My movie reviews

SaRoJa

2009-06-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

Started off refreshing and progressed with a fast pace. Before I realized I was hooked completely - especially till the part where the 4 guys find themselves completely lost in the middle of nowhere on their way to Hyderabad and struggle to save their lives from the villain and team. But very soon, I found myself lost - trying to understand what is happening and who is who - coz all the time the screen was dark and it was too hard for me to understand what is going on.

One could guess right from the beginning that the kidnapped girl is in the same place where the 4 guys land - and the two threads of the story would come together very soon. When it did happen, the rest of the movie failed to me keep the momentum. The darkness bothered me throughout - in a effort to make it realistic, it somehow hinders the viewers and obstructs them from consuming the story/movie. The climax was artificial - a fabricated twist of an unexpected villain. The fights in the end were crazy.

The actors who played the role of 4 friends were good - very natural in their job. But the screenplay failed to sustain the momentum and interest which was established in the first half of the movie. The comedy guy (Premji) was funny - but his character goes overboard with the 'craziness' of his character. I thought the mixing of his comedy in a serious situation was good once or twice, but should not have been repeated over and over.

Utter waste of Jayaram. At least Prakash Raj got some emotional scenes - but Jayaram's talents have not been utilized.

Disappointed!

SlumDog Millionaire

2009-02-04T13:29:00.000-08:00

The one Friday B and I took off, I said I have been hearing so much about this movie, I should check it out. So we went for this movie.

It was like watching any other Hindi movie to me. I had not idea about the story line - only about the awards and nominations. So I had loads of expectations about it. I appreciated the realism in portrayal of the life in an Indian slum. One can feel the pains of the two boys and live the journey of life with them. Excellent job by the director in choosing the actors to play different ages of these characters. Jamal and Salim - especially did great.

What I loved most about the movie is how each question in the show has a relevance to Jamal's life and how that is explained using flash back. It was thrilling to watch that connection, including the last question - when I loved the look of his face when he realizes he does not know the name of the Third musketeer.Ironical, but believable! Same thing with the fact that his lover cannot help him with his lifeline question. Possible, indeed!

Police capturing Jamal and torturing him did not really sound convincing me. It just feels like a means to unfold the story - Jamal has to tell it someone, so director picked this inspector.

At the end of the movie, what B and I were left thinking is - what is so great about this movie? It is just a well made movie, but could not see it being exceptional. May be the fact that the director is not from India makes it special. But even ARR's music - we have seen/heard so many of his albums better than this. The BGM was catchy and suited the moods of the scenes. I really disliked the song Jai Ho popping up - even though I liked the song, I felt it really made the movie's value go down with the girl and guy dancing. Why should the Indian movie always have a song like this? It is like reiterating to international audience that Indian movies should have this kind of a song. The movie would have fine without it.

I enjoyed the movie, but felt like we became victims to the hyped up publicity around awards. Was not super thrilled!

Vallamai Thaarayo

2009-01-19T07:35:00.001-08:00

I always liked Parthiban - his style, his ideas and his looks - there is a unique style about him. So I fell for his face in the DVD cover. Lesson learnt!

Mouna Ragam story has been re-filmed with added melodrama. Parthiban is re-doing Mohan's character this time. Nanditha(played by Chaya Singh) is the female character who is forcibly married off to Anand (Parthiban) by her father. Right from her childhood, her family always spoke about Sekhar (actor srikanth doing a guest appearance ) and her as a couple and then her dad changes his mind due some politics.

Anyway, the movie keeps dragging on and on.
Why do Indian movies have to stick to the 3 hour time frame and so many unncecessay songs?
Why can't they come to the point?
1.5 hrs was just enough to adequately put the point across, I feel.

The story is absurd, not realistic and hard to believe. I don't think any girl in this era would do what Chaya Singh's character did in this movie. Time and again, she can see that the new husband is being really nice and reasonable to her. Yet, she is adamant that she wants a divorce.
If she is so determined to live with her old lover, we don't see her making any attempt to contact him. The reason given for not contacting him is not really believable. If she goes all the way to divorce just for the sake of her old love, I don't see why she should not contact him to find out where he is and what if, he is waiting for her.

After divorce, also, Parthiban is behind her continuously letting her know that she is still the love of his life. He sends a housemaid (I guessed it right away, even though they break this suspense later in the movie) - the only valuable character in the movie - this lady takes utmost care of Chaya and supports her in her emotionally weak times. When Chaya finds out that this lady is sent by Parthiban, she is taken by double surprise to know that servant maid has not shared any of Chaya's secrets with the person who hired her. Servant maid says - "I have ethics"!

