Tag Archives: Anurag Kashyap’s Raman Raghav 2.0

Directed and written by: Anurag Kashyap

Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vicky Kaushal

Amidst the furore and hype over Udta Punjab, Raman Raghav 2.0 almost made a quiet entry into the theatre screens (one wonders if Phantom Films could have deferred this release instead of having 2 of their productions in consecutive weeks). Its subject matter though, is anything but quiet. Putting the incident that was Bombay Velvet behind him, Anurag Kashyap returns to doing what he prefers, making raw, violent films that explore the dark side of human nature, all presented in an uncompromising yet stylish manner.Continue reading “Raman Raghav 2.0 Movie Review: Madness Meets Mayhem, Meh!”

So we have a serial killer, a psychopath madman claiming himself to have a direct connection with God and the world is on surveillance with his CCTV camera. Anurag has come full circle round in a way with his psychopath character which started with his protagonist in his first short film “The Last Train to Mahakali” (1998). What is the evolution of the protagonist with this character in 2016 after having made approximately 13 films is interesting to reflect upon today. For one in his first short film it is only in the end that we realize we have a psychopath of a doctor who is on death row but with this film he puts the character upfront and uses him as a spokesperson to convey his message to the audience.Continue reading “Raman Raghav 2.0 Movie Review: A Serial Killer Posing as God’s Watchdog”

It isn’t easy, making a movie about a serial killer. The maker has to walk the fine line between judgment and deification, whilst refraining from the cheap thrill of titillating the audience with the graphic details. However, serial killers do make for a fascinating subject, no matter how many movies have been made in the past on them, because it is always interesting to get a glimpse into the psyche of somebody who kills without remorse, without any compunction and without any emotion. Raman Raghav was one of India’s most vicious and deranged serial killers. Therefore when a filmmaker like Anurag Kashyap decides to make a movie about a serial killer inspired to kill by the tale of Raman Raghav, and casts Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the part, it is safe to say that the audience is in for something deeply dark and disturbing. But does the final product ultimately deliver on the promise?Continue reading “Raman Raghav 2.0 Movie Review: Dead On Arrival”

RATING: 7.5/10.

There’s a stirring passage in Donna Tartt’s campus murder saga THE SECRET HISTORY, where the charismatic and eccentric professor of Greek, Julian Morrow, waxes eloquent to his mercurially talented students on the Dionysian ethics of letting loose, of allowing the primal instincts to take over, exhorting that “if we are strong enough in our souls we can rip away the veil and look that naked, terrible beauty right in the face; let God consume us, devour us, unstring our bones. Then spit us out reborn.” I wonder if our cinematic (and cultural) fascination with psychopaths and serial killers stems from this tension, the conflict between toeing the line and barrelling through it. For in our (at least ostensibly) logical and structured societies, can there be a greater threat, a more brazen subversion, than the man who refuses to acknowledge, let alone respect, his fellow citizen’s right to life?Continue reading “Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016) Movie Review: “You Complete Me””