Engeyum Kadhal Review

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.

Kadhalan Review

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. 

Dil Ka Funda..

Have you ever had that moment when you get a bunch of questions popping into your head when you hear about something or see an incident? Well, I've been reading and seeing articles about relationships for quite some time and felt compelled to write about. If not to vent my own frustration, to find out if anyone else feels the same. If you don't agree or have an answer to any of the these questions/statements, please do comment as this is something that has me somewhat dumbfounded.

Having written an article on Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif's recent break up, I have been reading a bit about what each have openly said to the media and how many articles have been written about them. But it wasn't just them that got me thinking. Now yes, I am talking about couples in the limelight of Indian Film Industry but what I witness as well is how the aam janta - my family, friends, colleagues or even people that I follow on Twitter - respond to it including their emotions, ideals and/or morals on the topic.

Its evident that as people change relationships will as well but certain fundamental principles seem to have no place in today's society. But the desire to be in a relationship and be loved by someone still stands. The issues that I have been witnessing over the last few years, and more so in the last 6 months, seems to boil down to one thing. Self. That is the importance given to oneself and ones needs/desires/wants. Ultimately, remaining in a loveless relationship and being abused either mentally, physically or emotionally is not something that I endorse but at the same time, the threshold for the common person seems to have reduced. I know that circumstances in life dont stay the same and my life is perfect example of what can happen if you hold on too long or get into something that you dont believe in. But the amount of broken relationships that one witnesses is increasing and there is no age limit to it either.

I maybe wrong in that its only now this is happening but in all honesty, the ratio of failed relationship have increased for sure. It isn't that I am looking for these situations either. As a sort of agony aunt to my friends and relatives, my exposure to relationships is limited I know but at the same time, the above mentioned articles plus the on-going buzz about certain relationships does make a impact. Further to that a friend said that I shouldn't take relationship in filmdom seriously. What is that supposed to mean? People are people. Whether your famous or not, it doesn't make a difference. The fact is  things that once had importance dont seem to exist anymore.

Yes there are people that still value the concept marriage, including myself, and family. I would be stupid to look past some of my favourite on screen couples that have proven themselves to be normal yet made for each other in real life too [Suriya-Jyothika, Ajith-Shalini, Madhavan-Sarika]. But these people are hard to come by. The concept of arranged marriage still exists but the number of times my younger cousins or non-Sri Lankan/Indian friends are me why I'm agreeing to it is testament to how absurd they feel it is. 

So while on one side you have people that see marriage as a hinderance and prefer to remain as "partners" or a "living together" couple. On the other side you have people that aren't hesitating to form a relationship even while they've been in another for years. Then you have people that have spent close to a lifetime together and separating for the most peculiar reasons. Yes, I dont know the history and there may be valid reasons for it all but like I mentioned, this is a thought of mine. Why is it that after spending so many years of their life together, couples separate for the same things that were present at the beginning of the relationship? Why does there seem to be a rush to start and end things officially? Have the traditions of 'Till death do us part' died with previous generations? There are alot of girls that I know that dont entertain the idea of living together relationships only because they cant find the right guy and there parents would have a field day. I know parents that are aware of their childrens' relationship with someone they don't approve but say that 'its an age thing, they'll get over it' as they turn a blind eye to it.

I recently read a a weekly magazine that had tidbit articles about the latest gossip topic of Prabhu Deva and Nayanthara's open affair. Beyond my opinion of this relationship, the article talks of supposed compromises between the parties and whatnot. But there was a question-answer section that said if Prabhu [Sivaji's son] and Khushbu were together now, they would have stood a better chance now than in their era. I don't know about you but that doesn't sound like a good thing to me. 

Standing by your friends is something everyone agrees on and has followed for years but where has the era gone for people who lived their lives with one person? Circumstances out of our control can forgive people who love again but in all honesty, is being someone's ex a title worth having..