On and on the movie goes, and Chaya sees this interview in TV. Her ex is being interviewed on the road, and he reveals that he has moved on. She is shocked. And slowly she lets Parthiban into her life. Then in the end, they unite!

I wondered what a lucky girl this character is. She must have been born with a silver ladle (karandi, instead of a spoon!!) in her mouth. She was born in the richest family of her town. She always gets a good job, is always well to-do. She could not prevent her wedding from happening (her father will kill her!), but within an year, she is able to divorce him and father knows about it only when it was all done. HA HA! And she gets the world's best maid who would cook, massage and do all the work around the house. Is life so easy? And her husband is ready to win her back even after she insults/hurts him so many times. How lucky can one be?

Not worth watching.

BluffMaster

2008-12-08T12:41:00.001-08:00

Another DVD I got from my neighbor. I had just heard the name of the movie, am no Abhishek fan, so never bothered to hunt for it. Now that, I got it for free, I decided to give it a try.

It is the story of a conman, Roy, who is too proud of his bluffing skills. According to him, anyone in the world can be conned. I am not in a mood to explain the story, so to finish up this draft version of the review which has been sitting out here for a long time now- it was an interesting and catchy movie. It sure reminds me of a Hollywood movie, especially the climax - forget which one that is.

For the first time, I liked Abhishek in a movie. He always came across as expression-less to me. Here also, the role would want him to be uptight, but he managed to evoke some emotions in romantic scenes. Like I could believe that he and Priyanka are really mentally close. Priyanka is so beautiful. All the actors did their job well.

I loved the song - Ek Main Aur Ek Tu Hai..
I won't spoil the suspense for anyone, but would say it is definitely worth watching once.

Dhol

2008-12-08T11:52:00.001-08:00

Grabbed the DVD from my neighbour who has an awesome collection , which has become my main hope for B's study times, so I can kill time easily with kids by my side.

When I saw in titles that it is directed by Priyadarshan, I became alert. Hmm, this could very well be one of the movies I saw in Malayalam already. And yes it was, one of the classic comedy films etched in my memory form college times. In Harihar Nagar. In this version, the villain is in search of a DHOL (drum) which is a drum loaded with currency - used to be a doll in the Malloo version.

It is very hard to enjoy a movie if you have already seen its original. Especially one which is rated in your mind as high. Anyway, I sat down and watched it, laughed a bit here and there. I laughed for the Hindi jokes - some were original, some I knew right away what the Malayalam version of the joke is. So I could not laugh..I could only review it!

I am mostly nice to everyone - not very hard to please! So I declare that the direcor did a great job with remaking the movie - it will be real fun for the folks who have never watched the original. The actors whom he cast, the selection of the faces - I would say, he did a great job with that too. The 4 guys are good. The heroine is just a fashion babe - nothing great about her. Worth watching only if you have not seen In Harihar Nagar!

Subramaniapuram

2008-10-29T12:36:00.000-07:00

After a long time, I came across a very nice Tamil movie which captured my attention right from beginning and held on to it till the very end. So much so that, I felt compelled to watch it in one shot.

Starring: Jay, Swathy, Kanja Karuppu, Sasi Kumar, Samudhirakani. Direction: Sasi Kumar Music: James Vasanthan

It is the story of 5 (or mainly 4) friends in 1980's in Subramaniapuram, a Madurai suburb.

All these guys have beards and initially it was hard for me to tell them apart.Jay is from "Chennai 60028" movie and even though I saw that movie, I could not tell right away for sure which of the cricketer guys in that movie is this guy! I do have a guess and I think I am right.

The movie starts with the beautiful portrayal of the innocent secret love between Alagu (Jay) and Thulasi (Smitha). The scene were Alagu proves to his buddy Paraman that the girl is interested in Alagu is nice to watch. Everything seems realistic and you feel like you are living with them there in that era and at that place.

The story line reminded me of Kireedom (Lal) where to his surprise, all of a sudden, the hero finds himself a criminal and separated from the loved ones. And I was totally shaken to see what happens when the uncle convinces the girl to 'stand' for her family. I would not break the suspense now, but it is a pain to see if a woman is not strong at heart and gets manipulated by emotional blackmail, it could turn too heartbreaking for the man!

And music by James Vasanthan is great . Hard to believe it is his debut. Very refreshing!

