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Bitty Ruminations 88 – Caste and ‘Kaala’
It’s usual to see increased levels of discussion when it comes to big films. It’s also not surprising to see more people chiming in to say “yes, I agree with you” or “I disagree.” But the Kaala discussions have been unusually sobering. When I wrote the imaginary Q and A, some regular commenters here felt […]
Baradwaj Rangan, let’s talk about bias!
June 14, 2018
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/baradwaj-rangan-kaala-review-critics-mani-ratnam-twitter-conversations-southern-cinema-bias/ Because it’s impossible to have a proper conversation on Twitter, I imagine a chat with critics of my ‘Kaala’ review and argue why form is important and why ‘Mani Ratnam’ isn’t a bad word. There may be spoilers ahead if you haven’t seen ‘Kaala’. So you’re […]
Readers Write In #41: A Commoner in Cannes
May 26, 2018
I have been going to film festivals here and there over the past few years. Devouring movies in jam-packed schedules – three a day on average, eight my highest – while cramming in dark halls with droves of people, scavenging on cheap fast food, sleeping on questionable beds, and almost always falling ill after is […]
A journalist’s view of the Cannes Film Festival and its touching commitment to cinema
May 7, 2018
Read the full article on Firstpost, here: https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/cannes-film-festival-2018-a-journalists-view-of-the-iconic-event-and-its-touching-commitment-to-cinema-4458703.html The Cannes Film Festival is a curious beast. There’s no doubt it’s more snobbish than, say, the Berlinale – but this aloofness is part of the attraction. The old Groucho Marx quip (later appropriated by Woody Allen in Annie Hall) comes to mind: “I don’t care to […]
Readers Write In #40: An Unquiet Place
May 6, 2018
I recently watched ‘A Quiet Place’ at a theater. By myself. I’d noticed a few empty rows on the online booking portal. It seemed like the perfect way to watch an horror movie: all alone and in a mostly empty cinema hall. What better way to spend an idle afternoon in Chennai? I arrived fifteen […]
Readers Write In #39: Kadhal 2 Kalyanam
April 30, 2018
How hard is it to make a rom-com ? Though every tamil cinema that hits our screen has an obligatory love story, with duets, stalker glorifying songs, why can’t they make a full blown love story without boring the life out of people. All love stories are clichéd , they all have happy endings, people […]
A film critic’s open letter to director Ram
March 29, 2018
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: http://www.filmcompanion.in/southern-lights-a-film-critics-open-letter-to-director-ram-baradwaj-rangan/ In which I try to explain why “film appreciation” for Tamil cinema isn’t easy in today’s climate. In an interview with Cinema Express, director Ram expressed this opinion about critics. While admitting that no art form can grow without criticism/reviews, he said, “The biggest problem with […]
Readers Write In #37: The Awesome Mixtape Musical
March 24, 2018
Guardians of The Galaxy (2014) has inadvertently spawned a new genre in Hollywood – The ‘Awesome Mixtape Musical’. What ‘Guardians..’ had created, ‘Baby Driver’ ended up perfecting earlier this year. It is a bit counter-intuitive to call a movie with no real singing a musical, but maybe it’s time to expand the definition of ‘musical’ […]
On being home-schooled in Tamil through the film song
March 15, 2018
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: http://www.filmcompanion.in/southern-lights-home-schooled-tamil-film-song/ Paying attention to lyrics is a wonderful way to increase one’s proficiency in a language. (Added incentive: It’s fun too.) These days, a lot of the music I listen to comes from the phone. I just type in the name of a song I feel like listening […]
Readers Write In #36: Ram and his madness
March 11, 2018
This article was written by G Waugh. I know a lot of people who hate Kattradhu Tamizh. I know a lot of people who hate Thanga Meengal. I know a lot of people who hate Kattradhu Tamizh and Thanga Meengal but love Taramani. Why? Taramani is made by someone who is far more mature than […]
Readers Write In #35: Ageing With Films
March 5, 2018
My father, who is the chief reason behind my ardent love for films, has stopped going to the theatres. My problem doesn’t end there. Once a passionate collector of movie DVDs, it is clearly evident that he has lost the interest in spending an evening at home watching his favourite film. It pains me when […]
Kalki: On Netflix
March 1, 2018
Kalki, a short film I wrote for director Dhilip Kumar, is now out on Netflix. You can watch it here: https://www.netflix.com/in/title/80235958 Do see, comment, compliment, criticise… See post about the first look here. And the trailer:
Devi… Sridevi…
February 25, 2018
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: http://www.filmcompanion.in/sridevi-kapoor-death-obituary/ A Madras boy remembers the actress, the star who could do everything every kind of director wanted her to do. G rowing up in the seventies and eighties, in Madras, meant you grew up with Sridevi. Actors and actresses, those days, made a ton of movies […]
Readers Write In #34: Dancing to Bollywood’s tune
February 10, 2018
The title is as literal as it gets and makes me a little unhappy for not coming up with a smarter heading. But hey, as a first time writer I forgive myself. Growing up, dancing was an alien concept. Parties in our tiny Mumbai flats meant men drinking rum and whisky, women chatting and kids […]
Fifteen years, and counting…
February 1, 2018
Read the full article on Film Companion, here: http://www.filmcompanion.in/southern-lights-baradwaj-rangan-on-fifteen-years-as-critic/ In which I look back at the time I started out as a film critic, what it’s like now, and a few things in between. On January 30, 2003, my first review was published – that makes it 15 years this week. The film was Dum, […]
Readers Write In #32: O Butterfly and things that even Google can’t buy
January 27, 2018
A piece about things that still do not have a google address, such as an obscure rendition of O Butterfly. Seemed apt to put this up now, given the Padma Vibhushan for Ilayaraja (though this isn’t really about him). Ilayaraja fans and maybe Vikram fans as well would be familiar with the 1991 hit song O […]
The cartoonist returns
January 15, 2018
Some more from Ramki Bellur — the first, a kind Pongal greeting, and the second, a collaboration with Sanjay NM.
BOFTA Masterclass
December 14, 2017
This is a recording of a Masterclass I was invited to do at BOFTA (Blue Ocean Film and Television Academy ). Copyright ©2017 Behindwoods.
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