Category: Films

So what are the chances of Tare Zameen Par to get a nomination or even better, win the Oscar for best foreign language film category ? First my usual rant. The Oscars do NOT represent the ultimate in films of that year. 85% of the foreign language films are not even seen by the voters. [...]

Was delivering ( I guess) a lecture on film at the Northwestern University in Chicago. This was a film history class and I am one of the most film illiterate people I know on the planet. By the time I got to be a film maker it was too late to catch up. Yet the [...]

Here is what one of the greatest film directors of all time said about film critics : "There is a famous haiku by Bashio : An old pond A frog jumps in - the sound of the water. People who read it and say “Well, of course if a frog jumps into the water, there’s [...]

Yes, the ART of Nautanki. This much abused word is actually a folk art form that has been prevalent in our culture for over a thousand years. And in most other cultures in Asia. A folk art form of the theatre. Usually performed by traveling troupes of actors, it comprised the telling of stories using [...]

Babel is a work of absolute genius, but still stands, in my view, the second best film of last year. The best film is a unquestioningly a Palestinian film called 'Paradise Now', which was not even recognized by any of the awards announced. That is why awards such as the Oscars will always be suspect.. [...]

Just when you had given up hope that the you will be able to see a film about the people that are written about as statistics by the Western Press, comes the brilliant film, Paradise Now .. It is a moving, incisive and bold and intelligent film about two Palestinian friends that are moved by [...]

Turtles can Fly. Ever heard of it ? Probably not. Is it better than all the nominated films ? Definitely. Far better. So what do the Oscars mean ? A huge fasion show. A huge celebration of Gossip, a lot of Partying. And all the applause for members of the club. A club called Hollywood. [...]