With Piravi, Shaji N Karun joined the select group of great masters of film. Malayalam once upon a time used to produce such films. Today, it is only mindless violence, politics and grotesque humour. The films have no soul, although they are technically quite good. With Shaji's passing, and earlier with his mentor G Aravindan's untimely death, an era is coming to an end. Rajeev Srinivasan salutes the master, who passed into the ages on April 28.
'He was a tremendous artist of a very high order, gone too soon. He not only reshaped the visual language of Indian Cinema through his cinematography in Aravindan's films, Shaji sir gave us all a sense of direction through his mainstream work as a cameraman.'
'I am fascinated by the lurking presence of the tiger.'
'The film-literate public in Kerala are not happy watching run-of-the-mill movies.'
Beginning his career as a theatre artiste, he entered the Malayalam movie world in 1978 in G Aravindan's movie Thambu. The actor handled many versatile roles in a remarkable career.
The CBI contended before the Delhi high court on Tuesday that there were glaring illegalities in the trial court judgment that acquitted former telecom minister A Raja and others in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case.
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'He was truly an athulya abhinaya pratibha (exceptionally talented actor),' director Fazil tells Divya Nair/Rediff.com, as he mourns his friend's loss.
'Satyajit Ray is most relevant even today.'
'I will miss you, dear Venu. You reached the pinnacle with your talent,' recalls K Kunhikrishnan who knew the legendary actor well.
Rajeev Srinivasan on how insurgents and terrorists seem to have more human rights than the average citizen in India.
'...and showcased in their original beauty.'
'There's just a handful of roles for a few actresses.' 'When I meet other actresses my age, they say the same thing: No roles!'
'In the whole of my career, some ten-twenty characters might have really satisfied me.'
'Women use acting as a way to protect themselves.'
A beautiful documentary from Delhi. A shocking satire that spares no one. A thriller about a serial killer in Iran. A Pakistan film about family secrets... Aseem Chhabra lists the best films he saw in Cannes.
'Where Pratidwandi is concerned, there are very few men standing.'
'An actor should learn to separate the actor and the character.' 'Me the actor and me the character should never intermingle.'
'Villagers are people without masks.' 'That is why I call them genuine human beings.' 'As an actor, I have been inspired by many such genuine characters.'
The court said a 'scam was created when there was none'.
P Rajendran looks back on the 11 plus years he worked with Arthur J Pais, the India Abroad and Rediff.com editor, who passed into the ages on January 8.
'The city was never the same after the attack. It was scarred,' says Nicolas Saada whose movie Taj Mahal offers a unique view of the Mumbai attacks.
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