Jimmy Kimmel and the Naatu Naatu joke It was not the best of Oscars, it was not the worst of Oscars. A cheerful vibe to it, one inspiring Brendon Fraser speech, many choking up, and the Oscar event editor cutting down acceptance speeches like the grim reaper.  No surprises mostly, a good mix of deserving winners, and probably not-so-deserving too? Ahem.   Jimmy Kimmel did a breezy start as the 95th Oscars host, dapper and smooth in the usual classic tuxedo.  Damn, men surely don't have a lot of evening dressing options, or for that matter, day-afternoon-night dress ..read more

[**** stars / *****] Why is self-destruction so compelling to watch on the big screen? The latest successful Indian movie that championed self-destruction to a celebratory grunge guitar score, taking off from the numerous Devdas adaptations, was Kabir Singh, a Hindi remake of the same director's Telugu hit Arjun Reddy.  Darren Aronofsky has often chronicled the fall, cruelty and darkness of the human spirit, and as in The Wrestler (2008), Aronofsky extracts a terrific heart wrenching lead performance in The Whale. Brendan Fraser with the help of some terrific makeup, plays an ext ..read more

Lata Mangeshkar with composer, singer Hemant Kumar and actor Biswajeet Hindi film music has undergone a tremendous evolution over the years, reflecting changes in society, technology, and artistic trends. Here is a brief journey through the decades of Hindi film music: K.L. Saigal: The first singing star 1930s: The era of the "talkies" saw the emergence of the first Hindi film songs, which were often adaptations of popular folk tunes. Many stars sang their own songs onscreen, the most famous of them were Kundan Lal Saigal and Ashok Kumar. Saigal's singing went on to influen ..read more

Movie Marathon: Best movies of 2022  It's that time of the year again.  Yet it was a year like no other, ominous with foreboding for big-screen cinema.  Multiplexes in India may soon go the way music compact discs went - Down and out due to refusal to change and cater to music lovers. I barely watched a movie in a packed hall this year.  No, not even the revolutionary-in-technology-lacking-in-convincing-story Avatar: The Way of Water. (Psst...that it was an opening day, weekday afternoon 2D show is another thing altogether.)   Do Indian multiplexes n ..read more

[*** stars / *****] There are some unwritten rules to a one-man army movie. A major one goes like this - Thee shall never carry a gun to a bare-fisted battle.  Why?  Because if the hero is gunned down in the opening scenes, how will the rest of the movie get made?  Therefore, no guns please. As logic-defying are the many fight scenes of K.G.F: Chapter 2, director Prashant Neel dives into the stark gold mining landscape, setting the invincibility tone early on, creating an entertaining graphic novel-like superhero spectacle that fares better than K.G.F: Chapte ..read more

[***1/2 stars / *****] RRR (2022) is undeniably, unapologetically, a clever, carefully made over-the-top masala action entertainer.  Director S.S. Rajamouli has a rare creative vision, unblinking clarity, daring conviction, and elaborately planned action set pieces to deliver an outrageous fictional take on two real-life freedom fighters (Alluri Sitaram Raju and Komaram Bheem).  Making the unbelievable, believable  Having watched the Hindi dubbed version twice in the theatres within a fortnight, I was largely awed, the finale had me numb though for its religious manipu ..read more

[*** stars/ *****] Few movies have explored the dark origins of prostitution and why it continues to persist. Sanjay Leela Bhansali (SLB) doesn't either with Gangubai Kathiawadi.   Greatest strength, biggest weakness?  Bhansali is aware of his commercial Hindi film sensibilities. Entertainment of the masses with sharper, pretty, painstakingly created visuals is his space, not realism. Even when the source content screams out loud for a realistic drama.   After all, the opening credits clearly state the non-fiction book source Mafia Queens of Mum ..read more

[***1/2 stars / *****] First things first, it was lovely to watch Jhund in the theatres after nearly two years of pandemic-induced closure. The whistling, cheering, clapping throughout by the spirited, reactive audience is the big screen experience I relish.  Based on true events, noted Marathi director Nagraj Manjule's (Fandry, Sairat) Hindi debut Jhund (Herd) is a largely pulsating narrative.  Jhund story  Jhund features the other India, people we choose to overlook, sweepers, rag pickers, domestic servants, street vendors, cobblers, knife sharpers... A sl ..read more

[*** stars / *****] Once upon a time in Rajasthan, an American couple, John (Aidan Whytock) and Summer (Evelyn Edwards), descend for a healthy-woman-search to conceive their child through surrogacy. Their eyes-on-money taxi driver Bhanu (Pankaj Tripathi) lures in Bollywood aspirant and local dancer Mimi (Kriti Sanon), who casually agrees to a dream-fulfilling 20 lakh rupees arrangement. Mimi moves to her best friend and singer Shama's (Sai Tamhankar) home for the nine pregnant months. Her parents (Supriya Pathak, Manoj Pahwa) are led to believe she is temporarily moving for a city ..read more

[**** stars / *****] One hundred and seventy four engaging minutes of North Chennai boxing clans fighting, conspiring against their own and other clans, their rise and fall, political upheavel, and a passionate simple-minded boxer caught in the swing of time and circumstances.  How does one tell a convincing boxing story set in the mid-seventies and eighties with the story arcs of a dozen characters unfolding? By razor sharp editing, ambitious hard-to-pull-off screenplay, strong cast, killer boxing sequences, and a majestic, carefully spaced background score.      ..read more