The Responsibility of a Reviewer
Not all vloggers are on the same page when it comes to what constitutes film criticism. The Mallu Analyst, a YouTube channel (449k subscribers) run by Vrinda and Vivek, a Malayali couple in Germany, grew from the need to dissect films from a political and ideological lens. “We set up our channel in 2019. We did this because we felt a lot of issues we wanted to talk about weren’t being addressed by anyone in this space – feminism, caste, politically correct representations, and other social issues,” they said in a joint interview. “We love watching films, and talking about cinema from such perspectives struck a chord with viewers.”
While Vivek is the presenter, Vrinda co-writes the script with him. The couple believes that a reviewer should attempt to understand the space in which a film locates itself. “For example, if it’s a mass film, it will have its own mood. Art films, experimental films…they all have their own style. We need to understand this while reviewing a film. We often find that people watch films with certain expectations and give negative reviews if the film is different in its mood. We are welcoming of experimental films and even if they are flawed, we’re not harsh in our criticism,” Vrinda and Vivek said.
Sai Krishnan – the real name of Secret Agent – was a TikToker and also ran a popular Instagram handle before he shifted to YouTube. He tried his hand at a few small business venturesm before arriving on the reviewer scene. “As a kid, I used to go for a lot of movies with older boys in my circle. I loved discussing movies with them after we were done watching. That’s what I had in mind when I started doing film review vlogs,” said Krishnan, who hails from Malappuram. “When I started out, I didn’t think about how I was presenting my views. If I liked a film, I lavished praise on it, but if I didn’t like it, I’d really tear it to bits. Later, I realised that I should be more mature and that I have a responsibility towards my viewers, too. Just as I’m spending my time doing this, filmmakers too have invested a lot of effort in making a film.”