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Bachchan Paandey, Review: Gangsters are best played by real-life gangsters
Why would you choose a name like Bachchan Pandey, unless you thought you could cash-in on the franchises called Amitabh Bachchan (name of a real life actor) and Chulbul Pandey (name of a reel-life character, played in several movies by Salman Khan)? Point is, does a superstar himself, like Akshay Kumar, who plays the title role, need these props? Leaving the Paandey behind, ‘Bachchan’ is made to speak some ...
Incomparable Shachin Dev Burman: HQ Chowdhury’s labour of love, about the man and his music
It is not often that one gets to hear about a book and its author first, and gets to spend some enriching time with the author afterwards, before getting an autographed copy of his book, as a gift. And to think this happened 2,500 km away from my city of Mumbai, in the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, at Chowdhury’s posh guest house, seems almost unreal. Reading Incomparable Sachin Dev Burman ...
RIFF 08, 2022, 07: Third and final list of selected films released
The Third and the final list of the officially selected films to be shown at the 8th Rajasthan International Film Festival (RIFF) was released this week. It includes Student Hindi short film Riddle, Directed and Produced by Umang Patel, Rajasthani Short Film Mhari Pyari Baisa, Directed and Produced by Narpat Singh Gaur, Hindi short film Tooti Chappal, Directed and Produced by Kuldeep Vyas, two Hindi Music Video Albums by Kunal...
Radhe Shyam, Review: Goodness gracious, how flirtatious!
At its core, Radhe Shyam rakes-up an interesting debate, between destiny and those exceptions who surmount their pre-ordained destiny, and, in some cases, defy it. For destiny, read ‘predictions based on palmistry’. And yet, it tilts the balance strongly in favour of destiny, putting forth emphatically the theory that 99% of us cannot escape what has been written on our palms. Had this been the track that the screenplay deve...
Music Forever: Long performing music duo L-P, alias Laxmikant-Pyarelal
Ajay Poundarik is neither a writer nor a journalist. But if he is anything, he is a fanatic admirer of the work of the music composer duo of Hindi films, Laxmikant and Pyarelal, better known as L-P. LP, which, in music parlance, is an acronym for Long Playing Record, is a term that fits them like the proverbial glove. They were indeed a long-playing pair, to be sure.
As a tribute to his ‘deities’, Poundarik ...
Parallel Mothers, Review: Swapped babies and a Spanish history lesson from the Master
Expectations suddenly rise when the name Pedro Almodóvar is mentioned. One regrets having missed the screening at IFFI, November 2021, but then Impact Films, Mumbai, of Ashwani Sharma, acquires distribution rights of Parallel Mothers, for India, and holds a press screening at Soho, in Juhu, Bombay, a small but exotic theatre, fixes its release on 11 March 2022, and invites you to catch-up on what you ...
Rudra, Review: Drastic crimes call for Rudrastic punishments
How important is the name of a TV programme or a web series? Should the name convey something about the programme, or anything that sounds good is good enough? Some names that come to mind are Sacred Games, The Family Man, Delhi Crime, CID, Crime Patrol, Crime Watch and Special Ops. Whereas the iconic Sacred Games gives no hint about its content, The Family Man is misleadingly titled, being about a family man who is into tackling te...
Jhund, Review: Every Jhunderdog has his day
Literally translated, Jhund means herd. Only in this case, the reference is to a group of young slum-dwelling, smoking, drinking ragamuffins, who are also petty criminals, but are transformed into a high class football team, thanks to the efforts of a neighbouring school-teacher, who is about to retire. The film is many films in one and can be seen from several perspectives, each of which would be a valid point of ‘view’. But at its core...
Gangubai Kathiawadi, Review: Guess what is the oldest profession in the world, and meet its President
Gangubai, a variation of Ganga, is the most common name of Maharashtrian maid-servants in Mumbai. Ganga becoming Gangu is quite normal, while the Bai here refers to her designation as maid. An engaging film was made in 2013, with the maid as the central character, only it was spelt phonetically more correct, Gangoobai. In other parts of the country, Bai could mean a courtesan, a classical sin...
Love Hostel, Review: Khaps, cops, corpses, more corpses and still more corpses
It’s not about a hostel. But it is about love. And the price that has to be paid for falling in love with someone who follows another religion. Killings spread through the film like a pandemic caused by a particularly deadly virus strain, ‘LH Covid 22’. The makers could run a contest with the big question: How many people are killed in the film? The prize could be four tickets for the film, so tha...
Pondicherry, Review: Enough icing, but the cherry is missing
Marathi language Indian film Pondicherry is like a French patisserie (it used to be a French colony), with some delectable pastries to savour. It uses the relatively unknown locale quite well, and incorporates tastes of various other languages, besides Marathi: Hindi, Punjabi-accented Hindi, English, Tamil and French. It also uses characters from the ages of 7 to 70, to be really democratic in its story-telling. Having set the base ...
Pyar Mein Thoda Twist, Review: A sack-full of emptiness
A lot of action in the film Pyar Mein Thoda Twist takes place inside a bound sack. It is marked, Lena Hae Lena Hae (have to take, have to take) Brand, and it twists alright. No, not because it is haunted, but because it holds a man captive. This man is supposed to be Mr. Wanted, a dangerous criminal, whose capture carries a reward of Rs. 2 million. While the sack changes hands and locations several times, being stolen or ‘kidnapped...
RIFF 8, 2022, 06: Rahul Rawail is Best Author, for Raj Kapoor, the Master at Work
Somendra Harsh, Founder & Festival Director of the Rajasthan International Film Festival (RIFF), stated that "Film director Rahul Rawail will be honoured with the Best Author Award for the book ‘Raj Kapoor - The Master at Work’ at this year's Rajasthan International Film Festival (RIFF).
