After eight years, your friendly neighbourhood film critic says thank you and goodbye.
FEB 27, 2011 – BETWEEN REVIEWS BEGAN as a repository for thoughts in between the weekend reviews. And in this, the 134th installment, my last for this paper, I am finally bereft of thoughts. It’s far easier tackling the metaphysical implications of a sobering piece of art cinema made in Kazakhstan than it is to say goodbye. The saying itself isn’t difficult. It’s just one word. What’s difficult is the expression of the numerous emotions associated with that word. There’s first a profusion of thank-yous to be said – to the people at the paper for their unstinting allotment of valuable print space for the coverage of cinema, week after week, and to the readers who did what they are meant to do, namely read, and thus disproved theories about how increased exposure to the Internet is making us read less. Approving or otherwise, the letters from regular readers have always been a source of warmth, an indication that you’re not writing in a vacuum, that someone, somewhere is reading you. It’s like setting adrift a message in a bottle and getting a reply. Writing is one of the loneliest professions, and it’s the readers who assure you that you’re not alone.
These are not empty words. In this era of New Media, it’s much more convenient to look up my blog – or anyone else’s, for that matter – and leave a comment, an instant impression of your reaction to my writing that shows up instantly and is commented upon by others and gradually engulfed in an ongoing discussion (or a flame war; you cannot always predict how an innocent remark will feed the fires of argumentative individuals, and that’s part of what makes the interactiveness of the Web so much fun). But to actually read something in a newspaper and fill out a postcard or an inland letter – heaps of which used to descend upon the desk earlier, from which I used to claim the ones addressed to me; now, of course, most of the correspondence is through email – is nothing less than an act of generosity. Imagine this sequence of events: You read something. You register the desire to respond. You carry those thoughts with you to your computer or to your writing desk. You wrest precious moments from your life to write down those thoughts. And you mail the letter (or click on ‘Send’) to someone you don’t know, whose existence you wouldn’t be aware of were it not for the newspaper.
I have, to this day, a postcard where an irate SK Sharma from Visakhapatnam wrote: “Film reviews by Baradwaj Rangan are a bore. It is as if he is narrating the story of Mahabharata, lengthy, taking half page of Express. I feel it is better to see the picture itself as it will have an interval. Why not be brief and ultimately give a rating – good, don’t see, excellent, just see, boring, etc.” Well, his wish came true – at least one part of it. A ratings system was put in place, one I’ve struggled with, and I have written reams about this, so I’ll spare you further hand-wringing. But unfortunately, for Mr. Sharma, the reviews never became brief, thanks to my editors who believed in analysis over judgment. There is no greater friend to a film critic than an editor who likes films, and I’ve been very fortunate in that respect. The first review that appeared on these Sunday pages was for Yash Chopra’s Veer-Zaara. The last one is what appears today. I’ve enjoyed writing each and every one – well, almost, I think – and I thank everyone for the great ride. The train has stopped and it’s time to alight and carry on. And Mr. Sharma, I can’t wait to see if you get your other wish.
Copyright ©2011 The New Sunday Express. This article may not be reproduced in its entirety without permission. A link to this URL, instead, would be appreciated.
Padawan
February 26, 2011
What? Why?
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Just Another Film Buff
February 26, 2011
Whoa… SO where does this leave ‘us’?
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kannan
February 26, 2011
Rangan – Really sad to hear this. Will you still blog? Is Express done? Whats your status? Say it aint so, my friend!
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Just Another Film Buff
February 26, 2011
First, what is this farewell you talk about? To Between Reviews? To TNIE? To Sunday Express?
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Kiruba
February 26, 2011
OMG! that was a real shocker. Where do you go from here?
Plunging in to serious writing?
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Ini
February 26, 2011
Of all the questions coming into my mind, Why, sir, Why?
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Harish S Ram
February 26, 2011
is it a farewell for this section alone or are you leaving this field for something bigger?
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Bala
February 26, 2011
An end to Between Reviews only I hope 😀
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Udhav
February 26, 2011
I think your readers would want to know where you are moving to, and what you are going to do. 🙂
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jussomebody
February 26, 2011
Huh? So now what??
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Shankar
February 26, 2011
Good Luck with your new stint, Baddy.
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Arnav
February 27, 2011
I am sorry I got a bit confused there in all my worry. You are still going to write about films here, aren’t you? It would be quite (make that very) painful if you stopped reviewing films! Have loved (most of) your ‘stories’ about films and it would be difficult living without them.
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gradwolf
February 27, 2011
I am sure the obvious question would have been asked by now. I hope the answer is that you are just quitting the express and not reviewing films in general. I saw this coming when I eavesdropped on snatches of conversation between you and udhav in the kamal event.(was sitting next to him)!
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Anush
February 27, 2011
switching to another newspaper or moving online fully ?
