Yash Raj Films is seeing good times after a long time. Saiyaara has crossed beyond
expectations and now the banner is ready for another milestone. After two newcomers, Ahan
Panday and Aneet Padda creating box-office history, two superstars, Hrithik Roshan and NTR
are all set to unveil the sequel of War as War 2 end of the month.
 
It is not easy bringing two superstars together but such an ambitious casting is necessary for a
Spy Universe. Directed by Ayan Mukerji, his first for Yash Raj banner the film coincides with
both the superstars completing 25 years in movies. Call it further coincidence, that the year of
the movie release is 2025 and the date of trailer release is 25 July.
War 2 will simultaneously release in four languages- Hindi, Telugu and Tamil on August 14
and the leading lady is the gorgeous Kiara Advani.

This year Guru Dutt turns 100 and the milestone year will be celebrated nationwide with
theatrical release of Dutt’s 4K Restored Classics. His selected movies
like Pyaasa and Chaudvin ka Chand will be released all over India from August 8–10.  This
is the best news for the younger generation who will now have a rare opportunity of watching
his genius on the big screen.
 
Ultra Media & Entertainment Group, in association with NFDC-NFAI, is proud to present
Guru Dutt’s iconic movies meticulously restored and reintroduced for today’s audiences and
these include Aar Paar, Mr. & Mrs. 55 and Baaz besides of course, Chaudhvin Ka
Chand and Pyaasa,
 
Sushilkumar Agrawal, MD & CEO, Ultra Media and Entertainment Group, who holds the
rights to these films, said, “Guru Dutt’s films are timeless masterpieces that have influenced
generations of filmmakers and audiences alike. This initiative is not just a tribute to Guru
Dutt’s legacy, but also a significant cultural movement to bridge generations through
cinema”.
Prakash Magdum, Managing Director, NFDC, said, “Restoring Guru Dutt’s films goes far
beyond reviving old reels. It’s about safeguarding a priceless legacy that defines the soul of
Indian cinema. These films are restored as part of the National Film Heritage Mission, an
initiative by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, ensuring
that Guru Dutt’s timeless vision continues to resonate with audiences, now and for years to
come.”

In the good old days, everyone said that India does not know how to archive its history but in
the last couple of years, a lot has changed.  To an extent it all started with the Film Heritage
Foundation coming forward to restore classics and bringing back nostalgia in a big way. Over
the months, FHF has conquered innumerable milestones. Amitabh Bachchan Retrospective
was the beginning and ever since it has never looked back.
 
Last month it celebrated the Alfred Hitchcock Festival. The entry was free and cine buffs
flocked to Mumbai’s Regal Cinema, Colaba. You had to watch their expressions as they
walked out of the cinema halls. The first week was Psycho/ 1960 followed by Rear Window/
1954.  The festival will continue in the month of August. On 07 August 7 it will be Vertigo/
1958 followed by a surprise screening on 13 August 2025.
 
Coming up in the FHF screening programme is a James Dean Retrospective, starting
with Giant, Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden, a Stanley Kubrick showcase and many
more international and Indian classics.

My older six siblings were all born in British India and in different ways recipients of the pain of the partition.

SeemaThakkar, my seventh sibling is my parents’ first independent India child and has all the character traits of a first born.

Fiercely independent and accustomed to having her way, she was super popular in school, college and later life.
Her marriage with IIT engineer #PradipThakkar is a fairy tale of sorts.
The proposal was recommended by common relatives and the outcome was positive in the very first meeting.
Seema’s marital home was not far from our home, which was a boon because we got to see her often.
Daughter #Piya or #Chiki as we call her, arrived two years later and seven years later arrived son #Aditya.
Today, Pradip is no more with us but his presence lingers in Aditya ‘s two children, #Aanya and #Vihaan.

Prafulla or Bala as the family called her didn’t have to go seeking love because love came
seeking her.
My brother-in-law Jayant Barai, also a chemical engineer and an extremely good looking
man, was introduced to my sixth and the last of the British India siblings, via a common
friend.

