one time wanderer

TRIGGER WARNING : child abuse, r*pe, police brutality, d*ath As with most anthology films, my lasting impression of Onir's I Am is one of utter confusion. On one hand, I can't help but applaud him for the choices he makes while deciding the themes of his shorts- on the other, I can't see why he chose these 4 shorts specifically to be bundled together in a single movie. One short is about sperm donation, one about the Kashmiri Pandit exodus, third about child abuse, and fourth about being a gay man in India. They just don't add up in a very coherent way, especially because some of them are handled better than others (or maybe that's just me).  I personally feel that "I Am Megha" deserved to be a full-length movie on its own. There is no doubt that Juhi Chawla and Manisha Koirala were the best actors in all the four shorts, and its their performances that will stay with me for a long time. I particularly appreciated how well-written Juhi's character was...

I was quite excited to watch this (no I haven't seen A Wednesday , and now I probably never will), because of Venkatesh and his proficiency in thriller movies. It's kind of amazing how the two genres he excels at are comedies and thrillers- an appropriate reflection of his range, methinks. Here too, he is in his element as the duty-bound cop caught in a high-stakes situation over which he seemingly has no control. The way Venky manages to convey his frustrations with the job along with his unceasing admiration for the same is a sight to behold- unfortunately, I can't say the same for the rest of the movie. My biggest problem with the movie is its confused politics, which verges on straight-up Islamophobia. I was quite fed up by the film's self-righteous and didactic tone, and I really could not figure out what point it was trying to make, except the glorification of police brutality and encounter killings. The line "if terrorism is instant, then justice should be i...

I am still in shock and can barely formulate a sentence other than "What a movie". I was not expecting to be this shook by it, probably because I had seen and loved Black Swan (2010) and a lot of people have commented on how it is somewhat of a remake of Perfect Blue . But honestly, now I'm questioning if Black Swan really was all that good, because this movie hit raw in all the places it meant to hit, and then some.  Through the protagonist Mima, the reality of being a woman crashed on me and I could hardly think about its implications, symbolism, etc because it was too real to so much that we have to go through on a daily basis. even when we are not necessarily in the entertainment industry. We are constantly haunted by this inescapable hungry gaze and even though we tune it out and learn to live with it, there are times when it shines like a spotlight on us and adds to the general sexual trauma that we have to live with. And yes, most of us (if not all) have some sexua...

I would have happily watched full-length movies based on the second (the one with Jung Eun-chae) and third (the one with Han Ye-ri and Kim Hye-ok) segments, that's how much I loved them. The conversations were brilliantly written, the actors were marvellous, and the stories themselves quite intriguing.  The second story floored me completely- I was hooked onto every word they exchanged, every glance, every gesture. Even more than the story and the dialogues, the reason for this was Jung Eun-chae and her superb performance. It was so good that I paused for a while after this segment and quickly looked through her filmography. She communicated through her eyes everything that she couldn't speak out loud- how does one not fall in love with her? The ending left me feeling very soft and wholesome, and I'm smiling just remembering how cute this couple was now. The third story was definitely the most powerful one, probably because it had two women and because of the way it transit...

Two hours and forty minutes of blissful Thalapathy simping in what is bound to be one of my favourite mass movies ever- what else do I need in these troubled times? Vijay is unmatchable here- he carries the entire movie on his shoulders, and if there were any flaws, I certainly didn't notice because I was too busy being in love with him. Okay yes, I did notice the r*pe joke and the occasional slimy humour at the expense of women, and I wish the movie had done away with them because I think it would have been much more appreciated otherwise? Because it is perfect in every other parameter. Vidyasagar's soundtrack is outstanding, especially the title track and the romantic songs. This is the only film, along with Indra (2002), that made me feel like I was having the theatre experience even though I was in my own room. And if that isn't the sign of the perfect mass movie, I really don't know what is. Trisha ma'am is pitch perfect as Devi, and it's always a good time...

A very typical 90s "family" rom-com with good comedy scenes and a banger soundtrack- the title song has been stuck in my head and I've been humming it ever since I first heard it. Vijay looks unbelievably cute and I wanted nothing more than to go on a Europe tour with foetus Thalapathy. However, the "India and Indian traditions are the greatest, anyone disagreeing will be beaten up" narrative got tiring real quick. Pack it up, Pardes (1997) lite!! Two people I really loved in this movie were Raghuvaran and Bhanupriya, and I wish we had more scenes with them. Raghuvaran being openly affectionate with Vijay gave me so much joy and the Vijay-Bhanupriya bond healed some of my COVID-19 anxiety, but I would have appreciated if we had bits of them individually too. Also, I just felt bad for Raghuvaran a lot of the time- poor guy had to make sure everyone was happy and that everything was working smoothly, but at the cost of his own mental health and happiness. I do wis...

After having seen enough early Sridevi (as lead heroine) films, I had very little expectations from Kavikkuyil . Surprisingly though, this was quite an interesting movie to watch. Both the love stories in this movie were completely different from each other in tone yet were woven together so seamlessly that I was not ever bored by the proceedings. The first love story, with Sridevi and (a much, much older) Sivakumar, was completely mystical in its tone, substance and treatment. Not only was it reminiscent of Kalidas' Abhijnanashakuntalam , but also of the Krishna-Radha story. Sivakumar and Sridevi were both really good in their individual roles, but as a pair... nah, fam. He was literally 22 years older than her, and she was literally 14 years old when this film released. No matter how many such pairings I see her in, I can never get used to this phenomenon. I mean, I LOVE watching teenage Sridevi- it never ceases to amaze me just how talented an actress she was, and I am reminded ...