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Mint
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
‘Sarzameen' review: Strained family drama has little insight into Kashmir
Kayoze Irani's Sarzameen reminded me of another, very different Kajol film. I won't say which, or why. What I will say is that if you're hoping to land a wild plot twist, at least flesh out enough characters that the viewer can't figure out the reveal through simple deduction. Something about eliminating the impossible... This is the second film in two months set in modern-day Kashmir and revolving around the armed forces serving there. Ground Zero, released days after the Pahalgam attack, is about a model BSF officer, devoted to his wife and young daughter. It's the more interesting of the two films, building to the verge of critical self-assessment before retreating to the safer ground of patriotic duty. Sarzameen has a more fractious military family at its centre. Colonel Vijay Menon (Prithviraj Sukumaran) is introduced with a dramatic victory, leading the capture of separatist Qaabil (K.C. Shankar), believed to be the shadowy string-puller 'Mohsin'. But in the very next scene—in what will become a pattern—he's handed a defeat at home, at a party hosted by his wife, Meher (Kajol). She has a surprise: their son, Harman, wants to say a few words about his father. But the boy can't overcome his stutter, and is embarrassed into silence by the pointed murmuring of guests and his father's clear discomfort. Vijay's coldness in this moment is consistent with his attitude towards the timid, sensitive boy who can't seem to please his demanding father. Meher tries to get him to be nicer, but you can sense it's no use, that army-obsessed Vijay has deemed his son unfit to serve, even on the homefront. One night, when Vijay is on duty, the boy is kidnapped by Qaabil's people. A prisoner exchange is demanded. Somehow, after it's done, Vijay still doesn't have his son. If you've seen a trailer or a poster or heard anything about this film, you'll know that Harman returns. Or, at any rate, a young man who calls himself Harman, who turns up conveniently during an army sweep. Grown-up Harman, played by Ibrahim Ali Khan, is buff and bearded; he looks plausibly Kashmiri, despite neither of his parents looking remotely so. Vijay brings him home, but almost immediately—to his wife's disgust—suspects the young man is hiding something. Sarzameen joins a growing list of films that see Kashmir only as a picturesque setting and a hook to hang their patriotism on. Almost all the Kashmiri characters in the film are terrorists; all the non-Kashmiris are army personnel. There's barely anything in the music, the detailing, the language to tie the film to its setting. When Qaabil and his son talk, it's in Hindi, without any sort of accent. The only thing that says Kashmir is the snow and the barbed wire and soldiers everywhere. Shankar plays Qaabil with as much dignity as possible, but he's fighting a film that isn't interested in his character's reasons. Though Sarzameen isn't nasty like Article 370 (2024), it's not shy of stereotypes either. There are multiple scenes where assuming a Muslim name enables a character to become a true separatist. 'Why are you eating with your hands?' Vijay asks Harman on his first night home—a crazy thing to associate with Muslims, considering Indians of all kinds, all over the country, eat this way. In his second film after Nadaaniyan, Khan still looks tentative. He doesn't give the impression of enjoying being in front of a camera, something you rarely see even in the least promising star kids. A more seasoned director could have helped him channel his wariness into the unhappy Harman, but Irani (son of Boman Irani, who appears in a small role), directing his first film, is tentative himself. The biggest miscalculation is barely developing Meher beyond being a worried mother, despite having Kajol in the role; there's a reason for this, a gamble that backfires spectacularly. A lesser stumble, but one that made me roll my eyes, is the scene where boy Harman and young man Harman have a conversation, a device much too tricky for a film this simple. Sarzameen seems afraid to look the Kashmir conflict in the face. The film it superficially resembles is Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Mission Kashmir (2000), in which police superintendent Inayat Khan adopts the child of civilians who are killed during a operation he's leading, only for the boy to grow up, find out the truth and vow to end his life. It's a far more provocative scenario, and though it has its blind spots, the film is alive to the place, its people and their troubles. Sarzameen, on the other hand, remains an outside observer, and doesn't do a good job of that either.
Pink Villa
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
How Emraan Hashmi's ‘serial-kisser' tag broke him an expensive deal with wife Parveen Shahani
Emraan Hashmi and his list of romantic movies require no introduction. The handsome Bollywood actor earned the tag of a serial kisser for a considerable segment of his career, courtesy of the on-screen kissing scenes he had to shoot. However, did you know that these kissing scenes ended up resulting in the actor paying a price to his wife, Parveen Shahani? When Emraan Hashmi spilled tea on his curious barter deal with his wife Parveen Previously, during the launch of his book titled The Kiss of Life, Emraan Hashmi confessed that he was supposed to buy his wife, Parveen Shahani, a bag each time there was a kissing scene in his movies. The actor mentioned how his wife still sulked over him doing kissing scenes, and it was only buying her bags that could calm her down. In his words, "Always buy her bags, for every kiss, for every film. She has got a cupboard full of bags, there's one cupboard dedicated to bags.' How many bags did Emraan gift his wife for his kissing scenes? In the same event, Emraan Hashmi was asked how many bags in total he had gifted to his wife over his kissing scenes so far, considering the numerous films that have featured such moments. To clarify the matter, the Gangster actor highlighted that, according to his deal with his wife, he gives her a bag for the movie in which there are on-screen kisses, not the number of times they occur. He added, 'As many times, but bag is only once. We've had a barter deal; that way, I told her that I'll be broke. Don't take money for everything, take money for the film and buy a bag with it." Emraan Hashmi's work front Coming to his work front, Emraan was last seen in the 2025-released film Ground Zero. Moving on, he has Pawan Kalyan starrer They Call Him OG, Adivi Sesh's G2, and Gunmaster G9 on the cards. Additionally, he recently announced the sequel to his most popular film, Awarapan 2, which is also in the pipeline.
