Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Two-in-One Post :Paa Review and Besant Nagar Round-Up

Here is another two-in-one post amidst my punishing deadlines. Again the post is about my favorite subjects. You would have guessed it right if you had even taken a glance at my previous posts. Yes.The post is about Movie and Shopping.

Paa-A Review

I visited Sathyam theater to watch Paa recently. As I was waiting in the lounge for the show to begin, I was looking forward to watch a grate movie.The movie had also set the bar very high in its very first reel itself.I would have been disappointed even if the movie, as it progressed, failed to meet my expectations by a few brownie points.Instead, it maintained its standard till the end.It is a must watch for all in particular, for the differently-abled. The director could have made Auro (played by Amitabh Bachan), a child affected by progeria to sing a sonnet on account of his rare illness throughout the movie. Instead he has depicted his character as a witty and humorous one. This is one of the strongest points of the movie.The director, R.Bala Krishnan should be appreciated for the script and his exceptional narration. The jokes that auro cracks with a touch of brilliance is amazing.For instance, in the climax scene, when the whole family was grief-ridden, Auro says to his grandfather (Paresh Rawal), who talks seriously to him that the visiting hours is over. Amitabh Bachan has stolen the whole show through his extraordinary actions. The actor, whose experience in the industry spans for four and half decades, has carved a niche for himself in this film. Special accolades for the make-up crew for the prosthetic make-up. Amitabh's make-up brings a child affected with progeria alive. Abhishek Bhachan has also proved that he is an exceptional actor through his subtle actions and exceptional emotions. Vidya Balan is gorgeous and looks like a woman to die for.In her present looks, she can easily be passed off as the mother for a 12-year old. However, she should shed a few pounds for the other stylish roles. Other actors such as Arundathi Nag (Vidya's mother), Paresh Rawal have done full justice to their respective roles.

Ilaiyaraja has proved that he is a meticulous musician.Though he has taken a leaf out of his previous works, the music is soothing and compliments the movie well.Another interesting aspect of the movie is the brief climax. The director could have dragged the climax and left a depressing hangover in you.But he has made the climax short and sweet without making you to reach out for a hand kerchief. At the end of watching this movie, I felt happy for witnessing a brilliant movie in my lifetime.

Besant Nagar-A shopping Round-Up

This Saturday I visited Besant Nagar with one of my friends, Niranjani.We kick-started our day with the lunch in the PlanetYum in the Besant Nagar beach. Then, we headed to a bag mall called Dora bag mall near Velankanni Church in Besant Nagar.The shop is a heaven in the earth for bag lovers. I was amazed to see two room full of bags in all possible varieties in this shop. For patient and decisive buyers, there is no dearth of choice. But others will have a difficult time to arrive at a decision. If you come as a family, you will find bags, purses and pouches for everyone in the family.For ladies, they have formal office bags, party bags, clutches, jute bags, beach bags and the list is never ending. Similarly, for guys, they have purses, office bags, and pouches.For kids, they have school bags, lunch bags etc They have bags for all occasions-travel, evening outing, party, dinner etc So if you are a bag freak , don't wait. Head straight to Dora bag mall.

Then, we continued hunting for new shops in Besant Nagar and its nearby areas . We went to a shop called Mishmash in Valmiki Nagar in Thiruvanmiyur. I heard about this shop in a TV program. From the moment i heard about it, I couldn't resist dropping by. But what I witnessed after reaching there was a small room (read store room) with all the nice stuffs sourced from various locations of the world and the country. Even a small box, which will leave you wonder what its utility is, will burn a big hole in your pocket. But if you want to source some stuff from some foreign land, then you can get in touch with the owner of the shop. She seems to know what to source from where. At last, wanna know what we bought on that day? A son papdi in Tiruvanmiyur beach .

