Muthu Ramanan

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Breaking down Brahmayugam If you're someone who liked this black-and-white movie, I immediately suggest you to try watching the Lighthouse (2019), a hollywood weird tale based on Edgar Allan Poe's story. Both have almost same core plot the twisted 'Effects of Power', story of an old top man imposing his domination on the young & those below him. They coincidentally use the same retro aesthetics, but Brahmayugam makes its political points direct with indic aspects, while latter is more abstract. Parallels: A) Forest & Ocean become barrier from civilisation B) Mermaid & Yakshi C) Intoxication While the Lighthouse is more of psychological horror, and former is mythical, at climax both switch, were the young man ends up in a Prometheus-like condemnation, here we have magical power gets eaten by the Gun power from the arrival of Portuguese conquistador.

Like RRR, it's also set in an alternative pre-independent India, bit honed it asks the right questions, on Freedom, Colonialism, Casteism, Feminist criticism. The maker seems more suited for genre film, ie bloody revenge with wafer of drama like his brilliant debut Rocky, a poetic capture of violence and then added some graphical sexual harassment in his next Sannikakitham, here he tried a general public audience, but it drags too much without any hint of character development or emotional support (no comedy, no love quarrel, no family sentiment, no patriotic fervor) We're able to watch (or tolerate) 4 parts of John Wick because of the universal language of love that was soon in its first part. Despite some spectacular high octane action scene & poetic chapter titles (which no one bothered to read) it reduced the solution to the big questions it raised to be 🔫🤡🗿 and the epilogue shows it also ends up a revenge drama.

Dostoevsky's seminal work Crime & Punishment, which presented the idea that Crime is the Punishment and Sapta Saagaradaache Ello – Side A, around the climax comes to similar conclusion, a movie filed with some brilliant shots and hues — but what I find disturbing was that it lacked the some of the critical details it is well established that humans are largely monogamous species and from the start the seemingly orphaned hero and half orphaned heroine are matched for life, we get no doubt on the bonding but the question how did this happen, they even have their own love finger gesture, which is also unexplained and her singing ability or the speed obsession of the guy; thought it gonna take turn on issue of class difference like Tamil's critically acclaimed Vazhakku Enn 18/9 or Kannada's own U Turn which focuses on hit-&-run cases {like Cauvery there are many things in common to Tamils & Kannada, have to write standalone blog post on it} or something of prison politics after that smirking villian like gives jail tour to Manu, our lead — despite all these possibility it focuses on the determined love of Priya, and it becomes evident that their love have to be sacrificed for their lives to progress; despite it was orchestrated even more lovely — for a guy to breakaway he turns to promiscuity and girl it's crystal clear shards of charged lies and deception — here the lead pens a beautiful breakup letter and later even tries to call her!? Music was absolutely unspooling to mind, with motif of ocean and story setting in 2010 — the ending with montage of Side - B, keeps us guessing whether it will be a Tragedy, or — Comedy, but anyway it isn't going to be Dostoevsky.

Khufiya An overtly mommy sentiment movie, that marketed as spy thriller. The makers have given out the intense geopolitical tension post-Kargil just as a write up in the beginning of the movie, a film should've presented in more visual manner rather than going for the old Star War techniques. Highly let down part of the movie is that, after KGF pan Indian success, more films are milking the mother-son relationship dynamics, with their own predefined set of Grammer for Mother's love. Having read Stranger by Camus, this mom sentiment card is used even in the West to arm twist people/audience. And moreover, their research on espionage system & RAW falls flat when Tabu uses a publically available Canon camera for spying, and recruiting random stranger & public for critical operation, idk what's ISI role in the entire narrative & a chummy looking Bangladeshi as main villian. The novel feature of the story is the Mother here is a Lesbian! But we don't get to see the major juncture how that affects her pro & personal life; rather she is just shown as cigarette smoking macho female, who defies her boss & trust some hot bong chick and the final revelation of her sexuality to her Son, is comfortably off-screened.

Jigarthanda Double XX The theme of the movie is largescape, Respect for the Nature and its preservation and Corruption at the top echelons of politics. Unlike previous version or even compared with the last release from the same director this one isn't really upto the mark in artistic merit. Lazy writing or something like that as the creator seems to have restricted let's not break the brains. keep it just like that. No hard and deep research on the tribe lifestyle, or Madurai in 1975, or some ecological value of Elephants. It also uses the plot device of making a cinema to tell the tale, but we dont even get into the process of proper movie making here, there's no budget, no music, no lyrics, no art director, no dance, these added glamour and Labour what make a story into Cinema! The banal defect is the core of the story it could ve been simple revenge story expanded later or a real Satyajit Ray apprentice caught with bunch of thugs, these reference a appear just as some coriander in Upma for example that fortuneteller scene it happens in background totally unconnected. Finally the climax manoeuvre, like that cinema changed the heart of bloody rowdy, or how father outsmarts his crafty son to buy his ideology on alcohol {pure genius}. Unfortunately have the worst part here that they screen a documentary evidence of a genocide in Diwali release, they should've gone to Judiciary. International Media, public forms, a blunder message here, even if they'vd showed it, in real most person would have walked out of theaters, saying this show was yaning. There is a repeated motif that cinema is a powerful weapon, for this weapon to reach its fissile point its narrative overtones. must reverberate with the masses and their emotional value.