Must see movie - if you love watching good movies!

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na

2008-10-03T07:22:00.001-07:00

"Tera Mujhse Hai Pehle Ka Naata Koi
Yunhi Nahin Dil Lubhata Koi
Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na
Maane Tu Ya Mane Na"

This is the theme song of the movie - I should say - theme song of the college gang in the movie! The song is from an old Hindi movie (aah, I googled it to remind myself of the original movie name and it is Aa Gale Lag Ja..have watched it numerous times in Chitrahaar!) .

And the motto of the movie is - However horrible one may sound singing this, what matters is the feeling beneath!

A super light movie which captivates you entirely - not using any fancy animation or visual gimmicks, but solely on the 'close-to-life' realistic acting of all the people who star in it. Kudos to the selection of artists - Imran Khan and Genelia are too cute to believe! Every actor has made a mark and it is just like watching them all in person in real life.

Songs are superb and catchy. (ARR)..especially the 'Pappu Cant Dance Saala'!

Story is not great. But the narration makes it interesting. The girl who is Jiggy's girlfriend generally does not get impressed by anything. Not at all romantic. But the gang folks narrate to her the story of Imran-Genelia pair and it is interesting to watch how quickly she gets hooked to it.And in the end, she goes to the extent of introducing herself to Imran and Genelia as Jiggy's girl friend. That was cute!

A must watch movie which will transport you to your college days for sure!

Aaja Nachle

2008-09-12T11:54:00.000-07:00

Quick note to record that I saw it and liked it. Madhuri and her dance, the movie is all about that.

Madhuri looks gorgeous, but for the slightly aged look on her face. Her body is made of elastic still and she is in great shape. She dances beautifully. Music and dance were a good treat to my senses.

Parts that made me ponder were:
1. Madhuri elopes with an American photographer to US. And how coolly, within 1 sentence, it is told that soon she discovered that she and him were not made for each other. It shows how common divorce is becoming in our soceity. She is pregnant by the time she divorces and is a single mom. And the story is not making a big deal about at all that. She portrays the role of a single mom with her individuality and personality. There does not seem a need of a man in Dia's life.A very nice and cool relation with daughter is shown too. Cute!

2. Akshay's role and acting was good.
3. I loved Konkona Sen and her acting. Always. She is really talented.

Everything else has to be taken with a pinch of salt. It is a movie, after all.
In this world, who can take the time to rehearse for a dance drama every day? I wondered if all the folks she selected for her play were jobless and that is probably why they can turn up for rehearsals without fail. Including this politician. It is like a fairy tale and we should take the story like that.

The selection of the cast for her drama and the rehearsals reminded me of 'Rang De Basanti' similar sequences. RDB scenes had a punch in them. Aaja Nachle was a good entertainer, if you dont expect too much from it.

Cassandra's Dream

2008-06-06T08:09:00.000-07:00

One more nice pick of DVD that my husband can boast of. Enjoyed the movie thoroughly, feeling the pain the brothers feel and aching with them. Brothers Ian (Ewan McGregor) and Terry (Colin Farrell) Blaine have been taught that family comes first and even when there is no one to turn to, family will always be there. Ian is an overambitious lad who is not satisfied with where he is in present life. He helps out his dad with his restaurant purely based on his love for his family, but ready to fly out far away seeking new horizons. He falls in live with this attractive theatre artist who is clearly above his class.

Terry is addicted to gambling, drinking and pills. He has a girl friend (or wife) and is planning to buy a new home. But he ends up losing a lot of money in gambling. They both buy this boat and name it Cassandra's Dream , that is the name of the dog who won the dog race and gave him the money for buying it.

The family has a really successful uncle who is the only savior when they need financial help. But the brothers are taken aback when the uncle himself is looking for help from them. And what kind of help? He wanted them to murder someone. Ian is so focussed on getting what he wants. He does not worry so much about doing this. But Terry struggles so much with this. When you see the mental struggles, at one point, even you start thinking like Ian. So what - just one murder - then was then and NOW is NOW ,after the murder is over. But Terry is unable to come out of it. Now uncle and Ian have no choice but to take Terry out. Ian cant think of doing this, but Terry forces him towards it. And in the end...I am not going to spoil the suspense.

The emotional struggles of every character including the uncles and the parents, the girl friends and the brothers are clearly portrayed. The actors did such a wonderful job playing these characters. MUST WATCH!

