Words from A Lotus

Speak Now or .. Never Again?

2011-12-07T23:03:00.000+11:00

The biggest mistake a person can make is not saying how they feel to the one they love. Whether it be happiness, sadness, love, anger, frustration or even annoyance, there needs to be some for communication or else before you realise it, that loved one will walk out your door, never to be seen again. Well, never to remain the same again I should say. But I guess where most people stumble is how.

I know that from my own bottling up nature and fear of being left alone, I don't tell the people I care about that they hurt me. Silly I know but I am still learning how to let people know how I feel deep down. But an even worse aspect is I don't realise when how my actions can be perceived. To me, the awkwardness that surrounds being witness to a fight between people you care about may result in me walking away. Sometimes not saying anything is my way of avoiding that confrontation. Yet the truth is, sometimes, confrontation is needed. To clear the air, know where you stand or even to come to terms with the end.

Making sense of all these emotions we possess is hard enough without the confusion of maybe's and if's. Walking away may not have been the smartest thing for me to do but I really did think it was the best. That is till reality sat in front of me and told me I was a fool to do so. The result? I made mistakes and never had the chance to explain my intention. Yes, sometimes the end excuses the means but just like watching a scene of a stumbling character and thinking what the hell were they thinking, until its said and explained, no one really knows why you do what you do.

On the flip side, there are the times you want to yell and scream and make your voice heard. The times where you want people to know the choice you've made, the decision you've come to or even the colour you want your nail polish to be. And yes, there will be times, where you cant say them. Sometimes, silence is the only language you can utilize. When your choice is good or bad, its easy to lean but what about 2 goods? Between love and trust? Compassion and devotion? What do you choose? And how can you react without harming the other? I guess, its at this point you think which matters more, your choice or your faith? Because in effect, that is what stops us from simple task like verbalising an opinion. The freedom to choose or talk takes the backseat when our faith in love, relationship, people or even respect comes to the fore.

Much like the contradiction that's life, verbalising and not verbalising can be confusing. But I guess life will also teach us when to talk and when not to.

7aam Arivu Review

2011-10-27T00:16:00.001+11:00

Before we begin this review, lets take a look at one aspect of this film. The concept of Bodhidharma, a Buddhist monk dated in existence in the 5th/6th century does have some inconsistency. Some scholars note he was a Prince from the Pallava dynasty while others say he was from a Brahmin family with only a possibility of a royal bloodline. But there are two things they all confirm. One, he was one of the forefathers of martial arts and meditation. And two, he was a Tamil man from Kanchipuram Tamil Nadu. Now the scholars that quote details of his origination aren't exactly available so much like the origination of Zen, there is little factual evidence to prove this barring the temples and scriptures that are present even today. 7aam Arivu is based on these and the best way to watch the film is with the notion this is supposed to be an entertaining film, not a documentary on actual facts and events. So here we go.

The film begins with in 6th century Tamil Nadu and narrates the legend of Bodhidharma as a form of setting the back story straight. History lesson over, we fast forward to today and a plan against India devised by China is being actioned with our bad guy, a Chinese agent named Dong Lee [John Tri Nguyen]. His target? A geneticist [not a scientist] named Subha Srinivasan [Shruti Haasan]. How her research on genetic engineering and genetic memory ties the descendant of the 6th century patriarch, a circus artist named Aravind into Dong Lee's line of fire forms the crux of this conspiracy-sci-fi-action caper. There is little bit of love, history and loads martial arts along the way so its does behave like a masalafied version but the premise is something you wouldn't have seen before.

Due credit must be given to A.R.Murugadoss as a writer as he has gone to great lengths to research and insert the ideas of genetic memory stimulation, Tamil history and high level conspiracy for the common man to understand. Murugadoss' choice of Surya in the lead role works for the film as the actor dazzles once again. Even though Bodhidharman makes a bigger impression, the playful Aravind is good as well and the extent the actor has gone to for the characters is plain for all to see. Shruti Haasan is marking her debut in Tamil with this film and makes an honest effort to play it well. While there are a few things she needs to improve, as a newcomer she does well in a meaty role and isn't playing a ditsy college goer. In fact, there are moments where she is the brains of the outfit and Suriya the brawn, a nice change from the usual. John Tri Nguyen has played the bad guy before but he fits the bill with his sinister hypnotism act well and his background in martial arts is also evident. Its been a while since the bad guy had equal or even more screen time. Abhinaya is hardly there, Illavarasu has two scenes and Pakru plus the circus gang get lost when the story shifts gears.

Technically enriching, Ezhaam Arivu boasts of a particularly credible crew. Ravi K Chandran behind the camera works magic right from the first shot. He depicts the surroundings with style but nothing too OTT. Anthony at the editing board makes the film flow neatly. Special mentions need to be made for the action director, Peter Hein and art director, Rajeevan. Both have put in a lot of effort and it is evident on screen. The SFX plays a big part in the film to depict the fictional past and the action packed present. As a team, each member has taken forward their craft and as captain of the ship, A.R.Murugadoss gets the best out of them.

Yet Ezhaam Arivu is not without its shortfalls. As much as Subha and her research are given importance, the is no reason or purpose for Aravind to be in the circus. Nor is there enough screen time to show his antics. While the light moments cause a few giggles, the first half spends a lot of time on a 2 dimensional love story that really doesn't have enough merit to it, regardless of the effort put in by the actors. The holes in the conspiracy are gaping wide and the 1980's dialogue mouthed by the Chinese characters don't help. An odd fact since its the same Murugadoss who wrote the dialogue that makes sparks fly when speaking about Tamil culture. It is nice to see he has tried to bring to attention the pressing issue of knowing your heritage and the culture behind it in amongst the story. [This is something which this writer believes is relevant to all cultures, not just Tamils, but that is a separate issue.] However, it deviates from the entertainment factor which the director himself has requested for. Maybe the patriotism side of the viewer is the target but the emotion is not always consistent enough to pull it through. The pre-climax drama also seems way too far-fetched to be believable and the decision to do the experiment is definitely dipped in masala mayhem sauce. Cinematic liberties are part and parcel for filmmaking but this isn't something you would expect after the history lesson you get in the beginning. And finally, the music. Harris Jeyaraj is indeed extremely talented, but the fact that more than one song seems like a spin-off of a track from his own discography is not a nice feeling. The positioning of the songs should have been rethought since they act as additional speed breakers for a slow first half.

So the final verdict on what has to be one of the most anticipated and biggest films in Surya's career is watch it for John, the SFX and Suriya. Try not to think about the logic behind it all.

Rating: 3/5

My Friend Pinto Review

2011-10-19T20:32:00.002+11:00

**This is a repost of the review on Bollyspice**

So we jump straight into My Friend Pinto and as far as the story goes, the main one [yes, there are more than one] is about Michael Pinto [Prateik Babbar], a Goan lad that has his world shaken up because his dear mother has passed away. So sad. But wait, there is a bright side. With no-one else to turn to, Pinto decides to go the big, bad city of Mumbai in search of his childhood friend Sameerurff(aka) Sam [Arjun Mathur]. Along the way, he saves the life of a Mallu Don [Makrand Deshpande], saves a dog that is given to said Don’s muse [Divya Dutta] but loses his wallet in the process, and basically becomes a magnet for trouble, all in one night. Throw in a few life lessons, a cute aspiring dancer/ladylove named Maggie [Kalki Koechlin] and a few songs and voila, you have a light hearted giggle-a-thon. Not exactly.

Sometime noble intentions are not enough to make an impact on the big screen. For My Friend Pinto, the story of simpleton coming to the big bad city maybe basic but it isn’t all it entails. Yet when it adds in a few [or many] subplots to make the proceeding a little interesting, the concoction that becomes the film just doesn’t work. Ok so maybe I’m jumping ahead a little and being a big harsh. After all, sometimes you need to look at the simple things in life to enjoy it. Maybe that is why Sanjay Leela Bhansali decided to step away from his larger than life canvas films with deep, meaningful and heartfelt stories of human emotions. Maybe he wanted to do something a little different, lighter with some fresh upcoming talent like Prateik Babbar and Kalki Koechlin in the lead roles. Noble intention, indeed, for the film is essentially about seeing the good in your fellow humans, friendship and making your own destiny. Alas, SLB’s My Friend Pinto isn’t working too well on that front either.

That’s not to say it is all bad. Yes, it does induce a smile or two here and there. But with the confusion of the plot, the multiple characters that are half baked and the situations which you can see happening, it does make it hard to remember them all after you’ve walked out of the film. On the acting front, Prateik is improving with each film and while you do get the feeling on occasion that he isn’t as innocent as Pinto, the attempt to be charming is sincere. Kalki doesn’t enough screen space to make this impact she needs and what’s more the character itself is sketchy. Makrand playing a Mallu Don may have been funny on paper but on screen, it doesn’t sit very well. Divya Dutta surely deserves better than this and Shruti Seth’s animosity towards Prateik isn’t explained very well, making her character a tad annoying. The rest are just so so.

With pretty much everything falling out of place, it’s not going to be easy to save this. Editors Shan Mohammed and Dipika Kalra try to snip it back together in a desirable way but unfortunately, fail. The cinematography has some unique shot added in to it and it is appreciated. Sadly, the writing plays spoilsport to such visuals. The music by Ajay-Atul too leaves much to be desired, although it seems to flow with the film ok. So what is left to watch in My Friend Pinto by debut director Raghav Dhar? Well, had there been a little more depth into Kalki’s character/relationship with her mother or maybe proper giggle worthy material for Makrand and crew to work with, a nice comfy couch-and-popcorn worthy film, maybe. But all that you are left with is the thought that the film was meant to be funny and charming but wasn’t.

My Friend Pinto has a long way to go before he can befriend the audience.

Our Rating:

Rascals Review

2011-10-19T20:22:00.000+11:00

**This is a repost of the review on Bollyspice**

Oh dear. Where to begin with the film, Rascals. Sometimes the level that our writers go to recreate a hit can be baffling. Ok, so we have the amazingly talented Ajay Devgn and Sanjay Dutt as the Rascalsin question. And yes you are expected to leave your brain at home but this is nowhere near what you would expect from them or director David Dhawan. This is one of those films that regardless of what or whom you see on screen, your brain and possibly your whole being will object. Expecting a comprehensive story would be naive but it isn’t too much to ask for some funny and innovative proceedings, is it? Apparently so.

So if you are prepared to take the plunge after seeing the trailer, there really isn’t much more to it. Bhagat Bhosle [Ajay Devgn] and Chetan Chohan [Sanjay Dutt] are your typical con men that incidentally pull one of the same guy, Anthony Gonsalves [Arjun Rampal] on the same day. To escape him, they both fly out to Bangkok where they meet. Now instead of becoming comrades, the two become instant rivals as they try to out-con each other for the major prize. To marry the rich, well-settled and beautiful multimillion dollar heiress, Khushi [Kangna Ranaut] for her money. Unfortunately for us, what was supposed to be a gag fest of one-upmanship turns into a lame excuse to recreate some classic slapstick comedy that Dhawan had created in the past.

Literally the only thing is pleasing to the eyes is the cinematography by Vikas Sivaraman and the initial reels of cartoons. And that’s about it. Right from when the two leading men are introduced and the location of Bangkok is established, it comes crashing down like a pack of cards. Seriously speaking Ajay and Sanjay have their hearts in the right place but neither stood a chance up against the ridiculous writing. Ajay’s blind major act may have been plausible enough to accept but what the writers were thinking when they wrote Sanjay’s “social worker/swamiji” type act, it beyond this writer. Arjun Rampal is also sincere in his attempt and while he is probably one of the more serious characters in the film, he doesn’t get much to do. Kangna has the role of being the ditsy billionaire that flaunts her assets [pun intended]. Not really a role that requires in depth acting or precision. But even then, she hams more than SPAM. Lisa Haydon has an amazing figure and clearly that was all that was required for her “role” of Dolly. Satish Kaushik is back on screen after a while but it is sad to see him wasted. Chunkey Pandey really needs to get better roles.

Yet no matter how much the actor’s try, when you are stuck with shoddy writing, saving the film is next to impossible. But the disappointment isn’t just in the writing. Music by Vishal-Shekhar isn’t a title card you would expect for Rascals when you walk out of the film. ‘Shake It Saiyyan’ may linger the charts a little longer but pretty much every song is forgotten by the time it’s over. The forgettable film’s editor Nitin Rokade may be talent as an editor and while you wish… nay, beg he had used his scissors more often; you can’t blame him since his material wasn’t the best. Fine, David, you want us to forget about logic and just watch the film for what it is. But this is ridiculous even by your standards! I mean the twists in the film are so obvious, you could see them at the beginning of the film. [Well sort of, but you catch my drift.]

So while Sanjay Dutt Productions in conjunction with Rupali Aum Entertainment and Venus Worldwide Entertainment, may have had the right intentions, but the audience won’t be conned by Rascals.

Our Rating:

Breakaway (Speedy Singhs) Review

2011-10-19T17:58:00.001+11:00

**This is a repost of the review on Bollyspice**

After seeing umpteen films about cricket from Lagaan to Iqbal to Victory, Speedy Singhs is the first Canadian-Hindi film we see about ice hockey. But this isn’t your average sports based first with a dash of patriotism and individual storylines of triumph. Its a story about Rajveer Singh [Vinay Virmani] who is stuck between the expectations of following the family business and devotion enforced by his father [Anupam Kher of course] and his dream of greatness in ice hockey. But you can’t play ice hockey without a team so while papa doesn’t know, he forms his team, the Speedy Singhs, and tries to fulfil this desire.

Yes, its Akshay Kumar’s Hari Om Productions first international production jointly produced by Canadian based producer-actor-writer-singer-director Paul Gross. Yes, its directed by Robert Liebermen of “D3: the Mighty Ducks” fame. So the talent is definitely there for a comical drama/feel good entertainer. But somewhere along the lines, the makers of Speedy Singhs/Breakaway lost track. Instead, the film simply rehashes of certain aspects several films therefore losing any originality it possessed. Even the character of the stern father is something Anupam Kher played before and that too, to a T in Bend It Like Beckham. It does have a few giggle worthy point but amongst some of the more crass comical scenes and the downright rude ones, you tend to lose sight of them.

Performance-wise too, the film is quite mediocre with lead male Vinay Virmani who also co-wrote the film with Noel Baker, Jeffrey Schrechter and Matt Simonns, doing a decent job but with still a long way to go. Camilla Belle is just about ok but it wasn’t the most detailed character in the film. Rob Lowe’s character lost his chance to play in the major leagues because of his temper but more than anything, he is quite somber and bored. Russell Peters doesn’t really do anything different from his own stage shows but he does induce a few giggles or two. The boys of the team simply do not have much depth to stand out. A shame since with better writing, they could have made things more interesting. Unfortunately, good comeback lines don’t count.

Perhaps one of the few highlights would be the cinematography by Steve Danyluk and the soundtrack for the film by the Colombia Records India head and music composer, Sandeep Chowta, who has been missing from the forefront since Mukhbir. Yet it isn’t enough to bring the fireworks. The song ‘Shera Di Kaum’ which features Drake, Ludacris and RDB [Akshay Kumar makes a cameo also] is quite catchy but is better heard than seen. ‘Sansar’ and ‘Ne Aaja Ve’ are just about ok. Editing by Susan Shipton cannot be blames since the content itself is lacklustre.

All in all, the light moments are just not enough for Speedy Singhs to score a goal.

Our Rating:

Of course we have our dash of love with Camilla Belle playing the love interest Melissa, sister to coach Dan Winters, played by Rob Lowe that agrees to train the Speedy Singhs to victory. And maybe for a little fun, a dash of comedy supplied by Russell Peters who plays Sonu, the annoying cousin out to make Raj’s life as uncomfortable as possible. However, where the film has reminisces of Bend It Like Beckham and the more recent Patiala House, it is certainly not in the same league as either of these films.

Force Review

2011-10-19T17:42:00.000+11:00

**This is a repost of the review on Bollyspice**

Tried and tested formulas can weaken any film. Regardless of star power, chart busting music or excellent performance. But with the right people on board, and an innovative way to tell a story, your average film can become almost epic. However, Force doesn’t fit into this category. Even while we have John Abraham, Genelia D’Souza and debutant Vidyut Jamwal stepping into the roles of ACP Yashvardhan, Maya and Vishnu, originally played by Surya Sivakumar, Jyothika and Jeevan in the Tamil smash hit Kaakha Kaakha, all is not well. Nishikanth Kamat is no doubt an amazing director and each actor in their own right is talented. However, when put together with Vipul Shah backing the film in production, the sparks that normally you would expect to fly fail to make attendance.

Ok so we take a step back and understandably, the story of the remake from the South was not unique to even for the original Tamil, or subsequent language audience. A sharp and intelligent cop ACP Yashvardhan played by John Abraham taking down a drug ring including drug lord Reddy Anna (Mukesh Rishi), in turn becoming the revenge target for his brother Vishnu played by newbie Vidyut Jamwal. And everyone knows, the burnt bad guy shaking up your work life is never enough. This is where Genelia comes into play. In between the narcotics cases that threaten his fair city, Yash reluctantly brings social activist Maya into his life, making her danger’s sweet and easy target. How things pan out form the crux.

The film’s action and testosterone exchange between John and Vidyut is high in volume as an attempt to keep audience on the edge of their seat. Unfortunately for us high in volume does not mean high in spark. On one side, the screenplay is percieved to depict a slick, urban cop story. And on the other, the masaledaar treatment (plus a fair few strategic brand placements) is interjected. Individually speaking, each actor has done their part. John’s beefed up exterior does add to the character and its brute strength. Yet, even as he tries hard to fit the bill but simple things like his dimpled smile take away from the stern and seriousness of the role, causing him to lose the essence of a strict cop. Genelia D’Souza dons a young, bubbly yet responsible version of Maya but she plays it very well as she is on familiar ground with a good of chunk of her roles in the south having similar traits. A quick mention must be made about the chemistry between the two though which fluctuates from hardly there to cute. A bit of a sad point since it is integral to the love angle. But by far newcomer Vidyut takes the whole cake, kit and caboodle. The actor has amazing screen presence and is the perfect bad guy of the new generation. Mukesh Rishi is ok as drug lord Reddy. Monish Belh is sufficient as is Sandya Mridal. The cast of John’s remaining comrades Mahesh and Kamlesh, pitch in their two cents.

From behind the camera, Ayananka Bose brings to life every scene with Aarif Shaikh keeping the proceedings crisp. The scenery is almost picture perfect. However, beautiful locales aren’t the only thing we see on screen. Watching a film like Force isn’t for the faint hearted and that is evident in Allan Amin’s action sequences. Its possible, the trend of masala films making a comeback may be behind the depiction and screenplay for this Nishikanth Kamat directed venture. It would be unfair to say it doesn’t entertain but the high voltage action doesnt sit the way one would like it to for a masala film. On the other hand, the intro fight scene for Vidyut does make you sit up and take notice. The same can be said for the music of the film. Harris Jeyaraj makes a return after Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein, another remake from the south and has brought a track from the original Tamil film, ‘Khwabon Khwabon’. But the pick of the lot would have to be Main Chali with Kaise Kahoon coming close behind.

So is Force as forceful as you would expect it to be? Yes. But brute force doesn’t always work.

Our Rating:

Mere Brother Ki Dulhan Review

2011-10-19T16:25:00.000+11:00

** This is a repost of the review on Bollyspice**

Yash Raj is a production house that has given us some timeless classics and introduced many new directors. Once again, it brings us yet another with Ali Abbas Zafar in his debut film Mere Brother Ki Dulhan. Now with Rocket Singh and Dil Bole Hadippa being average fares, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan has got its fair share of expections banked on it. Beyond the success of the films, the lead cast of Imran Khan, Katrina Kaif and Ali Zafar are all set out to try their luck again with each of their last films Delhi Belly, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Tere Bin Laden working well. But sadly, this is far from a classic that the production house is renowned for nor is it the best work of the cast. We do need to give the director credit for bringing Imran, Katrina and Ali to the screen and even though the story is pretty much evident from the title/trailer itself, it does have its good points. However, the film’s predictability and major loopholes tarnish the experience.

