Cinema is taking a beating as a result of clamping down of creativity through violent protests by fringe groups and with authorities buckling down under pressure. Mindless protests against Padmavati continued and even after the high court okayed the screening of S Durga at the 48th edition of International Film Festival of India in Goa, the film was not screened – an announcement that was made merely hours before the closing ceremony.
While the debate will rage on the undemocratic ways of stifling creativity in the country in the name of moral licensing, we take a look at the top stories of the week.
The story of Theeran: Adhigaram Ondru entered director Vinoth’s life sometime in 2005, when he read a news clipping about the gang that murdered a family. “I realised I have a story ready and decided to give life to what I’d written,” he told Silverscreen.
Read full interview: Confidence & A Passion To Tell Stories, H Vinoth’s Journey From Being An Electrician To A Director
Taking on issues like racism, the war, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), women trying to break the proverbial glass ceiling and dysfunctional relationships, it’s hardly surprising that Mudbound is predicted to be one of the Oscar contenders.
Read full story: Mudbound Is Rooted In Its Powerful Tale Of A Dark Chapter In American History
Amala Paul’s ‘transformation’ as the actress would like to call it, can be largely attributed to a recent passion: her travels. In this interview, she tells us how her solo sojourns have influenced her growth as a person, and her career.
Read full interview: ‘Director Susi Ganesan Has Made A Poem Out Of Me In Thiruttuppayale 2’: The Amala Paul Interview
Protests against Padmavati is not a new phenomenon. There have been several other films in the past that faced various degrees of oppositions and protests, some that ended well and others, not so much.
Read full story: Not Just Padmavati, Protests Over Films Not A New Trend In India
Oma from Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru is a character with no middle-ground. Intense, dark, and unrelentingly brutal, he is the quintessential villain with no streaks of white. He is, as a colleague puts it, just plain bad. In the movie, he is depicted as a perpetually dust-covered gang leader of a terrifying tribal group. In reality though, actor Abhimanyu Singh is nothing like it.
Read full interview: The Villain Whose Forte Is Comedy: Interview With Abhimanyu Singh
The closing ceremony of the 48th edition of International Film Festival of India in Goa was a star-studded affair. While the festival started on November 20 in the presence of Shah Rukh Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Sridevi, the closing ceremony saw Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar.
Here’s a look at the celebrities at the film festival: IFFI Goa 2017: A Star-Studded Affair Eclipsed By Controversy Over Screening Of S Durga
A few years after Kanthaswamy’s release, director Susi Ganeshan decided to move to Mumbai to try a hand at making movies there. Almost everyone asked him why he was shifting when he was doing well in Tamil, and told him that with distance, people would forget him. But, Susi told them that the day he returned, so would the memories. That’s exactly what happened when the director started work on the sequel of Thiruttu Payale.
Read full interview: ‘I Need to Make Movies Faster’: Susi Ganeshan, Director Of Thiruttu Payale 2
Actress Parvathy’s IFFI win assumes greater significance at a time when women in the Malayalam film industry -where patriarchal values still run high – are trying to make their presence felt and their voices heard.
Read full story: Actress Parvathy Thiruvothu Has Brought Home The IFFI Award At The Perfect Time
Movie reviews
Annadurai
Annadurai, directed by G Sreenivasan, is unabashedly an old-fashioned tale. The good-hearted heroes lose everything they have, thanks to a gang of powerful villains – and obviously, the protagonists and their family value love and trust over money.
Recommended
A Cliché-Ridden Potboiler That Tries To Make A Hero Out Of Vijay Antony
Thiruttu Payale 2
In Thiruttu Payale 2, Susi Ganeshan continues in the same zone where his hit Thiruttu Payale was set — what happens when a private, sanctified space is under threat? Only, this one is far snazzier, shuttling between a well-decorated bachelor’s pad, a government quarters that has been given new life by a girl who loves the arts, coffee shops and a room where a cop listens in to dirty secrets.
This Thriller Reflects On The Darker Side Of Social Media & Privacy Issues