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...

Sorgavaasal (Heaven's Gate, Tamil; 2024) Director: Siddharth Vishwanath  Youtube clip The one thing that man is granted in this life is free will and the freedom to act at his discretion (within the confines of social mores and the boundaries of the law). Therefore, when someone commits a crime that is deemed an affront to society's wellbeing, he is stripped of this privilege. Confined in isolation, it is believed that he will reflect on his waywardness and be spurred to make amends.  The reality, sadly, is not so clear-cut. We know of many innocent people incarcerated for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, doomed for life for crimes they did not commit. Then there are those who make jail their second home, moving in and out for petty crimes. I suppose imprisonment was no hindrance to the continuation of their daytime trades. Not to mention those who wear their jail sentences like badges of honour and the select few who still exert influence and control over activitie...

Razakar:  The Silent Genocide Of Hyderabad  (Telegu, 2024) Director:  Yata Satyanarayana In her last major speech before her disposition, Sheikh Hasina accused those who opposed her rule in Bangladesh of being Razakars. The opposition took offence to this term and soon widespread mob throughout the land. Of course, it is not that that single incident brought down an elected government but a culmination of joblessness and unjust reservations for a select population group. In the Bengali psyche, Razakar is a pejorative term meaning traitor or Judas. It was first used during the 1971 Pakistan Civil War. The paramilitary group who were against the then-East Pakistani leader, Majibur Rehman, were pro-West Pakistan. After establishing independence in Bangladesh, Razakars were disbanded, and many ran off to Pakistan. Around the time of Indian independence, turmoil brewed in the princely state of Hyderabad, which had been a province deputed by the Mughals from 1794. The rule of N...

Garudan (Vishnu's mythical bird, Tamil; 2024) Director: R.S. Durai Senthilkumar We all start life from the bottom of the shelf. We hope to one day be among the window displays and the envy of others. Invariably, he suddenly becomes philosophical once one reaches the top shelf or the window panel. He downplays his initial avarice as materialism, saying that real success is service to mankind and such. He goes on a rant that one can buy a mattress but cannot buy sleep, and he can build a house but not a home.  Do not be surprised to learn that, behind the scenes, his rapaciousness to usurp wealth still lingers. To this end, he may use his influence, his followers' aloofness, and blind faithfulness to his advantage. Just like how the East India Company and ancient Indian Merchants held the government of the day at ransom, these successful individuals may choose the path of greed. Just when he thinks he just got everything under his thumb, has his 'i's dotted and 't...

Dead for a Dollar (2022) Director: Walter Hill These days, one of the things that parents fear when they drop their kids at school is not that they fall or get hurt but that a mad kid might go on a shooting spree with a semiautomatic gun.  The debate on gun control will appear occasionally after every massive shooting, which is quite often; it dies as quickly as it escalates. Arguments like 'guns don't kill people, people do!' are not unheard of. Using archaic laws at a time when white men tamed the lawless Wild West, they justified their fights to bear arms for defence. Of course, it was for offence when the leaders of the initial thirteen states decided to expand their hegemony westwards.  The Second Amendment of the Constitution support gun possession for defence but not with assault rifles and M16s. Repeated studies worldwide, including experiences in the UK and Australia, have unequivocally shown tight gun laws and stringent control reduce gun violence. In the USA, the...

Maaveeran (2023) Written & Directed by Madonne Ashwin  "I am not doing it; it is the voice in my head. It is telling me all the time to do things. I am sorry!" says the hero.   "You are telling me someone is telling you things," says the crooked badass politician as he slid the throat of his political manager. "This guy (pointing to dead man) has been nagging for 22 years. Don't do this, do this, not like that..." That pretty much gave a perspective to the message hidden behind the movie's story.   We are inundated with commands all the time. As toddlers, voices told us to watch our steps, be careful. As school children, we were warned not to forget to finish our homework. As teenagers, we got an earful for lazing around. Then we were told to get our lives together. Yet another forewarning that we are marrying the wrong person, and it goes on. Not to forget the inner voice that keeps harassing us that we would be punished for wilfully doing som...