Deception is a cinematic strategy Buddhadeb Dasgupta has hit on in his recent films to lead his audience into a celluloid jigsaw puzzle that does not, in fact, exist. He does it very well too and Swapner Din perhaps, is the best example. The film opens on a shocking scene showing a lit... read on

Sanjay Gadhvi has waited to make Kidnap for a long time. He had the script ready well before Dhoom and Yashraj had to pull Hrithik Roshan out of the hat for him to agree to do the sequel. Finally Gadhvi stepped out and went back to the script he passionately believed in. This ... read on

Ramchand Pakistani yet again reaffirms emphatically that you don't need big money and big stars to make a good film. A good, human story well told should do it for you and Ramchand Pakistani does exactly that. Following Khuda Kay Liye (2007), this sensitive... read on

Touted as a Magical Adventure, Drona is nothing of the sort. What it is, instead, is a total waste of time and money. The film is likely to appeal neither to adults nor to children and ends up in no man’s land, let down by a dull, unimaginative screenplay that fails to involve the vi... read on

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It’s been five weeks since Neeraj Pandey’s A Wednesday released. It’s gone from being perceived as a well-crafted thriller to Oscar contention to seeding the hot new debate: is vigilante action against terrorists justified? Clearly, with the film’s collections of 45 lacs in 4 weeks in Mumbai alone gives box-office credence that ... read on

While editing text for something about the National Awards, I found that a lot of actors who have won in the past (Utpal Dutt, Uttam Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, Gopi, Shashi Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Kamal Haasan, Mohanlal, Nana Patekar, Rajit Kapoor to name a few) have started their careers on the stage. In Mumbai too, some of the best actor... read on