Published in AlternateTake·Nov 18, 2021The misplaced protagonist in Jai BhimAnshul Gupta Lijomol Jose as Sengani shines through in a star-driven slyly take on the class divide, justice and politics. It doesn’t happen very often when a film tackles issues that are plaguing our society in a very unapologetic manner that it lays bare all its cards in the very…India5 min readIndia5 min read
Published in AlternateTake·Nov 2, 2021Colonialism and Culture in Cinema: Looking at Villeneuve’s Dune: Part OneRachit Raj Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel Dune is often regarded to be a pioneering science-fiction novel of the 20th century. After a shelved attempt and a shoddy adaptation by David Lynch, Denis Villeneuve’s film finally does justice to Herbert’s massive world-building ability. Like most stories that transcend generations to remain…Dune3 min readDune3 min read
Published in AlternateTake·Jan 8, 2021Pieces of a Woman Review: Vanessa’s Kirby’s fierce conviction can’t rescue this soapy, haphazard and glib reading of loss.Debanjan Dhar The prologue of Pieces of a Woman — a prolonged one take, that spills over thirty minutes, unfolds in the cinema verite tradition. Kornel Mundruczo pushes the camera to a nearly suffocating point of proximity to the crisis the woman at the centre of the film is undergoing…Netflix5 min readNetflix5 min read
Published in AlternateTake·Jan 5, 2021Fedula Pherot Season 1 Review: A tribute to the heritage of Feluda from an ardent Feluda fan!Saugata Bhattacharya Srijit Mukherji’s Feluda Pherot is a smartly executed adaptation of an outstandingly written material. The story for this very first season of the series is based on Satyajit Ray’s original story Chinnomastwar Obhishap. …Addatimes5 min readAddatimes5 min read
Published in AlternateTake·Dec 31, 2020BEST OF 2020 (Web series)Debanjan Dhar, Subhadeep Das Here’s our list of what we consider to be the absolute best of Indian and International Web series. (Please note we are only considering series that have been officially released in India this year.) TOP 5 INDIAN WEB SERIES Scam 1992 (Dir: Hansal Mehta, Jay Mehta) (ALT’s Choice) Technically slick and…Web Series9 min readWeb Series9 min read
Published in AlternateTake·Dec 30, 2020BEST OF 2020 (Indian Films)Rachit Raj, Anshul Gupta Here’s our list of what we consider to be the absolute best of Indian films and the most sterling performances there in, which riveted and had us spellbound in equal measure. …India11 min readIndia11 min read
Published in AlternateTake·Dec 29, 2020BEST OF 2020 (International Films )Sagnik Kumar Gupta Here’s our list of what we consider to be the absolute best of international films and the most sterling performances there in, which riveted and had us spellbound in equal measure. (Please note we are only considering films that have been officially released in India this year.) TOP 5 INTERNATIONAL FILMS …International10 min readInternational10 min read
Published in AlternateTake·Dec 25, 2020AK vs AK Review: A cheeky insider joke transformed into a meta experience about art, society, pathos, and life.Sagnik Kumar Gupta A critically acclaimed director gets involved in a public brawl with a yesteryear superstar and kidnaps the star’s daughter to film his struggle in finding her in order to capture real sweat and blood. A film which may have easily been an insider joke driven by real-life…India5 min readIndia5 min read
Published in AlternateTake·Dec 24, 2020Paava Kadhaigal Review: Tactfully depicts how the shallow concept of “honour” chokes the humanity out of people.Subhadeep Das Netflix’s Paava Kadhaigal is a brilliant depiction of how the concept of “honour”, dictated by a community, is often detrimental to the well-being of the people belonging to that community. The anthology consists of four stories concerning four people who somehow, either of their own accord or not…India8 min readIndia8 min read
Published in AlternateTake·Dec 22, 2020𝗨𝗻𝗽𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 : 𝗔 𝗣𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰.Rachit Raj Every story in Unpaused, the new anthology streaming on Amazon Prime, is grappling with an essential narrative conflict. …India6 min readIndia6 min read
