Along with the records of M S Subbalakshmi,almost every family had them. Saraswati Devi and her peacock, Mahalakshmi on her lotus, Shiva-unusually moustached – with Parvati, holding their children on laps, Sita and Rama at their coronation, with loyal brothers behind, and an adoring Hanuman at their feet. Growing up in a Tamil household, one was surrounded […]
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Month: November 2014
Sunil Shanbag: The Tireless Idealist
“The point of theatre is to create a microcosm and connect it with a macrocosm so that a story means something to everyone.” Director, actor and theatre doyen Sunil Shanbag is holding forth in the Ranga Shankara cafe between rehearsals of Stories In a Song, the play that played to a full house on November 7. Over […]
Govind Nihalani : Memories Of Another Time
Padma Shri awardee, filmmaker, cinematographer and one of the key figures of independent cinema in India, Govind Nihalani has just walked into Bangalore’s Ranga Shankara cafe and a young volunteer is asking him if she can get him coffee. He asks, ‘What kind?’ She smiles nervously,”Filter?” He looks relieved and nods. Yes, he would very […]
Garm Hava Blows Once Again
Forty one years after its theatrical release, Garm Hava, M S Sathyu’s seminal work on a country suffering the aftershocks of Partition will grace cinema screens again on November 14.PVR group’s limited release arm, Director’s Rare, will release the movie (digitally restored by Indikino Edutainment) in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune and Ahmedabad. Those who […]
The Birthday Cake
Not easy To blow out your past In one breath! The dead candles On the birthday cake A jungle of nude trees That had once Sheltered me in their shade. A grudge of betrayal In their silent eyes! ‘We are the milestones Of the arduous trek’. I stand convicted….! Oh! How the Time’s trident- Tomorrow-today-yesterday […]
Writer’s Block
The mind fails to catch Ideas floating like sperms Waiting to be hit by conviction; To gestate and come to life Myriad images, like Vibrant butterflies Tempt; and then run amok, In the dark recesses of mind Across the hills and rivers, My thoughts run wild Then slip through my fingers Like bubbles bursting in the […]
Death With Dignity?
Editor’s note: This is perspective piece and we may agree or disagree but it is worth a read. After one final flash of colour, the trees are losing their leaves and getting ready for winter. Winter! The very thought of it makes me shiver. And makes me want to run away to Florida where I […]
Sadashiv Amrapurkar: Beyond Villainy
There is a moment in Mahesh Bhatt’s 1991 film Sadak when Sadashiv Amrapurkar’s Maharani, an eunuch who is also a brothel madam, is hunting for prey or rather two women who have escaped with their lovers from her clutches. In a parking lot where the silence is thrumming with fear and foreboding, Maharani is literally […]
Poetry In Bamboo
Beyond the obvious connotations of the politics of revolution, the name Lenin In Irish means, ‘lover.’ And the young man surrounded by many bamboo installations at the Shanthiroad Studio Gallery, calls himself Lenin for a very good reason. He loves the earth, the cycle of birth and decay and rejuvenation. He loves how nature’s palette changes with […]
At 52, Bond Is Edgier, More Human
In October this year, the James Bond franchise turned 52. From an inside joke to a gut-wrenching life and death question, the Bond narratives have travelled a long way. The franchise has now acquired a sense of immediacy and finally a Bond film has grown up to tell stories about real people in unreal situations, […]
A Caravan Of Hope And Colour
She calls herself Poornima Travelling Sukumar and for good reason. She is currently travelling with a cargo of goodwill to Kashmir in a lorry. This art caravan she says is called Winter on Wheels and is gathering warm clothing for the Kashmiris affected by the recent floods. At every stop, she and her co-traveller Akram Feroz also make […]
Letters of Love And Longing
A female actor with a successful career, occasionally contemplating death to escape her empty life and a futile relationship. A young, upcoming star who carries her away to safety from a set engulfed in cathartic fire. And the beginning of endless love. That is how Nargis and Sunil Dutt’s story began along with an unbroken chain […]