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lp
February 27, 2011
dash it, i would look forward to the reviews more than the movie at times. u sure u wouldn’t want to rethink this decision, that’s a king-sized void u’d be creating by leaving.
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digibee
February 27, 2011
I visited this site after quite a long time to catch up on the reviews and the first message I see is that you quit. May be you’d still write reviews in this blog ? I hope so.
Thank you for the reviews.
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She_Who_Must_Not_Be_Named
February 27, 2011
Goodbyes are always sad….even if moving on was a choice. Wishing you TONS of luck in your next venture. I hope you scale greater heights.
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pawan
February 27, 2011
Can we do anything to convince you to stay? You are best, or maybe the only real, critic that this country has. Are you going to write on your blog? Or for another newspaper?
This is shocking.
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aravind
February 27, 2011
Whatever your paper is upto!
Hope the new paper’s editor is no SK Sharma.
P.S – You could have put a footnote in h the blog you will be continuing elsewhere. Untill I saw Sudhish’s tweet I was in total shock.
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bran1gan
February 27, 2011
All: This is a farewell to The New Indian Express — and therefore to Between Reviews (at least by this name). Not to this blog. And certainly not to writing (about films or otherwise). Cheers.
Kiruba: Reg. “Plunging in to serious writing?” I’m glad to see you think I was just faffing around so far 🙂
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vikram
February 27, 2011
The one bright spot among all the depressing maoist and starvation stories will no longer be there? Where do we go for our weekly fix of reviews, analysis and ruminations?
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rameshram
February 27, 2011
enna quitted a ?!
but BR is too big for any one paper, so Im sure you’ll do great wherever you set up your new gig.
good luck!
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Chhote saab
February 27, 2011
Boy, you scared everybody out here!!!
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Hari
February 27, 2011
“….Writing is one of the loneliest professions, and it’s the readers who assure you that you’re not alone…..”
You sound awesome even when you are not using those flabbergasting phrases. Thank you for everything BR and wish you success in your future endeavors.
It would be interesting to see if your creative acumen allows your writing to segue into something more connected to reality-day-to-day issues concerning the classes and the masses alike.
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Bala
February 27, 2011
all these artistic fellows are so temperamental 😀
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Pavitra
February 27, 2011
ref the sudhish kamath tweet. plsss dont say you’re moving to The Hindu.
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karthik
February 27, 2011
Rangan – Are you going to THE Hindu??
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kanna
February 27, 2011
Rangan – And btw have you patented the BR from NIE?? Then, wherever you go, you can still write under that, right?
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Venki
February 27, 2011
To me, you were one of the major draws to read Sunday Express and one of the many reasons it is class. Farewell. I shall miss reading you in Express.
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milo minderbinder
February 27, 2011
What?? No more entertainment for us readers with your hilarious takes on Priyadarshan and Sajid Khan movies that we never see? 🙂
Good luck with your new job and please continue to blog often!
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Jagannath
February 27, 2011
I thought you will be the sole silver lining in that black hole called TNIE. Please tell me that you left TNIE because your political views are not as right inclined as Prabhu Chawla. I was always interested in knowing your political inclination.
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Arun
February 27, 2011
whoa! didn’t see that coming.
oh come on tell us which train yer boarding next?…I hope wherever it is we get the weekly double-doses of your writing that we have till now.
thanks for all the reviews and more importantly, the writing.
All the best for whatever it is you are doing next. Apart from the reviews, I really wish you get to dip your quill more into the ink-pot of film writing and hopefully some fiction writing too.
I do hope your base remains Chennai 🙂
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bksingh2009
February 27, 2011
Which paper sirji..Is it going to be Mid Day??
I subscribe to TNIE only for your articles.
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Venkatesh
February 27, 2011
BR : All the best for the new gig.
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mohan
February 27, 2011
Mr.Rangan, since you are quitting the Express, I thought this would be a good time to put forward my humble request:
PLEASE do full-fledged reviews of Tamil movies, as you do for hindi ones.
Bullet-point reports, Between Reviews, Bitty Ruminations, Brief Ramblings, et al. can hardly replace a good old-fashioned review,especially from such a talented writer such as yourself.
Could you kindly oblige this one wish, at least for tamil films that you deem are worthy enough(and there seems to be a good many these days) and merit a review?
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Shalini
February 27, 2011
Great novel and a classy note to exit on. All the best.
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Rangeesh
February 28, 2011
I used to wait for the Sunday Express for Between Reviews, but I don’t know what to do.. Boo-fuckin-hoo ! Who cares which paper he will be going to as long as this blog is there and bullet point reports will still rule the day?
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Vivek
February 28, 2011
Tamil Nade pathhi eriyum, nee oru vaartha sollu thalaiva.
Hope its the Hindu, those guys could really use some help, and not TOI!
On a side note: good bye is one word??
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bran1gan
February 28, 2011
mohan: I hope to. Fingers crossed.
