Peddi Film Review: A Mishmash in Search of Meaning

Oh, Peddi. That ‘love track’ is really all kinds of terrible, isn’t it? I begin here only because, in a film full of slow-motion elevation attempts and reaction shots, it is this portion that evoked the strongest reaction from me. Peddi (Ram Charan) ogles Achiamma (Janhvi Kapoor), and this is rivalled only by the more…

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Drishyam 3 Movie Review: Georgekutty’s Greatest Adversary is…

I imagine that for quite a few people, the joy of watching the Drishyam films might be contained in the thrills and twists, in the inevitable Georgekutty win, in those slow-mo shots at the end as the eyes of his adversaries widen at being outwitted by Georgekutty’s craftiness yet again… But for those like me, there are…

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Karuppu Movie Review: The Problem with Gods

Whenever god takes on anyone, the battle is usually, almost unfairly skewed. That’s why the coolest idea in Karuppu is when god is challenged not to exercise his super-powers in enforcing justice. The question Baby Kannan (RJ Balaji) seems to pose is this: if Karuppu (Suriya) can use his superpowers, an unfair advantage over humans, why should…

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29 Movie Review: A film of tender fragments

Clearly, Rathna Kumar is a poet. You see it in the chapter titles. You see it in how the protagonist Sathya (Vidhu) describes Viji’s (Preethi Asrani) lips: ‘Thiruppi potta Thirukkural.’ You see it in how Rathna films a song around the beauty of physical intimacy, and in how he seems particularly interested in the woman’s…

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Aaranyakaandam Review: Righteousness is a luxury

Edhu thevayo, adhu dharmam, Aaranyakaandam says at the beginning and at the end. Righteousness is whatever is necessary at any point. It means there can be no objective morality in a world that isn’t an equal playing ground. For some privileged and comfortable enough, a belief in virtue and righteous behaviour may be possible. For some others, survival…

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