Movies

2011-05-08T09:29:00.000+05:30

Geethanjali (Telugu: గీతాంజలి) is a National Award Winning 1989 Telugu film directed by Mani Ratnam, The film's score and soundtrack are composed by Ilaiyaraaja. Upon release, the film met with both commercial success and critical acclaim. It was also released in the Malayalam and Tamil languages. The title of the Tamil version of the film is Idhayathai Thirudathey. The film was remade in Hindi Yaad Rakhegi Duniya starring Aditya Pancholi, Rukhsar & Vikram Gokhale.

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Plot
Prakash (Akkineni Nagarjuna), a carefree, mischievous student graduates from College. During his celebration with his friends, he gets into a road accident. Although the accident is only minor, during medical tests, he is diagnosed with terminal cancer and has no chance of survival more than a few months. Unable to hear his mother's constant crying, he packs his bags and leaves to live in his family’s vacation home in Ooty for a few weeks.
There he meets a girl, Geethanjali (Girija Shettar), who enjoys playing pranks on people around her. In one incident, Geethanjali asks a guy to meet her in a cemetery at midnight to elope together but when he comes to meet her, she along with her sisters and friends plans out an elaborate prank by dressing up as Ghosts to scare him away. When she tries to pull the same prank on Prakash, who is already ready for this, it backfires as he pulls a bigger prank on her by dressing himself as a vampire and along with aerial wire stunts, scares her.
After being unsuccessful in scaring Prakash away, Geethanjali forms another plan in which she complains to her grandmother by saying that Prakash had asked her (Geethanjali) to elope with him. Furious at this knowledge, Geethanjali's grandmother confronts Prakash about it. Though Prakash tries his best to explain the truth, Geethanjali's grandmother chides him and began to humiliate him in the presence of the public. Prakash becomes angry and retaliates by driving Geethanjali to a hill side area and leaving her there. Later that night, Geethanjali's sister comes to Prakash and tells him that Geethanjali has still not returned home and they are getting worried about her. Prakash goes out to look for her and upon finding her shivering in cold, brings her back to her family. Geethanjali's grandmother scolds Prakash for pulling such a prank on Geethanjali as such things could have worsen her health condition. Curious at this, Prakash inquires about her health. To his dismay, he finds out that she too has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. This intrigues him as she is always happy and energetic. Geethanjali tells him that she's not worried about her impending death as everyone who lives in this world will be gone someday. She also tells him that she's not bothered about what happens in the future and she only lives for today. This teaches Prakash to take his own impending death in his stride and live life to the fullest.
Prakash began to fall in love with Geethanjali and pursues her. Thinking that this is also a part of his pranks, Geethanjali keeps putting him off initially. But one thing leads to another and soon, she too reciprocates his love. One day, Prakash's mother comes to visit him and finds out about her son's love. Not knowing that Prakash has been keeping his illness a secret from Geethanjali, his mother blurts out the truth to Geethanjali. She becomes heart-broken knowing that Prakash's condition is worse than her own. She confronts Prakash and tells him to leave her. Prakash reminds Geethanjali of her own dialogue in which she says that everyone dies one day and so will she. He tells her that his death is no exception. But a devastated Geethajali admits that his own life is more important to her than her own and she would not be able to see his death. She begs him to leave her and tells him that she doesn't want to see him again. That night, Geethanjali's health condition becomes worse and she was admitted in the hospital. After getting the news, Prakash rushes to the hospital to meet her but Geethanjali's father, who happens to be a doctor, requests him to leave as the same is the wish of Geethanjali's herself. Prakash becomes sad and decides to leave the town. At the same time, Geethanjali underwent an operation for her heart. Hours after her operation, Geethanjali slowly opens her eyes. Her whole family rejoices at her recovery. Geethanjali looks at her father and tells him that she wants to meet Prakash. The family finds out that he was planning to leave the town and rushed Geethanjali to the train station. The movie ends as Geethanjali and Prakash embrace each other in the train station.

2011-04-10T09:53:00.000+05:30

Rear Window:
is a 1954 American suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by John Michael Hayes and based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder". Originally released by Paramount Pictures, the film stars James Stewart as a photographer who spies on his neighbors while recuperating from a broken leg; Grace Kelly as his girlfriend; Thelma Ritter as his nurse; Wendell Corey as a police detective; and Raymond Burr as one of the neighbors.

