Mahesh Bhatt is back on the director’s chair. Back in 1999, when he announced to hang his boots, I never thought this day would come. Such was his conviction. As he minted remakes after remakes, the fatigue was evident in his later years’ work. 21 years later, he reunites with […]
Read Time : 11 Minutes
“Panipat”… An impersonal yet partly bearable war epic!
I never understood why people hail Ashutosh Gowariker as the pioneer of war films. Jodhaa Akbar worked more as a sublime romance despite its brief war portions. Lagaan and Khelen Hum Jee Jaan Sey had broader canvasses. I would rather call him as someone who could examine his characters’ emotional […]
Read Time : 11 Minutes
“Kalank”… A forgettable period saga which is two decades too late!
Remember the times when trains in Hindi cinema ran in slow motion? The times when characters spoke only in slogans or quotable quotes. The era where grandeur existed only to showcase the producers’ bank balance. Think of heavy artifice and a filmmaking approach that Sanjay Leela Bhansali would have pursued […]
Read Time : 7 Minutes
“Sanju” … Ranbir Kapoor is extraordinary in an otherwise hollow hagiography!
Like several of Hindi language biopics, Sanju begins with a preposterous disclaimer. It comfortably washes its hands off the biopic label and claims how it is merely ‘based on’ certain events in its subject’s life. It is as if the makers were ignorant of the fact that Sanjay Dutt’s life […]
Read Time : 12 Minutes
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 […]