More educative than entertaining It’s impossible to resist comparing Pasanga-2 with Taare Zameen Par . They’re both about disorders (here, it’s Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), they have a chirpy, animated protagonist who totally gets children, there are concerned parents who need to be counselled, and of course, both films make points against conventional teaching methods,…

A good core wasted in a masala template You can see why 7G Rainbow Colony is referenced in Thangamagan more than once, first when Thamizh (Dhanush) is shown cheering in the theatre, and next, when you’re shown a poster in the background as he’s talking to Hema D’Souza (Amy Jackson). Just like in that film,…

What you mustn’t do when making a film Thiruttu Rail must be made mandatory viewing at all film schools, only so the students know what they shouldn’t do when making a film. No, it’s not okay for the characters to occasionally sneak a peek at the camera. No, it’s not okay for most of the…

Positively dreadful Sometimes, you end up in theatres next to a couple that just won’t shut up. For the first 10-15 minutes of Aaranyam, the chatter of one such couple was driving me crazy. A little after the interval though, when it had become amply clear that Aaranyam was pretty hopeless, I wished I had…

Pulsating fight scenes, but predictable otherwise For the longest time, Deepavali has been synonymous with a screening of Baasha on at least one of the two dozen Tamil television channels. This time, however, the channels seemed to be quite engaged with trying to outdo each other by screening the latest hits, including Baahubali and Maari…