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Two-in-One Review: The Secret and Wake Up Sid

The Secret Movie-A Quick Review

Recently, I bought "The Secret" movie from The Landmark. Believe me, purchasing the DVD was such a herculean task. I had to place the order and then wait for a call from the Landmark personnel for grabbing hold of this self- help documentary. Though "The Secret" movie was released first and the book was made available subsequently, I had read the book first and bought the movie only later. "The Secret" movie is distributed through DVD and internet (streaming media).It contains a series of interviews of around 25 authors. The packaging of the movie is awesome just like the packaging of the book. The quality of the picture and sound, the demonstration of the concepts of the law of attraction through appropriate scenarios, the background music and the interviews of some of the experts of the law of attraction are the pluses of this movie. The major shortcoming of this movie is its length. The teachings could have been crisp and short to suit the movie format. Then, the downsides of "The Secret" book are also applicable to the movie (read the review of "The Secret" book here). However, I enjoyed reading the book more than watching the movie. It doesn't mean that the movie is anything less than that of the book. I personally enjoy reading self help books than watching as movies. But if you enjoy watching motivational videos and lack the much needed impetus to lead a happy life, then "The Secret" movie version will appeal to you.


Wake Up Sid-A Brief Review

Here is another review of a mainstream movie, Wake Up Sid. As the title sugests the movie is about a boy, Sidharth, who wakes up to the hard realities of life.The movie is a splendid entertainer. Ranbir Kapoor perfectly fits for the "boyish" Sid role. He steals the show through his innocent expressions and natural actions.Incidentally, his slim figure and cute face makes his job easy. His performance is completely convincing that it is hard to believe that he is only acting as Sid and not Sid in the real life.Konkan Sen Sharma has also done full justice to her role as an ambitious writer who makes a positive influence in the life of Sid. Other supporting actors such as Anupem Kher (Sid's father), Supriya Pathak (Sid's mother) have fulfilled the demands of their respective roles. The music complements the movie well and adds value for the narration.We can give a thumbs-up for the song "The Wake up Sid" rendered by Shankar Mahadevan. Apart from the "Bombay" controversy, there is no major downside in this movie.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Arundathi:My View

I seriously regret for watching this movie in the first place.Since I am not in a mood to draft a proper review, I simply provide my general insights about this movie.The reason I wanted to see this movie was it is said that this movie is doing well in the box offices in Tamil Nadu.My quest to understand the "why" behind it instigated me to watch the movie.

The plot is Arundathi is a brave princess of an empire.She buries her devil brother-in law, who had acquired super natural powers to take revenge of her, alive.Even after his death, his devil spirit remains in the old palace, where he was being buried alive. Arundathi reincarnates into the same family again as Arundathi after one generation .The evil spirit of the buried brother in-law is still waiting to take revenge of Arundathi.In this battle between the evil and good, how the good destroys the evil power forms rest of the story.

Pluses
Anushka's appearance and her body language


Minuses
A very high dosage of superstition( a general phenomenon in all the mystery thrillers)
Absence of a gripping story( the story is not new)


The conclusion is I couldn't able to find the "why" part that I set out to find.

My Movie Collection















I have quite an enviable collection of movies(Mostly Hindi and Tamil).However, you will be surprised to know that I haven't watched more than half of the movies that we have. The reason is I watch the same movies over and over again.Hope I clear the backlog gradually.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Movies Again!

This post and the previous post is dedicated to movie enthusiasts like me. I am unleashing my strong liking for movies in this post.Hope you enjoy!!

My most favorite genre : Diaspora
I have watched all the popular diaspora movies, such as Monsoon Wedding, Bend It like Beckam and Hyderabad Blues.

My second most favorite genre : Mystery Thrillers
I love movies that keep me on the edge of the seat with suspense and twists.

