Film Reviews

Sangam – Of Choices and Consequences

Sangam’s...

Jagte Raho: A Night of Truth

Jagte Raho tears...

Ankur (1973): The Seed of Revolt Against Rural Power Dynamics

Shyam Benegal's Ankur explores class,...

Awara’s Dream Sequence: An Analysis

Raj Kapoor’s success as...

Sagina Mahato: The Bitter Brew of Labour Struggles

In the backdrop...

The Healing Touch: Doctors in Tapan Sinha’s Films

In Tapan Sinha's...

Harmonium — A Symbol of Interconnected Lives

A harmonium, as...

Ethics and Moral Lessons in Tapan Sinha’s Apanjan

Apanjan,...

Bancharamer Bagan: Between Parable and History in the Postcolony

Trinankur...

Jatugriha and Ijaazat: Love in Fragments

Jatugriha...

Khaniker Atithi and Zindagi Zindagi: Two Sides of One Coin

A...

Kabuliwala Champions a Humanity That Transcends Superficial Differences

Tapan Sinha’s Kabuliwala...

Upahar — The Unwanted Gift

Tapan...

Manik Babur Megh: Shibu, a Demon, the Cloud and a Man

Partha Pratim Ghosh reviews Manik...

Le Havre: A 21st Century Shomin-geki from Aki Kaurismaki

Aki Kaurismäki’s...

Srikanth: A Biopic with Heart and Hope

The Rajkummar Rao starrer...

Srinivas Pokale as Chaitu in Naal Part 2

Naal Part II: Mundane Moments of Everyday Life Made Magical

The magic of Naal Part 2 is hidden...

Animal: A Violent, Unrelenting, and Unforgettable Cinematic Experience

Animal...

All That Breathes Review: Finding Exquisite Beauty in Urban ‘Low Life’

All...

Abhimaan (1973) — Where Music Leads the Way

Abhimaan,...

Gadar 2: Carrying Forward the Gadar Legacy

Gadar 2 is...

Visual Opulence Punched with Masala Destress — That’s ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’

Rocky Aur...

Suryatapa – The Indomitable Self-Respect of a Woman

Suryatapa...

Satya (1998) — A Game Changer in Gangster Movies

Satya,...

The Most Anticipated Bollywood Movies of 2023

The year 2023...

Nocebo Review: An Entrancing Psychological Thriller With Creepy Elements

Nocebo...

Bomman with Raghu (Still from The Elephant Whisperers)

Sound the Trumpets: The Elephant Whisperers

Netflix's The Elephant Whisperers...

Jane Chapman plays the harpsichord at the Royal College of Music

In Search of Forgotten Melodies: Vignettes From Bengal’s Musical History

Somdev...

Abhijan: Soumitra Chatterjee’s Biopic – A Mosaic Missed

Parambrata...

Reel Reviews: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas & Father and Daughter

Garden...

Desi Web Heads, Spider-Man India is Finally Here!

Hints...

Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s Uttara – Poetry on Celluloid

Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s Uttara...

Vartak Nagar – A Story of Four Crows

A Unique Perspective...

Lagaan: The Fairy Tale of a Barren Land!

Lagaan is arguably the...

Anokhi Raat – A Unique Look at the Bitter Truths

Asit Sen's Anokhi...

Rolling Thunder Revue (2019)

This article examines Martin Scorsese’s...

Dharti ke Lal – Earliest Depiction of the Great Bengal Famine

The...

A Review of The Gospel According to St. Matthew and Francis of Assisi

A...

Dwelling in Travelling: Chronicle of the Baghdadi Jews of Calcutta

Subha...

Robibaar: Slow-burning, Rigorous Study of Two People

Atanu...

The World of Javed Akhtar: 124 Rare Exhibits to Celebrate the Legend’s 75th Year

To celebrate Javed Akhtar’s platinum...

Kolkata Cocktail: Three Women’s Journeys through the Poetic Vision of Kolkata

Kolkata...

25th KIFF – An Event to Remember

Mayurakshee Gangopadhyay, the...

Rajlokkhi O Srikanto: Looking at the Quintessential Escapist in Retrospect

Inspired by the Sarat Chandra classic,...

Naal: An Eloquent Reconnection With the Nurturer

Naal...