The Illusionist

2008-05-19T11:33:00.001-07:00

I feel so much at home with Indian movies, that it is hard for me to talk about English movies the way I review Indian movies. I always believe that language is no barrier and good movies do touch your heart and make the same impact. But I do end up going for an Indian movie selection, that is just me. But thanks to B, who keeps following the English movies and their class, I do experience the pleasure of watching them also. This is a movie he saw years back, when I dozed off to sleep. He has been asking me to watch it ever since. That happened this Saturday. Knowing it is an Edward Norton starrer was a motivating factor for me. Enough of autobiography and on to the review!

This is the story of a magician Eisenheim and how he uses his magical skills to secure the woman he loves, even though they are not in par from a social status perspective in that society. This time, I am not going to elaborate on the story. This is a must watch. Very interesting twist in the end.

Bhool Bhulaiya

2008-04-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

Knowing it is the remake of the great Malayalam movie "Manichithrathaazh", anyone who watches this movie or the Kannada remake Apta Mithra or the Tamil remake 'Chandramukhi' is bound to compare it with the original frame to frame. There is no question about it. Nothing can compare to the original movie and the talents of the stars which made it a success. The question is how successful are you in entertaining the new target audience with this theme that had been a success everywhere in the past. I don't think Priyadarshan failed in that.

Given that, I was watching the movie out of curiosity. I was not biased to keep saying to myself from scene to scene - hey, this was better in the old one. I should say I enjoyed Bhool Bulaiya and there is nothing wrong in watching it once. People who have not watched the original movie will enjoy it better because it is exposing them to this totally different story.

I liked the location where this has been shot. The palace is a great fit for this story line.

Selection of artistes is commendable, I felt. For example,Vikram Gokhale for Thilakan's role. Good fit!

Akshay Kumar has done a good job - compared to the old past when I had nothing to expect of him.

I loved the gorgeous sarees the ladies wore throughout the movie. Hmm Hmm! it is a delight to watch those colors.

One thing I noted was: it is a ditto of the original. Even the way the actors stand or react has been copied from the original.

Amisha Patel has been wasted totally.

About climax dance sequence and emotional scenes - Vidya Balan's performance looked artificial to me compared to Shobana's. I liked Soundarya's performance in ApthaMithra better. Jyothika overacted in the whole sequence with some black paint around her eyes in the Tamil counterpart.

There is only one person who did the same role he did in Malayalam in this Hindi movie. Vineeth! I think it is an achievement that he still looks the same and is able to fit in the same role after these many years.

The conclusion is, Manichithrathazh rules!

Laaga Chunari Mein Daag

2008-04-01T09:44:00.001-07:00

I saw Rani Mukherjee and Konkona Sen Sharma on the DVD cover. I had no idea about the story or the director Pradeep Sarkar. Later I found that he is the one who directed 'Parineeta'. Anyway, I picked the DVD up trusting those faces. Konkona looked promising to me!

I did not regret the decision at all. I ended up enjoying the movie - a good one after a long time.I think it is a movie girls will enjoy and not guys.

Badki (Rani Mukherjee) and Chutki (Konkona Sen) are two sisters living in a palace which is falling apart. The relation between the sisters is painted so colorfully, interleaved with breathtaking cinematography of the Banares river banks in the song 'Hum To Aise Hain Bhiya'. I could not help humming that song - very catchy! During this song, the director conveys all the background of the story and their family situation. I could not stop wonder - who looks better, Rani or Konkona..not just from beauty perpective, but also the acting and the charm. Very good selection of cast.

Dad Anupam Kher is busy with buying lottery tickets and waiting for luck to kick in. Mom Jaya Bhaduri (so sad, she has turned so old..Guddi of old times..cant believe it..but well, she does a very good job with this role) is sewing petticoats day and night to make money for the family's living. They are constantly threatened by uncle and his rowdy son with whom a case is ongoing for the house.

Rani is emotionally upset that dad says 'If I had a son..' and sets out to Mumbai to shoulder family financial responsibilities. Now with the title - Laga Chunri Mein Daag - (meaning my dupatta is soiled)!, you can very well guess what is going to happen. But the way it is portrayed makes it interesting.

A commendable scene is when Rani calls her mom from Mumbai. She is faced with the decision on what course her life should take and her mom is totally lost in the frantic hunt for money to save dad's life in hospital. It was very nicely picturized.

You can debate on why Rani chose the path she chose. But then that is the basis of the story. Accept and move on.

