Leo, Review: The hyena trapper’s identity crisis When a film from the South is set in Himachal Pradesh, there must be a good reason. And when the same film has Sanjay Dutt in a pivotal role, you look forward to some exciting moments. There are indeed such moments in Leo. The problem is that it tries to roll three stories in one joint (a large chunk of the film deals with cigarette manufacturing). The film is redeemed by an inspired performance by ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay, his seco...

Goldfish, Review:  Without your memory, you are like a goldfish out of water Probably used as a metaphor for the memory lapses of its central character, who is suffering from dementia, the goldfish, believed to have a memory span of three seconds, has, in fact, a rather long memory. On the website Live Science, the short-memory theory has been debunked, “In reality, goldfish (Carassius auratus) have much longer memories — spanning weeks, months and even years. And the science...

Made in Heaven, Season 2: "Marriages are made in heaven, so are thunder and lightning" Although the quote comes from Clint Eastwood, you can say it again, for this is Season 2. And unlike most marriages in real life, on OTT you get a second chance, to revisit heaven. After a successful Season 1 (2019), the team from Excel Media and Entertainment, and Tiger Baby Films, is back, with Season 2. Many characters are retained, and a few are added, to make these marriages work, I presume, ...

8 am Metro, Review: One train, many tracks Firstly, it is not about a train. Secondly, the journey of the lead characters changes so many tracks that it ultimately derails, and it takes a long-drawn climax to get it back on track. Even then, it ends on half a track. And yet there is something about 8 am Metro that is endearing and fresh. Coming not too long after Pierre Filmon’s French film, In Between Two Trains/Long Time No See (2019), it is likely to have been inspired by the French ...

It’s Almost Pyaar with Anurag Kashyap’s DJ Mohabbat team and its trailer Anurag Kashyap’s much awaited movie Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat, his ode to modern love, had its trailer launch in Mumbai, at the PVR multiplex, Juhu, Mumbai, yesterday. The event was attended by the female lead, Alaya F., debutant Karan Mehta and Anurag himself, along with the music director Amit Trivedi, producers Ranjan Singh and Kabir Ahuja and ZEE Studios’ Shariq Patel After everybody had...

Kuttey, Review: Gulp Friction Quentin Tarantino can rightfully claim a patent to the format used in Kuttey: prologue, epilogue and a non-chronological structure, with the present merging with the past and the past merging with the present. The co-writer and director of Kuttey (Dogs), Aasmaan Bhardwaj was born one year after Pulp Fiction (1994) was released, bagged top honours at home and abroad, and attained cult status soon afterwards. Twenty-seven years after he was born, Aasmaan has made h...

Trailer launch of Dobaaraa: EK and SK join hands with SK and AK in remake of Mirage K is a constant, and most of Ektaa R. Kapoor’s TV and film forays have had titles beginning with the letter k. As have the films of Rakesh Roshan. Exceptions prove the rule, and Dobaaraa is one such vehicle. The other ‘k’s in the picture are Sunir Kheterpal (co-producer) and Anurag Kashyap (the director). The trailer of Dobaaraa was dropped on 27 July at PVR Icon Multiplex, Citi Mall, Andheri...

IFFI 51, 26-24 January, 40: Mehrunisa is an Austrian film on feudal India and a rebellious old actress Mehrunisa screams loud against the male-dominated Indian film industry. In the film, the Umrao Jaan fame actress Farrukh Jaffar has played the role of an 80-year-old actress, who boldly tells the audience to follow their dreams, and that age doesn't matter 'Mehrunisa', the Austrian film in Hindi (Urdu really) language and the Mid-Fest Film at the 51st International Film Festival...

Daas Dev, Review: Devspeare Talking about the response generated by Hazaaron Khwahishen Aisi at the International Film Festival of India, Goa, director Sudhir Mishra had told me that all praise was welcome, but he felt a great sense of fulfillment when internationally acclaimed directors had appreciated his efforts. Hazaaron Khwahishen Aisi was liked by a lot of critics as well as a significant number of cineastes. For Sudhir’s sake, I hope that those he holds in esteem see merit in Daa...

