Shyam Benegal’s Mammo is a thought-provoking film to watch on Mother’s Day. The title character Mammo alias Mehmooda Begum is essayed by Farida Jalal, the epitome of motherhood in Hindi cinema. Not so unpredictably, motherly love is the projecting trait the character brings along. That aside, this quiet, affecting film […]
‘Us’ review – an unnerving horror feature aided by a textured screenplay
Hollywood’s latest Spring offering is breakthrough filmmaker Jordan Peele’s second directorial effort Us. The writer-director who earned global fame with his crackling genre-bending horror-satire Get Out proves a magnificent student of cinema with his latest Lupita Nyong’o-starrer film. Why? Because the film is so rich in genre textures, and with references […]
‘The Predator’ review – Uninventive and just plain exasperating
The Predator franchise is one, for some bizarre reason, swifts back-and-forth from singular to plural titles while also not deviating much from their respective subject matters. The first edition that came in 1987 is one that will remain quite a guilty pleasure for many a film lover for just being […]
‘Deadpool 2’ review – Wittier, sassier, and undeniably better than the prequel
For starters, I am no fan of the first edition of Deadpool which sort of gobsmacked every superhero movie junkie in his gut. Before you know it, the film makes you realize how it was him and not the hackneyed plot or the soupy romantic angle that burnt the screen […]
‘Khandhar’: Inside Jamini’s Rickety World of Stillness and Silence
“Jamini, Jamini…” Calls out her mother in a frail yet demanding tone. This shout is one of the most haunting ones I have ever heard in Hindi cinema. There’s a lot to do with the actor’s (Gita Sen) tenor and vocal quality but it is also about the fact that Jamini […]
‘Manchester by the Sea’ review – Tearjerker of the year
Death. It is often as hard for the witnesses. The sudden void, the unforeseen change in plans that it thrusts upon. Dealing with a series of deaths and their associated agony, there is something awfully unnerving about the way writer-director Kenneth Lonergan crafts his third feature Manchester by The Sea. Akin to top Oscar […]
‘Sparsh’: A Classic ’80s Romance Garnished With Chemistry and Simplicity
Sparsh– The most effortless film viewing can ever get. You feel a breeze while the wind blows, a whiff of the heroine’s perfume’s scent when the hero mentions it. Sensitive to the core, the movie speaks a beautiful language of love, care and empathy. 1980s was perhaps the best decade for […]
How ‘Parineeta’ evolved in Bollywood from 1953 to 2005…
June 10 – Marks the anniversary of Pradeep Sarkar’s sparkling directorial debut with Vinod Chopra Productions’ Parineeta. With an unconventional title and a debutante female actor playing the title role, the film was a risky proposition on papers. Sarkar had his belief in place and the producers laughed all their way […]