Tag Archives: Manoj Bajpayee

67th National Film Awards (for films from 2019): List of Winners

The 67th National Film Awards were announced earlier today in New Delhi. This was after a long delay of a year or so due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The awards are for films from the year of 2019. The announcement event was organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals, which comes under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.Continue reading “67th National Film Awards (for films from 2019): List of Winners”

Sonchiriya Movie Review: Dakus in the Dust

There used to be a time when the Daku movie was a staple in Bollywood. Right from the 40s, with Mehboob Khan’s Aurat (which he remade as Mother India), into the 60s with Dilip saab’s Gunga Jumna, it was the 70s when the genre hit its peak with blockbusters like Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Ganga Ki Saugandh, Khote Sikkey and of course, the baap of them all, Sholay!

But while the genre flourished right up till the late 80s (Mardon Wali Baat, Aag Hi Aag), the resurgence of the family film through directors like Sooraj Barjatya, Karan Johar and Aditya Chopra led to daku movies being slowly relegated to B-grade cinema in the 90s, and relative obscurity in the 00s, what with a more urban brand of cinema coming in, save for the Paan Singh Tomar biopic, or the brilliant Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru from 2 years back.

Therefore, when the promos of Sonchiriya showed up with an ensemble cast and a brilliant soundtrack, the only thought that entered one’s mind was if this was going to be a throwback to old school Daku dramas, or would it be a more contemporary take on the lives of dacoits?Continue reading “Sonchiriya Movie Review: Dakus in the Dust”

Drishyam Films launches Drishyam Play with a soulful song “Khidki” composed by Amit Trivedi and sung by Mohan Kannan

Drishyam Films launches a new initiative Drishyam Play to curate and promote fresh music from different parts of our country, beautifully fused with soulful lyrics and earthy/seasoned vocals.The first music video is an inspirational song “Khidki” composed by the music composer Amit Trivedi.  The song will be featured in Drishyam Films’ upcoming film, Rukh and has been launched on Zee Music Company’s Youtube channel. Amit Trivedi, the composer of Khidki says, “The song is an uplifting melody that talks of the small opportunities in life. It can be a beautiful morning or a fresh breeze of air that is knocking on your window. All you have to do is…. to open it and welcome the positivity.”Continue reading “Drishyam Films launches Drishyam Play with a soulful song “Khidki” composed by Amit Trivedi and sung by Mohan Kannan”

Naam Shabana Movie Review: Bringing Up Baby

When it comes to spoon-feeding audiences, mainstream Bollywood is way ahead of the curve, and there are occasions where this tendency of the industry to test the patience with unnecessary exposition can be downright offensive. Therefore it was a rather pleasant surprise in Baby, when the audience anticipating a roaring rampage of rescue from Akshay Kumar ended up witness to a subverted trope where the supposed damsel in distress played by Taapsee Pannu ends up beating the daylights out of the crook they are pursuing. So it was a pleasant surprise when the prequel to Baby, exploring the origins of Taapsee’s character, Shabana, was announced. But is Shabana’s journey from schoolgirl to spy a worthy tale?Continue reading “Naam Shabana Movie Review: Bringing Up Baby”