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‘Spotify: Cinema with BR’ Episode 6: Ask the Critic
Posted on February 9, 2023
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Baradwaj Rangan 
Sri Prabhuram
February 4, 2023
What is your most anticipated Indian film of 2023?
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brangan
February 4, 2023
My producers for Spotify told me that the next episode is about my 20 years as a critic.
So any questions you guys want to ask me? If you write them below, will try and answer as many as I can…
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Madan
February 4, 2023
Any films you either liked a lot more years after the original review or found it hadn’t aged well? Narrowing it down to landmark films if there are too many.
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Macaulay Perapulla
February 4, 2023
How did you arrive at your central framework underpinning your body of work in film criticism: “Content is subservient to form”? If you were to revisit this in light of where cinema as a medium is going forward, what would you change and what you wouldn’t change, in your reviewing of films, going forward?
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Naren
February 4, 2023
Viewers say that the movie industry is knowingly and willingly restricting their audience base by targeting/pandering to only a particular demography. The industry [producers], on the other hand, say that it is only that demography that makes ROI happen from big, medium and small budget movies. So, who is neglecting whom?! Is it the chicken or the egg or a Mobius strip?! Which party has to make the course correction?!
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Mallikarjun
February 4, 2023
Sir, My Questions. Please pardon grammar mistakes.
Film Lover vs Film Critic. As a critic, do you ever feel like you’re missing the pure joy of watching a film just for fun? I mean, most of the time you’ll be watching a film through the lens of a critic. so while watching a movie, naturally you might analyze filmmaking decisions, etc… I’m sure you enjoy a good movie anyway, but Is it possible to watch every film with a child-like wonder again? I’m asking this because by knowing more about screenwriting and filmmaking, I feel the movie-watching experience tends to lose its magic slightly.
You often say your metric or basic principle to see if the film works or not is, in the first 30 minutes or so, you’ll see “what the story sets out to do with the film” or something like this, and whether it achieves it or not..… I just wonder, what if there’s some sudden shift in genre or unexpected random absurd direction the story takes, would you consider the film doesn’t do justice to what it sets out to do… some movies you cannot understand the intention until the last frame, so basically, How do you watch a film?
Have you ever regretted bashing a film or giving a negative rating? Because sometimes our mood on the day of watching a movie, and personal life could affect a movie experience, on second viewing we might realize the movie is actually good.. is this happened to you ever?
How to develop kindness, empathy, and calmness? I like your approach to films and life in general. I’m inspired by your kind words and empathy toward humans. Tell us how can we take a chill pill, whether it’s movies or life…. Particularly LIFE.
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hari prasad
February 4, 2023
I have 3 questions:
#1 : https://wp.me/pXLTQ-ah%23comment-182499
#2 : Ever since people started to consume international content during and post the pandemic , they watch our commercial masala movies as if they’ve been put inside the Holocaust and they easily brush it off saying it as cringe and WTF…
Do we have to blame our directors and heroes for dishing out mediocre masala?
Is calling out all masala movies as downright painful to watch a right thing?
#3 :
When people ask whats your fav Kamal Haasan directorial , at one interview you’d say Hey Ram but in another interview you’d say Virumandi…
Are you still conflicted on deciding which was the better Kamal directed movie?
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Muhammad Rafeeq
February 4, 2023
I’ve got a few questions…
Do you have films that you’ve thrashed/praised at release, only to feel the contrary after some time/thought? Perhaps this would be a nice time to, maybe apologise, or give those films the treatment they deserve..?
What is your daily limit of films? Like, after how many films in a day do you decide to continue the next day?
And, do you have any “palate cleanser” in between films?
Oh, and do you take notes during a film?
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Prakash Alagarsamy
February 4, 2023
I have a question. Previously your reviews championed smaller films which did not get a wife release. Nowadays you review only bigger films. Why the change?? I miss the days when a CSK, poovarasan peepee where given more prominence in your blog. Nowadays you are mainly concentrating on interviews
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musical v
February 4, 2023
Mention of smaller films reminds me of Vadh starring Neena Gupta, Sanjay Mishra. A 2022 film currently playing on netflix. Good film.
