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Siraj Syed is the India Correspondent for FilmFestivals.com and a member of FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics. He is a Film Festival Correspondent since 1976, Film-critic since 1969 and a Feature-writer since 1970. He is also an acting and dialogue coach. @SirajHSyed
Sounds of The Kashmir Files: “Pray for all the oppressed people in the world”
Royal Opera House was a surprising choice for the event. Once a landmark for big-budget film releases, it remained shut for about two decades, before it was revived, with plays and other events being held there, but no film shows. Makers of the film The Kashmir Files decided to kill two birds with one stone: reinforce their theme of oppression, persecution, brutal murders and more of Kashmiri Pandits in ...
MIFF returns, with a budget of 4-5 crores; will be organised and held at Films Division
Biennial since its inception in 1990, the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) of documentaries, short fiction and animation films, will be held this year from 29 May to 04 June at the Films Division (FD)’s premises on Peddar Road (Gopalrao Deshmukh Marg). A total of 300+ films have been selected by the selection committees and the budget of the entire festival is estimated at Rs. 4-5 crore. It ...
After Govinda, Varun Dhawan now launches another Dehati Disco song
Ganesh Acharya and Varun Dhawan share a great camaraderie and the duo have always given good hits. In fact, Acharya, who is respectfully addressed as MasterJee, has choreographed more than 50 songs for Varun’s father, editor-director David Dhawan, during the early days of his career. Showing his support and love towards MasterJee, Varun recently paid a visit to The Club, at D.N. Nagar, in North Mumbai, on 11 May, and di...
Jayeshbhai Jordaar, Review: A ban on soap and kisses instead of foeticide
Even a relatively small budget film from Yash Raj Films (YRF), with only two known names to tout, succeeds to a large extent in highlighting the hideous Indian social practice, seen predominantly, in a few states, of killing/aborting the girl child. Since marriage involves a large sum as dowry, which is given by the girl’s family to the boy’s family, the birth of a girl child is considered the genesis of a m...
Three trailers of Prithviraj: On stage, on screen and off-screen
This is what the invitation, received on Friday, 06 May 2022, by WhatsApp, from YashRaj Films read:
“Hello, Yash Raj Films cordially invites you to the trailer launch of their first historical film - based on the life of Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan starring superstar Akshay Kumar and Manushi Chhillar and directed by Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi (Padma Shri).
Date: 9th May 2022- Monday
Time: 10.30am
Venue: YRF Studios, Sta...
Village Council ‘Panchayat’ to have second session on Amazon Prime Video from 20 May
One of the most loved web series, Panchayat, is all set to return on your small screen for its Season 2. Amazon Prime Video launched its long trailer at a packed media gathering at the swanky J.W. Marriott Hotel, Juhu, Mumbai, on May 09. The village comedy-drama is based on the premise of a city man migrating to a village and the situations he faces there, which are poles apart from city iss...
Wonder-dancer AJ stakes claim as India’s answer to MJ
Amit Jadav, aka AJ, a Mumbai prodigy, is a singer-dancer who can leave you wonder-struck with moves that are leaves right out of Michael Jackson (MJ)’s work-book, including the moonwalk and spin. At the performance on 07 May at the Birla Matushri Sabhagar, South Mumbai’s prestigious hall, a packed auditorium found their jaws dropping when he wowed them with act after act, syncing hundreds of moves with video-projection of...
RIFF 08, 2022, 16: Awards presented at the closing ceremony
Special Awards – [7]
[01] RIFF 2022 --- LIFE TIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR CONTRIBUTION IN INDIAN
CINEMA: N CHANDRA (INDIAN FILM WRITER, DIRECTOR & PRODUCER)
[02] RIFF 2022 --- LEGENDARY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE AND CONTRIBUTION IN INDIAN
CINEMA: RANDHIR KAPOOR (INDIAN FILM DIRECTOR, ACTOR & PRODUCER)
[03] RIFF 2022 ---- INTERNATIONAL HONORARY AWARD FOR CONTRIBUTION IN INDIAN
CINEMA & TELEVISION: CHARLES THOMSON (I...
