On the emptiness of Wim Wenders' 'The Perfect Days' - A thread.
Wim Wenders' 'The Perfect Days' turned out to be shockingly disappointing. The film tries hard to be poetic. 1/24
But even if we take into account its excellence in terms of actors' performance and cinematography - it could still only be considered a feature length advertising campaign for Tokyo Toilet project. 2/24
Nov 6, 2023 • 17 tweets • 3 min read
Based on true incidents.
(Quite a long thread, I guess!)
Time: A few months back.
Place: Madras Talkies Head Quarters.
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Mani Saar: Damn! Even I couldn't stand that pointless PS 2, man. Don't know how these people watched it.
1/17
Madras Talkies Assistant: Saar! Don't say that. After Kurosawa, you are the next Asian...
Mani Saar: Dei fool! Don't give me that Mysskin crap!
MT Assistant: Sorry, saar!
Mani Saar: But fuck PS - 2! Let's make one action blockbuster & show these people who Mani Saar is.
2/17
May 1, 2023 • 15 tweets • 2 min read
On the caste and dating debate - A thread.
Prof. Ravikant Kisana's article on caste and dating has clearly been provocative enough to push several people on social media to debate on his arguments. I too was reflecting on the piece and wondered about a few things. 1/15
Any possibility of romance between Bahujans and Brahmin-Savarnas is possible only in the elite educational and workspaces. This is where a miniscule population of Bahujans have managed to enter because of reservations. 2/15
Apr 28, 2023 • 21 tweets • 4 min read
On Mani Ratnam's 'Ponniyin Selvan - 2'.
Watching Mani Ratnam's 'Ponniyin Selvan - 2', reminded me of the masala dosas at Saravana Bhavan restaurants. In the 90s, their masala dosas were absolutely magical. 1/21
The dosa's texture, thickness, flavor, crispness - just everything about it was perfect. The potato masala was neither too subtle nor overpowering. It made your dosas richer but at the same time allowed you to experience the sambar and the chutneys without any hindrance. 2/21
Feb 22, 2023 • 15 tweets • 3 min read
On the narrative structure of the song 'Naetru Aval Irundhal' by composer @arrahman and poet Vaali. - A thread.
I was recently listening to the song 'Naetru Aval Irundhal' (Yesterday, she was here) from Maryan (2013).
And I was struck by how beautifully its stanzas and their corresponding meaning have been structured by poet Vaali and composer AR Rahman.
The song is about two lovers who were together the previous day. But today, they are not.
Nov 8, 2022 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
The EWS quota and the Bahujan's apathy - A thread
The supreme court's upholding of the EWS quota is not really a surprise. India is after all a Brahmin state and it tries its best to serve those at the top of the caste hierarchy.
But what is truly surprising is the laidback response of the Bahujans to it. In contrast, think about the Mandal Commision protests of the 90s. When OBC reservation was recommended, the Brahmins and other Savarnas came out to the street and protested with all their might.
Nov 7, 2022 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
On why the specialness of @ikamalhaasan lies in his choices than his performances - A thread.
What we consider as a great acting performance is often a very subjective thing. Not just of the audience's subjective opinion.
But also, a function of the performance's time, place and medium. What is celebrated as great performance in a geography during a time period can be laughable to someone distanced from it. Which is why it is silly to claim that a particular actor is the greatest or such.
Oct 5, 2022 • 22 tweets • 4 min read
Adding to the Indian Express piece on 'Ponniyin Selvan - 1' - On why it might be Mani Ratnam's weakest film. - A thread.
'Ponniyin Selvan - 1' might be Mani Ratnam's most ambitious project. But unfortunately, it also comes across as his most amateur attempt.
Kalki's novel is essentially a historical pulp fiction. And it works because of its twists, turns and thrills. But in the process of faithfully condensing it for the screen, Mani Ratnam and Elango Kumaravel's screenplay flattens every moment in the book.
Sep 29, 2022 • 24 tweets • 3 min read
Mani Ratnam, Vairamuthu & the curious cas(t)e of the English media. - A thread.
Watching the several interviews of Mani Ratnam prior to the release of his 'Ponniyin Selvan' - 1', one couldn't help but notice that not a single English media journalist or film critic has asked him anything about dropping Vairamuthu from the film and replacing him with other…
Jul 18, 2022 • 21 tweets • 3 min read
Sai Pallavi's 'Gargi' works better in strengthening our biases than sensitizing us - A thread
(Contains spoilers)
'Gargi' is a film that exploits urban middle class biases to tell its story on child abuse.
In urban societies, it is an unwritten rule that that working class men and migrant workers are the first suspects for any crime taking place in their locality. At the same time, the middle classes place extreme trust in their own family members.
