Action
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RA. ONE (Dir. Anubhav Sinha, 2011, India)
The first rule of stardom – never believe your own hype. Not unless you are SRK who has not been making the best career choices of late. When was the last time SRK really made a great film that he can lay claim to? You might have to go back to Paheli, Swades or even Continue reading
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CHENNAI EXPRESS (Rohit Shetty, 2013, India) – Postmodern Masala
This is an uneven action comedy from the Manmohan Desai school of filmmaking. Director Rohit Shetty is one of Hindi cinema’s most bankable directors and while it is tempting at first to lump him together with the likes of Sajid Khan, his postmodern sensibilities are much more palatable. While competency may not seem much to Continue reading
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MADRAS CAFE (Shoojit Sircar, 2013, India) – Re-imaginings
If the formerly curious RGV arrogated his restless style from the Tony Scott School of cinema then it seems expressly ironic that directors like Shoojit Sircar redeploy such a hyper aesthetic in a geopolitical context with sadly lacklustre results. Madras Cafe, which claims to be an espionage thriller, is an archetypal vindication from mainstream cinema Continue reading
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SHOLAY / EMBERS / FLAMES OF THE SUN (Ramesh Sippy, 1975, India) – Mastering the ‘cut’
Animalistic may seem hyperbolic trying best to describe the raw essence of Sholay but the term animalistic makes sense when you recognise Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan), the villain of the film, behaves in totality like a beastly allegory of nightmarish anxieties. Sholay is many things: a bandit film, an epic melodrama, an Indian western, the Continue reading
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BULLET RAJA (Tigmanshu Dhulia, 2013, India) – Homoerotic Encounters
Tigmanshu Dhulia is a man of many talents. Over the years Dhulia has written screenplays, acted in supporting roles and most prominently directed a number of genre films. With Bullet Raja, his latest film, he certainly is one of the few Hindi directors who has refused to play it safe, jumping from one genre to Continue reading
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