Ok, so we get right to the point and say it isn’t path breaking cinema of a story about a guy, Kush [Imran Khan] who sets out to find his NRI brother Luv [Ali Zafar] a bride. But by the time he finds the perfect one in Dimple [Katrina Kaif] and arranges the alliances, he realises that he loves her. From here, its a game of conspiracy as Kush, Dimple and their buddies in crime race against time to break the alliance Kush helped form without hurting the one whom he did it for, his brother Luv. Quite simple and unfortunately, quite plain as well.

In essence, the performances by the whole cast show their effort to convince the audience of this film. Imran Khan doesn’t let any lingering side effects of his Tashi from Delhi Belly come in sight as he plays film director Kush rather well. Yet you still wish he went all out where he could have instead of being so restricted. After all, he’s supposed to be a dutiful bhai, not a demure one. Katrina tries really hard to be a vivacious Dimple, a girl that is a rebel on the outside that strives to have her own fun but inside would feel bad if she did anything to hurt her parents. She succeeds to a degree but then becomes a cartoon for the rest of the time. Ali Zafar unfortunately, is not seen on screen enough for the natural performer that he is. Barring the fact of his blind faith in his brother that sees him exploited in comical manner, he fits the bill. The Kingfisher model-turned-actress Tara D’Souza needs to brush up her acting quite a bit. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyu is quirky but nice as the sidekick friend helping to break the alliance, Shobhit while Ajju played by Afreen Khan does well in the role of Dimple’s autistic brother. The rest, and there are a lot, make do with their scenes and add to the film.

Due credit must be given as the dialogue is written so that the supporting cast gets the best lines, not just the leads, and there are no obvious bad traits to scrutinize and discriminate against the lead characters, something often happens so the audience favours the main lead couple. But thats not to say the clichés arent there. From the so-called “connecting moment” Imran-Katrina and Katrina-Ali combos to how they get out of their situations, some things are so obvious, you simply get bored. After the interval block, where there could have been some major funny bits, there is a whole bunch of outdated gimmicks and questionable writing.

I guess what’s so disappointing is that with a fun soundtrack by Sohail Sen, great visuals by Sudeep Chatterjee and apt editing by Ritesh Soni, director Ali failed to capture and enhance the fun quotient in his writing for a tried and tested formula.Clearly logic isn’t on the agenda, but at least make the proceeding a little less predictable.

So while the music is great and the performances commendable, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan lacks originality and leaves one guessing what it would have been like without the loopholes.

Our Rating:

Oosaravelli Review

2011-10-19T00:53:00.002+11:00

Honesty is the best policy and since you, my dear reader, have taken the time to read this review, its time to confess. As much as NTR Junior aka Tarak is amazing an actor, Oosaravelli wasn't the most anticipated film for me. Keeping this hesitance aside, the normal hoopla that entails an NTR Jnr flick is anticipated. But lets dive straight into this one with the clear mind set that this is a masala film with a heavy action quotient [read blood, sweat and gore].

So on the story front it seems quite basic. Tony [Tarak] is gangster that is best described as the title, a chameleon. During his travels to Kashmir, he is taken hostage alongwith a bus full of people by some terrorists and meets Niharika [Tammannaah]. The two are bound together in a room as the remaining survivors and in the last few minutes of their survival, they share their final wishes. Tony expresses his desire for a girlfriend that he never fulfilled and in a split second Niharika kisses him and tells him to think of her as his girlfriend. But just as you'd think there begins a love story as Tony busts the both of them out, Niharika slips aways. For Tony, he must find her even though he doesn't know the name or address of the girl who just kissed him. For Niharika, life has given her a second chance to live and she isn't going to waste it. Fast forward and shift to Hyderabad, Tony finds Niharika and finds out that she's engaged too. Neither shattered nor perturbed, Tony tries all he can until Niharika's fiance returns from his US trip. But who is Tony really? And is it really love that binds him to Niharika?

First of all, it must be said that Surender Reddy has moulded a story into this action-fest potboiler. So while it seems like a routine love story at first, the plot does thicken. Unfortunately, the film takes its time to bring that to the forefront. Until then, he does try to recreate the mayhem from his last film, Kick, to the point its like you are watching Tarak's version of Kick. Speaking of which, thank god that Tarak accepted this role. Not because its an amazing role but more because he explores his comical side in abundance. Barring a quite masalafied climax, Tarak is simple and totally alive on screen. To understand how such contrasting descriptions work for one actor, you will have to see the film. It might be requested though that Tarak find a new stylist. The clothing may have been next door boyish but that hair is unruly. Tamannaah darling, a special thank you to you. The girl has jumped leaps and bounds in the film. In fact, it is not far fetched to say she drives the second half film and that too, for a good portion of it. The ease in which she essays her expression can fool you to thinking she did not need to memorise the lines and meant each one. So she is a little annoying in the first half, she makes up for it big time in the second and thats what leaves a lasting impression. Payal Ghosh is back on the big screen after Prayanam and although the premise of her character is sketchy, she does an okay job. Prakashraj's has openly admitted the bad guy roles are his bread and butter but it would be so much better if he had a challenge because the man just cakewalks throughout. Shayaji Shinde could have been so much more to the film but is barely there, although lovable in the few scenes he has. Vidyut Jamwal is disappointingly absent thus makes an faint,almost non-existent impression. Raghu Babu, Jayaprakash and clan give the giggles initially but wear thin as the film progresses. Shaam is stuck in a circle and really needs to come out. The rest are strictly ok.

Coming back to Surender Reddy, its nice see that he kept his revenge story under wraps but where he and writer Vakkantham Vamsi keeps you interested in the second half, the constant gags of the first half can only cover the fact there is not story for a while, not hid it. Music by DSP is a highlight as the composer is back to his peppy self with trusty aides Adnan Sami, Mukesh and Suchitra making a repeat attendance like on most his soundtracks. Neha Bhasin and Vijay Prakash's rendition of Niharika is extra sensual while DSP own track Brathakali is little different in tune and tempo. Rasool Ellore camerawork is fine but Goutham Raju's editing could have been that extra crisper but when its a Tarak flick, blood and gore are part and parcel so the action is bound to be lengthy.

Yet, the downside is just as obvious as the fake blood on Tarak's face in the trailer clips. Sometimes you wonder if Tarak's directors want to show him as an action star or a bloodied up star. The amount blood and killing that is depcted in several of his films can be a little putting off. Oosaravelli is no different in that way. But even as people/fans accept this to a degree, it is hard to swallow action sequences which entail the lead sitting tied up to a chair and fighting his baddies. I mean, come on! Laws of gravity or even Physics anyone! Ok so the action is OTT. Points are given to the moving the focus point at the right time but disapproval sets in again when actors like Shayaji Shinde are not used properly. The concept of the father still being around for the son even after death in a ghost form is shown in one scene then completely forgotten about after that. It would have been better to not have that at all. Logic doesn't take a back seat as much in this film with certain point connecting correctly but timeframes don't match on some major ones as well. But considering the premise behind the latter portion, I guess this isn't one of the pressing issues of the film.

Yet as you walk out of Oosaravelli, you don't think you have completely wasted your money so thats a plus.

Rating: 2.5/5

Dookudu Review

2011-10-17T21:24:00.000+11:00

Is there a point to explaining the hype behind Mahesh Babu? Not really. Regardless of the film, the director, the music, the heroine or even the comedian that will be on screen for less than 1/5 of the film screen time, the title of Mahesh Babu in lead male role is enough to sky rocket the hype for any film. Whether the film delivers or not is taken as separate. In some ways, this is good for the actor Mahesh with appreciation flowing from all corners. In others, its a shame for such a versatile actor to be boxed into a bad script/film. Dookudu isn't all bad. But it definitely isn't the best either. Read on.

So here's how it goes. Ajay Kumar [Mahesh Babu] is gutsy Mumbai cop that has an equally sharp mind. His current target is Nayak [Sonu Sood], a mafia don that dwells overseas and deals in the usual criminal activities. Ajay wants he brought to justice. But his investigation shows that his ties to Nayak are deeper that he realises. Enter Shankar Anna [Prakashraj]. Father to a young Ajay, he met with an accident went into a coma although his town folk think he is dead. After his accident, Ajay was shifted to Mumbai by his remaining his family and has since never returned. That is till now. Shankar Anna is out of coma and has no idea of what has happened since. Ajay now, needs to replicate as much as possible including being his heir to the MLA posting Shankar held. Between his professional battle and personal trials, Ajay learns more about his father's accident with all of it leading back to Nayak. To get him, Ajay will bring in a host of characters to play, each getting him a step closer to his revenge. How? Watch in to find out. No, seriously! You have to watch it since it is way too hard to explain.

If Khaleja saw Mahesh strip his apprehensions and even become the butt of jokes on screen, Dookudu continues from where it left off and proceeds with a sentimental angle as well. His modulations, his expression and his attempt at a different slang are true treat for fans and non fans alike. He comes alive and is electric in every scene. Even his malasafied "Poleeess!" is a magnet for attention. Yet, he too slips behind when the spotlights zeros in on Brahmamandam and MS Narayana. The two veterans have a ball and it shows as they erase whatever past achievements and set new standards for themselves. As his father, Prakashraj is no doubt superbly fitted for the role but with the slight restriction of his "cinematic" condition, he does not get the meat to perform as well as we know he can. Samantha is cute as Prashanthi but besides her clothes, make up and dancing skill, she doesn't really get a chance to do much acting. A shame since Samantha has shown she can deliver. Please take note that the love angle of this film is at a minimal and is simply a starting point. Clearly the focus isn't the lovebirds so no comments on the chemistry as there wasn't enough time to develop it. Sonu Sood goes for a little older look with some painted grey hair but that cant take away from his 2D character losing much of its steam quite early in the piece. After Kandireega, I must say this is a little dissappointing. Nassar has definitely proved he has amazing comic timing several times before and it is great to see him show it off a little. Added bonus being that he dubs for himself [FINALLY!]. Kota Srinivasa Rao, Supreet, Subbaraju and Venugopal dont do anything different from what we have seen before. Adithya's hair is unfortunately, longer than his role. The rest are just there to fill up space.

So how do you describe Srinu Vaitla's brand of comedy? There really isn't one word. He's bankable to put it simply, on having the lead characters involved in the comedy, a drunkard/drinking scene and some crazy ideas that simply flow on screen. The man repeats his magic combo with Brahmam darling like nobodys business and if that wasn't enough, he has MSN in a role you make have seen before but not like this. This is one of those films that you can turn off your brain for but the question remains as to whether it will switch on by itself as some may find. And of course, it has some amazing visuals by KV Guhan and Prasad Murella with Mahesh and Samantha for the eye candy but its not just all visual treats. The film makes no bones in stating that you just need to sit back and let the comedy sweep you over, the action blow your mind and the witty dialogue surprise you.

Now to the less glamorous side of the film. The negatives. In all honesty, it all boils down to only a few things and even if intentions are commendable, its these things that hinder the experience. Firstly the length. The action alone takes up a considerable amount of screen time. For action lovers it might be ok and yes it's exhilarating at times but it drag massively. If it isn't the action length, its the melodramatic dialogue. Ok, so we love our drama, but please. Inducing a heartache with a few words of someone's return is a bit much. at the same time, a father need not have done amazing things for you to want to keep him happy and safe. He gave you life as Mahesh says. Next the songs. A lot more was expected from Thaman.S after Vandhaan Vendraan[Telugulo Vachadu Gelichadu]. Without looking at previous combinations, there is a spark that is missing from the soundtrack. A note to Thaman, the louder the song doesn't equal to the bigger the hit. Really, the sheer volume of the tracks are only just bearable. Guruvaram is probably the saving grace on a very robust soundtrack but even that has its moments. The picturisation also seemed a little down-sized for two decent dancers but the background dancers attempt to lipsync and their enthusiasm make it passable. Just. While making mention of the loopholes in the script is warranted, its seems to this writer logic very rarely gets the importance it deserves in commercial films, let alone TFI.

So where does that leave us with the Dookudu? A decent film that could have been awesome, I say. Oh and it has Mahesh Babu in it. :)

Rating: 2/5

Dheiva Thiru Magal Review

2011-09-04T14:43:00.000+10:00

Sometimes the fact a film is based on another, or "inspired" doesn't make a difference to the outcome whether good or bad. This maybe due to the adaptation or acting. In one way, Nayagan, a "Godfather" based film is one such film where the outcome was amazingly good. With Dheiva Thiru Magal, there is no denying the film is based on I am Sam, a film that saw Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer in lead roles. However, the request of this writer is when you read this and watch the film, do not draw comparison. So with that lets jump in.

The movie begins at night on the highway to Chennai. A figure [Vikram] emerges from the car that slows down to a stop. But as the car drives off, he panics. As he screams Nila, Nila and collapses on the ground, the car drives off. The dawn sees the figure wandering the streets lost. While its obvious to those he meets that he is not of the same mental capacity as them, none want to help. All that is known is his name is Krishna and he wants Nila. At this point enters Anuradha [Anushka], a lawyer looking for a chance to prove her skill and aspires to become an assistant to leading lawyer, Bashyam [Nasseer]. Along with her associate Vinod [Santhanam], the two unknowingly stumble across this lost soul but like the others, run away without helping. But when Krishna gets hurt becuase of them, Anuradha feels responsible. She begins to learn who the mentally challenged Krishna is and about Nila [Sarah], his daughter who has been taken away. Determined to set right her wrong and reunite the father and daughter, Anuradha will face more challenges than she expects. Not only in the form of going head to head against Nila's grandfather, Rajendran [Sachin Khedekar], a business magnet that runs several school throughout the state but also in the courtroom, against her idol, Bashyam himself. Will she be able to keep her promise? Will the bond between this father and daughter be strong enough against the law?

Rarely do you see an actor that goes so far with his acting that you lose all capability to describe what the experience is like. Kamal Haasan is one actor that is hard to pin to words and now, it would seem Vikram is not far behind. As an actor, he has poured his heart, soul and voice into this character. Rarely a moment he seems over the top, he blends in perfectly. But even he has major competition in the form of the little starlet of the film, Sarah. To say this girl is cute is an understatement. But what is more endearing about Sarah is she is natural with her part, without a word out of sync or an emotion out of place. For a child that doesn't know Tamil, this is surely a big challenge but she just takes it into her stride. Anushka has stepped away from her usual glamdoll role and is elegant yet funny as Anuradha. Her quirkiness during the initial court scenes and subtle emotions with her onscreen father Y.G. Mahendran score her extra brownie points. Amala Paul plays an important role and does it well but does not have the same screen time. Sachin Khedekar is stern and powerful while Nasseer adds another face to his showcase with the sly and proud Bashyam. Santhanam does make an entry as the main funny man but soon becomes loyal friend. M.S.Bhaskar and his false teeth are much like him although he has a slight negative shade that can be seen as a reflection of society and their perception. Karthik Kumar, Surekha Vani and Pandi have small roles but are ok in.

On the technical front, one cannot complain about Nirav Shah's work since he has a consistency that is evident in Dheiva Thirumagal as well. Each shot is specially crafted to enhance the locales and Antony's editing makes the sequences smooth and crisp. G.V.Prakash has a special touch to his musical scores for films with Vijay and continues this with Vizhigalil, Vennilave and Aariro tingling the ears ever so sweetly. But behind them lies director Vijay. More than looking at what he has said with Deiva Thiru Magal, he makes you look at how he has said it. The act of having someone with the mental capacity of a 6 year old isn't easy. The key is making the audience understand Vikram's character is not stupid. Only that he takes time to understand simple tasks but they are understood with clarity if explained properly. In the hands of a lesser actor or writer, this could have gone hideously south. Yet even with Vijay pulling the right heart strings with Vikram and Sara's performance, this isn't a perfectly crafted film.

Yes it is a well adapted film and the cast are a major plus point to the film but the slow motions and soft voiceovers can get a bit much. The proceedings take their time to get stuck into things and often drag out even then. Also, the factor of hiding a plaintiff because of his condition even though they believe he is capable, seems like the logic factor isn't one to take seriously. The Anushka-Vikram love track that was alluded to may have been beautiful to look at but really wasn't developed enough to warrant and disappears just as quickly. Especially since as you walk out of the theatre hall, possibly throwing a few wet tissues, the performance and chemistry between this father-daughter is what remains and is supposed to.

Rating: 3.5/5

Dhada Review

2011-09-03T20:30:00.000+10:00

Its not always easy to keep up with the hype of an action film. For Naga Chaitanya, Josh had its action sequences and so did 100% Love but the main feature wasn't the action in the film. Ajay Bhuyan's Dhada was supposed to be Chaitu's foray as an action hero with a string of love in the story. But having the elements worthy of a commercial flick like music by DSP, current favourite Kajal Agarwal as the ladylove and locations in Thailand, Milan and Europe isn't enough to make it a successful one. Read on.

There really isn't much to either of the stories [yes, there are two]. On one side you have adrenaline junkie-ish Chaitu who has a run in with Rahul Dev's brother and thus becoming the reason for Rahul losing the 100 girls he sold to black market kingpin Kelly Dorji. On the other the hand there is Kajal who lives by her business minded father Mukesh Rishi rules and finds solace only in her mother's last home video before her mother commited suicide. In between the thrashing of the bad guys from one track, Chaitu spends most of his time impressing Kajal or using Brahmanandam for a bakra to get to Kajal or getting sentimental with his brother Sriram [Srikanth for the tamil audience] and sister-inlaw/mother Samiksha. In short, do the baddies/Kajal get Chaitu or not forms the crux.

A done to dust action film in terms of story can still work if the screenplay and the performance permit. But in the case of Dhada both are a severe let down. Now I dont mind that Chaitu has decided to do something different with the love angle taking a back seat but this is not the film of choice. He does score brownies on making an effort to improve his skills including dancing [one that he has been ripped to shreds for] but sorry Chaitu, you cant save this one. As a majority, it is hard to find leading ladies that have much to do in action films that dont revolve around them. But even with a particular portion about her, Kajal Agarwal fails to do anything. Yes, for the purpose of being a "pensive and melancholy" character, her character is restricted in emotion. But she doesn't invoke any and falls apart like nobody's business. Looking pretty and having 3-4 faces, none of which depict the intensity needed, just doesn't cut it. Rahul Dev tries really, really hard to be sinister but is given some ridiculous lines that just mar his performance. For a deadly gangster, Kelly Dorji doesn't even make you blink as a reaction, let alone fearful of a seemingly dangerously brutal individual. On a side note, both of these actors need to find better dubbing artists pronto! Sriram tries his best to add life to his character but it doesn't help when its a badly written role and is hardly impactive. Samiksha looks pretty. Mukesh Rishi is wasted beyond comprehension and funny men Brahmanandam and Ali need new material.

Ok so the performances were a washout. But visually, Dhada is great. Cinematography by Gnana Sekhar V.S. depicts Thailand, Milan and Europe in awesome light. Music by Devi Sri Prasad is good but nowhere near as good as you would expect from the likes of the composer that brought Arya 2 and Jalsa. Hello Hello Laila is hummable but Ey Pilla has too strong of a resemblance to Na Pere Meenakumari from Mallana [En Peru Meenakumari from Kandhaswamy for the Tamil folk]. Editing by Dharmendra cant be blamed for not snipping enough since the material isn't the best to begin with. For that, the man in the criminal corner is Ajay Bhuyan. The thought may have been a good idea at the time but the director not only struggles to present it, his script lacks cohesiveness entirely. We must be honest that originality isn't something that is often seen in TFI, but making the proceedings enjoyable can cover that major flaw. But Dhada loses out to that too.

So is there are anything good about this film? Yes. The end credits.

