To be noted : This was written two years ago, in February 2020, as posts in my Instagram page. Iraivi is often labelled as a feminist film and it made me wonder which elements clearly […]
Category: Women
Stolen kisses : the violence behind the icon
Three iconic images hiding a violent rape culture. Three women forcefully kissed by a man in front of a camera and an audience. Three sexual assaults that have been considered for years as passionate romantic […]
The tree of life : Punnagai Mannan & Raavanan
When I saw Raavanan a few years ago, this image of Raagini (Aishwarya Rai), fallen on a tree, immediately reminded me of this iconic opening scene in Punnagai Mannan, where Sethu (Kamal Haasan) escapes death […]
Behind Silk Smitha : caste, sexism and celluloid image.
I grew up with the idea that Silk Smitha was the incarnation of all the taboos my tamil family didn’t want to talk about : sexuality, sensuality, women’s bodies, gender inequalities. I guess she was the […]
No time for love in “Kadhalum Kadanthu Pogum”
Kathir (Vijay Sethupathy) is a semi-looser rowdy who dreams about owning a bar. Yazhini (Madonna Sebastian) is a graduated engineer searching for a job. At first glance, they have nothing in common other than being […]
Frame(s) #7 : Aishwarya Rajesh framed within frames
In her young career, Aishwarya Rajesh has boldly played an interesting range of characters, often depicted on the screen with frames within frames. This visual technique is very meaningful as it shows little painting canvas, […]
Frame(s) #5 : Love & train
Film : Thillana Mohanambal (1968) Director : AP Nagarajan Cinematography : KS Prasad Cast : Sivaji Ganesan, Padmini Film : Vaaranam Aayiram (2008) Director : Gautham Vasudev Menon Cinematography : R Rathnavelu Cast : Surya, […]
“Still the same” : thoughts about ’96 Ram
Ram : the loner “96” could have been named the Life of Ram, as the opening song is, in my view, the whole movie in a nutshell. Ram (Vijay Sethupathi) is the soul of “96”, […]
Frame(s) #2 : When the mother abandons her child in Mani Ratnam’s films.
When OK Kanmani was released last year, several articles and comments rightly highlighted a facet of Mani Ratnam’s brilliancy: he is the only tamil filmmaker who have made love stories for three generations (Mouna Ragam […]
Louis Malle on the set of Thillana Mohanambal : the unreachable otherness.
NB : you can turn on the english subtitles in the bottom bar of the video. The unreachable otherness of tamil cinema for a french filmmaker In 1968, french filmmaker Louis Malle went to a film festival […]
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