Dazed&Confused

 

Anand Bharadwaj's Blog

  • 10
    Ore Kadal (2007) is not to be missed!
    Again, big thanks to in flight entertainment which helped me discover this movie. As I was surfing through the choices, a few things made me choose this one. One, a mention that this was an award winning movie. Second, the fact that it was a Malayalam movie and I had for some time wanted to explore their cinema. Third, Mammooty’s star presence guaranteed a certain level...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at September 7th, 2009 at 09:09 am
  • 19
    A Hitchcock Weekend
    I redeemed some of my credit card points for some Hitchcock CDs at i-mint to watch over the weekend. I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy them as many famous movies don’t age so well, imho. But thankfully, my apprehensions were unfounded as I had a thoroughly good time. What surprised me the most was how original the movies seemed even today! That, if nothing else...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at June 29th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
  • 16
    Where Kanchivaram falls short
    (This post has some spoilers) This is an unfair post title for a movie which has obviously been made with good intent and a significant degree of expertise. It’s definitely a movie which demands a watch as it dwells on topics which aren’t currently in vogue. Weavers and communism are not usually topics which inspire filmmakers nowadays and you probably won’t...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at June 2nd, 2009 at 06:06 am
  • 0
    The Piano Teacher
    Another French movie that’s not my cup of tea.(3/5) IMDB
    by Anand Bharadwaj at May 25th, 2009 at 10:05 am
  • 2
    Chungking Express
    Don’t give up within the first hour, and you’ll be fine. (3/5) IMDB
    by Anand Bharadwaj at May 17th, 2009 at 10:05 am
  • 0
    Requiem for a Dream
    This one’s untouchable…if you can handle it. (5/5) IMDB
    by Anand Bharadwaj at May 17th, 2009 at 02:05 am
  • 3
    Let the right one in
    Intriguing but a bone dry version of a vampire movie. (3/5) IMDB
    by Anand Bharadwaj at May 12th, 2009 at 01:05 am
  • 7
    Arundhati
    Engaging but needed a subtler touch. (2/5) IMDB
    by Anand Bharadwaj at May 12th, 2009 at 01:05 am
  • 24
    Excellence in Indian Screenwriting- What will it take?
    From Rediff- Kamal Haasan, in association with the Indian Institute of Technology- Madras (IIT-M) will present a first-of-its-kind international workshop and seminar on screenwriting in the IIT campus in Chennai from May 29 to June 3, 2009. Undoubtedly another good initiative but how much will it really change the reality? This post will try and look at more issues plaguing...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at April 23rd, 2009 at 09:04 am
  • 5
    A Sunday Afternoon for ‘The 400 Blows’
    My first introduction to Francois Truffaut’s movies was with ‘Shoot the Piano Player’. But, my lack of cinematic intelligence prevented me from recognizing the masterpiece that it is, at least according to more learned people. I just felt the movie was too dialogue heavy and tries a little too hard to be of a shock value. If you are a bhakt of that movie, please...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at April 12th, 2009 at 04:04 am
  • 18
    Contemporary Tamil Comedy- Guilty Pleasures
    I am currently in Chennai. There is now a new TV channel called ‘Adithya’ which screens clips of many comic scenes in contemporary Tamil movies. ‘It’s time pass’, says mum. I think it’s a huge symbolic victory for the current comic track in many Tamil movies. I remember when the trend started with Janakaraj, Senthil and Goundamani with their physical comedy...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at April 5th, 2009 at 02:04 am
  • 11
    Charulata- ‘The one with the least defects’
    That’s how Ray described his famous masterpiece in an interview. According to him, this was the movie which he would make exactly the way it was if he had to do it again. That’s a very interesting claim because when it was released in 1964, there was intense debate and criticism about how Ray had adapted Tagore’s novella “Nashtanir” (The Broken Nest). Ray apparently...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at April 4th, 2009 at 04:04 pm
  • 17
    Why Gulaal is my favorite Anurag Kashyap movie
    I have not seen Paanch and neither have I seen Hanuman. But among the rest, this one easily sits right at the top. But this post is not about No Smoking, Dev D or Black Friday so I am not going to mention them again. Let’s talk about why Gulaal is just so good. (Some spoilers ahead) It’s simply the best written. It has great dialogues, a great story very relevant...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at March 14th, 2009 at 05:03 pm
  • 8
    Thanks to In-Flight Entertainment
    I would probably be among the few who cope very well with long flights as I look forward to discover and check out some good movies in their In-Flight entertainment. If I don’t find something new and worthwhile, I am sure to find some good ones to revisit. It was the same the last time as I watched quite a few movies. Many couldn’t last my patience and sleepy...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at January 26th, 2009 at 03:01 am
  • 28
    OLLO is an incredible study of human character
    ********Spoilers ahead****** Our sense of humor deteriorates as we grow older. The simple things that could cause me and my friends to titter when in the assembly line at school would now probably draw only an irritated frown. We were perfect when we were kids or at least could hope to be one day. As adults, flaws in others probably remind us of our own and we can no longer...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at December 1st, 2008 at 01:12 am
  • 270
    My Tamil Cinema journey continues…
    Recently, I was able to knock off two more Tamil (I’ll go with this spelling) movies which were in my to-watch list for quite some time. One was the much acclaimed and much discussed ‘Subramaniapuram’ directed by Sasikumar and the other was ‘Evano Oruvan’, the hard hitting Tamil remake of the Marathi movie ‘Dombivili Fast’ by the...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at November 9th, 2008 at 03:11 pm
  • 12
    Sajjanpur is a Class Apart