Forbes
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The ‘Escape From Tarkov' Hardcore Wipe Is The Best It's Been In Years
Takrov is feeling great right now. The hardcore wipe in Escape From Tarkov got off to a rough start, with some questionable decisions or simple oversights that really hampered the player experience. But now those have mostly been solved, the hardcore mode has reignited my love for Tarkov after more than a year of being away from the game. A new wipe is always an exciting time in Tarkov, but not since the addition of Ground Zero well over a year ago have I been itching to play whenever I have free time. With little in the way of major new content since then, wipes have just become resets rather than a chance to explore new content, and have quickly become tiresome as I realise it's essentially the same old stuff once again. But this wipe, with the new hardcore ruleset that makes everything that little bit harder, is proving to be enough of a change to keep me interested. The reworked economy and no flea market, as well as the increase in difficulty, means I no longer always have over a million in the bank and can afford new kit, and the lack of rare loot means I can no longer do one of my trusty loot runs, which I'm not going to share, to earn that kind of cash in minutes. This in turn means I'm having to learn how to use new weapons, and truly scrounge whatever I can from the map each time I survive. Running out of a raid with a TOZ in my backpack is now a worthwhile thing to do, just so I can build up a stash of weapons for when I inevitably lose all my good ones and have no cash to buy any more. With all maps now available with no transit required, which is probably the last quality of life change that needed to be made, this hardcore Tarkov wipe is feeling fantastic. Every encounter with AI or other players brings back that adrenaline that was only there during my first couple of wipes, and losing a fight feels truly heartbreaking once again. I don't want to go as far as to say this is how Tarkov should be played, it is tough and a lot of players are bouncing off this wipe as a result. The 70% boss spawn rate also means chill raids are just no longer a thing on some maps and could be toned down a little. But I do think, providing player numbers can support it, a permanent hardcore mode in Tarkov when it launches later this year would be a good thing. I, for sure, would play it, and likely even run two different characters, one for normal Tarkov and one for hardcore. It's a completely different change of pace and one that, right now at least, is really working for me and my enjoyment of Escape From Tarkov. There are still a few things to improve here and there, but as a concept this has been an undoubted success now the big issues have been fixed, and with a tiny bit more refinement it could be a very welcome permanent addition to Tarkov.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NYC Council orders Department of Investigation to probe 9/11 Ground Zero toxin reports
The New York City Council passed a resolution Monday ordering the city's Department of Investigation to probe what information the city had on Ground Zero toxins after the 9/11 attacks and when they had it. The resolution's passage, in a unanimous vote, comes after a yearslong fight to find out what the city knew about dangerous chemicals in the air after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The Adams administration as well as its predecessors have refused to release those documents, claiming they couldn't find them and that the documents could lead to a barrage of lawsuits from survivors and first responders. 'This legislation is about responsive, transparent, and accountable government. The remaining residents and survivors of the September 11, 2001 attacks are deeply interested in what the city knew about the hazards of that period, and when,' said Gale Brewer, chair of the Council's Oversight and Investigation Committee. 'Resolution 560-A will provide answers that are 20 years overdue.' The legislation marks the first time a provision of the City Charter allows the Council to order the DOI to undertake an investigation with a bill. Despite lawsuits and multiple Freedom of Information Law requests, mayoral administrations since Rudy Giuliani have refused to release the documents. This bill directs the DOI, which has independent oversight over the city, to investigate what past administrations knew about environmental toxins produced by the terror attacks and to submit those findings to the Council in a report. The DOI will be required to produce biannual updates, with a final report due at the end of the two-year probe. Spokespeople for the mayor did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 'This resolution would finally reveal what city government knew about environmental toxins produced by the September 11 attacks, and when. This transparency is particularly relevant in this moment when trust in government is severely lacking,' Brewer said. About 137,000 first responders and survivors are enrolled in the U.S. Center for Disease Control's WTC Health Program to get treatment and medication due to Ground Zero toxins. Around 7,000 have died. Some advocates have estimated there are more than 10,000 potential liability claims.
The Hindu
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Emraan Hashmi, Himesh Reshammiya reunite for ‘Gunmaaster G9'; take fans back to the 2000s
Emraan Hashmi and Himesh Reshammiya, a pairing that ruled the 2000s with their iconic music and thrillers, are making a comeback. The two are teaming up once again for an action-packed film titled Gunmaaster G9, set to release in 2026. The makers dropped a gripping announcement teaser on Wednesday. The film, directed by Aditya Datt, also stars Genelia Deshmukh and Aparshakti Khurana in key roles. In a video shared on Instagram, a mysterious hand can be seen pulling a gun from a bucket of milk, while Emraan's voice is heard in a dramatic tone: "Mujhe mach mach kiya, chalega. Galti se family ko touch kiya toh yaad rakhna, dhandhe se doodh waala hun, banda baroodwala hun." (You messed with me--fine. But if you mess with my family, remember this: I may be in the milk business, but I'm a man who deals with gunpowder). The second slide of the post included a video showing a woman's hand pulling out a knife. Genelia's voice is heard in the background saying in Hindi, 'I'm the daughter-in-law of the house. But it doesn't mean I'm only gentle and soft. If there are vegetables at home, I'll chop them. However, if goons and thugs show up, I won't just be chopping vegetables.' ALSO READ:'Ground Zero' movie review: Emraan Hashmi paramilitary film is a conflicting watch In the third slide of the post, Aparshakti can be heard adding his own wild flavour .Directed by Aditya Datt (Aashiq Banaya Aapne, Table No. 21), the film marks the return of Emraan and Himesh's musical-action combo that once defined an era. The film is produced by Deepak Mukut, Hunar Mukut, and Soham Rockstar Entertainment. Gunmaaster G9 is expected to release in cinemas in 2026.
