Manjunath (2014)

In 2008, I was briefly associated with the Manjunath Shanmugam Trust and later got to know that a movie is being made on Manjunath. Among other reasons, his story captured headlines because he belonged to an elite institution, and there were people who could speak up for him post his death.

Do take a look at the trailer here – the biopic is being released in May 2014. I still wish biopics made in India do away with the song-and-dance routine and get made in documentary style. 

There are several others who do their duty silently, and do not get recognition. Spread the word, and watch the movie. For Manjunath, and those like him.

The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)

Given how upset I am with news from Woody Allen’s personal life, I had decided to take a long break from watching his movies. On one Saturday, I rushed into the drawing room when the music seemed familiar and Mia Farrow appeared on screen. The sibling was surprised to see how I had figured that it was a movie by Woody Allen without watching a scene - she was just about to switch channels.

I broke my promise of taking a long break from his movies.

I watched the last half-hour of The Purple Rose of Cairo. A movie character steps out of the movie and enters the real world. He interacts with movie buff Cecilia, who is in an unhappy marriage. It took me a while to get used to Cecilia (character played by Mia Farrow) interacting with two men, both played by Jeff Daniels.

What I noticed this time was that while there are strong female characters in Allen’s movies, they get a raw deal by the time the movie ends. I also heard mentions of Leslie Howard (“I could have been played by Fredric March or Leslie Howard”) – the actor who played Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind.

Watch the trailer.