All posts tagged: writing

The Furious review: Joe Taslim and Xie Miao deliver a bone-crunching action spectacle that deserved better writing

The Furious review: Joe Taslim and Xie Miao deliver a bone-crunching action spectacle that deserved better writing

Published by Parlour News

The Furious Cast: Xie Miao, Joe Taslim, Yang Enyou, Yayan Ruhian, Brian Le and Joey Iwanaga Director: Kenji Tanigaki Rating: ★★★ Every generation gets a few action films that completely change the rules of the genre and remind audiences why they fell in love with it in the first place. These are the films that leave a permanent mark because they refuse to play it safe. We saw it in the electrifying energy of ’90s Hong Kong neo-noir, the unforgettable corridor action sequence in Park Chan Wook’s Oldboy, and the savage intensity of The Raid, among others. The Furious comfortably earns its place alongside them. Directed by veteran stunt master Kenji Tanigaki, the film is a reminder that action cinema still has the power to evolve, surprise and reinvent itself. Joe Taslim and Xie Miao in a still from The Furious. (Lionsgate) The plot of The Furious Wang Wei (Xie Miao), a mute Chinese migrant and skilled martial artist, lives a quiet life as a handyman and single father to his young daughter, Rainy (Yang …

‘Early OTT relied on shock value, not good writing’, says Randeep Hooda: ‘People abuse on screen and it was catchy’

‘Early OTT relied on shock value, not good writing’, says Randeep Hooda: ‘People abuse on screen and it was catchy’

Published by Parlour News

Actor Randeep Hooda has done it all. From ramp to indie films to blockbusters and even Hollywood big-budget actioners, the actor has a wide range of work on screen. Recently, he moved to the smaller screen as well, with streaming shows. The second season of his successful show, Inspector Avinash, is now set for release. In a candid chat about the evolution of streaming, Randeep speaks to Hindustan Times about the show, the streaming space, and more. Randeep Hooda in a promotional poster for Inspector Avinash. Randeep Hooda on Inspector Avinash Inspector Avinash is a crime drama based on the real-life story of how UP Police’s Special Task Force (STF) was formed. It stars Randeep in the titular role, and the actor feels it stands out from the clutter of crime dramas in the streaming space. “I find Inspector Avinash very refreshing because there is larger-than-life action, but we break the fourth wall, taking the audience into confidence. At the same time, there are characters rooted in reality. That class and mass combination of Neeraj’s …

Exclusive! Akshay Kumar’s Biggest contribution to my writing career is ‘Mat Karna’: Twinkle Khanna

Exclusive! Akshay Kumar’s Biggest contribution to my writing career is ‘Mat Karna’: Twinkle Khanna

Published by Parlour News

Self-aware, sharp and gently irreverent, she moves between insight and humour without missing a beat. This World Book Day (April 23), author-filmmaker Twinkle Khanna offers Medha Shri Dahiya a glimpse into the perceptive lens through which she sees the world. Twinkle is known for writing Mrs Funnybones (2015), The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad (2016), Pyjamas Are Forgiving (2018), and Welcome to Paradise (2023). Excerpts: Twinkle Khanna says her father (late veteran actor Rajesh Khanna), instilled a love for language in her. She shares, ‘I have a distinct memory when I said, ‘Will you pick me up from school?’ And he said, ‘Are you a pickup? I will fetch you from school.’ That kind of just set my parameters of what language can do.” You are known to put your views bluntly. If your next book offended everyone a little, would you consider that success?I have a feeling that it will offend quite a few people, but my job is not to go around offending people. My job is to make people reflect on the things …

‘Mat Karna’: Twinkle Khanna reveals Akshay Kumar’s ‘only’ contribution to her writing | Bollywood News

‘Mat Karna’: Twinkle Khanna reveals Akshay Kumar’s ‘only’ contribution to her writing | Bollywood News

