Best of 2020: Hindi films and series

December 31, 2020

BEST FILMS 1. EEB ALLAY OOO This atmospheric satire by Prateek Vats highlights the problem of monkey menace in Delhi. The film is superbly crafted, wonderfully shot, and cleverly edited, oozing with cinematic flair and powerful socio-political commentary. 2. BHONSLE Bhonsle, directed by Devashish Makhija, tells the story of a...

WHY ‘THE STAND’ IS NOT AN UNWORTHY ADAPTATION OF STEPHEN KING’S SEMINAL DARK FANTASY NOVEL

December 26, 2020

Not many authors have consistently written best-selling books that get regularly adapted into films and series. Among those who have done it successfully, the first name that comes to mind is that of the celebrated American author Stephen King. It all started for King with the 1976 film Carrie, directed by...

‘UNPAUSED’: A MIXED-BAG AFFAIR THAT FAILS TO MATCH THE MAGIC OF ‘PUTHAM PUDHU KAALAI’

December 19, 2020

Following its Tamil anthology film Putham Pudhu Kaalai, Amazon Prime Video has come out with the Hindi anthology film Unpaused, also shot during the pandemic and featuring stories about themes of love, fresh beginnings, hope, and chance. Unpaused is an interesting package of five short films that brings together directors like Nikkhil Advani, Tannishtha...

THE 6TH KIFF TO SCREEN FILMS IN 700 VILLAGES

December 16, 2020

The 6th edition of the Khajuraho International Film Festival (KIFF) is being organised both offline and online owing to Covid-19 guidelines with 40% of the festival lineup happening in virtual mode. The film festival is being held in Khajuraho from 17 to 23 December 2020. Its major highlight will be...

FILMS ABOUT FILMS ARE RARELY AS GOOD AS ‘MANK’

December 12, 2020

The 1941 American film Citizen Kane is widely regarded as the greatest film ever made. The film is co-written and directed by Orson Welles, who also plays the lead character of Charles Foster Kane—a character that is said to be based on American media mogul William Randolph Hearst. In other words, Citizen...

Bryan Cranston is back in his element in legal drama ‘Your Honor’

December 5, 2020

Bryan Cranston is synonymous with Breaking Bad and vice versa. The statement is perhaps just as axiomatic as saying that sun rises in the east and sets in the west or saying that December is the twelfth and final month of the year in the Gregorian calendar. And, it’s going to stay...

NAMBIAR’S TECHNICAL MASTERY, RANE’S INTENSITY MAKE ‘TAISH’ UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE

November 28, 2020

By choosing to release Taish simultaneously as a film as well as a six-episode series, Bejoy Nambiar has mounted an interesting storytelling experiment. Film and series are of course two very different mediums and both have their strengths and weaknesses. A story which works in one medium may not work in the...

Industry: An unapologetic take on the world of high finance

November 21, 2020

Industry, the new HBO / BBC series, takes us to the heart of London’s trading floors and exposes us to the high-stakes battles, chaos, debauchery, and moral decline that govern them. The eight-part series follows a diverse group of young graduates as they vie for a limited number of permanent...

PRAKASH JHA DELIVERS ANOTHER BINGE-WORTHY CHAPTER OF AASHRAM SAGA

November 13, 2020

MX Player Original Series Aashram, directed by the veteran Indian filmmaker Prakash Jha, introduced us to Baba Nirala, a self-styled god-man whose followers have blind faith in him and will do anything that he asks of them. The character, essayed by Bobby Deol, is depicted as a megalomaniac with an...

WITH ‘SCAM 1992’, HANSAL MEHTA PROVES WHY HE’S OUR OLIVER STONE

November 7, 2020

When Gordon Gekko, Michael Douglas’ predatory investor and corporate raider character in Oliver Stone’s 1987 film Wall Street, declares “Greed is good,” he must have had insatiable people like Harshad Mehta in his mind. After all, for mere mortals, even greed has its limits. But then mere mortals aren’t deified with...