The Other Banana

We are returning after a while but with a biggie! Director and cinematographer C Prem Kumar joins us to talk about his latest film Meiyazhagan starring Karthi, Arvind Swamy, Sri Divya and others. The film has been warmly received by the audiences and is a breath of fresh air for Tamil cinema. Films with strong writing, a slice-of-life genre with male characters written as gentle and vulnerable have become rare. There is such a homogeneity of genre dominated by action, masala and violence that a Meiyazhagan deserves to be celebrated not just for how good it is but also for the mere fact that it exists. Prem Kumar joins Aditya and Subha Rao to talk about the writing decisions, what was cut from the opening scene, music and lyrics, the characters of Arul and Mei, the trimming decisions by distributors and the importance of the small and mid budget film, and more. Listen on. Edited by Deepauk.

In this episode writer Aditya Mani Jha joins Deepauk and Aditya to talk about two 2024 films, both Telugu originals, and adapted-inspired from two Hindu epics - Mahabharata and Ramayana. One is Nag Ashwin's Kalki 2898 AD and the other is Prasanth Varma's Hanu-Man. One has a stellar pan-Indian star cast with the likes of Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Deepika Padukone et al while the other has Teja Sajja, Amritha Aiyar, Vinay Rai among others. One has big budget and larger scope. The other has a big heart and novel ideas. We talk about what the films get right, what they do not and which Hindu epic is more interesting, adaptable and more. Listen on. Participants: Aditya Deepauk Aditya Mani Jha Edited by Anantha.

Nithilan Saminathan returns after Kurangu Bommai with a bigger canvas and a bigger star. His talents are still visible, refined even, but his latest film with Vijay Sethupathi in and as Maharaja started a discourse about rape-revenge genre in cinema, gratuitous violence, depiction of sexual abuse, and the conspicuous choice of Vairamuthu as lyricist. Aditya joins Deepauk and regular guest Subha Rao to talk about what irked them about the film, what they liked, and where Tamil cinema must do better. And how the audience reaction in the theatres didn't inspire much confidence. The discussion contains spoilers. Listen on. Participants: Aditya Deepauk Subha Rao Link to Subha's opinion piece on the film in The News Minute: https://www.thenewsminute.com/flix/opinion-vijay-sethupathi-film-maharaja-is-an-example-of-how-not-to-depict-violence-on-screen

We at The Other Banana believe that director Girish AD is doing something incredible with the genre of romantic comedy and coming of age. With the recent big hit Premalu, that awed audiences across south India, we decided to take a look at all his films that show steady progression in certain genre conventions as well as successful attempts at breaking them with memorable writing, characters, comedy and performances. In this episode, Poorvaja S, journalist from The Hindu joins Aditya and Deepauk to talk about Girish and his three films so far - Thanneer Mathan Dinangal, Super Sharanya and Premalu. There is a lot of giggling and laughter but also some observations into what makes Girish AD unique and how he has revitalized the genre in India. Listen on. Participants: Aditya Deepauk Poorvaja Edited by Anantha.

In this episode we dive into the atomic elements of composition that we can observe in Raaja's music. How does he use sentence structures and motifs in his compositions? Can we really tell apart where Carnatic ends and Western touches begin in his music. Briefly we also cover one stark difference between MSV and Raaja. Topics Covered: What are sentences and how have they been used by Beethoven and Mozart? How do sentence structures show up in Raaja's music? What is a motif and why does it often form the kernel of the full composition? How has Raaja used various motifs in his film songs? Participants: Mahesh Deepauk Bala Chidambaram Musical References: Subramanyena (Notes) Kaatumalli Sakkarakattikku

We couldn't ignore Malayalam cinema's great run in the first couple of months of 2024 so decided to talk about Lijo Jose Pellissery's Malaikottai Vaaliban which received a lukewarm to polarizing reception after huge expectations. Right after the universally feted Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam, Malaikottai Vaaliban couldn't have been more different, a fantastical tale that eschews the diktats of narrative cinema and leaps from one genre to another with every scene. Starring Mohanlal, Katha Nandi, Sonalee Kulkarni, Hareesh Peradi, Danish Sait, Manoj Moses and others, there is a lot in the film to like and talk about. Aditya is joined by his namesake writer Aditya Mani Jha and Mint Lounge's film critic Uday Bhatia, three people who immensely enjoyed the film to talk about what worked, the influences and whether a sequel can be expected or not. Listen on. Participants: Aditya Uday Bhatia Aditya Mani Jha Edited by Anantha

Sapta Saagaradaache Ello - Side B team is back and this time we have director Hemanth M. Rao and actor/singer Chaithra J. Achar joining us. She plays Surabhi in this follow up to SSE Side A. Side B looks at the life of Manu (Rakshit Shetty) and Priya (Rukmini Vasanth) a decade after their tragic love story seemingly ended. We travel with these star crossed characters as Manu grapples with life without Priya after getting out of prison, his tryst with Surabhi and the inability to move on from the strongest love of his life. We talk everything in this podcast - Chaithra's audition for Surabhi, the staging, colours and lenses used, the progression and inner selves of the three characters, some anecdotes and happy accidents from the filming and also broach the subject of stalking. Listen on. Participants: Aditya Hemanth M. Rao Chaithra J. Achar Edited by Anantha Listen to our episode on Side A with Hemanth and Subha Rao here.

