Pushpa-The Rise – Part 1, Review: Cross your legs Having steadfastly kept away from the staple diet of Telugu dubbed in Hindi dished out on a few TV channels 24 x 7, one was not aware of what one was in for when one went to see the press preview of Pushpa at the invitation of a major, local PR agency, albeit with a notice of 11 hours. Firstly, an eponymous film, the title is an abbreviation of PushpaRaj. Pushpa, by itself, means a flower, and is feminine. You might be pardoned for recal...

"terroir" has been selected to the Madras Independent Film Festival in Chennai, India. Written, helmed and performed by Dawn Westlake, and produced under her Ron de Cana Prods, Inc. shingle, "terroir" is a musical documentary about how the mother-child relationship can influence our perceptions of very capable female leaders in all sectors of society. The film was shot on location by Pol Carrizo Vilarroig of Imatge Barcelona in Wheaton & Peru, IL USA, Font Romeu, France a...

MIFF 2020: “Why can’t we appreciate off-camera sounds?”—B. Lenin Son of legendary director-editor A. Bhimsingh, B. Lenin started his editing career at the age of 18, in 1965. But guess what he wanted to become as a young boy? A projectionist! Why? Read on. “I am one of eight siblings and saw very little of my father as a child, because he used to work around twenty hours a day. When he came home, sometimes at 4 am, I would ask my mother who this man was. We ch...

MIFF 2020: Meet V. Shantaram Lifetime awardee Dr. S. Krishnaswamy Honoured with the Dr. V. Shantaram Award for Lifetime Achievement, during the inaugural ceremony of MIFF 2020, at Nehru Centre, on January 28, S. Krishnaswamy spoke to filmfestivals.com, shortly afterwards, at the Films Division Complex. It was a nostalgic moment for Dr. S. Krishnaswamy. Had fate willed otherwise, he would have joined Films Division (FD) during the tenure of Chief Producer K.L. Khandpur (1962-68) and served in...

Siraj Syed talks to film-maker, cinematographer Chanda Gauranga, about indie LIF What is your family back-ground and how did the idea of LIF germinate? I was born and brought up in Chennai along with my three siblings. My mother is a story-teller and a writer. I grew up listening to and being amazed by my mother's tales and in a way wanted to spread the same awe and amazement I felt when listening to her stories. Moreover, my father and his father have always been very camera passionate....