#southasiancinema

[therukurals]

Fahadh Faasil in Aavesham (2024)

[everythingsouthasian]

AISHWARIYA RAI BACHCHAN as Mansi Shankar Manhuja in TAAL (1999) dir. Subash Ghai

[thirdeen]

Mrunal Thakur on the set of Sita Ramam

[aish-rai]

[chameli]

OM SHANTI OM + pink

[caitlynkirammann]

[kerception]

Lust Stories - mature and not frivolous

Image source: www.fg.com 

An anthology of films about lust out of South Asia would surprise many, but they are definitely long overdue. Before delving into the specifics of each film, something that applies to all four is that sex and lust aren’t dealt with the usual strokes of skin, amateur depictions of sex and sexuality. Instead, all four films speak (not always successfully) to the core of the human experience and intimate relationships in general. I’ll leave my favourite film for last, while the other three I will speak about without an order of preference.

Anurag Kashyap’s film is the most erratic of the group. An erratic narrative can be well crafted, if it doesn’t fall into the trap of repetition and characters lacking an arc. The protagonist is a young professional (college teacher), who decides to sleep with one of her students. After the night is done, she puts the guy on notice that he should not think much of what happened and her only real fear is that he might get emotional and attached, given the fact that it was his first time being with a woman. The setup is interesting, even the fact that the woman is calling the shots, but then the narrative takes a nosedive. Radhika Apte playing the college teacher Kalindi tries quite unsuccessfully to steer clear of coming across as over the top and purposelessly dramatic. Kalindi becomes excessively possessive of the young man; while she doesn't want to commit to anything with him, but constantly calls him out on his relationships and the women he is dating. There is also a lot of time spent with Kalindi sitting in front of the camera. She tries to speak to the problems of contemporary relationships, the emotional entanglements that come with, but most of that is rambling. I really didn’t care much about the narrative after the first ten odd minutes and the thirty plus minute length of the film is just painfully long.

Karan Johar’s film about a newly married couple, where the husband is unable to comprehend his wife’s needs at intimacy is funny, with Neha Dhupia playing this small but incredibly brilliant character. She is a divorcee but refuses to be judged and lives her sexuality on her own terms. She takes sexual power by the horns and snatches it away for herself. She is empowering through and through. While not the protagonist, she was truly the highlight of the film. The couple’s story (played by Kaira Advani and Vicky Kaushal) which has spurts of entertainment and their attempted reconciliation to solve their marital problems, against all social and family odds is overall charming and leaves you feeling heartened.

Dibanker Banerjee's film had a sense of maturity about it, given the subject matter, however I found it quite tedious. I get the principle: unhappy couple, tied together because of financial and social factors, wife is cheating on the husband with the best friend, but it's mostly a been their seen that kinda narrative. While heavyweights like Sanjay Kapoor, Manisha Koirala and Jaideep Ahlawat add some heft to the film, overall it was underdeveloped both in terms of characters and narrative. The film leaves us without a resolution, which perhaps is closer to how life is, but felt quite unsatisfying.

My favorite film was Zoya Akhtar’s beautifully crafted story about a forbidden relationship, entangled with social and economic disparities and their naked severity. Bhumi Padnekar’s restrained performance spoke volumes of how pervasive our social hierarchies are. Zoya knew that a social commentary about sex and lust would be brilliantly represented through the prism of economic differences and she drove the message home in a poetically subtle manner, free of any histrionics. 

While all of the films differed in narrative quality and what they were able to achieve, it’s no mean feat to put together an anthology like this that primarily speaks about women and their quiet fight for equality, in being able to express their sexuality. I appreciated the maturity with which all subjects were tackled and the purposeful avoidance of frivolous and stereotypical depictions of sex and lust.  

The choice to release the films on Netflix as an anthology was interesting. I hope people far and wide get to watch, what surely in an interesting/welcome change for South Asian cinema. Lust Stories is now on Netflix. 

[amarakaran]

hey i recently joined @southasiancinema so you guys should give it a follow! ☺️💕

[brooklyndreamwolf]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Brooklyn Dreamwolf (@brooklyndreamwolf)

we are so very happy about being a part of the #CineDiasporaFilmFestival happening May 11th at @StarrBar in #Bushwick (my hometown!) #CineDiaspora is a new diasporic #filmfestival premiering in 2019 in partnership with #SouthAsianDiasporaArtistsCollective ( #SADAC )! CineDiaspora will be an immersive platform to promote a redefinition of #SouthAsianCinema while drawing linkages with cinematic expressions from all communities of color. The festival will seek to champion storytelling in all its forms, particularly from emerging, and thoroughly underrepresented, voices who are existent within the murky terrains of the ' #Diaspora ' #ilovejendog #YaliniDream #BrooklynDreamwolf 🎼sample from #LetNoManPutAsunder by #FirstChoice and vocals sung by the amazing Ms.@Rochelle_Fleming 🎤lyrics & performance by #QTPOCartist #QTPOCartists @ilovejendog & @yalinidream of @brooklyndreamwolf #Motherland #Freedom #FreeThem #VIDEO BY @fineskills & @illuminatrx with additional shots @kerbster284 Produced by @djhardhittinharry and @djsuperjb of @305718 Keys by @thegodofsound #house #tribal #afrohouse #housemusic #soulfulhouse Aunties #HarrietTubman & #ShirleyChisholm ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼 (at Starr Bar) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwEoVwHBnz3/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1pkx255d5143p

[majestical]

follow my sideblog @southasiancinema dedicated to all films and filmmakers of south asian origin!

it’s still very new so there isn’t much on there, but I would appreciate for anyone who sees this to show the blog some love!

[everythingsouthasian]

Madhuri Dixit Nene in the teaser of FINDING ANAMIKA, coming soon on Netflix.

[sunthefilm]

SUN Updates...

It’s been quite an interesting ride since SUN has been making the rounds across some local film festivals and gears up to make its DC Premiere at the upcoming Washington DC South Asian Film Festival and soon after it’s Chicago premiere at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival.

When you create something and put it out there for everyone to see, to experience, to critique, to love, to hate...it’s truly a nerve wracking ordeal. I mean you never know how someone is going to react to your work...you might think it’s the best thing since sliced bread, but I guarantee someone will think it’s as plain toast. I know this is going to sound really strange, but maybe it’s just me being paranoid, but when people say they liked the film I'm never sure if they actually mean it or they're just saying that because they don't want to offend me. I’m in this strange abyss where I'm weary of all the compliments and I'm much more focused on the negatives. 

Why didn't we win some award...why are we not in a competition category...why were we passed up by a festival that I thought was a sure thing? I'm focused on all these because it’s fueling the fire more than anything else. To be better the next time around to make something that no one can deny is a brilliant piece of work...

I'm immensely proud of what we've accomplished so far but I know that it’s just the beginning for something much greater. 

-- Har

[aish-rai]

[aish-rai]

[everythingsouthasian]

KANGANA RANAUT as J. Jayalalithaa in Thalaivii (2021) dir. A.L. Vijay

- If you reckon me a mother, you will have a place in my heart. But if you take me for merely a woman— - *unanimous salute*

[everythingsouthasian]

BHAGYASHREE as Sandhya in Thalaivii (2021) dir. A.L. Vijay

I have no worry about your future. I know MGR will take good care of you.