(This piece was written for the news website thenewsminute.com and was first published on the 7th Nov, 2019 and can be read here: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/kamal-haasan-65-celebrating-musician-within-actor-111885 ) This week, on the 65th birthday of actor Kamal Haasan, we are also celebrating his 60 years in cinema. It is well-documented that Kamal started out as a child actor and has then... Continue Reading →
Ilaiyaraaja-Maniratnam – A well scripted harmony!
(This piece was written for the news website thenewsminute.com and was first published on the 2nd June,2019 and can be read here: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/ilaiyaraaja-s-music-mani-ratnam-films-well-scripted-harmony-102870 Last they worked together was in the year 1991 and so it has been 28 long years since that last film, Thalapathy! Yet, even to this day, the work they have done together... Continue Reading →
30 years of Apoorva Sagodharargal
(This piece was written for the news website thenewsminute.com and was first published on the 16th of April, 2019 and can be read here: (https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/30-years-apoorva-sagodharargal-why-kamal-haasans-film-unforgettable-100133) Directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, Kamal Haasan’s blockbuster film – Apoorva Sagodharargal hit the theatres in April 1989, exactly 30 years ago. This was a phase when Kamal, post the success of Nayagan, had started experimenting... Continue Reading →
Looking forward to Shankar 2.0!
Director Shankar’s upcoming film 2.0 we hear, is going to hit the screens finally on the 29th of November, this year. This film featuring none other than the Superstar Rajinikanth has been awaited with bated breath by the director’s fans for quite some time now. That will be a in a long time that a... Continue Reading →
Bringing Carnatic music to mainstream Tamil cinema, the K.Balachander way!
(This piece was written for the news website thenewsminute.com and was first published on the 9th of July, 2018 - https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/bringing-carnatic-music-mainstream-tamil-cinema-k-balachander-way-84430 In one of the most impactful and memorable scenes in the Tamil film Sindhu Bhairavi, the male protagonist, who is a famed Carnatic vocalist, is shown rendering a Telugu kriti ‘Mari Mari Ninne’ in a concert. The assembled audience in... Continue Reading →
Sanju and the Question of Morality in Biopics!
In Indian cinema, it’s raining biopics of late, the latest, much talked about and at the same time reviled one being Sanju, the biopic on Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt by Rajkumar Hirani. As we speak, this film is running to packed houses even 1 week after it hit the theatres and has already crossed Rs.... Continue Reading →
Tamil Cinema’s Masssss… trap!
Mouse Trap or Elipathayam is a 1981 Malayalam film directed by one of the most acclaimed film directors of Indian cinema – Adoor Gopalakrishnan. This film is considered as a bench mark for art and probably excruciatingly realistic cinema. Films of this genre though, suffered from poor box office response since they could only cater... Continue Reading →
Agni Natchathiram & the emergence of a Hot Star!
(This piece was written for the news website thenewsminute.com and was first published on the 15th April, 2018 - https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/30-years-ago-star-emerged-agni-natchathiram-story-pc-sreeram-79602) This day, exactly 30 years ago, in the sweltering summer heat, director Mani Ratnam’s stylish flick Agni Natchathiram released. A film which defined “cool” to young boys and girls alike in TN those days. It was an unapologetic... Continue Reading →
Sridevi – when we lost her to Bollywood!
It’s finally sinking in that Sridevi is no more. After initial couple of days of insanity, sobriety eventually prevailed over her unfortunate and untimely death. The whole of India grieved, more so, Bollywood. It shunned the usual raucous Holi revelry this time in respect of the departed soul. It would appear from the many touching... Continue Reading →
