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#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #filmmoviedocumentaryOTTreviews Film: #Bhaiyyaji Rating: * 1/2 An Antiquated revenge thriller, this #Ghayal - like construct fails to curry favor. This stale nostalgia trip mirroring 70’s Bollywood, Bhojpuri & South films, has a ‘Sauteli Maa’ egging on the stepson into committing mass murder. Not a pleasant sight this. The action is ludicrous, the styling feels ancient & its only Bajpayee’s deliberate performance that helps keep some interest going. Cast: #ManojBajpayee #VipinSharma #JatinGoswami #SuvinderVicky #ZoyaHussain #AkashMakhija #AmrendraSharma Director: #ApoorvSinghKarki #ShabanaRazaBajpayee #BhaveshBhanushali #KamleshBhanushali #VinodBhanushali #UniversalCommunications Runtime: 150 min

Indian Trans & Non-Binary filmmakers & actors win big at 15th KASHISH Pride Film Festival Indian films Night Queen, IYKYK win big, along with Dear Sahitya and Blue Sunshine at the grand finale & award ceremony The 15th edition of KASHISH Pride Film Festival came to an end after five days of film screenings at three venues across Mumbai, where the festival screened 133 films from 46 countries. The grand finale and award ceremony had celebrities like Sonali Kulkarni, Sheeba Chaddha, Sayani Gupta, Shweta Basu Prasad and Dolly Thakore gracing the event. Sridhar Rangayan, festival director, said, “We are delighted by the response to the festival by audiences who surged and thronged the three venues and greatly appreciated the awesome cinematic fare we had programmed. There were 10 films transgender & non-binary filmmakers from across the world. It is even more heartening that the jury members in different categories have awarded films made by transgender and non-bi

Deepa Mehta and Nandita Das Engage in Captivating “Fire” Side Chat at KASHISH 2024 followed by the Premiere of ‘I Am Sirat’ The 15th edition of the KASHISH Pride Film Festival witnessed a historic and enthralling ‘Fireside' chat with internationally acclaimed filmmaker Deepa Mehta, and renowned actor and director Nandita Das. The event, held at Liberty Cinema on May 18th, 2024, was moderated by Dhamini Ratnam and supported by the Consulate General of Canada. This discussion marked 26 years since the release of Mehta’s groundbreaking film Fire and explored the evolution of LGBTQ+ representation in cinema. Adding to the festival’s highlights, KASHISH director Sridhar Rangayan’s film, Kuch Sapney Apne, was also showcased to an enthusiastic audience. The film, which explores the dreams and aspirations of LGBTQ+ individuals in contemporary India, was met with widespread acclaim for its heartfelt storytelling and poignant performances. Festival Director Sridhar Rangayan’s

Paytm Insider & Bhasha Centre bring to you Mallika Shah’s ‘I Killed my Mother/ It Wasn’t My Fault’; a fresh take on coming-of-age themes Continuing its tradition of delivering diverse and engaging experiences to its audience, Paytm Insider is bringing you an insightful play 'I Killed my Mother/ It Wasn’t My Fault', through its theatre initiative ‘Manch’ in collaboration with Bhasha Centre. A tafreehwale production, the play is crafted by writer-director Mallika Shah and produced by Meghana AT. This 65-minute comedy-drama promises to resonate with young urban women (and urban mothers) through its compelling narrative. A story that brings to the stage the troubles of young adults navigating society — online and offline. Generation gaps? Doomscrolling? Lonely Swiping? Job hunting and hunting and never finding? This play promises to leave you thinking and laughing too! So, if you enjoy theatre, this is your chance to experience a comically absurd yet realistic play.

