Traditionally, the protagonists of most Indian films come in different shades of white. They tend to be morally upright, the films almost always on the ‘right’ side of morality. The established template is “the good people live happily ever after”, the corollary being that the ‘bad people’ will meet a bad end — if they... Continue Reading →
Thankam – My Flash Review
I have said this before about Malayalam films. Once in a while, you have a movie that doesn’t have a “star”, gets released without much hype or hoopla but leaves you stunned by how it turns out. Recently we had Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey and Mukundan Unni Associates in this category. I will add... Continue Reading →
Malikappuram – My Flash Review!
The Malayalam film Malikappuram which had got a good theatrical response dropped on OTT this week. I had received quite a few nudges to watch the film and so I watched it with a lot of expectations. I had mixed feelings after watching the film. On the one hand, it is a feel-good film that... Continue Reading →
KAAPA (Malayalam) – My Flash Review!
KAAPA is yet another Malayalam movie that has Prithviraj Sukumaran in the lead. One wonders how he is able to churn movies in an assembly line fashion in quick succession these days. Or is it the pent-up films that were stuck due to Covid and now getting completed and released? In any case, Prithiviraj fans... Continue Reading →
Mukundan Unni Associates – My Flash Review!
What to say of a movie that right at the outset, warns you to keep your moral compass aside? Right at the beginning there is a title card that says, “Human beings are mostly grey. Except in some cases. In some cases, they are just, black.” In the film, therefore, you find most of the... Continue Reading →
My pick of the Top 10 films of 2022!
Another Friday. Another big-ticket Hindi film release. Another flop at the Box Office. This has been the recurring theme in Bollywood this year. The latest one to suffer this ignominy is Cirkus directed by none other than Rohit Shetty - a filmmaker with many 100 crore grossers under his belt and one who is touted... Continue Reading →
Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey – My Flash Review!
The film opens with a lady doing kitchen chores early in the morning and leaving for work while we see a shot of a man – most likely her husband, still sleeping. We wonder if it’s a sequel to the hit Malayalam film – The Great Indian Kitchen. We soon realise it is not, as... Continue Reading →
Ariyippu – My Flash Review!
What is common between the films Take Off, C U Soon, Malik, and now Ariyippu apart from being Malayalam films directed by the ace editor turned Director Mahesh Narayanan? Well, all these films are based on news headlines around which the story is built and the screenplay structured. The main plot of Ariyippu (Declaration) follows... Continue Reading →
Palthu Janwar (Malayalam film) Review!
This review was written for the news portal The News Minute and was published on 21st Oct, 2022. It can be read here: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/palthu-janwar-delectably-sweet-malayalam-film-has-animals-its-centre-169094 Directed by Sangeeth P Rajan, Malayalam film Palthu Janwar does not have a ‘star’ at its heart but animals, that too livestock. It is only in Malayalam cinema that we can expect such... Continue Reading →
Nna Thaan Case Kodu (Malayalam)- My Flash Review!
Nna Thaan Case Kodu (NTCK) meaning “then, you file a case” is a film rooted in the nativity of Kerala. You can make this out from the title itself which is a very colloquial line in Malayalam challenging someone to “put” a case on you. The setting of the film which is a small town... Continue Reading →