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Siraj Syed is the India Correspondent for FilmFestivals.com and a member of FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics. He is a Film Festival Correspondent since 1976, Film-critic since 1969 and a Feature-writer since 1970. He is also an acting and dialogue coach. @SirajHSyed
8 am Metro, Review: One train, many tracks
Firstly, it is not about a train. Secondly, the journey of the lead characters changes so many tracks that it ultimately derails, and it takes a long-drawn climax to get it back on track. Even then, it ends on half a track. And yet there is something about 8 am Metro that is endearing and fresh. Coming not too long after Pierre Filmon’s French film, In Between Two Trains/Long Time No See (2019), it is likely to have been inspired by the French ...
Chatrapathi, Review: Axe Rated
Should have been spelt Chhatrapati, buy never mind. As a remake, it has carried over the spelling of the Telugu original. The title is a reference to Shivaji, the Maratha King of the Bhosle clan, who fought invaders and rulers and lived from 1630 to 1680. Honoured as a local hero, he was given the title Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and continues to hold a high place in the hearts and minds of many Indians. The Mumbai airport and the biggest railway terminus in t...
Mother Teresa & Me: A stunning Swiss portrait of an Indian Saint
He comes across as a youngish, genial uncle, with a deadpan sense of humour. Answering to a name like Kamal Musale, he had to be at least part Indian. This Swiss-Indian film-maker’s Swiss company – Les Films du Lotus Sàrl – and his Indian company – Curry Western Productions Pvt Ltd – produce movies with Indian content, for western taste. Mother Teresa & Me transcends any such boundari...
UnWoman, Review: What if the bride turns out to be a eunuch?
Sounds far-fetched and implausible, but if you watch UnWoman, it seems possible and even probable. A taboo subject, made by an unknown/little known unit, UnWoman raises your curiosity by the title itself. Grammatically incorrect, UnWoman makes sense in the context of the film. In spite of the gender-related story, it shows practically no nudity, leaves a few questions unanswered, yet gets a Censor rating of A (for adults only), with...
FICCI FRAMES III: Arunabh Kumar spreads The Viral Fever
Its fever. Its viral. And it was started by a man called Arunabh Kumar. Shortened to TVF, the company produces content and is made up of several IITians, among others. A magazine wrote in January 2015, “The Viral Fever (TVF) team reminds me of film school grads — shaggy beards, ruffled hair, all bent over laptops, waiting for Premiere Pro to render videos. Most of the team is ex-IIT and was brought together by the owner, Arun...
Netflix’s Kathal: The curious case of the two missing jackfruits and its serious, very serious ramifications
Firstly, it was not discovered by a man named Jack. Secondly, it is not a fruit, but a vegetable. Writer Ashok Mishra spent many years in north India and developed a taste for Kathal, which is the Hindi name for jackfruit. Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) is an evergreen tree (family Moraceae), native to tropical Asia and widely grown throughout the wetland tropics for its la...
FICCI FRAMES 23, 02: Minister Piyush Goyal lauds Naatu-Naatu, The Elephant Whisperers and Woman Power
Day 2 of FICCI FRAMES 23 had Mr. Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Government of India, joining in via video conferencing/ZOOM. “The Government is supportive to all the efforts by the media & entertainment industry to expand the frontiers of the sector, globally.”
Mr. Goyal added th...
FICCI Frames 23: Thinking out of the frame
Returning to its ‘base’ at Hotel Renaissance, Powai, Mumbai, now renamed Marriot Westin, the annual conclave of the Media and Entertainment (M & E) industry, hosted by the New Delhi-based M & E Division of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), FRAMES is the generic name given to the event that dwells on all current and emerging media. Quite logically, it is known as FICCI FRAMES. Usually held in March...