Rating: 1/5

Mankatha Review

2011-09-03T00:33:00.000+10:00

Where do you begin with Mankatha? From the word go, Venkat Prabhu's directorial ventures have quite a buzz about them so its hard to keep the expectations at bay. Starting with his first Chennai 600028. So ridiculously successful was the audio release, apparently there was requests/pleading from fans to release the film after the exam period. Considering it was from their target audience, request were heeded to and the rest is history. Then came Saroja which met with similar success as well as Goa with Soundarya Rajnikanth stepping into the producer seat. Now the mother of them all, Mankatha, hits screens with some of the biggest actors Venkat has worked with on board. But does all the expectation of Ajith's 50th film, an all star cast, Yuvan's music and a Venkat Prabhu game tag result in a good film? Read on to find out.

There is not much reason to writing a synopsis since the gist of it can be seen in the trailer but just to recap. Sumanth [Vaibhav], Mahat [Mahat Raghavendra], Prem [Prem G Amaren] and Ganesh [Ashwin Kakumanu] plan to heist cricket betting money worth 500 crore in transit when Vinayak Mahadevan [Ajith], a suspended police officer comes into the picture. Intelligent and with his own agenda, there is more to Vinayak than these boys know. However, where there is a crime to be commited, there has to be a hero to stop it. Enter Prithviraj [Arjun], ACP assigned with a special task force to bring down not only the robbery but the whole illegal betting system. Game set and all is falling to plan yet no one will be prepared for the game thats about to begin as the rules have changed without them knowing. The double crosser is about to be double crossed. Who remains and who comes on top forms the crux.

With all due respect, its about time Ajith had done this kind of film and this kind of role. Yes he has done, and very well might I add, negative shaded characters before but this is his first through and through bad guy role and boy does he nail it. He has made some really bad choices in the past but thanks to Venkat's writing and Ajith's acting, none of them come to mind at all. Simply put, Ajith is back and thank god for that! Out with the good guy hero image and in with the bad man, Vinayak is ridiculously cool and stylish. The actor had the time of his life playing Vinayak and its visible. In fact, his counter character Prithviraj played by Arjun who plays the cop role for the umpteenth time, struggles to get the attention of the audience. But he does the role given to him well. Vaibhav gets the meatiest role out of the four friends and plays it to the T. Ashwin Kakumanu is back with a bigger role compared to his last film Nadunissi Naaygal and is believable to a point. Prem G is relagated to funny man once again but doesn't really have a catch phrase this time. Thankfully his "Enna Kodumai Sir Ithu" was used only once through the film. While some may say his mimic act is boring, its become his trademark so its ok. Mahat tries to make an impression for his first credited role but has a long way to go. Now to the ladies. Sorry Andreah, Laxmi Rai, Trisha and Anjali, this one is definitely for the boys.Andreah takes the cake on believable acting, although only briefly. Trisha doesn't really do anything although dubbing for herself does scores her a few brownie points but even then, Anjali is a step ahead of her just slightly. In honesty, you sympathize with these 3 ladies for approximately 5 minutes which is about the same timeframe they are on screen barring their songs. Laxmi Rai is a beautiful lady but she needs to work on her acting and that too in major proportion. Jayaprakash downplays his smuggler act well and doesn't allow his previous stints on the dark side show this time either. The rest flow through.

Ok so stepping back to technicalities, we head to the music department first. Yet again, another round of banging music by Yuvan Shankar Raja and the charts are there to prove it. At the same time, the songs that stand out are Vilaiyaadu Mankatha, Ithu Namma Ballelaka and Nee Naan. However, it cant be said that this is Yuvan's best work. Cinematography by Sakthi Saravanan is passable and editing by Praveen K. L. & N. B. Srikanth could have been a little crisper. But the writing is to blame for any lack of performance here and that is in the hands of director Venkat Prabhu. While this kind of robbery flick from a negative character's point of view hasn't been seen before in Tamil and Venkat should be applauded for his attempt, there is no denying it could have been better.

First off, we have the misfortune of pretty much every character getting overshadowed by Ajith, with the ladies taking the biggest blow. As remarkable and deserving of praise as his performance is, the focus can be a little overbearing and long winded. Plus you have to think, are the 4 boys, and everyone else for that matter, that easy to manipulate. Understandably, they are not supposed to be as smart as our man Ajith but at some points, it would have been better had they not seemed so stupid or gullible. On top of this, some of the scenes are just a little too long. Keeping the audience on the edge of their seat is vital to suspence flicks. If the scenes dragged out to one point, the songs pitched in on the speed breakers too. Vaada Bin Laada could have had better placing, forgetting that the picturisation/choreography was questionable. Yet it doesn't all head down hill in the second half. Whatever speed was held back through the songs, is picked up with the climax. By the time the film finishes, the out takes begin and you are left in stitches from laughter with the whole team and their fun.

So the final verdict? It may not be a Royal Flush but this one definitely has a Full House and Ajith.

Rating: 4/5

Singham Review

2011-07-28T22:55:00.000+10:00

** This is a repost from the Singham Review at Bollyspice**

Yet another remake hits Hindi screens and tries its hand with lady luck. This time it is hit combo Rohit Shetty and Ajay Devgn in the action avatar,Singham. But it’s not the fact of being a remake that sets a film a part or be detrimental to any film. In the scheme of the things, the audience has somewhat gotten used to every third film falling into one of the categories remake, sequel or second episode. The challenge is making it enjoyable for even the select section of the audience that has seen the original, no matter the language or the period. For this hit jodi, the need to go a step forward and bring out something bigger and better than the Tamil Blockbuster starring Suriya Sivakumar and Sweety [Anushka] Shetty, is far greater with the memory Ghajini so strong even now. Considering the statement made by director Rohit Shetty that their version will be fierier in the action, the confidence the makers displayed added to the expectations.

Yet, is confidence enough to win over the audience. After all, the story of an up

right police officer becoming the thorn in the eye for a powerful criminal and their showdown isn’t exactly pioneer story-telling. With that said, this isn’t just about an honest cop. Its about a small town Shivgad’s sub-inspector, Bajirao Singham (Ajay Devgn), fierceful yet faithful to his roots, his family and his town. For him, criminals like Jaikant Shikhre (Prakash Raj) are unheard of. But when the Goan Kingpin tries to pull a fast one over the sub-inspector, Singham sets him straight and unknowingly gets on his bad side by hurting Shikhre’s ego. Do what you will but hurting Jaikant Shikhre’s ego is a no no with dire consequences. What happens when Singham gets transferred from his hometown to big city Goa, the kingdom that Shikhre has ruled with his smuggling, extortion and drug trafficking for so long forms the crux.

It has been a while since seeing Ajay Devgn in an action based masala flick and he tries his best to deliver however, doesn’t quite make it. On one side the action is powerful, but when it comes to the emotive side, a normally free-flowing Ajay seems a little stiff. But he does well regardless. However, with a villain like Prakash Raj in front of you, it is tough to stand out. Prakash seriously goes to town in this film and what’s more he maintains his sinister side while appealing to the audience with his quirky lines. Debuting in Hindi as Ajay’s ladylove is Kajal Agarwal who looks pretty but is not only disappointing in her portrayal but the character itself is weak, a stark difference from the original in Tamil. In fact the whole ‘love story’ lacked any connection to the story and remained just as an extra fitting that took up time. Govind Namdev, Sudanshu Pandey and Sonali Kulkarni work effectively and play their parts. The rest are ok.

On the technicals side of things, Amar Mohile’s background helps the proceedings by giving the much needed punch. Camera work by Dudley is nice and editing by Steven Bernard could have been crisper. Music Ajay-Atul worked well for the title track but the rest don’t mesh well with the screenplay. Rohit Shetty has designed some eye-popping action for the film, making it a tough challenge for Jai Singh to execute, but it works nonetheless.

While the dialogue by Farhad-Sajid is phenomenal is most situations, there are some that lack the punch they require. Screenplay writer Yunus Sajawal has made his intentions clear in the beginning itself, so it would be futile to think otherwise. But you can’t help but think the slow-motion button was permanently stuck on for a good portion of the second half. After delivering a exhilarating first half, this becomes a damp squib only revived by Prakash’s presence on screen. Even with all the masalafied drama inserted for the masses, the intensity dwindles because of it too.

So while Singham does roar his loudest, it doesn’t always frighten.

Our Rating:

The BLOGUE

2011-07-23T12:26:00.000+10:00

There some people we meet that we forget instantly. No apparent reason, no obvious causes, just a clear crack in the memory circuit that they fall through. It is sometimes sad when this happens especially when you reconnect with them. And there are others that no matter where you end up, whom you've met or what you have accomplished, you NEVER forget. To me, Louella is one of them. A girl that compels me to think about what skill I have gained and boundaries that I push, she is an abundance in talent. And she proves it again and again with her Tumblr posts and most of all, her BLOGUE e-magazine. Dedicated to bollyblogger alone, up until now, I have been a part of her independant emag as a feature writer. But for her 10th benchmark edition, she has given me the opportunity to share the platform with an amazing writer Hemanth Kumar as feature blogger. Considering the effort she puts in and the distance she has travelled with it, I really do feel honored to be gracing the covers of her creation, let alone an achievement like 10th Edition.

Now I maybe sounding a little sappy but I really would like to thank Louella for considering me for her mammoth tenth issue. For someone that often questions herself and her capability, this is really special. But more that than, this is testimony to the fact you dont really know how far you can go until you try. Personally, I am looking forward to many more issues from my bangaram and I'm she will amaze not only me, but everyone. Please do take a moment to check it and her blog out. Its worth the read.

Venghai Review

2011-07-13T22:01:00.003+10:00

Its not wise to expect science fiction from a children's book writer so while I was hesitant about what Hari had to offer with Venghai, I put my masala cap on to go with the flow. Plus I was enjoying a few songs from the soundtrack and considering Dhanush is always dependable on a good performance even in masala flicks, I thought why not. Suffice to say I wasn't entirely disappointed. Well, almost.

So with Hari making an open statement that his films are all about having huge families with a village backdrop and showing the human side to the ruffians with sickles, Venghai beings with the intro of the cast, backdrop and most importantly, the three pivotal characters, Veerapandi [Raj Kiran], his son Selvam [Dhanush] and Rajalingam [Prakashraj]. With Veerapandi being the do-gooder of the town and Rajalingam his nemesis whom is struggling to get out from under his thumb although he is the town MLA, Selvam becomes the target in a behind the scene revenge plot. But when Rajalingam is publicly humiliated by Veerapandi, the gloves are off and the war public. His target shifts from son Selvam to Veerapandi himself. How father and son escape from Rajalingam's ploy forms the crux. Oh and Tamannaah adds in the love angle with a bit of a flashback as well.

Seriously speaking, there isn't much point in thinking with this film. It is a typical Hari film from start to finish. Not many changes and a serious case of old wine in new bottle. The sentiments, the flashback, the rivalry, even to the extent of how the rivals challenge each other has been seen before. So while I'm all for the masala format, sometimes churning out the same stories with different faces doesn't work, Hari. Yet I can't say I didn't enjoy it and the main reason is the performance. Especially that of Dhanush and Prakashraj, who are as always top notch. Although some may feel Dhanush doesn't emote extensively, I felt given the circumstances and the character's backdrop, Dhanush goes for a more subdued version of a ruffian with brains. All in all, Dhanush cakewalks through the film and really goes the distance to perform within his boundaries. Tamannaah looks like a village belle and although fine in the first half, becomes repetitive and irritating towards the end. However, her character does go through some random and haphazard emotional changes so this may not be her fault entirely. Raj Kiran is dignified as the father while Urvasi is a little over the top. Prakashraj is really scoring brownie points with the funnies he pulls out even while he is the bad guy and I for one, am loving it. Kanja Karuppu needs new writers for his comedy if he thinks crass jokes with blatant physical humour will get him far. Double meaning dialogues are bad enough but this was a pathetic excuse for comedy. Livingston was ok while Charlie touched the heart [p.s. welcome back Charlie :)]. Y.G.Mahendran is wasted after an outstanding performance in Yuddham Sei.

On the technical front, Vetri's camerawork is fine and editing by V.T. Vijayan could have been a little crisper. But in Vijayan's defence, Hari's screenplay and story didn't offer much in the first place. Devi Sri Prasad's music isn't at its best although Kalangaathale and Enna Solla Pore are definitely enjoyable. Pudikalai has his usual mass touch to it and will surely make it to a few iTunes lists. Action sequences for the film start off interesting however lose momentum quite quickly to become overdone and long-winded. Which leave us to the real culprit, the writing.

Is there a point in questioning the skill or sentiments of a director who makes statement like the one mentioned? Not really. So while the ill-sketched characters, long winded dialogues, repetitive screenplay and general done to dust feel of the story is most apparent, the director made the right choice in actors for the pivotal characters. The three men work their characters to best they can. Certain dialogues do have merit but they are few and far apart. Now, while I do not agree that a director should stick to one way of filmmaking, if he is good at a particular style or his signature works for him, there is little reason for him to change beyond his own desire to. As an audience member for Hari's latest film, I simply request he become more innovative in rehashing his own films.

Rating: 2/5 -Keeping your thinking cap off and far, far away. You might just like it.

Bbuddah Hoga Tera Baap Review

2011-07-02T08:24:00.000+10:00

This is a repost from the Bbuddah Hoga Tera Baap review for Bollyspice

From a generation’s point of view that has heard the stories and scavenged around for the DVDs of the original “Angry Young Man”, Amitabh Bachchan was and is always regarded with respect as an actor several classes above the rest, acting royalty even if you will. But in his latest venture directed by Puri Jagganath, that iconic character played by Big B is back on the big screen, unperturbed and angry as ever, if only with a touch of grey. Does he pull it off and re-instate his ferocious reign? Will the director that wrote the smash hit Pokiri which was remade twice, once in Tamil with the same name and then as Wanted in Hindi, be able to make his mark on the Hindi audience? Read on to find out.

To begin with we see the streets of Mumbai, busy and bustling with people. The dark cloud over the compact but fair city is Kabir Bhai [Prakashraj], a don that works his underworld web from Dubai. A contract killer, his contacts and clients sit in highly political and high up seats in Delhi. His latest planned bombing however, gets him aggravates the keen eye of ACP Karan Malhotra [Sonu Sood], who’s determined to keep the streets safe and mafia-free. Already unhappy with the ACP, Kabir willing to give in and looks for a hit man to get rid of his headache. But when his men drop like flies and two important members of his gang get arrested, Kabir realises he needs no ordinary man. He needs the baap of all hit men. Enter Vijju [Amitabh Bachchan]. Suave, cool and utterly unorthodox, he dares, does and walks away smiling what most can only think about. Vijju is a man on a killer mission but while focus maybe on what his going to do, the questions will rise on who he really is.

My oh my how do I begin. Let’s just say Amitabh Bachchan isn’t called Big B for just his height. The almost 70 year old [okay so he’s 68] is nothing short of King Size on screen. Clearly aimed at the fans of that infamous Angry Young Man character desperately want to see him back in theatre halls, he brings the whole kit and caboodle and showcases to all why the craze started. Even when a fine actor like Sonu Sood is on screen with his fair share of depth and space, Amitabh looks amazing and dominates like nobody’s business. On his part, Sonu is sincere and honest, with not even an iota of his previous bad guy roles coming to the foreground. Prakashraj is definitely the baddest bad guy on the block in the film but it is great to see him bring out the funnies as well. Hema Malini is elegant as always, although a tad on the rhona-dhona side. Sonal Chauhan is confidant while Charmee Kaur is bubbly and infectious. Raveena Tandon adds in some overdue quirkiness and so does Makrand Deshpande and Subbaraju for their small roles. The actress that plays the nosy landlord and the actor that plays Sonal’s father definitely give you the giggles although they seem like add ons.

Music by Vishal-Shekhar is topping the charts as it is and works extremely well on screen too. The title track BHTB in acapella has been cleverly inserted at regular intervals and is sure to be on your lips as you walk out of the theatres. Editing by Shekar is crisp while the cinematography by Amol Rathod is top notch, staying in sync with the story and surroundings. But now to the main man behind the camera, Puri Jagganath. Masala films are not new to the established director from the south but when you’re catering for a different language and type of audience, there are still chances to fail. However, Puri has made a cohesive script with a some great dialogue to carry the film forward. The story itself may not boast of originality or depth but it sustains interest and is woven in such a way that you don’t immediately notice the flaws. And yes, they are there. As stated Amitabh is all over this film but it does seem that at one point no one else is visible. While it may be a treat to see the actor sparkle, it would also have been nice to have a proper ending to the Raveena-Charmee-Big B track and for that matter a little more support from the supporting cast. Add in the logic factor that flutters haphazardly like the sequencing and some may feel there is little substance to the film. Yet BHTB’s biggest plus point is that this is not supposed to be an intellectual fair and it doesn’t claim to be one. It is a complete and unabashed masala roller-coaster ride, out to do one thing. Entertain. And that it does very well.

BHTB is a chance for Amitabh Bachchan to prove to the younger generation how he did it once and, also how he can still do it again.

Our Rating:

Double Dhamaal Review

2011-07-01T22:45:00.000+10:00

This is a repost of the Double Dhamaal review from Bollyspice.

When you get a hit film out of a jodi, you are bound to see them again on screen. In some cases, the magic returns in abundance and sets a new standard for the said jodi. But sometimes it doesn’t, leaving you with mixed feelings. With Dhamaal, it was a hit combo of 5 actors, Javed Jaffrey, Arshad Warsi, Ashish Chaudary, Ritiesh Deshkmukh and Sanjay Dutt, tickling the funny bone in a mad-fun game of cat-and-mouse. So doesDouble Dhamaal, the sequel to the 2007 hit flick, bring back the madness? Read on.

We begin with brothers Manav [Javed] and Adi [Arshad], Roy [Ritiesh] and Boman [Ashish] back to their good-for-nothing ways, still dreaming of the good life without a care in the world. They are still together and still trying to get rich fast and failing miserably each time until they run into their old foe Kabir [Sanjay Dutt]. Now an ex-cop, he is living the life they want, with Mercedes cars, mansions and a missus to boot. All too familiar with their antics, Kabir promptly gets rid of them when they approach for positions in his company; only to be followed by them straight home. Here the quartet find out Kabir isn’t the straight shooter he seems to be. So in a game of double cross, the quartet devise a plan to blackmail Kabir but little do they know, they are on Kabir’s court and he is the master of the game.

There’s no denying the lead cast and their capabilities of acting, especially in a comedy, but this is definitely not their best. Taking into consideration that this is a gag based comedy film, the quartet try their best to bring back the giggles in an over-acting fashion. But in all honesty, potty jokes, mimicry and even their multiple get-ups don’t work this time around. At the same time, due credit must be given to their multiple gettups, since each actor shines more in their act within an act than their “normal” selves, with Ritiesh leading, Arshad following and Ashish and Javed tying at the end. However, one doesn’t fail to notice that Javed has a less meaty role in the film. Sanjay Dutt plays Kabir like cakewalk but even he isn’t able to lift the film. Of the leading ladies, Mallika Sherawat makes an effort and creates an impact. Kangana isn’t in her element and really struggles after Tanu Weds Manu and Game.

The music by Anand Raj Anand is plausible. Cinematogrpahy by Aseem Bajaj is fine, but how one wishes Sanjay Sankla had a little more control over his editing. It’s only natural for a sequel to have a few gags from the first film to be inserted just to tie the films together. But when you have them repeated as much as they are in Double Dhamaal, your patience is tested to maximum capacity. You may get the giggles initially but in no time, boredom seeps in. Indra Kumar tries desperately to make a somewhat cohesive script within this comedy caper but he fails at the hands of screenplay writer Tushar Hiranandani where even the gags are drab. Add to that, the hint of a third instalment and we already dread what may come. Coming from a director that has undercurrent comedies like Ishq under his belt, this is a poor show and major disappointment.

Yes, you laugh at some instances but when you’re expected to turn off your brain and relax to a nice guffaw fest film, you know you’re heading the wrong way if your brain switches on again.

