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Siraj Syed is the India Correspondent for FilmFestivals.com and a member of FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics. He is a Film Festival Correspondent since 1976, Film-critic since 1969 and a Feature-writer since 1970. He is also an acting and dialogue coach. @SirajHSyed
Siraj Syed’s IFFI 2016 diary, II, Andrzej Wajda’s lingering Afterimage
Six of Poland’s much raved and long-revered director Andrzej Wajda’s films were on display at IFFI 2016. In a fitting tribute to the international master, who died on 9 October this year, of pulmonary failure, his last film, Afterimage, was the inaugural film here. Afterimage was completed just before his death, and he had even made a draft of the trailer and sent it to his editor, before dying, at ...
The Office
Five South Korean thrillers of various sub-genres were part of the Country Focus at IFFI 2016. They included two films that were shown at Cannes. Culled from latest releases, the selection has been titled Memoirs of Fear.
Now a household name across the world thanks to Gangnam Style, a K(orea)-Pop song that shook the world in 2012, Gangnam-gu, in Seoul, is actually a large district where wealthy residential areas sit alongside high-end art facilities and Korea’s busies...
Walk-in, run-in, let-in, give-in, turn-in, move-in, sit-in...now comes shut-in. “A shut-in is a person who, due to physical, mental and/or emotional reasons, is not able to leave his or her home. These conditions can cause a person to feel lonely, isolated, sad and cut off from the rest of the world. Sometimes, they do not have family and friends available to visit and spend time with them. They often lack any kind of companionship.” Shut In, the movie, is a generic psychological t...
Siraj Syed reviews Billy Lynn’s Long Half-Time Walk by Ang Lee
>“Americans are children, who must go somewhere else to grow up, and sometimes die.”
> “How does anyone ever know anything—the past is a fog that breathes out ghost after ghost, the present a freeway thunder run at 90 mph, which makes the future the ultimate black hole of futile speculation.”
>“It is sort of weird, being honored for the worst day of your life.”
Trust Ang ...
I, Daniel Blake, Salesman & 10 other Cannes award-winners at IFFI Goa 2016
A dozen Cannesy films are found in the selection for the 46th International Film Festival of Goa, 2016. Six months after Cannes and one month after the Mumbai Film Festival, those Indians who missed them there have another chance to make good their losses. I have seen only one of the pretty dozen, and though it was a treat for the eyes and ears, it was still anything but a pretty picture.
1. I, Daniel Blak...
IFFI: 1,000 entries from 100 countries
Ten days to go for the commencement of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), and there is no confirmation for media accreditation as yet. This being the 47th IFFI and my 47th year in film journalism, I am sure the concern is unfounded, though. Also being missed is the customary press conference, which is held well before the event. Meanwhile, here are some of the major attractions expected in Panaji, Goa, during November 20-28.
*A staggering...
Siraj Syed reviews Doctor Strange: Surgery and sorcery go hand in hand
Comics can be victims of overkill, especially when they traverse the distance from page to screen. Casting might be (mis)guided by name and fame, when suitability is of greater import. Marvel’s Doctor Strange, with part Disney talent and full distribution channels in tow, is ridden with both pitfalls. It’s a marvel then that the film manages to serve above par, enjoyable fare, for which credit largely goes to t...
American Horizon on the Indian Kshitij, a month away from release
Rare indeed. A Mumbai-based film professional named Navroz Prasla (no, not the Parsee or Irani Navroz, but a Khoja community member) moves to Houston, USA and sets up a media and event company, gets interested in a Marathi story, and produces an all Marathi cast and crew film called Kshitij (A Horizon), the only non-Maharashtrian being Oscar-winning Sound Designer, Resul Pookutty.
The film is now complete, and the PR age...
(Ms. Alin Taşçiyan-President Fipresci, Ambassador of Turkey to India--H.E. Mr. Burak Akçapar and Leading Actor--Mr. Ali Sarp Levendoğlu)
Turkey--key country at Mumbai Film Festival, by Siraj Syed
‘Zabaan-e-yaar-e-man Turkey, va man Turkey na mee daanam’ went a duet in the Hindi film Ek Musafir Ek Haseena, made in the late 50s/early 60s. The lines are not in Turkish, but Farsee (Persian), and translate as ‘My love(r)’s language is Turkish, and I do not ...
