p><h3><span>Balraj Sahni</span></h3><figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-entity">
<div data-embed-button="ckeditor_image" data-entity-embed-display="view_mode:media.image" data-entity-type="media" data-entity-uuid="c57c0fc7-6df3-4053-9713-931cf3e888f3" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"><article class="media media--type-ckeditor-image media--view-mode-image">
  
      
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<figcaption>Balraj Sahni</figcaption>
</figure></p><p>His farmer-turned-rickshaw puller adrift in the big city (<em>Do Bigha Zamin</em>, 1953)—infinitely graceful in pain—became a touchstone of film acting. A light effortlessness with the spoken word combined with the method actor&rsquo;s rigour in how he got under a character&rsquo;s skin, from <em>Dharti Ke Lal</em> (1946) to his great swansong as the patriarch in<em> Garm Hava</em> (1973), magisterial and vulnerable at once. In between came scores of roles, not always as leading men but always bringing gravitas and depth—as well as occasional playfulness, as in the early sequences of <em>Waqt </em>(1965).</p><h3><span>Amitabh Bachchan</span></h3></p><p>It&rsquo;s widely acknowledged that Bachchan could do anything well, from goofy comedy to the entire gamut of anger—from intense and slow-burning to explosive. No Hindi actor had ever done it this way before, and only a few can even in today&rsquo;s edgier, more &lsquo;realistic&rsquo; cinema. Also notable were the professional standards he set, being one of the only male actors of his time who was unfailingly punctual for a shoot, and immersing himself in as many areas of his craft as possible. He was a terrific &lsquo;song actor&rsquo; too, infrequently, but memorably, lapsing into song himself. His reinvention in the past two decades, though not as appreciated, has brought some fine performances (<em>Khakee</em>, 2004; <em>Cheeni Kum</em>, 2007; <em>Te3n</em>, 2016).</p><div class="itemcenter"><amp-iframe height="62" title="" width="320" sandbox="allow-forms allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-top-navigation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" allowfullscreen src="https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.dev?url=https%3A%2F%2Fakm-img-a-in.tosshub.com%2Fsites%2Findiatoday%2Fbanner%2Fpreferred-source-new.html%3Fv%3D1.014%5Cu0026native%3D1" class="mrBt15 preferred-source-banner"> </amp-iframe></div><h3><br>
<span>Shammi Kapoor</span></h3></p><p>An unconventional choice perhaps, but Shammi—&lsquo;the Indian Elvis&rsquo;—is a refreshing change from the studied naturalism of the first three names. The first actor who danced with real aplomb and lack of inhibition, showing the way to later generations, his flamboyance was a perfect fit for the Eastmancolor era, with its escapist hill-station stories and frothy musicals. In his finest moments, Shammi erases the line between &lsquo;serious acting&rsquo; and &lsquo;having fun&rsquo;, showing they can be the same thing.</p><h3><span>Dharmendra</span></h3><figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-entity">
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<figcaption>Dharmendra; (Photo: India Picture)</figcaption>
</figure></p><p>Of all the actors here, Dharmendra may be the one most dependent on a good director with faith in his ability to fill out a role. Sadly, not enough of them had that—Dharam&rsquo;s own self-deprecation comes across as honest. Watch him in the human-scaled films of Hrishikesh Mukherjee (<em>Satyakam</em>, 1969; <em>Chupke Chupke</em>, 1975) or amid the sprawling landscapes of J.P. Dutta, who gave him some of his meatiest latter-day roles (<em>Ghulami</em>, 1985; <em>Hathyar</em>, 1989). He&rsquo;s one of our finest comic artistes too—notwithstanding the snarling he-man persona—and it&rsquo;s astonishing his Veeru in <em>Sholay </em>(1975) was under-appreciated for so long.</p><h3><span>Dilip Kumar</span></h3><figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-entity">
<div data-embed-button="ckeditor_image" data-entity-embed-display="view_mode:media.image" data-entity-type="media" data-entity-uuid="7952b67d-941c-474f-825b-d8b9408740ce" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"><article class="media media--type-ckeditor-image media--view-mode-image">
  