Independent Film critic Johnson Thomas speaks to young filmmaker Dhruv Solanki on the processes he went through to make his first feature which was shot on an iPhone First-time filmmaker Dhruv Solanki - Director of ‘It’s All In Your Head,’ shot on iPhone, shines the spotlight on the new age youth of a Tier 2 city in India. The film captures a day in the life of six siblings in Vadodara who are deeply influenced by American culture. The indie film basically navigates through their digitally-driven existence. The film won the Best Producer award at The African Smartphone International Film Festival 2023 in Nigeria and was chosen by Beth Sanders, a faculty member and producing tutor at the prestigious MetFilm School in Berlin, as a case study for postgraduate film students. The film is streaming on GUDSHO. How did you come upon this story idea? The idea for the film came from the ones I shot before this one. My film ‘Blah Blah Blah’ which I am currently editing, is a story of si

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Film: #Srikanth Rating: * * * This biopic on #SrikanthBolla, a visually-impaired industrialist/founder of #BollantIndustries is fairly humorous & engaging. It’s an honest depiction of resilience & perseverance amidst struggles that might have forced a lesser man to give up. The writing may not be consistent & the tempo keeps flagging but the performances don’t. Powered by an inimitable performance from #RajkumarRao & solid support from #Jyothika, #AlayaF & #SharadKelkar, the film does warrant a ‘dekho’ at least! Cast: #RakumarRao #Jyothika #SharadKelkar #AlayaF Director: #TusharHiranandani Runtime: 134 min #CommuniquePR #everyone #SumitPurohit #JagdeepSidhu #BhushanKumar #KrishanKumar #NidhiParmar #ChalkAndCheeseFilms #TSeriesFilms #TanishkBagchi #IshaanChhabra #AanandMilind #SachetParampara

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Title: #MurderInMahim Rating: * * 1/2 While the novel by #JerryPinto was absorbing, this whodunit-murder-thriller series delving into social prejudice & lack of familial acceptance w.r.t. LGBTQ rights, is not. The lethargic pace & wayward interconnections between characters make coincidence a given. The show is more deliberative than gripping & the tension slackens considerably. It’s tough to stay hooked here. Cast: #DivyaJagdale #SmitaTambe #VijayRaaz #AshutoshRana #ShivajiSatam #ShivaniRaghuvanshi Director: #RajAcharya Runtime: 8 eps/45+ min each #PRPunditHavas #JioCinema #Tippingpoint #Viacom18studios #JigsawProductions #AjitAndhare #everyone #followers

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTReviews Title: #Undekhi3 Rating: * * * The intensity is down this new season, the crime family politics feels like old-hat, the punjabiyat gets tiresome & some scenarios & dialogues get sloppy. Even so, Undekhi 3 continues to generate chill, diving deeper into remorseless darkness & deception with a deeply brutal and nihilistic bent. Cast: #DibyenduBhattacharya #HarshChhaya #VarunBadola #SuryaSharma #AanchalSingh #AnkurRathee #ShivangiSingh #MeenakshiSethi #AynZoya #LavvinaTandon #NandishSinghSandhu Director: #AshishRShukla Runtime:8 Episodes/ 30-45 mins #ApplauseEntertainment #BanijayAsia #AvianWE #Sonyliv #everyone #followers

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryOTTreviews Film: #PyarKeDoNaam Rating: * 1/2 A good idea about a debate held in Aligarh Muslim Uni on Peace as represented By #MKGandhi and #NelsonMandela goes for a toss when this film veers off into romantic entanglements and comes off the loser because of it. Love and philosophy are a bad mix, obviosuly. Poor scripting, Shabby treatment, unlikable performances & a long runtime kill the interest. Cast: #BhavyaSachdeva #AnkitaSahu #KanikaGautam #AchalTankwal Director: #DanishJaved Runtime: 142 min #AltairMedia #everyone #JocularEntertainmentsPvtLtd #RelianceEntertainment

#PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #filmmovieDocumentaryOTTreviews Title: #HeeramandiTheDiamondBazaar Rating: * * * Despite the brilliant visual architecture, painstaking period costuming, amazing lighting, cinematography, brilliant music, choreography, amazing art direction, high production value & impeccable performances, the series takes more than a couple of episodes to get used to. The imbalance in scripting, artifice of the sets, over-emphasis on stylistic flamboyance, languid pacing & over-the-top ostentation doesn’t allow for any great attachment. It’s only when the final few episodes play out that we get to enjoy the payoff. That’s when the series takes on new meaning. #SLB’s magnum opus on the debauchery, tragedy & spirited aid to the freedom struggle by the nautch girls of Lahore during pre-indepenence, has his signature flair - unfortunately its too much of a good thing! Cast: #ManishaKoirala #AditiRaoHydari #RichaChadha