Hello hello! Thank you for taking an interest in my work. In this page, you’ll see everything I’ve ever written. That might be a handful, so tread carefully. 🙂
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From ‘Kaala’ To ‘Pariyerum Perumal’, The Best Tamil Films Of 2018
2018 began like any year does in the Tamil film world with popular male actor-led love-action fare like Gulebagavali, Sketch and Thaanaa Serndha Koottam, occupying large screens. Vijay Sethupathi had five releases this year, Prabhudeva and Jyotika had three, and Rajinikanth, Vikram, Vishal and Nayantara had two films each in lead roles. Yet this year also saw many miracles.…
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Making the audience do the homework
Amy Jackson, playing Nila — Nice Intelligent Lovely Assistant — in Rajnikanth’s latest 2.0 (2018), says, “vada poche” to great comic effect. It is a joke that only makes sense if you know the reference to a Vadivelu comedy from another film. Nila is perhaps the first robot to indulge in some self-referential pastiche that Tamil cinema…
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‘Maari 2’ Review: Perfect Candidate For Your Sunday Matinee
Maari 2 is the perfect candidate for your Sunday matinee, post Andhra Meals. It might even help reduce Monday morning blues.
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‘Seethakaathi’ Review: Vijay Sethupathi’s Comedy-Drama Is Unlike Any Tamil Film You’ve Seen In 2018
Sethakaathi isn’t a regular 2018 Tamil film, it’s certainly not an easy watch. For the attention-deficit generation, Seethakaathi’s first 45 minutes are a test, but when you pass it, the reward is immeasurable. Moving deftly between being a philosophical drama and an absurdist comedy, Seethakkathi is a unusual yet entertaining film. There is a scene in Seethakkathi…
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‘Thuppakki Munai’ Review: Vikram Prabhu’s Film Is Unremarkable
I can imagine how this film might have looked on paper: an encounter cop, a young girl’s grieving father and a migrant worker lose everything at the hands of an unequal society and an incompetent justice system. So, they pursue justice on their own. You may think this has all the makings of an entertaining…
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Ms En Scene: Baalu Of ‘Kaatrin Mozhi’ Is The Ally Tamil Cinema Heroes Need
Within the first five minutes of watching Kaatrin Mozhi (2018), I fell in love. As a Jyotika fan — even during her Kushi (2000) days — I went to watch Kaatrin Mozhi expecting to love her. I’d watched Tumhari Sulu (2017), the Hindi original. Naturally, I expected Jyotika to do one better. So, when I fell in love with Baalu, played by the…
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Ms En Scene: Tips To Unleash Your Inner Hero With Some Help From Tamil Cinema
For some strange reason, I found myself empathising with him. No, in fact, I found myself relating to him. Yes, you read that right. The need to achieve higher purpose, but the pressure of this misunderstanding society on my shoulders…. Finally, I had to address my life’s biggest existential question of my life, “Am I…
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Ms En Scene: Confessions Of A Kuppai Padam Addict
Nearly two years ago, one December evening, my friend Vinay and I went to watch Katthi Sandai(2016). For the uninitiated (good on you, mate!), Katthi Sandai is an action-drama-musical-thriller-romance-comedy film, featuring Vishal, Tamannah, Soori and Vadivelu, among others. I had invited my friend to watch the movie with me: I was a Vishal fan, I still am. My…
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Ms En Scene: A warm welcome To Kokila & Mahathi, Tamil Screen’s Postmodern Anti-Heroes
A manipulative, self-aware and sharp female anti-hero is new for Tamil cinema. Historically, they tend to be arrogant vamps — Neelambari of Padayappa (1999), tamed heroines — Shanti Devi of Mannan(1992) or lost opportunities, like Mary of Padikkadhavan (1985). Kokila is nothing like any of her predecessors. She isn’t a villain, she is in fact, the hero. My column is…
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Ms En Scene: In Praise Of Saranya Ponvannan, The Mother That I Never Had
My love for Saranya Ponvannan began in a very Tamil Padam sort of way. I truly took notice of her only when she waved her velakkamaaru (broom stick) and brought it down with inimitable vigour on the transgressing Dhanush in Velai Illa Pattadhaari (2014). In the film, she plays Dhanush’s tough-loving mother — the scene with the broomstick is…
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Ms En Scene: An Imaginary Conversation With Baradwaj Rangan’s Imaginary Conversation
Editor’s note: You may want to read this for context Southern Lights: Baradwaj Rangan, Let’s Talk About Bias! – Film Companion. This was Baradwaj Rangan’s response to the flak that his review of Kaala got online. Because it is impossible to have a proper conversation in the real world, I have an imaginary tête-à-têtewith Baradwaj Rangan, where I ask the questions and…
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Ms En Scene: The Art Of Finding Your Showtime Soulmate
Mid-way through Abiyum Anuvum (2018), Anu assuredly proclaims that no woman would think of motherhood as a burden. Spontaneously, my colleague — a good decade younger than me — and I broke into loud Renuka Chowdhary-esque laughter. At that moment, I knew I’d found my showtime soulmate. I begin my monthly column Ms. en Scene for Silverscreen…
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Rebelling Without A Cause And Daddy Issues – Meet Indian Cinema’s New Angry Young Men
What is common between Siddharth of Kali (2016), Arjun of Arjun Reddy (2017), Surya of Naa Peru Surya, Naa Illu India (2018) and Kathir of Irumbuthirai (2018)? Rebellion without a cause, daddy issues and gratuitous violence, though the films choose to call it “anger”. In this essay for Silverscreen, I write about today’s angry young men in Indian cinema.
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Book Review: Who Owns that Song? brings to life ‘unsung poet’ Subramania Bharati, copyright issues surrounding his work
Beginning, as it does, with a section titled ‘Dramatic Personae’, AR Venkatachalapathy’s new non-fiction book Who Owns that Song? The Battle for Subramania Bharati’s Copyright left me with one overwhelming thought: This would make for an entertaining period film. My review of AR Venkatachalapathy’s book for the Firstpost.
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But What Was She Wearing, India’s first feature-length documentary on workplace harassment, faces funding crunch
“Do you know for people like us, who are freelancers not working in an organisation, there is supposed to be a local sexual harassment complaints committee that the district collector must set up?” Vaishnavi Sundar asks, then states emphatically: “There is no such thing. Nowhere in India. The collector has no clue in most cases.”…
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Tamil web content is venturing forth boldly where cinema and TV fear to tread
As a friend and I sat together watching Stephen Colbert on YouTube, I couldn’t resist sulking over what seemed like a gaping hole in our film and television landscape that holds authority to account. “We can’t do this in Tamil, no channel will buy it, no writer will be spared,” my friend said by way of…
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2017 was not the perfect year for feminism in Tamil cinema, but it was a great beginning
An uninterrupted monologue is most often the privilege of the male protagonist in Tamil cinema. A rebellious outburst against an oppressor delivered on a trigger, it generally marks the moment when the hero is about to launch his revolution. Imagine Sivaji Ganesan’s court speech in Parasakthi (1952) or Rajinikanth reacting to Meena’s insult in Muthu (1995) or more recently,…
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What Taramani, Kaatru Veliyidai, Iraivi tell us about abusive men, and the women in their lives
Arul is hunched over a smoking gun, in a railway station, after having just murdered his friend Michael. A brutally tortured prisoner of war, VC, in his 8×5 solitary cell, stares into space. A physically hurt Prabhunath watches a policeman point a gun to his wife’s head, as she pulls the trigger to her death.…