Siraj Syed on 18th MFF: Godless, Madly, Red Turtle meets Barakah
Far from catching up on film viewing shortfall, I could see fewer films in the second half of the 18th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival (MFF) with STAR. It was a deadly combination of several factors: Tickets sold out, no luck with walk-ins, inability to wake up early, traffic jams and unavoidably long travel times, the desire to attend two or three non-screening events, the choice of some films over others shown at the same or alm...
MAMI’s 18th MFF schedule had gaping holes
Multiple venues spread far and wide, across the Western and Eastern, Southern and Northern tips of the linear city of Mumbai meant that persons living in those areas where the cinemas are located would have easier access to them and would save a lot of time commuting. If we measure the distances between the farthest separations, it could take 2 ½ to 3 hours for a passenger to reach the corresponding venue. Include return travel, and you a...
Siraj Syed reviews Shivaay: She: Vaay? He: Vaay not?
Shivaay is a balanced film, in a convoluted kind of way. There is a germ of a story and there is major plagiarism of tracks from both Hollywood and Indian films. There is breath-taking action and there are pointless stunts. There is high proficiency acting and there is insult to talent. There is a small component of genuine humour and a large dose of unintentionally silly moments. There is organic unity in the screenplay when you match the ...
MAMI inaugural screening: 104-minute wait for 104-minute film
Organisers of the Jio MAMI’s 18th Mumbai Film Festival (MFF) with STAR chose actress Konkona Sen-Sharma’s directorial debut film, A Death in the Gunj as the opening film. In a continually perplexing schedule, the opening film, for the last couple of years, is not screened on the opening day, and not even at the inaugural venue. This year, the inauguration ceremony was held at the restored Opera House cinema.
Located at...
Siraj Syed on how Jack Reacher 2: Never Go Back keeps running helter-skelter
Produced by Tom Cruise himself, this second edition of the ex Military Police (MP) Major Jack Reacher (Cruise)’s exploits has three other actors in key roles: Cobie Smulders plays Virginia Military Police Susan Turner (the new head of Reacher’s former unit), Danika Yarosh co-stars as the 15 year-old, who (as the movie’s synopsis gets you to guess) may or may not be Reacher’s daughter. And ther...
Le Reve in race against time for Jio MAMI’s 18th Mumbai FF with Star
A dream name alright: Le Reve. But beating the clock might be proving a nightmare to the workers who are preparing this renovated single screen cinema to be ready in time for the first screening on Friday morning. That is when Jio MAMI’s 18th Mumbai Film Festival (MFF) with Star kicks off a cross a multitude of theatres. Le Reve is the only one in the upmarket Bandra suburb of West Mumbai, which is now more an ex...
Bobby Sarma Baruah requests you to see her film The Golden Wing at Jio MAMI FF
“My 86-minute film on the legendary folk singer Pratima Baruah Pandey is being screened at the 18th Jio MAMI Film Festival with STAR. There will be two screenings, the first one on 23rd October, at 10.30 am at the PVR Phoenix multiplex and the second on the 26th, at 7.30 pm, at PVR ECX multiplex. Do try and catch it,” she says, on the line from Guwahati, Assam. Of course, she will attend the festival he...
India’s tiny northern neighbour Bhutan at Jio MAMI’s 18th Mumbai FF with Star
A nine-member Bhutanese delegation, led by Dasho Karma W Penjor, Honourable Secretary of Ministry of Information and Communications, will participate in the Mumbai. Other members will include important members of Department of Information and Media, and members from the Bhutan Film Association. Bhutan is known as ‘The Land of the Thunder Dragon’ at the Festival.
Supported by governme...
Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, First Look at 18th Jio MAMI Film Festival with STAR
After watching the National Award winning film Baahubali, everyone was left with the same question, “Why did Kattappa kill Baahubali?” They had to wait for the sequel to get the answer. Or else head for the Jio MAMI Movie Mela (fair) with Star, which has two days dedicated to popular Indian cinema. One of the major highlights there is the first look of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, which will be showca...
