First Take

First Take | Reflecting on three recent films with women at the forefront

Petite Maman, The Worst Person In The World, and Bhamakalapam are of those rare films that possess the ability to enthral and enrapture for keeps

First Take | Pada, Aquarium, Parallel Mothers — three tepid films in limelight

Not all classics are bound to be loved unanimously. Hence, three recent films, all in the limelight for different reasons, left me, if not cold, then tepid

First Take | Apple TV's Roar and an account of memorable, trippy whimsical women

Each of the women I encountered in Roar, the majestic ode to muliebrity in all its glorious hues—the good, the bad and the ugly—were memorable in their own way

First Take | On The Restless, Luzzu, and other lesser known dysfunctional family dramas with illness at the centre

The Restless does not aim to be a great film. It aims for something far better, and far more difficult. It aims to be an honest film.

First Take | Dasvi, Bheeshma Parvam, The Eyes of Tammy Faye depict three corrupt leaders and their ideas of individual justice

Abhishek Bachchan in Dasvi, Mammootty in Bheeshma Parvam, and Jessica Chastain in The Eyes of Tammy Faye are three unlikely heroes and faces of subverted governance.

First Take | Fresh, Aamis, The Hungry: What do recent films on cannibalism say about us?

There is much more to these jolting films than the shockingly repellent cannibalism. They express a yearning to fulfil a culinary yearning that no kitchen can fulfill.

First Take | While making West Side Story, Steven Spielberg should've taken cues from In The Heights, or even Saawariya

Jon M Chu's 2020 musical In The Heights and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 2007 film Saawariya are far superior musicals than Steven Spielberg's Oscar-nominated West Side Story.

First Take | If Bhutan can go to Oscars with Lunana, why can't India with a back-to-roots film like Kadaisi Vivasayi?

One reason why Indian films always get snubbed at the Oscars is their verbosity. Indian filmmakers are petrified of silences. They make the characters speak constantly to ensure the audience does not lose interest.

First Take | From Hridayam to Jan.E.Man to Bachelor, young actors are taking over South cinema

In Malayalam cinema, we have the wonderful Tovino Thomas flying high in Minnal Murali alongside the Mammootys, Mohanlals, Fahadh Faasils, and Dulquer Salmaans.

First Take | After Gangubai Kathiawadi, tracing the other Fallen Woman in Mandi, Lakshmi, Begum Jaan

Gangubai’s tryst with destiny is a gorgeous metaphor on the ‘Fallen Woman’, a favourite prototype of Hindi cinema since Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa. Except that Gangubai refuses to fall