Chandrajith Belliappa Chan

LONG POST ON DHURANDHAR (2025): The way Dhurandhar is being culturally metabolised on both sides of the border is a testament to what good storytelling and filmmaking can do. For most of the film, you forget that Rehman hates India, and are lost in his world, mostly rooting for him. Expect his dance to be very popular in Indian weddings this season. If 5 years back someone had told you that Indians would be dancing to a Pakistani gangster's steps who hated India, you'd have laughed. Weirdly, the film has brought Indians closer to the real idea of what Pakistani society is, not its India hate - that everyone already knew - but the fact that it is not that different from India itself. Dhar has infused the vilest Pakistani characters with pathos and moments of tenderness that you actively suspend your knowledge that all those characters hate India with a vengeance. Your mind is holding two contradictory ideas at once as you watch the film - it is a wet dream for a storyteller. In Pakistan, I am ready to wager that most people are going to be thrilled with the film. It is perhaps the first time that an Indian film has depicted Pakistan's society without resorting to janab-infused caricaturization. Dhar has taken painstaking efforts to recreate the Physical and the Cultural of Lyari with utmost care (Pakistanis agree with this too). In a sense, Dhar has shown more care towards Pakistan's society than any other Indian filmmaker before. The extreme Left in India who think that the film is smart propaganda, and the extreme Right who think that it is a muh-tod jawab to Pakistan, while polar opposites, actually agree with each other on one important thing - that the filmmaker was guided by his political agenda alone. If that were true, the film just would not have worked the way it has. Just look at Vivek Agnihotri's puerile films. Of course, no film can exist in a vacuum. The political inclination of the filmmaker is clear in the film - you can disagree with that - but he hasn't let that political agenda be the main course, and that's WHY the film works. If you haven't yet watched the film, and if you do not see the whole world with ideology-tinted glasses, I highly recommend you watch it. It is a well-made film.

On the demise of an advertising legend, remembering one of his most iconic Ads of Piyush Pandey. There are many more, like Fevicol and Asian Paints. But this one is special.

ನಮ್ಮ 777 ಚಾರ್ಲಿಗೆ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಾಜ್ಯ ಚಲನಚಿತ್ರ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿಗಳ ಗೌರವ!♥️ A proud moment for 777Charlie♥️ Honoured with 4 Karnataka State Film Awards for 2021! Best Actor, 2nd Best Film, Best Editing & Best Lyricist. This love belongs to the audience, the jury, and our team!