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Showing posts with the label untouchables

The invisible people

Kakkoos (கக்கூஸ், Toilet; Tamil, 2015 Documentary) Director: Divya Bharathi It is a difficult film to watch. In fact, I had to skip watching many scenes of this documentary as it proved too graphic for me to stomach. But that is the very reason, the director, Divya Bharathi made this documentary. Divya, a member of the Leninist-Marxist party and a social worker, got the idea to put it in film after reading about a spate of deaths of sanitation workers in after toxic fumes inhalation. We, of the middle and upper-middle class members of the society often forget the people in the fringe whose hard work assures us of having cushy and healthy lives. Without their deeds, the aesthetically pleasing white wash appearances of our cities would not stay that way. Viewing this movie reminded me of my Professor in Parasitology told the class when some of us squirmed while preparing a slide from a stool specimen. He told us to respect the sample as it was essentially his ...

Never stop fighting till the fight is done!

Well, that is the tagline for the 1987 production of 'The Untouchables'. In real life, the fight does not have to be a physical transmission of force over another mass, but it can refer to any challenge in life; be it psychological, ambition or over disease! Kevin Costner (Elliot Ness), a clearly under-rated star, stars here as the Federal Agent from US Treasury sent to Chicago during the gangster-filled time of the Prohibition era when the production and transportation of liquor above a certain level was prohibited. He was facing an uphill battle trying to abate the sales of bootleg booze as the mobster in charge, Al Capone, had practically got everyone from the municipality to law enforcers under his thumb. Robert De Niro, the likeable villain, gives a sterling performance as Capone. This guy can do any role- a soldier (Deer Hunter), a mobster (Casino, Godfather II and so many others), a boxer (Raging Bull), a deranged escaped convict (Cape Fear), a cop...