The movie I was constantly reminded of was K.Balachander's 'Arangetram'. It has the same theme where a girl is forced into prostitution to become the breadwinner of the family. I kept on following LCMD story as it progressed, to see where it will differ from Arangetram. It did differ, and very beautifully. When Konkona Sen comes to know of how her sister has been earning money for the family, she did not react like KamalHassan did as the younger brother of the Arangetram heroine. Typically, even in real life, the reaction would be - oh My God, you sinned. How could you do this? etc. But the director did win my heart when Konkona said - everybody else should be sorry for putting Badki through this.

I would like to compare the rest of the movie to Vikraman's movies - where the story revolves around all nice people - and it is all about niceity (is there such a word). Those films always became hit. There is a positive message radiated from his movies.

It feels good to see a sister who understands Badki's reasons and tries to stand for her. It is a good change from the usual melodrama of complaints and curses. Abhishek's arrival also can be excused for the same reasons. It is good to see someone who accepts Rani knowing what her profession was. Reality could be different, but who can say that there are no such nice people on earth.

Kunal was really cute. Worth mentioning here.

This movie is definitely worth a watch.

Photographer

2008-01-23T08:20:00.000-08:00

Quick review just to record that I watched this movie! This Mohanlal starrer directed by Ranjith Pramod got released in 2006. It is worth watching once for sure.

Dijo John (another Mallu name with a J!!! Grrrrr!) is a photographer whose pictures he submits to even National Geographic magazine. He goes to a Adivasi village and walks around with a little Adivasi boy Thaami to capture nice pictures. One day, police shoots Thaami's dad and sets fire to their homes. The little boy is now orphaned and Dijo is very sympathetic towards him. But Thaami is a threat to the police and politicians behind this. The movie revolves around the series of events that change the course of Dijo's life.

The relationship between Dijo and his son is portrayed very well. Same with the relation between Thaami and Dijo.The actress Neethashree acted very well - she has a magic button to launch tears I think.

When Dijo is released from CBI custody, I thought he is going to catch a bus or train to go back home. Could he not have asked for their help or at least I dont think the officers released him saying ' now you walk through the forest and take this challenge to swim across the river and get back home' ! What is the point of releasing him..I think director got extremely confused at this point. All the scenes of Lal wandering through the forest came out of nowhere and kept dragging on and on.

The double role of Lal came as a surprise too. There was really no need for this character, but nevertheless I accepted it thinking this is how the director commercializes the movie.There is some comedy woven around the intercaste marriage issues - especially the paatti made me laugh! Very realistic! There is action and tears and some very beautiful songs. Pulchaadi keeps buzzing in my ears still. Lot of actors appear and disappear wihout making a mark in the movie - Ganesh and Saranya Bhagyaraj to name a few.

A serious movie which tries to add commercial elements here and there lest it would be branded an award movie. If you are willing to tolerate the commercial elements inserted artifically, it is definitely an entertainer for 3 hours!

Tare Zameen Par

2007-12-31T08:53:00.000-08:00

Directed by Amir Khan - these words set high hopes in me. Having got an opportunity to watch it in the big screen with my dear friend without worrying about entertaining my 2 year old (thanks, B!) , I instantly grabbed it. I came out of the theatre extremely contented - having done what I love to do - watch quality movies in theatre,especially Indian movies and enjoy every moment of it.

It is a very different theme - it is about a third grader Ishaan who is suffering from Dyslexia .Typical Indian father does not try to find out what is causing his son to fail in 3rd grade repetitively and forces him to go to boarding school. The boy is creative and can do excellent paintings, but this not viewed as of any use to practical life by the dad. Looks like mom is nice, but is helpless because Ishaan is not showing any signs of improvement in studies. Ishan stops expressing his feelings totally and becomes a quiet loner in the new boarding school.

Art sir Amir Khan enters the school, he spots Ishaan and recognizes the symptoms right away - having gone through all the pain Ishaan is going through, in his own life. How he turns Ishaan around emotionally and academically is the rest of the story.

Plus Points of the movie
1.Excellent direction by Amir
2.Excellent acting by the boy ( I would give credit to Aamir also for this for envisioning and crafting this character )
3.Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy compliments the story so very well. This is how music and songs should be.
4.Lyrics are so beautiful and have expressed the boy's feelings accurately.

