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Ramachandran V

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Norman Z. McLeod’s "Monkey Business" (1931) is Marx Brothers comedy in its most gloriously anarchic form.

The plot is little more than a pretext for Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo to unleash verbal wit, physical mayhem, linguistic confusion and gleeful irreverence aboard an ocean liner.

Groucho’s razor sharp insolence, Harpo’s childlike physical chaos, Chico’s deliciously mangled logic and Zeppo’s conventional romantic presence combine into a comic assault on authority, respectability and social convention.

Thelma Todd is particularly delightful opposite Groucho, matching his verbal fireworks with considerable wit.

Nearly a century later, the film’s story may feel incidental, but its spirit remains infectious.

"Monkey Business" is less about following a narrative than watching four extraordinary comedians gleefully dismantle one.

(Monkey Business, Marx Brothers, Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Zeppo Marx, Norman Z McLeod, Thelma Todd, Ruth Hall, film review, American cinema, timeless classics) by @vram45

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2 hours ago

E. R. Cooper’s "Ponkathir" (1953) is less a forgotten masterpiece than a fascinating window into the formative years of Malayalam cinema.

With its heady blend of melodrama, romance, music, intrigue and family honour, the film reflects a period when theatre and popular Tamil cinema exerted a powerful influence on the emerging Malayalam cinematic idiom.

What makes the film particularly intriguing today is its willingness to confront subjects of suspicion, reputation and forbidden relationships in an era when such themes were hardly commonplace.

Lalitha brings poignancy to Radha, while a young Prem Nazir offers a glimpse of the romantic persona he would eventually perfect.

Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair is memorable as the calculating Vikraman.

The film may appear theatrical and extravagantly melodramatic to contemporary eyes, but that is precisely part of its historical charm.

"Ponkathir" is not merely a film from 1953; it is a fascinating document of Malayalam cinema discovering its own voice.

(Ponkathir, Malayalam Cinema, Malayalam Films, Prem Nazir, Thikkurissy, Lalitha, Indian Cinema, film review, ER Cooper, melodrama, highest grossing) by @vram45

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14 hours ago

An easy 7.11 km in 1:08 hours along Marine Drive this morning.

There are few places in Mumbai where running feels quite as exhilarating as it does on the Marine Drive promenade.

Even in the early morning, when much of the city is still rubbing the sleep from its eyes, Marine Drive is already wonderfully alive—a long, sweeping theatre of human energy, optimism and movement.

Runners, walkers and cyclists appear in an almost continuous procession, each pursuing a different rhythm yet somehow contributing to the same collective pulse.

There is something infectious about the sheer positivity of the place: people exercising, conversations unfolding, friendships being forged, and the city gradually awakening around them.

The promenade itself is a magnificent sweep of geography and perspective, curving gracefully from NCPA all the way to Girgaum Chowpatty.

One can stand at one end and take in the extraordinary sight of the entire arc stretching into the distance—a particularly satisfying spectacle when viewed through the eyes of a runner.

And then there is the Arabian Sea, ever-present and endlessly changing. The bobbing buoys, the occasional fishing boats, the faint lights shimmering towards the horizon, and the vast expanse of water lend the morning an almost cinematic quality.

On the landward side, the stately old buildings, many bearing the architectural imprint of another era, provide a splendid counterpoint to the restless sea.

Marine Drive is therefore more than merely a running route. It is a place where the city, the sea and its people seem to converge in a single, invigorating panorama.

To run here is not merely to cover kilometres; it is to participate, however briefly, in the magnificent daily ritual of Mumbai coming alive.

And for a runner, there are few better ways to begin the day.

(running, marine drive, arabian sea, mumbai, queen's necklace) by @vram45

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a day ago

19.10 kms in 2.42.23 hours. Throwback with Philip Earis in July 2015.

2 October brings together three significant observances: Gandhi Jayanti, Lal Bahadur Shastri Jayanti, and the International Day of Non-Violence.

Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri belonged to different generations and brought different temperaments to public life, yet both left behind an enduring vocabulary of simplicity, integrity, duty and service.

Gandhi transformed non-violence from an ethical principle into a powerful instrument of social and political change.

Shastri, with his quiet demeanour and understated leadership, demonstrated that public authority need not be accompanied by personal grandeur.

The United Nations' observance of the International Day of Non-Violence on Gandhi's birth anniversary adds another dimension to the day: the reminder that disagreement need not become hostility, conviction need not become intolerance, and strength need not express itself through aggression.

Perhaps the significance of 2 October lies precisely in these reminders; not of two historical figures alone, but of the possibility of principled leadership, quiet courage and humanity in action.