Hello. In the latest episode we visit one of the best films of 2023, SU Arunkumar's Chithha starring Siddharth, Sahasra Shree, Aafiya Tasneem, Nimisha Sajayan, Anjali Nair and others. Some trigger warnings might apply and this is a spoiler filled discussion as the film deals with child sexual abuse. We have two special guests joining Aditya in this episode. S. Poorvaja is a journalist with The Hindu and has extensively covered and reported stories related to Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act. Some are linked below. Sannuthi Suresh works with Tulir Centre for the Prevention and Healing Child Sexual Abuse and is a psychotherapist. We talk about how the film portrays a sensitive issue, how much it gets right about the functioning of law, police investigations, the healing process, the POCSO case proceedings and more. Participants: Aditya Poorvaja Sannuthi Suresh Some POCSO stories reported by Poorvaja POCSO: a case study After recent case of sexual misconduct, spotlight on need for child protection policy in schools A spate of sexual misconduct charges is rocking Chennai’s schools Subha Rao's interview of Siddharth and SU Arunkumar Baradwaj Rangan's interview of SU Arunkumar

Hello! In this episode, Deepauk, Anantha and Aditya talk about Roby Varghese Raj's Kannur Squad starring Mammootty, Rony David Raj, Azees Nedumangad, Kishore and others. The film is a thriller based on a real squad of police officers who are tasked with the toughest cases. The film is very similar to last year's Kuttavum Shikshayum directed by Rajeev Ravi and H Vinoth's Tamil film Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru. Both the films, like Kannur Squad, feature a team of police officers operating beyond their familiar turf, traveling to different parts of the country in search of criminals on the run. We also look at how the films stack up and what they do differently with familiar premise. We also talk about Mammootty who is having a terrific late innings in his career and a particularly great 2023 with Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam (check out our episode on the film), Kannur Squad and Jeo Baby's Kaathal The Core that is currently in theatres. Participants: Deepauk Anantha Aditya Edited by Anantha.

And we are back with an episode on one of the films of the year- Lokesh Kanagaraj's Leo. If you haven't yet heard of the film, crawl out of that rock and here we go- starring Vijay, Trisha, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun etc, the film, after Vikram and the introduction of Lokesh Cinematic Universe, was THE Tamil film if not Indian film that a huge fan base was looking out for. Now that it's out and we can have a spoilers filled discussion, we got Deepauk, Anantha and one of our returning guests Equanimus to talk about it. There is a lot of crap out there in the name of engaging with this polarizing film that's perfectly good for the most part but if we may say so ourselves, nothing beats this one. Listen on. Participants: Anantha Deepauk Equanimus

We return after a long long time. Various commitments kept us busy but we are back with a new season and we couldn't have picked up a better film to start. Hemanth M. Rao's Sapta Saagaradaache Ello - Side A released on September 1st and later on Amazon Prime, and at least for me it is one of the best films of the year from India. A romantic tragedy starring Rakshit Shetty, Rukmini Vasanth, Pavitra Lokesh, Achyutha Kumar among others, the film boasts of compelling writing by Rao and Gundu Shetty and excellent filmmaking from Rao, and shot by Advaitha Gurumurthy. Side A is also first of a two part film. The story of Manu (Shetty) and Priya (Vasanth) isn't over and we will see their journey continue in Side B that releases on October 27th. Director Hemanth M. Rao joined us for the episode and we talk about everything from workshopping with actors, some writing decisions, characters and the ideas behind the film and shotmaking. Aditya is also joined by pod regular, journalist Subha Rao Participants: Aditya Hemanth M. Rao Subha Rao Link to Subha's interview of Hemanth: https://www.ottplay.com/interview/sapta-sagaradaache-ello-director-hemanth-m-rao-love-demands-vulnerability/37928feb01634

The year for Tamil cinema hasn't been all that great so far but then comes along a film like Vinayak Chandrasekaran's Good Night. A superb character study and exploration of dynamics, the film-also written by Vinayak-stars Manikandan, Ramesh Thilak, Meetha Raghunath, Balaji Sakthivel, Raichel Rebecca among others. It also stars stand up comedian, actor, writer Jagan Krishnan who joined us for this episode to talk about the experience of auditioning, working in the film and what he thought about the various character dynamics in the film. He also shared some anecdotes while at it. Listen on. You can find links to Jagan's work and information and tickets for his tour that's coming up here. The Malayalam film referenced in the episode is Vadakkunokkiyantram. Participants: Deepauk Anantha Jagan Edited by Deepauk.

