Saturday, August 18, 2012
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
THE DIBAKAR INTERVIEW
THE DIBAKAR INTERVIEW
An interview with filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee on the sets of his forthcoming film “
Q: Do you always manage to make the film that you set out to make, or do pressures from the producer and the market finally work their way into your film?
Q: How do you feel when films like “Singham”, “Ready” and “Bodyguard” set records at the box-office? Are you happy that there is an audience out there that is expanding
Q: Do you also first go after saleable stars after you finish writing your script?
Q: Are you happy with the way your films have done commercially? Of your three films (Khosla Ka Ghosla
Q: How involved are you with your films’ technical aspects? You are known to be completely absorbed with your script
Q: There have been so many Hindi film teasers out recently
Q: Which was the last Hindi and English film that you saw that impressed you?
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Kerala 2010
Posting a few photographs from my trip to Kerala in December 2010, hope it inspires some of you to visit the lovely, picturesque state.
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Tea time, Thekkady, Kerala |
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Birds at home, Thekkady, Kerala |
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Early Morning in Thekkady, Kerala |
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View from a boat, Thekkady, Kerala |
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Landscape, Thekkady, Kerala |
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Misty morning, Thekkady, Kerala |
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Disturbed symmetry, Thekkady, Kerala |
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Ripples & Reflections, Thekkady, Kerala |
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Still waters, Thekkady, Kerala |
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Blue waters, Kumarakom, Kerala |
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Sunset at Kumarakom, Kerala |
View from a boat, Kumarakom, Kerala |
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Mani Ratnam shot, Kumarakom, Kerala |
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Ram Gopal Varma shot, Kumarakom Kerala |
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Dawn breaking over Kollam, Kerala |
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Fishermen pulling in the net, Kollam beach, Kerala |
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Fishermen with an early morning catch, Kollam, Kerala |
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The big catch, Kollam, Kerala |
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Fishy business, Kollam, Kerala |
Thursday, March 11, 2010
PARADISE CALLING


Friday, April 10, 2009
Malayalam Favourites
NOTE: Most of these films can be bought or ordered online at these sites:
Maebag, Moserbaer Home Video, Saina Videos, Harmony Videos
If you've got a favourites list of your own or any comments to make do leave them in the comment box down below!

(The Wandering Wind)
Director: Sathyan Anthikad
Story/Script: Sreenivasan
Cast: Mohanlal, Sreenivasan, Shobhana, Thilakan, KPAC Lalitha, Innocent
Synopsis: Roommates and close friends - Dasan (Mohanlal) & Vijayan (Sreenivasan) are small time peons who lose their jobs following an altercation with their company’s new Managing Director. The duo then get lured into a get rich quick scheme of cow rearing, but when they can no longer repay their bank loan, the two decide to escape to Dubai by boat! Gaffoorka (Mamukoya) a small time racketeer promises to take them to Dubai – and instead lands them in the waters of neighbouring Tamil Nadu. Dasan and Vijayan take some time to realize that they are actually in Madras and not Dubai. What follows is a hilarious mix up with a gang of smugglers who mistake the two for undercover CID officers. In the end after struggling with joblessness and dodging a notorious hired killer, the bumbling duo succeed in trapping the smugglers and actually get selected to the State Police team.
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Watch a hilarious scene from the film below. One of the rare times when Vijayan tries to sideline Dasan. In the scene Dasan is making polite conversation with his neighbours – the pretty Shobhana and her mother. Vijayan keeps interjecting their conversation by ordering Dasan to go into the kitchen and wash rice for lunch. An embarrassed Dasan tries to change the subject and later reprimands Vijayan for ordering him around in front of others.
Sandesham (1991)
(The Message)
Director: Sathyan Anthikad
Story/Script: Sreenivasan
Cast: Jayaram, Sreenivasan, Thilakan, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Mathu, Siddique
Synopsis: Raghavan Nair (Thilakan) retires as station master from a small town in Tamil Nadu and returns home to his family in Kerala. Having spent almost 40 years in government service he’s looking for a peaceful and relaxed ever after. Back home his two sons Prabhakaran (Sreenivasan) and Prakash (Jayaram) are arch rivals - being party workers owing loyalty to two opposing political parties. While Prabhakaran is a local party worker for the Republican Party of India (Communist leanings), Prakash is a proactive member of the Indian National Socialist Party (something like the Congress). Prabhakaran and Prakash squabble over everything from domestic political issues to international policies in Nicaragua and Poland and bring their ideologically diverse political opinions to the dinner table. At first their father is impressed with their passionate debates and knowledge of world affairs… but slowly he realizes that his sons do not take any responsibilities at home and are willingly exploited by their local leaders for the party’s benefit. Neither of them contribute to the family’s income and take their parents for granted. Things come to a head when Raghavan is arrested for unknowingly giving shelter to a wanted naxalite and both his sons don’t turn up to help him. Raghavan then takes it upon himself to bring his irresponsible sons back on track.
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Like in most films by Anthikad – the character actors are splendid adding their own little ‘magic’ to the narrative. Innocent makes a short but memorable appearance as a North Indian Hindi speaking national leader Yashwant Sahay.
Watch a scene below – where INSP party leader Yashwant Sahay makes a stop over for lunch while on his election campaign. He demands ‘nariyal paani’ (coconut water), but none of the local Malayalam speaking party workers can figure out what exactly he wants, someone even suggests that since ‘nari’ means woman… the leader might be requesting for an escort!