(Gandhi Jayanti, Lal Bahadur Shastri, International Day Of Non Violence, Non Violence, Ahimsa, Integrity, Leadership, Simplicity, Service, Peace) by @vram45

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2 days ago

W. S. Van Dyke’s "White Shadows in the South Seas" (1928) is far more than a tropical adventure.

At the threshold between silent cinema and the talkies, it is at once a romance, a critique of colonial exploitation and an extraordinary visual record of the South Pacific.

Monte Blue’s Dr. Matthew Lloyd, a disillusioned alcoholic who recoils from the exploitation of Polynesian pearl divers, finds a fragile redemption on an idyllic island, where he falls in love with Fayaway, played by Raquel Torres.

Yet the paradise he discovers proves vulnerable to the same greed from which he had fled.

The film’s greatest triumph is its photography. Clyde De Vinna’s breathtaking images of lagoons, mountains, beaches and tropical landscapes possess an almost painterly beauty.

Yet beneath the exotic splendour lies a fascinating contradiction: the film condemns colonial exploitation even as it romanticises the indigenous world.

Beautiful, historically significant and intriguingly ambivalent, "White Shadows in the South Seas" remains a compelling cinematic time capsule; one in which paradise is as fragile as human innocence.

(White Shadows In The South Seas, WS Van Dyke, Monte Blue, Raquel Torres, Silent Cinema, Tahiti, Polynesia, Colonialism, Cinematography, Clyde De Vinna, Film Review, American cinema, South Pacific) by @vram45

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3 days ago

Chloé Leriche’s "Before the Streets" (Avant les rues, 2016) is a quietly powerful film about guilt, identity, belonging and redemption.

What begins as a crime drama gradually evolves into a deeply introspective journey, as Shawnouk, a troubled young Atikamekw man, confronts the consequences of his actions and rediscovers the cultural and spiritual roots from which he has become estranged.

Shot in the Atikamekw language and deeply rooted in the landscape and traditions of Manawan, the film eschews melodrama in favour of silence, ritual and contemplation.

The forest becomes not merely a refuge but a metaphor for introspection and renewal.

Rykko Bellemare gives a restrained and affecting performance, while Leriche’s direction demonstrates an admirable willingness to observe rather than explain.

What makes "Before the Streets" especially compelling is its conception of justice; not simply as punishment, but as accountability, restoration and reconciliation.

A thoughtful, atmospheric and culturally resonant debut, the film suggests that redemption may begin not with escaping one’s identity, but with returning to it.

(Before The Streets, Avant Les Rues, Chloe Leriche, Atikamekw, Indigenous Cinema, Canadian Cinema, World Cinema, Film Review, Movie Review, Cinema) by @vram45

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4 days ago

10.55 kms in 1.23.46 hours.

Today is World School Milk Day.

There is something quietly universal about a glass of milk at school: simple, familiar and unpretentious, yet for generations it has been associated with childhood, nourishment and the promise of growing up healthy.

World School Milk Day is a gentle reminder that nutrition is not merely a matter of calories and nutrients; it is also about giving children the wherewithal to learn, play, grow and dream.

The humble glass of milk may hardly seem consequential, but sometimes it is the smallest daily habits that leave the most enduring impressions.

A modest glass, perhaps; but with rather considerable possibilities.

(World School Milk Day, School Milk, Child Nutrition, Healthy Childhood, Nutrition, Growing Up Healthy, Education, WellBeing) by @vram45

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4 days ago

10.85 kms in 1.30.12 hours.

Today is International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste.

Food is perhaps the most quotidian of human necessities, yet its journey from soil to table represents an extraordinary expenditure of nature, labour, water, energy and ingenuity.

And still, an astonishing quantity of it is lost or wasted before it can nourish anyone.

The International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste is less an occasion for admonition than an invitation to reflection.

A little more prudence in what we buy, cook, serve and preserve can make a difference; not merely to household budgets, but to the planet we inhabit.

After all, wasting food is, in a curious sense, wasting everything that went into making it.

(International Day Of Awareness Of Food Loss And Waste, Food Waste, Food Loss, Sustainability, Sustainable Living, Responsible Consumption, Zero Waste) by @vram45

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5 days ago

P. G. Wodehouse’s "Something Fresh" (1915) is a delightful introduction to the wonderfully topsy turvy world of Blandings Castle.

With a priceless Egyptian scarab, romantic complications, mistaken identities, impecunious young people and an aristocrat more interested in his garden than in the affairs of his household, Wodehouse turns the conventional country-house novel into an exuberant comedy of errors.

