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‘Jyeshthoputro’, now streaming on ZEE5, is a classy melodrama with Prosenjit Chatterjee and Ritwick Chakraborty
The screenplay expands on the theatre- vs-cinema conflict that was a small part of ‘Nayak’ and ‘Autograph’. Here, the theatre artist becomes an entirely different person. Spoilers ahead… When Srijit Mukherji did a take on Nayak, in Autograph, he got all kinds of tricky with the narrative. It’s a film with two layers. In the […]
Posted in: Cinema: Bengali, Internet
FC Short Film: Blink
December 13, 2019
At FC South, we showcase short films, too. Here’s the second one. For more, subscribe to FILM COMPANION SOUTH: http://bit.ly/2xoNult Synopsis: “The story is a poetic take on the love shared between a Husband and Wife and how they’re connected in ways that don’t require Traditional Communication.” Copyright ©2019 Film Companion.
Posted in: Short Films
FC Short Film: Ullangai Nellikkani (The Gooseberry In Her Palm)
December 13, 2019
At FC South, we have begun to showcase short films. This was the first one. For more, subscribe to FILM COMPANION SOUTH: http://bit.ly/2xoNult Synopsis: A quietly observant librarian strikes up a conversation with a diligent student who appears in need of a kind ear to listen to her romantic woes. Here, as the short film […]
Posted in: Short Films
Interview: S Sowmya… into a musician’s mind
December 13, 2019
Music Season’s Greetings! I don’t write as much about Carnatic music anymore, so when @MadRasana asked me to be in conversation with Dr S Sowmya, I jumped at it. It’s not hardcore classical. More like a dive into a musician’s mind. Do share/ comment. For more, subscribe to MadRasana Official: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7NdODNgLYVKKs6a6VCKHQQ Copyright ©2019 MadRasana.
“Kaalidas”… Bharath stars in a not-bad investigative thriller that’s also about a relationship
December 13, 2019
Perhaps the biggest divergence from the traditional thriller is the amount of time we spend with the cop’s wife. In the most unexpected scene, she pours herself a drink… Spoilers ahead… You can read the full review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/kaalidas-movie-review-sri-senthil-bharath-ann-sheetal-suresh-menon-baradwaj-rangan/ Sri Senthil’s Kaalidas — named after the cop played by a buffed-up Bharath […]
Posted in: Cinema: Tamil
Arturo Ripstein’s ‘Devil Between the Legs’, screened at IFFI, deals subversively with sex and jealously and aging
December 12, 2019
Read the full article on Firstpost, here: https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/arturo-ripsteins-devil-between-the-legs-screened-at-iffi-deals-subversively-with-sex-jealously-and-aging-7773291.html In 1975, when Chantal Akerman came out with Jeanne Dielman 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, some viewers were perplexed. Why was the filmmaker devoting so much time to the protagonist cleaning the kitchen or peeling potatoes, when there is more sensational stuff to show – like […]
Posted in: Cinema: Foreign, Firstpost Column
“Pati Patni Aur Woh”… This remake needed to be funnier, but it does interesting things with its women
December 11, 2019
The other woman isn’t a humble secretary, like in the earlier movie. She’s more powerful — this inversion of power is one of the things that makes this remake interesting. Spoilers ahead… Can a moustache make a difference? In Kartik Aaryan’s case, it does. It transforms his rakish-playboy face into an uncle-face. Okay, a youngish […]
Posted in: Cinema: Hindi
Interview: Bharath, on his career and the stardom that keeps eluding him
December 10, 2019
For more, subscribe to FILM COMPANION SOUTH: http://bit.ly/2xoNult Copyright ©2019 Film Companion.
Posted in: Cinema: Tamil, Interview
FC Recco: ‘Vanjagar Ulagam’
December 10, 2019
A weekly series where I recommend a film-based book, a foreign film or an Indian movie. For more, subscribe to FILM COMPANION SOUTH: http://bit.ly/2xoNult Copyright ©2019 Film Companion.
Posted in: Cinema: Tamil, FC Recco
TalksOfCinema interviews me… about movies and reviews
December 10, 2019
For more, subscribe to FILM COMPANION SOUTH: http://bit.ly/2xoNult Copyright ©2019 TalksOfCinema.