Published by Webster

4 min readNew DelhiApr 23, 2026 02:43 PM IST Sometimes, the first reaction to a bold idea is “don’t.” And in Twinkle Khanna’s case, that voice many times belongs to her husband, Akshay Kumar. When Twinkle sits down to write, they’re often met with a quick reality check from Akshay. On World Book Day, Khanna offered a glimpse into her process, revealing how Kumar’s caution has become a consistent part of her writing journey. Akshay Kumar’s contribution to Twinkle Khanna’s writing career Recounting a recent exchange, Khanna told IANS, “This morning, I was discussing the topics I plan to touch upon in my next column, and he told me, ‘Mat karna…do not get into that issue’. Mat kar is basically his only and biggest contribution to my writing career.” Khanna was quick to explain that her work is not about provoking outrage. Instead, she sees writing as a way to gently push readers to think deeper about what they already see but may overlook. “My job is to make people reflect on the things that …

World Book Day| Kubbra Sait: Writing a book has given me the courage to live my life whole heartedly

World Book Day| Kubbra Sait: Writing a book has given me the courage to live my life whole heartedly

Published by Parlour News

For Kubbra Sait, the love for books wasn’t something she grew up with, but a habit she inculcated in herself as an adult. “I actually didn’t really grow up reading a lot of novels or books, and I never even thought growing up that maybe I will become an author one day. But that is something that I chose to do as an adult. Books came into my life through a conscious choice. It was something that I had to do like an exercise to imagine,” she says on World Book Day, adding that self help books became her comfort place. Kubbra Sait (Photo: Instagram) Reflecting on some of her favourite works, Kubbra Sait shares, “I loved reading The 40 Rules of Love by Elif Shafak, the work by Paulo Coelho and The Seagull by Anton Chekhov. It doesn’t matter how big or small the book is for me, as far as it connects, and I’m able to remember something while reading it, it works for me. I remember reading The White Tiger before watching …

When students paused writing exams to stare at Varanasi star Mahesh Babu, police had to intervene

When students paused writing exams to stare at Varanasi star Mahesh Babu, police had to intervene

Published by Parlour News

Actor Mahesh Babu might be 50, but he’s still considered one of the best-looking stars in Tollywood. At an event for his upcoming film, Rao Bahadur, Satyadev spoke about his long association with Mahesh, who is presenting the film. He revealed that once, when they were shooting, filming had to be paused, and the police intervened as students were too distracted by the Varanasi star. Mahesh Babu will soon star in SS Rajamouli’s Varanasi. When Mahesh Babu distracted students from writing exams Satyadev went down memory lane and said at the event, “We were shooting in SR Nagar on top of a building. The shot shows four friends talking. The traffic was blocked, and students who were writing inter (11th and 12th standard) exams kept staring out of the window. It was like chaos, like nothing I had ever seen before. An actor was delivering dialogue with his hand on my shoulder. The reason for all this happening was Mahesh Babu.” He then added that the movie they were shooting for was Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle …

Chetak Screen Awards 2026: Homebound wins Best Film Writing (Story & Screenplay) award | Bollywood News

Chetak Screen Awards 2026: Homebound wins Best Film Writing (Story & Screenplay) award | Bollywood News

Published by Parlour News

2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Apr 5, 2026 09:17 PM IST Chetak Screen Awards 2026 Best Film Writing (Story & Screenplay) Winner: At a time when the industry is grappling with lack of compelling storytelling, it was Basharat Peer, Neeraj Ghaywan and Sumit Roy’s screenplay for Homebound that truly got everyone talking, earning them the Best Film Writing (Story & Screenplay) award at the Chetak Screen Awards 2026. The category saw strong competition from some of the finest writers of the year, including Aditya Dhar (Dhurandhar), Reshu Nath (Haq), Aranya Sahay (Humans in the Loop), and Varun Grover (Superboys of Malegaon). Filmakers Rajkumar Hirani and Deepa Bhatia presented the trophy to the winners at the grand ceremony held in Mumbai on Sunday. While accepting the award, Neeraj Ghaywan expressed surprise, noting that they had not expected to win as Dhurandhar had been sweeping most of the awards. Bollywood star Alia Bhatt, comedians Zakir Khan and Sunil Grover, and eminent journalist Saurabh Dwivedi (Editor – Hindi, The Indian Express) served as hosts in the ceremony. About Chetak …

