RIFLE RANGE BOY

Good Bad Ugly (Tamil; 2025) Story and Direction: Adhik Ravichandran https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/chennai/good-bad-ugly/ET00431346 I remember watching a movie on TV back in the day, under the watchful eyes of Amma. I remember it was a MGR starring Tamil movie. In one of his stereotypical roles, he, the do-gooder who fought against the evil zamindar, goes to jail at the movie's end for killing the villain. In the last scene, he returns home just to be feted with praise, showers of flower petals, and salutations. Amma was quick to interject. "What rubbish! He went to jail, and people are celebrating!" I thought, "… but Gandhi and Nehru also went to jail, and you have a statue of them in the house and tell us stories of how we should emulate them." Thanks to my better judgment, I decided to keep my opinions to myself.  That was how most Tamil movies used to be. The protagonist was the epitome of goodness. He was usually the exemplary one-dimensional character ex...

Test (Tamil, 2025) Director, Screenplay: S. Sashikanth https://www.indiaglitz.com/test-review-tamil-movie-36143 I am not exceptionally knowledgeable about the nuances of how a cricket match is played. This much I do know: the team scores a six when the batter hits the ball out of the field. The hitter is dismissed if the wicket falls, and a Test match is not merely a test but a genuine match, established initially to challenge the English team against its colonies. It is an endurance test running typically over five days. Moreover, Indian cinema rarely produces authentic cricket films, unlike Hollywood, which often features baseball and American football games. I believe this is the first time an Indian film has been made with cricket at the centre of the story.  Another point: Due to security concerns, the Indian cricket team will not play in Pakistan or vice versa. Therefore, it would be wishful thinking to expect the Pakistan team to face their archrivals, India, at Chepauk Stad...

Tamil Kudimagan(Tamil, Tamil Citizen; 2023) Director:Esakki Karvannan https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/t amil-kudimagan/movie-review/103477872.cms We are told, 'our profession is our God' (செய்யும் தொழில்லே தெய்வம்). From this adage, we understand that by performing our designated jobs diligently, we respond to a divine call. Along the way, in our long civilisation, our profession has come to define who we are and our status in life. We can blame humanity for messing everything up! What began as a description of human aptitude and traits was categorised into academic types, those with athletic and combative inclinations, the entrepreneurial type, or the diligent and conscientious workers. People excelled in their respective skills in accordance with their innate talents. Over time, families became pigeon-holed into specific professions. Domineering behaviour is an inherent trait within us. In this way, elitists among us established hierarchi...

Kadhalikka Neramillai (No time to love,  காதலிக்க நேரமில்லை;  Tamil, 2025) Director: Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi https://www.moneycontrol.com/entertainment/kadhalikka-neramillai-ott-release- when-and-where-to-watch-this-romantic-drama-starring-jayam-ravi-a nd-nithiya-menon-article-12936421.html It would have been just another Netflix recommendation that I would have ignored. Having such an unoriginal name, which had been used before, did not excite me. For the ignoramus, in 1964, the Tamil cinema was taken back by Sridhar's superhit. Its psychedelic, picturesque Eastman moment came to be defined as Tamil cinema's first rom-com. The hit song. ' Visvanathan, velai vendum !' became to be sung as the voice of defiance of the oppressed. My interest was piqued when a YouTuber of a channel I follow went into a tirade trying to tear down Netflix and its moviemakers for thinking out of such a crass movie. Other Tamil movie reviewers were kind to the movie, praising it for its modern a...

Por Thozhil (2023) Director: Vignesh Raja https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/tamil/por- thozhil-trailer-sarath-kumar-ashok-selvan-starrer- action-packed-gripping-thriller-8637264/ Thanks to SD for recommending this. SD is a childhood friend with a photographic memory for anything Bollywood when Bollywood was simply known as Hindi cinema. Back in school, during recess, he would attract an audience of friends who would listen as he belted out old Hindi songs and provided detailed backgrounds on the film's actors, music composers, release dates, and even the studios that produced the movies. Even now, he can still rattle off the same information after all these years. However, his interest came to a grinding halt in the 1980s when he felt that Bollywood had lost its charm. These days, SD is into Tamil and Malayalam cinema, which, he claims, are more interesting in storytelling.   This is a Tamil film that faithfully adheres to its intended genre. It is meant to be a thril...

Oru Nodi (Tamil, One Second, 2024) Director: B Manivarman https://www.jiosaavn.com/album/oru-nodi/9-Xa0ZWs2NU_ Even though the trailer depicts MS Bhaskar, the bald character actor who had graced many blockbusters recently, it was all a business gimmick. He only appears for a short while, and his character is killed off quite early in the movie, but he is shown in brief flashbacks. The rest of the film is completed by newbies and unfamiliar faces. Nevertheless, they all did a decent job. The story, however, could have been made more interesting. At one juncture, I wondered why the police were flip-flopping between one case and another as if they knew they were inter-related.  To get the story straight, a forty-something lady shows up at a local police station to report her missing husband. Having watched so many police procedural dramas, one can guess what would follow. The lady is bombarded with wisecracks like he had run away from her torture or that he had gone on a drinking esca...

Roman Coins with Thali I remember observing my Amma's thali chain during my childhood days. I came to realise that one could determine many things about the wearer's background by just observing the chain that a married lady dons. It would tell us if she has recently tied the knot if it is just a bright yellow string. The actual thali would be tucked inside the upper garment. After a few days of wedded bliss, as part of the festivities and a means to flaunt to relatives, the thali would be transferred to a golden chain, and the sovereignty would scream bragging rights. The yellow string will stay put longer than it should if finances are down. If a married lady, often seen donning a golden thali chain, is suddenly downgraded to wearing yellow string, that would indicate hard times hitting the family. The family members have every right to feel embarrassed, and the outsiders have the right to form opinions. The head of the family will feel slighted for not providing enough for h...