Would Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige have known in 2007, when he first spoke publicly about the possibility of a shared universe of superheroes, that in 2019 it would be nearly impossible to score opening day tickets for the fourth Avengers film in India?Would he ever have imagined humongous billboards with Iron Man and Captain America’s faces on them, erected outside housing complexes in small town Uttar Pradesh? Would he - or anyone else for that matter - have ever believed that a day would come when children with no regular access to electricity or plumbing would know who Black Panther is?Also read: Avengers Endgame movie review: Marvel’s epic Infinity Saga finale is a triumphant tear-jerkerNo one could have anticipated the level of success that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has achieved. Once considered a bold, some would say even reckless risk, the 23 movies in the MCU are now a part of the highest grossing film franchise in … [Read more...] about After Spider-Man Far From Home and Avengers Endgame, a definitive ranking of Marvel’s Infinity Saga, from worst to best
Postscript
Air India passengers to get a ‘Jai’ ride
The plight of the national carrier is summed up in a cartoon showing the Maharaja, on crutches with leg encased in plaster, telling a solicitous enquirer, “It’s nothing serious — just an airline fracture.” The airline has been instructed to append an incantatory ‘Jai Hind!’ to all in-flight announcements, and to do so with adequately emotive fervour. Considering the assorted bugaboos and gremlins, which turn our air travel via national carrier into air travail, it might be more appropriate to add the patriotic postscript to all ‘fright’ announcements instead of doing so to merely routine flight announcements. From technical snags — not infrequently caused by stowaway rodents — necessitating the aborting of flights, to backed-up loos, to passengers being assailed by bedbugs, the airline seems set on a trajectory perhaps best described as up, up and awry. Such being the case, in order to bring further ‘Jai’ into the … [Read more...] about Air India passengers to get a ‘Jai’ ride
What did the judges achieve?
By raising a banner of revolt against the CJI, the 4 judges have dealt a body blow to the faith of many Indians in the Supreme Court, argues Sudhir Bisht. IMAGE: Supreme Court Justice Jasti Chelameswar, second from left, with Justice Kurien Joseph, to his right, and Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Madan B Lokur to his left at their press conference in New Delhi, January 12, 2018. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo I dashed to my room to switch on the TV after Rediff.com alerted me that the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court -- No 2, 3, 4 and 5 in the pecking order after the Chief Justice of India -- were holding a press conference against the CJI's arbitrary way of functioning. Two clips were being shown repeatedly on various television channels. One was of Shekhar Gupta, the eminent journalist, being signalled by Justice Jasti Chelameswar to come forward and join the group of journalists. Gupta signalled as if to say, 'It is ok, I am fine here.' The second clip that was … [Read more...] about What did the judges achieve?
