The six-pack effect
The ‘exploitation’ of the male body to augment a film’s saleability isn’t a new phenomenon, although it has never been as commonplace as it is in Hindi cinema today, writes Saibal Chatterjee

The male gaze derives ineffable pleasure
from the inevitable upshot that a female eye candy delivers. In commercial movies, this art of mass seduction invariably has a happy impact on boxoffice figures. Be it the seductive cabaret numbers by the likes of Helen, Bindu and Aruna Irani, back in the 1970s, or the in-your-face item songs featuring new-millennium sultry sirens like Mallika Arora Khan. A scantily-clad hip-swinger never fails to grab the instant attention of the audience.

Saif Ali Khan's physique has been used to good effect in films like Race and Kurbaan; 

Ode to comedy
Artistes across the world commemorate the 122th birth anniversary of unforgettable actor Charlie Chaplin on April 16, writes Paramjit Singh
Charlie Chaplin, the most loved and widely imitated actor of 20th century, was a great actor, wise producer and a brilliant film-buff. He was born on April 16, 1889, as Charles Spencer Chaplin at Walworth, London (England). His parents were London music hall entertainers namely Charles Chaplin and Hannah Hill. When Charlie was just three years old, his mother separated from his father. She, along with Charlie and his brother, moved to Sydney.