Anjali Menon says filmmaking knowledge is must for giving reviews, Twitter says she is 'taking audience for granted'

Filmmaker Anjali Menon’s comment on film critics ahead of the release of her forthcoming Malayalam film Wonder Women has earned mixed response on social media. As part of a promotional interview for her movie, Anjali said that critics should know how films are made before they comment. Most people didn’t agree with Anjali's point of view and said that anyone can review a film they paid money to watch. Also read: Saif Ali Khan reads reviews by only '3-4 guys who still have integrity

Best known for her films such as Bangalore Days and Koode, Anjali is making her direct-OTT debut with Wonder Women, which is produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Ashi Dua Sara.

In a clip from a promotional interview with Film Companion for Wonder Women, Anjali opened up on film criticism and how critics should know how a film is made before writing a review. “When a critic is writing a review, you should know how a film is made. Their bosses should tell them to learn how to set a film from Raj Kapoor, editing from Hrishikesh Mukherjee. They should learn about the craft from these veterans. Most reviewers don’t even have background knowledge of how to review a film. I think it’s really important to understand how a film is made,” she said.

She went on to explain that people comment and quip about films without the basic understanding some crafts. “I hear comments like there’s lag in a film. I don’t get these terms. When you’re talking about lag, shouldn’t they know the basic editing process? They talk about the pace of a film. Doesn’t a director decide on what his film needs,” she added.

Anjali’s standpoint was mostly responded with people saying that they have all the freedom to say what they want for a movie they’ve paid to watch. One comment read: “Not every filmmaker is worth watching and not every film critic is worth reading. Every critic needs to be genuine and logical to attract an audience for them to build a relationship just like filmmakers with the audience. Common audience is the King for whatever they are (sic).”

Another comment read: “Don’t consider ourselves as “critics”. But we’ll say our opinion/review on a movie we paid to watch on any platform we prefer, be it yt, fb or twitter. That’s our right as an end user (sic).” One viewer wrote, “Disappointed. Taking audience for granted is not a good sign for mollywood. Expected better from you.”

Wonder Women, which stars Parvathy, Nithya Menen, Amrutha Subash and Padmapriya, is a heartwarming drama about a few pregnant women coming together to understand and embrace parenthood while dealing with the world around them and searching for answers to a lot of questions. The film premieres on SonyLiv on Friday, November 18.