Dalton

Dalton is quintessentially a film critic /essayist /festival advisor. Additionally, he’s the editor of Cinematic Illusions and the Journal of Indian Cinema; founder of the Cinema Society of India, which screens films; CEO of House of Illusions, a film studio that creates meaningful cinema; chief advisory board member of the Kautik International Film Festival; and artistic director of the Chalachitram National Film Festival. He has served on the music jury of Mahatma Gandhi University and on the film jury (west zone panel) of the 67th National Film Awards of India.
  • The blue notes

    The Blue Notes

    I wandered deep into the old cotton fields, and heard the voices of the sad Afro-American saints again, last night. And in those moments, I saw the light of eternity. For, the pathways to divinity exist in certain micro-intervals between the seven music notes. Even in the academic circles...
  • realism

    Of Realism in the Malayalam Reels

    The cinema of Malayalam, having since its alpha days attracted intellectual artists, has essentially been a canvas on which conscientious thinkers imaged the struggles of the individual. Of realism. It is notable that the cinema of this region/language, unlike many others all over the world—this assertion of course omits...
  • Is this the End of Mammootty?

    Stardom is fickle; occasionally lifting its achievers high up in the air only to throw them mercilessly down the hill. Sustained survival at the heights isn’t easy for it is dependent on the varying tastes and moods of an external source, a not-very-predictable audience. With eleven duds in a...
  • Film Critic in conversation with a Film Actor

    SCENE Day – Exterior – Long shot. A dude in dark sunglasses and slick attire rides into the frame on a flashy green old Royal Enfield. The director yells, “Cut”. Close up: MAMMOOTTY. Mammootty jumps off the bullet, and smiles. He walks towards the technicians, and does some charismatic clowning around; very...
  • What is this ROCK music?

    Using chopped up pieces of coconut tree branches as their electric guitars, bathroom buckets and broomsticks as their drum kit, and a soda bottle as their mike, recently, a band performed for the “mock” Rock event at Sofia College’s ‘Kaleidoscope’ fest. Then, they smashed their “musical instruments” on the...
  • Intellectual Thieves

    When a material thief is caught, they are first beaten up and then imprisoned. Why then, are those charged (if ever) with the more severe crime of intellectual thievery, let off with a monetary fine? Plagiarism is a serious offense to thinkers, and those who are guilty of committing...
  • Cinema Under Siege

    I drew up the blinds one morning and watched the city’s critics striding in through the PVR Cinema entrance. Ah, the Big B’s big day; in a few hours, we would know if he’s done justice to his Shakespearean fan character. Instead, a while later, a mob appeared on...
  • Of Breakups and Reunions

    When I was a teen, my room was stacked with electric guitars; an improvised amp, woofer, and tweeter; and an old drum kit with a wobbly, bass peddle that kept falling off every once in a while. Fortunately, I didn’t cut an album and become a legend like some...
  • On the Art and Importance of being Unique

    Sometime in the late-60s, a young American wanting to be famous set fire to his guitar on stage. The story made headlines and made him a legend overnight. In later concerts and recordings, he would make his guitar speak a few words in English. He wasn’t the first, or...