And it&#8217;s been 17 years,&nbsp;folks&#8230;

I found your blog from reading your reviews in The Hindu at least 7 or 8 years ago. (if I am right).. That caught me hooked until now.. Keep up the good work BR.

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AdhithyaKR

I started taking cinema seriously after reading your Soodhu Kavvum review in Cinema Plus. There is a distinct voice in your writing and the reviews make me laugh as effectively as they make me think. I learnt how to appreciate cinema, how it’s not just about the story, and how to write about cinema by reading your blog over the years. Thank you! Looking forward to learning much more in the coming years. 🙂

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tejas

as your resident commenter only on milestone posts, I would like to say that it has been absolute pleasure reading you. You have changed my knowledge of cinema (duh, everyone’s gonna say that), but also taught me a lot about writing and appreciation of nuances in pretty much everything.

Here’s to next 17 🍻 …

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Anu Warrier

I followed your blog from DesiPundit. 🙂 Congratulations, BR. And here’s to many such 17s.

p.s. Am I the only one who clicked on that review of Dum?

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RC

Congratulations!!

And it is now 12 years that I’ve been reading your blog.

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Vikram s

BR, thank you for doing what you do. It was, it continues to be and will always be a pleasure to visit here and read about what you have to say about a specific film. The best part of all of this is that we don’t always agree on everything and that is alright. Thanks again.

Anu Warrier, I clicked on the link as well :-))

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Jayram

Congratulations, BR! Here’s to the next 17 and beyond!

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Madan

Congrats. Been reading for ‘only’ 7 of those years.

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apala

Thank You BR! And Congratulations and wish for many more decades of your writing……….

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Kay

Congrats, BR! Here’s to many more years of writing 🥂

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Sri Prabhuram

Congratulations, BR. Your reviews have been awesome to read and they show how passionate you are in talking about cinema. Very rarely do I come across such a critic like that.

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(Original) venkatesh

To many more decades and shared memories ahead.

Congrats BR.

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KS

Congratulations, Mr. BR.

So your blog is one away from being eligible to read it’s own content..

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Anamika

Congratulations BR!

@Anu Warrier – I clicked the link, read the review, hummed the Jeena song in my head and made a mental note to watch it on YouTube tonight at home and had an aha moment recalling Babuji zara dheere chalo song was also from the same movie.

I miss the Vivek Oberoi who held so much promise.

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Sutheesh Kumar

Congratulations BR!

I discovered you in 2012 on Reviewgang. Among all the critics there your reviews always stood out and a day hasn’t passed by since, without me visiting this space. Thank you BR for the joy, insights and the knowledge that your writing brings us.

Here’s wishing you many more years of beautiful writing!

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Enigma

I first started reading your blog in the year 2008 and have been a regular reader since then. I can’t remember which one, maybe ‘The Dark Knight’ or could be something else. The one big change from those days is the fact that you used to review Hollywood films a lot more back then. I remember the ‘Inception’ thread – that was just brilliant with your great review and a number of fans pitching in with their own take on what unfolded on the screen.

Congratulations on the 17-years anniversary, keep on going. I only wish that you would review Hollywood films more

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Karthik

Congratulations, BR.

Thanks for making (and continuing to keep) this as much about the conversations around as about the analyses themselves.

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Padawan

Congrats Baradwaj Rangan Saar! 17 years is quite an achievement! Since, everybody is talking about how long they have been following your work, allow me to put my hat in ring for the oldest follower

I have been following you since ET’s Madras Plus – Your movie reviews and most importantly the Arre O Sambar columns.

I think you used to write in other websites whose name escapes me.

Also, thanks for the christening of Padawan.

Here’s to a few more decades of your brilliant writing!

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brangan

Thanks so much, everyone.

Karthik: …as much about the conversations around as about the analyses themselves.

From the early days, I have said this. The comments section — not just the one in this blog, but any blog — is a film’s oxygen.

A review is not the final word on a film. It is the starting point of a discussion. (Hopefully, an intelligent, informed starting point that gives lots of takeaways that can be expanded upon or/ argued about by readers.)

And if there’s one thing I’m really proud of, it’s “collecting” such a wonderful set of commenters who LIKE cinema and more importantly, like to DISCUSS cinema.