Jul 14, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
A case of angry emblems.
In 2012, Aseem Trivedi, a cartoonist was arrested on sedition charges for his supposed anti-corruption cartoons. The Congress was in power then. The cartoonist was charged with sedition under Section 124 (A) of the Indian Penal Code.
(1/4)
He was also charged under the IT Act and the 1971 National Emblem Act.
The India Against Corruption (IAC) members then claimed that, "Aseem had participated in the BKC protest organized by Anna Hazare and had raised his voice against corruption.
(2/4)
Jul 14, 2022 • 20 tweets • 3 min read
On 'Ponniyin Selvan' and its national imagination. - A thread
If you think about it, in spite of all the claims of India being a 'Hindu nation', there is no Hindu Emperor or King who captures the pan-Indian imagination.
There are just two Emperors in our pop-culture who have managed to achieve that - Emperor Akbar and Emperor Ashoka and neither were Hindus. Akbar was a Muslim and Ashoka a Buddhist.
Jun 5, 2022 • 15 tweets • 3 min read
On the blandness of Lokesh Kanagaraj's 'Vikram'.
If it is allowed to borrow Shakespeare, one might want to say that 'Vikram' is a tale that is full of sound and fury but signifying nothing.
This must be Lokesh Kanagaraj's weakest script where all primary characters behave like card board cut-outs spouting awkward dialogues. And every plot twist presented simplistically.
Mar 22, 2022 • 18 tweets • 3 min read
On 'Jhund'.
Every year during Ambedkar Jayanti and Mahaparinirvan Diwas, people from across the country would queue up to pay their respect to Babasaheb Ambedkar at Chaityaboomi in Mumbai.
The sea of crowd gathered would slow down the traffic around Dadar, Worli and Prabhadevi and those working in these areas would complain every year about the traffic. Some of the city's newspapers too would by default nitpick about the traffic on their front page the next day.
Feb 19, 2022 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
The pleasure of accumulating books without reading them - A thread.
It is about time we understand that the pleasure in buying and accumulating books is completely different from the pleasure in reading books.
Most of us tend to unnecessarily link the two and feel guilty for buying books regularly but not reading any.
Feb 16, 2022 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
The slightly curious case of PR around 'Jai Bhim' and 'Writing with Fire' - A thread.
When Suriya's 'Jai Bhim' released last year, the film propelled the work of Justice K. Chandru into the mainstream.
He become the central figure of the film's PR exercise and in fact, he gave more interviews explaining and defending the film than even the film's director TJ Gnanavel or its producer and actor Suriya.
Feb 15, 2022 • 19 tweets • 3 min read
On Malayalam anthology film 'Freedom Fight'.
The anthology film left me with very mixed feelings.
While I really liked the first 2 episodes - Akhil Anilkumar's 'Geethu Unchained' and Kunjila Mascillamani's 'The Unorganised', the last episode 'Pra Thoo Mu' by Jithin Issac Thomas left me fuming and puking at the same time.
Feb 13, 2022 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
A thread on 'Gehraiyaan'.
'Gehraiyaan' isn't particularly a bad, bad film, but it certainly is a strange film.
One doesn't understand why Shakun Batra wanted to take Woody Allen's story of crime and punishment from 'Match Point' (2005) and convert it into a cocktail of Shilpa Shetty's popular DVD 'Shilpa's Yoga', a moral science lesson on bored people being perennially horny and a…
Feb 12, 2022 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
On Ryusuke Hamaguchi's anthology film.
Because I loved Ryusuke Hamaguchi's 'Drive My Car', I got all curious about the filmmaker and ended up watching his other recent film 'Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy'.
And this one too is such a moving, beautiful film.
I read somewhere that Ryusuke Hamaguchi is greatly inspired by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. But watching this anthology film, I was quite convinced that it was influenced by the films of Eric Rohmer.
Feb 10, 2022 • 12 tweets • 2 min read
On Ryusuke Hamaguchi's 'Drive My Car'
It is commonly believed that film adaptations can never live up to the original books.
But while watching 'Drive My Car', I paused somewhere in-between and wondered if Haruki Murakami's short story could really be as beautiful and moving as the film Ryusuke Hamaguchi has made.
'Drive My Car' feels like a zen story.
Feb 9, 2022 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
The inevitable boredom of Tamil progressive PR work.
It sucks to acknowledge this, but the unfortunate truth is that today, Tamilians have become 24/7 marketing agents like the veterans of Kerala and Bengal.
Earlier, it was only the Malayalis and Bengalis who bored the shit out of you by repeatedly reminding how progressive they are. But today, Tamilians can give them a good run for their money.
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