one time wanderer

Oh, I am such a Chitti Babu, and yet, paradoxically almost, I most desperately need a Chitti Babu in my life to come and try to literally water my crops and be entertaining at the same time. I NEED CHITTI BABU AS A FRIEND GODDAMNIT. Rangasthalam is a must-watch for anyone interested in Indian politics, and how the personal is truly political in a society so steeped in casteism. As my friend pointed out, the movie is a perfect example of the "show, don't tell" formula, and nowhere is this better proven than in its treatment of caste, which exists not as an abstract, academic philosophy, but as the foundation of people's lived experiences. No action is without its significance, and that's why I feel this is a movie that can only get better with multiple rewatches. This is also one of the rare instances when I do not despise a film for being nearly 3 hours long. It was very well paced- a reviewer (an actual one) compared it to a novel, and that comparison is ...

This one had so much potential- the story was engaging enough till it frustratingly wasn't, and the actors were all good, but for what? I feel like they tried too hard- they should have either stuck to the standard jump-scare stuff that Hindi cinema is fond of, or invested in a better script to have a truly psychologically horrifying experience. Instead, the movie flails about, attempting to be everything at once, and ending up being just meh. Honestly, they could have even made it into a zombie movie, and that would have been loads better than the half-assed "ghost" story that happens in the last 20 minutes (don't worry, no spoilers). Also, they completely under-utilised Ashutosh Rana. I mean, this is what he's best at, being parts of projects that haunt you for years afterwards. The more I think about this movie, the more disappointed I get. Watch it, if you must. Otherwise, watch something else. I have been told that Student of the Year 2 (2019) is prett...

Could have been more entertaining, had it not had some of the elitist preaching. Which is a shame, because I was really looking forward to this one, especially it had Prakash Raj and Samantha Akkineni in it, along with Allu Arjun and Rajendra Prasad. I'm sure someone has noticed this before, but I think the "morals" of  Julayi (2012)   and S/O Satyamurthy (2015) are very similar in the sense that they strive to maintain the status quo where the middle class man must learn to stay within his limits, while the upper class man must learn to never settle for anything less than what he is "rightfully" accustomed to. Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020) is, in that sense, the most logical culmination to the Allu Arjun-Trivikram Srinivas holy trinity. Even the titles point to the progressive preachiness- Julayi is just that, an aawara, while S/O Satyamurthy takes obvious pride in the patriarchal name and origin. Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo is a case in favour of genetic basis...

Allu Arjun is what Salman Khan fans think Salman Khan is, but he is obviously not even half as talented as ma boi Bunny. The music is immensely boppable (yes, that's a word), and the title song will probably end up becoming one of my favourite songs of all time- nothing compares to the sheer, almost feral-quality of singing along "MAIN HOON JULAYI" at the top of your voice. In many of his interviews, Allu Arjun has been unapologetically clear that he sees himself as more of an entertainer than a "serious" actor, and we have no choice but to stan. By staying true to himself and his "brand", he is helping all of us accept our inner "trash" selves (not that we should see it as "trash", I am merely owning that word- one must after all, live out one's most authentic self), and as a consequence, accepting his "trash" self too. Whatta clever guy. With this Tollywood spiral that I am currently in, I am starting to re-disc...

I was sceptical of watching this in the year of our lord 2020, because I was afraid of having a #childhoodruined moment on top of everything that this dear year has blessed us with. But boy, was I wrong. Not only was this the #feminism representation I need to see in Bollywood movies, it's also the one of the best "Delhi girl" representations- thanks, Parineeti Chopra. And Ranveer Singh too, of course, but he is someone I was shocked to discover was not from Delhi, so that's about that. The fashion and overall aesthetics of this movie are very pleasing- I loved all the Lucknow fashion especially, and had the very important realisation that at least once in my life I need to possess a rani-coloured chikankaari outfit. PLEASE. Speaking of Lucknow, how cute was Saira's (Aditi Sharma) Abbu?? A1 representation of supportive fathers, and also thanks for not going down the "conservative Muslim" rabbit-hole which I was very scared it would. Even Dimple'...

Another one for the god-tier cinema list. My friend is judging me for loving this one, but how can I not? The music is just perfect, and so is the fashion. Stylish Star craze is a real thing and must be respected. Also, deep rel8 to Valmiki (Murali Sharma in an amazing performance as the villain) and Raj Manohar (Sushanth)- like former, I too am batshit crazy and it's nice to see Tollywood representing me in all my glory in so many movies, and like the latter, I too need a break. Amen.  PS- is it just me, or was there something Oedipal between Bantu (Allu Arjun) and Yasu (Tabu)? 

Technically, I watched Coolie Raja , the Hindi dubbed version, but whatever. I will learn Telugu one day and go back and watch the OG one. Now, I've said this before, and I'll say it again- TCU is a gift that just keeps on giving. This has to be my favourite god-tier movie; nay, as R pointed out, this is GODDESS-tier. All thanks to Queen T,   the best actor to ever exist. Any casual observer can appreciate her acting in films like The Namesake (2006), Andhadhun (2018), etc., but it's her debut movie (as a lead actor), Coolie No. 1 , that made me realise just what a gem she is. The movie is so bad, it's brilliant. Not for a second did I have any doubt that it would turn out to be a good movie- the scene where Raju (Venkatesh) explains why he's Coolie No. 1 took care of that. I was actually keeping a list of all the problematic boxes it ticked off, and honestly, it covered most of them. And if that isn't enough to propel it to the top of the god tier list,...