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Story:
After breaking his leg during a dangerous assignment, professional photographer L. B. "Jeff" Jeffries (Stewart) is confined to a wheelchair in his Greenwich Village apartment, whose rear window looks out onto a small courtyard and several other apartments. During a summer heat wave, he passes the time by watching his neighbors, who keep their windows open to stay cool. The tenants he can see include a dancer, a lonely woman named miss Lonelyheart, a songwriter, several married couples, and Lars Thorwald (Burr), a salesman with a bedridden wife.
After Thorwald makes repeated late-night trips carrying a large case, Jeff notices that Thorwald's wife is gone and sees Thorwald cleaning a large knife and handsaw. Later, Thorwald ties a large packing crate with heavy rope and has moving men haul it away. Jeff discusses these observations with his wealthy girlfriend Lisa (Kelly) and his home-care nurse Stella (Ritter), then explains to his friend Tom Doyle (Corey), a local police detective, that they believe Thorwald murdered his wife. Doyle looks into the situation but finds nothing suspicious.
Soon after, a neighbor's dog is found dead with its neck broken. When a woman sees the dog and screams, the neighbors all rush to their windows to see what has happened, except for Thorwald, whose cigar can be seen glowing as he sits in his dark apartment. Convinced that Thorwald is guilty after all, Jeff has Lisa slip an accusatory note under Thorwald's door so Jeff can watch his reaction when he reads it. Then, as a pretext to get Thorwald away from his apartment, Jeff telephones him and arranges a meeting at a bar. He thinks Thorwald may have buried something in the courtyard flower patch and then killed the dog to keep it from digging it up. When Thorwald leaves, Lisa and Stella dig up the flowers but find nothing.
Lisa then climbs the fire escape to Thorwald's apartment and squeezes in through an open window. When Thorwald returns and grabs Lisa, Jeff calls the police, who arrive in time to save her. With the police present, Jeff sees Lisa with her hands behind her back, wiggling her finger with Mrs. Thorwald's wedding ring on it. Thorwald also sees this, realizes that she is signaling to someone, and notices Jeff across the courtyard.
Jeff phones Doyle, now convinced that Thorwald is guilty of something, and Stella heads for the police station to post bail for Lisa, leaving Jeff alone. He soon realizes that Thorwald is coming to his apartment. When Thorwald enters the apartment and approaches him, Jeff repeatedly sets off his camera flashbulbs, temporarily blinding Thorwald. Thorwald grabs Jeff and pushes him toward the open window as Jeff yells for help. Jeff falls to the ground just as some police officers enter the apartment and others run to catch him. Thorwald confesses the murder of his wife and the police arrest him.
A few days later, the heat has lifted and Jeff rests peacefully in his wheelchair, now with casts on both legs. The lonely neighbor woman chats with the songwriter in his apartment, the dancer's lover returns home from the Army, the couple whose dog was killed have a new dog, and the newly married couple are bickering. In the last scene of the film, Lisa reclines beside Jeff, appearing to read a book on foreign travel in order to please him, but as soon as he is asleep, she puts the book down and happily opens a fashion magazine.

2011-03-20T09:43:00.000+05:30

UTSAV

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Directed by: Girish Karnad
Starring: Rekha, Shankar Nag, Anupam Kher, Shashi Kapoor, Amjad Khan etc.
Year: 1984
Language: Hindi
Review: Vikas Kamat

Story Line:

Utsav is based on a classical tale of love and romance and political drama "Mrichchakatika" by poet Bhasa. It is a story of a passionate love between Vasantasena (played by Rekha), a beautiful and renowned courtesan of Ujjain and Charudutt (played by Shekhar Suman), a poor, married Brahmin. Interesting drama unfolds resulting in confusion and calamities. The brother-in-law of the king Samsthanak (played by Shashi Kapoor) is in pursuit of Vasantasena. On one hand Aryak (played by Kunal Kapoor), a political revolutionary, plots to depose the king on the other hand Vatsyayana (played by Amjad Khan), complies his masterpiece on erotics, the Kamasutra. The plots thicken and come to a climax, when Charudutt is accused of murder and sentenced to die.

Seduction of Charudutt
Rekha and Shekhar Suman from a publicity still of Utsav

A beautiful movie with stunning visuals and melodious music, Utsav captures the glory and value system of 3rd century India. However, it fails to excite the viewer on the political saga that is simultaneously unfolding.

2011-03-13T10:49:00.001+05:30

PASANGA

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It’s really good to see a film like Pasanga, must watch film for all irrespective of lanuage and age.

Debutant filmmaker Pandiraj comes out with this fantastic one – Pasanga.
This film is specially for children but at the same time it is a movie for adults as well and quite enjoyable. There are no double meaning dialogues, no exaggeration of emotions, but it is not wanting in romance, family sentiment or humour at the same time.

The story:

Jeeva Nityanandham (Sriram) is the son of Chockalingam (Jayprakash), a school teacher in a Village near Madurai. He is the school dada, who, along with his two aids, terrorizes even adults during summer holidays with their mischievous acts. At a point the residents even go to the police station, seeking protection.

