Mammootty's greatness lies not in hiding his flaws, but in turning them into his most powerful acting tools, observes Sreehari Nair.
Ayushmann Khurrana, known for consistently breaking conventions with his choice of roles and projects since his 2012 debut in 'Vicky Donor', is gearing up for his new release 'Pati Patni Aur Woh Do'. Ahead of its release, a list ranks his top 10 standout films, highlighting his unique contributions to Indian cinema.
'There will be no Malayali who does not recall, at least once a day, what Sreenivasan wrote, spoke or showed on screen.'
From a reluctant engineering student to one of India's most loved viral choreographers, Noel Alexander's rise has been nothing short of cinematic.
'Arundhati Roy is like a ballerina performing on a high wire, cool, supremely at ease but conscious of all the adoring eyes on her,' notes P Vijaya Kumar.
'They just showed riots created by some political party. They never mentioned the name of the place or the political party.' 'I don't know why these people are agitated.'
'Did anyone else get the feeling that AWIAL -- despite being ostensibly based in the Mumbai of today -- is actually set in a Neverland of Solemnity?' asks Sreehari Nair.
The letter alleged that some of the recent articles written by the award-winning writer amounted to "misleading" the Muslim youth. It also warned that Ramanunni would meet the same fate as that of professor T J Joseph, whose right arm was chopped off by the members of a radical Muslim outfit for allegedly hurting their religious sentiments through a question paper he had set.
You will appreciate the Mammootty of this movie better if you do not take the servile reviews to heart, for this is a grand, broad, almost proudly comic performance, assures Sreehari Nair.
National Award winner Salim Kumar talks about the politics behind the awards and how he manages to play comic and serious roles with equal conviction.
What follows is essentially a long scene set in a single location, and you watch in amazement as the scene grows into one of Indian cinema's funniest and most spectacular pieces of sustained craftsmanship, accumulating emotional power and subtext, growing wings and claws, becoming its own beast, applauds Sreehari Nair.
'Suddenly the audience pool feels bigger, like everyone is watching everything now.' 'It's no longer limited in terms of boundaries, like a state or a language.' 'Whether it's a series, a movie or even a Korean film, the audience has access to all of it.' 'Slowly, the boundaries are blurring, so that's great for actors.'
As good as Mammootty is playing Sundaram, we see this facet of his performance through two lenses: That of Sundaram being an offset to whatever we know about James, and that of Mammootty doing quintessentially Tamil tics, including enacting scenes from old Tamil movies like solo plays, observes Rohit Sathish Nair.
These films, even at their saddest, darkest and grossest, retain their sense of humour, their sense of proportion, which again is something you associate with a Malayali.
'Once Mohanlal's ever-swelling entourage grasped his enormous worth, once it realized that the innate Mohanlal appeal could be profited from, it set about to exploit, to make uproars, to create the Mohanlal brand.' 'And he wasn't meant to be a brand. He was meant to be an artist, a tireless explorer of the unique seas inside him,' asserts Sreehari Nair.
Indian fans wait for Messi's '2011 Tendulkar moment'
Padmarajan's Thoovanathumbikal has become a part of Malayali mythology, just as its maker himself now possesses mythological status.
Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam is a masterpiece, and like most masterpieces of the cinema, it's a great act of folly, observes Sreehari Nair.
Kavya Madhavan talks about her upcoming film Veniceile Vyapari and her jounrey so far.
'Happy Onam to all Malayali friends .. specially to my friend @sreesanth36'
Get your lowdown on what's going on in the world of Malayalam film industry, right here!
'How long do you dumb down, how long do you stay silent,' the actor asks at TEDx.
Abhijith Gopinath aka A.B.I was mocked through school and college. He found solace in hip-hop and chose love over hate.
Despite its stiffness, in Aarkkariyam, a supernatural glow does shine out of the ordinary.
Poor writing sinks this period film which is watchable for Mammooty's gravity defying stunts, says Divya Nair.
A lowdown on what's happening in the Malayalam film industry.
A Nedumudi Venu character was happiest when moving his head to a piece of music with his eyes closed; or, when inventing off of a note that a co-actor had left unfinished; or, when reciting a poem by Kavalam Narayana Panicker where a hymn about nature descends into a musing about cheating, depression and death, feels Sreehari Nair.
If you think the film is gutsy, you are simply being blind to the truth that the whole men-are-worthless slant is saleable right now, argues Sreehari Nair.
There's the excitement of watching minor people commit major crimes and watching how that becomes their second nature, almost. Just when you think the show is extending outwards, it implodes. And with the ethical hinges off totally, you, the viewer, wouldn't know quite how to react, observes Sreehari Nair.
Sreehari Nair reviews Ayyappanum Koshiyum.
There are as many as seven movie releases, and they all look good.
The social comment in Sanalkumar Sasidharan's Ozhivudivasathe Kali could well make it a success at the box office, feels Paresh C Palicha.
'It took a 75-year-old director to teach the reformist set of Facebook users that Evil is not an aberration, but something that resides in the most regular seeming of human beings,' says Sreehari Nair.
'People don't like me wearing saris. But I am an Indian drag queen. I will wear a sari.'
On this day, February 1, in 1976, the Kerala-born poet released her autobiography, My Story.
'What we have here is a director who understands how people fight, but has not a clue about how they make love,' points out Sreehari Nair.
'I might in the future step out of a Dileesh Pothan movie not completely satisfied, but content I'll be in the knowledge that our greatest living film-maker had failed striving to be something more than just an auteur,' notes Sreehari Nair.
'People, who make a big deal about doing bold scenes, don't look at them with the right perspective,' Randeep Hooda gets candid.
As Fahadh Faasil turns 39 on August 8, Subhash K Jha looks back at his favourite films featuring the brilliant actor.
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