Monthly Review: May 2023
Although I was relatively busy this month, I got time to watch some good movies, series and read books on weekends.
Let’s get started with the cinema first.
Cinema
Viduthalai Part -1
I watched it on 1st May 2023. I am a fan of Vetri’s work, started to watch his films from Vada Chennai, and except Polladhavan, I watched all of his work.
I was eagerly waiting to watch this movie and happened to watch the director’s cut version on Zee5.
In one of the old interviews, Vetri mentioned that this movie story is inspired by one of the poems of Tamil lyricist Na Muthukumar. I was looking forward to seeing how a poem can be interpreted and adapted to a movie in two parts. The wonder of cinema as a medium!
I was hooked on the movie with the very first scene, with a single shot of the aftermath of a train accident. Well, after that, I couldn’t be engaged with the movie.
For me, this would be the only movie of Vetri Maaran which didn’t connect at all, and I was waiting for the point from where I would be engaged with the movie. I’ve a couple of reasons for these thoughts — I felt it offered nothing new, and the music made me feel like I was watching a movie made during the 1970s, with scenes that felt like a new filmmaker helmed the project. Except for Soori, I couldn’t appreciate this movie as a whole. Although some scenes are good, they didn’t seem to be impactful like other Vetri films.
It is good to see filmmakers like GVM and Rajiv Menon turning actors and working with other filmmakers.
Was it because of the uncensored scenes? No, I don’t think so. Usually, I reflect on the movies, identifying why I like or don’t like them. But for this film, I don’t even want to go back to thinking about it.
I was excited to see Vetri collaborating with Ilayaraja, but somehow the collab didn’t work for me.
Ponniyin Selvan 2
Watched it and liked it. Though I have complaints about how the vast novel was condensed into two movies, I was impressed with most of the film. Thoughts on it here.
Chantabbai
I read the novel Chantabbai this month and hence happened to rewatch this Chiranjeevi film which is an adaptation of the novel. Both are equally good. I’m writing a blog post on the movie and novel. Will publish soon.
Prince
Anudeep’s second film, Prince, was released with many expectations but received mixed to poor reviews. I had no expectations of the film, and to my surprise, I enjoyed the film. Since I’ve seen Jathi Ratnalu already, I knew about Anudeep’s writing and humour. It worked well for me.
Bhavesh Joshi Superhero
My friend Harish is a cult fan of Vikramaditya Motwane and suggested that I watch all his films. I watched Udaan long back and haven’t watched any of his films after that.
One Friday evening, I started watching this movie. I liked this movie. The action sequences and the cinematography are really good. I knew what was coming when I discovered that the hero’s friend’s name was Bhavesh Joshi. It was good to see Nishikant Kamat acting in it.
Ninaivo Oru Paravai (Modern Love Chennai)
I watched this part from Modern Love Chennai on Prime Video after my friend Suresh asked me to do so. I loved it! It grew with time. Compiling my thoughts on the movie as I’m writing this blog post.
Bhediya
I wish I had watched this movie on a big screen. Though some scenes didn’t work for me, I appreciate the honest ambition the makers had. Overall the movie worked well for me. More on this movie soon.
Web Series
Beef
This show on Netflix is good. Though I recalled Wild Tales, it turned out good. It’s a mini-series dealing with jealousy, struggle, companionship, capitalism, etc. Looking forward to the subsequent seasons.
Jubilee
I watched this series after a couple of friends recommended that I watch it. I loved the writing, acting, and the way scenes are staged. Music and cinematography complemented the filmmaking. Every character is grey! I’d recommend watching this series. ❤
Books
I had a good month of reading books. I read multiple books, listened to one audiobook, and it felt good.
Ramagrama nundi Ravana Lanka Daaka by Sita Rama Raju (Telugu)
This latest best-selling novel was going viral on Twitter, and when I visited Hyderabad earlier this year, I purchased this book at Navodaya Book House, Kacheguda.
This adventure novel has humour and thrill elements and reiterates the importance of mythology. I finished it within 2–3 sessions, and the language was smooth.
Chantabbai by Malladi (Telugu)
This book is one of the best I’ve read so far. It’s hilarious, thrilling, and has drama. No wonder Jandhyala adapted this book, and Chiranjeevi acted in it.
In the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch
I got this book early this year, and it is a good read. This book is an abridged transcription version of Walter Murch’s lectures at the university. Though this was published much before digital editing took over, the concepts are still valid, and I learned new things while reading the book. This book would be a good read if you want to learn about filmmaking.
Punnami (audiobook)
After reading Chantabbai, I was looking to read/listen to the books of Malladi and found Punnami on the Chaduvu app. Though the premise is good, the book is all over the place. It doesn’t get into the depth of the characters and doesn’t follow the journey of a protagonist, and remains at a surface level. I didn’t like this as much. I listened to several chapters every day and finished in a week.
In between, I tried reading Shadow by Madhu Babu again but couldn’t continue it. This is the second time I tried reading the book but left it.
Currently, I’m reading Barrister Parvatheesham. Hopefully will finish it by next month.
Travel
I went on a family trip to these places towards the end of the month: Pandharpur, Tuljapur, and Malkhed, and it was a good experience visiting the places after 14 years. It wasn’t a planned trip, and we decided to travel just 2 days before starting the journey.
Other things
I watched a couple of interviews on YouTube this month and found these interesting:
Baradwaj Rangan interviewed Siva Ananth about executing both parts of PS on set. The challenges, their approach, and the importance of the team reading the script are discussed in this interview.
Baradwaj Rangan with Thiagarajan Kumararaja
Anurag Kashyap with Anupama Chopra and Brut at Cannes Film Festival
Baradwaj Rangan with Ravi Varman about the importance of reading the script and understanding the environment, actors, and nature for cinematography.
Of late, I started listening to the podcast of Baradwaj Rangan on Spotify. Check it out for a learned take on different topics in cinema.
By the way, I’ve been listening to this song from PS2 on a loop these days:
May has been nice to me! Hopefully, June turns out good 🙂
Until next time…