All of a sudden Anbukkarasu (IAS) crosses Jeeva’s path. Anbukarasu is forced to enter the government school from a private one since his father Vellaichami (Sivakumar) cannot afford the high fees.

This is a bone of contention between him and his wife and the frequent fights which follow naturally upset the three children, and Meenakshi Sundaram (Vimal), Vellaichami’s brother.

Humiliated by Jeeva on his first day in school, Anbu, however is fired by Abdul Kalam’s message ‘to be the dream you want to be’. So Anbu calls himself as Anbukarasu IAS. Soon, the entire class is inspired by him, but the war between him and Jeeva starts affecting the lives of their parents as well.

Meanwhile, Meenakshi and Chockalingam’s daughter Soppikannu (Vega) fall in love, through cell phone contacts and lilting tunes of Illayaraja. Initially, both the families opposed the relationship but later they are convinced.

The director cleverly ties up all the loose ends with ease in the climax. The opening scenes are very novel to Tamil cinema and it has many rib-tickling one-liners. The entire cast is new, and all of them have performed like seasoned actors, including the kids. Especially, Jayprakash performs excellently well as Chokkalingam, a typical good-hearted village teacher.

Enjoy!

DUEL

2011-03-06T07:38:00.000+05:30

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Cast: Dennis Weaver
Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenplay: Richard Matheson

Duel is a wholly visceral thrill-ride that shows the potential of the great Steven Spielberg's (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Schindler's List) eye for letting the visuals tell the story. Although it has been often recycled in b-films today, in such feeble entries as Joyride, Highwaymen, Road Rage, and a plethora of others, this is still the best of them all, and probably the only one that merits a viewing. Nail-biting suspense combined with story elements almost unheard of outside of a horror film, this is a riveting experience that has a scant story and almost no dialogue, but is a quintessential showcase on how editing, music, cinematography and inspiration account for 95% of what makes a thriller truly compelling.

Story:
The story is about as basic as it gets. Dennis Weaver ("McCloud") plays a businessman on his way for an important meeting that ends up stuck behind a slow moving truck while traveling the long stretches of freeway in rural California. He passes the truck, only to have the truck pass him again, and then slow down. The cycle continues for a while, until the businessman realizes the trucker is out for a deadly game of cat and mouse, never relenting on his pursuit, making him fight for his life at every turn.

Duel works on the most primal of levels, employing a great deal of mystery as to the trucker's identity or appearance, and keeping his motivations completely to the viewer's imagination. It starts slowly, building up the premise, with Spielberg taking his time in letting the ambience of the open road envelop us. Spielberg would use this same feeling of terror through isolation in his oceanic masterpiece, Jaws, which would further solidify his reputation as one of the best showmen in the business.

It's a worthwhile thriller, ingeniously conceived and masterfully executed in almost every way. Perhaps the only thing that would make me love Duel more is if Spielberg could have made it without voicing the thoughts of Weaver's character throughout, as it seems unnecessary (at least to me). Highly recommended for all Spielberg fans, or just thrillers in general. Duel has been often imitated, but far from duplicated in sheer tension. A truly riveting and timeless b-movie concoction that feels just as exciting today as the day it was released.

HAPPY DAYS

2011-03-02T08:27:00.000+05:30

Punchline: a journey through college days

Cast: Sandesh, Nikhil, Vamsi Krishna, Raahul, Tamanna, Gayatri Rao, Sonia, Monali Chowdary and Kamalinee Mukherjee (in a guest role)

Story

Chandu (Sandesh), Rajesh (Nikhil), Shankar (Vamsi Krishna), Tyson (Raahul), Madhu (Tamanna), Appu (Gayatri Rao) and Sangeeta (Monali Chowdary) are a bunch of freshers in a college. They all together make a fine gang. Chandu - Madhu, Rajesh - Appu Shankar - Sangeeta soon build up their relation and become pairs. Tyson - a nerd with a heart of gold - ends up falling in love with a senior Sravanthi (Sonia). The rest of the story is how they spend their four years of their education in the campus and express love for their respective dear ones.

The following scenes standout:

1. The separation scene of Tyson and Sravanthi is very fascinating.
2. Rajesh’s reaction after he beats up his friend Shankar.
3. The way he ended the love thread between Tyson and Sravanthi. If Sravanthi accepted Tyson's love, then it would appear that the director is giving messages that it is ok to love your senior girls in the college.

The following dialogues are so meaningful and true:

1. Love and fear can never coexist.
2. A boy's character is judged by the kind of girls he roams with.
3. The college life may fail you to achieve great academic rewards, but it will definitely give you the ability to achieve any thing.
4. College Days are Happy Days. The days that follow college days are purposeful days.

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