In the 8th edition of the Rajasthan International Film Festival, a talk show will be organised under...
A Thursday, Review: For whom the mobile rings
Make a hostage-taker your protagonist, pit her against the country’s police force and even the Prime Minister, cash-in on the title of a rivetting thriller called A Wednesday (2008), moving it a day further, create the ambience of a cat and mouse game in the thriller genre, and you have A Thursday. While the idea of holding hostages and making demands from the police force are common factors, this latter day ‘avtaar’, in which t...
Badhaai Do, Review: No blessing for this messing
Watching Badhaai Do, an old thought re-surfaced. I used to wonder what would happen if, by some quirk of circumstance, a homosexual and a lesbian ended-up marrying each other. Looks like some antenna picked-up this concept and turned it into a lengthy film. Unfortunately, the writers and the director are unable to decide whether they should inject humour or treat it as a tear-jerker. They lean towards the latter, but fail on the mise en sc&egra...
RIFF, 08, 2022, 05: Second list of selected films out
The second list of films officially selected for the Rajasthan International Film Festival, Jodhpur, 25-30 March, 2022, has been released. It includes the Yadu Vijayakrishnan directed Sanskrit feature film Bhagavadajjukam (The Monk and The Courtesan), Pankaj Rao and Ankit Agarwal directed Hindi music video album, Piya Milan Rut Aayi Re..., Kautuk Saksena directed English/Hindi feature film, Say It Thrice, Hemant Seervi directed Hindi featu...
RIFF, 08, 2022, 04: Komal Nahta chosen for the Outstanding Contribution to The Business of Cinema award
According to an official announcement, Mumbai-based Komal Nahta has been chosen for the Outstanding Contribution to The Business of Cinema award at the 8th Rajasthan International Film Festival (RIFF). Belonging to Jodhpur, Rajasthan, the venue of RIFF, Komal Nahta is a leading film trade analyst. His magazine, Film Information, founded by his father, Ramraj Nahata, is the oldest trade magazi...
DIFF 20, 2022, 07: The bumpy road to Dhaka
Everything was ready at my end. I had a valid passport, expiring in 2028. A letter from Rainbow Film Society, which was founded in 1977 and which organises the Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF) had been received by email, and I had a printout. And the most important document was also sent to me by email: A letter from the Bangladesh Ministry of Home Affairs, approving Visas on Arrival to over 90 persons, coming to the festival from various cou...
RIFF 08, 2022, 03: Lyricist Sayeed Qadri to be honoured with Hasrat Jaipuri Award
The 8th edition of the Rajasthan International Film Festival (RIFF) will be organised by RIFF Film Club from 25 to 30 March, 2022. It will also celebrate Rajasthan Diwas, the Founding Day of Rajasthan state, which falls on 30 March. Somendra Harsh, Founder and Festival Director stated, "This year, writer and lyricist Sayeed Qadri will be awarded the Hasrat Jaipuri Award for his Contribution in Cinema. The a...
RIFF 08, 2022, 02: N. Chandra to get Lifetime Achievement Award
The 8th edition of the Rajasthan International Film Festival (RIFF) will be organised by RIFF Film Club, during 25-30th March, 2022, and it will also celebrate Rajasthan Diwas (Foundation day of Rajasthan State). Somendra Harsh, Founder and Festival Director of RIFF, stated today that this year, the LifeTime Achievement Award will be given to the renowned Writer, Producer and Director Chandrashekhar Narvekar, better known as N. C...
DIFF 20, 2022, 07: Meet the Juries officiating at the Dhaka International Film Festival, January 15-23
FIPRESCI Jury : Bangladesh Panorama Film Section
FIPRESCI is the International Federation of Film Critics
Mohamed Sayed Abdelrehim
Mohamed Sayed Abdelrehim is a film critic, writer, journalist, translator, and scriptwriter. He is a journalist and translator at Middle East News Agency. He is a programmer at Ismailia ...
DIFF 20, 2022, 06: Meet the Juries officiating at the Dhaka International Film Festival, January 15-23
Asian Film Competition Section
Gyda Velvin Myklebust
Gyda Velvin Myklebust has a university degree in Cultural Science and a Master of Fine Arts in Film from the National Film School in Norway. She is the Director of New Nordic Films, the film market of the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund, Norway, she has ha...
DIFF 20, 2022, 06, List of films to be screened at the Dhaka International Film Festival, Part V
Children Film Session:
Sl.
Title of Film
Director
Country
Dur.
Year
01.
Palito Bombon Helado (Pops Vs Raisins)
Lucia Paz
Argentina
15min.
2021
02.
A Letter To my Friend In France
Akram El Bezawy
Egypt
...
DIFF 20, 2022, 05, List of films to be screened at the Dhaka International Film Festival, Part IV
Women Filmmakers Section:
Sl.
Title of Film
Director
Country
Dur.
Year
01.
Zharange (The Heiress)
Evelina Barsegian
Armenia
28min.
2021
02.
All Alone
Farzana Noor
Bangladesh
13min.
...
DIFF 20, 2022, 04: List of films to be screened at the Dhaka International Film festival, Part III
Wide Angle:
Sl.
Title of Film
Director
Country
Dur.
Year
01.
Bansh Boibhab (Bamboo Stories)
Shaheen Dill- Riaz
Bangladesh, Germany
97min.
2019
02.
Lohakhor (Ironeaters)
Shaheen Dill- Riaz
Bangladesh, Germa...
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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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