Karthiks Blog

  What can you say about a film that is so vividly real, and so intense, that it holds you spellbound for two hours, without letup? A Separation , written and directed by Asghar Farhadi, would be superior filmmaking under any circumstances. That it also enables Western audiences to relate to its Iranian characters as people—not as political enemies or faceless statistics—is an equally great achievement. There are no heroes or villains in this story: there are only everyday figures who try their best and struggle to survive. The story begins as a modern-thinking woman asks for a divorce and is told, by an unseen magistrate, that she can’t take her daughter out of the country if her husband doesn’t consent. Here is our first taste of a patriarchal society where men, and men alone, make the decisions. The woman, who has red hair and looks almost Western, isn’t without fault: she wants her spouse to abandon his aged father, who has Alzheimer’s and can’t care for himself. This ...

The only published novel by Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights is the haunting story of the passionate love between the tortured Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, the daughter of Heathcliff’s benefactor. First published in 1847 under the pseudonym Ellis Bell, Wuthering Heights was remarkable for its unflinching and honest portrayal of obsessive love and its accompanying cruelty, which was out of character for novels of the era. Today, Wuthering Heights is considered to be a classic of English literature and has been adapted widely for the stage and screen. Wuthering Heights is a well written novel by Emily Bronte. Although it is a popular book now, it was first doubted when published in 1847. Bronte was born in 1818, but only managed to have one novel published in her name. Bronte’s novel is a well known love story between Cathy and Headcliff. To start off, Headcliff is hurt by the loss of his love Catherine and the abuse of his stepbrother, Hindley. He then sets out to get Edgar Lin...

If I had to pick one Hindi film this year that shows the largest heart, that truly symbolizes the victory of sheer passion towards cinema and storytelling, then it would have to be Hansal Mehta’s comeback film after a hiatus, the touching and eye-opening Shahid. The film traces the real life story of criminal lawyer Shahid Azmi, who was murdered for his defense of a Muslim man accused of being an accomplice in 26/11. Shahid’s story begins when, as a youth living in Govandi (an eastern suburb in Mumbai) and traumatized by the Bombay riots of 1993, he flees to a jihadi camp for ‘training’. The conflict between his own interpretation of Islam and that of the ‘trainers’ at the camp forces him to come back to Bombay, albeit into the arms of the police. Then begins his journey on the path of justice, something that he believes in till the very end. Shahid Azmi’s story was clearly bursting to be told; a man who decided to fight for those who couldn’t fight for themselves; a man who paid...

The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to provide a button on voting machines to allow voters to reject all candidates contesting an election in a constituency. Election commission sources said this will be done starting with the next set of assembly elections this year. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India P. Sathasivam asked the Election Commission to make changes in voting machines and ballot papers, giving voters a "none of the above" choice, and publicise this change widely. The court observed that negative voting would lead to systemic change in elections and political parties will be forced to project clean candidates. It also held that this will "foster purity and vibrancy in elections." Reading out the judgement, Justice Sathasivam said, "Democracy is all about choices and voters will be empowered by this right of negative voting. Negative voting will send a clear signal to political parties and candidates as to what the vote...

  I first heard of The Good Road in March 2013 when it was declared a winner in the ‘ Best Film in Gujarati’ category at the 60th National Film Awards 2013 . The film was almost forgotten, despite its release on July 19 , when it got back in news after it was chosen as India’s official entry to the Oscars . For a section of audiences and industrywallahs , it was a big blow as they wanted The Lunchbox to get selected. Naturally, the curiosity for The Good Road went on an all time high, at least with me and I decided to watch it on an immediate basis! And very sadly, it works but just in parts. It is at best an average fare! The Good Road moves at a snail’s pace, it doesn’t bore or drag. However, the biggest issue is that it fails to present a convincing tale. The manner in which David takes off without Aditya and the manner in which Aditya is handed over to Pappu just don’t seem justified. Thankfully, there is lots happening in the film and hence, one does get involved w...

Now that's what I call something out of the box or rather "Lunchbox." In the current age of Indian cinema where Gen-X kind of love stories are the spice of the season, "The Lunchbox" seems to be a story with a difference, which can definitely leave you under the mesmerizing spell of awe. And why I am calling,"The Lunchbox", a story with a difference, because in the era where emails, instant messaging and numerous other social media platforms are considered to be the backbone of romanticism, the author, Ritiesh Batra has tried his hands on something entirely unimaginable, "a lunchbox", where scribble notes placed in the lunchbox emerge as a mean of communication between two strangers who just have three things in common, "desolation, loneliness and a need for love". To some of the gen-next cine buffs the idea may seem something outdated and stodgy, but it's this simplicity of the movie which envelops your "heart and b...

Having been greatly impressed by recent works such as A Separation and About Elly , I was curious to learn what other hidden gems I could uncover from Iranian cinema. After a little digging, I found Children of Heaven and I can say hand on heart that I found it to be one of the most charming and satisfying pieces of cinema I have ever had the privilege to view. Released around 1998, director/writer Majid Majidi’s film has the simplest plot imaginable. Eight year old Ali ( Amir Farrokh Hashemian ) is tasked by his sick mother to go grocery shopping and take his younger sister, Zarah’s ( Bahare Seddiqi ) only pair of shoes to the cobbler for repair. Ali leaves the repaired shoes outside of the shop, as is the custom, and whilst inside a blind peddler inadvertently mistakes the shoes fore cast offs, throws them into his barrow and takes off. A moving story about the universal bonds of family as well as the specific circumstances of a poor family trying to make ends meet in Iran, ...

Lee is a kind of film which is uncommon these days when romantic stories have become the staple. The story is cantered on a sport and its challenges and Director Prabhu Solomon has by his deft handling of the story, made it an interesting drama of passion, envy, rivalry and revenge. The team spirit, friendship and fairness eventually win the day. Lee is the first film produced by veteran actor Sathyaraj who has strained his every nerve to impart the glitz and grandeur to the film to make it special. His son, Sibiraj, plays the lead role. 'Sporting' ideas and Tamil cinema rarely go hand in hand. Forget a Lagaan kind of magnum opus or an Iqbal, even smaller level of sporting theme-based scripts have been rare. So when Lee is made with a football-team-cantered story, one had some initial misgivings. But Prabhu Solomon, the nifty director, has used the motif of a soccer team, symbolizing the values of camaraderie, honesty and healthy rivalry, and has fused this into a larger ca...

My absolute favourite book of all time! I have read this book over and over again, throughout the years. Mr Iacocca's passion for his work and his confidence leaps out of the pages. Besides being a corporate story, this is also a story about an immigrant Italian kid coming from small town America making it big through hard work. An inspiring for those who are interested in managerial skills. A detailed description of how even a minor mistake or even an insecurity that your boss feels might turn out to be very costly is highlighted. Importance of family, learning from superiors, Commitment, intuition, change of your own perspectives when you face altogether a different scenarios and a lot more of important lessons for all the budding managers.   Lee Iacocca, the leader of Ford when the classic Mustang came out. After a long stay at Ford, he was ousted and went to Chrysler and saved it from bankruptcy into a thriving competitor against GM and Ford. I was especially entertained...