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Karthik
February 4, 2023
My question is similar to Madan’s: What films did you think were “timeless classics” when you first watched them, and then later discover that they’ve aged? Generally speaking, what makes a film age? Is it more about the film lacking something, or do you just outgrow it?
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Bragadish
February 4, 2023
Will you start doing Hollywood or other foreign movie reviews too in future? Or the classics from the past. I would like to hear it from you to have an Indian perspective reviewer.
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Jayram
February 4, 2023
Do you think Vetri Maaran can have a Mani Ratnam like career? Like in longevity and relevancy without fading away? Or do you think he is setting his sights elsewhere by aiming to become more of a world cinema filmmaker/auteur after Visaranai?
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Karthik
February 4, 2023
I have another question, actually: I assume you write most, if not all reviews after one viewing of a film. So when you watch a really immersive film, how do you manage to stay in the world of the film, in the moment, decode and process your own emotional response, while also isolating the cinematic choices that leads to it? And then there’s also connecting those aspects to the broader cannon of cinema. Is this something you had to actively cultivate over time, if so how?
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Voldemort
February 4, 2023
Songs and dance sequences in our movies have always been ridiculed by the west as cringe. Some song sequences are done well, while the other are honestly embarassing. Leaving out montages, in lip-sync type songs, very few filmmakers take the effort to make them look sensible – examples- Naatu Naatu, Sippi irukuthu muthum irukuthu. Younger filmmakers seem to be avoiding them completely these days or using them only as montages. Do you think we will soon have no lip-sync songs at all except for mass movies? If yes, is it a loss considering that it is one of our oldest traditions in filmmaking?
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Voldemort
February 4, 2023
Another question – sometimes you might find certain films “interesting”, they may be engaging intellectually but not viscerally. How do you evaluate them at a personal level and as a critic? They might be interesting pieces of art but probably difficult to sit through – what do you do in these cases. Do you rewatch such films ?
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tamil thanos
February 5, 2023
As a critic, you often interview artists/directors from the movie you are going to be reviewing later. Does that affect your reviewing since you have an idea of what to expect?
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Voldemort
February 5, 2023
Adding to tamilthanos’ question – how many times after an interview have you felt like the actor/director is super intelligent, knows what they’re doing, is knowledgeable on many aspects of filmmaking, etc, and then when you caught the film you couldn’t believe it was made by the same person or perhaps wondered ‘what were they thinking when they did this /spoke this line’?
And vice versa how many instances have there been where you were completely underwhelmed after the interview but the film/performance was surprisingly good and caught you by shock?
And most importantly, which of the two occurs most? x D
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Caesium
February 5, 2023
In your view, is work-life balance better for a film critic or a traditional engineer (say in mechanical or IT)?
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ANotSoAnnoyedFan
February 5, 2023
Do you feel like the new-gen directors who cropped up in the early-2010s like Karthik Subbaraj, Balaji Mohan etc who were touted to take Tamil cinema in an interesting new directions failed to live up to that expectation because they started working with stars?
Who is the most interesting film maker currently in your opinion? (Except Mani Ratnam)
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KS
February 5, 2023
Earlier you were simply a critic, an outsider to the industry. You saw films, and you analyzed the final product. The challenges and compromises faced by insiders and their impact on their creative choices were irrelevant to you. You had the luxury of staying as objective as possible.
But now, being part of film media (which survives symbiotically with the film industry), you hobnob with celebrities, interact much more with them, are involved in scripts, etc. You’re pretty much an insider, and are intimately aware of the constraints and workings of the industry.
Could that impact your judgment when it comes to being a critic?
I’m not implying that you’ll be incentivized or pressured into being in the good books of the industry. But just that being more aware of the realities of filmmaking from the inside could influence your impressions of what you finally see on screen?
