Naalu Policeum Nalla Irundha Oorum

Small joys One of the opening shots of Naalu Policeum Nalla Irundha Oorum (NPNO) is of a Thirukkural inscribed on a bus stop. It’s Thirukkural number 131, and it talks about how important virtue is, and how it must be guarded with one’s life. The village, Porpandhal (awfully similar to Porbandhar, the birthplace of Gandhi,…

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Games films play

It’s incredible how a minor change to one’s routine — like paying a visit to the neighbourhood playground — can make you part of fascinating experiences. At a corporation ground near Valluvar Kottam after sunset, I saw a unique game being played by slum kids. They’d take their position about 10 yards from a light…

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A city of Jack Torrances

All roads lead to YouTube videos. From my experience of Internet browsing, that much is clear to me. You can start off anywhere — an innocent Wikipedia page, an office email, a bank transaction… Somehow, its far-reaching tentacles manage to reach over and suck you in. And then, before you know it, you are furiously…

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Yaagavarayinum Naa Kaakka

Takes a long while to get going There’s a 15-20 minute block of Yaagavarayinum Naa Kaakka early in the second half that’s thoroughly riveting. I’m talking about the sort of filmmaking that leaves you on the edge of your seat, gasping for breath. The scene’s about a group of friends who make the disastrous mistake…

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Kaaval

Reeks of mediocrity Kaaval begins rather ambitiously. It points out, Ramanaa style, that between 1995 and 2014, as many as 34,436 murders took place. If the title didn’t make it obvious enough, this statistic helps you understand that the film’s going for a cat-and-mouse game between policemen and the koolipadai (contract killers), which it claims…

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