    Spoilers- You might not want to read if you are planning to see the movie. Before the movie started, I saw the name ‘Mahadev Ka Sajjanpur on the Censor Board Certificate (?). Probably the distributors didn’t like the original name, I thought. Did anything else change in the movie because of commercial pressures, I wondered. We will come back to that later....
    by Anand Bharadwaj at September 28th, 2008 at 08:09 am
  • 13
    Experiencing ‘A Wednesday’
    Before you go ‘Oh my god, not another post on this movie’ I would like to say that I have read almost all the posts and comments on this movie and will try to steer as far as I can from analyzing or reviewing this movie in a classical sense. Many better people have already done that. They say that movie going is an experience and I think an important part of...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at September 15th, 2008 at 01:09 am
  • 42
    Rock On vs DCH vs Almost Famous
    Spoiler Alert- Not to read if you haven’t seen the movie Alas! High expectations are such a curse! I was so pumped that I was going to watch Rock On tonight. The reviews were all superlative; the buzz on PFC was very favorable. The movie’s backdrop was rock music! Farhan Akhtar, the man who oozes everything contemporary, urban and classy in a new avatar lending...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at August 31st, 2008 at 06:08 pm
  • 11
    Great Screenplay Ingredients- Case Study- ‘The Omen’
    I’ve just been reading all the columns at wordplayer.com and if you are an aspiring screenwriter, suggest that you do the same. Invaluable advice, there. What I also did quite recently, was read the screenplay of ‘The Omen’. Remember the movie- Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner? Written by David Seltzer and directed by Richard Donner? It’s a fantastic screenplay...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at July 11th, 2008 at 12:07 am
  • 9
    Abbas ki Jai!
    It’s just not fair that one of the better movies of this year has not got the due credit it deserves on this website. I read both of KK’s and Phoenix’s post and can’t help feeling that they would have liked the movie better if they had seen the movie not in each other’s company. Sometimes, when two movie aficionados go for a movie together, you end up overanalyzing...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at July 5th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
  • 24
    Scenes that don’t belong…
    This ever happened to you? You are watching this amazing movie (maybe your third or fourth time) and suddenly you feel that the scene on the screen/TV/monitor shouldn’t be there at all. That the movie would have been even better without it? I am not talking about the usual suspects, the songs in our movies which pop up suddenly from nowhere but scenes with action and...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at June 30th, 2008 at 09:06 am
  • 24
    Idealism in Movies
    i•de•al•ism ( -d -l z m) n. 1. The act or practice of envisioning things in an ideal form. 2. Pursuit of one’s ideals. This post is ‘inspired’ from a discussion which ensued from RK’s post on Ardh Satya. As mentioned in the comments there, I have a major problem with the idealistic Anant Velankar’s character in the movie. My question is not ‘Why...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at June 25th, 2008 at 10:06 am
  • 4
    Hogenakkal and Soft Targets
    The Tamil Nadu Government wants to build a storage dam at the Hogenakkal waterfall at the Karnataka Tamil Nadu border. Given the tenuous relationship between the two states on the Cauvery issue, it is no surprise that this one was also doomed to litigation and controversy. The TN CM makes a statement in favor of the project and a political party in Karnataka promptly escalates...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at April 4th, 2008 at 06:04 am
  • 4
    A day at the 2nd International Film Festival in Hyderabad
    I didn’t even know that there was a film festival coming up in my sleepy little hollow till I read a news article in the Deccan Chronicle Supplement on the 5th about the poor response to the festival. It quoted the promoters lamenting about the lack of funds to promote the event and also the fact that Tollywood biggies were not interested in the event though they make...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at January 7th, 2008 at 08:01 pm
  • 56
    Performances of the Year
    I know I know. The year is not over yet. We still have some big ticket movies coming up but most of the year is out and it could be a good time to take stock, you know like a dress rehearsal. So here are my choices for best acting performances in Bollywood this year-till now. Kareena Kapoor for Jab We Met- Believe me, if someone had told me before I saw this movie that...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at November 18th, 2007 at 07:11 pm
  • 38
    Taare Cinema Par
    Aamir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par is going to release next month and I have great hopes from it. Not every great actor can be a good director and it will be very interesting to see how Aamir handles the difficult subject matter of the movie. Portraying children in Indian movies is always a recipe for disaster. Either our makers make them too childish or too wise. Telling...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at November 13th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
  • 2
    Making of a PFCOne Movie
    Movie making is not easy, man. Making the PFCOne movie is a big lesson to many armchair critics here including me who wax eloquently on where a movie worked, where it didn’t, blah blah blah…I made a couple of movies which are now listed among the entries. It was my first time that I ever attempted making a movie of any kind (excluding random home movies) and it was...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at November 8th, 2007 at 09:11 pm
  • 47
    Starting a new genre…
    Recently in an interview, John Abraham was quoted as saying that ‘No Smoking’ will start a new genre in Bollywood. This quote was bandied around and even a reviewer accepted the fact except to also add that it will probably remain the only movie in that genre. Anyway, that got me thinking about what is required to start a new genre. I think it’s pretty simple. Either...
    by Anand Bharadwaj at November 6th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
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