Life after Corona!

The year that was 2020 (#Hindsight), brought life as we knew it to a standstill, but as it is wont to, life showed us that it didn't stop. The new avatar of our little raggedy blog may show us the way to never give up the dream.Here's to new beginnings and a new decade. We've...

We were on a break!

Yes, as much as we hate to admit it, we are what we see, touch, feel, observe. Hence the pop-culture reference from the once popular television sit-com. What started out as a conversation among friends who wanted to be independent artists, friends who were just a little circumspect, just a little unsure about their footing,...

Review: Waters Close Over Us

Hartosh Singh Bal's 'parikrama' of the Narmada spanning many years, manifests itself in this fantastic piece of work as  part travelogue, part anthro-socio-cultural documentation, part retelling of the  modern history of central India. This broad canvas is littered with carefully placed strokes that mimic the tapestry of India and that only a keen eye could...

Lootera: Thoughts for those who have seen the film

Is film ki khasiyat ye hai ki iski kahani baaki sab cheezon par haavi hai. sab actors apne apne kirdaar nibhaate hain aur chale jaate hain magar kahani ke upar koi nahi hai. aur aisa isliye mumkin hua kyunki is film mein zyaddti nahin hai. minimal hai. controlled, restrained and hence gripping. Is film ki...

It’s celluloid… it’s digital…no, it’s cinema.

It probably requires a more experienced and learned mind to explore something so technical in an art form. But this technicality results in a gratification for the viewer, making him the most apt administrator of subjectivity. The argument is fairly simple; digital vs. celluloid. Like all things new, digital has its fair share of detractors...

Sonapani Film Festival, March 2013

  [This post is in Hindi, Urdu and English | Ye post Hindi, Urdu aur English mein hai] Sonapani jaakar ek ajeeb si khushi ka ehsaas hota hai. ye soorat-e-haal imagine karein: Pahadon mein sarsari si thand hai aur hawa thodi khushq hai. Ek cement se bana raasta dhalta dikhta hai, jaise invite kar raha...

15th Bharangam Diary: notes, rants and experiences

DAY 14: 18th Jan 2013 The Colonial, the Convict & the Cockatoo Script & Direction: Arjun Raina A very intensely researched production always holds its own when it comes to what it wants to say, and where it is headed. This play was as much a crash course on Aboriginal histories with regards to colonialism...

15th Bharangam Diary: notes, rants and experiences

DAY 12: 16th Jan 2013   Inspired by Blindness Based on: Blindness by Jose Saramago Adaptation & Direction: Sathya Bhama (Individual production) The novel has an apocalyptic plot where an epidemic of blindness has spread throughout and is a perfect metaphor for the degradation of society while seemingly evolving. This production was a solo performance...

15th Bharangam Diary: notes, rants and experiences

DAY 11: 15th Jan 2013 Subtitles are a must for non-English productions. Even Hindi plays must come with subtitles to aid people who do not know the language. There are many foreign participants at the festival to merit this. And if at all subtitles are not present for whatever reason, it should be clearly mentioned...

15th Bharangam Diary: notes, rants and experiences

DAY 10: 14th Jan 2013 The Pakistanis are coming! And they have Manto on their mind. The last leg of Bharangam is looking bright with anticipation and plays like Mantorama, Dafa 292 and Kaun Hai Ye Gustakh will be staged. Hopefully we can learn a few new details about the greatest short story writer ever,...