Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather might have inspired quite a few films in the gangster genre all over the world but in South Indian cinema, it is Mani Ratnam’s Nayagan that has inspired filmmakers to try that genre. Promising filmmakers in the post-Nayagan era have made at least one film based on the Mumbai Don story,... Continue Reading →
Ponniyin Selvan and its aftermath!
This piece was originally written for the news portal “The News Minute” and was carried on 7th Oct, 2022. The link to the piece is here: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/mani-ratnam-s-ponniyin-selvan-and-its-four-types-audience-168671 It has been a week since Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan-I hit theatres across the globe, and the chatter around the film on social media remains unabated. By and large, the... Continue Reading →
Ponniyin Selvan -1 – My Flash Review!
A friend who knew I was watching Ponniyin Selvan today, called me to check on the film and this is how the conversation went: Friend: Before asking you for your views, tell me if you have read the book? Me: Well, I purchased the book 2 months back and started reading as if I was... Continue Reading →
30 Years of Roja and Rahman!
This piece was originally written for the news portal “The News Minute” and was carried on 15th Aug 2022. The link to the piece is here: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/30-years-roja-movie-gave-us-musical-marvel-ar-rahman-166867 Mani Ratnam’s super hit film Roja was released on August 15, 30 years ago. When we saw the film, we understood why the makers opted for a Saturday... Continue Reading →
Vikram – My (late) Flash Review!
I had missed watching Vikram when it was released in theatres and so caught up with it this weekend when it dropped on Disney-Hotstar! The best part of the film is, it unabashedly sticks to just action as a genre and doesn’t even attempt to go anywhere else. But is that enough to keep you... Continue Reading →
30 Years of Mala da… Annamala…!
This piece was originally written for the news portal “The News Minute” and was carried on the 27th June, 2022. The link to the piece is here: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/mala-da-annamalai-30-years-rajinikanth-s-super-duper-hit-165330 In the last many years post Sivaji – The Boss, if directors and writers have been struggling to make a “Super Star” film that is universally appealing... Continue Reading →
Revisting Kamal Haasan’s 1986 Vikram!
This piece was originally written for the news portal "The News Minute" and was carried on the 15th of May, 2022. The link to the piece is here: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/revisiting-kamal-haasan-s-1986-vikram-film-was-ahead-its-time-163986 There may not be frenzied requests for daily “updates” on social media like the kind we saw for Valimai but, in terms of audience expectations, Kamal... Continue Reading →
Hey Sinamika – My Flash Review
The title is inspired by the song Hey Sinamika… from Maniratnam’s hit film – OK Kanmani which incidentally also had Dulquer Salman as the male lead as this one. Now, if you think the inspirations from Mani’s films ended here, sorry you are wrong. The film is littered with references from earlier films of Mani.... Continue Reading →
Putham Puthu Kaalai Vidiyaadhaa – My Flash Review!
Putham Puthu Kaalai Vidiyaadhaa an anthology in Tamil that dropped on Amazon Prime is a sort of a sequel to Putham Puthu Kaalai that we saw in 2020 during the 1st wave. We are in January 2022 and the lockdown saga is still continuing. So arrival of the new dawn is posed as a question.... Continue Reading →
Maanaadu – My (late) Flash Review!
If a film gets a huge thumbs up on its theatrical release and then releases on OTT where we get to watch for the 1st time, there are 2 issues. One, the expectations get built up. Two, the reputation of the film precedes our watching experience. That’s what happened to me for this film –... Continue Reading →
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