Force Review

**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:

Orange Review

When someone utter the words "I will love you for the rest of my life", I'm one of the girls that tends to go "Aww"[Although if its a random, then its more WTF?!?] But is it possible for someone to be in love and stay in love with one person for their whole life? Less of a question and more as the life of a person who thinks the answer is no, is the basis to Bommarillu Bhaskar's Orange. 

Open scene: Ram[Ram Charan] screams "Its over, we have to break up.You're a psycho! I don't love you!!", naturally we want to know who he's talking about. Next he is shown defiguring a picture of Janu [Genelia]. Cue Flashbacks as to why. Ram is Mr. Honest. When he wants to learn flying, he goes sky diving. When he wants to learn photography, he takes still pictures of wildlife. When he wants to learning painting, he does grafitti. His reasoning behind his choices is that these hold truth in them. Essentially this is what sets him a part from others. Even in love, he is not the type to say he will love you forever as his firm belief is its impossible. Everyone changes, love changes them and love itself changes. Enter Janu. Love at first sight is a common factor in all love stories so no guesses here. As girl in love with love,Janu doesn't take very long to fall for Ram. But just as she thinks she found the man she is going to spend the rest of her life with, he drops the bomb. He loves her, no doubt but he will only love her for a little while. What proceeds is how Ram makes Janu, and in turn the audience, understand his belief and what happens to Ram when Janu actually does. 

First of all, let me just say Ram Charan is definitely someone that is worth keeping an eye on. Some may expect him to be a certain way given his heritage but I feel his selection in scripts is proof that he isn't going to follow the norm. Not even a shadow of his other characters can be seen yet an uber cool confidence he's shown earlier is evident.Coming to our leading ladies, Genelia intro scene seems a little eccentric but considering I've seen [and been in] that situation and in all honesty, it is after all, LOVE. Excitement is always present. She may have done the bubbly cute character before but her transition from a confused romantic fool to a confident believer in love is definitely commendable. Shazahn Padamsee is gorgeous but how one wishes that she wasn't so awkward with the dialogue. Her fresh look just doesn't cut it for the emotional scenes. Brahmanandam is always dependable for the giggles and is adorable as Puppy. Avasarala Srinivas is hardly apart of the film which is disappointing since he was awesome in Ashta Chamma. It was only a cameo but how I sorely miss seeing Prakashraj flaunt his comedic timing from Samudram, Premaku Velayera and Mozhi. As the polic inspector, you dont know his name but he is a treat. Another cameo is made by the producer Nagbabu. While his just seems like a passerby cameo, his relevance is explained. Somebody please tell me the name of the kid that plays a young Ram. I found him so adorable with his "I love you, Teacher". 

Visually, Orange is great. D. Rajasekhar and Kiran Reddy handle the cinematography superbly. Some would say that any place looks better to an outsider and Sydney is no different. Whether its the Opera house or the wildlife park, the places that I've been to many times are shown in a different light. Although I did have a giggle to myself when I saw Yarra trains during the last fight sequence considering thats named after a river in Melbourne, but thats just minor detail. However, I'm not that partial to the fact the film is not perfect. Editing by Marthand K. Venkatesh could have been more crisp as it tends to drag and repetitive effect does arise. The music and background score by Harris Jeyaraj is great but not quite to the mark that he had set in past works and has a déjà vu effect. And now to Bhaskar. A director I am fond of as I loved the maturity he has shown on screen. Without making anyone a bad person, he creates a situation that most people can relate to. Given that it doesn't take a lot for people become hesitant, the reasoning behind Ram's ideology is passable. But I felt that more depth is needed since the incidents make it seem like one person is a relationship will always dominate while the other gives in. At the same time, this is a fictional story based on social characteristics so as long as the audience takes it as a film, there shouldn't be a problem. 

So what is the final say on Orange or 'O' Range? Time pass guru. 

Rating: 3/5

Uthama Puthiran Review

Remakes are a tricky business. Sometimes, having seen the original, the audience may not want to see a remake with different cast. In other cases, the comparisons themselves act as deterrents. Then there's the flip side where the remake garners more success or recognition than the original. But from what I have witnessed it, the key doesn't lie in just the story or the cast. If the person behind the camera calling the shots doesn't have a clear understanding of his target, all hell breaks loose. Titled after the 1958 Sivaji-Padmini flick, Uthama Puthiran has Mithran Jawahar and Dhanush joining hands again after Kutty and Yaaradi Nee Mohini, two other remakes from Telugu. A remake of the film Ready [Ram and Genelia] which is a personal favourite of mine, I have been interested in this film for quite some time but quite fearful that it would fall into the trap that Kutty fell into, turning into a complete disaster with regional adaptation and miscasting of characters. Thankfully, that's not the case.

