Articles by Christina Daniels

How does tradition interplay with modernity? Are the experiences of friendship and love really permanent? These are some of the unusual themes that mainstream Kannada cinema addresses with director K Madesh's Hudugru, a re-make of the Tamil film Naadodigal. After Jackie, the film also marks an interesting evolution in Puneet Rajkumar's evolution as an actor. Unlike Jackie this is a more open ended film, which cannot be clearly slotted in any particular cinematic genre.Hudugru holds a mirror over the lives of Prabhu (Puneet Rajkumar) and his friends Chandru (Srinagar Kitty) and Siddesh (Yogish), who lead an ideallyic small town existence.…

When one looks at the history of cinema, Hollywood has excelled above others in its creation of the period film. So there was much expectation from director Francis Lawrence's Water for Elephants, with a cast that included Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson and Christopher Waltz. Source: Wikipedia Set against the Great Depression, the film is based on a historical novel written by Sarah Gruen. It tells the story of Jacob Jankowski, a young veterinary student at Cornell, whose life changes dramatically in the face of personal tragedy. He joins the travelling circus troupe of the The Benzini Brothers, where his life…

With I am, film director Onir, still best known for his debut film My Brother Nikhil gives us yet another piece of thought provoking cinema. The film is also a landmark venture for independent film making in India, with the financing for the film being raised from over 400 individuals, many of whom made their donations through social networking sites like Facebook.The film's narrative takes the form of four stories that explore the themes of women's choice in artificial insemination, separatism in Kashmir, child molestation and homosexuality. These are the stories of "Afia", "Megha", "Abhimanyu", and "Omar" - all of…

Set in the territory of the gang lords of Goa, director Rohan Sippy’s Dum Maaro Dum is a traditional entertainer from Hindi cinema. When the film works, it does so primarily on the might of high production values. This is the first Hindi film to be mixed in Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound, and the hard work shows. One would expect no less from the maker of Bluffmaster and Kuch Naa Kaho. But while Dum Maaro Dum suceeds with its production, it fails on the count of shortcomings both in original screenplay and performances. While the rest of the cast plays…

Thank You begins where Akshay Kumar signed off with Tees Maar Khan, faithfully fulfilling the promise of providing yet another weekend's dose of mindless entertainment. With shades of director Anees Bazmi's previous work like No Entry, it's also Anees' third film with Akshay after Welcome and Singh in Kinng. But this time the duo fails to make their magic work on audiences, let down primarily by a script that always manages to fall slightly short.The film begins with three friends Sanjana (Sonam Kapoor), Shivani (Rimi Sen)  and Maya (Celina Jaitley) who have something else in common - their husbands (Bobby…

A woman in a ghetto in Cambodia who will not let her house be pulled down. Elsewhere, in Rio Janeiro, a mother mourns the death of a son killed amidst the rivalry between favelas. In India, another woman wows that her son will only marry a rape victim. In Kibera (Kenya), the largest slum in Africa, a mother still dares to dream of a better world for her children. These are some of the protagonists of director JR's Women are Heroes, joined only by their gender and their undefeatable propensity to hope. Pic courtesy: JR's official website. The picture represents…

Kempe Gowda (Kannada)Kempe Gowda is a typical "cops and robbers" film from Indian cinema. But Kicha Sudeep brings together excellent production values and powerful performances to make for entertaining cinema. Source: Facebook Official Fan Page Based on the Tamil film Surya-starrer Singam, we see police officer Kempe Gowda (Sudeep) taking on the powerful underworld don Arumugham (Ravishankar). Backing him every step is the lady he loves (Ragini Dwivedi).The highlight of this film is Sudeep's performance as he breathes fire and power into his role. It's hard to find a single frame where he's not in character, and this gives the…

Did you know that 50,000 people die of venomous snakebites in India every year? Deaths that could be averted if people had access to an effective anti-venom cure. This was one of many startling discoveries at the end of the screening of A Million Snakebites by the Gerry Martin project at the British Council. The Gerry Martin Project is an initiative for wildlife conservation and education, spearheaded by Bangalore based Gerry Martin. In this film made for the BBC, reptile conservationist Rom Whitaker travels across India, from Tamil Nadu to Rajasthan to Assam, collecting snake venom in an effort to…

With 7 Khoon Maaf, director Vishal Bhardwaj returns for the second time to another Ruskin Bond short story Susanna's Seven Husbands. His first was Blue Umbrella. The film is at one level a woman's search for love. Bhardwaj makes this journey through the mind of Susanna Anna-Marie Johannes (Priyanka Chopra) - a woman who lives the world not in black and white, but in all its accompanying shades of grey. She veers at the precipice between sanity and insanity, almost willing herself back from the edge just as she threatens to veer over. This should have made for a promising…

With Patiala House, director Nikhil Advani, who debuted with Kal Ho Na ho, returns once again to the familiar background of the Indian Diaspora in the UK. The cast of Patiala House The film tells the story of a young cricket loving British Indian of Sikh origin Parghat Singh Kahlon (Akshay Kumar), whose passion for cricket falls in conflict with his father's desire that he should never represent England. As he settles into the life of being the shopkeeper Gattu, he is reminded of the dreams he left behind by the woman he loves Simran (Anushka Sharma). While the Indian…