Nowadays, Malayalam films are known for investigative thrillers, police procedurals, and serious cinema in general. However, in the 80s and 90s, one out of two Malayalam films was a slice-of-life comedy of the slapstick or situational type. Mohanlal featured in many of those films as the hero, with co-stars like Srinivasan playing active foil roles.... Continue Reading →
Param Sundari – My Flash Review!
Kerala's Tourism Department has some of the best marketing minds among Indian states. It routinely runs high-quality social media campaigns that showcase Kerala at its best, depending on the season. The Onam season in Kerala is a “high” season in the state’s tourism calendar. This year, Kerala tourism seems to have wanted to do something... Continue Reading →
Maareesan – My Flash Review!
For the first few minutes, you could easily mistake Maareesan for a Malayalam film where characters speak in Tamil, as is common in Malayalam movies. This is not only because of the presence of Fahadh Faasil in those scenes but also due to the overall look and feel. The entire first half of the film... Continue Reading →
Coolie (2025) – My Flash Review!
The release of Coolie coincided with 50 years of Rajinikanth in cinema. As the title credits roll, an animated sequence showcasing some of Rajini’s best roles flashes before us. This segment, which lasts about a minute, is very well made and takes us on a nostalgic journey through Rajinikanth’s iconic work, which has made him... Continue Reading →
50 Years of Rajinikanth: Seven Pivotal Films in Superstar’s career
(This piece was written for the news website thenewsminute.com and was first published on August 13, 2025, and can be read here: https://www.thenewsminute.com/flix/mullum-malarum-to-kabali-seven-pivotal-films-in-rajinikanths-50-year-career ) For film buffs, August 15 this year marks an important milestone. It will be 50 years since Rajinikanth literally ‘gatecrashed’ the world of cinema in K Balachander’s Apoorva Raagangal. 50 years – let that... Continue Reading →
Ronth – My Flash Review!
Ronth, usually pronounced Rondhu, means patrolling in police parlance in Malayalam and Tamil. Accordingly, this film is about a pair of police officers—one a seasoned, dyed-in-the-wool cop and the other a Greenhorn —who are on night patrol duty. The film, set in a small town in Kerala, is about what happens during that one night... Continue Reading →
The Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assasination Case – My Flash Review!
I was in Chennai on my summer vacation break in May 1991 when the dastardly and gruesome assassination of Rajiv Gandhi happened. In the very early hours of that day, I was woken from deep sleep to hear the breaking news. Since then, I have closely followed every detail of the investigation that ensued. I... Continue Reading →
Kesari Chapter 2 – My Flash Review
The tagline for Kesari Chapter 2 states that it is an untold story of Jallianwala Bagh. Indeed, it is because we have not read about this story or its main protagonist, Sankaran Nair, in our history books. Therefore, first, kudos to the makers for dusting this story from the archives and presenting it as a... Continue Reading →
Thug Life – My Flash Review!
Thug Life is a bad film, but not a bad film too. Now, what is this Kamalism? Let me explain. For a Mani Ratnam film, it is indeed bad. In his entire filmography, this must be the most “UnManiratnam” film to date. All the elements of his craft and film-making style, which endeared him to... Continue Reading →
Thudarum – My Flash Review!
The poster and the trailer gave the vibes of another Drishyam-type film from Mohanlal. Indeed, the first half an hour or so proceeds like that. The hill town setting, family banter, teenage kids, and slice-of-life happenings all conform to the Drishyam template until that moment arrives. However, it then takes a different turn, and I... Continue Reading →
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