2d-life;

I have seen several takes on time travel in short stories, novels, films and anime, but 24 is different from all those.  Usually, the central theme is the adverse effects of changing the past.  Given the dearth of science fiction films in India, I was happy to see the 2015 Tamil film Indru netru naalai, which did a decent job in portraying this theme.  24 does not deal with such deep moral or philosophical questions, but their take on time travel was very interesting. According to the film, when you travel in time you go into your body at that time.  So, there will never be two instances of the same person, unlike many other portrayals of time travel.  Basically, only the memories are different.  In some sense, this is similar to time travel stories where you can only send messages to the past of future.  If you are interested in this theme, I highly recommend the anime Stien's gate. This mode of time travel limits the extent to which you can trav...

Mili is a film about an introverted, insecure, and timid girl slowly gaining the strength to stand on her own legs.  In her childhood, she found it hard to meet the expectations people had from the daughter of a reputed Professor.  On top of it, due to the early demise of her mother and the sickness until then, she missed the support of a mother's care.  It is hinted that, her nature and lack of confidence can be attributed to her broken childhood.  Amala Paul played the role of Mili and did a wonderful job. Mili seeks the help of her father (Saikumar) or Nancy (Praveena) even for trivial issues.  Her father, concerned about her and her inability to survive in the real world, forces her to solve her issues on her own.  The dilemma whether to help her or not is shown wonderfully in the movie.  Often, he helps her indirectly through Nancy, his student and Mili's local guardian.  Nancy is very supportive and like an elder sister to Mili.  At ...

The new Jungle book movie showcases amazing graphics and spectacular visuals, but I was somewhat disappointed by the film.  It failed to create an impact in me, and I blame the script. The bond between Mowgli and the wolf pack was not developed well enough.  Thus, when Shere Khan kills Akela, which happens not long after the movie starts, I felt nothing.  I remember, this to be one of the most touching scenes when I watched Jungle Book as a kid.  For the same reason, if this movie is the first exposure to Jungle Book for someone, he/she will not get why Mowgli badly wants to avenge Akela.  This happened with one of my younger friends.  I feel, more time should have been spent on developing this bond.  I think it is a major flaw.   If you ignore this point, the movie had its moments.  I loved Bagheera and Baloo. By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46830494

Su.. Su... Sudhi Vathmeekam, is a simple movie about the life of a stammerer Sudhi (Jayasurya).  The movie deals with struggles Sudhi faces in his daily life. The movie is well made and Jayasurya has acted well.  This is noteworthy, as it is so easy to overdo the stammering. It is clear from the movie that Sudhi is a very smart individual with many skills, but years of mockery and ridicule killed his confidence.  Thus, he is forced to work like a slave for Kurup Sir.  Society's attitude towards an individual has deep impact in his ability to reach his potential.  This, I feel, is the reason why we need affirmative action. Sudhi is however blessed with some close friends and a very supportive family.  The dynamics of these relationships has a big role in making this film so enjoyable.  Greagon, Sudhi's friend played by Aju Vargese, is an exceptionally good character.  He is the antithesis of Sudhi, the ever confident individual always cha...

Snehaveedu, the 2011 movie from the duo Mohanlal and Sathyan Anthikad, though well received in theaters, was a big let down.  It takes a good 45 minutes in a 150 minute movie to even reach the main plot. This initial stretch is filled with overused village nostalgia pills with nothing new to boast.   In one of the scenes, Mohanlal boasts how he used to be a Casanova in  his youth. And the movie stops for the interval soon after the arrival of a young boy, who claims that he is Mohanlal’s son.  The interval is well timed and promises a good second half.  But, the main plot is complete nonsense, the truth behind the boy being the worst. (If you want to know, read the spoilers section in the end).  Mohanlal vehemently denies the fatherhood throughout the movie.  Sheela is shown as a doting mother in the first half, but her behaviour indicates that she does not believe Mohanlal.  Is not trust an essential aspect in love?  Whenever confront...

Last week when I was in theatre to watch Kali (a Malayalam movie) I saw the trailer of Ki&Ka.  Seeing it is about the concept of house-husband, I immediately decided to watch it first-day-first-show. It is a concept close to my heart and something I used to discuss often with my friends during my undergraduate days. They were also excited about the idea and we often jested that we will grow into house-husbands.  If (some) men feel women have it easier and (some)  women feel men have it easier, why can't they just exchange their gender roles?  I know it is easier said than done, but can't we atleast try?  With this motivation,  I kept my promise to myself and watched Ki&Ka today, the 11am show.  And,  the film didn't disappoint me at all. I recommend this film.  The film is about Kia, a highly ambitious girl who thinks marriage chains down a women's dreams and ambitions, and Kabir, who wants to lead a life away from this purs...

Natholi oru cheriya meenalla is a 2013 Malayalam film written by Shankar Ramakrishnan and directed by V. K. Prakash. Among the people I know, very few enjoyed the film. The general opinion is quite negative. IMDB rating is just 5.5/10. However, I loved the film. I have already watched the film 4 or 5 times. People are surprised by the fact that I loved the film. They often ask "How could you like it so much?". This is my answer! There are spoilers ahead. So, those who have not watched the film and hate knowing the story, please come back after you have watched the film. But, I would say, don't worry too much. In my opinion, knowing the story is not going to make the movie less enjoyable. In fact, I hope, my article will help you enjoy the film better. I also promise that I will reveal as little as possible. The movie is about Preman (Fahad Fazil) who is an aspiring writer. However, he becomes a caretaker in an apartment to meet daily needs. He develo...