Here are the top stories of the week!
The theatres in Chennai have taken to showing old, bankable hits – from the Rajinikanth-starrer Baasha to MGR’s Kumari Kottam and Enga Veetu Pillai, and Vijay’s Theri due to the strike. Some theatres continue to screen releases from the last few weeks like Naachiyaar and Kalakalappu 2.
Read full story: Film Theatre Strike In Tamil Nadu: Chennai Movie Screens To Remain Open, But No New Tamil Releases
Friday releases this week comes with a huge vacuum at theatres – no new Tamil films are releasing owing to the ongoing film theatre strike. At a time when online streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Hotstar put out movies merely months (or weeks) since its release, things don’t look so bad for film buffs. Here’s a quick list of what’s new on some of India’s streaming platforms:
Read full story: Tamil Nadu Theatre Strike: An Alternative List Of Films From Digital Streaming Platforms
If Don Palathara’s directorial debut, Shavam, had a camera that intimately engaged with its subject, it is a distant observer in Vith, his second film that’s still touring film festivals. But, Palathara has a firm belief; it’s quite impossible for a film to communicate with everyone, he says.
Read full story: Two Generations Struggle To Co-Exist In Malayalam Indie Film ‘Vith’
Diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) at the age of 21, this wheelchair-bound genius with computer-synthesised voice had captured the popular imagination and became a cultural icon especially after the publication of his book A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes. The scientist has appeared on television shows, stage programmes, music pieces and has had numerous pop-culture references.
Read full story: Stephen Hawking Dies At 76: Here Are The Genius Scientist’s Top Pop-Culture Moments
Recommended
The film industry – largely – hasn’t yet acknowledged the perils of celebrating stalking on screen when the rest of the world has, despite a research paper that lists the kind of “contextual codes” that are embedded in such movies. Clothes, earrings, hair – they all mean something.
Read full story: Cinema & Crimes Against Women: Here’s Why Filmmakers Should Be Held Culpable
The recent murder of 18-year-old Ashwini at the hands of a stalker has prompted a call to action yet again – to not represent stalking as ‘love’ in films, and to stop the glorification of villainous behaviour in the name of romance.
Read full story: Growing Up Amidst A Film Culture That Celebrated Stalking As A Rite Of Passage To ‘Love’