A school-going kid once visited the Congress party office, where Tamil lyricist Kavirajar Kannadasan asked, "Would you like to work in films, child?" The kid said, "Ask my father."

This child was destined to become one of India's greatest superstars!

A thread on Sridevi! 🧵 It is said that when Sridevi was born, there was a bright red mark on her forehead, and hence people started that a devi had born in the house.

Thus she was named Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan.

This film, starring Supriya Pathak & Hugh Grant, is based on a novel by Mircea Eliade.

Its the story of a 23-year-old Mircea who came to Calcutta to study under philosopher Surendranath Dasgupta.

There, he fell in love with Maitreyi - teacher's daughter.

Sounds familiar? A 🧵

In this novel, Mircea fictionalizes how his love story was cut short because Surendranath Dasgupta was unhappy about the relationship. The relationship was "exposed" by Maitreyi Devi's sister.

The novel was published in 1933, a couple of years after Mircea's time in Calcutta.

20 years ago, we were reminded that good films need not make money, & films that make good money need not be great!

On June 18, 2004, Lakshya was released, telling the story of an aimless rich youngster who joins the Indian Army & discovers his true goal.

A thread🧵 Lakshya was written by @Javedakhtarjadu: He was told by senior army officers about the declining enrollments to the Indian army each year, prompting him to promise to write a film addressing the issue!

The script marked Akthar's comeback as a scriptwriter after ages!

On June 15, 2001, the world saw the release of a monumental film in scale & vision, with its main plot revolving around a cricket match between India & the British Empire!

A thread 🧵on Lagaan, the film that convinced Aamir Khan to pursue the kind of films he believed in. After two failed attempts at films, @AshGowariker's confidence was low.

He then conceived a story where a key battle is resolved by a cricket match. He pitched this to Aamir in 4 lines, who told him not to waste time on this.

This is freedom fighter Raj Narain, who achieved the greatest electoral upset in India's history.

In the 1977 elections held after the lifting of the Emergency, Raj Narain defeated Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

A thread 🧵 The story begins with the 1971 election.

Originally scheduled for 1972, Indira Gandhi called for early elections, catching opposition by surprise.

The opposition quickly recovered and nominated Raj Narain to contest against Mrs. Gandhi in Rae Bareli.
📸 @htTweets

Indian cricket is thriving today, with BCCI Secretary Jay Shah even meeting the NFL Commissioner in New York.

It wasn’t always this way.

There was a time when BCCI couldn't afford to give players bonuses, & it needed Ma Saraswati, Lata Mangeshkar's help.

A thread 🧵 The lack of money in cricket during the 80s is captured in @83thefilm.

In one scene, Balwinder Singh Sandhu's prospective marriage is called off because the bride's brother finds someone who earns more.

Sandhu accepts this harsh reality.

This song is very familiar to Indians, but it strikes a chord with people in Pakistan too.

The Pakistani film Bedari (1956) was a remake of the Hindi blockbuster Jagriti (1954).

Bedari lifted the plot, songs, & lead child actor too - Makki ka Makki!

A Thread 🧵 (1/14) The lead role in both Jagriti and Bedari is played by Nazir Rizvi (better known by his screen name Rattan Kumar).

Nazir migrated to Pakistan in the 1950s and went on to act in many Lollywood movies thereafter.

(2/14)

The 73rd Amendment to the Constitution of India in 1993 has sparked a governance revolution in India, resulting in over 10,00,000 women representatives (sarpanch, councillor) in local govt today.

This unprecedented change has no parallel anywhere in the world!

A thread 🧵 73rd amendment of Constitution of India empowered local governments and introduced women’s reservation in local governments.

The women’s quota has been in place since 1993! But a few states like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh had such measures before the constitutional amendment.

In 1999, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in the midst of balancing the needs of a 19 party coalition. Jayalalitha decided to withdraw support and a vote of confidence was taken.

This man decided to vote and NDA lost the no-confidence motion by 1 vote.

A 🧵 A little background - the NDA or the National Democratic alliance was formed not in 1998... But back in 1983.

Vajpayee heading a fledgling Bharatiya Janata Party teamed up with Charan Singh of the Lok Dal to form the NDA to fight Indira Gandhi.

India is not for beginners

A thread 🧵 What is murder, the philosopher asked!

If there's one movie that can fuel your drive to achieve more, it's "Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar."

This timeless classic turns 32 today! 🥹

A Thread 🧵 Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar is a coming-of-age sports-romance film, directed and co-written by Mansoor Khan.

The plot of JJWS is eerily similar to the 1979 American film "Breaking Away," produced and directed by Peter Yates.

