Grief lies heavy on one’s soul and for this reason it’s a favourite theme among filmmakers. Like a large, cavernous underground cave, grief sprawls across minds and hearts offering multiple facets to explore. In “The Mehta Boys”, director Boman Irani, in his debut feature, chooses to take a good look at grief through the complex...
After reading review after glowing review of Payal Kapadia’s “All We Imagine is Light” I had to watch it. I finally did, in the theatre, no less. I say that because Indian films being shown in Ireland is still a rarity, let alone a Malayalam movie. The film follows the lives of 2 nurses, Prabha...
Krishnadevaraya is a familiar name. I remember some of the battles he fought from history class in school. I’ve marvelled at the lofty gopurams he built in Hampi. But who was Krishnadevaraya, the man? Ra.Ki. Rangarajan tells us in “I, Krishnadevaraya”, a novel written in the first-person. I had never come across such a narrative...
I got back to reading plays a couple of years ago with Girish Karnad’s “Crossing to Talikota”. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to read more of Karnad’s plays and explore other Indian playwrights, as well. My first pick was “Kamala” by Vijay Tendulkar (the English translation). The play follows Sarita’s life, which...
“You may see no rivers on the ground but we keep the rivers inside us. That is why all good things and all good people are called rain. Sometimes we see the rain clouds gather even though not a cloud appears in the sky. It is all in our heart.” I challenged myself to ‘Read...
Coffee was an essential part of my childhood. My earliest memories include waking up to the rich aroma of filter coffee in the mornings. Being given black coffee in a mini steel tumbler whenever I came down with a fever. My grandmother firmly believed that drinking a shot of black coffee with a pinch of...
Costanza Casati’s Babylonia transports us to the 9th century BC, to the kingdom of Assyria where we meet the legendary figure of Semiramis. The story opens in the village of Mari, where Semiramis, abandoned as a child, grows up under the harsh guardianship of Simmas, a shepherd. Subjected to cruelty and derision from her adoptive...
My earliest exposure to Telugu films was when watching Doordarshan in the 1980s-90s. The images of Chiranjeevi in purple pants and purple shirts singing in meadows with equally colourful heroines are etched in my mind. At the time, the mere mention of Telugu movies would bring forth laughter from everyone around me. I cringe. I...
Sarah Manguso’s Liars is a haunting novel that dissects a marriage doomed by its own foundations. The novel begins with Jane, an aspiring writer, meeting John, a charismatic filmmaker. Both share lofty dreams of love and artistic success and they waste no time in getting married. Yet, cracks in their shared vision quickly appear. John’s...
Years ago, my colleagues and I were taking a short walk during our lunch hour along the quiet lanes of Rest House Road in Bangalore. Suddenly, we were accosted from behind by 3 or 4 transgenders. They didn’t do anything to us. They were simply asking for money. But their actions, appearance, behaviour were all...
