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Lal Salaam – Music Review

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Aishwarya Rajinikanth’s directorial and the much awaited and talked about “Lal Salaam” will hit the screens on 9 Feb. ’24. The film features a host of artists such as Vishnu Vishal and Vikranth as the key characters with KS Ravikumar, Thambi Ramaiah, Livingston, Senthil among many others, playing support roles.   Bankrolled by Lyca Productions, Aishwarya’s third directorial has music by Oscar Winner and Mozart of Madras, AR Rahman, where the two are collaborating for the first time.  The director’s first film titled “3” was released in 2012 and featured Actor Dhanush (to whom she was married back then) along with Shruti Hassan, the elder daughter of Actor Kamal Hassan. Her sister Soundarya Rajinikanth directed her maiden venture “Kochhadaiyaan” feat. Superstar Rajinikanth which released in 2014.  Superstar Rajinikanth will be seen as “Mohideen Bhai” only in a cameo role in Lal Salaam, though his presence is expected to increase the “saleability” of the film across cinema theatres.  The

Dunki - Movie Review

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Illegal immigration has been a global draw over the last few decades. From finding a job to moving for social security or seeking a political asylum, it’s been considered normal to jump borders without appropriate approvals   from government authorities.   Many even take pride in doing so, while several thousands lose their precious lives while doing so.  Dunki is a film about four such aspirants. I wonder why the mighty emperor SRK had to choose such a subject. Maybe, that’s what those with a “strong might” do, once in a while. Many would remember that King Khan did so earlier with “Love you Zindagi” in as well.  Directed & edited by Rajkumar Hirani and Produced by Red Chillies Entertainment & Jio studios, Dunki (donkey route) is all about a bunch of Indians taking the illegal route to travel to the United Kingdom.  Set in the mid-90s, Manu Basgeet (Tapsee Pannu), Balinder “Buggu” Lakhanpal, (Vikram Kochhar) and Balli Kakkad (Anil Grover) live a wretched life at a small villag

G.O.A.T – Why is Rajinikanth a phenomenon

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Few would have noticed, but it was the first time that Superstar Rajinikanth donned the role of a grand father in his August 2023 outing titled “Jailer”. While the actor, who will complete 50 years in Indian Cinema in 2025 has been the darling of Producers & Distributors for two decades continuously in the 80s and 90s, the actor’s charisma started waning around the turn of the millennium. His own production film “Baba”, one of his career best according to his ardent fans, was the worst flop of his career. Thereafter, the actor’s films have been nothing short of a roller-coster ride. As I write this article after 5 days since the release of Jailer, the film is said to have grossed Rs. 350 Cr (USD 65 mn approx.) worldwide at the box office as per market estimates.  Day 1 - ₹ 95.78 cr     Day 2 - ₹ 56.24 cr     Day 3 - ₹ 68.51 cr   Day 4 - ₹ 82.36 cr   Day 5 - ₹ 49.03 cr  Total - ₹ 351.92 cr   For a 72-year old actor, at the fag end of his career, this is nothing short of a miracle of

Jailer - Movie Review

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After a gap of over 2.5 years, Superstar Rajinikanth is back with his entertainer, in and as Jailer.  Bankrolled by Sun Pictures, actor Rajinikanth’s 169 th   film has been directed by a young and energetic director Nelson Dilipkumar, whose previous outings include Beast, Doctor & Kolamavu Kokila. The director, famous for his dark comedy doesn’t disappoint Superstar’s fans in this film as well.   Muthuvel Pandian (Rajinikanth) is a middle class senior citizen living his life quietly in a small town along with his wife, son, daughter in-law and grandson. ACP Arjun, is his son who is currently investigating a critical case of temple idol thefts. He disappears one day and is considered killed by the perpetrators. And that’s the movie’s plot.  Varman is a smuggler who has apparently done away with ACP Arjun. Muthuvel finds Varman and chases his men to eventually meet him in person, in his own terms. To avenge his son’s death, Muthuvel clashes with Varman and his men.  15 years back, Mu

AIR – Movie Review

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Nike’s revenues for twelve months ending Feb. ‘23 was USD 50.62 Bn.  This was much higher than all its rivals put together!  Adidas’ 2022 revenue was USD 22 Bn, Reebok was USD 353 mn (was USD 1.9 Bn in 2006), PUMA was USD 8 Bn, and Converse was USD 1.9 Bn.  However, this wasn’t the way during the 1980s.  Adidas was the market leader followed by Converse, especially in the US, in the sporting segment. Basketball was becoming popular due to the greatness of the likes of Magic Johnson and others. A new talent was taking shape – Michael Jordan. He was not only inspiring scores of black kids in the US and across the world, rather an entire generation.  AIR is a movie not just about Jordan’s greatness, rather how Nike bounced up and above with its AIR sneakers and the future innovations around the iconic sportsman. The year was 1984. Nike, the underdog among the others in the fray to sponsor basketball players is in a state of dilemma. Sneaker sales are slowing down. Previous bets on players

The Elephant Whisperers - Review

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The Oscar winning documentary is about elephants and their non-biological parents - the elephant herds. Set in the picturesque Mudumalai forests in the Tamil Nadu – Kerala border, the 40-minute film showcases the mutual love of elephants and humans.  Bomman has grown all his life rearing elephants in the forests. Raghu, an orphaned elephant arrives at the Mudumalai Elephant camp which is managed by the Department of Forests, State Government of Tamil Nadu. The reserve brings up elephants which have lost their way and their families due to herd movements. It also treats ailing elephants by loving care givers and veterinarians. Bomman offers milk and food to Raghu daily and spends all day playing and managing the baby elephant. A good wash for the elephant, which includes a detailed scrub and rinsing it in the flowing river water, could take a few hours. In the night, he sleeps in the same make-shift thatched tent where Raghu lives, always under his watchful eyes.   Bellie was widowed wh

Kooman - Movie Review

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After Drishyam 1 & 2, Director Jeethu Joseph is back with yet another mystery drama. Kooman doesn’t disappoint the skills of the much talented Jeethu. And actors from Malayalam cinema have a certain emotive expression which not only makes them stand apart and special but also makes the entire movie quite gripping. Kooman is one such. Kooman means Owl in Malayalam. There are a spate of suicide deaths in Nerpara, a border town between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Giri Shankar (Asif Ali), a police constable and a local is well-versed in finding clues and cracking cases, which often wins him acclaim from the community. However, he gets in to minor fracas with his new boss, Sub-Inspector Harilal (Baburaj) after the previous one retires. To avenge his anger, Giri gets into an act of frivolously stealing from the houses of locals. As the cases grow, the locals are agitated that the new SI is unable to find the thief. Giri continues with his “outings in the night” but to his bad luck, gets caugh