Balu Mahendra's Sandhya Raagam with Balaji Tharaneetharan

The Other Banana

We made it to 100. Thanks to all our listeners, no matter if you've listened to one episode or stuck with us this long since 2018 for every one of them! We've enjoyed doing this for the last 3 years and wish to continue the rewarding endeavor.

To celebrate the century, we thought the film, the filmmaker and the guest must all be special. So we asked filmmaker Balaji Tharaneetharan to talk about a film by the director who's inspired him the most - Balu Mahendra. Aditya and Deepauk join Balaji Tharaneetharan to talk about Balu Mahendra's Sandhya Raagam (1989).

Balu Mahendra considered Veedu and Sandhya Raagam as his best films, two of his most uncompromising works. Balaji spoke about Sandhya Raagam, broke down some shots and moments from the film, his favorite scenes and what affected him the most. And the discussion wasn't confined to Sandhya Raagam. He talked to us about Balu Mahendra, what makes the director-cinematographer a singular Indian filmmaker, how he once visited the director when he was filming and what struck him the most, and other such anecdotes. Balaji also talked about his dream to do away with digital and make at least one movie using film.

A big thanks to Balaji Tharaneetharan for joining us for this episode.

Related links:

Sandhya Raagam on Youtube

Our director series on Balaji Tharaneetharan - Episode 1 and Episode 2

Our episode on Balu Mahendra's Veedu