      
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<figcaption>Dilip Kumar; (Photo: India Picture)</figcaption>
</figure></p><p>It has long been a clich&eacute; to think of Dilip Kumar as the actor&rsquo;s actor, as the performer who everyone—viewers, peers—imitated or was in awe of. What has been less obvious to the casual movie buff is that in addition to being such a powerful, reflective actor, Kumar could be a dashing star too, unafraid to show off a magnetic personality, whether in the Errol Flynn vein (<em>Aan</em>, 1952) or as a comic performer (<em>Kohinoor</em>, 1960; <em>Leader</em>, 1964). His great tragic parts in films like <em>Devdas </em>(1955) and <em>Deedar </em>(1951) or the quiet burn of <em>Mughal-E-Azam</em> (1960) cast a lingering shadow, though, even on his latter-day roles opposite much younger actors.</p><h3><span>Naseeruddin Shah</span></h3></p><p>Versatile, intelligent, the anchoring in theatre bringing a laser-focus on his craft, Naseer came at just the right time to be the perfect man for the &ldquo;parallel&rdquo; films of Shyam Benegal, Saeed Mirza, Govind Nihalani, Ketan Mehta and others. With recent print restorations, we have been able to rediscover some of his outstanding, less-seen work, such as the narcissistic Raja in <em>Bhavni Bhavai</em> (1980). Despite his disdain for the mainstream, he had an amusing if uneven career there, having a rollicking good time in films like <em>Jalwa </em>(1987), <em>Tridev </em>(1989) and <em>Krrish </em>(2006).</p><h3><span>Irrfan Khan</span></h3><figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-entity">
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<figcaption>Irrfan Khan; (Photo: India Picture)</figcaption>
</figure></p><p>The &ldquo;what could have been&rdquo; question will always haunt our thoughts of Irrfan—who departed much too young in 2020—but the consolation will have to be that the &ldquo;what is&rdquo; still burns like a spectacular fire. Throughout his career, Irrfan kept raising the bar for powerful, internalised acting, from his best homegrown roles (<em>Maqbool</em>, 2004; <em>The Namesake</em>, 2006; <em>Paan Singh Tomar</em>, 2012; <em>The Lunchbox</em>, 2013) to international productions like <em>Life of Pi</em> (2012). But he also showed an ability to throw himself wholeheartedly into massy escapism—watch the otherwise dull <em>Jazbaa </em>(2015) for his marvellous wisecracking-action-hero turn.</p><h3><span>Anil Kapoor</span></h3><figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-entity">
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<figcaption>Anil Kapoor; (Photo: India Picture)</figcaption>
</figure></p><p>One of those so easy to take for granted, though there has been appreciation of late for his fitness well into his 60s! But think about it and you&rsquo;ll realise how much he has meant to two or more generations of viewers, and what a range of iconic or loved films he has enlivened: from &rsquo;80s outings (<em>Chameli ki Shaadi</em>, <em>Mr India</em>, <em>Tezaab</em>) all the way to his comic turn in <em>No Entry</em> (2005), the rakish patriarch in <em>Dil Dhadakne Do</em> (2015), the self-lacerating<em> AK vs AK</em> (2020).</p><h3><span>Manoj Bajpayee</span></h3></p><p>Versatility is a quality often over-emphasised, but it can be breathtaking when an actor truly pulls it off. Look no further than Bajpayee&rsquo;s brawny, profane Sardar Khan in <em>Gangs of Wasseypur</em> (2012) being followed by his reticent, soft-spoken characters in <em>Aligarh </em>(2015) and <em>Bhonsle </em>(2018, barely speaking here). After his defining early work (<em>Satya</em>, 1998; <em>Kaun?</em>, 1999), he was out in the wilderness for a while but recovered to make a strong comeback in both films and in web series (<em>The Family Man</em>, 2019-). Many career highlights perchance lie ahead.</p><div id="tab-link-wrapper-plugin"><div class="authors__container"><div class="authors__by"><div class="authlable">Published By: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Aditya Mohan Wig</div></div><div class="published__on"><div class="authlable">Published On: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Dec 26, 2022</div></div></div><div class="sendros">--- ENDS ---</div></div>

cover-story

Cover Story

<p><span style="color:#c0392b;"><strong>Ashok Kumar</strong></span><figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-entity">
<div data-embed-button="ckeditor_image" data-entity-embed-display="view_mode:media.image" data-entity-type="media" data-entity-uuid="b9f7f4f2-5a86-453e-9e27-281db094ffa6" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"><article class="media media--type-ckeditor-image media--view-mode-image">
  
