Filmy Illusions

  Picture Courtesy:  PBS NewsHour Classroom To those who've inquired about my thoughts on God over the past six years since my transition into agnosticism, my response has remained consistent: "If God conforms to the description provided by those who seem to consider themselves as his managers, it would be in his best interest to remain non-existent. The magnitude of suffering attributed to him is beyond any conceivable redemption."                                          Picture Courtesy:  Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Wikipedia This stance, I believe, extends to individuals who arrogate unto themselves the role of "playing God."  I read couple of recent articles which shed light on how the Oppenheimer movie not only stands as a masterpiece of technical cinema but also functions as a vehicle for Westernized whitewashing; that the film seemingly see...

  Picture Courtesy: Amazon Prime Mini TV Having a celebrity crush on Barun Sobti won't be enough to endure the terrible pain that this new series is from Ekta Kapoor Universe. She has been running this formula for ages of cobbling together a half-baked, or should I say, hardly baked storyline, mix in a sprinkle of star power, add a pinch of random plot twists, and voila! You have yourself a series ready to hit the screens. Who needs a well-crafted narrative or compelling character development when you can rely on the allure of celebrity names to carry the show? It's the recipe for instant success, or at least that's what they want us to believe. The series written by Ritu Bhatia rehashes the tired and harmful trope that portrays healthier relationship traits as mundane while glorifying toxic traits as alluring, suggesting that these dynamics make a relationship captivating. It's disheartening to see yet another iteration of this clichéd narrative, which fails to recog...

  Picture Courtesy: Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam FB Page I am a huge fan of creators who doesn’t spoon-feed, rather leave interesting concepts open to audiences’ interpretation, trusting their intelligence and experiences. That’s the reason why I became an enthusiast of Lijo Jose Pellissery’s movies from Nayakan, probably his least popular movie. His ability to merge large groups of people so seamlessly into the story on screen and draw the audience into the world, is one of the trademarks of his creations. I always felt that LJP, held incredible creative prowess to turn any actor to showcase their organic best performance, within his artistic world, curated with precision. Picture Courtesy: Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam FB Page Add to that an actor who is ageing like fine wine, the man who is winning hearts with his ingenious selection of roles, that challenges his craft, Mammootty. I have to admit, growing up I have never been a fan of the actor except for some selective roles...