  

Siva [Dhanush] is a part of a joint family that lives together. Cheeky, fun yet loyal, he will do anything for the people he cares about. After helping his cousin Kalpana [Shriya in guest appearance] elope on the day of her wedding, his father Raghupathy [K.Bhagyraj] refuses to allow him back in the house and orders the family to not even utter his name. Missing home but still upbeat they will accept him back, Siva goes back to college. Here he finds that his friend needs Siva's help in his own elope act. But Siva's plan backfires this time as instead of kidnapping his friends' girl, he and his gang pick up Pooja [Genelia]. At this point Siva is instantly struck by cupid, but Pooja is no easy rose. Although she is grateful they kidnapped her from a pending wedding she was being forced by her uncle Chinna Koundar[Jayaprakash Reddy] to go through with, they are not going to let her off easy. The chase now begins as Siva helps Pooja to get to her friends place but on arrival they find out she is not there. With nowhere else to go, Pooja enters Siva's house and finds refuge but as she quickly becomes one with the family and in turn, recuperates theirs and Siva's affection, the lie she uses to stay with them is caught out by the family, just as she is found by her uncle Periya Koundar [Ashish Vidhyarthi] and taken away. It’s now up to Siva with the help of Emotional Ekambaram [Vivek], to convince Pooja's family and get his girl without the bloodshed they resort to in other circumstances.

As you can see this isn't rocket science cinema. It’s a love story but the central focus is the family sentiment. Considering every other film is a love story, this one doesn't fall far from the tree but the appeal is apparent with an ensemble star cast, good music and great dialogues. While Mithran has once again, brought a Telugu story to Tamil, he has made this his own film also. Unlike the Telugu film, he has changed aspects of the film and the characters which has added his own touch to it. Aiding him in a vital way is Dhanush. This is a guy that some would question his hero status but I, for one, find him to be an amazing actor in an unconventional package. Totally casual and in his element, the actor is in control and flaunts the fact he is apt for the role. Co-starring with Dhanush for the first time, this is the second role Genelia has reprised for a remake [first being Santosh Subramaniam/Bommarillu]. She is one of the few actresses which give a fresh look to her character each time and her acting just gets better. It would be unfair to say she does the same as she did in Telugu but within her well accustomed role, she shines and her chemistry with Dhanush is adorable. A special mention must be made for Jayaprakash Reddy and Vivek. Jayaprakash Reddy has a unique voice and I was worried that he would be dubbed for like other non-Tamil cast members but he surprised me by not only doing his own dubbing but successfully pulling off a distinct native Tamil accent. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for Ashish Vidhyarthi and Surekha Vani [Oy, Ready]. While Surekha scores on the acting and loses as the voice clearly doesn’t suit her, Ashish dubbing artist leaves us confused on which accent he is supposed to have. Vivek on the other hand, tones down his advise-comedy and brings the house down with his expressions.

It’s confession time. I am and have always been very wary of Vijay Antony’s compositions. Yes, they are catchy but given that he is the guy that ripped Rihanna’s worldwide hit Unfaithful and I felt that some of his compositions just don’t make sense, I wasn’t all that pleased with the selection of Music Director. But Vijay proved me wrong and I left the theatres with Ussuma Laresay in my head. However, the songs that are sure to catch your eye for the choreography or visuals would be Ulagam Unakku and Kan Irandil. You may need to watch Ulagam Unakku twice to get over the choreography and superb show of Aarthi [Padikkathavan] busting a move in time with all the boys including Dhanush. In fact, the visuals i.e art and cinematography [M. Thiyagarajan and Balusubramiam] are commendable throughout the film as well.

So what are the cons? Its length. The film isn’t perfect for sure. There are points of the story that you can feel the drag but at the same time, there is a jump in the story that leaves you wondering if the movie had pieces cut afterwards. And the climax is a dampener. While it is a family comedy, the way the director finishes the film leaves a lot to be desired, a thought I had when watching the original as well.

Rating: 3.5/5 – A nice family entertainer