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Mint
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
Lounge Loves: A film club, ‘Toward Eternity' and more
There are two titles restored by Film Heritage Foundation in the Cannes Classics selection this year. One is Satyajit Ray's 1970 film with Soumitra Chatterjee and Sharmila Tagore, Aranyer Din Ratri. The other is a lesser-known film, though just as accomplished, only now getting the refurbishing it deserves: Sri Lankan director Sumitra Peries' Gehenu Lamai (1978). This was Peries' debut, but the direction is assured and intimate. Set in a village, this delicate black-and-white film is about the lives of two teenage sisters dealing with the complications of first love and societal pressure. Wasanthi Chathurani, also making her debut, is tremendous as Kusum. I'd seen breadfruit in carts and stalls in Goa, but hadn't tasted it till the personable bartender at Petisco in Panaji, Sherwin, recently suggested it as a pairing for his 'Imli pop', a tangy cocktail made with seasonal urrak, jaggery and a brine spiced with jalapenos and chilli. Breadfruit, like jackfruit of which it is the more elegant cousin, is the new favourite of chefs looking for inventive non-meat substitutes. Its versatile potato-like flavour and bready texture lends itself to all sorts of dishes, including the breadfruit fritters with a salad that Petisco has on its menu. But breadfruit made the shift from 'nice' to true favourite when Sherwin opened up his tiffin box and made us taste his mother's nirponos, or shallow-fried breadfruit lightly coated with rava, which she'd packed for his dinner. Old style hospitality beats fine-dining any day. Writer and translator Anton Hur's debut novel Toward Eternity has been an absolute joy to read. Curing cancer by replacing human cells with inorganic 'nanites' that not only makes the recipient cancer-free but also immortal? An AI trained on Victorian poetry that develops consciousness, and an appreciation for Christina Rossetti? A far future scenario with Biblical undertones? Inject it directly into my veins! I may sound flippant but this is a novel absolutely bursting with ideas. It feels like Hur (who I was delighted to discover was on the panel of judges that has just bestowed the International Booker Prize on Heart Lamp)—could have spun three or four books out of this cornucopia, but somehow they all fit together in one perfect novel. A friend co-runs a movie-screening initiative in Mumbai, @Secret7Cinema on Instagram, and it has become my favourite weekend activity of late. Each session begins with two iconic films pitched against each other. Everyone in the room gets 1-2 minutes to present their case—why this film, why now—and then we vote. The majority gets to decide if they want to flip a coin, otherwise, the losing team sits through the winning title. Last week, it was a fight between two Sanjay Dutt anti-hero flicks, Khalnayak and Vaastav. I voted for Vaastav, and that's what we watched, although someone else made a better case to swing votes in our favour. It's a playful but passionate exercise in debate, far from the noise of social media hellsites. No quote tweets, no hot takes, just voices in a room, arguing for the love of cinema. Paradiso.
