One of the coolest, stand-out films of the 90s, The Usual Suspects remains just as powerful and ambitious today, though something of a cloud has been cast over it due to the misgivings of some involved. Since its release 25 years ago, multiple allegations of abuse against both its star, Kevin Spacey, and director, Bryan Singer, ...
As a generation that grew up hearing the iconic ‘Tareekh pe tareekh’ dialogue on the TV screens, it is safe to say that courtroom dramas form a major part of our film appetite. The more mainstream ones such as Damini (1993) have shaped our movie-watching experience, and come to constitute a major chunk of our celluloid ...
‘There should be no boundaries to human endeavor. We are all different. However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there’s life, there is hope.’ – Stephen Hawking (The Theory of Everything) As we tide through troubled times, we could all use some inspiration. We all enjoy ...
Cities have been explored as a muse both in literature and cinema. In the latter, the dynamics between space and time are ones that truly make a film what it is. Essentially, it is the setting that comes to define the characters and it is the spatialization of the plot that comes to define the aesthetics. ...
From playing boy-next-door to embodying larger-than-life onscreen characters, Ranveer has scaled dizzying heights in a rather short span of time. His broad, dynamic range as an actor spans across diverse genres. He can transition from a pompous Simmba to the subtle Murad of Gully Boy with effortless ease. Known to completely get into the skin of his character, ...
Looking beyond what hits the big screens in India, there exists cinema that is at the periphery of the popular. This is cinema that is profound and deeply seeded in reality. It might often get overlooked or neglected for lack of discourse around it. So I took it upon myself to curate this list of ...
From The Kid (1921) to Modern Times (1936), these are the 9 greatest Charlie Chaplin movies. Charlie Chaplin has been one of the first filmmakers who has truly outlived the constraints of time. Being someone who literally and figuratively grew up to his cinema, I personally owe a lot of my smiles to him, and I guess ...
‘Badi haveliyon mein bade raaz hote hain’, says Binodini when she dresses up the fiery protagonist of our supernatural feminist fable, Bulbbul. As we go on to unravel these mysteries that the large foreboding mansions entail, a blood-soaked fable reveals itself to us. Drenched in red, this directorial debut of dialogue writer and lyricist, Anvita ...
As I plonked myself comfortably on a couch this afternoon, I overheard my mother, sitting right across talk to my father about the greatness of Mother India (1955) for the umpteenth time. Having a media student for a daughter, she often tells me how the proverb ‘ghar ki murgi daal barabar’ aptly applies to me. I pride ...
Lives lived in cinema have such a deep, cultural impact on us that it almost gets difficult to draw boundaries between the real and the reel. With many cinematic entries and exits over the course of an illustrious career, with the many on screen lessons in holding on and letting go and with several films ...
Over the course of the past decade, Indian cinema has indelibly morphed into a novel beast. Despite still being distinguishable, the line separating ‘mainstream’ from ‘arthouse’ has experienced a paradigm shift. Many factors are at play here. In large part, this is a product of the meteoric rise of OTT platforms; it is simple economics: competition forces an increase in quality. Accompanied by rising public demand and appreciation for nuanced regional content, it is evident that the country’s filmmaker-audience dynamic has mutated. As a result of these interactions, ...
(Updated: January 13, 2021) Bollywood’s generally bankable tradition of remaking international blockbusters has seen an uptick in recent years despite lukewarm results. Last year’s Sujoy Ghosh thriller Badla (The Invisible Guest) is the most notable in a generally underwhelming list containing the likes of Bharat (Ode to My Father) and Brothers (Warrior). The formula, once extremely viable, seems to have taken a backseat in the face of thriving original content. ...
The Darbhanga-born filmmaker has carved a niche for himself in contemporary Bollywood since he first debuted in 2005. His craft is not limited to direction; every film directed by Imtiaz Ali has been written by his hand as well. Therefore it is not surprising that Imtiaz Ali movies often have a distinct feel to them. ...
There aren’t many actors who have trudged their way through Bollywood’s ranks and achieved mainstream stardom. Often, the journeys of such artists are quelled by the merciless metropolis that is Mumbai. This selective list suffered a major blow with the recent demise of Irrfan Khan. Cruelly, another name must be struck off in light of ...
Director Shoojit Sircar’s fifth collaboration with writer Juhi Chaturvedi Gulabo Sitabo begins with an ode to a traditional Lakhnavi artform: A glove-puppeteer regales passers-by with the humorous tale of a man’s wife and his mistress – a disagreeable pair that incessantly bicker over trivial matters. Not only has the film’s title been derived from this evanescent art-form, it also hints at the relationship our comically petty protagonists are going to share. The gluttonous landlord Mirza (Amitabh Bachchan) and his ...
Dipankar Sarkar