      
            <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item">  <div class="itgimage"><img  height="770"  title=""  width="770"  class="image-style-medium-crop-simple" alt="" src="https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.dev?url=https%3A%2F%2Fakm-img-a-in.tosshub.com%2Findiatoday%2Fstyles%2Fmedium_crop_simple%2Fpublic%2F2022-12%2Ffull_of_character_7.jpg%3FVersionId%3DoyBx4eJeE0jLF1IdgLODs154WV3DsXyh%5Cu0026size%3D750:*" loading="lazy" /></div>


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<figcaption>Ashok Kumar</figcaption>
</figure></p><p>By 1947, Ashok Kumar had already been a star—Hindi cinema&rsquo;s first male star—for years, and was about to see a pivotal new generation take over. He lingered as protagonist, and as a significant presence in films like <em>Bandini</em> (1963) or the handful built around a trio with Pradeep Kumar-Meena Kumari. But for decades, &lsquo;Dada Moni&rsquo; retained a vital relevance as a character actor, occasionally stretching himself in edgier or more central roles in, say, <em>Jewel Thief</em> (1967) or <em>Aashirwad </em>(1968), then settled down into being one of our best-loved grandfatherly figures. None of that erases the young Ashok—the accidental 25-year-old hero of <em>Achhut Kanya</em> (1936), the slick hipster of <em>Kismet </em>(1943) and many other B&W classics, producer at Bombay Talkies, mentor and friend to younger talents.</p><h3><span style="color:#c0392b;">Balraj Sahni</span></h3><figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-entity">
<div data-embed-button="ckeditor_image" data-entity-embed-display="view_mode:media.image" data-entity-type="media" data-entity-uuid="c57c0fc7-6df3-4053-9713-931cf3e888f3" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"><article class="media media--type-ckeditor-image media--view-mode-image">
  
      
            <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item">  <div class="itgimage"><img  height="770"  title=""  width="770"  class="image-style-medium-crop-simple" alt="" src="https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.dev?url=https%3A%2F%2Fakm-img-a-in.tosshub.com%2Findiatoday%2Fstyles%2Fmedium_crop_simple%2Fpublic%2F2022-12%2Ffull_of_character_6.jpg%3FVersionId%3DwLn0tXvQVUSobUzgzMeJybids8672G6c%5Cu0026size%3D750:*" loading="lazy" /></div>


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<figcaption>Balraj Sahni</figcaption>
</figure></p><p>His farmer-turned-rickshaw puller adrift in the big city (<em>Do Bigha Zamin</em>, 1953)—infinitely graceful in pain—became a touchstone of film acting. A light effortlessness with the spoken word combined with the method actor&rsquo;s rigour in how he got under a character&rsquo;s skin, from <em>Dharti Ke Lal</em> (1946) to his great swansong as the patriarch in<em> Garm Hava</em> (1973), magisterial and vulnerable at once. In between came scores of roles, not always as leading men but always bringing gravitas and depth—as well as occasional playfulness, as in the early sequences of <em>Waqt </em>(1965).</p><h3><span style="color:#c0392b;">Amitabh Bachchan</span></h3></p><p>It&rsquo;s widely acknowledged that Bachchan could do anything well, from goofy comedy to the entire gamut of anger—from intense and slow-burning to explosive. No Hindi actor had ever done it this way before, and only a few can even in today&rsquo;s edgier, more &lsquo;realistic&rsquo; cinema. Also notable were the professional standards he set, being one of the only male actors of his time who was unfailingly punctual for a shoot, and immersing himself in as many areas of his craft as possible. He was a terrific &lsquo;song actor&rsquo; too, infrequently, but memorably, lapsing into song himself. His reinvention in the past two decades, though not as appreciated, has brought some fine performances (<em>Khakee</em>, 2004; <em>Cheeni Kum</em>, 2007; <em>Te3n</em>, 2016).</p><div class="itemcenter"><iframe scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="62" awidth="320" aheight="62" amplayout="fixed" src="https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.dev?url=https%3A%2F%2Fakm-img-a-in.tosshub.com%2Fsites%2Findiatoday%2Fbanner%2Fpreferred-source-new.html%3Fv%3D1.014" class="preferred-source-banner" loading="lazy"></iframe></div><style>.preferred-source-banner{  margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}</style><h3><br>
<span style="color:#c0392b;">Shammi Kapoor</span></h3></p><p>An unconventional choice perhaps, but Shammi—&lsquo;the Indian Elvis&rsquo;—is a refreshing change from the studied naturalism of the first three names. The first actor who danced with real aplomb and lack of inhibition, showing the way to later generations, his flamboyance was a perfect fit for the Eastmancolor era, with its escapist hill-station stories and frothy musicals. In his finest moments, Shammi erases the line between &lsquo;serious acting&rsquo; and &lsquo;having fun&rsquo;, showing they can be the same thing.</p><h3><span style="color:#c0392b;">Dharmendra</span></h3><figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-entity">
<div data-embed-button="ckeditor_image" data-entity-embed-display="view_mode:media.image" data-entity-type="media" data-entity-uuid="aca625d8-a73b-4856-8170-b7e6840ab1a1" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"><article class="media media--type-ckeditor-image media--view-mode-image">
  
