“Bandish Bandits” – To start with, the title itself was quite intriguing as I was trying to guess the link between the two words. As I started watching the web series, now streaming on Amazon Prime, the mystery unraveled. The entire concept of this is about conflicts. Conflicts at multiple levels. Classical Music Vs Contemporary... Continue Reading →
35 Years of Muthal Mariyathai!
This piece was written for the News site - The News Minute and was carried on 15th Aug, 2020. It can be read here: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/35-years-muthal-mariyathai-why-sivaji-film-bharathiraja-classic-130796 In a scene in the film Muthal Mariyathai, the lead character Malaichami, an aged village chieftain, catches up with Kuyilu, a very young girl who has just recently shifted to the... Continue Reading →
Gunjan Saxena The Kargil girl – My Flash Review
Before watching, the first apprehension I had was, that this could be another template biopic film which depicts the journey of a winner after starting as an underdog or underprivileged or deprived. I mean films like Mary Kom, Pangaa, Dhoni etc, a trend which is now getting a bit repetitive these days and hence predictable.... Continue Reading →
Shakuntala Devi – My Flash Review
We all knew that Shakuntala Devi (SD) was a Maths genius and brought fame to India abroad with her maths wizardry. What we didn’t know of course, were the trials and tribulations she went through as a mother in the process. This biopic directed by Anu Menon attempts to fill in that gap. If you... Continue Reading →
Avrodh (web series) – My Flash Review
Any sequel or a remake cannot escape comparisons with the original version. Avrodh is again a long form version of the 2019 super hit Hindi film – Uri - The Surgical Strike and hence comparisons with the film cannot be avoided. Based on one chapter of the book titled India’s Most Fearless authored by journalists... Continue Reading →
Revisiting Maniratnam’s Anjali after 30 years
(This piece was written for the news portal The News Minute and and was published first on 12th of July, 2020 and here’s the link for the same: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/mani-ratnam-s-anjali-30-years-old-and-still-has-power-move-you-128460) Anjali, in my book, may not feature among the top three best films from director Mani Ratnam’s oeuvre. It might not be among the top grossers... Continue Reading →
K.D. (a) Karuppu Durai – My (late) Flash review
K.D. (a) Karuppu Durai is a 2019 Tamil film which I caught on Netflix just today. The film opens inside a small house in a village called Kallupatti in Virudhunagar with a voiceover of an old man. The lines are cheeky and within those few minutes you realise that you are up for some thing... Continue Reading →
K.Balachander at 90! Avar Oru Thodarkathai!
(This piece was written for the news portal The News Minute and and was published first on 9th of July, 2020 and here's the link for the same: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/k-balachander-90-why-directors-films-still-appeal-women-128265) Back in the ‘70s, in my middle class household of five members, the only person who would watch movies was my mother. She would do that... Continue Reading →
Kappela – My Flash Review!
The film opens with many disjointed, slice of life scenes typical of Malayalam films, which establish the different characters. 40 minutes into the film, you still wait for something significant to happen. But these are some of the best moments of the film that bring the "today’s" life in a small town Kerala vividly before... Continue Reading →
Forensic – My Flash Review
This Malayalam film now streaming on Netflix, is another addition to the Psycho serial killer mystery genre in Malayalam. As you sit to watch, it feels similar to another recent hit – Anjaam Pathiraa. A lady cop leading the investigating team, investigation being driven by technical aspects rather than the traditional witnesses-evidence-questioning –leads routine and... Continue Reading →
