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‘Spotify: Cinema with BR’ Episode 7: Dhanush / Selvaraghavan / Vaathi-Sir / Bakasuran
Copyright ©2023 SPOTIFY.
Twenty years, and counting…
January 30, 2023
And it’s 20 years, folks! Or as a friend told me, “Imagine all the useful things you could have done with your life if you’d not had to watch all those bad movies.” Heh, yes, perspective and all that — but I would not have it any other way. Thank you, thank you, thank you […]
About the movies – 1969 / 2022
January 2, 2023
I read this passage — which is a kind of epilogue to Pauline Kael’s review of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It was written in 1969, and what she says seems to resonate with what we are going through today. For your comments / consideration (additions in square brackets are mine): Just when there […]
My Top 10 list of films for the Sight & Sound poll, 2022
December 11, 2022
Accompanying note: It is really tough to nail down ten films definitively, and one’s personality certainly plays a part in picking them. For instance, I still wanted to choose Vertigo or Citizen Kane but somehow these other (and newer) films kept raising their hands for inclusion. I have tried my best. I look foward to […]
Readers Write In #504: Laal Singh Chaddha, Ponniyin Selvan, and everything in between
October 10, 2022
By Abishek Balaji What really decides the fate of a movie? Despite the nature of the movie business being unpredictable, are the audience being fair? I was witness to a very emotional moment while watching Ponniyin Selvan last week. Not the movie itself – even though I liked it, I didn’t find myself laughing or […]
Sound designer Kunal Rajan on the debate around the sound of ‘Ponniyin Selvan: Part 1’
October 3, 2022
Dear Exhibitors, Film Technicians and Cinema lovers, I want to write a note to give everyone my opinion on the Ponniyin Selvan Sound Mix debate. Let me start by congratulating the PS1 team on an enormous success. I also want to congratulate the sound team on an excellent job. Such detailed, sophisticated and classy sound […]
Readers Write In #473: Great Movies: What are they? An essay focusing on ‘Sarpatta Parambarai’, ‘Iruvar’ and ‘Kadaisi Vivasayi’
August 4, 2022
By Aadithya Kiran Is there any one single element in screenwriting that, if treated properly, can transcend a mediocre script into a great one? Do great movies have any definable characteristics? Is the adjective GREAT so malleable that it can be used on any film simply based on our tastes and personal experiences? Watching and […]
Does anyone watch films anymore?
July 22, 2022
I just had this thought, this morning. Over here, there is a lot of discussion around cinema, but so many reviews – unless they are of big films – barely get comments about the film in question. Is it because the particular set of commenters that frequent the blog now do not watch films? Or […]
Readers Write In #396: Streaming my Consciousness
August 18, 2021
(by Anonymous) The following are some random questions that I have had for so long. Pardon me if I am not very coherent here, because for all I care about now, is getting all these questions out in some form of articulate manner, which conveys the intent behind all of this questioning. Let us start […]
Wokeness and art
June 5, 2021
QUOTE: “But what songwriter could have predicted thirty years ago that the future would lose its sense of humour, its sense of playfulness, its sense of context, nuance and irony, and fall into the hands of a perpetually pissed off coterie of pearl-clutchers? How were we to know?” The original article is here: https://www.brooklynvegan.com/nick-cave-talks-about-whether-he-feels-the-need-to-change-problematic-lyrics-live/ Nick […]
Martin Scorsese’s recent essay on Federico Fellini makes a very important point about what cinema is
February 22, 2021
https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/martin-scorseses-recent-essay-on-federico-fellini-makes-a-very-important-point-about-what-cinema-is-9333081.html When you see certain films, you sense the presence of a director. And to me, that is the crux of defining “cinema”: whether it’s been made by a “director”. Spoilers ahead… Given his essays for mainstream publications, Martin Scorsese hasn’t been a happy man for a while. In 2019, in the New York Times, […]
Readers Write In #329: ‘How HB and BR helped evolve my taste
January 19, 2021
(by Akila Narayanan) On Day 3 of the 4th Test match between India vs Australia, I was watching an ‘Extra Innings’ session anchored by Harsha Bhogle (HB) and simultaneously surfing BaradwajRangan’s(BR) blog posts. The thought that instantly struck me was how both of these gentlemen have helped evolve my taste for cricket-watching and movie-watching over […]
Eros theatre memories: Movie-going in another era
December 18, 2020
I received this on Whatsapp. It’s so brilliantly written, so evocative that I wanted to preserve this piece. (Plus, I was a frequenter of Eros theatre myself, and this write-up brought back so many memories — not necessarily of the films mentioned here, but of how movie-going used to be way back then.) Publishing with […]
PVR 2.0: The new normal in theatre-going
November 9, 2020
For more, subscribe to FILM COMPANION SOUTH: http://bit.ly/2xoNult Copyright ©2020 Film Companion.
Readers Write In #291: Learning Cinema by watching Roma
October 31, 2020
(by Shiva Prasad) Whether we like it or not, our lives are moulded by society. Few things are in our control, while most things are most definitely not. We are a tiny part of a bigger scheme of things. Things are not designed to always go our way in this extremely complex system of coexistence. […]
My ‘Let’s Talk Art’ conversation with the folks of Bangalore Little Theatre
October 20, 2020
For more, subscribe to FILM COMPANION SOUTH: http://bit.ly/2xoNult A freewheeling discussion — part of the Let’s Talk Art series to commemorate Bangalore Little Theatre’s Diamond Jubilee. Copyright ©2020 Bangalore Little Theatre Bangalore.
My ‘kutty story’ interview on Littleshows
October 9, 2020
For more, subscribe to FILM COMPANION SOUTH: http://bit.ly/2xoNult”Kutty Story” – A special showcase of talents, to portray the few who have excelled in the field with their ever unique presence – a venture into their life and inception of their goals in the form of a “Kutty Story – an interview series”, documenting their journey […]
My interview on therewillbetime (by Anirban B)
October 1, 2020
For more, subscribe to FILM COMPANION SOUTH: http://bit.ly/2xoNult You can go to any kind of journalism or mass-communication program you want to, but they can only teach you the tools and how to hone your craft. The basic urge should be there within you. I strongly believe that for any form of art, writing or […]
Baradwaj Rangan 
February 17, 2023
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