GENRE: Features

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.…

Apart from being a huge building that houses artefacts and information, museums have a charm and a character of their own. Bengaluru has Venkatappa Art gallery, Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, National Gallery of Modern Arts, HAL Aerospace museum among others. The recently inaugurated Kempegowda Museum presents interesting facets about Bengaluru's founder. The world famous Louvre or the British museum has the ability to transport one to different civilisations, discover treasure trove of information and of course get dazzled by the vast collection. Museums in India house huge collection of artefacts; Delhi's National Museum leading the list. Some of museums…

In connection with the 150th birth anniversary of India's first Nobel Laureate, Rabindranath Tagore (referred to as Robi Thakur by Bengalis), several cultural organisations in Bangalore held celebrations. One of these was Jagriti, the recently-opened theatre space in Whitefield. Jagriti's line up for the week-long celebrations were very impressive. It consisted of the screening of several classic movies based on  Tagore's stories, such as "Kabuliwallah", "Chokher Bali", "Charulata", and a documentary by Satyajit Ray.  Every evening, the play, "Crisis of Civilization: A Journey with Tagore" was staged. The play ran for 90 minutes, approximately. It would not be really accurate,…

Swish! A tennis racket swings through the air and hits the ball with a thud. On the other side of the net, an 11-year-old retaliates with lightning speed. Shivani's smallness does not prepare you to expect the energy with which she strikes, which lands the ball at the edge of the field, escaping her opponent and bouncing hard against the fence. "Yes!" she says to herself. At the core of one's heart is the determination to win. Pic: Maitri Vasudev. The first week of May 2011 was an exciting one for young tennis champions in Bangalore. The All India Tennis…

If you are a history buff, then these temples just outside Bengaluru will be of great interest to you. A temple built by kings of five dynasties or the famous temple where two deities emerge from a single stone and the birthplace of Sir M Visveshwaraiah - all this within 60 kilometres from the city. Two deities in one stone, Ghati Subramanya Ghati Subramanya temple. Pic: Usha Hariprasad. Here Lord Subramanya and Lakshmi Narasimha are carved from the same stone, facing opposite directions. Lord Subramanya is facing east while Lakshmi Narasimha is facing west. To get a clearer view of…

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…

The Indian Christian Cemetery on Hosur Road has been the stage for some of my more memorable wildlife moments in Bangalore; readers will be familiar with my encounter with a Praying Mantis going about its daily life. While I was waiting for the drama with the mantis to unfold I also noticed a lot of bird activity in the tree under which I had taken shelter. And during the long pauses that I encountered with the mantis, I kept myself busy observing the birds. Among the birds that I saw was a personal favorite - The Great Tit.  Pic: Vikram…

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…

Music lovers in BTM Layout and surrounding localities were treated to a grand flute concert on Sunday 24th April organised by the BTM Cultural Association at the Ramana Maharshi School for the Blind in 3rd Phase J P Nagar. The looming clouds had kept many from attendance but close to a hundred people turned up to listen to flautist Mysore A Chandan Kumar. Mysore Nagaraj accompanied him on violin, B C Manjunath on mridangam and Giridhar Udupa on ghatam. The oohs and the ahs from the audience, appreciating the flautist's intricate rendering of musical compositions indicated a gathering a connoisseurs. …

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…