We are back with an episode on literature. On this episode writers and translators Priyamvada and Suchitra join Deepauk and Aditya to talk about Tamil author and screenplay writer Jeyamohan, and their translations of his works. Priyamvada's translation of Aram titled Stories of the True was published last year. Suchitra's translation of Ezhaam Ulagam titled The Abyss came out couple of months ago. We talk to them about their journey through Tamil literature from readers to translators, Jeyamohan's influence, his place in the larger canon of Tamil literature, his politics and their experience translating two of his important works. Jeyamohan's Blog: https://jeyamohan.in Link to Stories of the True: https://www.amazon.in/Stories-True-Translated-Tamil-Priyamvada/dp/9393986177 Link to The Abyss: https://www.amazon.in/ABYSS-Jeyamohan/dp/9393986525/ Link to Jeyamohan's interview on Scroll by Suchitra and Priyamvada: https://scroll.in/article/1047710/as-a-writer-im-apolitical-and-spiritually-free-that-is-how-id-like-to-retain-myself-jeyamohan Suchitra and Priyamvada's initiative Mozhi to bring together literature from different Indian languages: https://mozhi.co.in/ Participants: Priyamvada Suchitra Deepauk Aditya Edited by Anantha

As part of The Other Banana's efforts to bring in more technicians to the forefront, we have a special episode with a special guest now that Ponniyin Selvan Part 2 is out and the saga is complete. An effort that's achieved great success and more importantly, provided immense satisfaction and joy to experience on screen. Starring Karthi, Aishwarya Rai, Vikram, Trisha, Jayam Ravi, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sarath Kumar, Parthiban, Prakash Raj, Rahman and Sobhita among others, the film has music by AR Rahman, cinematography by Ravi Varman, editing by Sreekar Prasad and art direction by Thota Tharani. In this episode, we have the multi hyphenate Krithika Nelson - musician, lyricist, creative producer and director, dubbin artist, associate director, and more. She dubbed for Trisha's Kundavai in the Ponniyin Selvan films, wrote the lyrics of Sol in Part 1 and was also an associate director to Mani Ratnam. She also wrote the lyrics for the soundtrack of the recent film Nitham Oru Vaanam. We spoke to Krithika about her dubbing career, the skill and techniques that it involves, what happens inside and outside the recording studio, and her experience as a dubbing artist for the past several years. We also talk about the production of Ponniyin Selvan films, her work as an associate director to Mani Ratnam, the films' grand scale and what it took to make these two films with the biggest of actors and technicians. Krithika shared with us some great anecdotes from the time of filming, what she looks for in an actor's performance when she dubs for them, how dubbing can be different with different directors. And of course, we also talk about Trisha! Earlier, when Ponniyin Selvan Part 1 released, we had done an episode with sound engineer Anand Krishnamoorthi on his work in the film and also the job of sound engineers, designers and mixers in general. You can check it out here. Participants: Krithika Nelson Aditya Anantha Here's Krithika Nelson's latest independent single Nee Mattum. She wrote the lyrics, composed and sang the song in addition to directing the music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0ivuwuHEWE Aditya's review of Ponniyin Selvan Part 1 and Ponniyin Selvan Part 2. Intro audio from JFW Awards 2023, a recreation of PS 1 scene between Nandini and Kundavai on stage by their respective dubbing artists Deepa Venkat and Krithika Nelson.

We return with a Telugu film, a massive hit from 2022. Just when we thought only male star driven, machismo action films could do well in theatres, we had films based on romance with author backed pairs work their charm at the box office. One was Thiruchitrambalam. The other was Sita Ramam directed by Hani Raghavapudi. Sita Ramam stars Dulquer Salmaan and Mrunal Thakur, two stars made to glisten the screen. In this episode Aditya joins Sal of Salandthebadpun on Twitter and our returning guest Amrita to talk about the film, how the romance works with the help of the actors' charm and great looks, the set and costume design, the casting of Rashmika and the way her character is written. We also talk about the fragmented politics of the film, muted but always grating in the background. Participants: Aditya Sal Amrita Edited by Anantha.