Shantilal O Projapoti Rohoshyo: A Character Study Disguised as a Detective Film

Pratim D. Gupta's films...

From left to right: Louis Garrel, Eva Green and Michael Pitt (Pic: 20th C. Fox Searchlight publicity)

Bernardo Bertolucci’s Dream

The Dreamers by Bernardo Bertolucci...

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Trailer – A New Hollywood Cultural Phenomenon on Its Way?

Back...

Ladakh Chale Rickshawala: An Impossible Dream, An Arduous Journey

Bengalis are known...

Bibaho Obhijaan: Aspiring to Bachelorhood

Bengali cinema has had a wonderful tradition...

Jeet and Koel in Shesh Theke Shuru (Pic: Pycker)

Shesh Theke Shuru: Jeet is the Saving Grace of an Otherwise Listless Film

In his 50th outing, Jeet attempts...

Enjoyable ‘Mystery in History’: Durgeshgorer Guptodhon Review

In...

A Tale of Two Schools

In the...

Tarikh – Moving Beyond Deadlines and Datelines

Tarikh shows how the social media...

Avengers: Endgame Speculation – X-Men to Play a Vital Role in Battle against Thanos?

Thanos...

Nagarkirtan: Love that Transcends Conventional Gender Clichés

Kaushik Ganguly's mastery lies in seeking...

Ahaa Re: If Food be the Music of Love, Cook On…

Ahaa Re offers a unique perspective...

Nathicharami: A Journey of Self-exploration

Nathicharami...

An Exquisite Labour of Love

Bird of Dusk,...

Raghu Rai – An Unframed Portrait

Raghu Rai is considered the ‘father’...

Manojder Adbhut Bari – A Whiff of Fresh Air

Anindya Chatterjee’s third feature...

Silhouette Recommends – The Headless Woman

Silhouette...

Taika Waititi’s Boy: Exploring Masculinity from an Indigenous Perspective

New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi’s comedy-drama...

Silhouette Recommends – Ostrov (The Island)

Silhouette members...

Gaheen Hriday: A Powerful Film by Agnidev Chatterjee

Are all adulterous relationships about...

In Search of History – A Review of Maati

Maati is a film about the nuances in...

Liv Ullmann as Marianne and Erland Josephson as Johan in Ingmar Bergman's last film Saraband

Silhouette Recommends – Saraband

July 2018 marked the birth centenary...

Mahanati: The Story of an Iconic Actress

Mahanati (2018), is a biopic on the...

A Little Sci Fi Gem: To Celebrate 200 Years of Frankenstein

2018 marks 200...

Rainbow Jelly Looks Beyond the Obvious

Soukarya Ghosal’s latest Bengali film...

Silhouette Recommends – Abel (Voyeur)

Silhouette members discussed and debated...

Turn Fears into Strength and Fly: Hichki Review

Hichki is the story of Naina Mathur,...

Silhouette Recommends – Heremakono (Waiting for Happiness)

Silhouette members discussed...

Haami – Too Much Noise for a Simple Peck on the Cheek!

Haami, the latest Bengali film from...

Silhouette Recommends – Amerika Square

Silhouette members discussed and debated...

Haranath and His Gender-Bender Film Dharasnan

What really makes a man, a ‘man’? Filmmaker...

Silhouette Recommends – Milk (Sut)

Silhouette...

Barsat Ki Raat Part 2: The Qawwali Duels

Monica Kar revisits the classic...

Silhouette Recommends – Paterson

Silhouette members discussed and debated...

Barsat Ki Raat Part 1: A Musical Romance

On the occasion of...

Force Majeure 2014 – Many Shades of a Social Animal

Ruben Ostlund's masterful Force...

Silhouette Recommends – On Body and Soul

Silhouette...

Atanu Ghosh's sensitive film - 'Mayurakshi'

Mayurakshi – the Stream Within

Atanu Ghosh’s Mayurakshi weaves a sensitive...

Calcutta Sonata – The City’s Sustained Love Affair with the Piano

The piano is essentially a Western musical...

Giving Wings to Dreams: Secret Superstar Review by a 12-year-old

Secret Superstar is the story...

InTalkies Short Film Contest 2017 for Bengali Filmmakers

InTalkies...