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Gayathri

It’s been so long and your site has been in my top bookmarks across so many browsers, laptop shifts I have done.

There are multiple ways I engage with your reviews – there are movies I want to watch anyway and those I read reviews after I watch. I enjoy the different perspectives (yours and those in comments).

There are movies I am not sure – I read your review and then decide (either to watch or give a miss). Sivappu manjal pachai is a case in point – decided to watch as family in theatre after reading review.

Finally there are those reviews of pathetic movies – I love love the reviews. There are number of times I have laughed out loud in those reviews.

Thank you for writing and giving a space where we can express.

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Sylvan

Congratulations Baradwaj and thank you for the entartaining reviews since back then. Its been almost 13 years reading the blog.

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Priya Arun

Congratulations Brangan saab! There were the unforgettable reviews on The Hindu but (I might have said it before) your article on the aftermath of 9/11 in a Sunday Hindu got me hooked on. I have always looked for music-related and non-film related articles from you. As someone who writes just to stand back and watch how words recreate themselves, I have learnt a lot about the craft of writing from you. And about your film writing: Like I said somewhere recently, as days go by, I realise how little I know about films and how much I need to catch up on. What better to school to go than this place!

And oh! I might have also said this before but more than good films, I always make it a point to read your reviews of bad films. Clever, funny and super mean – all in one!

Keep writing. Keep teaching.

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rsylviana

I have been following the blog quite recently only but I have always read your reviews though I’m not sure which is the first one I read. We only used to get “The Hindu” at home and so the only reviewers I knew (and according to me, existed) were you , Malathi mam and Sudhish. If I’m not wrong, Malathi mam used to review the Tamil movies and you and Sudhish mostly did the English and/or Hindi ones.

Although I watch movies mostly just for entertainment, I am always interested in how you analyse and interpret the movie. It reminds me of the book reports and essays that we used to write for our English paper at school where we try and figure out what the author might have meant about certain lines and sequences and try to dissect the story in our own way. It was easily my most favorite homework and activity at school.

Cheers BR ! Here’s to many more years of critiques, commentaries and cinephilia ! And yes , Thank you for this community as well !

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Alex John

Well, I am one of the 11th hour workers to BR’s blog, yet feel proud to have contributed my weeny share to the ‘reader’s write-up’ section. I ran into this blog page when I was wandering about the internet craving to fill the literary void created in my mind by Roger Ebert’s death. I was happy to have finally found someone whose writing was soulful and findings spot on.

Thank you for enlightening us BR! Keep going strong.

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Raghav

Well done BR.. Congratulations!!

I’m your blog reader since 2006… miss your Arre O Sambar write ups. I still don’t know why I’ve bookmarked the Manmadhan Ambu review-which I use even today to land on your page .
Through the years, via your blog and comments, I have had the opportunity to read so many essays, reviews, thoughts- all excellently written.

This blog is an important part of cinema education for me apart from the director’s cut DVDs and books.

And it’s not just cinema that I come here for, but your blog comments open windows into others thought process which I can relate to.For Ex: this comment by Praveen on ‘Irudhi Suttru’ review is something I chew on sometimes when I drive to office or during meetings.

BR,thank you for enriching my movie watching experience and making it so worthwhile!

“Movies are not about the weekend that they’re released, and in the grand scheme of things, that’s probably the most unimportant time of a film’s life.” Quentin Tarantino

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hari

I think I have been reading you since last 17 years … and hoping for many many more 17 years to come

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tejas

Also, you are the only person whose career took off after Dum. Everyone else’s just went downhill. 😉

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Anu Warrier

I miss the Vivek Oberoi who held so much promise.

Anamika, man! So do I! He screwed up his own career, but it also underlined the power structure in the Hindi industry. I watched him in Lucifer recently, and was struck by how good he was even in that role.

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Amit Joki

BR: Congrats! I don’t remember how or when I stumbled upon your blog but The Hindu certainly played a big part.

No film goes by nowadays without reading your review (in case of Indian cinema) and that of Roger Ebert’s for Hollywood ones (who I incidentally discovered somewhere in this blogsphere).

You’re also the only source of good writing that I can get myself to read. Continue enthralling us, entertaining us, enlightening us till sun riseth in the west.

