Archive for February, 2009

  • What ails Malayalam Cinema today?
    It’s a known fact that by & large Malayalam and Bengali films have gone on to stand out for the quality of movies getting made over the years. While Bengali cinema has seen masters like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak etc during the yesteryears and is now being represented by the likes of Gautam Ghosh, Rituparno Ghosh etc, Malayalam cinema too has had...
    by Sethumadhavan at February 28th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
  • Filmfare Awards 2009 – The Winners
    A hearty PFC congratulations to Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye, and Mumbai Meri Jaan!!! Awards for each of these films include: Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! Critics’ Award, Best Actor – Manjit Singh for Oye Lucky! Lucy Oye! Best Dialogue – Manu Rishi Best Costume – Manoshi Nath Best Production Design – Vandan Kataria and Monica Angelica Bhowmick Mumbai Meri...
    by t! at February 28th, 2009 at 06:02 pm
  • Siddharth: You don’t need the World to tell a Story
    The inflow of serious, experimental, low budget films although a trickle right now, could be portentous of a ‘meaningful’ shift in Bollywood film productions. They may not all be money spinners but they can surely show a broader picture to the trade pundits who limit Indian audience’s taste to big budget, song-n-dance capers. Prayas Gupta’s Siddharth:...
    by Padmaja Thakore at February 28th, 2009 at 02:02 pm
  • A.R.Rehman!!! Jai Ho!! – 2
    I shall pick from where Ratnakar left off, in his fantastic tribute to AR Rahman. I had actually started writing this post much earlier, the day after the Oscar ceremony, but when I found that such a beautiful tribute was already adorned to the Mozart from Madras, I changed track and decided to write a sequel starting from post-2001 phase. So, Lagaan was out and Rahman...
    by crazyrals at February 28th, 2009 at 09:02 am
  • Gulaal – a colourful canvas of poetic expressions
    (Long post. There are a lot of comparisons with things(poems, films, songs) that came to my mind first time I listened to the songs and they might appear strange/surprising to some people. The lyrics given below are not complete.) I have been looking forward to Gulaal songs for so long. More than Dev D, more than any other film this year I have been waiting for Gulaal...
    by Neeraja at February 28th, 2009 at 07:02 am
  • One Man’s No Is Another’s Jai Ho!
    Yes this post is post Oscarmania and much awaited celebration of Indian talent therein! And it is a post that celebrates the unknown, the mysterious, the chance in the high stake world of movies!One twist of fate and the whole scenario changes! And when one looks with hindsight at these twists,there seems no real cut and dried explanation except that destiny beckoned...
    by krysh at February 28th, 2009 at 02:02 am
  • P.C.Sriram-An artist with the Camera
      Quite  often   the  director  and  actor  have been likened  to  Krishna and  Arjun.  The  director  is  Krishna,  who  conceives, plans  and  guides  the  cast and crew,  while  the  actor is  like  Arjun  the man  who  executes  what  the  director has in mind.   But  movie  making is not  just  about  the  director  and the ...
    by Ratnakar Sadasyula at February 27th, 2009 at 09:02 pm
  • Oz in Bollywood!!!
    18th Feb dawned pretty nice and normal. Sun rising in the east, sweepers carefully re-arranging the mess on the roads, my kaamwaali bai late for work again so n so forth. So basically it wasn’t a day that began with a sense of foreboding like in Shakespeare’s works. But then there was no reason to as it ended perfectly well too. Just maybe not that normal. Now...
    by Fatema Kagalwala at February 27th, 2009 at 06:02 pm
  • Children of Heaven- Innocent emotions in motion
    A month back my friend asked me to join him for a movie at his place. It was an Iranian movie by a director unknown to me. Frankly speaking I am not a big fan of Irani movies. With lots of cajoling and pushing I sat down in his TV room to watch this flick called Children of Heaven. The next 80 minutes completely blew me off. It was my privilege to spend the next 80 minutes...
    by Muzzy at February 27th, 2009 at 05:02 pm
  • Gulaal Music Review : Love…Power…Revolution…
    (This music review is co-authored by Amanda Sodhi & Tushar Shukla) (DISCLAIMER : The reviewers have attempted to quote the lyrics from the album to the best of their efforts, however there might be errors, and any suggested rectifications are welcome.) Two things are always guaranteed with Anurag Kashyap’s films—innovation and excellent music. While Dev...
