films

In a world dominated by crass commercialism, mindless madness and sterility, cinema with a soul is a rarity. In this, director P Sheshadri's Bettada Jeeva distinguishes itself from the cinema of our age.The film based on Dr Shivaram Karanth's novel of the same name has also won the national award for the best environmental film. It tells the story of a freedom fighter on the run from the law, who takes shelter in the home of an aged landlord and his wife, both unaware of his identity. Through this situation, the film explores the relationship that develops between the young…

 TASVEER (supported by RBS Private Banking)cordially invites you to Recorder of Life, Beauty and TruthBy Late. T.S. SatyanDetails of the ExhibitionDate: 15th July to 5th August, 2011Time: 10:00 am to 7:00 pm (Sunday Holiday)Venue: Tasveer, The Gallery at SUA House, 26/1,Kasturba cross road, Bangalore -560001For further details contact: Gaurav Jayaprakash +91 9886451705 (Relationship Manager)For Press enquiries contact: Megha - 9830994976meghag@perfectrelations.comT. S. Satyan was born in 1923 in Mysore and was also educated in this glorious capital of a princely state. He was among the first to take to photojournalism and for most part of his professional life remained a freelancer…

With Stanley Ka Dabba, director Amol Gupte takes off where he left us with Taare Zameen Par. Here we catch our first real glimpse of the vision that shaped the idea of Taare Zameen Par.  We also recognize how the involvement of Aamir Khan Productions made TZP a bigger film, though not necessarily a truer one. As in Taare Zameen Par, Amol Gupte returns to the world of classrooms and teachers, in juxtaposition to the world of childhood and its many dreams. Yet the shades are more muted, the characters as real and the perspective uniquely his own. It is…

The Pirates of the Caribbean are back, and Johnny Depp leads the way. Rob Marshall replaces Gore Verbinski in the director's chair, but the difference hardly shows. Source: Wikipedia As with the previous films, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is an entertainment laden ride, interspersed with magical mystery and many guffaws. The great pull to the film lies in the aura that surrounds its principal protagonists and not the meatiness of the plot. This time around, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp ) finds himself coerced into joining hands with the fearsome pirate Black Beard (Ian McShane) to track…

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…

The recent series of popular films starring heroes who are more than fifty years old, desperately trying to appear half their age and paired with heroines old enough to be their granddaughters, has surprised discerning film buffs for its mass acceptance. Robot (Rajani), Manmadhan Ambu (Kamal), Shankar Dada Zindabad (Chiranjeevi), Aptharakshaka (Vishnuvardhan) are some examples. If young Akshay Kumar's antics in Raveena Tandon starring 'Cheez badi hai' song was bad enough, his 43-year old smitten self, prancing around a younger Katrina Kaif in Sheela ki jawani (made 16 years later) is even worse. Such films with old heroes have been…

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…