All the film reviews I’ve written so far.
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‘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 motion? Now, imagine nearly two and half hours of that. That is this film. Roshan and Priya first meet on her first day at school. He bullies her. She is…
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‘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 of capitalism and paramountcy of talent. There is a scene in the film where Peter Johnson (GV Prakash Kumar) goes to Vembu Iyer’s (Nedumudi Venu) house wishing to join his…
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‘Simba’ Review: A Wannabe Stoner Film That Is Your Regular, Misogynistic Sausage Fest
Simba isn’t hinged on a story, but relies on stoner tropes, mind-voice, gimmicks and monologues to keep going. In the Tamil film Simba, the character Mahesh (played by Bharath) is a loner and a stoner. He imagines his neighbour’s dog Simba as human. Mahesh’s hallucinated anthropomorphic form of Simba is played by Premji. One day,…
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‘Viswasam’ Review: Nayanthara Should Be The Hero Of This Ajith-Starrer
Viswasam: An inadvertently thoughtful film Star vehicles in Tamil aren’t just films. They are complex potpourri of elements with economic, political, social and cultural (mis)guidances of their own. This Pongal’s two releases can explain. Karthik Subbaraj’s Petta (hood) was pitched as a “tribute” to Rajinikanth, which the film stays true to. Siva’s Ajith-starrer Viswasam (loyalty)…
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‘Petta’ Review: Except Rajinikanth, The Film Has Nothing Going For It
Dek: It’s an ode to Rajinikanth’s superstardom, but has a flimsy storyline, or space for other actors. Five minutes into Petta, a friend who was watching the movie with me asked, “How many references to his other films did you catch so far?” I shushed him, hoping Petta would soon find its feet and stand…
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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…