India Today
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
Mahesh Manjrekar bats for Astitva re-release: It doesn't age, it's still topical
With re-releases becoming a growing trend in the film industry, veteran filmmaker-actor Mahesh Manjrekar feels this is the perfect time to revisit some of his most powerful stories. When asked which film of his he'd like to see back on the big screen and introduce it to the new generation, Manjrekar, without any hesitation, picked 'Astitva' from his filmography."See, I did a film years back, which someone told me was much ahead of its time. There were no multiplexes at that time – a film called 'Astitva'," he shared with India Today many would expect him to root for 'Vaastav', especially as the film completes 25 years, Manjrekar had a different choice: "Someone told me it's 25 years of 'Vaastav'... I said no. I said 'Astitva' any day. Till date, it is topical. It does not age. 'Astitva' is absolutely on top of the list." Released in 2000, 'Astitva' tackled themes of gender roles, fidelity, and self-worth with sensitivity and sharpness rarely seen at the time. Manjrekar believes that its relevance has only grown with time, making it the ideal candidate for a the Marathi space, Manjrekar also holds a special place for 'Mi Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy'. Reflecting on the film's core message, he added, "Even now, the only state which takes everything and doesn't react is Maharashtra. I really believe the people living in Maharashtra have a lot of patience."advertisementAs audiences embrace nostalgia on the big screen, Mahesh Manjrekar's call for a fresh screening of 'Astitva' and 'Mi Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy' feels both timely and asked if we would see him directing a Hindi film, he had a rather bold response. "No, this is what I hate. How is Hindi defined as great? I don't think so. Today, the Hindi film industry itself believes it is less than the South. So why should I believe it's better than Marathi cinema? People have accepted this fact. They've already surrendered and thrown their weapons," he further added, "Only seven Hindi films have worked recently. In comparison, at least twenty Hindi films have worked over the past few years. So I don't think it's as bad as it's made out to be.""For me, cinema should have no language. The real problem is convincing people who think they know what works in Hindi cinema. Many of them have faced 90 - 95 per cent losses, and yet they believe they know what cinema is. Honestly, their IQ and mine don't match - not saying I'm better, but what they think good cinema is, I don't. So it's better to make your own kind of cinema in Marathi, and frankly, I am pleased with it, and one day, I will hit the nail on the Hindi film's head," he a comparison to Marathi films, Mahesh said, "The business of 'Sairat' was Rs 100-150 crore, but I believe that the film's business was Rs 300 crore because the film's tickets were sold at Rs 100 and Rs 150. Hindi cinema tickets in the first week are sold at Rs 1,000. If you calculate footfalls, 'Sairat' had a bigger footfall than 'Baahubali'.""We (Marathi) have great content. I respect Malayalam cinema because they come up with amazing stories. Marathi cinema too. One day, content will triumph. In fact, it already is. Content has always been king."Mahesh Manjrekar will next be seen in the Marathi film, 'Devmanus'. Directed by Tejas Prabha Vijay Deoskar, the film also features Renuka Shahane, and Subodh Bhave, along with Siddharth Bodke in a pivotal role. It is set to hit the big screen on April Watch
Time of India
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Priya Dutt says Sanjay Dutt's biopic 'Sanju' did not do justice to him: 'I loved Ranbir Kapoor in it, but...'
Indian politician and social worker Priya Dutt recently shared the struggles she faced during the time her mother, the late actress Nargis Dutt , battled cancer, and how her brother, actor Sanjay Dutt , became addicted to drugs and substances. While recalling those haunting days, Priya called Sanjay's biopic ' Sanju ' by Rajkumar Hirani 'unfair', as she felt it did not do complete justice to his real-life tragedies. In an interview with Vickey Lalwani on his YouTube channel, Priya opened up about the biopic. When asked why the film did not focus much on Sanjay's mother Nargis or his family, and instead concentrated mainly on one friend, Priya said: 'I also felt that the movie didn't do justice to, I think, even my mum in the film, or my father. There is a lot that could have been explored. There was a lot. Even the relationship between the father and son, the way it was—I think a lot more could have been shown. I agree with you on that.' Sanjay Dutt, Sohail Khan Spotted by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Google Brain Co-Founder Andrew Ng, Recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo When asked whether she ever wanted to convey this to Rajkumar Hirani or felt like calling him, she nodded in agreement. 'But I think they had a different concept in mind. Their focus was just Sanju, of course, which I understand—and his life. It became a bit of a caricature. Maybe they had to amalgamate too many characters,' she pointed out. Priya also mentioned that she called Sanjay after watching the film and said it did not live up to expectations. 'I don't know. It's not what I expected it to be. I think it was more entertainment,' she said, adding that he responded rather coldly with a simple, 'Let it be.' She also expressed that the film did not portray every phase of Sanjay's life. 'I loved Ranbir Kapoor in it. He played Sanju very well. But yeah, I feel it wasn't really a biopic. It was a film, very entertaining, and included only certain aspects of his life. The intensity was missing,' she further added. Priya also shared her favourite films from her brother Sanjay Dutt's career. She picked Vaastav and Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. as her top choices.