Our Rating:

Nenu Naa Rakshasi Review

2011-06-20T21:15:00.000+10:00

Sometimes we come across directors that try to make a film about a serious maybe unexplored topic in a masala format. While there are some that succeed, other fall into the sidelines. I guess the confusion begins with where to insert the cinematic liberties and where not to. If you don’t have a tight and cohesive screenplay, no matter how amazing the concept and performances may be, the point wont reach the audience. With Nenu Naa Rakshasi, Puri Jagannadh returns to the style of story-telling he used in Neninthe and explores a love story between two extreme individuals. Considering both Leader and Dum Maaro Dum have proved interesting on premise as well as different in role for Rana Daggubati, his second Telugu film with Ileana D’Cruz as the female lead is bound to attract expectations. Even the bad publicity of the Michael Jackson “inspired” track proved a booster of curiousity. But does the film do what its in essence supposed to, entertain? Yes and No. Read on to find out where and how.

The film opens with the final confession of a girl [Ileana D'cruz] before she commits suicide by hanging herself, while a man watches her through a computer through a webcam. Who is she, why is she doing it and who is the man watching her remains a mystery as we shift across the city to our hero Abhi alias Abhimanyu [Rana Daggubati], a sharp shooter in desperate need of money. As he escaping from his latest assignment, he goes to his routine collection point for payment at a graveyard where he sees Meenakshi [Ileana], a girl that works in a cafe with a troubled past. While Meenakshi barely notices him, Abhi falls for her instantly, and follows her wherever she goes. On the other side of town, Inspector Vikram [Subbaraju] is looking for a criminal that films people committing suicide and uploads it onto a website. While for Abhi, the inspector is just another person he has to maintain a distance from, especially since he lives only across the hall from him and he is friendly with his young daughter, Vikram is on the look out and suspects everyone. But things take a dramatic turn for the worse as Abhi soon finds Vikram's case is closer to heart that he thinks. Will he be able to get himself out in time? How does Meenakshi fit into all of this? Watch the film to find out.

Rana Daggubati is a naturally stiff-looking person but with this film, it works to his advantage for the intense moments. Yet when he tries to be funny in the second half, it wouldn't have been all bad, had it not seemed so out of place in the script. Add to that some questionable dancing and he leaves the wrong kind of mark. Ileana is improving from her bathing in a beach, mid-drift flashing self but that doesn't mean she's perfect. For the most part I think she tries to be intense in her acting and expression. Mumait Khan needs a better dubbing artist and really needs to work her lip syncing. Ali tries hard to make you laugh and only succeeds part way. Subbaraju is handsome as Vikram and has a few scenes worth acting in. Abhimanyu Singh is ok yet boring as the baddie for someone that was so powerful in Rakta Charitra. The rest are so so.

Venice and India looks amazing with Amol Rathod's camera and the action is quite slick with the background score adding edge to each scene. Music by Vishwa and Rahman is strictly ok with Malli Malli Merupula and Papam Punyam being the only ones that stay in the mind long enough after the film. Editing for the film could have been a little more crisper but the real culprit lies in the writing. While some of the dialogues are quite witty and perk the proceedings, it doesn't help keep the film afloat completely.

Puri Jagannath had the chance to make something novel but lost track of whether he was making a commercial film or an offbeat one. This confusion in conjunction with a lack of direction for or against the issue of suicide cripples what could have been a powerful screenplay. With the film not having an opinion, on one side you understand certain decisions, while others are just plain confusing and contradicting. All of which strain the understanding of the film entirely. On some levels the film makes you laugh and cry a bit but most of the time, you struggle to keep with the mood which changes drastically. Adding to that, the characters lack depth, making it hard to connect with them. Ultimately, what was supposed to be an intense drama, ends up to be long, drawn out and haphazardly melodramatic which you neither believe in nor can enjoy fully.

Rating: 2/5

Avan Ivan Review

2011-06-18T10:24:00.001+10:00

In all honesty, I dont know where to begin with Bala. The man began his career with Sethu and has risen to heights that I dont think he even thought he would reach. Personally, I have found his films disturbingly dark but extremely sensitive as well, an odd combination but one that was present. His latest one of Avan Ivan was supposed to be done in the shortest amount of time and be a full length light-hearted film but while the time factor was clearly extended more than anyone liked, does he succeed in the different style of film? Not really.

Avan Ivan is about Walter Vanagamudi [Vishal Krishna], the oldest son in family of thieves that aspires to become a big time actor, his step-brother Kumbiduren Saamy [Arya], a much louder mouthed but quick witted theif, and the dethroned Jaminder of there village, Highness [G.M.Kumar]. As the only person that can command some respect from the two, Highness is the only thing between the two step-brothers that can stop them fighting. At the same time, he cares about them dearly and wants them to reform from their criminal ways. As the two find love, Highness is the one that clears the way for them, even if it means he must let go of his own grudges against people who cheated him. But what happens when Highness is in trouble? Will the brother look past their mutual animosity and help him? This forms the crux of the story.

Let me continue from my first para and say that this is definitely a Bala film although slightly different. His style of filmmaking is definitely evident in the picturisation and pace. However, his undying desire to write stories about the forgotten ones of society although merit-worthy, is something he hasn't given up even in his light-hearted filmmaking. Vishal Krishna steps away from the masala of Malakottai and Thamirabharani and transform himself quite literally. As the "onnarai kannan" [squint eyed] Walter, he has put in a lot of effort to be the character instead of the star and it is greatly appreciated. Arya is not new to the slum characterisation and pitches in a decent performance. You could even say that barring a few scenes, he is the central comedy relief for a good portion of the film. A special mention must be made of their bromistry [brotherly chemistry for the uninitiated] which works big time. Constable Baby is a fun character played by Janani Iyer, a cute newbie that does what she can. Hopefully we will see more of her. Madhu Shalini plays a key role but she is just about ok as Thenmozhi. G.M.Kumar is fun, innocent and courageous as Highness and scores on more than one occasion, higher than the lead actors. Ambika and Jayapradha are nowhere near as classy as I have known them to be but both work well as the foul-mouthed mothers. R.K's intro seems too quick for liking and his screen time is quite short but as the catalyst he tries his best. The artists that play the DSP position aspiring Inspector and Arya's sidekick bring the house down repectively. The rest add to the mix.

Music is always a highlight with Bala's film and he returns with Yuvan but this isn't his usual best although completely in sync with Bala's storytelling on the background score. Rasathi does entertain but listen to the soundtrack more than watch the visuals since they aren't up to par. Editing by Suresh Urs is neat and the cinematography by Arthur Wilson is a big plus point for the film. Each scene is shot with amazing grace and depicts the mountain area beautifully with no superficiality.

The weakest link and certain cause of the setback is the story and the pace, two key items Bala has always had tight reigns on. So the characters are supposed to be of the forgotten sector of society yet you are not supposed to look at them that way. Ok, granted. But in all honesty, do people of any sector of society have such a constant flow crass jokes? Dialogue writer S.Ramakrishnan does have good points since the audience does laugh out loud sometimes but that isn't for very long. Adding to this, there is no logic behind the supposed "romantic" scenes. Neither pair of ladies are shown to give reason behind their affinity to the male leads, if you leave aside the rude behaviour towards that precedes these circumstances. On top of this, you are bombarded with the crass comedy for a good portion of the film before the story progresses. Yes, you will have to swallow Bala's trademark brutal depiction but does that also warrant patience being tested?

I walked in with no expectations since this was Bala's attempt at being more mainstream and light-hearted but when you refer Pithamagan to have better comedy and Naan Kadavul to have more heart, disappointment is all that you are left with.

Rating: 2/5

Dum Maaro Dum Review

2011-06-12T10:01:00.000+10:00

**This review is a reprint of the Bollyspice Dum Maaro Dum review**

The stakes are high and lined up when it comes to Dum Maaro Dum. For Abhishek Bachchan, he needs to come back to form after Game andKhelein Hum Jee Jaan Se failed to muster up the marks. Rohan Sippy returns to wield the megaphone after 5 years. Besides the success duo, Bipasha Basu, Rana Daggubati and Prateik Babbar join them in a movie that has all the makings of a hard-hitting suspense thriller that's been hyped since the initial promos were released. Does it live up to the expectations? Read on to find out.

Goa: A beautiful paradise on earth for so many. But every paradise has its demons that lurk in the night. For Goa, the snake with the forbidden fruit is drugs and Goa is swamped with them. It's the black stain on a white cloud and it's ACP Vishnu's (Abhishek Bachchan) job to get rid of it. But the battle against drugs is not his alone. There is Lorry (Prateik) who takes a wrong turn out of desperation for money. His story intertwines with Joki (Rana Daggubati) who bares scars from his lost love Zoey (Bipasha Basu) and who tries to help Lorry get out of the trap he's fallen into. However, before they can blink, the two get caught into the sickening web that Kamath is trying to clean. Kamath begins working with Joki and Lorry and turns his investigation to public figure Lorsa Biscuita aka the Biscuit [Aditya Pancholi]. But it is not only Biscuit that is at the heart of the evil, it is the shadow that hides in the background. The Drug Kingpin that has had the Goan police fooled for so long. The time has come for Kamath to get rid of this shadow named Michael Barbossa and with help from Lorry and Joki,Dum Maaro Dum is about the three men's battle with the snakes in the society but also the demons hidden within.

First of all, this film bears no resemblance to the past successes and failures of Rohan Sippy so it is best that the past be left where it is, in the past. This film marks his shift in genre to a thriller that has enough suspense to hold the audience's attention and entertain. But let's step back a bit and start with our performers. He may have hit damp squibs in the recent past but Abhishek Bachchan works ACP Vishnu Kamath to the full capacity while looking amazing. Whether it's anger, frustration or the confidence of a street-smart cop, he scores and is convincing to say the least. Right by his side is Rana Daggubati. The actor acts his part well and his potential that shined through in his first film Leader is evident again in his Hindi debut. He is fresh yet restrained while standing his ground next to A-list actors. This film is yet another example of the acting talents of Prateik Babbar. Only three films down, he is proving to be versatile with his role selection just like co-star Rana, and throughout the film there is never a moment that you feel he doesn't fit the character with his emotions and body language matching perfectly. Bipasha Basu plays an ambitious Zoe that is like a modern version of her role in Aakrosh as a "traumatized victim" character. However, the actress does make her presence felt in a male dominated cast and her chemistry with Rana is sweet and simple. Aditya Pancholi has an impressive track record somehow the actor doesn't hit the mark as needed. Where he scores in his outbursts, the subtle slyness and evil persona that is necessary for the antagonist isn't present all the time in his performance. Govind Namdeo hams on occasion and gets to the point of irritating in the second portion. Anaitha Nair is cute but barely there while the actor that plays Ricky is effective as is Vidya Balan.

Rohan Sippy has taken his time to get back into the director seat but the wait has proved beneficial. The director brings to life Sridhar Raghavan's story about three men of varying backgrounds and weaves them together in an easily understood yet intriguing narrative. If there is one aspect that stands out in DMD, its the cinematography by Amit Roy. Not a stone out of place like authenticity yet stylishly sexy, Amit brings the beauty of Goa onto celluloid that has rarely been seen before. From the intoxicating surroundings of a rave to the town parades, his work speaks for itself. Background score by Midival Punditz is top notch while Purva Naresh's dialogue is sharp at times.

However, DMD isn't a straight clean shot, the scenes in the second half lack the necessary depth needed, making them more like speed breakers to a fast pacing narrative. Editing by Aarif Shaikh should have reduced the intermittent lag that is present in the second half, including in the sequence leading up to the climax, but instead it falters and considering the crispness of the first half is so fresh, the audience tends to get bored and restless.

Yet, is this enough to call it a bad film or even a badly made good film? With so much hype and gloss surrounding the film, does Dum Maaro Dum deliver? No and Yes. With awesome performances, great visuals, a thought out story and easy to understand screenplay, Dum Maaro Dum isn't a masterpiece but it has merit. And Abhishek Bachchan.

Rating:

Ready Review

2011-06-12T09:40:00.000+10:00

** This review is a reprint from the Bollyspice's Ready Review**

Remakes are part and parcel of the Indian Film industry. But when one story travels from state to state and is remade in 4 languages, the question arises as to what is so special about this film? Not to mention there has to be something extra special for movie buffs to watch the same story again and again. For the film Ready, its blockbuster journey began in Telugu then went on to be a smash hit Kannada and then within one year it was remade in Tamil, seeing huge success there as well. Now it is Hindi's turn and at the helm Annes Bazmee plus the extra bonus it stars Salman Khan. However, taking a film to Hindi from the South has proved to be a hard task for some directors. Yet it's not a first for Salman Khan or Anees Bazmee, both as actor-director combo and otherwise. So the question is, was Anees Bazmee able to continue the track record and successfully adapt it to the Hindi audience and their liking?

Let's start by introducing Prem Kapoor (Salman Khan) A self confessed "bholi shakal kameena", he is the lovable brat of the Kapoor family living the high life. Like any other family, they want their "laadla" to be settled but he has a specific kind of girl he wants. Here we meet Sanjana (Asin), who is running away from her own marriage nightmares. In series of coincidental events, Sanjana overhears Prem's plan to ditch a girl his parents'have chosen. She decides to masquerade under the name Pooja and enters Prem's house to hide from the goons chasing her, at least till she finds a way to escape from them permanently. So while Sanjana successfully convinces everyone, Prem is not impressed. He plots to get rid of her but when he finds out who she is and why, he helps her instead. Having developed a soft corner for her already, the new-found friendship develops into deeper feelings but before either can say anything, Sanjana's past comes back to haunt her. A past that saw no ordinary goons but it is actually her own family, her uncles to be specific that are forcing her into a marriage all for the sake of money. It's now up to Prem, with the help of their charter accountant Balli (Paresh Rawal), to not only get his girl without the bloodshed Sanjana's uncles are accustomed to but also teach them a lesson or two along the way.

To be quite honest, if you're expecting logic, intense story-telling and powerful performances or anything similar, this isn't the film for you. Its loud, it's out there and it has Salman Khan in it. Now he wasn't the person you would expect in a role that was originally, and in the subsequent remakes, tailored to be a college going youth but that's not to say it doesn't work for him. Thankfully, they have taken the college backdrop out of it and just kept the fun. In fact, the role has been re-written to suit not only Salman but his style of comedy that was present in Wanted and Dabanng. The actor aims for your heart and worms his way in whether you like it or not. Both him and Paresh Rawal are sure to have you in fits of giggles from start to finish even though Paresh enters after the interval. At the same time, this isn't Paresh's awesome best that we are used but that doesn't take away from his awesome work. Yet while Salman, and Paresh too, seems to be visibly having fun bringing the house down, leading lady unfortunately, Asin doesn't make much of a mark. Given that she has major part in driving the story, it's a poor show from Asin who looks out of place at times and hams badly with some questionable styling and make-up. The entire ensemble playing the Kapoor family which includes Mahesh Manjrekar, Anuradha Patel, Manoj Joshi and Manoj Pahwa are mad fun to watch as they bounce off each other in the later portion. Akhilendra Mishra is a little too loud but is meant to be at the same time. Sharat Saxena is in the same category but scores better as he's a few decibels lower. Sudesh Lehiri is just about ok. Sunil Patel and Thomas Xavier for cinematography make their presence felt with some decent camerawork while Pritam comes up with foot tapping tracks with Character Dheela not showing any signs of dropping from the charts any time soon. Special mentions are in order for Devi Sri Prasad who makes an awesome debut in Hindi with Dhinka Chika. But the film does have set backs.

Editor Ritesh Soni could have used his scissors more liberally to keep the screenplay a little tauter. But in his defence, the writing has a few speed breakers in it for sure with locations not matching to the screenplay. Plus the lack of chemistry between Asin and Salman doesn't help the love angle of the story. So where Anees scores major points on his signature fun factors, he loses out when he gets tries melodrama, especially in the climax. Yet with that said, the film does make it up majorly because of Salman and his one liners care of Farhad and Sajid.

So while Ready isn't rocket science, its Salman's masala magic science. Take off your thinking cap and you’ re sure to be entertained thoroughly.

Rating:

Badrinath Review

2011-06-12T00:18:00.000+10:00

The news of a new film from V.V.Vinayak regardless of who is in it, is enough to get hype started. After the successful Adhurs, Vinayak's Badrinath sees him join hands with Allu Arjun and M.M. Keeravani after Bunny and has Tamannaah in the female lead. Adding to this, the news of 22 sets being formed for the film,a first for TFI, and Arjun travelling to Vietnam for special martial arts training and the hype just kept building up. But with Geetha Arts and their rigorous publicity taking everyone by storm, is it a case of too much hype killing the film? Will Badrinath be able to withstand comparisons a host of other films and still make a successful mark? Yes and maybe. Read on to find out what its about.

The location is Uttarkhand. For centuries, the Hindu temples have had many devotees flock to see the deities and seek blessings. But devotees are not the only ones that come for "darshan" so as a safety from evil doers, each temple instates a protector and a keeper for all of temples as well. Bheeshma Narayan [Prakashraj] who runs a school that trains in martial arts for the protectors, is the keeper looking for a successor. To him, his star pupil is Badri [Allu Arjun], fearless and powerful, is the perfect choice. But complications arise in the form of Alakananda [Tammanaah], an atheist due to her past, she comes to the temple with her grandfather as he seeks hope against a danger threatening Alakananda's life. Initially annoyed, she soon develops a soft spot for Badri. But just as she is about to tell Badri of her feelings, she finds out Bheeshma's intention. Knowing she can’t withstand up against faith and devotion, Alakananda has just about given up when unknowingly, Badri shows her a way through prayer that he promises to help her with. But nothing comes easy and for her prayer to become a reality, she must return in time for the special pooja in 6 months time. Will Badri be able to save her from her danger and bring her back? Will he become the keeper like Bheeshma Narayan wants him to be? Confronted by his beloved guru, Badri's loyalty to the temple and his guru will be tested as he fights between his responsibility and his promise.

Let me just say that the concept of a story with a temple back-drop is not something new so originality is not questioned this time. For “Stylish Star” Allu Arjun, Badrinath is a step back into the action genre that we saw him previously do in Desamuduru. And there is lots of it. Known to go to great pains for a role, Arjun’s effort is amazingly apparent in Badrinath, whether it’s his strong point dancing or the action sequence. Tamannaah is gradually stepping away from girly cuteness to full blown glamour but thankfully she has a bit of acting to do, although you will need to wait for the climax for it. Prakashraj needs no introduction and the actor cakewalks through his role as guru Bheeshma Narayan. Rao Ramesh is okay while Kelly Dorji, Ashwini Khalsekar and the actor who plays their son Nani are nowhere near as powerfully evil as you’d like them to be. Tanikella Bharani, Kovai Sarala and Pragathi are limited in their scenes and pitch in their two cents. Comedy kings Brahmanandam, M S Narayana, Krishna Bhagwan and Raghubabu try their best to bring out the giggles but most of it falls flat.

On the technical side, Ravi Varman’s cinematography depicts the Himalayan backdrop in exquisite form and is a sight for sore eyes. Anand Sai needs a special mention for elaborate sets with each one amazing in detail. M.M.Keeravani’s music is also in no need of introduction with the whole album being contagiously catchy but Vasudhara and Nath Nath are sure to remain on iTunes playlist for a while longer. Editing is okay but how one wishes the action, although well choreographed by Peter Hein, was cut back for crisper sequencing.

However, for all the hype and publicity, Badrinath is not without its shortfalls. And the main culprit is the writing by Chinni Prakash. For all the elaborate settings and amazing cinematography, the emotion in the film is lost on more than one occasion especially in the love angle of the film. Lack of depth in the characters makes the characters seem melodramatic or just plain loud. On the other side, Tamannaah and Allu Arjun look good yet there is little to no chemistry between them and barring the climax, there is not enough chance for it either. All it takes is for a loving/longing look from Tamannaah and a song begins. Yes the songs are entertaining but they are inappropriately placed and simply act like speedbreakers. As do the action sequences which are long and gory. But perhaps the biggest setback is the lack of logic. Yes, there have been many films that don’t give any importance to logic but for the effort put in, the dodging bullets with a sword and jumping mountains scenes stick out like a sore thumb. I wonder if V.V.Vinayak doesn’t like law enforcement since not a single one turns up when the mass violence occurs.