One of our listeners think it would be a good idea for us to talk about the 2006 Chimbu Deven's historic-fiction "Imsai Arasan 23am Pulikesi". We too think this is a great idea. 23am Pulikesi is one of the best comedies of Tamil cinema in the last 20 years featuring Vadivelu, Nassar, Ilavarasu, Sriman, Thambi Ramaiah, Manobala and many others. We have Anantha, Ashoka and Rajiv touch upon the film, its comedy, the performances, the homage it pays to its predecessor: Uthama Puthiran, how it could be a modern office-drama masquerading as a period-piece and several other things. ps: Rajiv has his own crime-fiction podcast on Spotify named "Detective Mathimaran". You can listen to it here.

Almost everybody agrees Lijo Jose Pellissery's Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam that released mid January of 2023 and on Netflix at the end of February is going to be the Indian film of the year? Why? We thought we'll dig in.  Aditya watched it twice in theatres. Deepauk watched it a day before recording of this podcast. And our special guest critic, programmer, author Srikanth Srinivasan watched it thrice in theatres and a couple of more times on Netflix. With a screenplay by S Hareesh and directed by Pellissery, the film stars Mammootty, Ramya Pandian, Ashokan, Ramya Suvi, Poo Ramu among others. The three of them gather to discuss what makes this film so interesting, the seamless Tamil-Malayalam intermingling, the filmmaking ideas and cinematography, the almost exclusive Tamil cinema soundtrack throughout the film, and the film's philosophical interventions. Listen on. Participants: Aditya Srikanth Srinivasan Deepauk Srikanth Srinivasan's writings on the film: A Letter to Lijo Jose Pellissery: https://theseventhart.info/2023/01/25/a-letter-to-lijo-jose-pellissery/ Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam Part 2: https://theseventhart.info/2023/01/31/nanpakal-nerathu-mayakkam-2022-part-2/ If anybody would like to watch Ratha Kanneer, it's on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F63Qhsl5010 Here is a playlist of songs that you hear in the film: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlgM21QZS6YyKtiXGxtGyMAzTVbR2Y_8R

Hello, we are back! After a lengthy break, The Other Banana returns with a new season and with a small change in programming for this opening episode. We have two special guests - filmmaker Don Palathara who's made films such as Shavam, Vith, 1956 Central Travancore, Everything is Cinema joined us to talk about Swedish auteur Roy Andersson's A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence. Palathara's new film Family premiered at International Film Festival Rotterdam earlier this month. Aditya's writing on Palathara's cinema and review of Family are linked below in the show notes. The second guest participating in this episode is sociologist Sherin Catherine who also dabbles in writing and acting. She's the co-writer of Everything is Cinema and Family. Roy Andersson's films are unique in their narrative style and shot compositions. They are more anti-narrative with us just following a seemingly disconnected set of characters who are framed in painterly compositions with deep focus with most of the film in master shots. His films are existential in nature probing what it means to be human and sometimes dark and, more often than not, funny. A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2014) is the third in his Living trilogy following Songs from the Second Floor (2000) and You, the Living (2007). It won the Golden Lion at the 71st Venice International Film Festival. Listen on Participants: Aditya Don Palathara Sherin Some writings on Don Palathara's cinema by Aditya: On Palathara's cinema: https://www.cinemaexpress.com/malayalam/features/2021/aug/18/biweekly-binge-inside-don-palatharas-cinema-26130.html Review of Family: https://www.ottplay.com/news/newsletter-the-church-faith-at-all-costs-in-don-palatharas-family/fc3e211676571

At The Other Banana podcast, we are aware that we haven't been paying attention to our Kannada roster as much as the others. In an attempt to address that, we got together some folks who were excited to talk about one of the finest comedies from Kannada cinema. In this episode, Anantha and Ashoka talk about Gauri Ganesha (1991), a film directed by Phani Ramachandra and starring Anant Nag, Vinaya Prasad, Master Anand et al, with two special guests. Alok Prasanna Kumar, an advocate based in Bengaluru who is also a columnist in various publications, joins the podcast along with filmmaker Suneel Raghavendra. Suneel is the director of the film Puta Tirugisi Nodi. Listen on. Participants: Anantha Ashoka Alok Prasanna Kumar Suneel Raghavendra Edited by Ashoka.

Among all the epic star vehicles and action extravaganzas like Pushpa: The Rise, RRR, KGF and Vikram, we had a seemingly little film that became a box office hit. It's not a little film by any means. It has Dhanush, Nithya Menen, Prakash Raj, Bharathiraja in the lead and directed by Mithran Jawahar. The film, Thiruchitrambalam, is just more grounded and subtle, the opposite of what people have come to expect from theatrical films. And yet, this romantic comedy, a genre that's hard to come by in Tamil cinema, is not just a wonderful film but also found its audience. To talk about the film, we have Aditya and Anantha. And joining them is writer, journalist and film critic Subha Rao who makes a return to the podcast. She had earlier joined us for the episode on stars and promising directors. Participants: Aditya Anantha Subha Rao Edited by Ashoka