Aman Writes

    “Men act, women appear. Men watch, women watch themselves being watched”. -          Jhon Berger ‘Ways of Seeing’ (1972) Indian cinema has a unsettling history when it comes to portraying women in films. In the past, women on the silver screen has often portrayed as uni-dimentional character. Their roles were limited to their family work especially supporting the male characters in the family. They are mostly considered as epitome of virtue and values, where her family identity dominates her professional and personal identity. Ironically though, they are never shown to be in their work place. They mostly occupy the house and the kitchen. Women of substance who can lead their life independently and take decisions is missing from such portrayals. But Indian cinema has come a long way from misogynist, one-dimensional, radicalized portrayals of women. Thanks to our new-age filmmakers and actors and actresses who have dared to explor...

A man telling a story that you really want to hear! Sci-fi movies are generally associated with, stunning visuals, larger than life characters and a fast paced, action-packed roller coaster ride. Well, American writer Jerome Bixby showed that what you actually need is just a pen and piece of paper and a really good idea; the very foundation of science fiction. Director Richard Schenkman's 'The Man from Earth (2007)' is one of the most intelligent, clever science-fiction films I've seen in a very long time. It is based on the novel by American sci-fi writer Jerome Bixby. The film starts very simply with the central character John Oldman (David Lee Smith) packing his truck, and then joined by colleagues of his who have come to wish him farewell. However, they cannot help but express how puzzled they are about his leaving, since he has established himself very well as a professor and is well liked. Each time he is asked, John either avoids the question or gives an ambiguou...

Patriotism might not be an easy feeling to define, but it is certainly a powerful one. Over the years, Indian Cinema has portrayed this emotion in various films such as Lakshya, Border, and Krantiveer, and the such. On the eve of our 74th Independence day, I sat down to re-watch one of such film. Now considered as a cult classic of Hindi  cinema, at the time of it's release it was considered as one of the 'path-breaking' films. After directing the successful Academy Award-nominated film Lagaan (2001) Ashutosh Gowariker’s next directorial venture Swades: We, the people (2004) was a box office flop, however was reviewed as a film that was ahead of its times. The word Swadesh is a hindi word that refers to one's homeland.  The story begins with a young man Mohan Bhargava who is an Indian ex-pat serving at NASA in the United States as a Project Manager. Despite having his comfortable life and a dream job, he suffers from a continued dissatisfaction because of the guilt he f...