Interestingly, Mansoor Khan, the director of JJWS, claims he wasn't aware of "Breaking Away."

On December 13, 2001, a white Ambassador with a 'lal batti' and permission stickers passed through the gates of the Indian Parliament.

One person found that suspicious: Kamlesh Kumari. We should be thankful to her for that.

A thread 🧵 (1/6) The car, instead of slowing down or maintaining speed, suddenly accelerated.

Equipped with only a constable's baton and a walkie-talkie, Kamlesh Kumari began following the car. She soon spotted five men, all heavily armed, heading towards the building. (2/6)

👨‍🦲👨‍🦲👨‍🦲 12 12

If you know your Hindi films, the above is the number of Star fisheries... Or is it Star Garage?

A thread on the madcap Hindi film 'Hera Pheri'. Hera Pheri is a remake of a Malayalam film ‘Ramji Rao Speaking’, which itself is inspired by “See the Man Run” a 1971 film that revolved around a wrong number, ransom call and a struggling actor.

This ad is considered among the greatest Indian ads of all time.

But the ad was a result of a panic phone call, a Diwali vacation interrupted and a music director who had a flight to catch to Kolkata.

Read on. 👇 Back in 1994, Ogilvy were on the verge of crisis. Cadburys were looking for a new direction.

They were being perceived as a children's product which wasn't appealing to adults.

The creative genius Piyush Pandey was on Diwali vacation in USA when his boss called him.

A trip from Mysore to Bangalore is simply incomplete without indulging in the mouthwatering Maddur Vada in Maddur.

In 1938, the town of Shivapura in Maddur proudly hoisted the Indian national flag, leaving an indelible mark on India's freedom struggle!

A thread🧵 In 1938, The Indian National Congress held its session in Haripura village in Surat, Gujarat.

The session was presided by Netaji Subash Chandra Bose. At a time when hoisting the national flag was banned by the British, the Indian flag was hoisted at the Haripura session!

Arun Shourie once called the BJP government policies Congress plus Cow. During the first ever election in 1952, Congress had a pair of bullocks as its election symbol.

It is because of this lady from Tamil Nadu that the Congress Party has the hand as a symbol. 🧵 The very first elections took place in 1952. Given that the large portion of the population were illiterate, Sukumar Sen, India's first chief election commissioner decided on symbols to identify each party.

The congress party chose a pair of bullocks as its symbol.

Jamnagar these days is famous for being the epicenter of Reliance industries and for welcoming the who's who of the world for a pre-wedding.

But in 1942, it played a significant role in saving over 1000 Polish children from certain death in WW2.

A thread 🧵

In 1939, Nazi Germany attacked Poland which started World War 2. Some Poles tried to escape the wrath of the Germans by moving into Soviet territory.

The Soviet authorities forced hundreds of thousands of Poles to migrate deeper into Soviet territory, including Siberia.

"Except for cricketers, poets, and singers, others found it relatively hard to come to India."

This was director John Mathew Matthan's rationale for portraying a ghazal singer as the villain!

25 years ago, crime drama changed forever with the release of Sarfarosh!

A Thread 🧵 John Matthew Matthan was an ad-film director, and "Sarfarosh" was his debut. But, he was an assistant to Govind Nihalani in Nihalani's first film "Aakrosh" and in "Gandhi," where Nihalani was the cinematographer!

He met Naseeruddin Shah on the sets of Aakrosh!

Hindi film fandom is divided into two types: those who love Andaz Apna Apna and those who just don't get the love that this film garners.

A thread (🧵) on the iconic film that is often incorrectly thought of as Shashi Tharoor's cinema debut! Andaz Apna Apna's success is often attributed to its video release and repeat telecasts on TV (Zee Cinema, who remembers!).

@diptakirti notes that while the movie did have a good opening, it did not deliver what is typically expected of a multi-starrer.

India's greatest cartoonist RK Laxman had a lot to say about Indian elections and politics.

A thread! 🧵

Rising gas cylinder prices:

"I gathered them from the street! The way they are increasing its price we can't afford gas any more." Hope:

"He wants a hope-oriented speech for 15th August, boosting people's morale, praising our achievements and progress."

#JaiBhim
Babasaheb Ambedkar is one of the greatest thinkers ever!

The architect of the Indian Constitution was undeniably a GENIUS!

A thread 🧵celebrating this icon who said "Cultivation of the mind should be the ultimate aim of human existence" As a member in the viceroy’s council from 1942 to 1946, Dr Ambedkar was instrumental in bringing about several labour reforms.

He changed working hours from 12 to 8 in 1942.

He also introduced DA, medical leaves & periodic revision of pay.

📸@roundtableind