(Image Credit: http://www.indiaglitz.com) If Karthik Subbaraj resurrected the ‘Rajini’ Brand with Kaali in Petta, Nelson Dilipkumar has reinforced it in no uncertain terms with Tiger Muthuvel Pandian in Jailer. After a hiatus of two years, the undisputed Superstar of Indian cinema, Rajinikanth is back on the silver screen and this time it is a no-holds … Continue reading ‘Jailer’ – A Textbook Lesson in Rajininomics

In the world of the creative arts, liberty in the form of imaginative license is an indispensable attribute for success. However, when such liberties transgress the boundaries of reasonableness, the outcome is distortion. Thus, creative license can be a double-edged sword. Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan 2 (PS 2), the screenplay adaptation of the late Kalki … Continue reading Ponniyin Selvan 2 – Miscalculated Liberty

(Image Credit: Sifynews.com) It is on many counts and at multiple levels a travesty to compare a silver screen adaptation with the literature forming the underlying backdrop for such an endeavour. Sixty seven years after Kalki Krishnamurthy, the literary genius, penned his epochal “Ponniyin Selvan” that became eponymous with the Chola Empire, Mani Ratnam has … Continue reading PONNIYIN SELVAN 1 – A FITTING PAEAN TO THE GENIUS OF KALKI

(Image Credit: http://www.Amazonprime.com) One of the greatest champions the world of tennis has ever seen, Pete Sampras always wore a look that was a cross between a hangdog expression and a befuddled contemplation of existence within the geometrical confines of a tennis court. Siddhant Chaturvedi, in “Gehraiyan”, the most recent fare on OTT, manages to … Continue reading ‘Gehriayan’ – An Unappetising fare for the hungry

(Image Credit: Indiaglitz.com) (Warning: This review contains Spoilers) "The medium is the message" is a powerful phrase conceptualised by Canadian communication theorist Marshall McLuhan. In his pathbreaking book, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, published in 1964, McLuhan declared that it ought to be the medium of communication itself, rather than the message/s purveyed by … Continue reading Mimi – Medium is the Message

*SPOILERS INCUDED* In a where-Roald Dahl-attempts-to-meet-Quentin Tarantino-attempts-to-meet-Scott Turow, Director Vinil Mathew dishes out an ambivalent fare that leaves the viewer in a state of justifiable agitation long after the curtains have come down, or rather the Netflix Browser has been closed. Loosely based on Dahl’s grisly short story, Lamb To The Slaughter, “Haseen Dilruba” is … Continue reading Haseen Dilruba: A Poor Man’s Roald Dahl Gone Awry

(Image Credit: Wikipedia) Wikipedia describes Pagglait as a ‘dark comedy drama film.’ The movie is neither comical nor bleak. Elucidating on a theme that is interesting, but not Avant Garde, Director, Umesh Bist has done an appreciable job in assessing the pulse of the viewer. Pagglait is a cathartic experience of a young widow over … Continue reading Pagglait

In her book “Let Me Tell You What I Mean”, Joan Didion in an achingly wistful fashion recounts her feeling of desolation upon receiving a letter of rejection from Stanford University. In an essay titled “On Being Unchosen by the College of One’s Choice”, which every parent ought to read, Didion mulls on how she … Continue reading Operation Varsity Blues – Chris Smith

(Image Credit: Netflix) Eight minutes into Episode 1 of the documentary series on Netflix, titled “Losers”, and directed by Michael Duzyj, former WBO Heavyweight champion Michael Bentt, makes the shape of a pistol using his index and middle fingers before shoving them into his mouth. There is a pregnant pause for a few seconds before … Continue reading Losers: The Miscast Champion

Prior to reviewing the hotly anticipated A.R. Murugadoss directed movie “Darbar” starring Superstar Rajinikanth (Rajini), that hit the screens on the 9th of January, 2020, a disclaimer is in order. I am an impossible, incorrigible and inveterate Rajini tragic. Hence there is an inevitability attached to the fact that a degree of bias would creep … Continue reading DARBAR – Emperor Rajini holds Court