My least favorite genre : Science Fiction
I don't like science fictions at all. I am not a kind of person who would appreciate machines, technology, discoveries etc (that's the reason why I skip most of the Hollywood movies)

Here goes the list of my favorite movies:

English
  1. Sound Of Music
  2. My Fair Lady
  3. Home Alone
  4. Sixth Sense
  5. Titanic
  6. Omen
Diaspora
  1. Monsoon Wedding
  2. Hyderabad Blues
  3. Bend It Like Beckham
Tamil
  1. Mouna Raagam(my all time favorite)
  2. Anbe Shivam
  3. Vetri Kodi Kattu
Hindi
  1. Chak De! India
  2. Guru
  3. Parineeta
  4. Fashion

Monday, March 30, 2009

All About Movies

I am a complete movie buff.I should say watching movies is more than my hobby.I like any movie with an acceptable story line.But I hate movies that would make me feel down. If a movie create a depressing hangover, no matter how brilliant the direction, narration or technology, I don't want to watch it.I feel such movies would poison my thoughts.I will not recommend such movies to others as well.

Do you know movies communicate directly with your subconscious mind? When you watch a movie in a big 70mm screen with the accompanying sound effects in a closed environment, you are completely under the spell of the movie. You tend to imbibe the subtle concepts that are blind to your conscious mind, at a subconscious level.In other words, you cannot make a conscious choice of accepting or rejecting an idea that is conveyed in the movie.For instance, if you watch a scene of the antagonist killing innocent people, you tend to relate yourself with the victims.You will feel as if you are one of the victims.This impact is also long lasting.You will be in the same frame of mind for two or three days. If the idea and the portrayal is powerful, it can even last for months or years and more often than not, it becomes permanent.

If this is the case with adults, then imagine the impact of bad movies on children.The children could perceive the bad situations and people that are portrayed on the movies as real.It can make a permanent dent in their attitude, feeling and personality. So encourage your children to watch movies that would promote peace, happiness and well-being.Ensure that you and your family watch movies that only make you feel good.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Yavarum Nalam: In My Point of View

The mystery-thriller genre has been explored by many directors in many ways. The Tamil cinema industry or rather the Indian cinema has left no stones unturned in this genre. If these statements echo your opinion, then you should definitely watch Yavarum Nalam.

The Plot
Manohar(Madhavan) and his family, which comprises of his wife(Neetu Chandra), mother (Saranya Ponvannan), sister, brother(Sanjaih Bokaria),sister-in-law (Ameetha), nephew and niece move into a new apartment, which is on the thirteenth floor. At this juncture, Manohar senses a string of strange things happening around him(and his family) since they moved to the apartment. The milk gets over-burned everyday, the puja room could never be up, the lift never works for Manohar alone, and again the camera in the mobile phone could never take a perfect picture of him alone. Being oblivious of all these happenings, the women folk at home, who are very enthusiastic and crazy about the mega serials, venture into watching a new mega serial called "Yavarum Nalam".

An already puzzled Manohar happens to watch this serial on a lonely afternoon. To his utter shock, the serial reflects his life and depicts a close-knit family like the one he has. The incidents that unfold in the serial starts to get reflected in his life and home. Initially, the incidents in the serial are happy and the same gets replicated in his life also. When the incidents in the serial are not good, things in Manohar's life also turns towards the worst. Sooner or later, Manohar starts turning to the serial to foresee incidents that could happen in his life. Also, being bewildered by these coincidences, Manohar tries to find the person behind the making of this serial. At this point, more surprises were in store for him. He finds out that Yavarum Nalam is not a mega serial....but, a game show hosted by popular actor Khushboo.Then, how the mega serial is being telecast in his television alone by 13:00 hours everyday and who are the cast? Manohar in league with his friend, who is a police officer discovers the unholy secret behind this mystery. In this process, how Manohar saves his family from an unprecedented danger forms the rest of the story.

The Cast
The cast includes Madhavan, Neetu Chandra, Saranya Ponvannan and others. All the actors have lived upto their roles. They bring the upper middle class family alive. In particular, Madhavan has played his part well.This movie marks the comeback of Madhavan after a while. After a couple of failures in Tamil, he has once again clinched success with this movie.He has proved himself through his exceptional emoting skills.Neetu Chandra, looks apt for this role.Others are pillar of support for moving the story.

