Mira Nair delivers a masterful film that rides high on the minimal expectations of the audiences and turns each scene into a cruel exercise of meeting as well as challenging these expectations, writes Shekhar Deshpande.
Nair spares no effort in competing with other thrillers in Hollywood and at times, with the help of cinematographer Declan Quinn and editor Shimit Amin, she displays a command that competes with Kathryn Bigelow. There is very little of hers here as a diasporic filmmaker, a label she abhors
May 17th, 2013 | Posted in Reviews,Spotlight | Read More »
“Bombay Talkies” marks the boundaries clearly between the star-powered Bollywood and director-driven New Hindi Cinema. It also speaks of the growing influence of the new age directors.
May 4th, 2013 | Posted in Reviews,Spotlight | Read More »
Midnight’s Children may be a good pictured novel for the post-Slumdog age in which images themselves become the story and we are invited to keep a distance from its contexts or it burdens. The film is suspended between its ambitions to transform a novel onto film while the film struggles to come into its own as an equally multilayered work.
April 30th, 2013 | Posted in Reviews,Spotlight | Read More »
Oblivion, the latest ho-hum sci-fi saga from TRON director Joseph Kosinski is a self serious but endlessly derivative venture that manages to fall quite effortlessly into the “spectacular but middling entertainment” category.
April 16th, 2013 | Posted in Reviews | Read More »
Manav Kaul’s Hansa is a deceptively simple tale of an adolescent boy and his sister in a Himalayan village caught amidst the sudden boom of tourism industry. Kaul powerfully exposes the greed, lust and politics of the village without letting them dominate the plot. Hansa never lets its adorable leads Hansa and Chikoo out of sight and that’s where the strength of the film lies.
December 28th, 2012 | Posted in Reviews,Spotlight | Read More »
Dabangg2 subtly shifts towards classic heroism unlike its predecessor. The Chulbul Pandey of Dabangg2 is built against the villain, who is a criminal-turned-politician. Even the police superintendent warns Chulbul against a direct confrontation with him. The Robin Hood quality of Chulbul Pandey becomes a secondary trait of his heroism and his image is built afresh
December 22nd, 2012 | Posted in Reviews,Spotlight | Read More »
Shobdo is a tribute to all the unsung heroes of the film industry on 100 years of Indian cinema. Kaushik Ganguly has chosen to highlight the Foley artists who go unheard despite creating accurate and effective ambience sounds that pour life into every frame and scene.
December 16th, 2012 | Posted in Reviews,Spotlight | Read More »
10 ml Love can be looked at not just as a brilliant adaptation but also a contemporary take on relationships and their fragility.
December 7th, 2012 | Posted in Reviews,Spotlight | Read More »
MK Raghavendra argues why Amour might not be the best film of the year:
December 4th, 2012 | Posted in Reviews,Spotlight | Read More »
Life of Pi is a CG dreamboat. The team behind the film needs to be congratulated on recreating a Royal Bengal Tiger with muscles rippling under its fur and a face that is more expressive than many living actors today.
December 3rd, 2012 | Posted in Reviews,Spotlight | Read More »
