Episode #6: Baradwaj Rangan, Award-winning Film Critic
We're beyond excited to bring you this episode with Baradwaj Rangan, an award-winning film critic.
Baradwaj is an Editor at Film Companion [https://filmcompanion.in/], an online platform for entertainment journalism; prior to this, he was with The Hindu and The New Indian Express. He won the National Award for Best Film Critic in 2005, and is the author of 2 books, including the evergreen Conversations with Mani Ratnam, as well as several screenplays.
But that's not where his story starts: Baradwaj graduated with an engineering degree from BITS, Pilani, and spent some of his early days as an IT Consultant. He was an early influencer on the internet – his blog [http://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/] has long been a popular destination for fans of cinema, and it was here that he first sharpened and honed his critiques.
In this freewheeling conversation, we talk about Baradwaj's hard pivot from a traditional engineering career to one in the arts, his difficult conversations with loved ones who said film writing couldn't be a real job, and his willingness to adapt to changing times, as film journalism transitions from a print medium to one that's more visual, almost entirely on Youtube.
Show Notes
We refer to many of Baradwaj's 'greatest hits' as a writer. Here are links to some highly recommended reads:
* Man of https://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2013/12/05/man-of-steel/Steel, a profile of the star Vikram's unlikely climb to fame: https://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2013/12/05/man-of-steel/
* Thamrai: An Interview [https://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/interview-thamarai/] with a firebrand Tamil poet: https://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/interview-thamarai/
* Bombay Jayashri: An Interview [https://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2006/09/17/interview-bombay-jayashri/] with a powerful classical musician: https://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2006/09/17/interview-bombay-jayashri/
* Inception: A Review [https://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2010/07/24/between-reviews-dreams-of-prose/], for an example of how good film criticism can deepen your understanding of a film and fillmmaker, even if you don't agree with it: https://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2010/07/24/between-reviews-dreams-of-prose/
* Conversations with Mani Ratnam [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16079360-conversations-with-mani-ratnam], Baradwaj's book on the master Indian filmmaker: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16079360-conversations-with-mani-ratnam
Baradwaj's Book Recommendation: The Conversations [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5949.The_Conversations] by Michael Ondaatje (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5949.The_Conversations). "The Conversations is a treasure, essential for any lover or student of film, and a rare, intimate glimpse into the worlds of two accomplished artists who share a great passion for film and storytelling, and whose knowledge and love of the crafts of writing and film shine through."