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H. Prasanna

@Alex John Yes, about the Roger Ebert effect.
@Adhithya KR @MANK @Anu @Priya @Aravindan R @other Ranganites
I don’t if there is a thread already, but you should start/share one with your favourite Rangan review and why. Like this one where all of us followed suit and reminisce our first encounter with him.

Mine was:
https://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2009/08/21/part-of-the-picture-acts-of-love/amp/

I read it on Indian Express and kept the picture that came with it on my desk for many years. In the mood for love is one of my favourite movies and this was an awesome column about it.

Pa. Ranjith asked you in the interview if you would Wong Kar Wai a psychologist who is a filmmaker, because some call Ranjith a politician who is a filmmaker. This column came back to me and it truly shows how far you have come.

When I cannot reach a movie, I read reviews and the Wikipedia page and build those worlds in my head. So thank you and keep going!

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chhotesaab

Congratulations Badesaab ! Through the many ups and downs in life, movies, everything ….. you have been the constant !

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Anuja Chandramouli

February 1, 2020

Congratulations BR! You are the bestest!! I have learned so much from you about writing and have tried to emulate your discipline, dedication and grace. Thank you!

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Yossarian

February 1, 2020

Congratulations BR!! Here’s to many more years of writing and blogging!

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MANK

February 2, 2020

There is saying in Malayalam that loosely translates that, if one decays, it becomes fertilizer for something else. Dum might have flopped and ended the careers of everyone associated with it, but it turned out to be a potent fertilizer for Brangan’s illustrious career as a film critic

Apart from the pleasure of reading you for 17 years, what you have done is to instill the hunger and confidence in me to become a film writer myself. it started with commenting, and then slowly, i started writing posts here, and then incredibly , i started my own blog , and i have now written close to 80 posts on my blog. All thanks to your inspiration and motivation. Also i remember with gratitude that it was Rahini who suggested that i write a post of my own, and you encouraged it and finally published my first post that detailed my love affair with movies

the first movie post that i wrote here was on kamal Haasan’s Hey Ram. I had the misfortune of rereading it again recently, and i was quite embarrassed by it. of course i was inexperienced and immature back then. Now i believe that i am a much better writer, and i am able to convey my film analysis much more lucidly

So for the film’s 20 th anniversary, i have gone back and made a ‘writer’s cut’ of the piece. I have refined it and also expanded it and put all my feelings about the film into it. this is my definitive Hey Ram piece. it’s an epic piece, which i believe is befitting of the epic film

Hey Ram: In Kamal Haasan’s modern Ramayana, Lord Ram turns Travis Bickle in a quixotic quest for vengeance against Gandhi

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Rahini David

February 3, 2020

Congrats BR. I myself can’t for the life of me pick either a favourite review or identify the first one I ever read. Probably started around 2010 or 2011 and never stopped reading.

Thanks MANK. Very happy to have given the nudge. Though you really should hang around here more often.

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MANK

February 3, 2020

Welcome Rahini. I do try to hang around here more often. it’s just that there are much more time constraints on me now

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Shankar

February 4, 2020

Congrats BR! Known you for a long time and enjoyed reading your reviews almost since you started writing….Kudos!

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LeoL

February 5, 2020

Congrats BR! Always enjoy your point of view and got to discover lot of interesting movies through your blog.

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Devarsi Ghosh

I keep saying this to everyone I know: Whatever exists as English-language film writing in India by folks under 35 in this country today in mainstream media (not academia) all goes back to Baradwaj Rangan. Without this blog, all these writers simply wouldn’t have been around. That mainstream cinema could be taken seriously, and can be written about seriously, was something BR showed us. He was at the top of that vanguard in the early 2000s, alongside JAS and Raja Sen, and personally, the number of BR “fanboys” I have encountered is endless. I have personally witnessed fanboys going giddy in front of him. I believe he is genuinely the most influential English language film writer in India since the 2000s.

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brangan

Devarsi Ghosh: That comment means a lot because it comes at a period of self-doubt and general internal angst. Thank you so much.

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Devarsi Ghosh

You’re welcome, BR. Hope you feel better soon. Wish you strength and success.

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MANK

My God boss, you are having a period of self doubt and internal angst?. Pray why?. I thought you are having a great time running FC SOUTH

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Madan