Bilu Rakkhosh – How Does One Define ‘Success’?

There are two opposite dimensions that...

Mamata Shankar as Dev D’s mother in Maacher Jhol

Maacher Jhol Review: Cooked and Served as Delightful Entertainment

Pratim D. Gupta’s latest film Maacher...

Dunkirk poster (Pic: IMPawards
http://www.impawards.com/2017/dunkirk.html

Dunkirk: Reading Nolan’s War Odyssey

The dreadful story of the betrayal at Dunkirk...

Teesri Kasam – A Story of Love That Meandered to its Dead End

Teesri Kasam – the name given to Maare...

Dhananjoy – Challenging the Criminal Justice System

Dhananjoy, the film is based on the...

Bikas Mishra’s Pagla Ghoda – Pensively Relevant

Bikas Ranjan Mishra's Pagla Ghoda...

A travelling ‘madari’ family in Buddhadeb Dasgupta's Tope

Tope Review – Decimated Cinema

Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s latest...

Sonata – A Celluloid Tribute to Loneliness that is Out of Sync

Aparna Sen’s Sonata is about three,...

Rangoon – A Complex, Intricate Yet Incomplete Tapestry

Vishal Bhardwaj's Rangoon is a metafilm...

Lady of the Lake: Intermingling Politics and Fantasy

Loktak Lairembee is the debut...

Devi – What if Devdas was a Woman?

“What if Devdas were a woman?” is the...

Suffering of Ninko: Clash of Restraint and Libido

Norihiro Niwatsukino’s bold attempt Suffering...

Antarleen and Kahaani 2 – Polarised Yet Competent Thrillers

At the very end of the year, two...

5th Dharamshala IFF 2016 to Throw Spotlight on Docu-features and Shorts

5th Dharamshala...

Postmaster Review – The Tagore Connection is Superfluous

Postmaster marks the directorial...

A mother-daughter moment of Nil Battey Sannata

Nil Battey Sannata Review: Be What You Want to Be

Nil Battey Sannata is a well-knit,...

Shankhachil – Soppy, Syrupy, Sentimental and Sad

Goutam Ghose’s Shankhachil won the National...

Raja Sen’s Maya Mridanga is Set on a High Pitch

Raja Sen’s latest film Maya Mridanga which...

Comical Mirror to a Vivacious Village Vaudeville

Skeptical...

Spotlight – A Great Film

Spotlight just won the Academy Award...

Chauranga – A Metaphor For Escape

Chauranga is a metaphor for the illusory...

The sensitive and delicate Tere mere sapne ab ek rang hain encapsulates love and dreams, empathy and companionship in every frame.

Guide: The Story of Ordinary People Leading Extraordinary Lives

Fifty years ago, Guide 1965 proved that...

All the World’s a Stage: Tamasha and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo

Tamasha...

Onyo Opala – An Unusual Perspective on the Gay Identity

Satarupa Sanyal’s latest film Onyo Opala...

In Argument with Beauty – Once upon a Time in Anatolia

Nuri Bilge Ceylan is an...

Abby Sen and Time Travel

Atanu Sen’s recent film Abby Sen is about...

Dharamshala International Film Festival 2015: A Curtain Raiser

The Dharamshala...

Rajkahini – A Valiant Effort

Srijit Mukherjee’s latest film Rajkahini...

4. Rituparna Sengupta in the last film - Telephone

Teen Kahon – Three Dimensions Of The Obsessive Mind

Is obsession...

Tom Alter and Oorvazi Irani in The Path Of Zarathustra

The Parsi Story – A Learning Experience

Oorvazi Irani’s debut...

Messages in The Mist

Frank Darabont’s 2007 film The Mist...

Was it a suicide, a murder or an accident – the death of Kheya in Natoker Mato

Theatre and Life: Natoker Mato

In 1977 during a film shooting,...

Brothers versus Warrior: Why Brothers Fails to be a Knock-Out

Brothers is a Hindi cinema which has close semblance...

Ek Nodir Galpo: The Name of a River

From a simple story of a...

Anubrato Bhalo Aacho? The Caregiver’s Tragedy

Partho Sen’s Anubrato Bhalo Aacho...

