Mr. Chandramouli: Some interesting ideas in a lackadaisical thriller

In a recent interview with us, Karthik had expressed some surprise over how mimicry artistes imitated him. “Do I really talk like that?” he had asked us. In his latest film, Mr. Chandramouli, it almost feels like he’s trying to mimic those very artistes. It’s every cliché associated with his performances. The infantilism, the devil-may-care…

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Why Thamizh Padam is necessary

“This is why Lollu Sabha was so glorious. Suddenly, we were laughing at the same scenes we were shouting ourselves hoarse about a month ago. We learned that our liking for something didn’t have to stop us from enjoying a joke about it. That show was the Riddikulus to the Boggart of our cinema.”

Tik Tik Tik: A space film that’s not Indianised right

‘For as long as possible, I kept making allowances. I forgave clunky exposition in the name of dialogues. I turned a blind eye to an official discussion about an incoming meteor, which seemed more like a team huddle aimed at identifying the venue of the next office party. I tried not to make a big deal out of paintball being used as a shooting exercise for a space mission sanctioned by the Prime Minister.’

Kaala: An important work by a socially conscious filmmaker

“The film is an exploration into the relationship of the oppressed and the oppressor. The climax works so beautifully because the only real redemption for the oppressed is through unity, through education, through awareness — not through the informed voice of just one leader. Individuals are fallible, ideologies aren’t.”

India’s jewels

“This trend of labelling films as the first of their kind in the country has turned into a contagious phenomenon. So crucial has it become that makers seem willing to go to  any lengths to legitimise the claim.”