“The problem, rather ironically, is how good Arunkumar is with the everyday aspects of life. When you are as good with the localising, it’s hard to suddenly get your audience atop the mass bandwagon (unless it’s a Sethupathi, in which the villain and the conflicts are localised too).”
Month: June 2019
The dreams of Game Over’s Swapna
“If any film really deserved to have people poring over minor details, it’s one like Game Over. It’s a shining example of what some of us have always shouted from the rooftops: Any film claiming to possess multiple layers must first work without them. The layers are flavours, not the food itself.”
Death and resurrection in the greatest 15 minutes of Selvaraghavan
“If you remember, it’s a film in which the woman, Anita, tolerates quite a bit. Kathir is ill-mannered and brutish, a quintessential Selvaraghavan central male character if you will. This one also ogles, misbehaves, abuses, stalks… He is pathetic. And she can’t seem to fend him off. Instead, like a germ, he ends up growing on her. He’s almost an infection, a flaw. He’s… human. She’s an epitome of patience, a giver. She’s… an angel, a goddess. He’s a sinner; she’s his saviour.”
The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir: An extraordinarily ordinary journey
“I think it’s fair to say we almost know exactly what to expect every time an international production begins to make a film with an Indian protagonist. Of course, he’s going to be from Mumbai, and he’s going to be poor (this film takes it a step further by making him narrate his story, in all its ‘wisdom and beauty’ to a fawning audience made up of four poor Indian boys about to be incarcerated).”
The Ilaiyaraaja interview
“Dressed in white, as though he needed further deifying, he sits in front of you, waiting for your first question. You blurt out astonishment that he’s worked on more than 1,000 films, more than 7,000 songs, and more than 20,000 concerts. It’s astronomical, and it’s almost frightening. “
Sudhir Srinivasan 