Let me begin with an ironic confession. Cinema in a short format seldom fascinates me. However, anthologies rank pretty high among my preferred feature film genres. Why this paradox? I would say, it is the link that often exists between the short films that captivates me no end. At the […]
Read Time : 11 Minutes
When ‘Salaam Namaste’ Made Our Hearts Go “mmmm….”
It was 2005 and Bollywood was still hypnotized by grand NRI romances. The trend existed for a reason as it was when the impact of liberalization had finally plummeted and consolidated in India. The economy grew and it was not a distant dream to plan a trip to a city […]
Read Time : 9 Minutes
‘Mardaani 2’ review – Rani Mukerji’s thriller plays royally to the gallery
2014’s Mardaani was one rare film for Hindi cinema. Possibly for the first time, Bollywood saw a woman cop nail a criminal from his den, throw punchlines that resembled, “Saare Mumbai ke policewalon ko ch**ya banake bhaga hai, saala” and then go home to have dinner with her sweet little […]
Read Time : 6 Minutes
‘Joker’ review – a jaw-dropping origin story which revels in its audacity
Come what the naysayers may say, we are essentially living in the days where social awareness seems to be trickling into every strata and demographic. Some call them woke, and others term the movement a mere sign of a needful change. At the same time, this is also the very […]
Read Time : 6 Minutes
‘Batla House’ review – Entertains despite presenting only one side of the story
Filmmaker Nikkhil Advani’s Batla House confirms a strong belief of mine. Films are best viewed if we approach them with a clean slate – consume no promotional content, view or read no material bombarded by television and online portals. Or else, I never believed that a film like Batla House, […]
Read Time : 9 Minutes
‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ review – a leisurely ride to the Tinseltown of yore
2019 is perhaps the perfect time to spin a film-in-film spectacle staged in Hollywood’s swinging ‘60s. One where the borders blur between the reel and real, it is Quentin Tarantino who designs a parallel narrative around a series of murders executed by the notorious Manson Family back in the day. […]
Read Time : 7 Minutes
‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ review – a middling fare at best
As one parks oneself to watch Spider-Man: Far from Home, it is near-impossible to disassociate oneself from the pretty recent aftertaste (or wounds) of Avengers: Endgame. Directed by Jon Watts, the film in itself carries a similar disposition and it, therefore, chooses to kick off with a video montage featuring […]
Read Time : 17 Minutes
‘Hum Tum’: Kunal Kohli’s Magical Romance Ages Like Exquisite Wine
Indian cinema sees no dearth of love stories. Yet it is rare for a film to accurately mirror the mindscape of a large, under-addressed spectrum of viewers. Kunal Kohli did that to the urban yuppie, who, in no way lacked privilege in life but their stories were in the nascent […]
Read Time : 5 Minutes
‘Shazam!’ review – a goofy comedy that’s also a sweet family story
The latest film to come out of DCEU, Shazam! kicks off on a puzzling note. A child who is bullied by his family for not ‘manning up’ enough witnesses a horrid incident in a mysterious dreamland followed by an actual accident. Now, here’s a young boy who is every bit […]
Read Time : 4 Minutes
‘Beautiful Boy’ review – Timothée Chalamet lends gravitas to this drug-abuse drama
It is not always easy to look objectively at something as stark as drug abuse in the family. As is the case with screenplays of erstwhile films based on similar themes, Beautiful Boy chucks artfulness for its own good and takes a narrative trajectory that is honest and also, often, tedious […]