Friday, May 23, 2025

Film and TV

Trial by sympathy, acquittal by nostalgia: Case of vanishing survivor in Dileep’s PR powered redemption drama

There is a chilling familiarity in how the disgraced Malayalam actor Dileep is making his slow but deliberate return to public life. The script is not new: a carefully staged media blitz, selective memory, appeals to nostalgia, and an ecosystem of enablers willing to overlook—or deliberately erase—the seriousness of the charges he continues to face.

“Filmmaking is about understanding humanity”: Conversation with Sri Lankan filmmaker Nadie Wasalamudaliarachchi

Nadie Wasalamudaliarachchi is a Sri Lankan author, filmmaker, and political activist known for her novel Wolfhandhal Street (2015), which was nominated for the Swarnapusthaka Award in 2016.

“Fatima Hassouna should have been among us this evening”: Slain Gaza journalist honoured at Cannes

“She should have been here tonight with us,” Binoche said, adding, “In every region of the world, artists are fighting every day and turning resistance into art.”

Cinema cannot stay silent: hundreds of film industry icons decry Gaza genocide ahead of Cannes Festival

On Monday, in the lead-up to the annual Cannes Film Festival in France, nearly 400 international actors, directors, and producers released an open letter condemning Israel's genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Sarkeet: A short trip into migrant blues, parental fatigue, and what it means to be seen

Sarkeet offers a glimpse into the life of an expatriate couple navigating the challenges of raising a child diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), all while balancing the demands of work and daily life in a foreign land.

Donald Trump says he will put 100% tariff on all foreign films

The United States President Donald Trump has declared his intention to implement a 100 percent tariff on films produced outside the US.

“Why stop a film?”: Actor Prakash Raj after ban on Fawad Khan’s ‘Abir Gulaal’ in India

Actor Prakash Raj has voiced his concern over the decision to withhold the release of Abir Gulaal, a film starring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan and Indian actor Vaani Kapoor, in India. The film’s release was halted after the militant attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22.
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Plagiarism and caste distortion alleged in MAMI-selected film ‘Seeing Red’

Author and journalist Jeyarani has accused filmmaker Shalini Vijayakumar of plagiarising her short story 'Sevvarali Poocharam' in the short film Seeing Red, selected earlier this year under the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI).

The illusion of resolution: How progressive Malayalam cinema use structural violence as a sensation piece

Films like Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey (2022) and Sookshmadarshini (2024) have positioned themselves within this tradition, addressing domestic abuse, gender inequality and erasure of marginalized communities.
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Charm and camaraderie fill the scorecard in Alappuzha Gymkhana

Here, even the so-called heroic moment doesn’t belong to the obvious protagonist. Instead, the film finds its emotional highs in letting unexpected players rise and evolve. In doing so, Alappuzha Gymkhana offers a celebration of collective spirit.

Murder, bananas & meme-fuel: Maranamass leans into absurdity, delivering more mayhem than meaning

Maranamass teases the setup of a gripping, killer-centric narrative to shift focus and choose instead to revel in the eccentric world the killer inhabits, where the chaos is just as compelling as the crimes.
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“Good Bad Ugly”: Ajith Kumar’s high octane mimicry show

Watching Adhik Ravichandran's 'Good Bad Ugly' is similar stuffing oneself with a series of ice-creams for appetizers, main course and desserts. While the sugar rush might be exceedingly thrilling, once it ends, it does lead to a sense of dizziness and irritability.

‘Phule’ release deferred amidst Brahmin campaign against portrayal of upper-caste violence, censor board seeks removal of caste references

The release of Phule, directed by Ananth Mahadevan, has been pushed back by two weeks from its original release date of April 11. The film, starring Pratik Gandhi and...
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Caste, class, and communalism on Highways: Re-watching Bheed on fifth anniversary of pandemic lockdown

Re-watching Bheed on the fifth anniversary of the pandemic lockdown, Muhammed Noushad writes that Anubhav Sinha’s 2023 movie is a tribute to the massive humanitarian crisis of migrant exodus caused by the irresponsibly mismanaged lockdown.

Income Tax notice to Prithviraj Sukumaran amid hate campaign against ‘Empuraan’ for portraying Gujarat genocide

The Income Tax Department has issued a notice to actor and filmmaker Prithviraj Sukumaran over payment-related discrepancies linked to three films in which he was both a lead actor and co-producer. 
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Veera Dheera Sooran: Part 2 flexes its story as much as its star

From invoking the Madurai Veeran song to crafting a role that allows Vikram to unleash his full potential, evoking shades of his most celebrated performances, S.U. Arun Kumar’s Veera Dheera Sooran: Part 2 understands the fine line between being loud and being truly impactful.

ED raids producer Gokulam Gopalan’s office amid hate campaign against ‘Empuraan’ for portraying Gujarat genocide

Amid Hindutva hate campaigns against the movie L2: Empuraan, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted searches at the film’s co-producer Gokulam Gopalan’s Gokulam Group offices in Chennai and Kozhikode as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
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