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The director’s baton is not a toy; before wielding it for the first time, one is required to learn, at least, the basic theories, and spend quality time gathering some amount of practical knowledge. Maharaja Talkies, with a premise of immense potential, fails miserably, chiefly because the plot and... -
Mainstream Indian filmmakers are generally “inspired” by the premises and plots of foreign-language films. Lijo Pellissery doesn’t flick any story; he just tries, very hard and unsuccessfully, to replicate the stylization and treatment of the original City of God. Handheld cameras are used throughout. The film opens with a... -
Originality is an art that isn’t practiced everywhere. Unfortunately, Malayalam cinema too, as ‘Celluloid’ explicitly suggests, appears to have its roots in what is now a Hollywood classic. Circa 1926, JC Daniel sells a portion of his ancestral land in order to make what would be the first Malayalam... -
The neorealist school of filmmaking when it came into existence advocated for a particular reason the use of a deep focus lens: it allowed reality to pervade every micro-inch of the screen. Annayum Rasoolum follows none of the laid-down rules, but strives nevertheless to be real, and only partially...