Avinash Ramachandran

1 week ago | indianexpress.com | Avinash Ramachandran

Agnyathavasi Movie Review: Agnyathavasi is the last film where you’d expect an objectifying number finding itself in the narrative. This is a slow-burn drama set in the idyllic Malnad region. This is set in the late 90s, and features an ageing inspector, a much-older retired postmaster, a lot of conversations about parenting and farming, and a murder. So it doesn’t make sense that Agnyathavasi features a song that objectifies, literally.

2 weeks ago | indianexpress.com | Avinash Ramachandran

Maranamass Movie Review: Serial killer films are mosty about unmasking the killer and unravelling the reason behind the killings. And then there are films where you know the killer’s identity right from the first scene, and it is all about how they are brought to justice. And then there is Sivaprasad’s Maranamass which tells us about the killer, his modus operandi, and his targets.

2 weeks ago | indianexpress.com | Avinash Ramachandran

Coming to the story of this fan service… lol, are we really taking this ride to connect with the story? But yeah, there is a dreaded gangster, who leaves the world of violence because of a promise made to his wife. Eighteen years later, he comes out of jail to meet his son, and bam! His son is in jail. Why is he there? Who put him there? Which old act of violence is now affecting his family?

2 weeks ago | indianexpress.com | Avinash Ramachandran

It is interesting how the biggest stars of Telugu cinema today made their debuts almost one after the other at the turn of the new millennium. Mahesh Babu started off in 1999, followed by Jr NTR in 2001, Prabhas in 2002, and Allu Arjun in 2003. Of course, the next set came soon after with Ram Charan in 2007, Nani in 2008, and Naga Chaitanya in 2009. It was almost like all of this was planned to give each of the star kids a year’s headstart. Of course, Nani, as always, is an outlier.

3 weeks ago | indianexpress.com | Avinash Ramachandran

Robinhood movie review: Director Venky Kudumula loves making films that have a simple premise, a convincing lead, enjoyable songs, and a convoluted narrative seamlessly tied together with a lot of laughs. In his latest, Robinhood, all of these are in place, but with the laughs not enough, and the ambitious narrative not being supported by the writing, Venky’s dreamy house of cards crashes down. Remember Ravi Teja-Surender Reddy’s Kick?