20 years of ‘Sethu’, which made Vikram a star and Bala a brand-name director
December 9, 2019
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/sethu-20-years-vikram-bala-baradwaj-rangan Bala, as a filmmaker, is very much like Sethu, a very unique kind of brute force. His generation of filmmakers would go on to shape the Tamil hero we see on screen today. Spoilers ahead… I was not in India when Sethu was released, on December […]
Posted in: Cinema: Tamil
Readers Write In #120: The Russian Revolution, Chapter 10 – The Smells of Autumn
December 9, 2019
(by G Waugh) Introduction, Preface, and Chapter 1 are here. Chapter 2 is here. Chapter 3 is here. Chapter 4 is here. Chapter 5 is here. Chapter 6 is here. Chapter 7 is here. Chapter 8 is here. Chapter 9 is here. Alexei Kosygin became the Prime Minister (Chairman of the Council of Ministers) in […]
“Jada”… Kathir stars in an unremarkable sports drama that switches midway to an unremarkable ghost story
December 6, 2019
Whether pure genre or a mix, what matters is the writing. And that’s all over the place. The football itself is reduced to a lesser version of the game we saw in the first half…. Spoilers ahead… You can read the full review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/jada-movie-review-kumaran-kathir-yogi-babu-kishore-baradwaj-rangan/ With the exception of romance, we get […]
Posted in: Cinema: Tamil
Interview: Vijay Deverakonda on his angst over Arjun Reddy criticism
December 6, 2019
For more, subscribe to FILM COMPANION SOUTH: http://bit.ly/2xoNult Copyright ©2019 Film Companion.
Readers Write In #119: Ramayana in modern times: Gautham Menon and Separation
December 5, 2019
(by Adhithya K R) I’m not going to talk about the voice-overs in ENPT. There’s already been enough of that. Amidst all the chatter about whether there was too much mind-voice, there’s an aspect of the movie which seems to have gone unnoticed. It resonates with an epic that inspired much of Indian storytelling – […]
Posted in: Cinema: Tamil, Readers Write In
Hariprasad Chaurasia: Breath of Gold
December 5, 2019
A plug for my friend Sathya Saran’s book: HARIPRASAD CHAURASIA: BREATH OF GOLD, in her words (from the book). I thought it would be of interest to many readers of this blog. .1957. He watches the terrain swiftly sweep past, as the train rattles along. He is leaving behind everything familiar. Home, family, friends, and […]
“Irandam Ulagaporin Kadaisi Gundu”… Athiyan Athirai’s impressive debut, produced by Pa Ranjith and starring Dinesh, delivers its message with style to spare
December 5, 2019
It’s a great line, one that’s at the heart of everything Pa Ranjith stands for. But it doesn’t sound like a “lecture”. It transcends mere “advice” and becomes something purer, a kind of existential philosophy. Spoilers ahead… You can read the full review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/irandam-ulagaporin-kadaisi-gundu-movie-review-athiyan-athirai-dinesh-anandhi-riythvika-pa-ranjith-baradwaj-rangan/ Pa Ranjith’s Neelam Productions has given us […]
Posted in: Cinema: Tamil
‘Queen of Hearts’, Denmark’s Oscar submission that played at IFFI, is a cold take on incest and shattered lives
December 5, 2019
Read the full article on Firstpost, here: https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/queen-of-hearts-denmarks-oscar-submission-that-played-at-iffi-is-a-cold-take-on-incest-and-shattered-lives-7743441.html Like Section 375, Queen of Hearts – which played at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), and is the Danish submission for the Best Foreign Film Oscar – toys with a provocative question: What if a man is the victim? Anne (Trine Dyrholm) is the most […]
Asif Ali is part Ayushmann Khurrana, part Arjun Reddy in ‘Kettiyolaanu Ente Malakha’
December 4, 2019
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/asif-ali-ayushmann-khurrana-arjun-reddy-kettiyolaanu-ente-malakha-baradwaj-rangan/ This could be a fascinating case study of how “arrogance” on screen (like in ‘Arjun Reddy’) makes it less easy for us to fully embrace a character, while innocence and humility make us sympathise more readily. Spoilers ahead… On the surface, Nissam Basheer’s Kettiyolaanu Ente Malakha […]
Posted in: Cinema: Malayalam, Cinema: Telugu
#AskBR – Enai Noki Paayum Thota
December 3, 2019
In which I answer a few questions on an older film… or a new one… or talk about actors and directors… or take on a few YouTube comments… For more, subscribe to FILM COMPANION SOUTH: http://bit.ly/2xoNult Copyright ©2019 Film Companion.
Posted in: #AskBR, Cinema: Tamil
December 15, 2019
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