Chhapaak: Making a splash quietly
The visuals have ended. The screen has turned black. All you hear is Arijit Singh’s soulful voice. The movie has finished. Yet more than half the audience remains seated. Unstirring. Silent. I haven’t seen a movie end…
Do paise ki dhoop, Chaar aane ki baarish: A review
The first thing which grabbed my attention as I was browsing through Netflix was the title of the film. Do paise ki dhoop, chaar aane ki baarish, sounded like something Gulzar might have written, and I was…
Badla: Sujoy Ghosh’s taut thriller
It is after a long long time that I have seen an audience break into applause spontaneously at the end of a movie. The last time I witnessed that was in a Leicester Square cinema hall in…
Gully Boy: The divide and the angst
A young driver watches the owner’s daughter rush into the back seat of the plush car, her eyes streaming with tears. He shuts the door and drives the long drive back home in the silent night, craving…
Movies are like a kidnapping: Books versus their film adaptations
Do authors like to see their work portrayed on celluloid? And when that is done, are they satisfied with the final product? Of course, they do want the film based on their book to succeed. But isn’t…
Jiya jale: Gulzar and his lyrics
Writing subtitles for Hindi film songs can lead to hilarious situations. Famously, the song from Mangal Pandey: The Rising called ‘Mangal mangal’ was translated as ‘Tuesday, Tuesday’! But imagine the chagrin of the person who has to…
Tumbbad: A fable of greed
Gloomy grey skies, incessant dreary downpours and an eerie emptiness that echoes through the length of the film. An abandoned waada enveloped in green moss, antique locks which creak and resound in a lonely house, flickering lanterns…
Naina da kya kasoor
It starts off slowly. As the lilting music emerges from the piano, your fingers start tapping. And when the guitar strings, piano keys and the percussionist begin belting out the peppy rhythm, your heart wants to start…
A grandmother we all know
She is half asleep. Her dentures are immersed in a glass of water. Her earpiece and spectacles are placed on the side table. You can’t take your eyes off her, as her quivering lips inflate and deflate…
Kader Khan: A life that went unsung
I was in school when I saw this film. But the visuals are imprinted on my mind. A foggy graveyard. A little boy crying over his mother’s grave. A fakir arrives and asks the lad about his…