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Aman Basha
February 5, 2023
I have two questions for you BR, one, if given the opportunity, which deceased film maker would you love to interview for a Conversations book?
Two, you mentioned in your Pathaan review, how younger actors can’t seem to carry crowd pleasers. This is true from Hollywood to Bollywood to even Malayalam where the two Ms are still number one but Telugu and Tamil (to an extent) seem to have found younger big stars. What do you think the other industries miss?
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karthik299
February 5, 2023
What’s your view on Harshavardhan Kulkarni? I think he picked some really risky topics yet never went overboard with both Hunterrr and Badhaai Do.
However, could not find your review for either of the movies, so just a little curious about your opinion on both the movies and the filmmaker.
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Anand Raghavan
February 5, 2023
Do you find the magic of watching a movie first time diminishing because of overdose of endless promos from title to trailer and everything in between ?
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Deepika
February 5, 2023
Can we expect “The Great Movies” book by BR? With FC you used to do retro reviews, but that’s not the case anymore..
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Bala
February 5, 2023
As someone with a non-conventional career, were there moments when you doubted your choices? What did you tell yourself during those times? Tell us your “The Road not taken” story.
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hari prasad
February 5, 2023
I’d love to see a Flashback or Movies that I Love , You Hate type video essay on Neethane En Ponvasantham..
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Enna koduka sir pera
February 5, 2023
It may be different now in Galatta plus, but in your early days as a critic in the newspapers, was there a requirement to watch all the movies released in the language that you were reviewing? If so, how did/do you manage watching movies that you were/are not in the head space to watch? For example, like movies whose core emotion can disturb you at that point in time… How do you deal with that?
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Nimmi Rangaswamy
February 5, 2023
BR- It will be great to know your take on Chennai City and its influence on your cinema sensibilities – how did growing up in Chennai shape your personal and professional choices
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Anu Warrier
February 6, 2023
BR, have you ever revisited a film and found that your reaction to it had changed from your original review? (Especially if your review was negative?)
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tamil thanos
February 6, 2023
Beautiful question KS. I was trying to ask the same but you put it better. To add to it – there will definitely be some bias or different expectations since you now have information that is unavailable to the general public. Do you try to fight the bias or just go with the flow because, at the end of the day, it is your opinion?
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kaizokukeshav
February 7, 2023
Why does movie marketing overreach into Indian population so heavily compared to rest of the world ?
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Severus Snape
February 7, 2023
How does one differentiate between writing and directorial choices? And how does one know if a film is well-staged? For example, I loved Thiruchitrambalam for several reasons, but I can’t decide/understand if I’m appreciating the writing or the directing. For example, there’s a moment before the argument between Thiru and his dad, when Thiru is inside and his dad has a tiny bit of dialogue with the granddad about the wedding card. While this is a set-up for the second half, it also helps in adding tension to the scene by putting off the argument that we know will happen by a few seconds(Nothing would be lost plot wise if the wedding card is introduced directly in the second half). In a scene after the argument, the father is sewing his shirt, which works as a metaphor for him thinking of mending the relationship(and culminating in the scene where he directly apologizes to his son). There’s also the giant parallel between the father’s paralysis and the broken bond between the father and the son. Are these written into the script, or are these scenes “well-staged”?
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JustAnotherHuman
February 8, 2023
Some of my questions.
Do you look at being a critic as an enjoyable job or as a career? If you look at it as a career, how do you think about career progress? How do you see yourself 5 years from now? In general what is the career ladder for a critic. (Similar to junior->mid level->senior-> lead-> manager etc in traditional fields like engineering).
How much does a film critic job pay? i.e what is a typical pay/salary for a junior critic, senior critic etc.
Not sure if I am articulating the following question right. Intention of my question is philosophical and not meant for ridicule. Do you sometimes feel of lesser value to the industry/society compared to someone who actually produces the main content(like movie, music)? If so how do you reconcile with that complex?
