The Madras they don’t tell you about

“When this city was created, it was a land of opportunity for those desperate to escape oppression and seek a new life,” he says. “Who do you think created all these landmarks: Central station, Binny Mills, the post offices… everything that we today value as heritage? But have we truly repaid them for these sacrifices, or have we simply relegated them to a corner we barely pay heed to?”

Nawazuddin Siddiqui: I spent a lot of time trying to make my skin fairer

Ahead of the release of Raat Akeli Hai, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Radhika Apte, and debutant director Honey Trehan talk about smaller films and OTT releases, fixation with fairness, mental health and more Our cinema theatres are notorious for their lack of quiet, and while this makes them tremendous spaces of revelry during screenings of mass cinema, genre-loyal…

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Cocktail Movie Review: A dreadful brew that stinks of bad humour

Much like this cocktail made by Yogi Babu and friends is a mixture of drinks that have no business coming together, the story of this film is an unsettling union of bizarre ideas, including a replica of a smuggled idol, a dead woman who may or may not be drunk, and a cop (Sayaji Shinde) whose boss yells, “En thaaliya arakaadha”, in a bid to pressurise him to solve a case.

Penguin Movie Review: Keerthy Suresh is good, the film is not

It’s a film whose fleeting intrigue never truly builds into something bigger. Perhaps composer Santhosh Narayanan spotted this and realised the consequent futility of attempting to build on the shallow horror in the material. Perhaps that’s why in scenes featuring a mother bawling over a lost baby, his music remains curiously detached and blithe—like it were simply killing time by itself.

Why Modi and A Beer is a fascinating film

“It’s a film that beautifully establishes how no matter how liberated and well-informed we may be in one area, we may be found sorely lacking in another. Arun speaks of food politics, of the importance of reservation, of equality… but as a man, is he aware of the innate derision he feels for a woman?”

Ponmagal Vandhal Movie Review: This courtroom drama about big issues has big issues

“In Ponmagal Vandhal, a lawyer is permitted to go on tangential, emotional rants. A judge, who looks like a deer caught in headlights, lets out a scream of anguish. When confronted by a professional like Rajarathnam, who says that the judge summoning his client is without any basis, he channels his inner Petta Rap Nagma and screams, “Stop it!””