    by Tushar at February 27th, 2009 at 05:02 pm
  • Scripts – The Drought Continues In Bollywood
    Folks, Been a while while I posted and there will be gaps, as I continue my shift from SF to Mumbai (in part), hence the “brick and mortar” interactions, rediscovery of my hometown, and the push to continue with my debut film, make for a much more interesting use of my time, as opposed to getting on the computer and blogging. However, today is one such instance...
    by Vivek Kumar at February 27th, 2009 at 02:02 pm
  • Two Other Journeys with the Journey Within in Delhi 6
    iView Author: Nadi. (Pune, India) Email: withheld ‘ Two Other Journeys with the Journey Within in Delhi 6 ‘ Two ‘other’ characters- Mamdu- Like Roshan, he too is both Hindu and Muslim. His compositeness is not the result of mixed parentage like Roshan’s, but is a choice he made himself- Mamdu is a Muslim who worships Bajrangbali. It is...
    by PROJEKT iVIEW at February 27th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
  • GULZAR : SENSITIVITY PERSONIFIED
    iView Author: SATYENDRA JHA (Pune, India) Email: satyendrajha30 [at] gmail.com ‘ GULZAR – SENSITIVITY PERSONIFIED ‘ Most of the movies made in India can traditionally be divided into two extremes; first being the usual formula-flicks, having the most common themes of mushy romantic love stories or action-driven revenge capers, simply because the producers...
    by PROJEKT iVIEW at February 27th, 2009 at 10:02 am
  • Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: Genius replayed
    No reason, no occasion, except maybe the fact that it’s just another evening and I’m looking for music to go with the end of February. There’s something special or ‘unspecial’ about a month ending..bills to pay, projects inching closer to deadline, the mildest of winters switching to scorching summer, Holi aee re, you know the drift. I try...
    by Khalid Mohamed at February 27th, 2009 at 08:02 am
  • To Poo, and others of her ilk
    “You really don’t understand cinema, do you?”, asked my brother. Poo gave him this wide-eyed look which seemed to say: “Understand?? But, what’s there to understand in a film? You buy the tickets, buy popcorn and enjoy the next three hours. That’s it.” Yup, that’s it. Well, Poo is definitely not alone. There are scores of...
    by Medha Dutt at February 27th, 2009 at 02:02 am
  • Should We Blindly Accept Memory ?
    Based on an award-winning novel, Emotional Arithmetic, starring internationally acclaimed actors Max Von Sydow and Susan Sarandon, charts the reunion of three survivors of the notorious French “transit” camp, Drancy. The movie releases this Friday at PVR Cinemas in Delhi and Bangalore Catch the movie that features Academy Award winning actress Susan Sarandon,...
    by NDTV Lumiere at February 26th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
  • Lack of curiousity bores the cat…..
    THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON by DAVID FINCHER I’m glad it’s over. Seriously am. Before watching the film, itself I did have questions in my mind regarding the portrayal of Benjamin Button. Now I feel what the fuss was all about. BB is born old. So its said. Physically he is entrapped in the body of a new-born. His characteristics are that of an old...
    by Arthi V at February 26th, 2009 at 08:02 pm
  • Dev D on V-Day
    (Statutory warning: This reviewer has got an incurable Nostradamus complex and is prone to spouting pseudo-profundities just for the heck of it…..)   Valentine’s Day is not my favourite part of the year……. I have an extraordinarily strong mush-radar, which was going haywire at about midnight on the 13th of February. My college(IIT Kharagpur) stands...
    by Aditya Mani Jha at February 26th, 2009 at 11:02 am
  • Neorealism in Italian Cinema. The best after the Bicycle Thieves
    iView Author: Brijesh J M (Cochin, India) Email: brijeshjm [AT] gmail.com “Neorealism in Italian Cinema. The best after the Bicycle Thieves” Riso Amaro (Bitter Rice, 1949) Directed by Giuseppe De SantisThe second best Italian neorealist movie ever made. The film involves 4 protagonists. Walter (played by Vittorio Gassman) and Francesca (played by Doris...
