one time wanderer

I think I have a huge crush on Venkatesh. No, I know that I have a huge crush on Venkatesh, which has been developing ever since I saw him for the first time in Kshana Kshanam (1991), in which his very first scene was iconic. He is, after all, Coolie No. 1- only he and Queen Tabu could have made that movie so memorable for me, and that's why I NEED THEM TO DO ANOTHER MOVIE REAL QUICK ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME ANYMORE UNIVERSE PLEASE MAKE IT HAPPEN.  Okay, I'm calm again. Anyway. For a few weeks now, I have been telling anyone who'll listen that Venkatesh is my favourite Telugu actor, but now, I think he deserves to be called one of my favourite actors EVER. From his impeccable comic timing, to the way he moves me with his emotional speeches, it's all so special and amazing, and I don't think I am getting over him and his talent anytime soon. Which is also a toned down version of how I feel about Tabu, and MY GOD HOW IS IT FAIR THAT TWO OF THE MOST GIFTED ACTORS I...

I know it's become very fashionable these days to say that Katrina Kaif wasn't "that bad" an actor, and that we unfairly treated her, etc etc. While I am firmly against merciless trolling, especially when it's directed against someone who hasn't done anything that causes actual harm to anyone else (literally, all a woman has to do is exist in order to be bullied and trolled by incels and pick-mes everywhere), I refuse to believe that Katrina Kaif is a good actor. Just, no. Throughout this movie, I kept on wondering how amazing it would have been if they had cast someone decent alongside Venky (my love), someone who could match his level of talent and create magic on screen. Since Kat's character was a little reminiscent of Nandu from Nuvvu Naaku Naachav (2001), I thought Aarthi Agarwal would have been a better choice. But then, I remembered the sizzling chemistry between Venky and Mahesh Babu in Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu (2013), and since Mahesh i...

My favourite part of this movie was the fact that Mahesh Babu became a 1000x better actor every time he had a scene with Venkatesh. Doubtu ledu. Also, the chemistry between the lead pair (Venky and Mahesh, duh) was extraordinary- I mean, they legit had sexual tension after a scene in which they talked on the phone while in two different cities. How many of your OTPs can lay claim to that, huh? Huh? Thought so. My least favourite part of the movie? The cringemax Venky-Seetha dynamics ugh. Also the fact that whoever wrote the dialogues has clearly never talked to a real woman before in his life. The way they did disservice to Sam here was infuriating, especially when she fully has the capability to out-act Mahesh. Just fucking smash patriarchy already. And heteronormativity, because what we need right now is a movie where Venky and MB are full-fledged lovers. I know you wanna, Trivikram. I know  you wanna . This movie contains a song that is basically the Telugu version of Meghan Tra...

Oh, to see Kamal Haasan as an angry young man while I'm rotting away in my early 20s with barely suppressed rage and complete exasperation... plus all that poetry-induced nihilism.... plus all the softness of a romance... it's what dreams are made of in this disaster of a year.  To say this movie has aged well would be wrong, since it hasn't aged at all. Released in 1981, it has striking similarities to 2020- INC is going through leadership troubles, unemployment is at an all-time high, there is a severe hunger crisis underway in the country, people with higher education are finding it increasingly difficult to both get jobs and maintain self-respect, the entire process of getting a job feels like a cruel facade, the "are you a communist?" question is thrown angrily at youngsters who try to make sense of the situations they find themselves in, and of course, this mind-melting scene where Kamal Haasan predicted the Great Maharashtra Chief Minister Debacle of 2019: ...

Drishyam more like Drish-yummmm. (Sorry, but I had to.) Also, trigger warning for police brutality in the movie. First of all, disclaimer: I have not seen the Malayalam original, or the Telugu and Tamil remakes. This was my first entry to the world of Drishyam, and inshallah, there will be many more, because I loved the story so much that I can't wait to watch the other versions too. Second of all, TABU IS QUEEN OF ACTING AND EVERYTHING ELSE AND NEEDS TO BE RECOGNISED FOR BEING SO UNFORGETTABLE AND INTERESTING AND TALENTED AND AMAZING. She is the best part of the movie, and I'm honestly a little upset that we never got a Drishyam version with her and my love, Victory Venkatesh. Khair, no use crying over spilt milk, especially because Ajay Devgn was amazing too, I am just biased because of my overflowing love for Tabs and Venky, and my desperation to see them in a movie together.  Okay, I promise I'm going to talk about the movie now. I think I said in my Andhadhun (2018) r...

What better way to kickstart #HBDMegastarChiranjeevi celebrations than to finally hear Chiru's own voice in a movie? And what better movie to watch than one with the song 'Dayi Dayi Damma' which changed my life for many reasons, the most important being the realisation that KK is one of my favourite singers ever? (Don't ask me why it took me so long to realise this, but when he sang 'haaye haaye haaye', I felt it with my entire soul). Also, THE VEENA STEP. How is that humanly possible? HOW? Now, I would like to begin this formal articulation of my thoughts on this movie with the character I simped hardest for- Snehalatha Reddy (Aarthi Agarwal). My girl literally enquired about the legality of a woman claiming rights to ancestral property, way before the Supreme Court took notice of the issue (this is inspiring me to make a meme). The way she marched into Indrasena Reddy's house, and demanded his hand in marriage? And the way she didn't hesitate even for ...

This is the kind of feminism that the Hindi movie industry desperately needs. There's nothing preachy, nothing simplistic, and nothing reductive about the way this movie operates. Gunjan Saxena comes off as a refreshingly honest young woman- the script is uninhibited when it comes to sharing her moments of self-doubt, her flaws, and those traits that make her immensely relatable.  The star of the movie is Pankaj Tripathi. No second thoughts about that. The way he brings depth to each and every scene that he is in, the way he makes me wish he was my father, the way I want every dad in this country to say "Kaun badtameez tumhein yeh sikha raha hai?" every time his son says some weird shit, the way he is restrained in the way only a retired army man can be, the way he pushes his daughter like only a progressive Indian father can, the way he is everything that screams "National Award winner" to me.  Two other performances that I would like to applaud are Manav Vij a...