Late last night, scrolling over my Facebook timeline, I came across a brand new campaign by the Ministry of Minority Affairs to help the shrinking Parsi community. As someone married into a Zoroastrian Iranian family, I got excited and clicked…
Author: Shakti
The Big 3 O : Where Birthdays Graduate
For the last couple of years, I’ve had a mixed feeling about my own birthdays. Sure, I’d excited about the cake, the gifts and the attention. But each birthday was taking me closer to the end of my 20s. My…
One year. 365 days
Exactly a year ago, at 5.15 am someone called me. I just can’t remember who it was. ‘Papa gele,’ that voice announced. My papa. My grandfather was gone. Less than ten hours ago the doctors had predicted it. But I believed in…
Marathi Movie Review : Rege
Mumbai’s underworld, a topic very rarely tackled in Marathi cinema, is at the heart of this week’s Marathi release Rege. Abhijit Panse’s directorial debut has received a lot of praise across the festival circuit and rightly so. Born in a…
Marathi movie review: Rama Madhav
First up, I want to congratulate Mrinal Kilkarni on giving girls such power. There are such few women directors in Marathi cinema, and Mrinal, in her second film has taken on the Herculean task of making a period film. Rama…
Movie review: Lai Bhaari
When it comes to Marathi cinema, there’s always been a great divide between meaningful cinema & absolute commercial cinema. Commercial cinema was limited to slapstick comedy and stories with a devotional twist. Production value was often weak and there was…
Review: Marathi Film Ajoba
It’s 2.5 years since we saw Sujay Dahake’s debut film Shaala. And now, this week releases his second feature Ajoba. Ajoba has had its share of footage in the media. Will it release, won’t it release etc. With Urmila Matondkar…
Lessons from my Grandma
Being the oldest grandchild for both sets of grandparents meant that I got to share a special bond with them for a long period of my life. My paternal grandma — Manuaai has had a bout of serious illness. She’s…
Movie Review: Yellow
For Marathi cinema, 2014 was off to a great start. And among the handful films that one was really looking forward to was Yellow. Produced by Riteish Deshmukh & Uttung Thakur and directed by Mahesh Limaye, Yellow is based on…
Fandry: A must watch
It’s Valentines’ Day. We’re going for our dose of romance, painted bright fuchsia, steeped in sugar-water and sprinkled with rose-petals. But there’s a Marathi film, a love story in theaters this V-Day that’s painted rustic brown, steeped in sweat and…