The plot is almost beside the point. The real treasure is Wodehouse’s prose; effortlessly elegant, gloriously absurd and capable of making the most trivial incident sound like a matter of national importance.

His characters do not merely encounter complications; they manufacture them with admirable enthusiasm.

"Something Fresh" is funny, light hearted and irresistibly English; a splendid reminder that, in Wodehouse’s hands, even chaos can be made to dance.

(PG Wodehouse, Something Fresh, book review, Blandings Castle, Classic Literature, British Literature, Comic Fiction, Humour, Books) by @vram45

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6 days ago

Edgar G. Ulmer’s "Bluebeard" (1944) may be a modestly budgeted, 72 minute horror film, but beneath its lurid tale of murder lies a surprisingly intriguing study of artistic obsession, rejection, beauty and possession.

John Carradine is magnificent as Gaston Morrell, a cultured portrait painter and puppeteer whose fascination with beauty gradually mutates into murderous compulsion.

Ulmer’s expressionistic shadows, claustrophobic interiors, sinister puppetry and dreamlike Parisian setting give the film an eerie atmosphere, while its morally compromised characters and fatalistic psychology anticipate the emerging language of film noir.

A minor horror film elevated by atmosphere, visual imagination and, above all, Carradine’s wonderfully unsettling performance.

A fascinating little curiosity from one of Hollywood’s great masters of making much out of very little.

(Bluebeard, Edgar G Ulmer, John Carradine, Jean Parker, Teala Loring, gothic horror, noir cinema, German expressionism, film review, American cinema) by @vram45

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7 days ago

21.88 km in 3:00:32 hours at Aarey Forest. The plan was FOTS; Feet on the Street; for three hours. I ran for 18 kilometres and walked the remainder, allowing the forest, rather than the clock, to dictate the rhythm of the morning.

Aarey Forest was breathtaking as usual, an oasis amidst the construction mania that is overtaking all cities around the world.

Today is World Tourism Day. Tourism is not merely the act of visiting unfamiliar places; it is the more profound experience of inhabiting them, however briefly.

And perhaps there is no more intimate way of discovering a city than by running through it.
For a runner, a marathon transforms travel into something altogether more personal.

The roads cease to be mere thoroughfares and become a moving tapestry of experience—neighbourhoods, landmarks, people, architecture, culture and atmosphere revealing themselves, almost imperceptibly, one kilometre at a time.

Whether it is Mumbai, London, New York, Tokyo or some distant corner of the world, running enables us to experience a destination not merely as tourists passing through, but as participants immersed in its pulse.

Marathons thus create a delightful confluence of travel and running: the opportunity to traverse unfamiliar streets, encounter people and cultures beyond our own, and discover that beneath the bewildering diversity of languages, customs and landscapes lies one reassuringly universal human impulse; the simple determination to put one foot before the other and keep moving.

And perhaps the finest souvenirs of travel are not the photographs preserved on our phones or the postcards tucked away in drawers, but the roads upon which we have run, the strangers who became fellow travellers, the fleeting moments that became lasting memories, and the stories that accompany us long after we have returned home.

For a runner, the world is not merely a place to see; it is a place to run through, one road, one city and one unforgettable kilometre at a time.

(World Tourism Day, Running, Marathon Running, Run The World, Running And Travel, Marathon Tourism, Aarey Forest) by @vram45

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7 days ago

Some films entertain, some impress, and a rare few acquire a deeper resonance with every passing decade. Basu Bhattacharya’s "Teesri Kasam" (1966) belongs unmistakably to the last category.

Based on Phanishwar Nath Renu’s "Maare Gaye Gulfaam", this exquisite film is a delicate confluence of rural realism, folk culture, romance and quiet tragedy.

Raj Kapoor’s Hiraman is innocence personified, while Waheeda Rehman’s Hirabai carries the melancholy of a woman who understands the world far better than the man who idealises her.

The slow bullock cart journey becomes an emotional voyage, allowing affection to blossom almost imperceptibly.

Subrata Mitra’s evocative black-and-white cinematography, Shankar Jaikishan’s music and Shailendra’s poignant lyrics deepen the film’s sense of poetry and place.

What makes "Teesri Kasam" enduring is its understanding that love does not always culminate in possession.

Sometimes its most poignant expression lies in what remains unfulfilled and in the memory of a brief, beautiful journey shared by two lonely souls.

A timeless classic, at once earthy, lyrical and profoundly human.

(Teesri Kasam, Basu Bhattacharya, Raj Kapoor, Waheeda Rehman, Shailendra, Phanishwar Nath Renu, Shankar Jaikishan, Hindi Cinema, Indian Cinema, Classic Cinema, Film Review), by @vram45

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8 days ago