Realistic cinema, it used to be said, reflects reality. Right now, that seems to be reversed: reality has turned into the reflection of a horrific apocalyptic film. As the daily tally of the infected and dead all around rise dramatically, the live drama of COVID-19 feels like some kind of a reality fiction with all […]
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The universal language of the seventh art, cinema, unites us all together as one human race. Cinema has brought us closer. Sitting here in Guwahati, watching films, we can feel the agonies and ecstasies of the people by the Caribbean. We can feel the depth of the Mediterranean from the banks of the Brahmaputra. Set […]
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The basement of the Grand Café, Paris, in 1895, served as the pioneer film screening hall; ten short films were exhibited by the Lumière brothers. Long, long before that historic moment, the cafés of Europe attracted artists and thinkers, who would gather there to read out their ideas, and engage in long, often heated, conversations. […]
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Of all the genres of mass culture, cinema is arguably the most popular and universal, yet it is also the most intricate. Cinema is rigorous multi tasking and meticulous teamwork. It is the ultimate example of intermedia art that brings together an assortment of technological expertise and artistic insight. In cinema we see people like […]
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We have had countless guests in Godiwala Bungalow but the memory of one stands out above the rest. Sometime in the early ’70s a Bengali gentleman landed up unannounced at home. He looked like he had seen better days. His entire demeanour was one of defeat, someone at the end of his tether. His clothes […]
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Book review – Directors’ Diaries: The Road to Their First Film The principle attraction of an interview lives in the questions thrown by the interviewer. Questions are framed to dig out unknown facts from the inner core of the interviewee. Additionally, they mirror the study, preparation, insight, mental makeup and so much more of the […]
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Early Bollywood movies were famous for their idealistic, flawless central characters. Audiences loved them. Classic examples are the simpleton Raju in Raj Kapoor’s Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai, the upright Satyapriya Acharya in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Satyakam, the righteous Bharat in Manoj Kumar’s Upkar, and the patient jail warden Adinath in V Shantaram’s Do Aankhen […]
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I wasn’t the one who proposed a road in Baba’s name. It was my eldest sister. But she handed me the responsibility to see the project through sometime in the beginning of 2016. Without any warning she thrust a letter in Marathi into my hand and said imperiously : ‘Take this and complete the job. […]
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The Shakespearean spark — Hrid Majhare Language: Bengali Writer-director: Ranjan Ghosh Destiny, love, and jealousy walk side by side in Ranjan Ghosh’s directorial debut, Hrid Majhare. The storyline and the script belong exclusively to him, but a variety of Shakespearean themes spark spontaneously from time to time. The film adapts the stroke of ineludible destiny, precisely, the […]
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Gantumoote, fallaciousness of the (fe)male gaze Films are the primary source of entertainment for Indians and the cultural constructs created by them strongly influence the thinking of men, women, and most importantly, the new generation.” -Cinema & Society: Shaping our Worldview: Beyond the Lens Investigation on the Impact of Gender Representation in Indian Films: Geena […]
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