Prassthanam, Review: Loyalty, integrity and legacy, to see or not to see, that is the question When you have classics like the Mahabharat, Ramayan and Shakespeare’s works, why look elsewhere for inspiration? Update the setting and references but retain the blood and gore, conceit and deceit, loyalty and betrayal, vice and avarice, and above all, good and evil. You now have a story that every lover of mythology, every cinephile identifies with, and the figure could be well above a billio...

Dream Girl, Review: Lady Boy’s multiple nightmares Can one accuse film-makers of misleading audiences by describing their films as anything but what they really are? Dream Girl, dubbed ‘family entertainer by its makers,’ panders to below the belt viewers and frustrated loners, under the garb of showcasing the lead actor’s mimicking talent, and providing a telephonic helpline to lonely hearts. It is a series of stand-up comic jokes, with one-liners, puns and double ente...

Genders and Sexualities in Films and Society: Beyond the Binary Sexuality and the stigmas attached to it, by the state/religion/patriarchal society, have meant both a private and public hell, for those human beings who do not classify as male or female. There are already a significant number of closet queers/homosexuals, lesbians, gays, bi-sexual and transgender persons who have come out of into the open, including celebrities, especially media, entertainment and fashion industry figures. Na...

Me, Review: Compulsive Disorder With names like Adil Amaan and Preeti Ganguly associated with it, Me could have been worth a watch. The former, who plays a central character, is an acting graduate of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) from a mid-70s batch and an acting teacher for years. Currently, he’s the Head of the Department of Acting at the state run, prestigious, FTII. Preeti Ganguly, who is credited as co-writer, was Ashok Kumar’s daughter and an actor in he...