Monthly Review: March 2023

Amidst increasing temperatures, unexpected rains, and the end of the financial year, I had a time of mixed things in March.

I met a couple of friends, went to college for a get-together, and watched movies across multiple languages, from Telugu to Japanese to English.

I rearranged the only asset I possess — Books shelf. It took half a day to complete it and find how many books Sameera, and I have at home! Also, for every book I finish reading, three new books are added to the shelf.

Okay, enough of the introductory lines, let’s get into the meat, as they say.

Books

Impu Kathalu

I was reading a book of short stories in Telugu that teach ethics and moral values called Impu Kathalu. I purchased this book at Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry and finally got my hands on it.

This book is ideal for children who learn the habit of reading daily but are not restricted to them alone. Some stories were refreshing for me because of the plot and how they end, and the morals they teach. I found it interesting.

Yugantham

I purchased this novel by Yandamoori on my recent visit to Hyderabad. Although I don’t see it to be his best work, there’s a novelty in his approach of telling a hyperlink story with grey characters and pure souls.

This novel is short, and I completed reading it in two days. I am unsatisfied with the way the story progresses and ends. But I was hooked on reading the book from page 2 (not 1) to the last page.

I could finish only these books, although I started reading multiple books, discontinuing them at various stages.

I started reading “On Directing” by David Mamet and didn’t continue past 40 pages. I didn’t understand the point the author was trying to make.

Simply put, I didn’t like it. Maybe I’ll come back to it in the future.

I got a Telugu book from a young author. A collection of short stories written in a native dialect. I tried reading the first story, skimmed through others, and didn’t understand that dialect. Dropped it too.

If you’re wondering how on earth I could access Telugu books, a bookstore called Navodaya Book House near Kacheguda circle is a treasure for Telugu literature enthusiasts.

Encourage Telugu literature by purchasing one book a year and reading them 🙂 Together, we can save the literature and encourage the upcoming authors.

Movies

I had a good month of watching movies at home and at the cinema. On the very first day, 1st March, I watched Waltair Veerayya.

Waltair Veerayya

I couldn’t watch it in the theatres at the time of its theatrical run. Oh boy, the boss is back this time. I enjoyed the movie completely. I strongly felt his script selection was playing spoilsport, but his acting prowess remains intact.

The movie has an interesting screenplay; I discovered it has more than ten credited writers. I was satisfied and happy with the movie except for a few scenes in the first half and the songs. The music complemented the scenes well. Not a great movie, but the movie we all have been craving from Chiranjeevi for a long time. Please select good scripts from now, boss 😀

Arundathi

I was with my friends and thought of revisiting this brilliant horror movie. It was an amazing experience watching it after a long time, and we were not bored even a bit. Can’t appreciate the team behind the movie enough. They worked hard, exceeded the budget, and delivered one of the best horror movies in Telugu cinema.

Banshees of the Insherin

I watched this movie after two of my friends told me that they had watched it, and this movie was nominated for Oscars in multiple categories.

I haven’t read the plot, wasn’t aware of anything related to the movie, and it left me uncomfortable towards the end. It was pleasant towards the beginning but was unsettling as it progressed.

Even though there was no gore, no violence, this was disturbing to some extent. If you ask me whether I didn’t like the movie, I can’t say for sure. I like it even now but have mixed feelings about it. Or maybe I liked the movie so much that I was involved in it that I found it disturbing.

Seven Samurai

Mysskin talking about Kurosawa and his movies, particularly Seven Samurai, sparked my interest, and I downloaded the movie in 2021. I’ve not watched it because of its duration. It is around three and a half hours long, and I wasn’t ready for that commitment in a single stretch.

I watched it on one weekend this month and started admiring Kurosawa from that moment. Just brilliant. I won’t write anything about his movies here. Will compile my learnings and share them in a separate blog post soon.

Rashomon

Watched this one too, which won an Academy Award, among many others. Just watch it without learning anything about it. You can watch it for free here: https://watch.plex.tv/movie/rashomon

Rashomon

Mukundan Unni Associates

I liked this Malayalam movie directed by Abhinav Sunder Nayak. Again, writing a separate blog post on this movie. Won’t divulge more things here. Will recommend watching this movie.

John Wick: Chapter 4

I watched the first three films of John Wick on my laptop and decided to watch this part in the theatres. Happened to watch it in Prasads Multiplex, cheering and clapping for John Wick.

Read my thoughts on the movie here.

Seems like I promised two blogs already here. Let’s see when those blogs will get published.

Other things

Coming to important events this month, India got two Oscars:

Kartiki and Guneet. Courtesy: Forbes India

The Elephant Whisperers won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film

Guneet Monga, and Kartiki brought the first Oscars for home production. Two women made a docu-short about a couple taking care of an elephant. It can’t get any better than this. Although I’ve not watched it yet, I am so happy to know the level of inspiration these two women provide to the entire country.

RRR won an Academy Award for Best Song.

I woke up that day, and my parents asked me about the live streaming of the awards. They were getting ready for their work, and we and three sat together when the nominations were announced for the Best Song. I had my parents on either side and was tensely holding the phone.

My hands slowly started shivering, and I heard the award presenter mention “RRR.”

RRR WON THE OSCARS!!!!!

It was an emotional and proud moment for us Indians, and we three laughed with happiness and proceeded to our work.

Last year this time, I’ve not even watched the film and was away from social media, fearing the spoilers. There was uncertainty about the release date, and it was postponed twice.

Cut to one year later, we won the Golden Globes, an Academy Award for Best Song. All credit to SSR, MMK, Chandrabose, and the entire cast and crew of RRR.

Chandrabose and MM Keeravani. Courtesy: Twitter.com/@RRRMovie

If you don’t know what it takes for an Indian Production that had a re-release in the US, garnered organic support from the Western Audience, have multiple screenings for the voters, please watch the following interviews, both by Baradwaj Rangan:

1. BR interview with VetriMaaran on FC South before the release of Asuran (or Vada Chennai, I don’t remember exactly, sorry)
2. BR interview with SS Karthikeya on Galatta Plus

Speaking of interviews, I watched these good conversations on YouTube this month:

1. Ram Venkat Srikar with Vinod (Middle Class Melodies)
2. Prema with Srinivas Avasarala

Last week, I started watching a documentary on Quentin Tarantino on YouTube. It’s a three-part series, and I finished watching the first one today. Needless to say, it’s interesting to learn about his journey as a filmmaker.

College visit

As mentioned at the beginning of the blog, I went to my college this month for a get-together. Met my friends, walked for a long time until we couldn’t walk any further, cracked jokes with each other, and discussed our lives and deep philosophical ideologies (no, I’m kidding).

It feels great to return to the college as alumni and relish all those memories. We spoke to a couple of juniors too. Read more about it here.

I used to click pictures of Sunset during college days. Hence, clicked one more :)

As we approach the blog post’s closing remarks, remember to be kind to yourself and love yourself.

Now, drink enough water and stay hydrated.

Until next time…