RIFF 08, 2022, 15: Films I saw at the Rajasthan International Film Festival
Princes and Vagabonds, Directed by Fabienne Le Houérou: Brave attempt but low cinematic values make this documentary watchable only for its informative and curiosity factors.
Pilibhit (The Yellow Wall), Directed by Ashutosh Chaturvedi, Pankaj Mavchi: Inspired from true stories, it tells you how the place got it curious name, has a good treatment and powerful performances.
...
Mere Desh Ki Dharti, Review: Suicide or pesticide, you decide
You get two films for the price of one when you, or if you, go to see Mere Desh Ki Dharti. Now, if you happen to arrive a little late, after the opening credits, the first half makes you wonder whether you have been ushered into the wrong auditorium of a multiplex, and the film you are watching is not Mere Desh Ki Dharti. On the other hand, if you arrived on time, you must wonder whether the reels have got mixed-up (what an archaic...
Dr. Strange-The Multiverse of Madness, Review: Averse, obverse, inverse, diverse, reverse, converse, traverse, transverse
Of all the screen movements in Dr. Strange-The Multiverse of Madness, floating and jumping are the main competitive events, closely followed by light rings that are twirled and hurled as weapons by either side. If you can excel in these events, you win the battle. The battle, yes, but the war, no. It is a completely unequal war, with a witch who keeps winning any which way...
Parveen Babi, A Life--by Karishma Upadhyay: Break-ups and break-downs
Appearing out of nowhere, Parveen Babi made her screen debut with the film Charitra, acting opposite cricketer Salim Durani, in 1973. That was not the first film she had signed, which credit goes to Dhuen Ki Lakeer, released the following year. Her career really took off with Majboor (1974, co-starring Amitabh Bachchan) and she was seen in some 58 films totally, the last one releasing in 1991, years after she had given up a...
Dehati Disco, trailer launch: Ace choreographer Ganesh Acharya debuts as leading man
They chose International Dance Day to release the trailer of the film Dehati (Rural) Disco at the deserted and decrepit Golden Tobacco cigarette factory, in suburban Vile Parle, Mumbai, which stopped production of their Panama brand decades ago, and the place, which was a landmark once upon a time, now constitutes vestigial remain.
Dance has always been the heart of our Indian cinema. We have seen several ic...
Heropanti 2, Review: A bullet in his bum
Denizens of Mumbai and environs might not need the meaning explained, but this is an international portal, and an explanation is in order. The title comes from two words, hero, which needs no translation, and panti, which does. Most probably, it is derived from panthi, which mean traveller. Panthi easily becomes panti, the combination with hero standing for one who follows the hero’s, or heroics’, path. Lead actor Tiger Shroff took a walk a...
Memory, Review: Contract killer with Alzheimemory
In India, as I guess in many other parts of the world, Liam Neeson is instantly associated with Schindler’s List (1992), when he was 40, wherein he played a businessman who saves several Jews from being sent to concentration camps. In the thirty years since, we have seen him play several action heroes. But after 2008, he became synonymous with Bryan Mills of the Taken series. Taken 2 came in 2012 and Taken 3 in 2015. At the Toronto Film ...
Runway 34, Review: Plane truth
Yes, the film is about an aircraft, and a pilot’s attempt to land against all odds on Runway 34. But that is exactly half the story. The film has no action whatsoever, not even a single blow, and it is not even about hijacking. A married man, with a young daughter, is piloting a plane with 150 persons on board, when it hits rough weather. How he manages to avoid disaster constitutes the portion before the intermission. Next appears a much feared man who is...
Escaype Live, trailer launch and press meet: Two Sidhharths, one JJ and many escaype artistes
Disney + Hotstar, one of a handful of leading OTT platforms, has formulated what it calls the “biggest social thriller of the year”. They have named it Escaype Live and it is described as “the most relevant story of current times.”
Created and directed by Siddharth Kumar Tewary, it took three years to make, against an estimated six months, and will release only on Disney+ Hot...
RIFF 08, 2022, 14: Synopses of films screened, Part II
(24) Film Name : Chhipkali
Director : Koushik Kar
Beyond our materialistic world, there lies an unexplored dimension, where a series of incidents occur but they surpass our conscious mind. Based on this context, our story revolves around an interrogative conversation between a detective and a suspect regarding a murder case. This story challenges our conscious mindset, outlook towards the perceptible world, our society, its norms and th...