      
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<figcaption>Dharmendra; (Photo: India Picture)</figcaption>
</figure></p><p>Of all the actors here, Dharmendra may be the one most dependent on a good director with faith in his ability to fill out a role. Sadly, not enough of them had that—Dharam&rsquo;s own self-deprecation comes across as honest. Watch him in the human-scaled films of Hrishikesh Mukherjee (<em>Satyakam</em>, 1969; <em>Chupke Chupke</em>, 1975) or amid the sprawling landscapes of J.P. Dutta, who gave him some of his meatiest latter-day roles (<em>Ghulami</em>, 1985; <em>Hathyar</em>, 1989). He&rsquo;s one of our finest comic artistes too—notwithstanding the snarling he-man persona—and it&rsquo;s astonishing his Veeru in <em>Sholay </em>(1975) was under-appreciated for so long.</p><h3><span style="color:#c0392b;">Dilip Kumar</span></h3><figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-entity">
<div data-embed-button="ckeditor_image" data-entity-embed-display="view_mode:media.image" data-entity-type="media" data-entity-uuid="7952b67d-941c-474f-825b-d8b9408740ce" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"><article class="media media--type-ckeditor-image media--view-mode-image">
  
      
            <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item">  <div class="itgimage"><img  height="1015"  title=""  width="770"  class="image-style-medium-crop-simple" alt="" src="https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.dev?url=https%3A%2F%2Fakm-img-a-in.tosshub.com%2Findiatoday%2Fstyles%2Fmedium_crop_simple%2Fpublic%2F2022-12%2Ffull_of_character_3.jpg%3FVersionId%3DsiRvTvslalLNF1TGylDc4VvKGZY1GY_t%5Cu0026size%3D750:*" loading="lazy" /></div>


