Recent Reviews by Janani K
India Today
Janani K has been an entertainment journalist for the past 10 years. Her primary focus is on South Indian cinema. However, she manages to catch up on popular movies in other languages as well. She started her career with Galatta magazine, while simultaneously pursuing M.Sc Electonic Media at Anna University. She joined Silverscreen as a full-time journalist after her post-graduation and has climbed the ladder slowly and steadily. Her tenure as a Kollywood correspondent at Deccan Chronicle helped her gain contacts. Not just film news, she also dabbled across different beats contributing to Culture and City pages in Chennai Chronicle. In 2017, she joined India Today as a Writer. Having spent seven years in the media company, she is now a Senior Assistant Editor managing the desk (including Bollywood), while managing the Regional Cinema section. Training new joiners and overseeing the day-to-day activities of the Desk is her everyday routine. Apart from reviewing, she also interviews film talents and writes opinion pieces on movies.
Films reviewed on this Page
Indian 2
Kamal Haasan-Shankar film is an emotionless social commentary
Director Shankar's sequel to the 1996 hit film is an uninteresting commentary on worldly issues that are addressed in countless other films. Underneath the mess lies a promising idea, which is barely explored.
28 years ago, director Shankar and Kamal Haasan gifted ‘Indian’ to the Tamil audience, who still celebrate it like it’s their own. Almost three decades later, the film (read: corruption) still remains relevant. But, Kamal Haasan and Shankar wanted to bring back Indian thatha (grandfather) aka Senapathy to brush up on all the corrupt activities that we’ve seen so far in umpteen movies, not just in Tamil cinema but across other languages. Chitra Aravindan (Siddharth) and his three friends run a YouTube channel called ‘Barking Dogs,’ which focuses on parodies and political satire. They end their calls with ‘Let’s bark!’ (If you think this is absurd, hold your horses). After realising that their videos, despite receiving lakhs of views, had little impact on the audience, the team starts a campaign called ‘Come Back Indian.’ According to them, only Indian Thatha, aka Senapathy, could put an end to corruption.
Kalki 2898 AD
Prabhas reigns supreme, Big B and Deepika Padukone exceptional
Director Nag Ashwin's 'Kalki 2898 AD', starring Prabhas, Deepika Padukone and Amitabh Bachchan, is a sci-fi flick with ample doses of Hindu mythology. With grand visuals and superlative performances, the film is a visual extravaganza.
It was 2015 when SS Rajamouli’s ‘Baahubali’ was released and blew everyone’s mind. To this day, the two ‘Baahubali’ films not only shattered box office records but also set a benchmark for films of the same ilk. Nealy a decade later, director Nag Ashwin, with monumental ambitions, gifted ‘Kalki 2898 AD’, set in a dystopian world. With futuristic ideas coupled with Hindu mythology, the film will surely blow your mind, just like ‘Baahubali’ did. Thousands of years after the Mahabharata war, Kashi became the last city of the world. And the world is ruled by Supreme Yaskin (Kamal Haasan), who is waiting for a magical serum to gain powers. The poor suffer in the city, while the rich enjoy their lives in the Complex, a place built for the privileged. It is Bhairava’s (Prabhas) dream to make it to the Complex. He is a bounty hunter doing petty jobs to earn the units that will enable him to earn his place in the Complex.