Baradwaj Rangan

Chennai

National Award-winning film critic. Author (Conversations with Mani Ratnam, Dispatches from the Wall Corner). Editor-in-Chief, Galatta Plus.

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Articles

Tharun Moorthy’s ‘Thudarum’, with Mohanlal and Shobana, tries to be a spoofy meta movie and an over-the-top mass movie

3 weeks ago | galattaplus.com | Baradwaj Rangan

The ‘Drishyam’-like story involves a murder. And once again, Mohanlal becomes an ordinary family man put in extraordinary circumstances. But the intrigue factor is drowned out by the loud ‘mass’ treatment. The rest of this review may contain spoilers. I think this is what Tharun Moorthy has tried to do with Thudarum. He has tried to make a meta movie by taking one of Mohanlal’s most beloved films – Drishyam – and filtering it through the lens of star worship.
Harshad Nalawade’s ‘Follower’ is a superbly crafted drama about the Kannadiga-Marathi conflict in Belgaum

1 month ago | galattaplus.com | Baradwaj Rangan

Harshad Nalawade’s ‘Follower’ is a superbly crafted drama about the Kannadiga-Marathi conflict in BelgaumNow in theatres, this Marathi (with Kannada and Hindi) feature world-premiered at the 2023 Rotterdam Film Festival. It shows how an ordinary man transforms into a “hater”. The rest of this review may contain spoilers. Harshad Nalawade’s story is set in Belgaum, a largely Marathi-speaking district that was pushed into the border region of Karnataka in the 1950s, when maps were being redrawn.
Jithu Ashraf’s ‘Officer on Duty’ works at a generic level, but this crime drama could have been so much more

1 month ago | galattaplus.com | Baradwaj Rangan

Kunchacko Boban gives a strong central performance, and the technical departments pitch in, too. But the writing remains superficial. The rest of this review may contain spoilers. There’s a fabulous shot that opens Officer On Duty. It’s a single take, and we find ourselves looking at a man who’s seated at his desk. As the camera moves back, the man rises. We see he is wearing a police uniform, but only the shirt.
Shauna Gautam’s ‘Nadaaniyan’ is a sweet, sensitive romance that hits some very real notes amidst the gloss

2 months ago | baradwajrangan.wordpress.com | Baradwaj Rangan

The film’s success is in blending teen angst into the glossy format of a ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’. Ibrahim Ali Khan makes a not-bad debut, while Khushi Kapoor really nails her part. The rest of this review may contain spoilers. A few minutes into Nadaaniyaan, I felt this was not going to be my kind of movie.
Jayant Digambar Somalkar’s ‘Sthal’ is a look at the pressures and humiliations of arranged marriage through the girl’s eyes

2 months ago | galattaplus.com | Baradwaj Rangan

Like ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’, this film shows us a patriarchal way of functioning we’ve always been aware of, but the girl’s POV makes the situations fresh and new. The rest of this review may contain spoilers. A friend of mine said yes to the very first girl he met in an arranged-marriage situation, when the two families met and a decision had to be made by the boy’s family.
Sumanth Bhat’s ‘Mithya’ is a superb series of insights into the mind of a troubled boy

2 months ago | galattaplus.com | Baradwaj Rangan

This Kannada feature is not exactly a coming-of-age movie. It’s more like a bunch of X-rays that lay bare the workings of a mind grappling with the aftermath of a tragedy. The rest of this review may contain spoilers. The opening shot of Mithya is that of a boy standing by the doorway of a train compartment. Outside this doorway, scenes of untamed Nature fly by. Inside the doorway is the comfort of berths and other people. The boy is neither here, nor there.
Briefly Reviewed - Brady Corbet’s ‘The Brutalist’

2 months ago | baradwajrangan.wordpress.com | Baradwaj Rangan

I watched The Brutalist on an IMAX screen, and I’m yet to recover from the experience. Experience. That’s the word for it. With most films, it’s easy to say… “I liked it”, or “the film did not work for me”. The Brutalist had parts I loved, parts that left me scratching my head, and a few minutes, early on, it even had parts that made me nod off for a bit (I hadn’t slept very well the previous night). But overall, it’s the kind of vast, kaleidoscopic thing you rarely see anymore.
Reema Kagti’s ‘Superboys of Malegaon’ is a beautifully made, tragicomic tribute to life and cinema

2 months ago | galattaplus.com | Baradwaj Rangan

The film can be seen as a companion piece to ‘Luck By Chance’. It follows a bunch of ordinary folks whose lives revolve around cinema. They make movies, and the movies make them. The rest of this review may contain spoilers. Nasir (Adarsh Gourav) is a wedding videographer in the sleepy town of Malegaon, which looks and feels like a Muslim neighbourhood of Malgudi. One evening, he takes the girl he loves to a movie starring Bruce Lee. She’s more practical: she says the star died early.
Girish Kohli’s ‘Crazxy’ is a tight, tense thriller anchored by a superb Sohum Shah

2 months ago | galattaplus.com | Baradwaj Rangan

A father searches for his kidnapped daughter. But along with this race-against-time thriller, we also get a psychological arc about a certain kind of man. It all comes together very well. The rest of this review may contain spoilers. The trailers have told us that Crazxy is about a father and his kidnapped daughter and ransom money.
Dhanush’s ‘Nilavuku En Mel Ennadi Kobam’ is a light, easy watch; the fun quotient makes you look past the flaws

2 months ago | galattaplus.com | Baradwaj Rangan

This Gen-Z love story does better with the “com” portions than the “rom” portions, which needed to dig deeper. But overall, it keeps you smiling. The rest of this review contains spoilers. In Nilavuku En Mel Ennadi Kobam (NEEK), Dhanush’s nephew Pavish plays someone like his uncle, the director of this lightweight rom-com. His character’s name is Prabhu, just like Dhanush’s given name is Venkatesh Prabhu. Like Dhanush in real life, Prabhu wants to become a chef.

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Baradwaj Rangan @baradwajrangan

14 May 25

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14 May 25

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14 May 25

RT @galattaplusoffl: “I personally don’t believe in vigilante justice.” @KolanuSailesh Watch Full Interview: https://t.co/xfw4XYXZUW @K…

Baradwaj Rangan

Articles

Tharun Moorthy’s ‘Thudarum’, with Mohanlal and Shobana, tries to be a spoofy meta movie and an over-the-top mass movie

Harshad Nalawade’s ‘Follower’ is a superbly crafted drama about the Kannadiga-Marathi conflict in Belgaum

Jithu Ashraf’s ‘Officer on Duty’ works at a generic level, but this crime drama could have been so much more

Shauna Gautam’s ‘Nadaaniyan’ is a sweet, sensitive romance that hits some very real notes amidst the gloss

Jayant Digambar Somalkar’s ‘Sthal’ is a look at the pressures and humiliations of arranged marriage through the girl’s eyes

Sumanth Bhat’s ‘Mithya’ is a superb series of insights into the mind of a troubled boy

Briefly Reviewed - Brady Corbet’s ‘The Brutalist’

Reema Kagti’s ‘Superboys of Malegaon’ is a beautifully made, tragicomic tribute to life and cinema

Girish Kohli’s ‘Crazxy’ is a tight, tense thriller anchored by a superb Sohum Shah

Dhanush’s ‘Nilavuku En Mel Ennadi Kobam’ is a light, easy watch; the fun quotient makes you look past the flaws

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