Not directly related to the job of critic, but I want to know more about Barad the person. Where were you born, where did you grow up, where did you go to school/college, who are all there in your family, are you married, if so do you have kids. If not married, why not i.e what are your thoughts about marriage etc. What are your political leanings etc etc. I want to know your life history and philosophies.
This is a suggestion/request and not a question. Given you have seen tons of great movies, music across multiple languages throughout your life, I would like to see this exhaustive list of all the movies/music that you enjoyed. Would be great if you can include books too. No need for a detailed write up about each but just a living list that you can keep adding to, as and when you remember so we have suggestions from someone who has a great taste.
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Arun Sudarsan
February 10, 2023
Hi BR, you now write reviews, shoot interviews, record podcasts, and if I am not mistaken has an administrative role as well at Galatta. The output you are producing is staggering and I really hope you are physically and mentally fit. Do you consciously think about work-life balance or is that a false dichotomy? Take care!
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brangan
February 10, 2023
Arun Sudarsan: No, I don’t have an administrative role. I never take up jobs with those. I like doing reviews/ interviews etc. far too much, and I could not be this productive if I was doing admin.
But also, many people say “oh, you do so much…” but it’s not that difficult. I don’t use social media except to post my links. I don’t work after 6pm (unless it’s some emergency). So there IS work-life balance (though whether I am “mentally fit,” I will leave for others to evaluate 😀 )
Take an average (imaginary) work week:
Monday: Watch two films
Tuesday: Write reviews for those two films
Wednesday: prepare for interview in the morning / prepare for podcast in the afternoon
Thurdsay: Record interview and podcast
Friday: Watch a couple of new releases / write reviews
Saturday: Plan the week ahead, etc.
I don’t think this is exactly a “staggering” schedule compared to those at Citibank, etc. who work from 9-11 pm and all!!!!
It’s not rocket science. It’s just time management — and thankfully, I am very disciplined that way. (Others call it OCD, but whatever….)
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brangan
February 10, 2023
BTW, thanks all for these questions. Finally, the producers made the call to make this a non-stop episode instead of one filled with Q and A — but I did manage to fold in some of these questions inside the podcast. Hope you like it.
About some of you finding the STR podcast “disjointed”, I agree and I think it will take some time to hit the sweet spot between what the producers want me to do and what I want to do. But I do think the one on MAYAKKAM ENNA came out well, because “philosophising” is my forte 😀
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brangan
February 10, 2023
Arun Sudarsan: Oh, I forgot to answer this: “Do you consciously think about work-life balance or is that a false dichotomy?”
I think if you LIKE your work, you don’t care if it spills over into “life”. But more practically speaking, you have to keep yourself out there, doing this. So if you want a public-eye career, this is one of the things you have to be un-rigid about (for instance, if you say “I want to not work on Saturday and Sunday, then this career is most certainly not for you).
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Thupparivaalan
February 10, 2023
BR: please give us an 2/3 hour philosophical rambling about what you think of your favorite films. Podcasting is a format that’s just perfect for you. Enough of this Spotify Collab where the producers who don’t know shit about movies can have a say on what you do. You can start your own one and people will just flock to it. You’re the brand man.
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Rahini David
February 10, 2023
I don’t know why people think of producers and managers as people who don’t know shit about art. I mean by choosing a profession that involves interacting with artists on a very regular basis, they prove that art creation, distribution and consumption means something to them.
They look like they have a good idea about what sort of content will exploits BR’s niche skills and take it to a general audience. It seems to me that they decided on the “One Retro-Movie a month” format and BR chose Makkam Enna as his first movie to discuss.
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Voldemort
February 10, 2023
This one was so wholesome. The podcast format suits your style very well.
@just another human : I’ve wondered about many of these questions you’ve asked too xD We need to have an AMA with BR sometime
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hari prasad
February 10, 2023
Baddy , review for Farzi when?