    by PROJEKT iVIEW at February 26th, 2009 at 09:02 am
  • My day-long stint as a Director
    Thank God he fell ill… the guy who is actually directing the corporate film, that I had scripted. I am usually not this mean, but I really thank God he fell ill. Jai ho Lord CinemaIndra!!! For all filmi aspirants, being in advertising is the next best thing. Though my primary job is to take care of the writing bit, my filmi instincts are always on over-drive &...
    by Magik at February 26th, 2009 at 07:02 am
  • Being Desi in Hollywood: The struggles of Indo-Americans on the big screen
    iView Author: Roshni Mulchandani (Fremont, California, USA) Email: withheld “Being Desi in Hollywood: The struggles of Indo-Americans on the big screen ” Although Indians have a pretty significant presence in America that only continues to grow, our representation in the media is scarce — and leading characters (if actually given a leading role) are...
    by PROJEKT iVIEW at February 25th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
  • Delhi-6 – “Why and Why not”
    ( Spoiler alert- beware those who are yet to watch the movie) Initially I did not have any idea to review or write anything on Delhi-6. After all I had seen the movie on the day of release, found it to have some interesting moments, great music and excellent camera work- but that was all to it. Also with so many others writing about it I did not really feel I would write...
    by Sethumadhavan at February 25th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
  • Antares
    The ghost of Kieslowski’s Dekalog looms large but still a very good film.
    by Mitch at February 25th, 2009 at 11:02 am
  • Ca'³tica Ana
    Even at his worst, Julio Medem is better than most at their best. Worth a watch.
    by Mitch at February 25th, 2009 at 11:02 am
  • Siddharth, The Prisoner
    Another Hindi Movie to look forward…
    by Honhaar Goonda at February 25th, 2009 at 10:02 am
  • Oscar of BOLLYWOOD
    iView Author: Proneet Dutta (Nagaland, India) Email: withheld “FIND BOLLYWOOD ’s OSCAR” The 81st annual Oscar award ceremony was brilliant , extravagant yet not flashy . There was music that was an unique cross between two different cultures & languages. what made the ceremony even more special is not only the music or the plethora of Hollywood...
    by PROJEKT iVIEW at February 25th, 2009 at 07:02 am
  • Jai ho! geet sangeet
    iView Author: dilnawaz (Patna, India) Email: syed.tauheed [at] gmail.com “Jai ho! geet sangeet ” SINCE the first Indian talkie songs are part of Hindi films.lyricists, music directors and singers from very past are successfully carrying forward the geet –sangeet tradition LYRICISTS With likes of shakil badayuni, hasrat jaypuri, shailendra, sahir, majrooh...
    by PROJEKT iVIEW at February 25th, 2009 at 05:02 am
  • My Delhi-6 Viewing Experience
    iView Author: Saad (Madison, WI, USA) Email: withheld “My Delhi-6 Viewing Experience” T.S. Eliot said in his 1964 graduate dissertation, “The life of a soul does not consist in the contemplation of one consistent world, but in the painful task of unifying (to a greater or lesser extent) jarring and incompatible ones.” And with that quote I would...
    by PROJEKT iVIEW at February 25th, 2009 at 03:02 am
  • Oscar Winners Acceptance Speeches
    The most interesting aspect of any award ceremony is the acceptance speech. Sometimes the acceptance speech becomes far too political, like what Sean Penn did when he went left-liberal and included the communists along with gays in his  speech, sometimes the winners become far too emotional like Gwyneth Paltrow and Halle Berry, sometimes it brings out the gymnast in them...
    by crazyrals at February 25th, 2009 at 01:02 am
  • Great Scenes in not-so-great cinema
    iView Author: Anand (Chennai, India) Email: withheld “Great Scenes in not-so-great cinema” The strategy is to kill one of them so that it sends a strong signal. They have to pick one! Now!! They look at each of the victims. Which one would be perfect? The camera pans on the victims and they are shit scared. The camera pans on the faces of the gang members...
    by PROJEKT iVIEW at February 25th, 2009 at 12:02 am