Vidyasagar “He did not hit us because we vandalized the bus. No, he hit us because we stood tall. He hit me because I, Maadasamy’s son, was named Duryodanan.” ~ (Dialogue from Karnan) Karnan is a Tamil language film which was recently released on Amazon Prime. Karnan is the second movie directed by the Periyerum Perumal …
Tandav, A Plot to Suppress the Ideological Space of Phule Ambedkarites
Ajay Choudhary Indian society, which is plagued by caste discrimination, is often triggered by emotional and sentimental issues. The prevailing unscientific and irrational formal education system is unable to foresee and resolve such issues. While it is easy to mock, deep exploration of human experience reveals that informal education has instigated more students and …
Bhima Koregaon: The battle between writer and director
Rahul Pagare Bhima Koregaon is an epitome of glory, bravery, and courage that our ancestors gifted us by sacrificing their lives. The freedom which we got in 1818 is more significant than any other kind of independence. This freedom gave birth to the revolutionary Mahatma Phule, the super courageous Shahu Maharaj, and the nation …
The fence-sitter of Tamil Nadu politics: Superstar Rajinikanth
Keerthi Nathan Tamil Nadu has a long history where Dravidian politics is associated with the Tamil cinema industry and they both go hand in hand because the Tamil film industry has produced three Chief Ministers. The trend started with M.Karunanidhi and CN Annadurai who were known for their acumen in script writing and continued the …
Can you unlove your stars?
Amarnath Sandipamu Please read the previous part of this article here. Manufacturing a star A film is a cultural product that takes shape through the labours of over 24 departments popularly referred to as the ‘24 crafts’ if not more. All the junior artists, side dancers, lightmen, camera assistants, drivers, sanitation professionals, electricians, cooks …
Why desi celebs or even savarna intellectuals will never say “Dalit lives matter”
Or why Dalits need to seize pop culture! Anurag Minus Verma American cities are exploding. For long they have tried to subdue it, but now the frustration and anger has reached the tipping point, and is oozing out on the street. The death of a black man, George Floyd, last week in Minneapolis set …
In India, there is no film which is casteless: Pratik Parmar
Pratik Parmar An abridged version of this interview, conducted by Kanika Katyal through Whatsapp (my preferred medium, so the exchange would be documented in a written form), was first published in INDIANCULTURALFORUM.IN. It was about my participation in the First Indigenous Film Festival, Bhubaneswar. I was asked several questions but in the published piece …
Kaala: Debrahmanizing Indian ‘Popular’ Culture
N Sukumar & Shailaja Menon The usual template in many a ‘mainstream’ Indian film in any language is similar. The standard star-crossed heterosexual lovers, dance around the trees in sylvan surroundings, facing family opposition, the stern patriarch, the simpering and cowering females and finally the great Indian wedding. The sole criterion is entering the …
Ranjith’s Kaala is a call for collective action: A felt review
R Karthick Narayanan A good movie often has a tendency to leave you affected when you leave the cinema hall. Among such movies, some make the audience express sympathy towards the subjects in the movie, others make us empathize with the subjects in the movie, but very few movies have the ability to provoke you …