Monthly Review: February 2024
I published my January monthly review on 1st February, and I thought I should not rush things towards the end of February for this month’s blog. I can’t say that I didn’t repeat the same mistake, but I was slightly better prepared this time. I was adding my thoughts as they flowed, be they on Google Docs, WhatsApp, or Notes on my phone, only to compile them at the end and add them to the blog.
One of the feedbacks I received on my monthly blogs was not to compartmentalize it, like a typical clickbait article, but to let my thoughts flow organically without any segmentation in the content. Anyways, towards the end of the blog post, I’ll be adding the number of movies, books, etc. I’ve heard this from a few friends and wanted to try it out this time to see how it goes.
At the beginning of the month, I had three draft blog posts that were waiting to be published, but I couldn’t. Even now, they are under the Drafts folder, wanting to be read by others. I’ll look into publishing them soon. Anyway, I was more into reading this month and never missed a day without reading at least ten pages.
I started with Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Unscripted, co-written by his frequent collaborator, Abhijat Joshi. Until now, I’ve not seen a movie directed by Vidhu, but I was aware of his efforts in making Munna Bhai movies, 3 Idiots, and PK. I wanted to explore his filmography, but then I thought, ‘Let me read the book first and then watch the movies he made.’
I opened the book only to find out it was an excerpted conversation like “Conversations with Mani Ratnam” by Baradwaj Rangan. I jumped into the book as I find it easier to latch onto the book with conversations because people don’t often use idioms or phrases I don’t understand. I started reading the book on a weekend (if I recall correctly) and finished it within a week. The book was filled with candid conversations between Abhijat and Vidhu, where Vidhu was enthusiastic, insightful, and honest. This book was also a revelation for me about his winning a National Award, getting an Oscar Nomination, meeting legendary directors in Hollywood like Francis Ford Coppola, his marriages, and his approach towards life.
Among many topics the two creators discussed, I find these two to be my most important takeaways. Vidhu feels there are three types of problems: Health, Monetary, and other. The first two, he says, are the genuine ones. You can’t be happy without your health being good. And the other problems, he says, are the ones we imagine. If we can imagine those as problems, we can also solve them. I really loved this idea and his take on it. The second takeaway for me from the book is about the approach towards film. He says we need to make films that we like ourselves first. We need to be honest and shouldn’t sell our souls to make a film. Because even if the film fails, it has at least one audience who genuinely loves it.
I discussed a few pointers from the book with my friends, who appreciated Vidhu Vinod Chopra. I was expecting this book to be about filmmaking more; I didn’t have complaints while reading it even though it doesn’t have content on filmmaking, as I was engaged in the conversation.
After reading the book, I picked up a Telugu book called City Beautiful by Dr Keshava Reddy. This novel follows 2–3 days of a student in a University Medical College in Pondicherry who doesn’t get permission to appear for an exam because his attendance for theory classes doesn’t meet the criteria. The novel is written in first person and is one of the few books I ever read in first-person narration. I enjoyed reading it. I laughed, relating to a few incidents with my hostel life, like waiting outside washrooms to take a bath, describing the hostel mess, etc. The language used in the book is simple, and the narration is smooth. There’s not a lot of fluff, and I was engrossed in the novel until I finished it. After reading this book, I wrote two short stories in the first person and felt liberated that writing in the first person is relatively easier.
While reading this book, Guntur Karam was streaming on Netflix. I missed watching it in theaters during its release. I watched the film only to painfully appreciate Mahesh Babu’s vain efforts in the film. The beginning was interesting, and felt like I was watching an intense film like Aravinda Sametha, but then the movie went downhill. Mind you, I kept the expectations low after hearing from my friends who caught the movie in theaters, but even then, I couldn’t bear watching it without forwarding a lot of scenes. The scene progression feels random, the dialogues for the sake of rhyme feel out of place and cringe, and the story feels paused until the climax, where we see the twists getting revealed. Though I didn’t feel as bad as Agnyaathavasi, this is not a good film.
To redeem myself, I watched Neru by Jeetu Joseph. My colleagues and friends suggested that I watch this film during its theatrical run, but I couldn’t. I noticed Shanti Mayadevi co-wrote the movie with Jeetu, and my expectations went sky-high. I knew her from Drishyam 2 and also knew that she had practiced law professionally. I knew what was coming my way — an intense courtroom drama. I admire Jeethu because he doesn’t wait to set things up and get into the plot. He does both of them in parallel, thereby making us not feel bored or waiting for the perfect moment to get hooked.
