Cinema Found Me

When I walked out of the theatre after watching 'Salaar', my husband spoke about how Prashanth Neel made a fantastic and elevated version of his successful debut film 'Ugram', something which he believes has not been attempted by directors before. He was discussing how several directors have said in the past that they could make one (or more) of their popular or bad films in a better manner in today's time and age. However, almost none of them had the courage to recreate their old hits/flops and transform it into a completely new cinematic experience, which Prashanth seemed to have done with 'Salaar'. My husband also showed me a sequence from 'Ugram', which currently is unavailable on any social media platforms to revisit, which Prashanth took to another level with Prabhas. 'Ugram' felt like a naive attempt at executing a very well-written script, while 'Salaar' felt like a film made by a person who now understands the value of cinema...

All it takes for your favourite teacher to get sacked from your school is a viral video that shows her having fun and living her life by her own rules. More often we come across news that a teacher was fired for her dancing/drinking video or belly dancing because 'what will they teach our children if this is what they do in their lives'. A) What women does after their working hours is none of anyone's business B) It isn't a sin to get drunk/party/dance/sing or post a bikini picture on social media. Both the points mentioned doesn't affect the job or role she plays at an organisation or even at home. Both of them do not give any one of us the right to defame the person. But unfortunately, women, especially teachers, go on facing one of the other kind of discrimination their whole life. Sometimes, things go out of hand - just what 'Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video' talks about.  The film, as the title suggests, is about a teacher who is seen dancing at a club on t...

I started 'Kho Gaye Hum Kahan' with no expectations at all. However, it turned out pretty good. And to my surprise, Ananya Panday (who plays Ahana) is the one I am rooting for in this film, which also stars amazing talents like  Siddhant Chaturvedi (who plays Imaad) and Adarsh Gourav (who plays Neil).  Why Ananya isn't cast for these kind of roles? Unlike many of her contemporaries, Ananya has proven to be good with complex characters and emotions. I remember rooting for her even in Deepika Padukone-starrer 'Gehraiyaan'. Among all the kind of roles she has done so far, Ahana was perhaps Ananya's age and relatable (for her and even for the audience). You don't  have to be only showing your thumkas on screen to get appreciations, and Ananya just proved that.  Also, digressing a little but I have to mention that I truly think that 'Kho Gaye Hum Kahan' is way too better and a well thought film in comparison to 'Gehraiyaan', which was sold as some...

I was very excited about 'The Archies' because I was looking forward to see if Suhana Khan has even one percent of aura that her father and superstar Shah Rukh Khan has. I wanted to see if Khushi Kapoor will have a better debut than Janhvi Kapoor, and if Agastya Nanda, nephew of Abhishek Bachchan and grandson of Amitabh Bachchan, has it in him to live up to the reputation his family has in the film industry.  However, I could only watch the film for 40 minutes. Why? I felt it was extremely boring, all over the place and not the kind of musical I am a fan of.  Suhana Khan doesn't have a screen presence. Apologies if it may sound hurtful but she is totally missable. If she's a part of a dancing sequence, you'd notice background dancers more than her. Khushi, I felt, was much better. She sounds A LOT like Janhvi Kapoor. So much so that you feel that Janhvi might have dubbed for her little sister. She has screen presence but lacks expression (case with many newbies).  S...

Neena Gupta is known for expressing her thoughts without fear, and this one time, she didn’t try to mince her words for being politically correct. During the promotions of ‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan’, Neena said same-sex love wasn’t a taboo for her but added that she would have been concerned if her own kid was a gay. “My daughter has many gay friends. Even I have friends who are gay. For me, it was okay. It was not a taboo. But I am sure if tomorrow my son or my daughter confesses of being gay, it would be a matter of concern. I think it will take a long time to understand and for that reality to sink in,” the actress had during an interview with me for The Indian Express.  Do you agree with what she said?

(Photo: BollywoodShaadis.com) A few years ago, when I was working for The Indian Express, I interviewed Ratna Pathak Shah for a film. I spoke to her about how her roles on-screen have been ahead of their times, and during the chat, we also happened to talk about her relationship with Naseeruddin Shah.  She recalled her first play with Naseeruddin, which was titled ‘Sambhog Se Sanyaas Tak’, which as per her is also the story of their lives. “Bas sanyaas lena baaki hai,” she laughed.   She spoke about how her relationship with Naseeruddin is a “blessing” and is shared between two equal individuals, who also happened to be friends. She also spoke about how Naseeruddin inspires her even today. She added that Naseeruddin is a hardworking actor, who pushes her to work hard and do better. 

Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s ‘Animal’ is bold, brutally violent and misogynist, but what it is not? It is not boring, which is a huge thing for a film that is almost three and a half hours long. ‘Animal’ is Vanga’s world where he sees men in the same lens as ‘Arjun Reddy’ and where women have nothing to offer apart from sex and (one-sided) emotional support. Script wise, ‘Animal’ has nothing to offer beyond what we didn’t know already. But Vanga makes every scene exciting visually. He broke the rule of how cinema is supposed to be to seen, made or felt. When SS Rajamouli said Vanga is what Ram Gopal Varma was, I didn’t believe him until I saw the film. I now know what he meant.  Vanga takes us into the past, justifies why that was necessary in the very next frame. We also see the protagonist breaking the third wall and talking to the audience. Vanga’s men are abusive, expect to be forgiven but the same rule doesn’t apply for women. Is that enough glimpse into why I called it a misogynist ...

When I first came to Mumbai, I crossed a theatre named ‘Maratha Mandir’. It was playing my forever favourite ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ (DDLJ), and mind you, this is years after the film’s release. And it was also the time when I realised that the film has been running successfully at this theatre since forever. So, it was then that I made a promise to myself that whenever the next time I am in Mumbai, I will watch DDLJ at Maratha Mandir.  Years later, I got married to a film fanatic. During our courtship, I had told him about this wish. And guess what, he fulfilled it today.  We were late for the show. But I didn’t even know that we were supposed to go for my favourite film ever. So, the moment I entered the theatre, I was grinning ear to ear - because of the film, of course, and because he remembered. I saw that the theatre was nearly house full. Now, you may think that maybe I am excited to watch the film because I haven’t seen it in theatre. No, I have watched the film ...