Retro Reel

I am not a big fan of the ‘Supernatural’ genre in movies. Mainly because, when the key to the central plot of a story is a supernatural event, it closes the…

February 27, 2014 · 6 min read

Sreepathy's Retro Reel recommends The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) — William Wellman's stark western about mob justice and Henry Fonda's man-in-the-minority.

January 30, 2014 · 6 min read

Retro Reel on Spielberg's Munich (2005): a chilling espionage thriller that becomes a genre-defying meditation on the moral cost of revenge.

September 5, 2013 · 5 min read

Now that the name of the movie is out of the bag, let me start Part 2 with the results of the guessing game from Part 1. Many of you made interesting…

July 18, 2013 · 6 min read

Retro Reel Vol 19: a true 1996 Hyderabad story — a gun at a cinema ticket window, then 'based on a true story' flashes on screen. Guess the film!

May 28, 2013 · 7 min read

This movie’s USP is clearly about authenticity – the eye for detail in it is stunning. Its art direction recreates the late 70s, early 80s so perfectly that…

May 2, 2013 · 6 min read

Spielberg's Minority Report asks whether crime can be stopped before it's committed. A Retro Reel column on fate, free will, and the future of policing.

April 3, 2013 · 6 min read

Sreepathy's Retro Reel on Sidney Lumet's 12 Angry Men (1957): a single jury room, twelve men, and a masterclass in power, prejudice, and reasonable doubt.

February 21, 2013 · 6 min read

As gifted as highly intelligent people are, they frequently come bundled with another very human attribute – arrogance. Authors and stories (and movies too)…

January 25, 2013 · 6 min read

Leading off a column with a lively French phrase for a movie that’s quintessentially American is ironic. In a country where many folks don’t want to utter…

December 13, 2012 · 6 min read

So says Rajesh Khanna’s eponymous character from Anand (1971), with a genuinely disarming twinkle in his eye. He says many such things throughout the movie…

September 13, 2012 · 5 min read

Television: This humble but omnipresent domestic appliance is called all that and a few other pejoratives. To be sure, much of what the box has to offer …

August 17, 2012 · 7 min read

Lady Margaret Thatcher. You can quibble with her principles, question her philosophy, or quarrel with her ideology. What you cannot do, however, is to…

May 25, 2012 · 5 min read

Gurus and godmen. Cults and communes. Pollsters and politicians. Ideologues and institutions. Marketers and media men. Consultants and corporations. There…

March 25, 2012 · 6 min read

The much-awaited week of that treasured statue is here; yet, that’s exactly how I feel whenever I recall that Alfred Hitchcock never received even one for…

February 23, 2012 · 6 min read

Before you read further, here’s a disclaimer that this edition’s recommendation, “Courage Under Fire” (1996, rated ‘R’), is not an entrée for a…

January 26, 2012 · 5 min read

On many levels, that word just about sums up “3 Deewarein” – Retro Reel’s first Hindi movie recommendation. For starters, it is as unlikely a Bollywood film…

December 2, 2011 · 5 min read

I can see those quizzical eyebrows furrowing, trying to mentally connect the dots between God’s word, poetic texts, and crime-thrillers…So, here you go…

November 13, 2011 · 5 min read

Imagine you are barely out of your teens and the anointed crown princess of your country. Every starry-eyed teenager wants to be you…But you, however, want…

September 21, 2011 · 6 min read