Citadel, Review: When James meets, Jane it’s a Bond
Two franchises have set the benchmark as far as spy thrillers go. No marks for guessing that these are James Bond and Mission Impossible. It’s been a mind-boggling 61 years since the first James Bond film was released. Ethan Hunt, of Mission Impossible, first appeared on screen in 1996, 27 years ago. And neither seems to have called it a day. Both have a male protagonist, who performs mind-boggling stunts and survives against al...
Azamgarh, Review: Saving the honour of a city, and a religion
Quite often, the religious minority of Indian Muslims is targetted for producing and harbouring young men who join terrorist groups, both within and outside India. While maybe a hundred or two hundred such misguided souls are either killed in encounters or found guilty of terrorist attacks and accordingly punished by the law of the land, there are an estimated 20 million Muslims whose motherland is India and who live in peace. That...
Singers and music labels come together for long-awaited agreement on royalty
The Indian Music Industry (IMI), the apex body representing all music labels in India, and the Indian Singers Rights Association (ISRA), the apex body representing all singers in the country, have signed an agreement between member labels of ISRA and IMI. As a result of this, pact, all record labels, singers and musicians will be greatly benefitted, at pan India level, and get royalties at much higher levels than at ...
Book review - Tears of the Begums, by Rana Safvi: Rivetting, heart-rending chronicle
Are conquerors and kings plunderers and mass murderers? Should a succeeding, weak generation face the wrath of the new colonials and the revolting natives, together? Is it a sin to be born of royal blood? The humiliation and disgrace, not to mention the thefts, robberies, beatings, murders and unspeakable atrocities that the large family of India’s last Mughal Emperor, BahadurShah II ‘Zafar’...
PVR brings Japanese anime film Suzume to India, director Shinkai comes to promote it
Japanese film director Makoto Shinkai, who wears his 50 years rather lightly, wowed a gathering of media-persons and some anime artists at the Juhu PVR Multiplex, north Mumbai, yesterday. In the city to promote his latest film, Suzume, he spoke with the help of an interpreter, but appeared to understand almost all the questions put to him in English. Proceedings began around 4.30 for a 4 p.m. call, and that i...
Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award goes to Asha Bhosle
Instituted in the memory of the late great singer, Lata Mangeshkar, on whom the highest civilian honour of India, the Bharat Ratna was bestowed by the Indian government, this is the second such annual honour that her family awards. The first one, given last year, went to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Lata Mangeshkar, who sang thousands of songs, from the 1940s into the new millennium, passed away on 06 February 1922. She sang i...
Guru Indrajeet Keisham’s mission: Learn music, perform music save music
Hindustani music, like other forms of traditional Indian music and dance, could face extinction over the coming decades. Already, many Hindustani musical instruments find no players, proving the late maestro’, music director Naushad’s prediction true. Obviously, this is happening because of the times we live in, the electronic era, where music can be ‘sampled’ and then played according to the...
IRDAI Chief, Debashish Panda, calls insurers to achieve ‘Insurance for All’ by 2047
Even as preparations are afoot for the media and entertainment industry conclave, FRAMES, to be held during 01-03 May 2023, FINCON 2023, the 22nd annual insurance conference, organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), was held yesterday at the ITC Grand Central, Parel, Mumbai. The day-long event saw a host of speakers, comprising the who’s who of the insuranc...
Breaking News: Watch the exploits of Suniel Shetty in Hunter Tootega Nahi Todega, for free
In a guerilla marketing move, Amazon miniTV and Suniel Shetty have come together to goad viewers to watch Hunter Tootega Nahi Todega for free!
Hunter- Tootega Nahi Todega is streaming live and exclusively on Amazon miniTV within the Amazon Shopping App, and on Fire TV, for free.
Who grudges a free lunch? And there are free lunches on offer, if you know where to find them. The...
Bicycle Days, Review: Going round in circles
A realistic village setting, a bunch of child actors picked from local schools, working together with adults who have theatre/film experience, concerns and issues that could easily be part of the life of inhabitants of this milieu, and yet they do not all add-up. Bicycle Days is a children’s film, with children being its primary audience. But children will be escorted by adults, when they go to cinema halls, and even if it is a children&rsquo...
GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS
THE GOLDEN GLOBES® ANNOUNCE EXPANDED VOTING BODY FOR THE 81st ANNUAL AWARDS SHOW Golden Globes Voting Body Now Totals 310 Voters and Reflects 58% Diversity Los Angeles – April 10, 2023 – Today, The Golden Globes® announced a heavily expanded voting body for the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards with the addition of 215 international voters. Combined with the current 95 members, there are now a total of 310 voters, surpassing a pledge to increase the size an...
Salman Khan’s Bhaijaan trailer release: Much awaiiiiiiited
No, first let’s get the title right. It is Kisi ka Bhai Kisi ki Jaan (KKBKKJ) (somebody’s brother, somebody’s life). Clever pun on the sobriquet that has been associated with Salman Khan since Bajrangi Bhaijaan, released eight years ago. If that interests you, the original title of this film was Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali. Salman Khan was last seen in a star-cameo in Pathaan, reprising his role as Avinash Singh Rat...
Amazon Prime Video’s International spy web series Citadel: Messing with minds
Imagine you are a spy. Imagine you have done things to people that they cannot imagine, and some of those people have done the same to you. Now imagine that an organisation can erase your memory and give you a new identity. So, in other words, your memory is at the mercy of a professional outfit that messes with your mind. Now imagine Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas as the top spies of Citadel, in Ama...
One way of owning a film, an extension of the auteur theory, would be to name the film with your name preceding the title. Might sound quirky to some, but so what? It is his film, and he can call it Nani’s Dasara or whatever else he likes. But you do wonder why Telugu actor Nani chose to call it his Dasara when he has neither written nor directed it, not even produced it. The nomenclature is a reference to the Dasara (Dussehra) festival, which forms the climax of the story, in which case...
Amazon Prime Video’s Jubilee: A celebration of the golden era of Hindustani cinema
When a director like Vikramaditya Motwane charts new territory in the shape of a 10-episode web series, with lip-sync songs, something he has never done before, there is high curiosity value. It’s called Jubilee and the trailer was launched at Four Seasons Hotel, Mahalakshmi, Mumbai, on Friday afternoon. Starting just 30 minutes after the scheduled time, the proceedings ended within an hour, which i...
Nani’s Dasara creates Dhoom Dhaam across the earth, the moon and the sun
To north Indians, Nani means maternal grandmother. Wonder what it means in Nani’s native Telugu. His full name, though, is Ghanta Naveen Babu, and he is 39. After a dubbed success called Super Khiladi 4, in this, his 29th film, Dasara, he has a very earthy look, unshaven and with long, unruly hair. “You might be pardoned for thinking that this is the same look sported by Allu Arjun in Pushpa, though the...
Hunter, Tootega Nahin, Todega, Amazon Mini web series: Give us a break
Don’t blame me for a sense of ennui and déjà vu that is having an extended run over the last few years, both on the big screen and on OTT. The number of films that have our armed forces and secret services battling that of our neighbour is falling from all sides, like snowfall. But by and large, what we are served is ‘been there done that’. Lagging not far behind is the genre of bad cop batt...
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About Siraj Syed
 Syed Siraj
(Siraj Associates)
Siraj Syed is a film-critic since 1970 and a Former President of the Freelance Film Journalists' Combine of India.
He is the India Correspondent of FilmFestivals.com and a member of FIPRESCI, the international Federation of Film Critics, Munich, Germany
Siraj Syed has contributed over 1,015 articles on cinema, international film festivals, conventions, exhibitions, etc., most recently, at IFFI (Goa), MIFF (Mumbai), MFF/MAMI (Mumbai) and CommunicAsia (Singapore). He often edits film festival daily bulletins.
He is also an actor and a dubbing artiste. Further, he has been teaching media, acting and dubbing at over 30 institutes in India and Singapore, since 1984.
Bandra West, Mumbai India View my profileSend me a message
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