Some Sunday evenings, I just get sad. It feels like time is running by, and I am not able to catch up. I don't know why it happens. I watch so many motivating videos, but some days, nothing works. LOL. I ended up rewatching Luck By Chance. I find the sadness and melancholy in the film to be moving and calming at the same time. Sona was betrayed by both the men she trusted, but ultimately, she came out as the bigger person. She chooses to be happy and finds meaning in her work. In the recent Animal, Ranvijay says the same thing to his wife: happiness is a decision. It is quite difficult to ..read more

In 12th Fail, Vidhu Vinod Chopra tells the real-life story of Manoj Kumar Sharma (Vikrant Massey), who overcomes extreme hardships to become an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. The film is based on the 2019 eponymous non-fiction book by Anurag Pathak. 12th Fail has received much love since its release. I was unsure how the film would turn out, but I was surprised. It has been quite a while since I experienced emotional catharsis while watching a Hindi film, but 12th Fail is so poignant that by the end of it, I don't think it is possible to remain unaffected by it. I was immensel ..read more

In Three of Us, Avinash Arun takes us on a journey to contemplate the realm of memories. Do our memories define us? Do we cease to exist if we forget our memories? Do we eternally remember some of our memories? He tells the beautiful story of Shailaja (Shefali Shah), who is on the cusp of losing her memories due to dementia. Before she forgets everything, she takes a trip with her husband, Dipankar (Swanand Kirkire), to the quaint hamlet of Vengurla. She seeks rediscovery of the girl she was before age caught up with her. She seeks forgiveness from her childhood lover, Pradeep (Jaideep Ahwal ..read more

A year ends. A new one begins. It is the circle of time. Nothing really changes, but the last few days of the year give us some time to reflect on the year that went by and look at the upcoming new year with some hope. I remember Aisha's words in Wake Up Sid (said in a different context, but I take the liberty to use them here), "Apni manzil ke peeche daudte hue hamari nazar kai baaton se hat jaati hai, isliye kuch der ke liye hi sahi, apni busy zindagi se kuch samay ke liye hi apni nazar hataiye." Take a pause before starting again. I typically do this on my birthday post, but I want to ..read more

In Past Lives, Celine Song tells a melancholic story about two childhood friends over twenty-four years. Na Young and Hae Sung are classmates in Seoul who walk back home every day. Then, Na Young's family immigrated to Canada and the two lost contact. Twelve years later, Na Young (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) connect again using social media. Na Young has now become Nora. After speaking for a few weeks, they again separated. Another twelve years later, they meet again in New York and contemplate the nature of their relationship. The film is semi-autobiographical ..read more

In his twenty-fifth year of cinema, Karan Johar brings Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani forward by looking back at his earlier films. Written by the trio of Ishita Moitra, Shashank Khaitan, and Sumit Roy, the film is a love story rooted in traditional values but gets a modern makeover. Swad Wahi, Soch Nayi. The film stars Ranveer Singh as Rocky and Alia Bhatt as Rani—the eponymous couple of the prem kahaani. Rocky is the scion of the (Punjabi) Randhawas; Rani is the star journalist daughter of the (Bengali) Chatterjees. The duo starts living in the other's house to convince their families they ..read more

In Ponniyin Selvan: I, Mani Ratnam brought to life the epic 1955 novel of Kalki Krishnamurthy. The story revolved around the succession battle in the Chola kingdom and the threat from the Pandyan rebels who wanted revenge against the Cholas. Vandiyathevan (Karthi), a young soldier, set out across the Chola land to deliver a message from the Crown Prince, Aditha Karikalan (Vikram), to his father, Emperor Sundara Chola (Prakash Raj), and his sister, Princess Kundavai Devi (Trisha), about a conspiracy. The film ended when the other son of Sundara Chola, Arulmozhi Varman (Jayam Ravi), also known ..read more

In Sriram Raghavan's Badlapur, Varun Dhawan plays Raghu, a troubled man seeking revenge from a bunch of criminals who killed his family. His quest for revenge consumes him so much that he undergoes a badla, becoming a stone-cold monster like the very men from whom he seeks revenge. Early in the film, Raghu and his son are seen in a photograph dressed as the famous Batman and Robin duo. (The name of Raghu's son in the film is also Robin.) During the later part of the film, a policeman calls Raghu a Joker as if this Batman has turned into a dangerous villain that Batman had to fight ..read more

It is almost the end of the first quarter of 2023. It is late to talk about the films of 2022, but given how slowly I watch films, I only recently managed to see some of the pending films of last year. As I do every year, I write about some scenes that come to my mind when I think about the films of 2022. Like it was in 2021, there were not many good films to watch, but compiling a few notes on some of my favorite moments. 1. Gehraaiyaan: Shakun Batra's Gehraiyaan is my favorite film of the year. It has a profoundly poignant scene between Alisha (Deepika Padukone) and her father, Vino ..read more

Shanker Raman's Love Hostel opens with a just-married young couple recording a video pleading for acceptance from their family members. It is reminiscent of Dibakar Banerjee's Love Sex Aur Dhokha, a seminal film that turned Dilwale Dulhanie Le Jayenge into a dystopian nightmare. A violent assassin Dagar (Bobby Deol), dealing with his issues, is soon sent to finish off the couple. Love Hostel tells the story of these lovers in a country where everything is political. Another couple, Jyoti Dilwar (Sanya Malhotra) and Ashu Shokeen (Vikrant Massey), belonging to different religions, elope to st ..read more