Moments in Indian cinema: 2023
11 months, 3 weeks ago

Moments in Indian cinema: 2023

Live Mint  

A perfect murder: ‘Ponniyin Selvan: II’ There were any number of gruelling action sequences in Indian films this year. Background is foreground: ‘Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam’ One of the most radical ideas in Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam is the near-constant babble of Tamil film scenes and songs. Something in Smita Tambe’s calculating, unblinking gaze gives the MLA’s commonplace greeting to Dasru —“Ae bhai, kahaan ke ho?”—an unfathomable unease. The opening stretch, with its striking photography and leftist politics, brings to mind the great Malayalam director John Abraham, though Ravi’s film uses drama and action in a way that Abraham would never. Wedding song: ‘Animal’ Animal strains so hard—for effect, for shock value—yet the best thing in Sandeep Vanga Reddy’s film is an expert bit of music curation.

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