Rajesh Rajamani

We are still in the Bharathiraja era of Tamil cinema

June 13, 2026 15:44 IST

He changed not just how stories could be told in Tamil cinema, but whose stories could be told

From peak stardom to Chief Minister: How Vijay hacked the Tamil political code Subscriber Only

May 14, 2026 15:00 IST

While pundits scramble to perform a post-mortem on the TVK landslide, the secret was hiding in plain sight: a perfect storm of cinematic timing, a leadership vacuum, and the slow collapse of the AIADMK 

Cruel reality for filmmakers in India: It’s difficult to survive outside Bollywood and regional movie industriesSubscriber Only

November 30, 2025 14:03 IST

It’s not that we lack talent. But in the absence of a supporting ecosystem, their creations rarely make it beyond the festival circuit

In ‘One Battle After Another’, radical politics is the ultimate cinematic masalaSubscriber Only

October 06, 2025 12:30 IST

Politics has become the most attractive masala ingredient in cinema today, more potent than sex, action, unrequited love, or even parent-child sentiment

With the spectacular success of ‘Coolie’, Tamil cinema embraces a Marvel-style formulaSubscriber Only

August 23, 2025 10:00 IST

In this amusement-park cinema, spectacle takes precedence over substance, emotional and social depth are sacrificed for action

Between Shah Rukh Khan and The Kerala Story – National Awards are about populism and propagandaSubscriber Only

August 04, 2025 16:55 IST

When we look at the National Award list as a whole, what comes through is the pushing of propaganda using the mixed approach of appealing to populism and maintaining credibility

Death of a stuntman: It’s about time there were safety standards for film setsSubscriber Only

July 21, 2025 18:15 IST

The only solution is for the state or Union government to institute a Film Set Safety Standard Board that would inspect every film set and issue certificates based on the safety standards maintained

What happens when a classic director chases the reels generation? The answer is Mani Ratnam’s ‘Thug Life’Subscriber Only

June 11, 2025 14:16 IST

More "reel" than film, in chasing today’s blockbuster formula, the director loses the soul that once defined his cinema

Capping ticket prices can rescue cinema, a working-class art formSubscriber Only

March 11, 2025 13:02 IST

Karnataka government’s proposal has upset theatre-owners, but it is a recognition of the mass appeal of films and an acknowledgement of the fact that low occupancy-rates are more detrimental than low ticket-prices.

To understand Tamil politics, look at Tamil cinemaSubscriber Only

November 11, 2024 19:29 IST

The reason Tamil Nadu has a distinct political culture comes down to the rootedness of its cinema, not only in the wider culture, but the language itself

Medium budgets, big ambitions: Why Malayalam cinema is dominating the box officeSubscriber Only

April 25, 2024 12:23 IST

Malayalam cinema has turned around its limited market size and restrictive budgets and converted them into creative advantages, making films that find newer audiences

Filmmakers vs Film Critics: Critics don’t need certification from makers. But they do need honesty and reflectionSubscriber Only

November 19, 2022 16:15 IST

Film criticism suffers in the rush to publish first and fast, resulting in writing that is lazy, over-reliant on templates and hung up on 'political correctness'.

Mani Ratnam’s ‘Ponniyin Selvan:I’ is like a stenographer’s shorthand of a fascinating speechSubscriber Only

October 04, 2022 18:30 IST

The film is too faithful to its source. Filmmakers can borrow the core elements from the textual material but it is important to be disloyal to its structure, even treacherous if necessary

The secret of the pan-Indian success of films from the south: Balancing the local and universalSubscriber Only

August 03, 2022 18:37 IST

Rajesh Rajamani writes: Bollywood has always anchored itself to an overarching ‘Indian identity’ that isn’t tied to any particular landscape. Viewers, however, want local stories that have a wider appeal.

‘Suzhal: The Vortex’ is mediocre. But it reveals something important about the binge-watching cultureSubscriber Only

June 23, 2022 17:45 IST

Rajesh Rajamani writes: Until web series invest in better storytelling methods, watching one will resemble a heavy drinking session that can be fun while it lasts but is sure to give a bad hangover the next morning

Why Gnanavel was right to name his film ‘Jai Bhim’Subscriber Only

November 15, 2021 03:00 IST

Rajesh Rajamani writes: By upholding the hope embodied in the Constitution the film shows its Ambedkarite spirit