Shreya Ghoshal recalls writing a heartfelt letter to her guru as a child

Shreya Ghoshal recalls writing a heartfelt letter to her guru as a child

Published by Webster

Bollywood superstar singer Shreya Ghoshal was left emotional when the Indian Idol stage brought her a special surprise during her birthday week. The special episode, celebrating the timeless music of Mohammed Rafi and Mukesh in the presence of legendary composer Pyarelal Sharma, turned even more heartfelt as the show united Shreya with her Guru, who laid the foundation of her impeccable singing. As the episode began, host Aditya Narayan read out a letter that Shreya Ghoshal had written to her first Guru, Mahesh Chandra Sharma, when she was a kid. The letter read, “Namaste, aasha karti hoon ki aap sab wahan kushal hain. Abhi bhi yahan meri shastriya shiksha shuru nahi ho payi hai. Papa abhi achhe guru se sampark karne ki koshish kar rahe hain. Yahan aane ke baad main kuch dino tak Kalyan ji Uncle ke paas sikhne jaa rahi thi, par iss beech mujhe jaundice ho gaya, jis wajah se main dedh mahine unke paas nahi jaa paayi. Aur main roz aapke sikhaye hue ragon ka riyaaz karti hoon. Aap mera bhakti-purn …

Ashish Chanchlani admits Ekaki led to ‘huge loss’, reveals writing Stranger Things-like scene 3 years ago | Interview

Ashish Chanchlani admits Ekaki led to ‘huge loss’, reveals writing Stranger Things-like scene 3 years ago | Interview

Published by Parlour News

Content creator and actor Ashish Chanchlani has stepped into the sci-fi space with his YouTube series Ekaki, which he has written, directed, produced and acted in. The ambitious project blends horror, comedy and extraterrestrial elements, something rarely explored in Indian digital content. Ashish Chanchlani talked about making an alien world of his own with Ekaki In an interview with Hindustan Times, Ashish revealed that the idea for the series came from his long-standing fascination with aliens and the fear of the unknown. He addressed comparisons between the finale episode’s ending with Stranger Things and talked about being offered money from OTT platforms. How Ekaki came into existence Ashish revealed that he always wanted to bring aliens to India, but in a way nobody has done before. “The fear of the unknown is a very good topic, not really explored well. Whenever we find something uncanny or mysterious, we always say it’s a ghost, but we never question the reality of it,” he said. He recalled that the concept struck him during a casual conversation with …

Alyssa Healy explains why she got ‘little emotional’ writing Lucy Hamilton’s cap presentation speech | Cricket News

Alyssa Healy explains why she got ‘little emotional’ writing Lucy Hamilton’s cap presentation speech | Cricket News

Published by Webster

2 min readMar 5, 2026 06:03 PM IST Australian captain Alyssa Healy has revealed that she got a little emotional while writing the presentation speech for debutant Lucy Hamilton, saying that it reminded her of how meaningful it is to represent Australia. Speaking to reporters at the WACA ground, ahead of what is set to be her final match for the Australian national team, the veteran wicketkeeper-batter reflected on the significance of earning an international cap and the journey she has experienced over the last 16 years. “I got a little emotional writing Lucy Hamilton’s cap presentation (speech). That kind of reaffirmed to me that it’s hard work getting your cap and debuting for Australia,” Healy said. The 35-year-old said that writing the speech for a debutant made her take a pause and look back with appreciation at her own time in international cricket. “How lucky I’ve been for 16 years to have done that. Probably taken it for granted at times, so writing somebody else’s speech was a nice little moment to check in …