Random Thoughts

 

I've been watching movies ever since I was 4 I'm guessing. It started with the Mayabazar CD at home which me and my sister used to play just to recreate the 'gilpam' scene, or because the greats SV Ranga Rao and Savitri were so entertaining as Ghatotkacha and Maya Sasirekha. It also started when everyday after pre primary school (we had half-days), I used to play the Cars CD at home while my mother fed me lunch. Maybe that's why I love Cars, and movies in general so much. They probably remind me of my mother.

I think the big turning point for me was when I was asked to watch Magadheera by my bus-mate. It was going to play that weekend, and he hyped me up for it. I was not the same person after watching it. Magadheera is also when I realized that actors don't always act while the movie is playing, and that they're just recorded once and played over and over again. After Magadheera, I was into movies a little more. I wanted to watch more stories, and feel greater highs.

People ask me why I like certain movies and why I don't. I just say I had fun for the movies I liked, because I know I can't properly articulate what goes on in my mind. This is an attempt to do so. I might not convey it well, but hey, atleast you know a little about what the thought process is.

Movies are all about emotions for me. It could be a Slovakian film about oppressed minorities, but if I am empathetic towards any of the characters, or the situation they're in, I'll most probably end up liking the film. I used to be a little elitist back in 2022-2023 and look down upon some movies, but then I realized that everyone has the right to enjoy any movie, no matter the content, unless of course the content is SUPER problematic. Then it's a you problem. I went from a self-proclaimed critic (a shit one by the way) to a normal film appreciator. I've thought about it for sometime and I came to the realization that no one really sets out to make a bad film, right? Everyone wants to make something they'd like to watch. And no one would want to watch something trash. There's clearly a communication gap between the people working on it. 

One more thing I've been doing a lot lately is that I'm specific about appreciation and general about criticism. This, I learnt from a podcast. There's no point ranting about what could've been. If it struck the mind of the creator, he'd have done it. Sometimes, they're not that creative, and I meant that in the nicest way. They probably try to cater to audiences, but if you're not stepping into the real world and looking at how the new generation interacts and feels, then there's no way you can connect to them. If you want to play to the gallery, step out and explore. If not, make whatever you feel truly.

Another thing I love to do is rewatching movies. I think I know only 5 or 6 people with whom I've talked to who said that they enjoy rewatching. I think it's not only an amazing exercise to see how much your taste or critical eye has evolved, but also a very comforting experience. Imagine sitting on your bed at 12AM, with a bowl of hot noodles in your hand, and you start watching a movie which gives you great vibes. You know how the characters are going to behave so it feels like you know the people in the movie. It's a very nice comfort zone. I've rewatched Kalki about 8 times so far, and I will rewatch it again.

On the topic of Kalki 2898AD, I know I can name 100 movies better than it, but the reason I love it so much is because I feel like this is something I would make. I've always wondered about how the Mahabharata would look on screen, and how it would be if they had very futuristic weapons instead of the ancient ones which are usually shown. How cool would it be if India had it's own Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader? This is why I love Nag Ashwin more than any other directors. He speaks to people like me. The concepts that he's chosen in his three films seem like Nagi is aging in reverse. Kalki is a 10 year old's grand ideas. Mahanati is about a great woman. Yevade Subramanyam poses the good old "What is the purpose of life?" question. This makes it very clear that Nagi makes movies for 1 person, which is himself. He would spend 600 crores to make a movie just to cater to his inner child, and I totally get it.

People have asked me why I liked Pushpa 2. I don't know man, I just did. The last 40 minutes were definitely bad and took a very easy, low-effort route, but that does not take away the fact that it kept me engaged for almost 3 hours. The entire first half is proper masala cinema, and other than the introduction fight, there's no action scene. On the topic of the introduction fight, I think it was put there because there was no fight in the first half, and it didn't work. You can clearly tell when the movie strays away from being true to it's original ideas. 

Yeah I kinda strayed off. But to be fair, I didn't have an agenda for this. I just wanted to write whatever came to my mind and it just flowed. I like this format. I can just write whatever thoughts I'm feeling at that moment. I'll probably do more of these.