The film isn’t consistent and the wild tonal shifts are sometimes puzzling. But none of that matters, because the jokes keep coming. The rest of this review may contain spoilers. I’ll begin with two scenes from Maranamass. The first one is set around the eve of a birthday. An excited Jessie (Anishma Anilkumar) is in […]

And even if the post-interval portions don’t quite measure up, the visual energy keeps us watching. Along with the hero who owns the now-legendary ‘dhai kilo ka haath’. The rest of this review may contain spoilers. It’s the season for political references in our big-star masala movies. If Empuraan went back to the 2002 violence […]

By Wiseass Fool Go out? Why are we so miserable, unhappy and discontent when we seemingly have everything? Bertrand Russell, the famous Western philosopher, in his book “The Conquest of Happiness”, asked this nearly a century ago–and it’s sadly a question that still haunts us. Obviously, he is not talking about people grappling with a […]

The strength of the film comes from its screenplay structure, which gives us information in increments and adds an existential layer to the basic premise of a murder mystery. The rest of this review may contain spoilers. Right from the opening, Agnyathavasi sets out to deceive the viewer, in the sense that you think it’s […]

I have blogged on this topic before but came across a recent news item on PBS – see report at the end of this post. As the US implements tariffs around the world, how do they impact a developing economy… Continue reading →

The film is fun and fabulously made, but this is a screenplay that gels better as an idea, when you think about it, rather than something that really excites you on screen. The rest of this review may contain spoilers. The most interesting aspect about Khalid Rahman’s new film is that it’s a boxing drama […]

The star is game as always, but this thriller about ‘gaming’ is weakly written, and makes you wish they’d get to the point sooner. Plus, the endless stylisation really tests your patience. The rest of this review may contain spoilers. Right from the opening scene of Bazooka, something seems off. It’s one of those “Hollywood […]

The plot is about… actually, you won’t care. This is not about the story. This is about the star, as the director unleashes one mass moment after another. It’s fun for a while, but eventually gets exhausting. The rest of this review may contain spoilers. A gangster father goes to jail for the sake of […]

By Jeeva P I was reading a book called Travels of a T-Shirt in The Global Economy by Pietra Rivoli. The author had wanted to know the origins of her newly procured, cheap yet so professionally made T-shirt the likes of which were occupying cloth stores in almost every corner of her country, the United […]

By Latha Rajasekar A ‘chaos theory’, intersecting the lives of three social creatures, who unleash their manipulative tactics at varied levels, when their survival is at stake. The inherent survival instinct of the characters, beautifully synchronizes with their acquired traits of manoeuvring, to evade danger and to exploit the opponent for the same. A well-made […]

Doing some game theory with my A2 classes and recalled a previous blog that I did on cricket. You may remember the ball tampering episode in 2018 at the third cricket test in Cape Town between South Africa and Australia.… Continue reading →

The recent announcements are expected to have manageable impact on New Zealand exporters. In 2024, total goods exports amounted to approximately NZD 9 billion. 10% additional tariff rate = export revenue losses of around NZD 900 million. What industries suffer… Continue reading →

This story of a cricketer stars Madhavan, Siddharth, Nayanthara, and Meera Jasmine. Their characters are all entangled in serious problems, but everything stays at a distance. The rest of this review may contain spoilers. Arjun (Siddharth) is India’s most successful cricketer ever, but after a series of innings where he has been struggling for runs, […]

Some film personalities go beyond what they actually did, like Manoj Kumar. He was an actor. He was a producer. He was a director. But beyond all this, he made mainstream cinema (I like to make a difference between “mainstream cinema” and “commercial cinema”) that spoke to people. He made himself a part of the […]