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We Were There, Too!
There are certain films whose specific sequences still remain etched in our memories after years. Most of the images we get to see normally feature actors but the real executors who made those scenes possible remain largely forgotten. Here we take a look at a few of the memorable scenes which have a story of…
Mimi Review – Well Intentioned But Skin Deep, Mimi Could Have Been So Much More
Tall, svelte and charming, yet never the choice for a ‘strong’ role; Kriti Sanon is an actor wasted so far. With Mimi, the PR stunt drop of a film on Netflix, she tries her best to become an actor to be taken seriously. While it looks at a complex and morally polarizing issue through a…
How GST Has Made Life’s Little Joys A Lot Dearer In India
More often than not, here in India, we talk about the bigger picture. Terms like ‘macro’, ‘long term’, ‘future’, ‘inclusion’ are thrown in as jargon in pretty much every conversation that focuses on economic, social or socio-economic development. While policy makers and the government use these terms because it becomes their job, regular folk also…
Rare Facts About Sam Raimi & Coen Brothers And Their Buddyhood
It was 1980 and director Sam Raimi was travelling to New York for the first time with negatives of his debut film The Evil Dead. When Sam reached the building that housed the edit room, he was greeted by a shabby man with long hair. The unkempt man came up to his car and offered…
Here’s Why The Unlikeable Heroine Doesn’t Work In Bollywood Films
From huge billboards, bus stand posters to tepid reviews of a much hyped release, Haseen Dillruba on Netflix has gotten as much attention as any big ticket theatrical film. Extreme responses to its protagonist Taapsee Pannu and its story, has driven both its heroine, and its writer Kanika Dhillon to also react angrily. This Dillruba…
Père-Lachaise Cemetery – Where Stardom Is Barricaded!
Ever wanted to know what real stardom looks like? Look no further than Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris. It’s the same cemetery where celebrities like Molière, Edith Piaf, Proust, Beckett lie buried. The cemetery basically has who’s who from the world of art and literature. It was the penultimate day of our Paris trip and paucity…
Tough Parenting Battles That I Wish I Could Win
Not about life’s ‘big’ parenting challenges, this one is about the little ones that have made me sweat. Here’s a ready reckoner from a not so yummy mommy who survives and learns something new so often about bringing up a kid Trying to be a mother, one that is superb at it, hasn’t always worked.…
Patarei Prison – Tallinn’s Testimony To Soviet And Nazi Terror
It was a chance discovery, or serendipity in other words. In 2015, I was in Tallinn, capital of Estonia for a visit and top on my agenda included a visit to downtown Tallinn (now declared a UNESCO heritage site), Hotel Viru (more on this in a later post) and a trip to Helsinki with Tallinn…
Celebrity or Regular People, Time to Get Over Divorce Noise
Aamir Khan & Kiran Rao have announced their divorce. They called themselves an extended family and co-parents to their son Azaad in their press statement. Given the subsequent hue and cry online, they have now released a video, holding hands, like an appeasement message, saying their relationship has changed but they are happy. And they…
What Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar Tells Us About Judging Actors And Filmmakers
When Dibakar Banerjee first announced Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar about six years ago, everyone worth their salt viewed it with interest (and some skepticism). After all Yash Raj Films has a standard, cut and dried structure for rolling out potentially popular and mass entertainment films. Most are produced slickly and use the best of VFX,…
Why Schooling My Child Online Makes Zero Sense To Me
“Clap yourself, Clap yourself!” When a tinny voice rang out through my laptop, my 4-year-old blinked. He couldn’t figure out what was going on (naturally). Online school for prep (pre-primary in Indian terms, a standard above nursery internationally) had begun. And so had a surreal experience in the vagaries of law, regulation and the pointlessness…
Why The Handmaid’s Tale Is One Of My All Time Favorite Shows
Dark, desolate and downright frightening, the dystopian universe where this series of extremes features a misogynistic worldview that rings very close to present day lived reality As The Handmaid’s Tale wraps up its fourth season, reviews and opinions, debates and discussions online proliferate. Adding another one to this list of reviews isn’t my intention. I…
Kate Winslet Shows There’s More To Middle Age
Kate Winslet is 45 and a mother of three. One of her three kids is a baby. So her decision to play a youngish grandmother in Mare of Easttown might come across as unusual. Despite best efforts to break free from the image of a gorgeous English beauty, Rose in Titanic still looms large over…
Why Looking Natural On Screen Works With Viewers
When Kate Winslet walks on to the setting of Mare of Easttown (2021), the first thing that strikes you is just how beautiful she is! Try as she might, she can’t look anything but striking. Winslet wears her age proudly, with lines and wrinkles and greying hair. Dressed in loose casuals without any make up…
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Not So Filmy Stories 