The Past coming to haunt you The Past is a terrifying horror story that has been shot in an actually ‘haunted’ location. The film stars Vedita Pratap Singh, Yuvraj Parasher, Rajesh Sharma, Samiksha Bhatt, Jaya Villey and Soniya Albizuri, in pivotal roles. It is directed By Gagan Puri  and produced by Peacock Motion Filmz, an Indian film studio founded by Jaspal Singh and Nitesh Kumar. Gagan Puri has over eight years of experience in Hindi Cinema, and is also the writer of...

MAMI’s 19th Mumbai Film Festival, 12-18 November, Mumbai: Many good films, no masterpieces Overview of the films, seen and unseen. *Mukkabaaz-India-Anurag Kashyap: Inaugural film, inaccessible to me. Anurag Kashyap is a much-acclaimed film-maker and a member of the Board of Trustees of Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI). India Gold section *Checkmate-India-Ektara Collective: Good feature film debut of independent collective: *** (film still above). *Granny (Ajji): India-Devashi...

Siraj Syed talks to film-maker, cinematographer Chanda Gauranga, about indie LIF What is your family back-ground and how did the idea of LIF germinate? I was born and brought up in Chennai along with my three siblings. My mother is a story-teller and a writer. I grew up listening to and being amazed by my mother's tales and in a way wanted to spread the same awe and amazement I felt when listening to her stories. Moreover, my father and his father have always been very camera passionate....

Siraj Syed reviews Haraamkhor: Harmful to the core Haraamkhor: A derisive term, having its roots in Persian (Farsi) and widely used in present-day Urdu and Hindi. Haraamkhor literally means one who feeds on ill-begotten food, haraam meaning immoral, or not kosher, the antonym of halaal, right and approved. Khor refers to eater, or consumer, from the Persian verb khordan, to eat. Some prefer to spell the word beginning with a qh, to distinguish from the kh sound, which is less guttural and 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...

by Siraj Syed It was through the thoughtfulness of a WhatsApp group member that I came to know about a Press Conference being organised on the 29th of September by Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image (MAMI) to announce the 18th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. MAMI is a trust that was formed 19 years ago, and the trustees included Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Shyam Benegal, Amol Palekar and Sudhir Mishra. The reins are now held by Kiran Rao, who is also Mrs. Aamir Khan and Anupama Chopra (journalist, a...

Shaandaar, Review: Insomniacs, maniacs, megalomaniacs and necrophiliacs It’s a Shaandaar combination. Producers of this eagerly-awaited film include the Dharma banner owner Karan Johar (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, My Name is Khan, Student of the Year; also director), Vikramaditya Motwane (director of the mini-classic, Udaan, and co-owner of the production house, Phantom Films, with Shaandaar director Vikas Bahl, Anurag Kashyap, and Madhu Mantena) and Anurag Kashyap himself, the director of such...

Holi may be the official Hindi festival of colors, but for New York fans of South Asian and Indian-American arthouse cinema, a spring celebration that brings even more brightness is the New York Indian Film Festival. Last night over multi-hued dishes at Soho Tiffin Junction -- Modern South Indian Kitchen, NYIFF whetted appetites for its 14th edition, slated for May 5 - 10. The festival, which is the oldest and largest showcase of its kind in the United States, offers a rare chance to see indie...

The 66th Venice International Film Festival concluded with the presentation of the Golden Lion Award for best film to Lebanon by Samuel MAOZ (Israel, France, Germany). The festival ran 2nd to 12th September 2009.The Venezia 66 Jury, chaired by Ang Lee and comprised of Sandrine Bonnaire, Liliana Cavani, Joe Dante, Anurag Kashyap, Luciano Ligabue, Sergei Bodrov, having viewed all twenty-five films in competition, has decided as follows: Silver Lion for Best Director to: Shirin NESHAT ...