one time wanderer

By now, I think I should have a template for such films-"This god-awful mess of a movie was saved just by one woman", and in this case, it's Rohini ma'am. I don't think I would have even managed to finish this movie if it were not for her. It's just pathetic that one of her best performances, for which she got a Special Mention in the National Film Awards, had to be from this pathetic, patriarchal and toxic movie that serves no purpose except to damage your braincells a bit more. Do people really love visually pleasing stuff so much that they'll call just about anything a "masterpiece"?  Watch it if you must, or don't. Rohini ma'am gave a fabulous performance in Magalir Mattum (1994) as well, go watch that instead. 

This was exactly the kind of movie I needed to watch- I've been feeling quite off these days, and this came as a pleasant diversion indeed. I loved how light and fun it was, while never being vapid like most rom-coms are from the 00s. But well, 2007 really was a superior year for Bollywood, as I've been saying for ages now. All the actors (including Ameesha Patel) do such a good job that even when the film lags a little, you're never bored or tired of watching it. While I wasn't really invested in any character, simply because there were too many of them, I did appreciate how even within such a crowd, appropriate layers were given to all our main players. The Madhu (Sandhya Mridul) and Bunty (Vikram Chatwal) storyline hit the closest to home, and I am so glad that there was a refreshing maturity taken on such a "heavy" topic. I do wish the Vicky (Karan Khanna) narrative was given a little more space, but considering how the industry and the rest of the country...

Spoilers ahead: One of the most important movies chronicling contemporary India and its anxieties. Aani Maani is both poignant and clever, and doesn't give any easy answers- this can be best seen in the internal tensions within the family. I loved how the relationship between Nazo and Tarannum evolved, with Affi as the common point for their affection and their individual longing for beauty and an ease of life that seems more and more distant as the days progress. Special mention to the "Ghar Ghar Khelein" song as one of the most perfect examples of symbolism that I have ever seen. I think the movie won my heart with this scene only.  I was initially quite ambivalent about the ending, but upon further reflection, I realised that it was actually perfect. Nothing speaks louder about the senseless killings of Muslims (this phenomenon is a pandemic in itself) than the silence that is broken by a father's wail. That is all I can say- for the rest, you have to watch the mov...

I understand that the reason this movie probably went over my head is because I have very little idea about Kerala politics, and just slightly more knowledge of Kerala society- it's very difficult to appreciate satire unless you know something about the topic being satirised. All the same, I can't deny that I was very underwhelmed by this movie, despite being excited for Srividya's, Nedumudi Venu's, and Thilakan's performances. And also by K.G. George's reputation as one of the greatest filmmakers in Malayalam cinema. But I guess I'll have to hold my opinion on him till I watch a few more movies- I think Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback , Irakal , Kathakku Pinnil , and  Yavanika  will be more my speed and taste. Also, if anyone knows where I can watch Adaminte Vaariyellu with subtitles, please let me know.

"Classic" David Dhawan madness. Classic is in quotes because very predictably, this has not aged well at all. The way Meena (Karisma Kapoor) falls in love with Rajesh (Govinda) is the most pathetic use of a song ever, especially when the song is as iconic as 'Sona Kitna Sona Hai'. The ideology of the movie is that men are always right, never wrong, and in the marriage market, the man's family is always right, never wrong. The movie should honestly have been titled Patriarchy No. 1 , because that pretty much sums up the events that constitute this movie. Even the songs weren't good? Except for 'Sona Kitna Sona Hai', of course, and 'UP Wala Thumka' to some extent. The only solace was Karisma, and some of the comedy tracks featuring Paresh Rawal, Kader Khan, and Satish Shah. And the fact that this movie wasn't boring at all- cringe most times, downright hard to sit through some times, but never boring. And that's it, I suppose... I don...

I was kind of disappointed by this, I'm not gonna lie. I was expecting some heavy-duty catharsis in the form of a lady cop, but all I could was man-washed feminism. Vijayashanti ma'am being quite simpable almost made up for it though, but the whole experience was underwhelming, nonetheless.  The one thing that irked about me since the beginning itself was the positioning of a male character as the moral compass. It was by his approval or disapproval that we judged Vyjayanthi's actions for the majority of the movie, and I was not a fan of this narrative technique at all. I found Vyjayanthi an interesting character and would have loved it more had I gotten access to her internal monologues more, instead of how she was being perceived by the various men around her. Vijayashanti ma'am killed it with her performance, though. It irritates me so much that such towering legends of Telugu cinema are basically unknown outside- they really do deserve more attention and credit for ...

Maybe it's just me and my "I don't get art movies" self, but I honestly do not understand the hype around this one. Or maybe it's the fact that I saw this right after Ghilli , so it seemed even slower and unexciting. Whatever the reason, it just didn't work for me.Yeah, the cinematography and all was cool, the basic storyline interesting enough, and the last shot pretty cool, but.... yeah, I don't get it. I didn't care about any of the characters enough to be invested in their dilemmas and struggles, the coward being the least appealing of them all. The eccentric husband was alright, but there was no real development of is eccentricity- I couldn't figure out if he was just acting up because they'd had a guest after a long time, or if he actually was like that, every single day. As for the wife, Karuna, she had the least interesting arc of them all. Which is a real shame because Madhabi Mukherjee was easily the best actor out of the lot, and had...