Scenes that made special impact
1.Ishan's shudder when the car door closes when he is dropped off to boarding.
2.Amir's meeting with Ishan's family and the dialogue about how the boy disguises his incomptence in the form of naughtiness and how even that outlet got crushed in the boarding school.
3.Amir's lecture on geniuses who had learning difficulties and the name he privately mentions to Ishaan ...'ek aur hai jo itna famous nahin hai..' and you think he is going to say Ishaan and he says Nikumbh...
4.The shot when the painting Amir made is revealed - I could not control my tears.
5.When Ishaan wins the first prize, how he comes and hugs Amir..it was moving, to say the least.
6. All the communication from the boy to Nikumb is poetic.

Negatives:
1.Why does not Ishaan tell the parents that 'akshar naach rahe hain' seriously? I mean, he is old enough to describe the symptoms, isn't he?
2.After a point in the first half, it felt like the movie is dragging, ok, come to the point, that is what we want to say then!

Issues like this are small and can be forgiven completely - because the movie conveys the intended message quite beautifully! A must see!

Satham Podathey!

2007-12-13T12:12:00.000-08:00

Having seen Mozhi, seeing PrithviRaj on the DVD cover and seeing Vasanth's name as director made me grab the DVD. I felt I am so lucky to get the DVD so early and I was sure it is going to be a great movie!

The movie started and it was really impressive - how the character of Nitin Satya is introduced and how he gets married to PadmaPriya. The viewer is taken aback by surprise and shock to learn from Nasser that this guy is a member of Alcoholic Anonymous and that he used to be an alcoholic to the extent that he turned impotent. He has even murdered a kid by accident due to drinking and driving.He lies to Nasser that he married a girl who also has issues and cannot become a mother.

Nitin's acting is genuine. His character has been crafted very well. It really shocks you all the time how he manipulates her feelings and deceives her by playing innocent. She forgives him and all his deeds based on just one thing - he is honest and he is open about everything and he has never done anything bad by intention.

One day, as expected, she has to come to know of the truth too Nasser only and that happens when Nasser makes a routine 'Alcoholic Anonymous' call to Nitin's wife to see if she is being treated well or not. She explodes to Nitin and he for the first time, is in front of her, with all his secrets revealed. She divorces him.

OK, up to this point, everything is fine with the movie. From this point on, the story is predictable and the way things are told is not convincing to the viewer. Prithiviraj, is Padmapriya's brother's friend. He wants to marry her - there is NO PROPER FOUNDATION laid (that's the term me and dad often use) for this desire. Just by hearing her history, he decides that he can marry her. It is interesting to watch PrithviRaj helping her and finally she likes him and they get married. All is well...well now you can PREDICT that the old husband is going to enter their lives. From this point, the whole movie is artificial and stupid. Totally predictable and totally unreasonable!

PrithriRaj, PadmaPriya and Nitin have done well as actors. Music by Yuvan Shankar Raja is catchy. Well, I was just regretting how the first half was built nicely and how the second half was complete trash. All we felt at the end of the movie is disappointment with the story and direction. Could have been a much better piece of art if crafted well.

Hey Babyy

2007-12-05T07:36:00.000-08:00

Have you admired someone on the screen when he/she was a novice and you knew right away that this person is going to be a huge success? Have you, after some years,stumbled upon his new commendable work and told yourself 'I knew this was going to happen'! You feel like you are the director who spotted the talent in the person and brought it out and you are proud of him as though you are the Balachander for Rajinikant or Kamal! If you are not laughing reading these lines, I am sure you have felt the way I feel sometimes about some celebrities.

One such person is Sajid Khan! Years back, when I was a working spinster, I used to enjoy watching Superhit Muqabla and laugh out aloud when Sajid Khan compered.He was never afraid to humourously comment on any actor and he spared none. He appeared in another show regularly - I would wait each week to watch these shows and admired his sense of humor. I would compare him to S.Ve.Shekar or Vivek for the boldness on commenting on people.

I had heard of the movie 'Hey Baby' with a similar story line as ThoovalSparsham in Malayalam. Seeing Sajid Khan's name as the director was quite promising. And I started watching the movie. It was a hilarious movie which made me laugh out loud more than any other movie recently. The diaper flying out and landing on Akshay's face is not one that would make me laugh, though!

Songs are catchy. There is a melodious song 'meri duniya tu hi re' with a nice humming. 'Dil Da mamla' is an absolute hit for any dance party. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy are the music directors and have done a nice job.

Akashay,Ritesh and Fardeen Khan are the 3 bachelors. Vidya Balan is gorgeous.It is definitely worth watching more than once - to understand all the hidden jokes completely.

Congrats to Sajid on his first venture as a director! Wishing him many more!