And hearing really nice things about the Bigg Boss Kavin starrer Dada , which they say is a delicious mix of Mouna Geethangal and Aadhalaal Kadhal Seiveer..
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Madan
February 11, 2023
Wonderful episode, this one.
I would somewhat debate the point about dialogue. I hear you about it and definitely in a Tamil film context, a dialogue heavy film is basically just a 35mm nadagam. But great films can use dialogue to telling effect. Network is so dialogue heavy but it is also a very well made film at the same time.
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damilan
February 11, 2023
This episode was good, I especially liked that it had no generic bgm. I feel that the episode will be elevated if you gave more examples (like the accidental coyote) on other points as well. For instance, what makes you say Hindi filmmakers used to have a stronger handle on their craft as compared to Tamil ones who were content focused?
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tamil thanos
February 11, 2023
Thanks for answering some of the questions. Your mental game must be solid to be constantly aware of external biases and keep them under control. I bet that also makes you a better person overall. I doubt how many have it in them to be mad about waiting for 10+ hours to interview someone and still review the movie of the very actor’s movie with an open mind.
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Macaulay Perapulla
February 11, 2023
This was a lovely episode and thank you for speaking about form >> content in a way that is accessible to all your listeners. I loved your Collateral example. I must admit, there is some “thoivu” in the flow of the episode in terms of flowing in from one interlude to the other. It feels laboured currently.
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brangan
February 11, 2023
Putting this comment here again: If any of you posts a comment with links, it sometimes goes to spam. So if your comment does not show up, do let me know asap — because comments are no longer moderated and I don’t keep track of all of them!
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hari prasad
February 11, 2023
You should do an episode on masala movies vs mass movies and how people approach commercial movies..
There’s this elite mentality that people inherited during the pandemic , which is saying commercial movies suck and Hollywood and Japanese cinema is the gold standard which make them sound the coolest dudes ever…
Like example , many people criticized Rajamouli’s Sight and Sound 10 greatest movies of all time list calling it ” too mainstream and cringe inducing”.
These people are hypocrites who would rewatch Varisu at a theatre despite knowing its a mediocre mass movie but wont give a shot at watching a Kadaisi Vivasaayi or Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam for a single time…
As a fan of the masala genre , you have to do an episode based on this topic someday…
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Madan
February 11, 2023
Hypocrisy is many hued and omnipresent. I am not rationalizing it, just that I care less and less about it. And again, political hypocrisy is more consequential and worrisome than art lover hypocrisy. My top ten all time list would look very different but SSR wouldn’t be making the kind of movies he does if his list had Cuckoo’s Nest, Network or Clockwork Orange. He makes big fat masala movies with so much conviction precisely because he loves them the way a schoolkid would. And there’s nothing wrong with that. And I am glad somebody gave the irreverent laugh riot that was Disney’s Aladdin its due. Give me Aladdin any day over Pinocchio or Snow White.
There are the people who cringe at RRR but have EXTREMELY normie mainstream tastes in Hollywood. If you simultaneously got offended by RRR and by Marty’s Theme Park comment about MCU, you are a confused pikachu. Some guys were sniggering about the Golden Globe award for Naatu. And I asked (a) how is it any worse than Jai Ho? and (b) where were you when Fart Will Go On won the Oscar? Or Let It Blow?
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Enna koduka sir pera
February 11, 2023
This one was lovely. Looking forward to the book you will write after you retire 😉
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KS
February 15, 2023
@brangan:
It was sad to hear that you changed your writing form to appease the philistines who wrote to you complaining they needed a dictionary. But they never were your target audience, they can ungabunga their way on twitter and youtube.
You should go back to full form writing with fancy GRE words and flowery language. It was a pleasure to read. That was your USP and how you managed to stand out. After all, every monkey with a smartphone can review movies today and talk at length about even the cinematic aspects and symbols (and even conduct interviews today). But those monkeys can’t write like you.
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Kay
February 16, 2023
Loved this episode (and every other episode tbh). That pitch for your future book was very funny.
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