Faiz
Restored Pak-Indo classic dropped from Jio MAMI’s 18th Mumbai Film Festival with STAR
At Jio MAMI’s 18th Mumbai Film Festival with STAR, which kicks off in two days’ time, of particular interest to film historians and cineastes in general was the Pakistani film, Jago Hua Savera (Day Shall Dawn). It was the only film from that country to find place in the programme. The inclusion sparked off controversy in the wake of hostilities along the border and several promin...
by Siraj Syed
Assam-born Rima Das’s first feature, Man with the Binoculars, which was screened at Cannes in the Marche (Market) du Film section on May 18, finds its place in the programmes of two prestigious festivals in successive months. First, it is the Jio MAMI Mumbai International Film Festival with STAR, which starts this week, and then it will be part of Tallinn’s Black Nights 20th year.
The Man with the Binoculars is Rima Das' tender and poignant slice-of-life debut ...
Films to be screened at Jio MAMI’s Mumbai Film Festival with STAR, 2016, Mumbai, October 20-27
Venues
PVR Icon, Versova, Andheri (Western suburb)
PVR ECX, Andheri
PVR Phoenix, Lower Parel (Central Mumbai)
PVR Phoenix Market City, Kurla (Eastern suburb)
PVR Nirmal Lifestyle, Mulund (Eastern suburb)
Le Reve (former Globus), Bandra West (earlier Western city limit, now part of city)
Regal Cinema, Colaba (South Mumbai, one of the oldest single screen cinemas of the city)
Com...
Siraj Syed reviews Beiimaan Love: Bed bet
It’s as old as the hills: rich brat leads a virtuous-but-sexy woman down the garden path, discards her like a soiled tissue, roles get reversed, hunter becomes prey, exploited heroine strikes back, lays out an elaborate game-plan, and ‘vengeance is mine’. Would you make a film on this theme with a former porn-star in the central role and her current husband as her comrade-in-arms? Not if you weighed the odds. Yes if you felt that tho...
Siraj Syed reviews Fuddu: Fuddy Duddy Cuddy in the Nuddy
You wouldn’t use this f word if you called yourself a gentleman. In their wisdom, the makers of this misbegotten enterprise have named it Fuddu. Heaven knows why. I cannot recall even one occasion in the film when the word as mouthed, probably because the locale is Mumbai and the characters are all from Varanasi, where the culture is anything but Punjabi. Some Punjabis, and maybe Delhi-ites, who revel in the use of colourful langu...
CommunicAsia 2016: Processing 5.2 Gb/sec--Huawei leads innovation
At the Asia ICT Innovation Forum 2016 organised by Singapore Exhibition Services, and Huawei, as the strategic partner, attended by over 500 regional ministerial representatives, internationally renowned economists and global industry thought leaders and professionals, Huawei outlined its roadmap to accelerate ICT transformation to enable more people in Asia Pacific to reap the benefits of ICT and move tow...
Imagine this: You decide to adapt an Israeli prisoner of war drama for Indian television audiences, and a few weeks before you are scheduled to go on air, there are serious engagements along the country’s border! What is a tragedy for the families of the soldiers killed in action may transform into large scale interest in the serial. POW (Bandi Yuddh Ke, in Hindi, a literal translation) is a STARPLUS production, based on the Israeli hit, Hatufim (literally ‘kidnapped’), writt...
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About Siraj Syed
 Syed Siraj
(Siraj Associates)
Siraj Syed is a film-critic since 1970 and a Former President of the Freelance Film Journalists' Combine of India.
He is the India Correspondent of FilmFestivals.com and a member of FIPRESCI, the international Federation of Film Critics, Munich, Germany
Siraj Syed has contributed over 1,015 articles on cinema, international film festivals, conventions, exhibitions, etc., most recently, at IFFI (Goa), MIFF (Mumbai), MFF/MAMI (Mumbai) and CommunicAsia (Singapore). He often edits film festival daily bulletins.
He is also an actor and a dubbing artiste. Further, he has been teaching media, acting and dubbing at over 30 institutes in India and Singapore, since 1984.
Bandra West, Mumbai India View my profileSend me a message
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