Vettai Aadu Vilayadu

2007-12-05T07:12:00.000-08:00

I have been waiting to get hold of this DVD since a long time. The movie got released in 2006 and you can see this is too late for an ardent Kamal fan to watch his movie. I had not read much about the story line, so it all came as a surprise to me.

What struck me most is the violence in the movie. The screenplay is well done. The whole movie was so gripping - shocking me with the characterization of the devilish duo - the two mentally corrupt boys who are the villains of the movie, yet like heroes since the story revolves around them. Kamal is the police officer who chases them and tracks them down. It did not feel too much like a Kamal movie, it is the thriller story and the direction that stand out more than Kamal. He has carried himself very well as a police officer and has done a good job by not overdoing anything. The part with Jyothika was good too.

I started watching the movie with my son, but soon realized this is not kid stuff at all. I coaxed him to go to sleep and put both the kids to sleep and literally ran back to resume the movie. I sure could not sleep without finishing it. I enjoyed the movie as a whole.

What it left behind in me was the feeling of how vulnerable we are in the world. This world could be full of many such people like the two young men - who seem like they are dangerous perverts right from birth. All we can do to be safe in this world is to pray God to keep us away from such characters.

All songs are nice. Harris Jayaraj should receive the credits for that. I have byhearted the songs by playing them over and over in the car.

Worth watching once!Preferably after the kids are asleep.

Chak De India

2007-09-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

OK. I like Shah Rukh Khan. But I am not the kind who will blindly say that if he is in a movie, it is great. This movie is REALLY GREAT!

Story begins with how the star player of Indian hockey , Kabir Khan, loses the world cup match to Pakistan and is blamed of match fixing. His whole life changes and he absconds from the world of Indian hockey. 7 years later, he comes back determined to make India's Women's hockey team win the World Cup. OK, now dont be a pest and ask where he was for these 7 years and why he suddenly decided to comeback as a coach now...you should let go somethings..and enjoy the movie..

Here is his team - girls from different states of India - different cultures, different languages, focussed on their ego and the state they represent - far away from the idea of team play. This is a totally new challenge - 'jo nahin hoga wohi to kar dikhana hai' - that is Kabir's point. The committee has no hopes with the Women' s team and even rejects permission to represent India in the World cup.

How Kabir struggles to bring them together as team is portrayed very well. Each girl has acted well - special mention goes to to the TomBoy girl and the girl who gives Kabir the hardest times by being egoistic and non cooperative. I am not going to elaborate the story here. Please do watch it for the well written script and wonderful screenplay. No junk songs, no slapstick comedy. Shah Rukh has played so well as Kabir by underplaying emotions, I should say. No overacting this time. Kudos to the director for crafting Kabir's character the way it is without trying to glorifying him. He had a done a good job with building each girl's character uniquely. Enjoyed it when the 'tomboy' girl asks 'saree pehnnna zaroori hai kya' when they are in the welcome reception.

I was reminded of 'Jo jeeta wohi Sikander' even though the theme in that movie was cycle race at school level. It is compared a lot to 'Lagaan' where the sport was cricket, but I do not remember a lot about Lagaan.

Above all, the feeling of patriotism that fills you and thrill and suspense you feel each minute of the hockey game are the success of the movie. If you get goosebumps on many scenes in the movie and would feel like shouting out 'Chak De India' with those girls, I would consider you a normal Indian!

Mozhi

2007-08-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

Very different theme. Karthik (PrithviRaj, son of Sukumaran , Malayalam actor) is impressed by the boldness of Archana (Jyothika) who beats up a drunkard on the road who was abusing his wife. It is only later that he finds out she is deaf and dumb - and is impressed by the way she expresses that fact proudly and casually to the nurse in the hospital. He falls in love with her and constantly thinks of how she must be perceiving this world. He tries to experience what she feels and so fills cotton in his ears deafening himself.

I loved the part where even though she cant listen to music, she catches the beat/rhythm and tries to follow it when cutting her vegetables . The scene were Karthik gives her the musical experience by placing her hands on the speaker and conducts the music was a totally innovative idea.

I have always liked PrakashRaj and he is extremely lovable in this movie. He has handled his role very nicely and I enjoyed the humour throughout.

Jyothika has done a splendid job of portraying the difficult character - when she expresses her fears of getting married and having a kid with the same conditions as her.

The director (debutant, right?) has done an great job of doing justice to this unique theme. He has also made each character in the movie memorable and crafted them with their unique characteristics.