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karna
February 28, 2011
Rangan – when did this happen? And how was it??
http://expressbuzz.com/entertainment/news/music-movies-and-romance/248639.html
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anamika
February 28, 2011
Bittersweet-I still remember the first “real” response(though I used to read the column before that, it took a while to translate it into action)which was written with some amount of bravado and a few ounces of trepidition-(writing , even for a reader, is a lonely profession!)-It was for “Cheeni kum” and I had talked about the coffee being a little too sweet!-since then, it has been an absolutely privilege and joy to read your reviews…your writing spoke beyond grammer of films or star readings/ratings..what translated was your passion and respect for the medium..
Through your columns, I bought my first Fellini DVD and learnt of filmakers who had not been in my list before…for that I thank you
I hope your new avatar wherever it is, brings you to an even greater understanding and exploration of cinema.
It has been a privilege to have read the columns…sunday mornings will not be the same.
And I stand by my response…the coffee was too sweet!!
god,gods bless!
cheers,
anamika
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rameshram
February 28, 2011
and farewell from the Oscars to A R Rahman as well. we will miss you mr rahman, the flash in the pan lasted …a while….
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arijit
February 28, 2011
WTF!!! Seriously that was my first reaction to your blog post…yours is the only review blog that me and my wife used to go to get a frank feedback about a film and one that would help us make up our mind on whether to see a film or to give it a miss. I do sincerely hope that you keep writing about films (not forgetting Friday releases)…on a side note…the farewell letter doesn’t read like Chandler…;)…it should have a more cheesy touch to it…
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raj
February 28, 2011
Seeing the title I thought one more has kicked the bucket after Malaysia Vasu. Seems a lot less serious matter.
Are you going to the Hindu? I know I said in jest that if you left the Express, Mountraod Mahavishnu will be the best bet for you. nejamAlumEvA? Sudhish pozhaippu ennAvadhu? Or, avaru gindhi nInga thamizhA? appO Ralathi Mangarajan poyappu?
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Goodness Elliotness
February 28, 2011
good to see a chandler reference, sad about the decision. Will be missing something from next weekends.
All the best.
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Udhav
February 28, 2011
Mountroad Mahavishnu vaa 😀
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V.P.Jaiganesh
March 1, 2011
Hmmm,
So does this mean that there do exist a section of audience who want simplistic reviews on the “printed paper” totally contrasting with the blog readers and followers, who simply cant get enough of a review on a movie? So we can expect a “Non Detailed” in Film reviews in future. If it happens, you would be one of the driving forces who pushed film reviews into this schism.. Thats no simple feat.. I am no fan of Indian Express or even Indian print media, so no loss for me personally. however nothing compares to the wide reach of English print media in India. The only space where some eloquence and indulgent romanticism with things like Language and films is still tolerated. It is a shame that they should let naive public decide the content that appears on such non essential spaces like Films and Sports.
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V.P.Jaiganesh
March 1, 2011
Malathi can start covering arangetrams and other mundane stuff in mylapore and TNagar. however I am a sworn “Hindu” Hater (the news paper i meant..) so wouldnt recommend Rangan to do a sleepover in Mahavishnu’s premises..
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Nothinglastsforever
March 1, 2011
“Where does this leave us?”
You can always trust the guy who says ‘MOVIE WAS BAKWAS/CHUTIYA’ or BALLLLZ 2 DIS MOVIE, right?
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Nothinglastsforever
March 1, 2011
Oh and Rediff commenters, they have the best education.
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SS
March 1, 2011
Thanks for all the writings over the years… Have enjoyed all of it, tho I wudnt get some of the Tamil references.
All the best for the future. Hope to see u still writing about cinema somewhere.
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Shalu
March 1, 2011
I’m a long time reader of your blog but never commented before now. The shock of your leaving and then the relief of your continuing the blog forced me to write here.
Look forward to lots of analysis from you pen 🙂
Cheers,
Shalu
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pr3m
March 1, 2011
Come to Mumbai now.
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phantom363
March 1, 2011
sir,
i had started reading your reviews only a week ago. enjoying them very much. sorry to see it stop. best wishes.
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raj
March 2, 2011
Yeah, go to Mumbai – maybe, you can single handedly lift Mirror by replacing Tinty Mejpal. Or, Sayank Mhekar at DNA. But Taran Adarsh will be more popular, and you might have to moderate discussions involving him. Better stay in Chennai, eh?
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rameshram
March 3, 2011
appidi vaa di vazzikku!
(you know who you are)
http://www.washingtonbanglaradio.com/content/32123111-new-movie-dhun-pair-real-life-couple-aishwarya-and-abhishek
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Chandu
April 30, 2017
BR, can we have a link of your Veer-Zaara review?
PS. I’ve been reading your blog since the Arre-o-Sambar days of 2005. This is my first comment, and request.
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brangan
April 30, 2017
Chandu: Thanks for being such a long time reader, and also for this little drama that I created when I left Express 😀
About the review, let me look for it…
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