Yet can I say I didn’t enjoy the film at all? To be honest, no since I was singing Nath Nath as I walked out of the theatres and not thoroughly disgusted at the waste money. But my fan girl status to Allu Arjun was not enough to save me from disappointment. Especially when I’m not a fan of massive bloodfest and I’d like some respect to the laws of physics.

Rating: 2.5/5

Teenmaar Review

2011-06-05T22:34:00.000+10:00

What is it about Teenmaar that makes it interesting? Beyond the obvious Pawan Kalyan and Trisha combo that hasn't been seen before, I guess it would be that the two are coming together with Jayant C Paranji for a remake of a film like Love Aaj Kal. An added bonus would have to be Tirivikram penning the screenplay and dialogue and Mani Sharma's hit music. But does a film that was a box office hit in Hindi despite the negative comments on the theme stand a chance as a remake, that too in Telugu where family sentiments dominate films in a larger ratio, a factor present in the negative comments for the original. Is a hit combo enough to pull the family oriented crowd? Is Teenmaar another successful remake for Jayant after Shankar Dada MBBS, a remake of Munnabhai MBBS? And can I really stay away from the original while reviewing Teenmaar? Read on to find out.

Michael Velaiyudham [Pawan Kalyan] is a chef in Cape Town that dreams of working as a banker on Wall Street. Fun and free spirited, life runs smoothly till he meets Meera Shastry [Trisha Krishnan]. A firm believer in enjoying life and with marriage far from her radar, the two hit it off fairly quickly. But with ambitions varying and reasons mounting on how they are doomed to end, Michael and Meera decide to part ways. For Senapati [Paresh Rawal], the issues that Michael and Meera use as reason seem odd after witnessing a love story like his friend Arjun Palvai [Pawan again] and Vasumathi [Kriti Kharbanda] in Varanasi almost 3 decades ago. The ultra-modern love story in front of him seems more out of convenience than love. Michael begs to differ yet forms an unusual friendship with Senapathi as they delve into the tail of Arjun's first love. Slowly but surely the tale takes a toll on Michael and his life. Even as Michael moves on with Michelle [Dana] and Meera with Sudhir[Sonu Sood], both are only a phone call away from each other. When they meet again, they relive the good times, if only as friends. But it becomes obvious things have changed. Yet it takes more than just fun memories and separation for a dillusioned Michael and a confused Meera to understand. When and how forms the crux.

Can I just say Pawan Kalyan is probably the last person that I thought of for this remake and now is the only person that could have pulled these characters off with more flare and charisma than Saif Ali Khan. I say this because I actually liked Saif in LAK and was worried Pawan might come off a little well, old. But trust Pawan to litereally smash any apprehension you have as he plays two distinctly different characters so well and with abundance that each will make you laugh, cry, swoon and get annoyed at on cue. The quiet yet strong emotions of Arjun as pines for Vasumathi remind you of his Tholiprema days and are an eagerly welcomed memory. Michael on the other has to be one of his most charming characters I've seen, a title I personally hold Sanjay Sahu from Jalsa at right now. With these two characters dominating the screen; Trisha Krishnan and Kriti Kharbanda have their work cut out for them to maintain some connection with the audience. Yet out of the females, Kriti Kharbanda leave a bigger impact with Trisha falling behind a bit this time. Although the character of Meera is one I can’t relate to and find confusing towards the end, Trisha’s portrayal was just about ok to a little bland for such a chirpy character. Whats more is much like her character, her stylist seemed a little confused as well. But then again, this is mostly due to high expectations on the actress who has done some amazing work in the recent past. Kriti is back in a full-fledged rôle after Ala Modalaindi and although limited with her lines, she does really well with her expressions and suits the rôle almost to a T, barring a dilemma with make up. Paresh Rawal will always be one helluva an actor with a distinct voice so while his rôle isn't outstanding, he cakewalks through it and makes an impression. Sonu Sood is a little eye candy on the side that you feel sorry for towards the end but like Paresh, he doesn't get much to do. It would have been nice to get a different dubbing artist for these two actors though. Dana is super sexy but that's about it.

Now to the technical side of things.First up has to be the cinematography. After a long break cinematographer Jayanan Vincent returned with Om Sakthi last year and despite the film not doing so well, garned much recognition. With Teenmaar, you witness some of the great work again with Capetown and Varanasi shown in new light. The dialogue definitely has the typical Trivikram touch, working wonders in so many places yet some may find it to be a little squirmish attempt on occasion for the normally family friendly writer. Jayant was smart to change a few scenes to suit the south audience but he is isn't consistent. One of my fav scenes that shows off the duo's capacity if the scene about kissing with Michael asking the question and Arjun answering. Editing by MR Varma only enhances this scene further. Mani Sharma music worked well with the film with Sri Ganga and Chiguru Boniya the pick of the lot with Aale Bhale being infectious.

Yet the remake does have its downfalls. While Jayant's adaptation proved a clearer picture, the director does the same mistake as LAK with a patchy screenplay. Add to that, MR Varma's insufficient use of his scissors and you will find yourself a little confused and bored where the dialogue doesn't save you. However, like the inconsistency, this too is not frequent. It also would have been better if the characters Michelle and Sudhir weren't so 2 dimensional. Yes, they are only there for a short period but the screenplay doesn't allow you to feel for them making the emotional connection a little weak. Another setback is the re-recording is rather poor and sticks out like a sore thumb, taking away from the scenes.

Rating: 3.5/5- All said and done, Pawan makes up for most of the setbacks and is thoroughly enjoyable to watch.

100% Love Review

2011-05-26T04:52:00.000+10:00

Throughout the years, whether you're a girl or a boy, there are certain phrases that you are bound to here. "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus", "Its easy to go the moon than to figure out a girl's heart" and "Boys are the most confused creatures" in the world to name just a few. Now these are said with good humour and are clearly not the norm but when it comes to love, everybody has an opinion about it. Sukumar is the kind of director that likes to take a different angle on everything and has done the same with his latest 100% Love. With Devi Sri Prasad on music, Naga Chaitanya and Tamannaah play the lead in this Geetha Arts production. So let's jump and check it out.

Meet Balu Mahendra [Naga Chaitanya]. State level tenth standard first rank holder, state level Intern first rank holder, MCET first rank holder and according to him, he is a genius and a brand name. The only thing bigger than his record is his ego. Enter Mahalakshmi [Tamannaah], his maradalu [marriagable cousin] from his home town in the village. A country belle smitten about her Balu Bava, she comes to the city to complete her higher education and stays with Balu and his family. While the family already adores Mahalakshmi, its going to take more than looking cute for her to get on her Balu Bava's good side. For his part, Balu with his head is firmly in the sky, doesn't look at anything beyond her second class ranking and dismisses her promptly. She decides to stick to her studying but becomes frantic in her exam and breaks down crying. Mahalakshmi runs out of the exam and says to her Balu's father, her uncle[Naresh] that she is going to fail and she wants to just go back to her hometown when surprisingly, Balu steps in. Ignorant to her and her emotions as Balu may have been, he decides to help her out of pity. And so with his guidance, her own effort and a bit praying by the whole family to Ganesha, Mahalakshmi sits for the exams. But much to Balu's absolute disbelief, she doesn't just pass. She takes over his coveted first rank. Balu becomes furious at the humiliation while everyone else is applauding her. But he isn't one to let the humiliation last long so he puts in the extra hours to study and in the process, purposefully distracts Mahalakshmi from her own without her realising. Yet just before he can bask in his glory, Mahalakshmi realises his plan and starts her own cat and mouse game to even the grounds. D-day arrives after the exams and both get the shock of their life as their class mate Ajith[Anand] came first. For Balu, his ego maybe hurt with Mahalakshmi getting the first rank the last time but there is no way another student can take it. So the both of them set their rivalry aside and work up a plan to distract Ajith. But he's not the only one that gets distracted as the two spend more and more time together studying albeit with a few encounters on the personal side. Everything seems to go smoothly and as according to plan, Balu gets first rank. Celebrations are in order and the family members, who are by now aware of the private canoodling, plan for an engagement announcement on the day of the party when Balu gets a bout of jealousy as Mahalakshmi casually praises Ajith who missed out only by a few marks. Words become insults and with their guests and parents as witness, Balu and Mahalakshmi have a massive fight and the pair part ways. Yet only 3 years on, circumstances bring them back together. Has time healed all wounds? Have Balu and Maahalakshmi changed themselves? To find out, you will have to watch the moview.

First thing's first. Naga Chaitanya, who is only three films old and has thus far made some interesting choices with his films, is absolutely adorable as Balu. Personally, I could even say this is by far the most perfectly suited rôle for him. The arrogance, the dismissal, the attitude, the frustration. At every point, Balu has the face of Naga Chaitanya and that is all you see. Some may feel he is a little stiff at certain points but given that everyone has quirks and habits, this only adds to his appeal and I myself have come across real people that have rarely faced failure and get a big head over it. Tamannaah plays the bubbly Mahalakshmi with ease but tends to go OTT with more emotive scenes. She also has tendency of reminding you of an early career stage Kareena Kapoor. However, she looks amazing and has great chemistry with all on screen, including and most importantly, Naga Chaitanya. Anand as Ajith has very little to do even though he is quite important to the story. K.R.Vijaya is elegance on screen and delivers whats needed for her Mahalakshmi Bhama rôle. Naresh has very few scenes in the film but plays it with heart. Vijayakumar is apt in his special appearance. Big special mention to the kiddies in the crew. Each one adorable as hell but unfortunately names aren't available of these little champions. Dharmavarapu Subramaniam, 'Thagubothu' Ramesh, 'Chitram' Sreenu and M S Narayana add to the comedy cocktailfun while the rest are passable.

That leads us to the scene stealer. Sukumar is at it again with his "different" angle on love. Personally, I felt that life has become one big competition to see who's better and with the alarming rate divorces get sanctioned, there is more truth to Sukumar little message than most would believe. But leaving the realistic things aside, his trademark storytelling is evident. Keeping the fun in check and building the drama in proportion, he showcases his talent in abundance. Adding to his awesome screenplay is the superb dialogue. Yes there are some commercialised moments but in all, there were very few in the cinema hall that didn't enjoy such great lines. Music by Devi Sri Prasad almost always has automatic feet-on-the-dancefloor effect and he is back to his old tricks with 100% Love. A Squared. That Is Mahalakshmi and Kallu Kallu Plusu bring out the fun, crazy and melodious side where Diyalo Diyala is a classic item number that is always present on a DSP soundtrack. But the album entirely leaves a major impact. Cinematography by Venkat Prasad is top notch as is editing by Srinivasa Karthik. Both are a huge asset to the film. Leaving us with the negatives of the film remaining.

So what can be wrong with one the most enjoyable flicks in recent times? Not much. Depth in characters could have been extended to avoid a two-character-driven-story feel yet at the same time, the situations become as they are because of the lead characters. The disappearance of Swapna at the climax wedding was overseen but came to the fore when Ajith was shown leaving. A few snips here and there could have done some good but barring that, you will be hard fetched to find anything majorly wrong as the film does entertain and leave you with a satisfied feeling about the money you spent on the tickets. Even if you go looking, it is you that needs to judge if the film reminds you of them or not.

To me, 100% Love is 50% Fun, 50% Masti and 100% Bindaas. A total time pass film that will have you singing the words and tapping your toes as you get the giggles from the story.

Rating:4/5

Veera Review

2011-05-26T04:01:00.000+10:00

There are some actors that you expect to not stray far from their style of movie making. Of these, there are only a select few that you can tolerate. Ravi Teja is one such actor that has a distinct style. But not to say he doesn't try different things. Films like Neninthe Shambo Shiva Shambo and Shock may not have done well for the the "Mass Maharaja" but they were just a few reasons for the hardcore fans believing he was an actor not just a star. However his latest offering of Veera directed by Ramesh Varma starring Kajal Aggarwal and Taapsee Pannu is one that will test the boundaries of admiration. Read on to find out how.

Veera begins with ACP Shyam [Shyam] standing up against crime and criminals. He bows to none and makes it clear justice will be served. On one such serving, Dhanraj [Rahul Dev]'s son is killed in a misfired shot meant for Shyam. As revenge, Dhanraj kidnaps and kills his son. Although an honest cop, Shyam is human and he starts to question his purpose since he as in the police department is there to protect the innocent when something happens. But when he himself is targeted, what happens? Enter Deva [Ravi Teja]. A stern security set to protect him and his family, he quickly mingles with the family barring Shyam's wife, Satya [Sridevi]. Agitated and irritated by Deva's presence, her disliking is most apparent while the friendly neighbour Aiykee [Taapsee Pannu] forms a liking towards him. Deva develops a rapport with Shyam's young daughter Anjali, and aids Shyam in hiding the truth about his son from his family, Satya holds her tongue from verbalising her annoyance and asking him to leave. But Shyam isn't the only one that is hiding the truth as there is more than meets the eye with Deva. With the threat hanging over his family's head, will Shyam be able to find out the details of this stranger before its too late. Who is he? Where is he from? And whats his connection to Dhanraj? Watch to find out.

Ravi Teja is one actor that I know has the talent to be amazing on screen. Yet his mass form of acting and dialogue delivery is one that does entertain as well. In Veera, the actor delivers his normal antics in a different light as usual. He may have succeeded had it not been for bad writing and a logic lacking screenplay. Taapsee Pannu is one cute actress that I have faith in but her role of Aiykee is limited to say the least. Strutting in designers didn't make her role any more enjoyable but what worse is that your expectations are completely shot and your left asking for more. Result, the actress leaves little to no impact at all. Kajal Aggarwal has more depth in her role but in all honesty, she too has very little to do and has done the bubbly character before, although not in such mass action flick. It would be great if she selected roles that were not only different but she looked the part as well. She puts in her two cents worth but seems completely out of place in some areas. Brahmanandam and Ali try their best to lift up the proceedings with their comedy and succeed to a degree. Sridevi returns after a few years of marital bliss but hams severely. Roja is forgettable while Shyam doesn't get much of a chance this time around to make a mark. However, he is ok when he is on. Supri, Pradeep Rawat and Rahul Dev simply do a repeat show of their former roles. The rest are strictly ok.

Chota K Naidu takes hold of the camera and makes it work in his favour where possible with some amazing visuals of Europe and nice handy work on onshore shots. However the good points pretty much stop there. Music by Thaman S is strictly ok and have a serious sense of deja vu. Background score does perk it up a bit as compensation but not high enough to count. Editing by Gautham Raju could have been much better but in his defence, the real culprit is the main man, Ramesh Varma. His lack of direction, in more ways than one, really brought down this film. Yes it is an action based film so it wont be accepted by everyone and some hardcore fans will love the bloody screens and graphic violence that is present in abundance. But even the good points of the film struggle to bring the film over the border. For Veera, logic has not just gone for a stroll in the cinematic liberties park, it is non-existant. Major loopholes in logic not only drag out the film but lose the audience entirely on occasion because of disbelief. On top of this, the dialogue simply did not evoke enough emotion to engage the audience. Due to this lack of emotion, at times, it would seem the casting was completely wrong for the melodramatic screenplay and OTT dialogue.

So what does it leave us the audience with? A half-baked film that only entertains in bits.

Rating: 2/5

Manmadhudu Marathon

2011-05-18T09:19:00.001+10:00

Holidays are a great time to catch up on movies you've missed. In my case, I got a chance to watch some old Nagarjuna flicks, courtesy of my own scavanging and a DVD combo with his latest Ragada. Unlike my usual review, this is total fangirl type reviewing so I am more biased than usual. I will attempt to be tame but no promises :P First up was Ragada but since I have already reviewed it, we move on to the next. [But I must say he looked awesome in Ragada :)]

So we continue on with a classic that was Allari Alludu. A film about the common man teaching a lesson to his Goliath or in this case, a son avenges his father honour by becoming the son-in-law of the enemy. Nag really looks like he is having fun instead of acting. Meena and Nagma add the glamour in desi and non-style respectively. But in all honesty, I kind of felt the film's item number with Ramya Krishnan had more appeal than the two. But that could be from the chemistry they share. Anyways, main man Nag is his mass-ive best in this film with his trusty sidekick Brahmanandam. Don't look for logic, since in most cases, there is none. A fun flick with ample dosage of everything including overacting sentimental scenes and flying fights scenes. Classic stuff.

Next up was Hello Brother. I saw this film first in Tamil and loved it to smithereens. Then found out it was a dubbed film and since normal CDs were hard to come by at the time, I had no chance of finding the music for it. A totally fun, revenge comedy that is based on one of Jackie Chan's flicks, I think the adaptation is perfect for our kind of cinema. And the fact it went to Hindi with Salman Khan is a double treat. Twins lost at birth must come together to stop a revenge that will cost them their individual families and their father's life. Forgetting the logic once again, the lovelies include Ramya who is vivacious and fun as Mangatayaru and Soundarya who is adorably innocent as Ooha. Even if its one song, we also have Aamani, Indraja and Rambha shaking it up. Apparently this is the first time Rambha was seen on screen for the Kannipettaro song. Brahmi and Sri Hari aren't the only comedians with Mallikarjun, Kota Srinivasa Rao and host of others coming in to add to the drama. If the dialogue has you in splits, the songs will get your feet tapping and humming away.

After suggestion flew back and forth on twitter from my dear friend Navya and go-to info person/freelance writer Hemanth, comes Gharana Bullodu. Another film that I saw it Tamil first and feel in love with the songs more than the movie at that tender age that I can't even remember. But the tunes of Bheemavaram Bulloda and Adhirindiro are definitely hummable even now for anyone. Of course it another David-Goliath kind of story but more than recapping the film, I watched it to bring back the Surru Summaipoddhi dialogue that was made famous by this film. Aamani and Ramya Krishnan play the leading ladies with Aamani silently going the background after a while and Ramya Krishnan taking over. I still remember nagging my mum for the silver skirt that she wore in Jaabilli. Another mass film from Nag but just as enjoyable if you forget the logic again. However I think this one showcases a more flexible Nag in Bheemavaram. No? Or maybe thats me going gaga again. :D

The last but never ever least that I had time for [considering I started in the morning on the previous day and was still up and running 28 hours later] was Ninne Pelladatha. This has to be one of my most watched films top 5 but even now equally enjoyed film. My mum felt this had a bit of DDLJ in it but I frankly didn't care. Nag and Tabu have some amazing chemistry that at certain point I had to turn the fan on for how hot they were. I know he had a mullettish thing happening but he pulled it off for the most part. And seriously, can Tabu be any more elegant and fun at the same time? But yet again, the love started in Tamil so kudos to the lyricists and writers. With either version, you still could find me in tears from laughter or drama [yes, I'm that emotional]. But what can I say. Its a family drama about two families that are split by one marriage and rejoined by another. Lots of fun, laughs, and great music. A total family entertainer and this time for a change no Ramya Krishnan.

So thats the list. Nothing major in terms of heavy duty stories but each one keeps your attention and entertains years after the films were released. But it did get me thinking that they don't make actresses like Ramya Krishnan or Tabu or the late and my beloved Soundarya anymore. Sad since I love them so much. On another train of thought, I felt in one way Nag's influence is bigger in the Tamil industry during those years since there were constant dubbed releases that reached overseas shores but this could have also been because of many never reaching the corner shop. Regardless, he is one actor you can depend on for big class and bigger mass flicks. Wonder how I am going to handle it when he retires.. :( But thats another matter to deal with IF it happens. Hope you enjoyed reading. If you haven't caught any of these films, make a trip online or to your local and BUY a copy. But don't forget to leave your thinking caps aside to enjoy the Manmadhudu Madness.

