Jude Anthany reacts to Wonder Women director Anjali Menon’s remarks on reviews: ‘Never even took a course to direct’

Director Anjali Menon was the latest celebrity to state that critics must have a good understanding of cinema before posting their reviews

Anjali Menon and Jude Anthany Joseph

Director Anjali Menon was the latest celebrity, after Mohanlal and filmmaker Rosshan Andrrews, to state that reviewers must have a thorough understanding of cinema before posting their reviews. Her comments drew flak from certain sections of the audience as well as colleagues, and this also prompted the Wonder Women filmmaker to issue a clarification.

In a recent interview, the director had said that “a critic, before they write a film review, should know how a film is made”. The filmmaker said that reviewers should take the effort to understand what editing is before passing comments such as “there’s a lag” or “comparing two movies that have no connection at all”.

After the clip of the interview, given to Film Companion went viral, several people on social media including writer NS Madhavan and filmmaker Jude Anthany Joseph called out the director for her remarks.

Jude posted on his social media page, “I am a viewer. Someone who watches films with his hard-earned money. I haven’t even done a course to direct a film, forget doing one to express my opinion. You cannot write off a good film and similarly, you can’t make a bad movie work through writing. As simple as that.”

Anjali took to her social media pages on Wednesday to issue a clarification that she had spoken about “how professional film reviewing would benefit from a better understanding of the filmmaking process”. “I have always respected the audience’s feedback and reviews and believe they have every right to watch a film and express their opinion - good or bad. Infact I have said in this interview that I eagerly look forward to the reviews from the audience,” she wrote.

The filmmaker’s latest release Wonder Women, which has Parvathy Thiruvothu, Nithya Menen, Nadiya Moidu and Padmapriya Janakiraman, is set to release on Sony LIV on November 18.

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