RIFF 08, 2022, 13: Synopses of films screened, Part I
(1) Film Name: It Gets in Your Blood
Director : Ed Hartman
“It Gets in Your Blood” is a short documentary by Ed Hartman. The film is about Richard Lyford, a filmmaker who made 9 films before he was 20-years-old, worked for Disney on Fantasia, Dumbo, and Pinocchio, and went on to direct an Academy Award-winning documentary. In spite of all of this, very few know who he is, or why he is important to filmmaking, today.
(2) Film...
TIPS redoes Rahman’s Rangeela hit, Mangta hai kya, with new music video
It was a new venue for me, though not very far from my house. Located high above a leading footwear brand showroom on Linking Road, Santa Cruz, Bombay Adda (hangout) is a cosy place, just right for the size of the turnout on April 22. The occasion was the launch of the reprised version of A.R. Rahman’s hit from the film Rangeela, released 27 years ago, by TIPS Music, the company that had released the Rangeela ...
Jersey, Review: Down and out, yet 300 not out
A loser making it big in sports is the stuff that many films have been made on. This one tries to be different. Imagine a cricketer who quit the game years ago, is dead broke, and his government job has landed him under suspension. You can bet that he will make a comeback and reach a new zenith, however, it does not quite happen the way you might anticipate. Yes, his return to the game is a major twist, but the giant of a twist is reserved for the...
Operation Romeo, Review: Regaining consciousness and recharging consciences
When Neeraj Pandey, of A Wednesday fame, is co-producing a film, and it is titled Operation Romeo, you expect a taut thriller of the terrorist/spy genre. But Operation Romeo takes the ‘Operation’ part of its title to mean a set of planned moves by an individual, bereft of any spy/terrorist inclinations, though there is a crime of sorts involved, and some scenes do go for your jugular. ‘Romeo’ i...
An Actor’s Actor-Sanjeev Kumar: The Authorised Biography of Sanjeev Kumar
A riveting black and white picture of the late actor, in mid-close, looking a little to his right, greets you on the cover of this eminently readable biography of the actor, who, arguably, was an actor’s actor. And so, the authors, Mumbai-based Hanif Zaveri and Delhi-based Sumant Batra, are not exaggerating when they give him that exalted title. As far as the ‘authorised’ bit is concerned, the du...
KGF Chapter 2, Review: The audience as cannon fodder
One-and-a-half million residents in and around Kolar Gold Fields are either shooting their guns out or are learning how to do so. Gangsters in Mumbai and the Middle East are either shooting their guns out or are selling guns to other gangsters. The police and the army are either shooting their guns out in raids, or are waiting for orders to do so. Rocky and his coterie are either shooting their guns out at the bosses at KGF, Bad Boy Adheera...
Newton’s Pendulum: New tone in experimental terror curriculum
Time and again, film-makers, especially new film-makers, try to conduct experiments. They should know that by definition, an experimental film is not likely to have large audiences. Now here is a film that not only experiments, but it experiments with the psychotic thriller genre, and is a mere 27 minutes in duration. That reduces and restricts its appeal to select audiences. Moreover, it is titled Newton’s Pendulum, a ...
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About Siraj Syed
 Syed Siraj
(Siraj Associates)
Siraj Syed is a film-critic since 1970 and a Former President of the Freelance Film Journalists' Combine of India.
He is the India Correspondent of FilmFestivals.com and a member of FIPRESCI, the international Federation of Film Critics, Munich, Germany
Siraj Syed has contributed over 1,015 articles on cinema, international film festivals, conventions, exhibitions, etc., most recently, at IFFI (Goa), MIFF (Mumbai), MFF/MAMI (Mumbai) and CommunicAsia (Singapore). He often edits film festival daily bulletins.
He is also an actor and a dubbing artiste. Further, he has been teaching media, acting and dubbing at over 30 institutes in India and Singapore, since 1984.
Bandra West, Mumbai India View my profileSend me a message
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