Engeyum Kadhal Review

2011-05-07T03:02:00.000+10:00

Love stories are perhaps one of the most retold stories in cinematic history. Within TFI, there is a love angle in pretty every story you come across. What's the few that escape this, have a mini-story in the flashback at least. For director Prabhudheva [he's changed his spelling], he has already swooned the Telugu audience with Nuvvanthanante Nenuvoddhantana but he has yet to show his charm to the Tamil audience after making a smashing entry with Pokkirri and Villu. Engeyum Kadhal brings together Hansika Motwani and "Jayam" Ravi Mohan in lead roles supported by Suman and Raju Sundaram with Harris Jeyaraj for music, Anthony for editing and Nirav Shah for cinematography. So what's it about? Read on.

The movie opens with the city of love, Paris. At every corner, at every street, Love is everywhere. No conditions, no restrictions. Just love. While the world sees Paris this way, Kamal [Ravi Mohan] sees it as his getaway place. After slaughtering it out for 11 months of the year in India, Paris is his destination for fun, frolic and female companions. The last thing he has on his mind is love. Enter Kayalvizhi [Hansika Motwani]. A firm believer in love, she sees love in every avenue she turns. Including in the cases that come to her private investigator father Rajasekhar [Suman]. So what happens when the believer falls for a non-believer? What lengths would you go to get the one you love to believe? Set in picturesque Paris entirely, Engeyum Kadhal is about how love is literally everywhere, you just need to open your eyes to it.

Honesty is the best policy so in all honesty, this is a very simple story driven by the lead pair "Jayam" Ravi Mohan and Hansika Motwani's performance and chemistry. And for what its worth, the two do quite well. After seeing him in varying roles yet still with a boy-next-door feel, Ravi has come out of this shell and becomes the total charmer Kamal is. Suave and stylish, he looks a million bucks and fits the bill perfectly. Hansika's filmography has some big films in Telugu but this is only her second one in Tamil. Yet, it would be safe to say the actress is going to be the cutie in town as she pouts, giggles, cries and schemes adorably and given she has a "Chinna Khushboo" tag floating, you can appreciate the boys are going to like her but considering when the serious emotions come out, she makes an honest attempt the girls will warm up to her as well. However, she really needs a different dubbing artist than Savitha. Raju Sundaram is back after a long time as an actor and tickles the funny bone with his antics. It would have been nice to give him some more scenes with Ravi but the actor in Raju works with what he has well. Suman as the caring yet friendly father is not there for very long but he cakewalks through his role. Manoj Pawar and newbie KJR are passable. A big hug and special mention to the dancers in Nangai. As short the roles may have been their lip-syncing and expression was just awesome.

With all that said, the main atraction of the film is Paris. Or should I say Nirav Shah's view of Paris. He has shown time and again how he spins his web of magic on seemingly plain locations. But with the city of love in his camera, the man steps up and dazzles Paris like none before. Simply exquisite. Editing by Anthony is his usual best while newcomer R.K. Naguraj's art work well with the film. Nalini Sriram gets a special mention just for the styling of the lead pair which looks great but suited the characters to the T. Background and music by Harris Jeyaraj is as exquisite as the camerawork with my personal favs from the OST being Nenjil Nenjil, Nangai and Engeyum Kadhal. But now to our main man, Prabhudheva. The actor-choreographer-director [he has sung/rapped but we'll leave that for now] is showing maturity in his work whilst still maintain his classic signature. A jovial man in real life, the ease at which he inserts humour into the screenplay is typical of him alone. The simple yet stylish presentation conveys more than most long-winded dialogues.

Yet Engeyum Kadhal does have its downside. The story by AC Mugil and Ravi Chakkravarthy lacks detail in the most vital points and thus taking away from the connection with the audience. Its not enough to make people laugh when the focus is also on the romance between the leads. While the chemistry is refreshing and new, due to the fallbacks in the writing department, including dialogues by Ravi Chakkravarthy, G. Jayakannan and Premsai, it does falter a bit and lose intensity.

Rating: 3.5/5. Feel the love and it will entertain. See the logic and it might not.

Mappillai Review

2011-05-07T01:55:00.000+10:00

Yesteryear classic have been a source of reference for film-buffs. The good are compared to the current while the bad are used as examples of what not to do. The trends though now are newbie directors starting their career with a rehash of the classics and trying to create the magic for the new century generation. While critics ransack the films and fans of the original slaughter the performances, the new audience is depended on to drive the film. For Suraaj, Mappillai is his return to a hit combo of Dhanush, himself and Mani Sharma after Padikkathavan. For Dhanush, its the one remake of his father-in-law Rajnikanth’s film that he himself wanted to do. A film that did wonders to the original cast and crew’s career, will it work for today’s generation? Read on.

Saravanan [Dhanush] is a role model youngster that’s used as an example in the colony he resides in. Whether its life or discipline, Saravanan is the one that parents go to for advice. But for a group of loafers headed by Child Chinna [Vivek] who’s day job is an amateur fan club for actress Namitha, this proves detrimental to their lazy ways. So with Saravanan agreeing to help as guidance counseller as compensation, Chinna tries a shortcut to becoming rich by impressing a rich girl with intention of marrying her for money. Enter Gayathri [Hansika Motwani], daughter of Multi-millionaire businesswoman Rajeshwari [Manisha Koirala]. After a few unsuccessful attempts at getting her, Gayathri develops a soft corner for Saravanan instead which he initially rejects but then succumbs to later. But not before her mother finds out. Now for Rajeshwari, it is the female that should rule the roost so the timid, religious yet “cultured” Saravanan may be poor in financial terms but he is perfect for her daughter in demure nature and gives her the leverage that she wants over him. Wedding preparations get under way and everything seems fine until one of the guests drops a bombshell on Rajeshwari. The simple sweet Saravanan she selected is in fact a hot headed ruffian who has been banished from his home town for the constant fights he has. Determined to not be upstaged and that to by what she calls a "low class male", Rajeshwari quickly tries to change the groom in time for the wedding she planned but Saravanan is not going to make it easy for his proud mother in law. So while he does end up marrying Gayathri, what pursues is a game of tit for tat as this mother-in-law and son-in-law battle it out to see who will win their challenge.

On the onset the director makes no bones about how he has planned his film. No intricate storyline or screenplay, just mad masala magic with punch dialogues, ridiculous fights and humour in a large dose. For Dhanush, this is another Padikkaathavan and he cakewalks through the film. His comic timing becomes more apparent with each film and it’s pleasing to see him flaunt it. Considering the content of the hyped up mass hero story, it definitely is refreshing to see an actor go for a bit of self-mockery in the midst to heighten the proceedings. Hansika Motwani debuts in Tamil and is the typical beautiful girl who doesn't do very much. In her defence, the role is very limited but her lip syncing and general over-reaction does not help her at all and she becomes irritating and worse, easily forgettable. Manisha Koirala is not new to Tamil so she needs no introduction. However, for such an outstanding actress, this film is a far cry from her Bombay days. Even Mudhalvan had a little more spectrum for someone of her caliber but with that aside, Manisha puts in her two bits and makes the most of it especially in her scenes in the village and her confrontations with Dhanush. Vivek tries his best to play on his ever youthful entourage and the comedy duo that sparked a new hit jodi with Dhanush but with Manobala in the mix as well. Ashish Vidhyarthi, Pattimandram Raja, Sri Ranjani and Sathyan Sivakumar are apart of the cast and respectfully do their 3-4 scenes and move on.

While it would be unfair to not state the positives on the technical side, this is one film that blurs the lines of my infamous structure so please bare with me. On the technical front, camerawork by S.R.Satishkumar does his best to dazzle the locale and with general visualisation while T.Kishore needs to be a bit more liberal in his editing. Several time, scenes dragged out for a lot longer than needed. Mani Sharma may be a talented music director that has many amazing tracks to his name but when he reuses his own tracks from various Telugu films to form one OST, it lacks the passion and creativity. Aaru Padai is mostly hummable. Suraaj’s dialogue usually is dependable to evoke humour and he does in parts but whatever good he does in his dialogue gets overshadowed by his poor form in story and screenplay writing. But given that the director isn’t the type of director that boasts of intellectual kind of filmmaking in his filmography and has made no qualms about his intention, can you still say Mappillai works? Unfortunately, the answer is more no than yes as the big loopholes and general lack of movement simply bores. I haven’t seen the original with Rajnikanth in a long time so rest assured this isn’t from a comparative point of view. Even so, director Suraaj has missed the mark this time as the waifer thin storyline lacks the punch needed to keep the audience engaged and the spark that his previous films had regardless of their tried and tested content goes missing in Mappillai.

Rating: 2.5/5. Its all about the masala and the money it makes. Each of his films has shown this and it would be silly to expect anything less. But it could have been so much better.

Vaanam Review

2011-05-04T23:58:00.001+10:00

How does one take a film like Vaanam? Granted the original has been out for quite some time and had a shock value to it that Vaanam doesn't but does a remake of a good film amount to an automatic success story if the director is the same. Not always. The critically acclaimed film Vedam, written and directed by Krish in Telugu, was prominent not just its content but the fact it boasts of a star cast of Allu Arjun, Manchu Manoj Babu, Anushka Shetty, Manoj Bajpai, Saranya and Nagayya. Considering multi-starrers are only now making a comeback in TFI, the cast alone got people’s attention as each played a special part in a 5 story screenplay. After the film’s release, detractors were apparent but the general consensus was of positive reviews for the film. For its remake, Vaanam, the cast changes slightly with Simbhu in Arjun’s role, Bharath in Manoj’s and Prakashraj in Manoy Bajpai’s role while Anushka and Saranya return to reprise their roles from the original. However, I was fearful that when the makers of the film “adapted” the story to the Tamil audience, the 'heart' that I fell in love with for the original film would get lost. Director Krish has gone on record to say only slight changes have been made since this was a universal story about the human spirit, he was confident it would work. Read on to find out if it did.

Bharath[Bharath] is a guitarist and front man for a band based in Bangalore. Doubling up as his friends as well, he and his band members aspire to make it big and land their first gig in front of a large audience in Chennai. But thanks to Bharath's carelessness they miss their flight. Cut acress to Tutincorin, Ramayya and his daughter in law Lakshmi[Saranya] are silk weavers from a poor family background in a rural area. Since both are uneducated, they take out loans from the local loan sharks in an attempt to get Lakshmi’s son Paandi a proper education but are unable to pay it off the interest. Pressure is further mounted on them by the loan shark who takes Paandi custody until they pay it off. From here we move to Sulurpet. An area close to the Andhra Pradesh - Tamil Nadu border where Saroja [Anushka Shetty] is a prostitute that gets paid big money but hardly sees any of it. Fed up with her mistress' cruel ways, she plans with her man friday in Chennai to get away and start her own brothel but has to wait for him to call once everything is set. In Coimbatore, Rahim [Prakashraj] receives a call from his family doctor to say his wife Zara [Sonia Aggarwal] is pregnant again. Excited about the news, he also finds out that his missing brother has been seen in Chennai. As he and his wife board the bus, the painful past which holds the reasons for his sorrow filled happiness unfold as they go in search of his brother. And lastly, we then shift to Raja alias Cable Raja [Simbhu], a cable tv contractor living in the Chennai slums, he dreams of big cars, bigger houses and even bigger bank balances. Money on the mind and no way to earn it he manages to convince his multi-millionaire heiress girlfriend Priya[Jasmine] who is unaware of his financial status, that he is well off also. However, convincing Priya is only half the well crossed. The next and final one is to convince the parents and that too, at an expensive New Year party he needs to buy the tickets for.

We begin with the introduction of these 5 separate stories. Each is different in location and in lifestyle. But each finds their way to the streets of Chennai insearch of something.While it would seem each none of these individuals will ever meet, destiny has something else in mind. Their individuals searches will see them scratch and fight for what they want and need. Yet, it is also their individual searches that will see them face to face with a common enemy. As reality hits them these commoners, lessons will be learnt, lives will be lost and the human spirit will be tested.

As mentioned, I loved the original film Vedam so I had to try hard to keep the screenplay and performances out of my head. But comparisons aside, Krish has done well with his choice of cast. Simbhu has a very hard image to crack and is showing honest attempts at trying to break away from it. For the actor-director, his portrayal of Cable Raja is both fun and earnest with the actor excelling in the penultimate 20 minutes as he cruises through anxiety, shock, remorse and courage. It would have helped if the comedy sequences between him and Santhanam was downplayed to the same degree but he does induce more than a few laughs at his mock T.Rajendhar act. Speaking of which, Santhanam is his usual best and may have another hit Jodi with Simbhu on his hands. However, the actor does need to work on his emotional skills. Anushka Shetty reprises her role so there isn’t anything new about it but she plays it convincingly. The last time I saw Bharath play his role so effortlessly was in Pattiyal and he plays the rock star role like a rock star whether it be mannerisms or swag. Vega Tamotia has a significant yet small role of Bharath’s girlfriend and back bone that she does with ease as well as looks apt for. Prakashraj steps away from his bad guy persona and plays a victim of malicious behaviour with his usual élan. Sonia Aggarwal’s role restricts the actress in her come back vehicle and is quite small for someone that has had a fair few prominent film in her filmography. Saranya Ponvannan and the actor who plays her father in law fit the bill perfectly. Radha Ravi is brief while VTV Ganesh evokes much humour.

When it comes to a multi-story screenplay, it takes one slip with up by the director and you will confuse the audience. Thankfully, Krish has moved from his Gamyam days and shows maturity as he gives each story the same amount of time and importance. Kudos to him and writer Gnanagiri for maintaining the emotion whilst adapting. At the same time the changes that were made in the screenplay came as a surprise and that too a welcomed one in the case of Rahim's story. I did note though that the general feel of the film became less intense than that of the original. However, this doesn't hinder the pace or structure. Editing by Anthony is clean and crisp while Nirav Shah and Gnanasekaran's camerawork remains honest without overriding the screenplay. Music by Yuvan Shankar Raja is always something to look forward to. But this time I would say Yuvan has missed the mark a little. Vaanam and Who am I are the saving grace in a bass beat dominated soundtrack that is strictly ok while M.M. Keeravani's track for Anushka Egari Pothe is dubbed.

Lets be honest, whether you look at Vedam or Vaanam, it’s not perfect. The character development for Priya [Jasmine] and Zara could have been worked out better since they lacked importance in the original as well. However, in the case of Jasmine, she was a severe let down in the acting department and her dubbing artist did not help her at all. Add to this having an actor like Jayaprakash play the role of the terrorist feels like such a waste considering his potential. Also, as crisp as the editing was, there were a few shots that could have been trimmed back a little more. At times the dialogue seemed like just a translation from Telugu than an adaptation but these moments are few so it can be excused.

Rating: 3/5. All in all, Krish has recreated the film with the heart that I fell for. Even if it did make me laugh a little louder, it also made me feel the same as before.

Yuddham Sei Review

2011-04-26T10:07:00.000+10:00

When it comes to the suspense thriller genre, it is almost like walking on thin ice. It takes only one incapable hand to ruin an entire film. Whether its the director, the music director or the cinematographer. But when you have the talented Myshkin at the helm, you can rest assured that the film is in good hands. For the director that brought Anjaathey and Nandhalala, Yuddham Sei is his latest attempt with actor-director Cheran in the lead. An already hyped film with Rajnikanth heaping laurels on it, it brings Neetu Chandra as the latest yellow sari item girl with AGS Productions aiming for a hat trick after Madrasapattinam and Bhale Pandiya. But does it work? Read on to find out.

The movie begins with plain cardboard boxes being found in various public places with amputated limbs inside them. With the media frenzy heightening as each box is found and no clue on who is doing it, the case goes to the Crime Branch of Central Investigation Department. For the Deputy Commissioner [Nareyn] his best man JK [Cheran] is the agent to solve this gruesome case. However for JK, the case that plagues his mind is that of his missing sister’s. Only after he gets assurance he can reopen his sister’s case from the Deputy does he reluctantly take the case. As horrific as the evidence is, JK slowly pieces the puzzle together and finds there is much more than meets the eye. Each victim that has gone missing with only their limbs being found is linked to another case involving a Dr Purushothaman [Y.G.Mahendran] and his family’s collective suicide. On one side there are the cases of corruption and sexual assault against Dr Purushothaman and his wife respectively that were never proven, on the other side those surrounding them say they were honest and compassionate people. But before he can unravel the link between the Purushothamans case and the limbs, a shocking piece of evidence comes to light. Not just about Dr. Purushothaman but about his missing sister as well. It’s now or never for JK who has to solve the case before the body count increases but can he control the demon inside? Will the observer become the hunter? For this you will have to see the film.

First of all I will be honest. This is not the type of film that a family can sit and watch. It’s not aimless and it sure as hell isn’t brainless. Myshkin has made it clear from the outset there is very minimal “filmy” antics to be seen so if you’re expecting something glamourised, I suggest you watch a different film. Yuddham Sei is what I call a classic who done it film with more life-like appearances than TFI is used to. Straight to the point, Myshkin doesn’t dawdle on who to follow and at the same, he doesn’t make it too hard for the average movie watcher to understand. Kudos to him for selecting Cheran for the lead role of JK. Personally, I found it hard to accept Cheran as an actor. He has been strictly ok thus far and I felt he clearly needed to move away from the emotional dramas he kept doing. With Yuddham Sei, he has done just that. The overacting Cheran is reserved to the only overtly emotional scene he has towards the climax. For everything else, he is practically dead-panned and firmly holds the reigns on his expression which works perfectly for his eccentric distraught character. But thats not to say he is wooden in his emotion. Where its necessary the actor shows urgency, frustration, and anxiety. Honest and real, this has to be Cheran’s best performance yet. Deepa Shah and Yugendran as his subordinates play their part but it is Cheran that drives the film. The two newcomers try their best within their limited roles. Jayaprakash has come around again with a surprise role of Judas, the witty and intelligent medical examiner that is constantly on the drink. The man has a knack of making you erase from memory all his previous roles and gives a fresh one to remember him by. Y.G.Mahendran and Lakshmi Ramakrishnan have never been seen like this before and I expect they won’t again. The two of them breathe life into their characters and are sure to surprise you. Nareyn as the hot-headed Deputy is apt as is Manikkam Vinayagam for the sleazy Duraipandi. The actors that play Tirisangu and Issaki Muthu deserve special mention for their natural act as well but I wasn’t able to find out their names, sorry.

The main man worth all the credit this film receives is Myshkin. The real life circumstances, insertion of detail without blurring the image, the unsaid statements are just a few strokes of his trademark style. At the same time, the director understands where some issues need to be brought in an acceptable package and manipulates the audience in the gory parts instead of blunt imagery. To top if off, whilst understanding this is a film, the question he poses to the audience is both relevant for them and necessary to understand the proceedings. Cinematography by Sathya and music/background score by K are as close to the lifeline as possible for this film. At no point do either of the them step over their ground nor do they underplay it. Each frame is creative yet holds its intensity and the music makes sure to keep the audience on edge. Keeping them into an effective sequence is the editing by Gagin. With small sentences and visual imagery to answer questions that may rise, the dialogue sometimes doesn't have a job but where its used, it is sharp and crisp yet remaining true to the character way of communication. As they all do there part, they successfully work as a team to point you in the direction of the narrative as planned with no pushing or shoving necessary.

So where does an exceptional film like this falter? The same place that he scores marks. Yes the unsaid statements in form of imagery work for the film but at times it takes a second view to decipher. Some logics also, even after the movie is over, leave one confused since it goes against the narrative. But the biggest blunder I feel is the insertion of the one and only full song in the film. Yes, Neetu Chandra is gorgeous as the next one to wear a yellow sari for the item number that comes up without fail in Myshkin’s film, but her and Ameer’s dancing routine sticks out like a sore thumb. Some may say that it works in the narrative but with such a gripping screenplay in hand, why Myshkin felt this item song was needed, I really don’t know.

Rating: 4/5 – Gripping and hard hitting, Myshkin is back with his own kicking material. And loads of it.

Mad about Madhavan...