Miss Froy, an English spy posing as a governess

Alfred Hitchcock and The Lady Vanishes

In 1937, with The...

Mrs Paradine and Tony - the man 'blinded' by the gorgeous woman

Love as Obsession: Reading Alfred Hitchcock’s The Paradine Case

The...

Baahubali and Bhallaladeva – an epic rivalry

Baahubali: A Potential Game-Changer

S S Rajamouli’s Baahubali-the...

The Exterminating Angel – A Surrealist Treat

The Exterminating...

Between the Times – A Rare Experience: Asa Jaoar Majhe Review

Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s Asa Jaoar...

Hamari Adhuri Kahani – A Story Best Left Untold

Hamari Adhuri Kahani has outstanding...

(L-R) Keira Knightley, Matthew Beard, Matthew Goode, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Allen Leech star in The Imitation Game. (Pic courtesy: Internet)

‘Because God Didn’t Win the War’ – The Imitation Game Review

The...

Dil Dhadakne Do: A Triumph of Casting

The largest of the societal issues the...

Family Album – A Few Shades Of Grey

Family Album entertains in a certain way...

Jahnu Barua’s Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai : A Look Back

Jahnu...

Jogajog – Difficult to Translate

The original story triggers...

Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet – Falling Short of Expectations

In an effort to make a film that combines...

Uma is young and she is an instrument to pacify the lust of the local school master Nabin.

Suttee: Retelling the Myth

Analayzing Aparna Sen's Bengali movie...

Margarita with a Straw: True Taste of Life

A refreshing review...

Piku Enthralls

Piku is like a treat of golgappas in itself....

A Peek Into the World of Kadambari and Charulata

Champa Srinivasan...

Ek Din Pratidin – Mrinal Sen’s Indictment on Patriarchy

Ek...

Kaushik Ganguly’s Chotoder Chobi: A Giant Leap for Cinema Lovers

Kaushik Ganguly’s latest release...

Angelica smiles at Issac through the camera lens

The Strange Case of Angelica – Oliveira and His Saudade

Manoel de Oliveira's The...

Ritwik Ghatak on location (Pic courtesy: Internet)

Purulia-r Chhau: A Critical Review Of The Documentary By Ritwik Ghatak

In...

Punjab 1984 Review: About Wounds, Emotions And Simplicity

There is no condoning...

Born Into Brothels
(Pic courtesy Worldette.com)

Born into Brothels: Looking Back at a Gem in Documentary Filmmaking

The portrayal of artistry and talent...

Watch Haider for Shahid, Kashmir And Humanity

Shahid Kapoor as Haider in the second half, etches...

Thanks Maa: An Innocent Conviction, An Insensitive Society

Thanks Maa is a superb story of 2 days in...

Million Dollar Arm Review: Emotions Win In Deja Vu Sports Drama

Million Dollar Arm does not fall in the...

Hawaa Hawaai Review: Ek-Lava And His Wings

Amole Gupte's Hawaa Hawaai is one of the...

Pyaasa: Pristine Poetry On Celluloid

On Feb 19, 1957, Guru Dutt's classic Pyaasa...

Guide – A Mortal Man Became An Immortal Institution

Guide starts with a dashing Dev Anand (Raju)...

Sadanander Mela: A Story Of Humanity

The hero of Sadanander Mela is undoubtedly...

NS Rajan on An Ode to Mohammed Rafi
Thank you, Rachna for your kind words. Rafi was indeed a genius, yet so humble and God fearing that he never came across as a typical celebrity of t...
rachna rajesh on An Ode to Mohammed Rafi
This is so good .. Again, a delight for the students and listeners of Hindi cinema music . The playlist is as encompassing of his talent .. as is pos...
Anuradha Warrier on Sangam – Of Choices and Consequences
@Gandhi Vadlapatla, Thank you so much for the appreciation. I can't begin to tell you how much it means to a writer when their writing resonates wi...
Madhulika Liddle on Jagte Raho: A Night of Truth
Anu, thank you SO much! Coming from you, that is high praise indeed. I am grateful for this opportunity, really I am.
Madhulika Liddle on Jagte Raho: A Night of Truth
It's sad, actually, how Indians tend to value external recognition so much more than internal! I wonder if it's a result of what is generally known as...

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