Bench Talkies is a 2015 Indian independent anthology film consisting of six Tamil language short films directed by Karthik Subbaraj, Anil Krishnan, Gopakumar, Charukesh Sekar, Monesh and Rathna Kumar. The film was produced by Karthik's newly formed production house Stone Bench Creations and features an ensemble cast including Vijay Sethupathi, Guru Somasundaram, Sananth and Rishikanth. The film was released on 6 March 2015.[1]
| Bench Talkies | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Karthik Subbaraj Anil Krishnan Gopakumar Charukesh Sekar Monesh Rathna Kumar |
| Produced by | Kaarthekeyen Santhanam Kalyan Subramanian |
| Starring | Vijay Sethupathi Rishinanth Rajendran Guru Somasundaram Sananth Vijaymuthu Aravinnd Singh Harish Sharathkumar |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
editBench Talkies is a collection of six short films directed by six different directors, which will make you travel through different genres, emotions and experiences.
- Agavizhi by Gopakumar
- Madhu by Rathna Kumar
- Nallathor Veenai by Monesh
- Neer by Karthik Subbaraj
- Puzhu by Charukesh Sekar
- The Lost Paradise by Anil Krishnan
Cast
edit| The Lost Paradise | Agavizhi | Puzhu |
|---|---|---|
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| Nalladhor Veenai | Madhu | Neer |
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Production
editKarthik Subburaj, wanting his short films to be widely seen, had approached several theatres asking to screen them during feature film intervals, but was rebuffed. He later saw anthology films like Kerala Cafe (2009), 5 Sundarikal and Bombay Talkies (both 2013) which compiled various short films and was inspired to create one himself which became Bench Talkies. Over 2000 short films were submitted to Bench Flix, a website owned by Karthik where short films are uploaded for distribution, and a judge panel filtered it down to around 35, from which they chose the final six to feature in the film.[2]
Release
editReception
editM. Suganth of The Times of India rated the film 3 out of 5, stating that "The compilation of six films from six filmmakers in different genres makes it an entertaining experience."[6] Baradwaj Rangan wrote for The Hindu, "The key word is amateur, so it won't help to go in expecting professional-grade acting or craft. What we can (must) do is see how these films fare in purely directorial terms."[7] S. Saraswathi of Rediff.com gave 2 out of 5 stars stating "Bench Talkies is a very ordinary collection of short films. They fail to impress, leaving you with a sense of dissatisfaction."[8]
References
edit- ↑ J.Nath, Parshathy (5 March 2015). "Shortcut to success". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 16 December 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
- ↑ "Karthik Subbaraj's Bench Talkies: A New Wave Of Change In Tamil Cinema". Long Live Cinema. 8 March 2015. Archived from the original on 12 March 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
- ↑ subbaraj, karthik [@karthiksubbaraj] (28 February 2015). "#Benchtalkies – Dream come true moment for indie filmmaker,let's buy tickets & watch in theatre from March 6th!!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 25 December 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2024 – via Twitter.
- ↑ subbaraj, karthik [@karthiksubbaraj] (10 March 2015). "#Benchtalkies shows in SPI cinemas,Coimbatore,1:10pm &10:15pm...In Bangalore,PVR from 13th,Pls watch it & am sure u will like the films!! :)" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 25 December 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2024 – via Twitter.
- ↑ Srinivasan, Sudhir (7 March 2015). "Short in the arm". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
- ↑ Suganth, M (25 March 2015). "Bench Talkies Movie Review". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 13 March 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
- ↑ Rangan, Baradwaj (26 March 2015). "Bench Talkies: An okayish showcase for amateur talent". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
- ↑ Saraswathi, S. (27 March 2015). "Review: Bench Talkies fails to impress". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