The Crew
The director Vikram K.Kumar should be appreciated for his treatment of this story. He should particularly be appreciated for not using the cliches of the horror/mystery thriller genre. You cannot see the elements that you have seen in the other horror movies, such as tapping of the doors and windows in the air, growling of the dog, a young woman clad in white saree walking amidst the snow etc He should also be appreciated for using the mundane and inanimate things such as television, mobile etc as elements of horror.

But he could have avoided few flaws that are obvious even to the eye of a common man. For instance, in a particular scene, Madhavan pulls out "The Hindu"newspaper from the hands of a woman in the hospital and when he flips to the television program guide section, it is printed in Tamil. Similarly, how Madhavan alone could sense the similarity of the serial, "Yavarum Nalam" with that of their lives, that too, by watching only one episode of the soap? How come the women, who watch the serial from the day one with at most interest and addiction are completely oblivious about it? Why Saranya, who always discusses about soaps with her friends, doesn't discuss about the serial "Yavarum Nalam" alone? The director has failed to address these pivotal issues in this movie.Another hitch that I felt is that why the doctor who believes in the "after-life" of living beings doesn't take any precaution to safeguard himself from the "spirits".Why he didn't expect that he is vulnerable to them?

Given the fact that the director has tried his hands for the first time in the mystery thriller genre and this is just his second film and he has dished out something refreshingly new, we can forget the mistakes in this film and expect more from his future projects.

Now coming to the cinematography, P.C Sriram has proved his mettle as a seasoned cinematographer. He has simply created a "magic" with his camera throughout the film. Whats more? His camera is the real hero of the film.In particular, the lighting sets the right mood of the movie. The use of different lighting for different parts of the movie is brilliant.The duet song featuring Madhavan and Neetu Chandra has a bright sunshine kind of lighting, one of its kind that I have ever seen in a horror movie.The flash back part is shot in black and white taking us for a ride down the late 70's. Even the most mundane elements in the movie such as the lift, the photo frame etc produces a horror effect. I feel the cinematography calls for awards similar to that of Oscars. It is simply superb and amazing. And music? It is very ordinary. In particular, the background music, which is like the backbone of horror movies, is not effective.The "Yavarum Nalam" title song alone is good.The editing by Sreekar Prasad is commendable.

The summary
"Yavarum Nalam" is a welcome and refreshing addition to the horror movies in the Tamil cinema.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Slumdog Millionaire - Commodification Of Poverty

Do you want to know what all are the problems that exist in India? Then, go and watch Slumdog Millionaire(SM). The director has packed the movie with poverty,religious riots, poor sanitation, theft, beggary, mafia and prostitution. As reality bites, the movie does create a depressing hangover. But the substance of the movie is the same like that of our usual bollywood movies.

However,the screenplay is strikingly refreshing. How Jamal got all the answers right is conveyed through a series of incidents from his own life. The author of the book Q&A (from which the movie is adapted), Vikas Swaroop should be appreciated for the gripping screen play. Another novel aspect in this film is the Hindi dialogues are not shown as sub-titles. Instead, the translation of the dialogues are shown near the characters that deliver the dialogues. However, for no reason all the characters start speaking English, abrubtly( from their adolescent period). I understand that the director,Donny Boyle could have included the Hindi dialogues in the beginning to retain the nativity. But it would have made a big difference had the movie been made in Hindi completely.May be the director want the English-speaking audience to be much receptive to his film.In my opinion, if the substance of the movie is good, the audience will give a damn about the language in which it was shot.Had the director used Hindi completely, the movie could have been much more authentic and credible.

In the same way, some of the scenes in the film appeared to be too dramatic.For instance, in a particular scene, Jamal looks for Salim's name in the database, which will lead to the reunion of the brothers. How did he manage to find his brother in the database of a call center? Similarly, the sudden and unexplained change in the attitude of Jamal before the climax.