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<figcaption>Dilip Kumar; (Photo: India Picture)</figcaption>
</figure></p><p>It has long been a clich&eacute; to think of Dilip Kumar as the actor&rsquo;s actor, as the performer who everyone—viewers, peers—imitated or was in awe of. What has been less obvious to the casual movie buff is that in addition to being such a powerful, reflective actor, Kumar could be a dashing star too, unafraid to show off a magnetic personality, whether in the Errol Flynn vein (<em>Aan</em>, 1952) or as a comic performer (<em>Kohinoor</em>, 1960; <em>Leader</em>, 1964). His great tragic parts in films like <em>Devdas </em>(1955) and <em>Deedar </em>(1951) or the quiet burn of <em>Mughal-E-Azam</em> (1960) cast a lingering shadow, though, even on his latter-day roles opposite much younger actors.</p><h3><span style="color:#c0392b;">Naseeruddin Shah</span></h3></p><p>Versatile, intelligent, the anchoring in theatre bringing a laser-focus on his craft, Naseer came at just the right time to be the perfect man for the &ldquo;parallel&rdquo; films of Shyam Benegal, Saeed Mirza, Govind Nihalani, Ketan Mehta and others. With recent print restorations, we have been able to rediscover some of his outstanding, less-seen work, such as the narcissistic Raja in <em>Bhavni Bhavai</em> (1980). Despite his disdain for the mainstream, he had an amusing if uneven career there, having a rollicking good time in films like <em>Jalwa </em>(1987), <em>Tridev </em>(1989) and <em>Krrish </em>(2006).</p><h3><span style="color:#c0392b;">Irrfan Khan</span></h3><figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-entity">
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<figcaption>Irrfan Khan; (Photo: India Picture)</figcaption>
</figure></p><p>The &ldquo;what could have been&rdquo; question will always haunt our thoughts of Irrfan—who departed much too young in 2020—but the consolation will have to be that the &ldquo;what is&rdquo; still burns like a spectacular fire. Throughout his career, Irrfan kept raising the bar for powerful, internalised acting, from his best homegrown roles (<em>Maqbool</em>, 2004; <em>The Namesake</em>, 2006; <em>Paan Singh Tomar</em>, 2012; <em>The Lunchbox</em>, 2013) to international productions like <em>Life of Pi</em> (2012). But he also showed an ability to throw himself wholeheartedly into massy escapism—watch the otherwise dull <em>Jazbaa </em>(2015) for his marvellous wisecracking-action-hero turn.</p><h3><span style="color:#c0392b;">Anil Kapoor</span></h3><figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-entity">
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<figcaption>Anil Kapoor; (Photo: India Picture)</figcaption>
</figure></p><p>One of those so easy to take for granted, though there has been appreciation of late for his fitness well into his 60s! But think about it and you&rsquo;ll realise how much he has meant to two or more generations of viewers, and what a range of iconic or loved films he has enlivened: from &rsquo;80s outings (<em>Chameli ki Shaadi</em>, <em>Mr India</em>, <em>Tezaab</em>) all the way to his comic turn in <em>No Entry</em> (2005), the rakish patriarch in <em>Dil Dhadakne Do</em> (2015), the self-lacerating<em> AK vs AK</em> (2020).</p><h3><span style="color:#c0392b;">Manoj Bajpayee</span></h3></p><p>Versatility is a quality often over-emphasised, but it can be breathtaking when an actor truly pulls it off. Look no further than Bajpayee&rsquo;s brawny, profane Sardar Khan in <em>Gangs of Wasseypur</em> (2012) being followed by his reticent, soft-spoken characters in <em>Aligarh </em>(2015) and <em>Bhonsle </em>(2018, barely speaking here). After his defining early work (<em>Satya</em>, 1998; <em>Kaun?</em>, 1999), he was out in the wilderness for a while but recovered to make a strong comeback in both films and in web series (<em>The Family Man</em>, 2019-). Many career highlights perchance lie ahead.</p><div id="tab-link-wrapper-plugin"><div class="authors__container"><div class="authors__by"><div class="authlable">Published By: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Aditya Mohan Wig</div></div><div class="published__on"><div class="authlable">Published On: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Dec 26, 2022</div></div></div><div class="sendros">--- ENDS ---</div></div>

Prince or pauper, intense or flighty, silent or singing, the Hindi film hero acted out a rainbow life. A pick of the best

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Bollywood actors | Full of character - India Today

Bollywood actors | Full of character

At Davos, a session moderated by India Today Group Vice-Chairperson and Executive Editor-in-Chief Kalli Purie brought together leading economist Gita Gopinath, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Bharti Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, and IKEA Group CEO Juvencio Maeztu Herrera to decode India’s journey towards becoming the world’s third-largest economy.

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In this Special Report, we focus on the retirement of veteran NASA astronaut Sunita Williams after an illustrious 27-year career. Speaking in New Delhi, Williams described her visit to India as a 'homecoming', reflecting on her deep personal ties to the country where her father was born. During an interactive session, she shared profound life lessons from her time aboard the International Space Station, noting, 'Every person I know is there. Every animal, every plant, everything we know is there, and we're all on this one planet.' Williams, who completed three missions and set multiple human spaceflight records, emphasized how viewing Earth from orbit changes one's perception of global differences. The retired astronaut also met with the family of late fellow astronaut Kalpana Chawla during her stay in the national capital. The programme highlights her historic contributions to space exploration and her reflections on humanity's shared home.

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Bollywood actors | Full of character

Prince or pauper, intense or flighty, silent or singing, the Hindi film hero acted out a rainbow life. A pick of the best

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