2011-04-24T12:38:00.000+10:00

This is a repost of an article I did for Bollyspice but given its relevance, I'm posting here as well. :)

Madhavan definitely has the goods. But when you sit down to write what those goods are, one can't help but stumble on the words. After all, there are so many Maddy fans of varying ages. So, what do we actually like about Madhavan Ranganathan? Some may think that Maddy is simply a lovable character; some may swoon for that smile. With the release of his newest film Tanu Weds Manu we here at Bollyspice decided to reveal the top 10 things we love about Maddy! So, in no particular order, here it is.

1. His smile

For those that have seen the Tamil version of Saathiya, Alaipayuthey, you may remember that the first few scenes are of a grinning Madhavan riding his motorbike. Careless and on top of the world, the scene later proved to be a tragic one, but for those few moments that grin proved deadly the ladies. Bollywood lovers weren't waiting for very long to see what made everyone swoon, remember the scene as he sweetly smiles at Soha Ali Khan when he asks her to marry him in Rang De Basanti. I'm sure she wasn't the only one that fell for him.

2. His professionalism

Whomever you speak to, Maddy has always been and still is Mr. Professional. He is never one to badmouth his colleagues or make drama on the set. In an age where we hear about on set squabbles between two main lead actors are frequent, Maddy has been apart of 17 multi-starrers in his 50 film career and never once has there been a rumour of issues between him and his co-stars.

3. His versatility

Even at the start of his career, he did not hesitate to try and be different. With Mani Ratnam'sAlaipayuthey he shot to fame as a 20-something year old that falls in love and learns to deal the trials of life after marriage. Within a few years he played a father of three in the story of a journey of child going back to her homeland to find her birth mother in Kannathil Muthamittaal, something which was considered taboo in the south for a long time. He then proceeded to transform into a goon in Aiyutha Ezhuthu, a role essayed by Abhishek Bachchan in Yuva, was an innocent chef who travels abroad in Nala Damaiyanthi/Ramji Londonwaley, only to turnaround and become Farhan Qureshi, an engineering student in 3 Idiots. Phew!

4. His effortless acting

One thing we all agree on is how effortless Maddy is at the characters he plays. Be it Ajay Rathod of RDB, Shyam Saxena in Guru, or his latest Manu in Tanu Weds Manu, he fits the shoe no matter how big, awkward, dorky or even the downright sombre. He has openly said the role of the goon Inbasekhar aka Inba in Mani Ratnam's Aiyutha Ezhuthu was one of the toughest roles for him to do, yet whoever saw him on screen did not see R. Madhavan, but the character Inba, such is his acting prowness.

5. His style

While a good physique is bound to have the women swooning and the men envious, it is not the only thing that matters when it comes to style. For our dear Maddy, he may not be from the 6-pack-body-bearing class of actors but the man has class for sure. From innocently quirky to charmingly suave, he fits the bill to the T.

6. His eyes

They say the eyes are a gateway to a person's personality. Not quite sure if Maddy is showing his personality in his eyes, but they never fail to show the emotion across beautifully. From the frustration of the common man in Evano Oruvan, a Tamil remake of Nishikanth Kamat's Dombivili Fast or a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder sufferer in Mumbai Meri Jaan, he is as sincere as when he romances his leading lady Diya in Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein.

7. His charm

Give it up ladies, if you met someone as charming as Madhavan, would you not fall for him or what? I'm sure Sarita, Maddy's wife of 12 years, would have a few words to say about his wonder charm. But seriously, the appeal about it is not even the 'Oh my god, he's so hot' types. It's the type that has you giggling like a little girl while your friends smile in a jealous fits yet when you take him home to the folks... your mum will want to make him a home cooked meal and dad will impress him with his golden year stories.

8. His all round appeal

Much like his charming ways, Madhavan is one of the few actors that appeals to all ages. Be it the youngsters, the kiddies, the parents or old timers, or language, be it Hindi, Tamil or Telugu, Maddy has a fan base that shows their support. In fact, his Tamil film Priyasakhi, which was later remade as Shaadi Kar Ke Phas Gaya, was the first Tamil film to ever be dubbed in the South African language, Zulu.

9. His determination

Fixed formulas and sentiments go hand in hand with Indian cinema and especially with our "heroes". As mentioned, Madhavan not only changed the rules by his choice of films but every time he was shunted as a typecast because of his appearance, he came back with something innovative and different.
10. He's all heart

When it comes to giving a helping hand, the humanitarian in Madhavan is always present and ready for action. From being an active member of PETA and winning the cutest male vegetarian award while Kareena Kapoor won the female one, to being a part of the AIDS Awareness program initiated by Richard Gere, to featuring in fellow actor and friend Suriya Sivakumar's Agaram Foundation campaign "Herova Zerova" to promote educational awareness, Madhavan has utilised his fame to do his bit for society.

Now whether your reason for being Mad about Maddy is on the list or not, there is one thing that is undeniable. Madhavan is one sensational actor with a heart of gold.

Ko Review

2011-04-24T02:13:00.003+10:00

They say that if there is a desire that doesn't get fulfilled, most people will try to incorporate it into their life as a hobby at least. For K.V.Anand, an established cinematographer and now successful film director, apparently his desire was always to be a still photo journalist. Already having seen success with his innovative portrait of smuggling in Ayan, the director lives out his dream job through his lead actor Jiiva in his latest offering Ko. Taking the controversies of cast changes and rumors in his stride, Anand returns with Harris Jeyaraj for music and duo Subha [D. Suresh and A.N. Balakrishnan] for story and dialogue but brings a new team of actors and technicians with the talented Jiiva, Karthika who makes her debut and surprise packets Piaa Bajpai and Ajmal Ameer in lead roles while newcomer Richard Nathan takes over cinematography. So without further delay, lets dive in.

The film opens with Ashwin [Jiiva], a still photo journalist for a daily newspaper Dhina Anjal, photographing a group of men robbing a bank as they leave. With some fancy foot work on his bike, he grabs everyone on his camera but not before the leader of the group notices him. All attempts to catch Ashwin fail until he stumbles into Renuka [Karthika] who mistakes him for a thief and stops him in his tracks, inadvertently helping the criminals get away. Confusions clarified, life comes back to normal with Ashwin finding out that Renuka is the new investigative reporter on the team and the police catching four of the five culprits, leaving the leader still at large. After breaking the ice with Ashwin and Saro[Piaa Bajpai], Renuka becomes close with both of them. However, when affections rise for Ashwin, Saro stops her and makes her existing feelings known. Not one to create trouble for her friend, Renuka hides behind her work as their editor assigns her to cover the upcoming elections with Ashwin. For his part, Ashwin begins to feel the same but is confused by her actions so he puts it all aside and stands by her with camera in hand. The two through their investigation shed light to the controversies of the ruling party Chief Minister Yogi [Prakashraj] and opposing party candidate Aalavandhan[Kota Srinivasa Rao]. Its here that Ashwin, Renuka and Saro are introduced to a new candidate group lead by Vasanthan [Ajmal Ameer]. Backed by a group of youngsters, each holding a PUC and goals to be the change they so desperately want in society, Vasanthan and his team battles to find support for their group "Sirugugal" and with Ashwin's help, the wind finally blows their way. But when it comes to politics, the rivalry is both common and brutal. Just when the Sirugugal group finds itself a fighting chance, tragedy strikes in the form of a bomb blast, leaving several members of the party dead. Questions rise as Ashwin and Renuka try to figure out who did it. In the midst of this and in a doubtful state, Vasanthan too questions himself after seeing the gory side of politics whether he should continue. But while the tumultuous turn of events has left everyone shocked, shattering truths come out of Ashwin and Renuka's investigation that will make them both question who really are their allies. To find out the real faces behind the mask, you will need to watch the film.

I usually start off my analysis with the male lead of the film but for a change and because Ko is that kind of film, the first person I must mention is K.V.Anand. You have seen so many stories of an honest reporter shedding light to the atrocities of society. But you will not come across a narrative so closely depicted to reality. Possibly using events that happened during his days as freelance photo journalist, the director doesn't just give his lead character a camera to take random shots; he shows the audience the life of a still photographer working in a daily newspaper. No demigod status, no righteous attitude, just a normal man staying true to his work and maintaining a heart as well. His trademark style is present here as well and what’s more the detail injected into the story makes his story all the more believable. Duo Subha have a knack for creating subtle suspense and with Anand's know how, they strike a connective cord with the audience without becoming too abstract. Richard Nathan, please take the stand for your ovation. His camerawork shows passion, innocence, integrity, and violence with amazing detail like none before. A true highlight of the film that is sure to set a new standard. Peter Hein's action sequences are sure to grab more than just the average action junkie's attention. Harris Jeyaraj's track record speaks for itself so it is hard to select the pick of the lot from any soundtrack of his. With Amali Thumali displaying exquisite locales with the fun vocals of Hariharan and Swetha Mohan/Chinmayi, Venpaniye showcasing the talent of success singer duo Sriram Parthasarathy and Bombay Jayashree and a star studded guest list in the video of the stylish Aga Naga, the only way to determine which the bigger tick is by bringing in the choreography and cinematography to decide which is better. On the background score front, Harris works it in by heightening the emphasis of an already racy screenplay.

Where do you begin with someone like Jiiva. Personally, I feel his bankability rises with each film. The same actor who played characters like Raam and E, shows his versatility again as he is street-smart, sophisticated and fun Ashwin in every frame. Completely in sync with nuances of a photo journalist, he breaths life into the role. For leading lady Karthika, this is her third film that is the actress's debut after Telugu and Malayalam. Making it even more special and possibly more challenging is that its Tamil, a language her mother Radha reigned supreme before settling to family life. Elegant and cute, she has pitched in her two cents worth but unfortunate for her, Piaa Bajpai steals the scene in first half at every given chance. As the stylish, vivacious yet lovable Saro, she is a amazingly infectious and adorable. The role seems tailor made and she scores on all counts. The next scene stealer would have to be Ajmal Ameer. From Anjaathey to Thiru Thiru Thuru Thuru, the actor takes strides in his acting every time and Ko is no exception. Another character that seems tailor made, he performs with utmost ease and sincerity. Both Prakashraj and Kota Srinivasa Rao, are not new to the corrupt politician role so its cakewalk for them. Bose Venkat is adequate. The remaining cast includes some known names but not enough screen time to remember them by.

With so many things working for a film, there is always flip side but logic is something that always does get lost in cinematic liberties and Anthony's editing is crisp and neat for the most part so it would be unfair to take away from this adrenaline rushed entertainer on both counts.

Rating: 3.75/5 - It may not be a Kana Kanden or Ayan, but Ko gives one KO punch.

Aadukalam Review

2011-04-12T14:57:00.000+10:00

Pride and honour sometimes hold much more importance to those that live for a sport. Money and fame is something that they find is secondary/additional. For Vetrimaran, Polladhavan may have been a struggle to begin and make but he proved that he knew his craft. So he used Bicycle Theives as a basis for the story, at the end of it, the story worked because his adaptation was valid, screenplay clicked with the audience and he had great performance to back it. He now uses a competition where honour is the prize on the backdrop of rural rooster fights that have been deemed illegal. On a new "playground" [the translation for Aadukalam], he is joined by Dhanush in a totally different role and Tapsee who debuts in Tamil, with trusty aide Kishore, newbie actor writer/poet Jayabalan, GV Prakash doing the music and Velraj with the cinematography. Read on to find out if it worked.

Karuppu [Dhanush] isn't your average youngster in a poor family consisting of just him and his mother. He is a crucial member of a gang of village rooster fighters, led by his boss and the reigning champion trainer Pettaikaran [Jayabalan]. For Karuppu though, Pettaikaaran is not only a leader, but a father figure as well. Adversaries in the form of the local policeman Rathnaswamy [Naren] are present and he has been brewing a long standing grudge against Pettai but the method of battle isn't not with knives and guns, rather on the playing field with roosters. In a final attempt to regain his honor for his family, Rathnaswamy forces Pettai to a tornament where if Pettaikaaran loses even once, he would bid goodbye to the game and never compete again. With honor and intense love for the game at stake, preparations begin. All things are running smoothly until days before the tournament, Karuppu brings his rooster as a competitor. Pettaikaaran initially accepts but then rejects it at the trial game on lack of performance and orders him to kill the rooster. Dejected and disappointed, Karuppu doesn't find the heart to follow through and hides this from Pettai. But if there is one thing that you can count on, its the change of fate. On the day of the tournament, after an angered Pettai had announced that he claims no ownership of Karuppu's victory or loss, the student takes over the limelight from the master as Karuppu's rooster wins above all. Stumped his judgement failed him, the once wise Pettai begins to turn on his student and an oblivious Karuppu falls prey to his jealousy. But its not just his rooster that Pettai is out to get. In an ultimate act of vengence, Pettai stops at nothing to degrade, humiliate and deprive Karuppu of his happiness including taking away the love of his life, Irene [Tapsee].What this entails can only be seen to understand the impact.

First of all, this story is heavily dependant on the nuances of a culture and traditions that many are not aware so from the get go Vetrimaran has a lot to explain and his source isn’t just the narrative but his cast. So it is imperative that the core actors do not have an identity that overshadows the character they are playing or else the story looses its authenticity. With that said, Dhanush has proven his ability to mould himself and yet again the actor surprises in a flawless portrayal. He may have a string of an uneducated callous ruffian characters in his filmography but Karuppu is by far the most intricately tailored role that you wouldn’t have seen Dhanush play before. It wouldn’t be farfetched to say the honesty he depicts his emotions, from love to betrayal, is something he himself may find hard to repeat. Tapsee as Irene may not have a big part in the synopsis but she is picture perfect for the role and does justice with no OTT business. Kudos to the actress for selecting such a male dominated film as a debut and yet, successfully shining through. Jayabalan may have been dubbed by Radharavi but at no point does he stray from his character nor does he seem awkward for someone who has been writing for almost a lifetime. He literally lives the life of Pettaikaran and displays immense control and versatility. Kishore is always dependable for a power packed performance and the only thing that doesn’t sit right is his wig but even that can be easily forgotten[after seeing him with his own hair [or lack of], it didn’t seem necessary]. Both Meenal and the lady that plays Dhanush’s mum put in their two cents worth but are clearly figures in the background.

With an interesting and innovative backdrop in hand, Vetrimaran's shoulders had quite a heavy burden to support as he needed to not only make this an entertaining film but one that can be understood for the citybred audience. On top of that the director who had already proven he has spark with Polladhavan, needed to prove he was not a one hit wonder and was capable to follow through with his craft. On all counts the director scores in a big way. By keeping the script simple enough to be understood and using his band of actors, cinematographer Velraj and editor Kishore to maintain an authentic look and feel to the film, he not only keeps the audience engaged but stays honest to the story. G.V.Prakash said in an interview that Yaathe Yaathe would be a smash hit when speaking about upcoming projects at the time. I feel that song alone is worth Prakash’s weight in gold. His usage of multiple singers [e.g SPB and SPB Charan in Aiyayo] isn't new but definitely is pleasing technique to the ears. Pick of the lot has to be his prediction Yaathe, Aiyaiyo and Otha Sollale but the album entirely works well on the radio and with the proceedings. Once again, Prakash showcases his skill with the background score literally lifting an already flying film.

So many pluses don’t mean there aren’t any minuses. What may annoy some, maybe completely irrelevant to others. For this film I have heard that the story is too simple, the fights are too long and the film is quite slow. I did feel the lag on occasion and thought editor Kishore needs to pick up on the scissors again but at the same time felt a depth in the narrative was adequate. So unlike usual, I’ll leave the minuses in your hand, dear reader as I felt this film stepped away from the norm in its boundaries and was made with sincerity.

Rating: 4/5 – In a season where if rural films are ruling the box office, Aadukalam is different and stands out.

Ala Modalaindi Review

2011-02-15T09:22:00.001+11:00

Sometimes certain films just draw your attention. They may not be amazing in story or breathtaking in view or even have a chartbusting soundtrack. It was this kind of attention that led me to Ashta Chamma. By the time the movie finished, I not only fell in love with every aspect mentioned but also the lead actors Nani, Swathi, Avasarla Srinivas and Bhargavi. Swathi was as always a breath of fresh air and had my attention from her movie Danger but the rest were debuts that truly blew my mind. So naturally when I find out another film is being done by any of them in it, I will take a look into it. However, Ala Modalaindi which stars Nani and newcomer to Telugu Nithya Menon is a film I have been dying to see for so long after an interview I saw of Nani and director Nandini Reddy's on Mustafa Mustafa. As friends they were so adorably funny, as professionals they were dedicated to their craft. But with some people being funnier off screen than on screen, I tried to contain my excitement and watch it with a clear mind. So here's how it went.

We begin with Goutham [Nani] held captive by a Goon named John [Ashish Vidhyarthi]. After attempting to escape but getting caught again, John gets Goutham to tell him a story to pass the time so Goutham starts his flashback. To him, he thought he had everything he wanted. A good job as a creative head on a news channel, doting best friend like mother [Rohini], good friends and the love of his life, Simran [Kriti Kharbanda] within his grasp. But things turn sour fairly quickly as Goutham meets with an accident and his girl is stolen from him by Dr. Saagar, the doctor who treats him. Down in the dumps as he drown himself in his woes, life opens a door of hope at Simran and Saagar's wedding. Just as drunk and equally heartbroken as him, he bumps into Nithya [Nithya Menon], an independent street-smart girl that was in love with Saagar and is now in the same boat as Goutham. Like two peas in a pod, the two heartbroken souls instantly hit it off. After a series of bumping into each other moments and considerable time spent together, they are in inseparable as friends. Or so Goutham thinks. A change is inevitable and although he is unable to express himself, Goutham is totally head over heels in love but just as he decides he has to tell Nithya how he feels before she leaves Hyderabad for home in Bangalore fate steps in again. She introduces her boyfriend Dileep [actors name unknown] and he starts to question everything about himself and life. Scared that her son may take a harsh decision, Nani's mum steps in with a realistic yet emotional pep talk to gets him on track with life again. But fate has a funny game plan. So while Goutham understands the practicalities of life, Nithya is forced to look at what her true feelings are and it’s at this point when they meet again. Goutham now has a girlfriend, Kavya and it is now Nithya that leaves without saying a word. How does this saga culminate to the current situation of Goutham being captive? Watch the film to find.

Some stories can get away with déjà vu if you have amazing performances and a screenplay that keeps you engrossed. Ala Modalaindi is one such film. The part that I love about Nani is never Actor Nani in any of his films. He at no point reminds you of his previous roles but his natural flare for comedy and his comfort level with the camera is abundantly apparent. He not only infuses life into Goutham but into pretty much every scene he is in. The actor has definitely improved on his emotional scenes and I hope to see him broadening his character span soon. Somebody give me Nithya Menon's whereabouts, I want to give this woman a big hug! For the first time in so long we have an actress that can not only stand her ground as a newcomer but she has also dubbed for herself. If there is one thing makes her stand amongst others, it is her confidence in her dubbing. The actress has done a triple whammy with not only acting dubbing for her but also singing. As Nithya, she is uber cool, confidant and beautiful. Sneha Ullal has been around for much longer than both Nani and Nithya and although she is beautiful and pitches in her two cents, she is still struggling with her expressions and lip syncing which draws away from the character. It’s not author backed role but integral nonetheless and still requires a level of comfort in front of the camera that Sneha lacks. Rohini is adorable as Nani's mum and is in the running for best mummy performance next to Jayasudha. Ashish Vidhyarthi is one of the few actors that are both menacing and funny at the same time. As John he evokes terror initially and is equally funny in the second half. The rest of the cast add to the entourage.

Cinematography by Arjun Jena is apt but could have been better for such a film. At the same time editing by Marthand K Venkatesh is his usual crisp. The scene stealer is by far the dialogue by Lakshmi Bhupal. Half the battle of engaging the audience is won with some terrific dialogue backed by the actor great performances. But we mustn't forget the main man or should I say woman, behind Ala Modalaindi. Nandini Reddy has proven that she can weave a script that the audience may have seen before into something that they will enjoy throughout. The way she handles her comedy may seem like it is just to tickle the funny bone but watch how it all comes together at the end. Fresh and compelling, she joins the growing number of women that are proving their talent in TFI. Kalyani Malik is always dependable for good tunes and he delivers again as he introduces another singer with Nithya. Personal favourites are Ammamo but the whole soundtrack is easy on the ears.