On the other hand, whatever is said and done against the movie, not a single day passes without a news about it. Armed with many prestigious awards and the much coveted Oscars, SM is undoubtedly the most happening movie of this millennium, not only in India but, in the whole world. But if you have still not watched SM and planning to watch it with your expectations soaring high , then it might certainly fall short of your expectations. Against the popular beliefs, the director has not bombarded or hyped the situation in the slums in India. But has mercilessly exposed the murky side of Dharavi in Mumbai.He has presented the suituation in the slum without refining or rather I would prefer to say, giving a raw feeling to it.We cannot deny that they do not happen. They certainly happen.But, Donny Boyle could be blamed for communicating that Dharavi and India are the one and the same. The westners could deem the condition of Dharavi as the condition in India, which is certainly not.

Beyond the begging bowls and hunger pangs, the movie has a soulful love story.However, again, the love between Jamal (Dev Patel) and Latika (Frieda Pinto) is not anything new that our Bollywood movies have missed.It is again the same love story in the back drop of poverty and crime. The only saving grace is that there is no duet of Latika and Jamal, supressing the flow of the movie, instead the duet(Jai Ho) is placed at the end of the movie along with the moving credits. The music is definitely not the magnum opus creation of Rahman, however, it compliments the film. Can he add pepper to the milk sweets? He has given his best within the scope of the movie.

The director should be appreciated for the perfect casting. In particular, the youngest Latika, (Rubina Ali) and the youngest Salim (Azharuddin Mohammad Ismail) perfectively fit their roles.
It is very surprising to know that both Rubina and Ismail are actually from the slums. They have handled their roles with a touch of professionalism. Even other actors such as Dev Patel, Frieda Pinto, and Anil Kapoor have done a good job. Similarly, the cinematography is excellent. The cinematographer, Anthony Dod Mantle brings the filthy atmosphere of the slums alive.

With this, I complete my review of the much coveted and Oscar-award winning movie, Slumdog Millionaire. No matter whether I liked the film or not, I am happy to have witnessed an Osacr award winning Indian movie in my lifetime.


Sunday, December 7, 2008

Fashion-In My Point of View

Have you ever guessed what happens behind the ramp that the models walk? Well! "Fashion" has the answer!The king of reality fares, Madhur Bhandarkar has come up with yet another reality extravaganza that gives us a glimpse of the fashion world. This movie unveils the hard realities behind the most glamorous,opulent and stylish world: the fashion industry.The cast include Priyanka Chopra,Kangna Ranaut,Arbaaz khan,Mugdha Godse and many others. Meghna Madhur(Priyanka Chopra),a conservative and middle-class girl, travels to Mumbai to try her luck in modeling.She also manages to make her dream a reality after a brief struggle.In between, she encounters love, hatred, challenge and humiliation.She deals everything with her emotions in tact.But after reaching the pinnacle point in her career,her persona undergoes a complete transformation.How that transformation leads to her downfall?And what happens to her journey forms the rest of the story.

The major attraction of the movie is it gives us an insider's perspective of the fashion industry.The director has brilliantly roped in the real life incidents of the insiders into the movie.The stories that we have heard and seen about the fashion industry comes alive in this movie.The dialogs written by Niranjan Iyengar is another tower of strength for this movie.For instance,Priyanka was asked whether her aim is to become a model.She says no and after a pause,she continues "super model".Power packed words indeed!

Now coming to cast.The director deserves accolades for perfect casting.The actors are perfect fit for their roles and they rock. Leading the pack is Kankana.Though she comes for a brief period, she stuns us with her killer performance.She brings a spoiled and arrogant model alive.Then follows Priyanka Chopra.Priyanka has proved herself as an innocent-aspiring model,an arrogant-successful model, and a stable-human being.Her performance is remarkable.The performance of the rest of the stars, such as Arbaaz khan,Mugdha Godse etc is also worth mentioning.Mahesh Limaye's cinematography is brilliant.It captures the jazz and glamor of the fashion world to the fullest.Salim-Sulaiman's music has also come out well.

