Seeti Maar Brian De Palma Special By Ratnakar Sadasyula Brian De Palma has always been one of my  all time favorite directors. From gangster dramas likeScarface, Carlito’s Way, The Untouchables to action thrillers like Blow Out, Body Double to horror movies like Carrie to war dramas like Casualties of War he has covered it all. Add to that some stunning visual montages be it the Odessa steps scene in The Untouchables or the pool room shoot out in Carlito’s Way. Here is a tribute to the director with some posts of mine. Blow Out:Only the Paranoid survive Ted  Kennedy,... 

Ratnakar Sadasyula Seeti Maar Alfred Hitchcock- Early Years in Britian By Ratnakar Sadasyula Alfred Hitchcock, a name synonymous with suspense and thriller. A person who directed movies mostly in one single genre, but yet, managed to churn out classics with amazing regularity. A person whose movie making craft is of the highest order. A person whose movies can provide lessons in the art of movie making. A pioneer, a master craftsman and a genius. And for me, a passion. Not just Hitch’s movies, but also the techniques he used, the concepts he introduced, his direction. Hitch started his movie... 

Ratnakar Sadasyula Seeti Maar Anand and The Shawshank Redemption By Ratnakar Sadasyula There are movies and then there are movies that cease to be mere cinema for you. Those are not the movies which you just see, enjoy and forget. Those are movies which touch your heart, which are a kind of close personal experience for you. The characters are some one you relate to. If i were to name two movies which have touched me personally, which would be my all time favorites at any given time in my life, there are 2 movies which would come to my mind any time- Anand and The Shawshank Redemption. In one... 

Ratnakar Sadasyula Seeti Maar Hemant Kumar- A league of his own By Ratnakar Sadasyula Apart from books and movies, Music has been one of my other passions. And i just have a big time passion for old Hindi movie songs, especially the Golden era of 50′s and 60′s. Madan Mohan, S.D.Burman, Shankar Jaikishan, O.P.Nayyar each one of them distinct from each other, each having their own styles. With his distinctive voice, excellent compositions and melodious tunes, HemantaKumar Mukherjee or Hemant Kumar was in a league of his own. Hemant Kumarwas not just a singer, he was also a music composer... 

Ratnakar Sadasyula Seeti Maar A Trip down Masala Lane By Ratnakar Sadasyula I am one of those who grew up on a steady diet of 70′s, 80′s and 90′s masala movies. Even to date, i have no compunctions in sitting through a good old masala flick on TV. Yeah even some of the torture series ones, just for the campy fun. I was one of those movie goers, who thronged the single screen theaters, standing in the queue, jostling for tickets, watching movies in theaters, with no proper air conditioning or fans and gorging on the watery snacks. Even now, i prefer to watch a movie, in a theater, i just... 

Ratnakar Sadasyula Seeti Maar Dr.Strangelove-Or how i started to love Stanley Kubrick By Ratnakar Sadasyula How could we possibly appreciate the Mona Lisa if Leonardo [Leonardo Da Vinci] had written at the bottom of the canvas, ‘The lady is smiling because she is hiding a secret from her lover’? This would shackle the viewer to reality, and I don`t want this to happen to 2001.-  Stanley  Kubrick Stanley  Kubrick  is  one of  those  directors, who  strongly  believe  in  the  cinema  being a  visual medium, and  let the  audience  interpret  it.   Not for  Kubrick, the ... 

Ratnakar Sadasyula Seeti Maar Shakti Samanta- Kuch Sunheri Yaadein Ratnakar Sadasyula Growing up  during  the  80′s,  entertainment on Wednesday’s  meant one thing,  Chitrahaar  on  Doordarshan.  Watching  the songs  which i loved  hearing on  the  TV  screen,  was  an  experience  in  itself.   And   some  images  were  unforgettable. Rajesh  Khanna  driving  along the  Darjeeling road,  serenading his  “Sapnon Ki Rani”  Sharmila  Tagore. Shammi  Kapoor  going  totally   fida   over  the “chand  sa roshan chehra”  Kashmiri  Kali ... 

Ratnakar Sadasyula Seeti Maar Al Pacino and the Mob… By Ratnakar Sadasyula Al Pacino a name that immediately brings into mind intense roles and a crackling screen presence that can chew up the scenery. Ask Keanu Reeves, who ended up as a glorified extra in The Devil’s Advocate. And yes those wonderful monologues, which basically comes from Pacino’s penchant for Shakespearan Theater. In his long career, Pacino has portrayed crooks, gangsters, cops, lawyers, football coaches, blind colonels, crusading journalists, city mayors and even the Devil himself. But a common thread in most of...