Vinayak Chakravorty
Encyclopedia
Vinayak Chakravorty is an India
n film critic and film journalist based in New Delhi
.
He currently reviews films in Mail Today
newspaper, where he is employed as Entertainment Editor. Chakravorty made his mark as the film critic of Delhi's leading newspaper, the Hindustan Times
, between 2001 and 2006 before he joined his present employer.
As a film critic, Chakravorty is regularly invited as guest speaker on cinema by various television channels and radio stations. Time Magazine has called him a "well-known film cic".
, a town formerly in the east Indian state of Bihar
and now the Capital of the subsequently formed state of Jharkhand
. He hails from a middle-class Bengali family, the only child of an engineer father and a school teacher mother.
He studied in St. Xavier's School, Ranchi, before graduating from St. Xavier's College, Ranchi
, with English Honours.
The journalism bug bit him while in high school, when he was inducted into the board of editors of his school magazine, Endeavour.
After graduation, Chakravorty moved to Kolkata for a few years, where he studied journalism at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
, and topped the post-graduate diploma course at the institution.
for a Masters course in Comparative Literature.
A month into his MA course, however, he received an offer from Kolkata's leading English daily, The Telegraph
.
Chakravorty quit his MA course to join The Telegraph as a Trainee Journalist in October 1995. He started off as a newsdesk Sub Editor, a job that allowed him to understand the nuances of news sense and newspaper dynamics first hand. During this stint, he also started making his mark as a feature writer, contributing to the Op-Ed and features pages of the newspaper.
In 1997, he left Kolkata to join The Pioneer
newspaper in New Delhi, as a Senior Feature Writer in the daily's Sunday section. A year later, thanks to his passion and knowledge of mainstream and offbeat cinema, Chakravorty was given the chance to review films for the newspaper.
Between 1999 and 2001, Chakravorty briefly romanced the emerging medium of the times, the internet. He joined digitalHT.com, the website hosted by Hindustan Times that was subsequently rechristened as go4i.com. During this phase, he anchored the cinema channel of the website in the capacity of Senior Content Writer, cinema channel. All along, he continued to make his mark as a film critic.
Chakravorty joined Hindustan Times in January 2001 as film critic and feature journalist for a fruitful association of over six years that he ended in July 2007 to join Mail Today, the newspaper launched by the prestigious India Today Group in association with The Daily Mail, UK
the same year.
In various blogs and websites, Chakravorty has been described as a proponent of the school of film critics who approach cinema solely from the entertainment point of view, rather than aesthetic details or the finer language of cinema. Chakravorty defends this saying, as a film critic in India, 99 per cent films—foreign or Indian—he has to watch in the line of duty are purely commercial ventures solely aimed at earning big money by providing entertainment. In this context, he is considered among the select film critics in India whose ratings rarely go wrong.
However he believes that every film must be reviewed keeping its target audience in mind, which itself does not always translate to box-office success. A critic's star ratings, he adds, should be appreciated and understood in the overall context of his review of a particular film.
As a film critic, Chakravorty cites the iconic Roger Ebert
of Chicago Sun-Times
as his idol and a major influence.
He counts Charles Chaplin, Satyajit Ray
, Woody Allen
, Krzysztof Kieslowski
and the Coen Brothers
as directors whose works he loves to watch again and again.
A supporter of the new-age crossover cinema movement in India, Chakravorty welcomes the advent of new-generation Indian filmmakers such as Anurag Kashyap
, Madhur Bhandarkar
, Vishal Bhardwaj
, Rajkumar Hirani, Dibakar Banerjee
, Neeraj Pandey
and Imtiaz Ali
.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n film critic and film journalist based in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
.
He currently reviews films in Mail Today
Mail Today
Mail Today is a newspaper established in November 2007 , and published by the India Today Group in a joint venture with British newspaper Daily Mail . Associated Newspapers holds 26% stake which it bought at Rs. 18 Crore Currently there is one edition of the paper published from Delhi which...
newspaper, where he is employed as Entertainment Editor. Chakravorty made his mark as the film critic of Delhi's leading newspaper, the Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded in 1924 with roots in the Indian independence movement of the period ....
, between 2001 and 2006 before he joined his present employer.
As a film critic, Chakravorty is regularly invited as guest speaker on cinema by various television channels and radio stations. Time Magazine has called him a "well-known film cic".
Early years
Chakravorty was born in RanchiRanchi
-Climate:Ranchi has a humid subtropical climate. However, due to its position and the forests around the city, it is known for its pleasant climate. Its climate is the primary reason why Ranchi was once the summer capital of the undivided State of Bihar...
, a town formerly in the east Indian state of Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
and now the Capital of the subsequently formed state of Jharkhand
Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
. He hails from a middle-class Bengali family, the only child of an engineer father and a school teacher mother.
He studied in St. Xavier's School, Ranchi, before graduating from St. Xavier's College, Ranchi
St. Xavier's College, Ranchi
St Xavier's College, Ranchi, in the Indian state of Jharkhand, was started by the Ranchi Province of the Society of Jesus, a Christian religious order founded by St. Ignatius Loyola in 1540...
, with English Honours.
The journalism bug bit him while in high school, when he was inducted into the board of editors of his school magazine, Endeavour.
After graduation, Chakravorty moved to Kolkata for a few years, where he studied journalism at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on November 7, 1938 by Dr. K. M. Munshi, with the blessings of Mahatma Gandhi...