Where does this film falter? Well some may feel the fact there are similarities to A lot Like Love starring Amanda Peet and Ashton Kutcher would be a hindrance. But personally I felt the film engaged you enough for any shortfalls like that to be unnoticed. In fact the situation in which they leave each other are more of a cliche for TFI than Hollywood. If anything, the only thing that I could call a shortfall is Sneha Ullal's role. As important as it was, there could have been a little more depth to it.

Romantic comedies are a lot like flavoured chocolates. Some like turkish delights, some like hazelnut centres and others may like chocolate covered fudge. To me, chocolate is simply smooth and sweet and Ala Modalaindi is one particularly is tasty chocolate.

Rating: 4/5

Kadhalan Review

2011-02-13T00:56:00.000+11:00

I still remember the amount of photos and pics I had of this movie during High School. It was so ridiculous that I was constantly teased about it from my friends and family. But what can I say? Prabhu Deva was my first crush. Although Kadhalan was not just a film I watched for Prabhu Deva. Nagma wasn't really a favourite but was more appealing than some of the shocking examples that came from the other states during that period. Not to mention Shankar who had a smashing debut with Gentlemen, A.R.Rahman rocking the OST and the choreography that was catalyst to the 4 years I spent learning Bharatha Natyam in attempt to find my inner Prabhu.

If you haven't seen this film, I would like to know which rock you have been hiding under [I might find use for it in the future]. But since tradition has followed me throughout this blog, here's the gist of this cult classic. Prabhu [Prabhu Deva] is your average college goer with a heart of gold. He has his fun with his friends going to late night movies, the casual glances at girls on the bus and playfully getting into trouble with his loving father [S.P.Balusubramaniam]. All is well till the girl of his dreams that he has drawn in a sketch book enters his life as Shruthi [Nagma]. She is beautiful, intelligent and a dedicated Bharatha Natyam dancer who's also his excellency the Govenor Kakarla Sathyanarayana [Girish Karnad]'s one and only daughter. For most Shruthi may be too high out of reach but cupid's arrow has hit Prabhu hard so none of it matters. So after the usual squabbles, one helleva dance sequence and a interesting joy ride to Chidambaram, the two are head over heels. However, while the lovers have their unplanned romance, Kakarla has his own plans of terror in play with his bomb expert Malli [Raghuvaran] who plants a bomb at the temple hall in Chidambaram that Shruthi is performing at against her father's wishes.Why? All in the name of politics and money. An intervention saves them from the bomb blast but both fall prey to Kakarla's wrath and their love is tested. Prabhu is arrested under false allegations and Shruthi takes matters into her own hands in a self-inflicted jail. Only after making a public issue of it in front of Kakarla's colleagues does her father relent and ship her off to her grandparents place. But love is love without a triumph over evil so while Prabhu finds his ladylove, he will also be tested on his love for his fellow man in a race against time and a ticking bomb.

There have been many stories about lovers being separated by family but I found Kadhalan to be honest in its commercial value and a little brutal with its screenplay. Maybe its my lack of tolerance to seeing pain but even now, 17 years after its release, the jail scenes in this film make me cringe. Prabhu Deva had been seen on screen before with his cameos in songs, and his first full length role in Indhu but I dont think anyone was prepared for this. Granted Shankar may have had a major hand in it but Prabhu delivers with his tall and lanky exterior that fits the bill perfectly. He is cheeky, lovable, and matured. I personally feel that Vikram's dubbing is exquisite and works for him big time. And dont start me on his dancing!! Rarely do you see a male doing proper Bharatha Natyam on screen and after Kamal Haasan, Prabhu is my fav. Nagma is the quintessential commercial heroine of the 90s. Glamourous as hell but she chips in a power packed performance. Only qualm I have is that her dancing scenes could have been choreographed a bit better to not make it so obvious she isn't the dancer or lacks the knowledge her character possesses. I still cant believe that its Vadivel that I am seeing on screen. After seeing him in Devar Magan, he looks completely different and his acting top notch in the city slicker/flirt role. Prabhu and his combo have been seen many times since but somehow this first time never fails to come to mind as the best. S.P.Balasubramaniam is one of the few singers that I feel is amazing on screen as well. As a doting father, he is perfect and there are no questions on how a lanky son can have such a big built father. Girish and Raghuvaran are equal yet different in the villain act, with Girish getting a sinister edge with his downplay of the Govenor. This review would not be complete with mentioning the greats Manorama and Allu Ramalingaiah. They may have had a very short cameos in the film as Nagma's grandparents but both tickle the funny bone every time.

Technology may have advanced so the invisible man dancing effects may seem very average but for its time, Kadhalan had amazing visuals [the late Jeeva], great VFX [Venky] and crisp editing[B.Lenin and V.T.Vijayan] but what I loved most about the film was the dialogue. Balamurugan infuses so much life and keeps the proceedings as real as possible which is a major plus for a grand film. The innovation of how natural the words flow makes it relatable even in extreme circumstance but Kadhalan doesn't always escape. My personal favourite scenes include SPB trying to find out the girl that Prabhu is in love with and Nagma little rampage in front of the VIPs at her house. Moving on to Shankar, after Gentleman, he was quick to change paths and proved his deft handling of the megaphone in Kadhalan. KT Kunjumon trusted the director blindly so to speak with Gentleman but the director proved he is not a one hit wonder. As co writer, he must be commended for the language of ladies that surely must have created a craze at the time, if anything, alongwith the others styles that have surely been influenced by this film. But there is one person that overshadows all of these people which is also my favourite aspect of the film, the music by A.R.Rahman. After Roja and Gentleman, this film got him the Tamil Nadu state award and Filmfare, making that 3 consecutives win. What can you say about the master that emerged and took everyone by storm. From classic "mass" style song to a rap to a melody, Kadhalan's OST has all that you need and is the kind of music that pioneered much of what runs on the radio nowadays. More than anything, the film's music has been dubbed into three different languages and while there are some similarities, most will say they cater varying audiences. To bowl all of them over and garner the same if not more intense success is something that doesn't come easy and compliments are a must for the entire team.

Most reviews have a few lines about the downside of the films I watch but we are talking about a cult classic. Logics were bent and twisted so badly through this era that it was a norm for our hero to jump almost a full body and a half of the floor to get to his girl flying away in a chopper. Or police jeeps crisscrossing each other as they to fly to depths of doom while motorcycles will "trip" over pumpkins with heads drawn on them as a normal walking person would. But I dont write this to mock. These things were as acceptable as our hero penetrating through the state Govenor's to perform for [read: impress] his girl. But where Shankar and his team succeed is you not only overlook this but stay in tune with the story and root for the lovers to unite.

Kadhalan: A timeless classic that crossed boundaries and won more than one girl's heart.

Celebration

2011-02-08T22:34:00.002+11:00

Its that time of the year where I either get asked or ask myself if I’m a little wiser. Most years I say no since repeat mistakes, still have regret and make a complete ass of myself at times where I know I can do better. The frustration mounts more when I expect loved ones to show minimum courtesy on this day. Friends are excused since my hold on them is limited to when I see them but family have little excuse in this world of Twitter/Facebook/Smses. High maintanence-ish as it sounds; it takes very little for me to bring a smile to my face on this day. So when I don’t get that call, I put on a cynical face to the world and cry a little inside. Not because I think they don’t love me or don’t have time for me. More at the realisation that I am slowly losing touch with someone that shares my blood. After all family is family.

Yet there are those years that I feel I have learnt something. Life in that one year has taught me something. I have let go of a habit. I have buried a grudge that I held. Or at a minimum I learn I will never try cooking like my mum at high speed because it means my kitchen looks a WW2 battle ground. But jokes aside, this year I have learnt some things. I have learnt that even the deepest pain will diminish. I have learnt some people will always be malicious. And the best part, I have learnt I need to give my dreams a fair chance before throwing them out. While I am still waiting for some bonds to reform, new ones bring joy, share fun and delight to a tattered soul. I thank you for all the love, support, guidance and compassion you have shown me. This means more than I can ever say or show.

So as I shared my new year with you and celebrated it with my painting called Time, I now share with you my birthday. All I ask is that on this day that I was born, you say a prayer to those that need hope on this day, bid farewell to those that pass on this day and give a warm welcome to the new arrivals.

Fortune Teller

2011-01-25T00:00:00.001+11:00

With a little smile or maybe a hug

And she sweeps away any gloomy bug

As the cards stand guard who she is

The secrets will show another little miss

But there's never a moment is she ever fake

Feisty yet kind a great mother she'll make

So emotional blackmail, life is way too short

Whatever the desire, no compromise she does retort

Yet clever is the key word for my little pretty

And sweet too like a white chocolate cookie

Dreams and wishes packed into a bundle

With enough time to live and mingle

So lovely, the distance you travel maybe long

But sing with it like your favourite song

Time may test your strength again and again

But have courage till you reach your end

If there was anyone that I could depend on for a supportive shoulder and a creative viewpoint then this is my girl. I love her to bits and will cherish our memories. Happy Birthday, darling..

Anaganaga O Dheerudu Review

2011-01-19T16:08:00.001+11:00

***This is a republishing of my review from the Bollyspice website***

From the get go Anaganaga O Dheerudu or Once Upon A Warrior is bound to grab your attention for many reasons. One of the main reasons is that it’s Disney's first live action film in Telugu and add in that is jointly produced by the legendary K.Raghavendra Rao, it has a National Award winning director, Prakash Kovelamudi in his first full length feature, and a lead cast that consists of Siddharth, Shruti Haasan and Lakshmi Manchu and you have got a film that any film buff would want to check out. Then the soundtrack boasts of composers from the experienced to the upcoming including M.M.Keeravani [aka M.M.Kreem], Koti, Salim-Suleiman and Mickey J Meyer coming together on one fabulous OST. But with all this talent, the question remains do they succeed? Read on to find out.

Taking from the classic Good vs. Evil story-telling that is a Disney trademark, we begin with the story of Angarajyam, a tear drop shaped island that suffers under the cruel reign of Irendri [Lakshmi Manchu], an evil sorceress that possesses magic powers from a pact made with serpents [Sarpa Shakthi]. But no matter how powerful, even Achilles had a weakness and for Irendri, her powers rely on a mysterious figure that gives her a drop of blood every day. Even if she misses one day, she becomes very weak to the point of being powerless. The only way to rid herself of this dependency and to achieve her ultimate aim of immortality and power she must sacrifice a divine child by the name of Moksha [Harshitha]. With Moshka's blood, Irendri will transform from her spirit in the human shell state into the most powerful being across the land and will be virtually unstoppable. She sends her men to find the child, but Moksha is also being sought by the people of a small village called Agartha. With the ability to heal, they hope she can heal their children that suffer from mysterious diseases implanted by Irendri. They send forth a villager named Druki [Ramji] to bring her back for help. Moksha, along with her guardian, a blind warrior named Yodha [Siddharth] who lives with a painful past, and Druki, travel from the Kazi monastery in Pushpagiri to Agartha. Of course, as it is in all good vs. evil stories they don't know of the danger that lies ahead. Do they make it in time to save the children? Who is the mysterious figure Irendri relies on? Does Irendri succeed in her plan? And what happened in Yodha's past that still haunts him? The answers to these questions form the crux of the story.

Now to the performances: Siddharth is an absolute delight to watch. The way he plays Yodha makes him both lovable and dignified. As a common villager with an extraordinary talent and an enormous responsibility, he adds a human touch with the mischievous streak yet maintains the sharp wit of a warrior. Incidentally, the actor has not done an action-based role like this before, but has shown he is quite capable without the OTT six-pack bare chested poses. Shruti Haasan may be playing the typical "damsel in distress", but she is far from the ditsy "save me" type. Almost picture perfect for the role, she maintains a feisty nature, yet oozes sensuality and charm that is bound to appeal to all. Yet these two are almost gobbled up by the talented Lakshmi Manchu. Daughter of legendary actor Mohan Babu, she takes the role and transforms into a larger than life figure that will make some question if this is really her debut. A complete natural as Irendri, her voice modulation alone is bound to chill you to the bone especially as Sarpini, the serpent spirit residing in Irendri's tresses. Young Harshitha is an integral part of the story and shows confidence beyond her age. Ravibabu, Subbraya Sharma and Ramji do justice to their roles while Brahmandam and Ali tickle the funny if only for a few scenes.

Fairy tales are a hard style to pull off on celluloid and in less capable hands; a film like this can fall flat miserably. However, Prakash Kovelamudi not only infuses the right amount of human emotion and values with fantasy but also, shows it in a way that's unique and universally understandable. There will not be a moment that you will feel you have seen this somewhere else. Hats off to Prakash's imagination. The presentation i.e. the cinematography [Sounder Rajan], production design [Raj Golay] and art [Bhupesh R Bhupathi] is amazing. The visual effects team at Firefly deserve a very special mention for their work, both obvious and hidden. The detail is evident and remarkable. All four music directors leave their trademark stamp on the soundtrack as Salim-Sulaiman do what they do best with the background score, charm and enchant.

With so many pluses, what about the minuses? To be honest yes, they are there. As mentioned Harshitha is a central character so while she has done her bit and there is an explanation for her existence, a bit more depth to the character would have helped to fill out her role. Also, the dialogues of the film are meant to be folklore styled but at times, the emotion could have been expressed much stronger for a deeper connection. With such a shrewd director at the helm, editor Shravana Kartikaneni's job is made easy, but one does feel a jerk in the screenplay every now and then.

So does Disney and K.Raghavendra Rao's magnum opus Anaganaga O Dheerudu work? Yes, definitely. As a whole package the film is sure to delight its audience with great visual, amazing performances and a simple yet appealing story. Who is this film directed at? Well, the answer to that lies in the age old phrase, you are only as old as you feel. The movie enchants, bewitches and mesmerizes just like a Disney classic would and theirs is an audience that has passed several generations and continues to do so. For me it gets 4/5 stars!

Siruthai Review

2011-01-16T15:37:00.003+11:00

Remakes are somewhat taking over Tamil Cinema again and this Pongal/Sankranthi we have two releasing at the same time. The one in question is of one of my favourite S.S.Rajamouli flicks called Vikramarkudu. As Siruthai, we have a team consisting of Vidyasagar making a come back after a small break, director Siva who directed Souryam and Sankham in Telugu making his debut in Tamil and the Paiyya jodi, Karthi Sivakumar and Tamanna Bhatia in lead roles. To add a bit of masala in the mix, Karthi will be joined by Santhanam for the first time. But do they succeed in recreating the magic created by S.S.Rajamouli, M.M.Keeravani, Raviteja and Anushka that took the Telugu audience by storm? Read on to find out.

The story is pretty simple. Rocket Raja [Karthi] and his friend Kattu Poochi [Santhanam] are your average petty thieves. Picking pockets, cutting handbag straps, shaving people bald and conning wherever they can just for the sake of it. Squabbles with kids and their mothers aside, life is merry with beer aplenty and not a care in the world. Along the way, Raja encounters Swetha [Tamanna]. A rich girl from Andhra, who misunderstands circumstances and believes the stories that Raja spins. So as Cupid throws a few arrows, Swetha thinks Raja is a software engineer and Raja in turn decides on one last heist before saying goodbye to his theiving ways for good. However, what was supposed to the easiest heist of a box with more jewelry than they could imagine from a Rajasthani woman turns into a nightmare as a cop named Bharath [Rajiv Kankala] intercepts the two in a share squabble unaware they stole the box. But the biggest shocker come when they open it. Instead of jewelry, they find a 3 year old little girl named Divya[Rakshana] sleeping inside. If that wasn't bad enough, she wakes from her slumber, looks at Raja and calls him Appa[father]. Shocker number 3 comes in the form of a photo of the girls father who looks exactly like Raja. No choice of ditching and no chance of finding the father, he slowly forms a liking to the lil' one but is then thrust into a wild chase for their lives as a bunch of goons attack the Raja and Divya. Before Raja can react, he finds himself standing face to face with the man from the photo. Who is Rathnavel Pandian [Karthi again]? Why are the goons trying to kill him? How does Bharath tie into all this? Well you know the drill. Check it out to find out.

First off, by now you should know I love Karthi but this was one film, I was so worried he made the wrong choice when I heard they were remaking Vikramarkudu. Its one of those films that you cant change the characterisation and is also very hard to adapt. The film's USP is the flamboyance of Rocket Raja and the roar of Rathnavel Pandian and when the original role is done by Raviteja, you are in for some trouble. As Film critic Sri on twitter said, he is like TFI's Jim Carey. His style of acting is hard to trump or imitate. But Karthi has proved me wrong again. Considering how deftly he has handle complex character emotions in NMA, Paruthiveeran and action in Paiyya, I probably should have known better. The actor is a complete delectable delight to watch. As Rocket Raja, he tickles the funny bone so easily and with Rathnavel Pandian, you can almost feel the fire in his eyes. Some may say he is repetitive with his comedy but his quirky style of casual comedy goes up a notch and work BIG time. He may not be perfect with the dancing aspect of things but makes it up with oodles of confidence and attitude. Santhanam as his co conspirator is in top form but it would be best he refrains from using double entendres as he is awesome without them. Either way, his style of comedy and his combo with Karthi is a major plus point to the film. Tamanna Bhatia is very pretty girl and looks really good in her glamouros avatar but she hams alot. In fact, you wonder if this is the same girl that blew your mind in Ayan and Kallori, both varying genres and characters but equally appealing. Comparisons to Anushka would be futile since when Anushka did it in Telugu she was but one film old. Yet Tamanna does follow her skin show act without making that much of an impact. The on screen chemistry of Karthi and Tamanna is just passable which is disappointing. Rajiv Kankala was in the original and reprises the same role but doesn't skip a beat and invokes just as much life into his character in Tamil. Avinash as the village terror, Babuji is loud yet colourful in the comedy pieces. However, Supreet is the only one that maintains a menacing villain fascade as the rest become characatures of comedy villains, easily forgettable loud ruffians or blink and you'll miss type Juniors. Manobala and Mayilsamy are worth a mention as the formery lanky actor utilises every chance he gets and the latter gives a new angle to toilet humor. Little Rakshana does her little bit to be cute.

Camerawork by S.Velraj and art by Rajeevan is apt for the city and the slum as they brings to life the little village of Devipatnam without moving away from the plight of the villagers and also transports you to world of theives with their loot, keeping it light and fun as well. If the imagery set the mood, the dialogue drives the story home. Penned by Siva himself, the seriousness gets a little predictable but he scores brownies for comical antics of the conning duo. On the directional front, Siva sets off sparks every now and then with some brilliant adaptation but loses it a little with a dragging effect. He cleverly starts the film with a screen card stating the film is set in Andhra but will have characters speaking in Tamil to maintain the essence of the village but some may complain about the amount of new faces that are actually from the Telugu industry. Overall they perform well and fill in the gaps as required.

However, Siruthai is far from perfect. If the gore factor maybe an issue for some, the length of it is bound to make you yawn. Editing could have been little more crisp [name unknown]. Siva made a few adjustments in the screenplay that is welcomed with open arms but its the same Siva that has allowed the action sequence to be so lengthy. To an extent he has a hand in Tamanna's lack of impact too. If her hamming was one probably the lack of depth in her character adds to it. Granted its a very commercial heroine character but in could have been filled out a bit. Another major disappointment is Vidaysagar's music. The once reigning commercial film music director that has some awesome tracks to his name, seems very lost off late. Rocket Raja and Raakkamma are strictly ok. Chellam was picturised well but loses out to easily forgettable lyrics. Choreographers please take note, if your lead actors hasn't got a malleable body type, simplifying steps isn't the only solution. In some ways, Karthi's physic is apt for his character but in others, the moves make it seem like he needs a trainer.

All in all, Siruthai is your typical commercial masala film thats made watchable by Karthi.

Rating:3/5