I was so involved in the film that I forgot Mohanlal was in it. And when he came on screen, I was like, ‘Oh, this movie also has Mohanlal, no?!’ And I observed one more point from Jeethu. He makes the characters vulnerable and hopeless to the point where they can’t find a resolve to overcome their difficulties. Then, he introduces a person or a twist that propels the story forward by providing hope to both the characters and the audience. I was hooked to the screen while watching the story unfold and couldn’t help but notice another repetitive way of filmmaking that creates a strong impact on us, the audience.
He provides us with an experience of a game being played by two parties. There’s a rise in stakes, and the people whom we want to lose always have the upper hand at the beginning, and our team falters. A slight arrogance develops on the opponents’ faces, and they overlook our team’s steps. Alas! We make that right move, and we won in the end.
Also, Jeethu makes good use of the reaction shots without overusing them. In most of the scenes, we either see the reaction shots of the opponents when Mohanlal falters or has an argument that doesn’t stand or see their reaction when he provides valid evidence. It just immerses us, the audience, into the movie more. He did the same with Drishyam 2, especially during the climax. When there’s only dialogue and confrontations, he tries to make it interesting by presenting the reaction shots to build the tension. I was teary-eyed during a scene in the climax where the girl touches Mohanlal’s face as a sign of gratitude for taking up her case and bringing justice to her. Mohanlal’s acting there is subtle, yet made me emotional. Jeethu cut the shot there instead of showing us that the girl makes a sculpture of Mohanlal as gratitude.
It was mid-February by then, and we had this year’s Hyderabad Book Fair at NTR Stadium. Before that, I had a minor task to complete. The City Beautiful book was lent to me by a friend of the author called Mallikarjun. He didn’t ask me to return the book, but I felt I should read it and return it so that he could give it to someone else like me to read it. He also gave me a limited edition book called Nani Gadu which was fun and a nostalgic ride. He published around a few hundred copies and gave one to me. Again, I wanted to finish the book and return it to him for the same reason. His house is near ours, and I can get these books again if I ever want to revisit them.
I would meet him at the Book Fair as he had a stall for his book publication house called Aju Publications. On a Sunday morning, I woke up, had breakfast, and started reading Nani Gadu to complete it in one go. I read it in an hour or 90 minutes and rushed to the stadium to return it to him. I read a few pages the day he gave that book to me, and it felt good to revisit those moments again.
I was accompanied by my friend Vishnu to the Book Fair. It was good to be at a place filled with books, looking at the titles and prices and people bargaining for the books. Though I had decided not to purchase books at the book fair, I returned home with three books — Mohanaswamy (Telugu Translation) by Vasudhendra, Kural by C Rajagopalachari, and Nenu by Brahmanandam.
I started reading Mohanaswamy on the day I purchased the book. I met my friend, KMG, the day before I went to the book fair, and he recommended that book. That book kind of made me remember my childhood college days, and it was a revelation as I’d not read a book about LGBTQ+ until then in my life. I noted my thoughts on the book while reading it and discussed it with my friends and whoever I met in those two weeks.
On the same weekend, I watched a series called Killer Soup starring Manoj Bajpayee, Konkana Sen Sharma, Sayaji Shinde, and Nasser, among others. Though it wasn’t impressive throughout, it had a few moments and was engaging enough for me to complete it. I appreciated Nasser’s performance in the film, wanting to know the truth even after his retirement. I was reminded of Gone Girl for reasons unknown while watching this series.
With all social media abuzz with rave reviews for Bramayugam, I went to the film with my friend. Honestly, we both didn’t like it. It was a tiring experience for us to control sleep while watching the film. A few of my friends loved the film, but I didn’t and I couldn’t. It is technically brilliant (the cinematography, frames, sound design, and production design), but the script felt too dragged out that it felt like watching a long movie. By the interval, we were exhausted. It’s a different theatrical experience, for sure.
While I watched a couple of movies this month, I have a habit of watching bits and pieces of a few movies while having lunch or dinner. I started watching the 90s Web series during such breaks. It is cute and took me back to my school days. A feel-good nostalgic ride within a closed world of characters, their struggle, and cute little moments. It felt even more personal as the series is set in our district 🙂
I couldn’t get a chance to watch Oppenheimer on screen during its theatrical run, and thank god, it was re-released with limited shows in Hyderabad. I watched it on PCX and was thrilled throughout. I studied a little about Nuclear Fission and Nuclear Fusion during my school/college days, and I watched with awe when Chris Nolan visually presented the neutrons hitting the nuclei. The visuals are amazing, with equally gripping drama, and the non-linear screenplay only added to the tension for me, given I was not aware of Dr Oppenheimer and his work before watching the film. I was not expecting Robert Downey’s character to be of a negative shade, and when it was revealed, I was like, Damn! The music isn’t loud and enhances the scenes when required. The visuals of Oppenheimer’s dream of people’s skin flaying off due to the effects of radiation and his constant running dream of neutrons hitting the nuclei to initiate a chain reaction are haunting me. By looking at the film’s duration, I thought I could feel sleepy but was completely engaged throughout. This has been my first theatrical experience with a Nolan film, although I’ve been watching his movies from my college days on TV/Laptop.