, and topped the post-graduate diploma course at the institution.
Career
Chakravorty admits being torn between the options of pursuing higher studies and an ensuing career in academics, and choosing journalism as his calling. A reason why, despite scoring well at journalism school, he enrolled in Kolkata's prestigious Jadavpur UniversityJadavpur University
Jadavpur University , is a premier educational and research institution in India.It is located in Kolkata, West Bengal and comprises two campuses - the main campus at Jadavpur and the new campus at Salt Lake...
for a Masters course in Comparative Literature.
A month into his MA course, however, he received an offer from Kolkata's leading English daily, The Telegraph
The Telegraph (Kolkata)
The Telegraph is an Indian daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Kolkata since 1982. It is published by the ABP Group and the newspaper vies with the Times of India for the position of having the widest widest circulation of any newspaper in Eastern India.According to the Audit...
.
Chakravorty quit his MA course to join The Telegraph as a Trainee Journalist in October 1995. He started off as a newsdesk Sub Editor, a job that allowed him to understand the nuances of news sense and newspaper dynamics first hand. During this stint, he also started making his mark as a feature writer, contributing to the Op-Ed and features pages of the newspaper.
In 1997, he left Kolkata to join The Pioneer
The Pioneer
The Pioneer or The Pioneers may refer to:* The Pioneer , a sculpture by Solon H. Borglum listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places*The Pioneers , a sculpture by Lorado Taft...
newspaper in New Delhi, as a Senior Feature Writer in the daily's Sunday section. A year later, thanks to his passion and knowledge of mainstream and offbeat cinema, Chakravorty was given the chance to review films for the newspaper.
Between 1999 and 2001, Chakravorty briefly romanced the emerging medium of the times, the internet. He joined digitalHT.com, the website hosted by Hindustan Times that was subsequently rechristened as go4i.com. During this phase, he anchored the cinema channel of the website in the capacity of Senior Content Writer, cinema channel. All along, he continued to make his mark as a film critic.
Chakravorty joined Hindustan Times in January 2001 as film critic and feature journalist for a fruitful association of over six years that he ended in July 2007 to join Mail Today, the newspaper launched by the prestigious India Today Group in association with The Daily Mail, UK
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
the same year.
Style of critique
Chakravorty's film reviews are noted for their precision of opinion and lucid style, combined with bursts of wry humour.In various blogs and websites, Chakravorty has been described as a proponent of the school of film critics who approach cinema solely from the entertainment point of view, rather than aesthetic details or the finer language of cinema. Chakravorty defends this saying, as a film critic in India, 99 per cent films—foreign or Indian—he has to watch in the line of duty are purely commercial ventures solely aimed at earning big money by providing entertainment. In this context, he is considered among the select film critics in India whose ratings rarely go wrong.
However he believes that every film must be reviewed keeping its target audience in mind, which itself does not always translate to box-office success. A critic's star ratings, he adds, should be appreciated and understood in the overall context of his review of a particular film.
As a film critic, Chakravorty cites the iconic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
as his idol and a major influence.
Personal choices
A voracious movie buff, Chakravorty's abundant knowledge of world cinema is reflected in his reviews. He labels "just about everything that can projected on a screen" as his favourite kind of cinema, pointing out that good cinema isn't genre-specific.He counts Charles Chaplin, Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
, Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
, Krzysztof Kieslowski
Krzysztof Kieslowski
Krzysztof Kieślowski was an Academy Award nominated influential Polish film director and screenwriter, known internationally for The Double Life of Veronique and his film cycles The Decalogue and Three Colors.-Early life:...
and the Coen Brothers
Coen Brothers
Joel David Coen and Ethan Jesse Coen known together professionally as the Coen brothers, are American filmmakers...
as directors whose works he loves to watch again and again.
A supporter of the new-age crossover cinema movement in India, Chakravorty welcomes the advent of new-generation Indian filmmakers such as Anurag Kashyap
Anurag Kashyap (director)
Anurag Singh Kashyap is an Indian film director and screenwriter. As a director, he is known for Black Friday , a controversial and award-winning Hindi film about the 1993 Bombay bombings, followed by No Smoking , Dev D and Gulaal...
, Madhur Bhandarkar
Madhur Bhandarkar
Madhur Bhandarkar is a National Award-winning Indian film director, script writer, and producer. He is best known for his films such as Chandni Bar , Page 3 , Traffic Signal , and Fashion...
, Vishal Bhardwaj
Vishal Bhardwaj
Vishal Bhardwaj is an Indian film director, writer, screenwriter, music composer and playback singer.-Early life:Bhardwaj was born in Bijnor but raised in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh to Satya Bhardwaj, a homemaker, and Ram Bhardwaj, a popular poet and lyricist. His father was a government employee and...
, Rajkumar Hirani, Dibakar Banerjee
Dibakar Banerjee
Dibakar Banerjee is an Indian film director and screenwriter, who is most known for films, Khosla Ka Ghosla , Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! , which he also wrote, both of which won National Film Awards...
, Neeraj Pandey
Neeraj Pandey
Neeraj Pandey is an Indian film director best known for his drama-thriller film, A Wednesday , for which he won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director. His work on the film was highly praised by audiences as well as critics . He was nominated for "Best Director" category by...
and Imtiaz Ali
Imtiaz Ali
Imtiaz Ali is a former West Indian cricketer who played in one Test against India in 1976....
.