Arjun Reddy made me angry. Varmaa is insipid because it is a half-hearted copy-paste of the original.
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Ka Pae Ranasingam movie review: Aishwarya Rajesh, Vijay Sethupathi’s film is incisive commentary on state apathy
Ka Pae Ranasingam reminds us that resistance is an exhausting endeavour; they will not kill you, they will simply wear you down.
Continue readingTime Enna Boss: Tamil web series experiments with different forms, but fails to evoke a chuckle
It appears that the makers of the web series want to stay within their comfort zones, recycling gags and making inside jokes.
Continue readingPenguin movie review: Keerthy Suresh shoulders thrilling, though unconvincing, search for a lost child
Penguin draws a clear line — this is a story about a mother. Rhythm is only that. For her, and for the film, that is enough.
Continue readingPonmagal Vandhal movie review: Jyotika doesn’t punch hard but sincerely delivers clarion call to believe women’s stories
In a sense, Ponmagal Vandhal fits perfectly into Jyotika’s pursuit: Every film is a milestone in her single-minded journey of women’s empowerment.
Continue readingSillu Karupatti: An unsatisfying, even if noteworthy, collection of stories about love.
Sillu Karupatti, isn’t a bad anthology. It’s ambitious in form, style and content. But it is so restrained, that it ends up being unsatisfactory.
Continue readingSaavat Review: Could have been a brilliant novel, makes for a terrible film
Language: Marathi | Genre: Crime fiction, Supernatural thriller | Streaming on: Netflix After a short prologue, Saurabh Sinha’s Saavat (2019) begins with a woman “penning […]
Continue readingKaithi review: A near-perfect thriller with phenomenal performances, but something still nags me about it
In spite all the brilliance I saw on screen, there is something that still nags me: Lokesh Kanagaraj is building the quintessential man’s world. While he acknowledges the existence of women and has even developed an eye for their experiences, he’s involuntarily erasing their existence by making them the emotional anchor.
Continue readingKaappaan review: Dei!
On a scale of 1-10, Kaappaan is a minus 22. If you can laugh at it, you might be able to score a few points back. Otherwise, it’s truly unsahikkable.
Continue readingSerial Chiller: Zee5’s Fingertip is a highly relatable, acutely watchable series about modern Tamil lives
Ajith-Shraddha Srinath’s ‘Nerkonda Paarvai’ Wins Big By Focusing On Consent
Nerkonda Paarvai begins with three young women in a cab, all of whom look either distracted or distraught, it is too soon to tell. The […]
Continue readingAadai review: Dear male filmmakers, please don’t misuse your freedom to make feminist films.
‘Aadai’ begins 200 years ago, with the story of Nangeli and her fight to wear what she wants. After the animated prologue and the moral […]
Continue reading‘Kadaram Kondan’ Review: Vikram Holds Up This Plain Yet Fairly Engrossing Film
If you’ve watched director Rajesh M Selva’s previous endeavour Thoongavanam (2015), you’ll find his recent film, Kadaram Kondan very familiar. There is a lot that’s […]
Continue readingRaatchasi review: A watchable message-padam
An invincible hero, easily solvable problems, short lectures and people with heart of gold make Raatchasi a watchable, if not enjoyable film.
Continue readingVellai Pookal review: A good enough mystery for Sunday home video.
Rudhran has a (not-so) unique investigation technique. He stands in the crime scene, plays the possibilities back in his mind and deducts/detects the crime. When […]
Continue reading‘Game Over’ Review: Taapsee Pannu’s Genre-Bending Tamil Film Is On Point
Pannu turns in a spectacular performance as Swapna, a gamer suffering from PTSD after what seems to be a sexual assault. Standing up as the […]
Continue reading‘Kolaigaran’ Movie Review: Vijay Antony Still Can’t Act But Thankfully That Doesn’t Matter Here
Ignore the weird duets and the weakly developed characters, and you’re left with a watchable thriller When director Andrew Louis tweeted on Thursday night that […]
Continue reading‘NGK’ Movie Review: Suriya Is Wasted In This Incoherent Film
And why, why is Sai Pallavi reduced to, bizarrely, a sniffer in this movie? Nandha Gopalan Kumaran (NGK), an extremely committed Suriya, is drenched in […]
Continue reading‘Mr Local’ Review: A 155-Minute Primer On Everything Wrong With Tamil Cinema
This Sivakarthikeyan-Nayanthara starrer is a sexist, misogynistic, transphobic cesspool of abuse passing for love. Mr. Local, Sivakarthikeyan and Nayanthara’s summer release directed by Rajesh M, […]
Continue reading‘K13’ Movie Review: This Thriller Shows Promise But Lets Down Its Viewers
‘K13’ Movie Review: This Thriller Shows Promise But Lets Down Its Viewers The Arulnithi-Shraddha Srinath starrer comes across as a vacuous idea that desperately wants […]
Continue reading‘Mehandi Circus’ Review: A Grandpa’s Tale That Leaves You Wanting More
The Ilaiyaraaja nostalgia and Shweta Tripathi’s acting are the highlights of this choppy tale of love and loss. Mehandi Circus opens with an animated folktale […]
Continue reading‘Super Deluxe’ Review: This Delightfully Layered Movie Is A Treat For All Your Senses
Samantha, Fahadh Faasil and Ashwanth shine in Thiagarajan Kumararaja’s colourful, intelligent film. If a spaceship landed some place in Tamil Nadu and aliens wandered into […]
Continue reading‘Airaa’ Review: Even Twice The Nayanthara Isn’t Enough To Save This Film
As a writer, my worst nightmare is the lede. How does one start writing something instantly hooking the reader into my world? I’ve not figured […]
Continue reading‘Ispade Rajavum Idhaya Raniyum’ Wants Us To Empathise With A Toxic, Violent Man
Ranjit Jeyakodi’s film is perfectly in line with recent ‘toxic male’ films like ‘Arjun Reddy’, ‘Kaatru Veliyidai’ and ‘Taramani’. There is a scene in Ispade […]
Continue reading’90ML’ Review: This Is A Film I’m Glad Exists, But I Wouldn’t Recommend Anyone To Watch It
“Ambalainga panra ellaa ketta vishayathayum panradhillai penniyam” (Doing all bad things that men do is not feminism), they say. 90ML argues that, this is, in […]
Continue reading‘LKG’ Review: Kindergarten-Level Primer On Tamil Nadu Politics, Society, Cinema, And Youth
Is it satire? Is it serious? Or is it RJ Balaji’s stepping stone into politics? Nobody knows, not even the filmmakers, it would appear. LKG […]
Continue reading‘Oru Adaar Love’ Review: Misogyny in slow motion
Do you remember the viral song from Oru Adaar Love where Priya Prakash Varrier and Roshan Abdul Rahoof make eyes at each other in slow […]
Continue reading‘Sarvam Thaala Mayam’ Review: An almost-but-not-yet film that relies on the largesse of upper caste hearts to bring about social change.
Sarvam Thaala Mayam is less a story of hope against all odds than it is one of faith in the innate goodness of people, democracy […]
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