I also watched Hanu-Man in theaters this week. Many friends and family recommended that I watch the film, and having respect for Prasanth Varma made me not wait until its OTT release. People have been raving about the film for the last 45 days. I had certain expectations that were not met. I had a mixed feeling towards the end. I loved Getup Srinu’s character and his performance in the film. Those little jokes worked well for me. The concept as a whole looks superficial, and Hanuman’s arrival towards the end didn’t work well for me. It felt like an extension, and I wasn’t happy about it as I waited for Hanuman’s arrival from the interval. That tribute to Sitarala Sirapadu with Avakaya Anjaneya felt special, and I enjoyed the song.
With people crazily promoting another Malayalam film, Manjummel Boys, I booked a ticket for the movie. It was on a weekday, early evening show with a houseful crowd. There were people speaking Malayalam, Hindi, and Telugu in the crowd. One of my friends advised me not to watch the trailer before watching the film, and I didn’t. But with social media posts, I understood this movie references Kamal Hassan and his Guna film. Then came the Thanks card to Kamal at the beginning, where the crowd went wild. I was sold for the movie with Kanmani song from Guna being played in the film, and towards the climax, I was like, “This is cinema,” and was clapping and cheering for one of the best references filmmakers could give to Kamal Hassan.
I loved the film, barring its initial setup in the first half, which took time for us to get into, but they tried to keep it entertaining with the comedy. I was surprised to learn that the entire film is based on a true story that happened in 2005/2006, and I was lauding the filmmaker for crediting the actual Manjummel Boys! Also, reflecting back on the movie, it paid off well for me because I was in a theater full of crowds, with no external disturbance, no forwarding when the scenes didn’t work out, and was just present at the moment until the last scene which gave a cinematic high.
Also, the next day, I learned that the director of Thallumalla played a character in this film. These guys are really multi-talented and highly collaborative. There’s Basil Joseph, who acts, writes, and directs, and there’s Vineeth Srinivasan, who acts, writes, directs, and sings, among all his other skills. More power to these guys for giving us a good cinematic experience.
After completing Mohanaswamy, I started reading An Unsuitable Boy by Karan Johar and am currently reading it. It has been a smooth read so far, and learning about his childhood, cinema entry, and debut. Though he mentioned a few points about outsiders that I disagree with, I’m looking forward to reading the following chapters.
In between the months, I think before City Beautiful or Mohanaswamy, I picked up a book on the Kargil War but couldn’t continue reading it because of the content. It was disturbing to read about the way our soldiers are tortured, and my mood at the moment isn’t allowing me to read such content. I could read a few books this month because of one more thing. After watching posts on Instagram about Hyderabad Reads, I finally went there to be part of the silent reading community for 2 hours every Saturday. I went there twice, read silently, immersed myself entirely in the book(s), and made new friends. It was a good activity, and I look forward to visiting it more in the coming weeks.
I experienced something new this month — my friends Praneeth and Vamsi are making a film called Patang and graciously allowed me to watch the shoot. It was a learning experience to be there on the set, watch them work, and witness their collaboration. I was glad to be there and make friends on the set. Watch out for the movie that will be out soon 😀
Looking into the month now, I’ve had a good month of attending Cult sessions, focusing on my health, reading a few books, meeting friends, watching cinema, attending events, and having time to be with myself more, which I love the most.
Speaking of health, our colleagues organized a Fylathon this month where the milestones are either 5k or 10k. I ran after many years and completed 5k within 44 minutes 🚀 For better health 🤞 😀
Okay, we are towards the end of the blog post, where I let the numbers speak…
Cinema: 6
Web Series: 2
Books (only finished): 3
Average Number of steps per day this month: 6152
Oh, and by the way, my friend Tapasi has been listening to this song of late, and I’m listening to this song on a loop these days:
If you have song recommendations for SPB and Ilayaraja, hit me up ❤
If you’re reading this line, then thank you so much! I mean it completely, and it means a lot to me. Until next time…