Songs were superb (Vidyasagar's music). 'Sevvanam selai katti' was the first one to catch my attention and after a while, I moved to 'Katrin..' by the male singer. It is melodious and has me tapping my feet - and I do love the part where 3 of them stand on the black and white stripes on the road and play an imaginary piano on it. This CD is playing in my car more frequently nowadays. Lyrics are wonderful too - but after a while I felt it is the same concept in all the songs over and over.

A must watch movie. One of the best movies in Tamil cinema this year.

Rajamanikyam - Superb Comedy!

2007-08-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

This wont be a super long post. I just want to briefly record the satisfaction and the 'clear mind' feeling that I experienced after watching this Malayalam movie starring Mammootty. I have heard so much about this movie being a super hit and really funny. I had lot of expectations - I should say that in spite of that, the movie did not disappoint me. I could not help laughing out loud after hearing Mammootty talking in Trivandrum dialect.

It was like watching the movie 'Sivaji' where once Rajini (hero) starts scoring victories and there is no stopping him. Even though in real life, it is impossible for anyone to be that lucky. Who can deny the fact that, in screen, when a super star does that, there are no questions asked, you just enjoy it. Once Mammotty starts blasting dialogues (not the Suresh Gopi way, but it a very humorous way in Trivandrum language), it just gets better and better.

The real hero is the script and the hilarious dialogues. And the choice of super star Mammootty who is generally not accepted to have the capacity to handle a comedy role. He has disproved all such allegations in this movie. He has done equal justice to sentimental scenes as well. First half moved so quickly and was more funny than the second half.

I am going to watch it at least 2 more times, to grasp all the fun in the dialogues I failed to capture fully the first time.

Definitely worth a watch..it lightens your heart!

Piya Ka Ghar

2007-07-26T06:21:00.000-07:00

Picked up this DVD from the local Indian store for the following reason. I still remember how much I liked it way back when I watched it in Doordarshan. I was sure that it would still bring back the same feelings of watching a quality Hindi movie with simple people in it.

It is the story of a young village girl who grew up pampered by her rich uncle and parents. She gets married to a young man from a joint family living in a chawl in Mumbai. You can imagine a chawl as this multi storeyed flat structure with more people in each apartment than it could possible accomodate.The rent is cheap so the families living there could not think of moving elsewhere - that is all that they can afford.

Malti(Jaya Bhaduri) finds it hard in this house with someone or the other always intruding the privacy. Ram (Anil) wants to get to know her and talk to her, but she can never be herself in those surroundings. The movie humourously walks you through the struggles Ram goes through to steal a private moment or two with his new bride and how each such plan fails. He gets tips from his friend as well as elder brother. They all get out of the house to let Anil be home with his wife, but here comes a guest. Elder brother suggests to Ram that he should get away for a whole day with his wife.

That is what they do. After roaming around Mumbai with 'Bambai shehar ki chal main tujhe sair kara doon' song in the background, Anil tries to get a room in some hotel as suggested by Bhaiya. That is what Bhaiya-Bhabhi had discovered as a solution to the same problem. But how that lands them in an embarassing moment and how that ruins the day is shown very nicely.
At the end of the day, Malti tells her husband that she needs to move to a new house. Or she wants to go back to her village for a break from all these troubles and Ram has no choice but to agree.

When they come back home, they see Malti's uncle raising a tantrum seeing the size of the house they are all living in. Malti is also overcome by emotion seeing her uncle that she bursts into tears. Uncle vows that he will take her back home. Ram's mom requests him to leave her behind for just one more day and he agrees.

The next day each person in the family contemplates on how to prevent the uncle from taking the Bahu back. Bro and SIL even come to the decision of living separated for some months away from this house so Malti gets more space in the home. Parents in law decide to go on pilgrimage for some months so Malti can have more privacy. Neighbours/friends who are always playing cards in this home arrange for money so that Ram can get a rented home.

Seeing all this, Malti is touched - Mumbai homes have less space, but the hearts of the people who live there are much bigger. When uncle comes to take her away from that home, she tells his she chooses to live there. When everyone is ready to leave the home just so she can live there, it is just not right to reject their love and go back to the villa in the village. When there is closeness in hearts, the lack of physical space in the home does not bother her anymore.

JayaBhaduri in her best plays the role of the youing girl.Anil Dhawan is the handsome bridegroom. Songs are good and melodious - especially "Ye jeevan hai Jeevan Ka Yahi Hai Rang Roop'.

Simple movie with a beautiful message.