Kireedam (1987)
(The Crown)
Director: Sibi Malayil
Story/Script: AK Lohithadas
Cast: Mohanlal, Thilakan, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Parvathi
Synopsis: Senior police constable Achudanan (Thilakan) dreams of retiring only after saluting his son Sethu (Mohanlal), who he hopes will take charge as a police inspector after successfully entering a course at the Police Training Academy. Sethu a shy, god-fearing young man is in complete awe of his father – a man of principles who hasn’t earned a single paisa through bribes. However their lives change forever after Achudanan slaps the son of local MLA for breaking the law; and when the upright tough cop refuses to apologize for his act, he is given a punishment transfer to Ramapuram, one of the most dreaded and notorious towns in Kerala.
One day while on duty Achudanan gets into a tussle with Keerikadan Jose, the most feared goon in Ramapuram; on seeing his father get beaten up Sethu intervenes and in the heat of the moment strikes a near fatal blow on Keerikadan Jose. With the gang in hospital, the town rejoices and makes Sethu an unwilling hero. Unwanted elements now begin to exert power on the locals by using Sethu’s name, unaware Sethu himself gets accidentally involved in a brawl at a bar. Soon Sethu’s family begins to believe that Sethu is regressing into a ‘goonda’ himself. His father now desperately just wants Sethu to enter the Police Academy so that he can leave all this behind him. After a few months, the injured Keerikadan Jose is now back on his feet and searching for Sethu, who goes into hiding out of fear. But soon tired of just hiding, a desperate Sethu confronts Keerikadan Jose and stabs him to death. When the police arrives, Sethu is like a man possessed - no policeman wants to go near him… finally constable Achudanan - Sethu’s father pleads with him to surrender. While in jail, a letter from the Police Academy arrives asking for a character certificate recommending Sethu’s name for police training. A heart broken Achudanan recommends that his son is not a ‘suitable’ candidate.
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My Take: Filmmaker Sibi Malayil and actor Mohanlal’s best collaboration, ’Kireedam’ absolutely grips you from beginning till end. At this point I must say that if asked to name the one single actor who I consider the best, and I mean it across the likes of De Niro, Pacino, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Mohanlal and Naseeruddin Shah – I would name Thilakan. The man has to be seen to be believed – his face can convey a million emotions – an actor you can watch on mute and still make out what he is feeling. Coming back to the film, it begins on a light note
exploring the father son relationship between Thilakan and Mohanlal and then the narrative keeps climbing… the graph of angst, anxiety and frustration keeps adding up till the end. I have yet to see a better onscreen portrayal of a father-son relationship, the way in which the dynamics of their relationship keeps changing with the circumstances is well constructed. Jagathy does an absolutely delightful cameo as Thilakan’s good for nothing son-in-law who lives off his relatives. ‘Kireedam’ was awfully remade in Hindi as ‘Gardish’ with Amrish Puri and Jackie Shroff, it completely lacked the conviction and soul of the original in all departments.
Watch the climax of the film below – where in a frustrated Mohanlal finally gathers enough courage to take on Keerikadan Jose at the local market place. When the police arrives on the scene Mohanlal repeatedly stabs Jose - catch the range of emotions that pass through Mohanlal’s face as his father pleads with him to drop the knife he is holding and surrender himself.