Independent Cinema
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PALTADACHO MUNIS / The Man Beyond the Bridge (Dir. Laxmikant Shetgaonkar, 2009, India) – Severing the now
* * * Released in 2009, director Laxmikant Shetgaonkar’s Paltadacho Munis could arguably be situated as part of a post-Parallel Cinema cycle of films, a sort of hangover from the mid to late 90s era, since it is a work that explores caste, gender and religion in a rural milieu with a brilliantly sharp eye Continue reading
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RK/RKAY (Dir. Rajat Kapoor, India, 2021) – Satirical Reflexivity
When we invited film director Rajat Kapoor to Manchester in 2017 as part of the first season of ‘Not Just Bollywood’, one of the things that came to light during our several conversations was his love of Federico Fellini. In many ways, RK/RKay is Rajat’s Eight and a Half (63) – a darkly comical love Continue reading
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GURGAON (Dir. Shanker Raman, 2017, India) – The Horrors of Economic Liberalization
Gurgaon is a vicious, nihilistic denunciation of India’s on going project of economic liberalization. I didn’t know much about Gurgaon but I soon discovered it is an emerging place for business and technology. This may not be important to our viewing pleasure but this film is very much about what Gurgaon symbolises in India right Continue reading
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MACHINES (Dir. Rahul Jain, 2016, India/Germany/Finland)
The worker as machine is not a new phenomenon. It goes as far back as the industrial revolution. But I have to admit though. I thought this documentary was going to be about the singularity of the physical, industrial and technological symbolism of machines. It still is in some respects. But Rahul Jain trains his Continue reading
Movie Mahal 