Experimental Environmental Movie that ought to be Experienced. Narrative switches between series of interviews of people who are connected to a Man without any identity, who apparently could communicate with marine & amphibian lifes. Story progress amazingly till he gets mortally wounded and goes a body transformation. A wonderfully researched close to a level of documentary film, also connects with all the environmental impacts from recent times like oil spills, covid lockdown, even psychology & mythology.

[an open letter to Meursault's mother] Dear Mom, Hope you’re enjoying the Afterlife. Yes! Meursault didn’t cry at your funeral and accepted the coffee and had a smoke. And the very next day he hooked-up with a co-worker, Marie, albeit he made it clear he didn’t love to her — but was ready to marry her just to make her happy. But this isn't perennial sin as it was completely consensual and he didn’t show any remorse because — he really didn’t feel sad. You raised him to be perfect epicurean, he isn't cold or highly detached philosophical pondering for some metaphysical puzzle; he is just a simple guy with a job in a shipping company & speaks his mind freely, who we collectively term as ‘brutally honest’, and enjoys all earthly pleasure. Later he shoots a guy who came at him swinging a sword, fired some extra rounds — as he was just irritated by the noon glare of the sun. The trial ends him in the gateways of guillotine gallows, I'm sorry but the blame entirely falls on you — because he wasn’t punished for the crime, but judged on the fact that he failed to weep beside your casket. Even on this ordeal he didn’t fakely embrace the God, but rather came to a conclusive understanding of the all kind, eternal indifference of the universe. As per his last wish I showed the little hatred I had — hope he had reached you before these words. Best wishes. Thank you. Yours Truly PS. The Outsider By Albert Camus, a Noble Laureate in literature and a notable philosopher figure of twentieth century. He is mainly known for his idea of: Absurdism which is pretty well explained rather than explored in this novel (a short work though). It begins with a famously grim opening line: “Mother died today. Or maybe it was yesterday, I don’t know.” And ending passage also contains not-so-famous: So close to death, mother must have felt liberated and ready to live her life again. For more reviews follow @insta: pearljack990

The Old man & The Sea by Ernest Hemingway It’s one of the classic from American literature, it fetched him Nobel and Pulitzer and took his works to new heights. Story: Santiago, an old fisher man at a fishing hamlet on Cuban coast had been struck by ‘salao’, worst form of luck, haven't had a single catch in 84 days in a row and his young apprentice had to abandon him. But he still ventures into the sea the next day and goes deep into the blues and had to figh fort a night and day to harpoon out a large marlin and ties it to side of his skiff. Unfortunately, the sharks surround him — feast his labour, his brother(fish). Later the boy wakes up him in his hut, exclaiming the villagers are awe struck by his catch and quarreling for its head — tired old-man goes to sleep, to dream about the lions of the African beach. Thirdeye: It’s ostensibly a very simple story, but is typical example of author’s ice berg theory: as only one eighth is visible the writer must leave the remaining for the reader to interpret and discover. For me it was ocean geography: Gulf stream, Florida strait, sea & land breeze, bio-luminance and it explores the rich fauna, flying fish, cod, dolphins, sea-birds etc., moreover it’s story about Universal brotherhood, oldman respects & bonds with the nature and the globe which is now facing a climate crisis, global warming, ozone depletion, sea level rise and what not etc., so it also emphasis to protect and preserve it. For more reviews follow @insta: pearljack990

Indian Instinct by Miniya Chatterji, one of the few woman who had managed to raise in the corporate ladder to a leader. This is a collection of 15 essays on freedom and equality in India. Summary: Though the essays aren’t a scholarly product & it’s deeply personal, nonetheless well researched as each one comes with decent footnotes and good reference for further reading. They are arranged thematically like a way of life — it is not just another socioeconomic critique of current events, rather it adopts latest scientific proceedings like genetics, applies psychoanalytical principles, keeps about the financial realities of the world to reach a point. It can be easily inferred that she is well read as it mentions works of Amartya Sen, Ramachandra Guha, Sudhir Kakar & many other contemporary Indian intellectual and also superb knowledge on Indian history & philosophies & follows various journals and papers. It is also a great read as it is filled with anecdotal stories like a visit to a hyped brothel, teenage love ordeal, defence brat life, her international travels etc. She doesn't shy away from discussing women issues like periods, marriage abuse and sexuality. Finally, she give the picture how the institutions: Government, Religion, & Corporations are regulating the freedom of every individual if not dictating it. For cosmopolitan Indian working women, it’s a must read, not just to enlighten yourself — but to climb the ladder for survival. For more reviews follow @insta: pearljack990