Message Is In The Medium

I recently saw the trailer of upcoming Anubhav Sinha film, Article 15 . It seems like a film exposing caste realities prevalent in our society- not that our society can be termed as one, rather a bunch of overlapping mixes of cultures- through the eyes of a somewhat outsider policeman played by Ayushmann Khurrana. It got me thinking. Does this narrative work. Of course Anubhav Sinha’s previous similar attempt to showcase society’s(bunch of overlapping mixes of cultures) communal underbelly did work for him and his film Mulk did make money, as i am told. But does that movie and this new one really put forward a convincing argument for the anti-communal or anti-casteist ideologies? I think, not. Both the films by Anubhav Sinha, Mulk and Article 15 (judgement on Article 15 is based on the trailer only, so could become off the point once the movie releases) appeal to the pity of those who benefit from the communal and casteist differences. The movies talk of how difficult the ...

Christopher Nolan’s Inception has emerged as one of the most favorite film of millennial nerds. The uniqueness of the film lies in the fact that it features in the list of indie mind bending thrillers and top-grossing mainstream sci-fi films at the same time. On one hand it is in league with movies like Predestination, Primer, The Man From Earth , etc. and simultaneously enjoys following like Star Trek , and superhero films. Since the day of its release, Inception has been analyzed and re-analyzed time and again. Its world and characters have long been subjects of debate, not to mention the cliffhanger climax, which have provided nerds with ample mental boners. But what I feel keep missing the discourse is why Nolan finds this story worth telling. What is the moral of this story. What is the dream world really about? Does it have a real-world counterpart? Is it possible that it exists solely for itself and has absolutely no reflection on the pop culture? Of course, it does. It i...

Nationalism in film is nothing new to be appreciated or criticized. But what is lacking in discourse is the analysis of this film nationalism. Why haven't anyone as of yet attempted to trace a pattern to this sort of Indian film making? Are we afraid? Or are we really this “nationalistic”? Well we do cry when are soldiers die? That must mean something. Shouldn't it? Kesari is the newest addition in our long list of tear jerking patriotic cinema. And I don't write this sarcastically. Kesari is patriotic. And a few other things as well. Although the plot and dialogues try everything they have to prove that 36 Sikh regiment of the British Indian army did not fight on British orders to protect British forts but to prove their valour and worth and the great sacrificing spirit of the community, the songs talk of teri mitti mein mil jaavan and the sacrifice of the soldier. Pretty much what nationalism is about in its entirety. Interestingly, the songs reflect the ...

It started with  Simmba , I believe, that Indian audiences began venting out frustration through revenge drama-comedies. (Dramedies?) It was triumphantly carried forward by  Uri: The Surgical Strike . The trend of the protagonist with all his swagger avenging injustice is toxic. The injustice, in the plot, is also what our hero decides and revenge, of course, is justice. It is a one-man show (reflecting politics, maybe). This trend furthers in upcoming Amitabh Bachchan starrer  Badla . Read: Is Uri: The Surgical Strike a propaganda film. (Movie Review) Read: Simmba- The great Indian aspiration of bullying. (Movie Review) There isn't anything wrong particularly in the movies due to their revenge theme. It is reflection of the society after all. But the trend in itself is quite dangerous. It speaks of the general anger and frustration in us all. Considering the earlier two movies were little more than escapist crowd pleasers, the state of people is all the...

Skimming through popular news and avoiding rampant hateful opinions, I stumbled upon a trivial news about filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia. He found grand success of films like  Total Dhamaal  worrying. Tigmanshu Dhulia has directed films like  Paan  Singh  Tomar  and  Sahib Bibi Aur Gangster.  He played the famous Ramadhir Singh in Anurag Kashyap's crime opus  Gangs of Wasseypur . It seemed unlikely an artist of that statute be jealous of a fellow filmmaker's talent. Yes, he could be jealous of a fellow filmmaker's bank balance, of course. So, I dug in. You see, I need to give out a long introduction for Tigmanshu Dhulia. He is not famous enough. Though, this could be a reason for him to crib about  Total Dhamaal , it surely was reason enough for the news portal to not give him even 200 words to explain his side. Nevertheless, it got me thinking. He says success of such films talk of poor state of the audiences. Poor state. Not poor taste...

Simmba  is not a landmark Hindi film of recent times. Let's get this out if our expectations first. Despite the fact that the movie dabbles into a number of relevant issues of our times and is a major box office success, it gets written off by most film critics as another rape-revenge drama with obligatory comedy for Indian "masses". Why comedy with other serious issues? Otherwise who'll watch the film? Besides comedy, there is another important element common in our Bollywood action dick-flicks , namely, bullying. Success of Street food Cinema Critics and "industry insiders" and maybe even a large chunk of audiences like to call the  Simmba -cinema Bollywood masalas or mass entertainers; westerners call it "fan service". And asshole liberals  like me call them dick-flicks where whoever has the biggest penis wins in the end. It is called  Masala  because it supposedly has something for everyone, and mass entertainers because it is meant ...

Andhadhun poster Halfway through watching Andhadhun on Netflix, I realized the characters have all got somewhat ironic arcs. One pretending to be blind actually becomes blind, someone who stole human organs asked to donate their organs, lady Macbeth reference, and many more that I missed. These ironic arcs make you a little skeptical about the plot of the film. It begins to feel like the story is a little too good to be true. With a number of lucky coincidences, heavenly influences and sudden changes of heart, Andhadhun feels more and more Bollywood . But then the movie does not drag for even a second; which, keeps you hooked. Considering that the same director, Sriram Raghavan, had earlier given us another gem called Badlapur , where all characters keep looking for closures and lead miserable lives, I decided the makers want me to be skeptical. After all, real lives are more like Badlapur and not like Andhadhun. And as the movie ends, Raghavan's intentions become clear. ...