Gitaben suggested that since both heralded from the same community, Lohanas, it was a
proposal worth exploring but like all good matches made in heaven, there were
complications.
Jayantbhai belonged to an affluent family settled in South Bombay and took a while to
convince his family of his choice but all’s well that ended well and soon Bala was part of the
Barai family.
In the coming years came Manish and then Rima and some decades later arrived Manish-
Mamta’s daughter Parisa.
To be continued…

.#FarewellKarachi can be ordered on https://amzn.in/d/e0qlfop and  for more stories visit my blog —————-

 To be continued

  SCRajani & Family

In the sixties if a girl was not married by the age of 25 it was a cause of alarm for the parents
and a topic of discussion for the extended relatives.
That she was educated, empowered and economically independent did not spare her from
constant barbs on her single status.

My parents were determined to find an educated groom for their special child and there was
no deserving candidate in sight.

And then suddenly, Chandu Rajani, an electronic engineer settled in Germany arrived in India
with the sole purpose of getting married.
Common contacts of their and our families arranged a meeting between the candidates and
the celestial stars collided, so a wedding was formalized in three days.
My parents’ nest was slowly and gradually getting empty …
They had to still recover from Jiji shifting to Ahmedabad permanently and now they were
preparing for Sarla to sail across the shores.
It was not easy both for my parents and for Sarla but she courageously survived the extreme
climate, the shift in culture, mastered a new language and adapted to a new lifestyle.
Months rolled into years and when the children arrived, first Sona and then Ritesh, life turned
around for both the parents.
Decades went by and soon Sona found love with Pete and Ritesh is still waiting for his
soulmate.

#FarewellKarachi can be ordered on https://amzn.in/d/e0qlfop and  for more stories visit my blog —————-

To be continued

PLThakkar & Family

Jiji was the brightest, the prettiest and the most compassionate of all the children. She was always sensitive to the hardships of the family and when my father chose advocate Lakhamsi Thakkar for her, she submitted to the decision without opposition. She was the first in her group of friends to be engaged, the first in our family to settle outside Bombay and the first to live in a nuclear family because Lakhamsi was ostracized by his side of the family.

It was not easy to live away from the maiden family, to be all alone at home when my brother-in-law left for the court but gradually Jiji got used to it and Ahmedabad became a home after two deliveries, Aseem and Preeta.

In time to come Aseem married a lawyer Bindu and Preeta married a cardiologist, Milan Chag and both have two daughters each Niralee, Manini, Aenasha and Tanisha.

Niralee is the family’s first great granddaughter and her two sons Valiben and Madhavji Somaya’s great, great grandsons.

#FarewellKarachi can be ordered on https://amzn.in/d/e0qlfop and  for more stories visit my blog —————-

To be continued

Raj Somaya & Family

Sibling number three #Mahendra or #Rajabhai as the family called him left home at a very young age to chase his dreams.

When it was time to settle down, he relied on our parents to find him the right partner in India.
The family priest brought us many proposals and my parents chose #RamaLakhani for #Rajabhai.
The celestial stars did not synchronise and so #Rajabhai left India and returned to his job.
For a year or more the marriage plan was on hold. When #Rajabhai returned home again, the priest brought the same proposal and this time, destiny smiled and the prospective bride and the groom said, “Yes”.

Rajabhai’s daughters #Priti and #Shilpi were born and grew up in #Toronto.

When it was time for marriage for them, like their parents they preferred an arranged match.
So, it was #VikasDesai, a dentist from Toronto for #DrPriti and #AnandGowda, an investment banker for the younger #Author Shilpi. Years later, Priti and Vikas had two boys #Bhram and Nikhil and Shilpi and Anand had two girls, #Mira and #Bela.
Cheers to 2 turned 8 and counting family tree.

#FarewellKarachi can be ordered on https://amzn.in/d/e0qlfop and  for more stories visit my blog —————-

To be continued