But one small hitch in the movie is Priyanka's parents were shown(apart from the opening scenes) only after her downfall in the industry.Where did they go when she was clinching success and transforming into a model with "attitude"?After her come back, she makes calls and stays in touch with her parents.But what about during the initial stages? Of course, such quirks are quite ignorable.However, had the director shortened the slightly long-winded script, the movie would have been impeccable.In my opinion, this movie is a "must-watch" and the team can expect many prestigious awards and rewards.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Varanam Ayiram - In My Opinion

A much touted Tamil movie, which is supposed to be the magnum opus creation of Goutham Menon, failed to live up to its expectations by few points. Let us start with the bouquets first and deal with the brickbats later. The movie is a sure treat for Surya’s fans. Goutham Menon should be appreciated for bringing the innate acting skills that were still (wow!) dormant in the actor to the fore. Surya has exceeded well beyond the previous standards set by none other than himself (in movies, such as Pitha Magan, Gajini, Kakka Kakka, and Peralagan for the uninitiated). The actor's hard work and dedication is apparent in almost every frame. Surya has stolen the whole show without any doubt. The next person who deserves accolades is the music director, Harris Jeyaraj for his brilliant composition. His music is a tower of strength to this movie. The visualization and Tamarai’s lyrics make the songs much more special. But much to our disappointment, some of the songs remind us of Harris's old flicks. This movie also marks the introduction of Sameera Reddy in kollywood. Sameera is a divinity in motion. She looks gorgeous and stylish. She also plays her part well.But she looks older than Surya in most of the frames, disappointingly. Anyhow, out of the three heroines, Sameera leads the pack.

Now it's time to deal with the brickbats. Gautham Menon has dedicated this movie (as a tribute) to his father. He also confessed in one of his interviews that he made some changes in the script (which was initially a love story) to emphasize more on the father-son relationship. Here comes the problem. The director has tried to fit two seemingly intense subjects in a three hour movie. He could have focused more on either the love part or the father –son relationship part. For instance, the movie Autograph deals only with the love of the hero in his various phases of life without digressing from the subject. But in this movie, the scope of the subject is not properly defined. Consequently, we cannot bring the story of the movie into a bracket, say “a father-son relationship story”, “a love story”, “the life cycle of a man”. It is all the three. Furthermore, the kidnap scenes were strikingly redundant (guess the director has made it short now).So, the long-winded script forms the major flip side of the movie. Similarly, though the father-son relationship has come out well, it is a rehash of what we saw in movies like, Thavamai Thavamirunthu. Likewise, the ordeal that Surya goes through after Samira’s death, the concept of reminiscence and unfolding different stages in the life of a hero, etc reminds us of Autograph. Similarly, Surya-Sameera’s love was not communicated very effectively to us. It starts as a love at first site, and then the heroine denies hero’s love, travels to US, and accepts his love suddenly and at last she dies. So Surya’s ordeal after Sameera’s death is not justified. In the same way, Simran and Divya Spandana look like props in the movie. In particular, Simran’s make up in the 80’s period is atrocious. I am sure this pretty actress could have looked better had the make up department taken more care. Now coming to Divya. Actually, there is nothing much to talk about her. She doesn't have much scope to act in this film.So, lets hope she gets better roles in the future.

Apart from all these, many more questions can be raised. Where did Divya go when the father Surya was in the death bed? They all stay in the same house. Isn’t it? But she appears only after the flash back. May be the director wanted to keep Surya-Divya’s marriage initially under wraps to maintain the curiosity among the audience. But he could have justified her absence in the first few scenes by giving some reasons.As a parting note, I would say Goutham Menon has shared some of the memories of his father through this film. His diary, though had a few interesting sections, on the whole, failed to provide an interesting read.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

The Reincarnation of Karz

Karz is packed with love, revenge,betrayal, and sentiment. It is the remake of Subhash Ghai's Karz, an old block buster of 80's. The cast include Dino Morio,Urmila Matondkar , Himesh Reshamiya, Shweta Kumar and many others. Ravi Verma (Dino Morio) is a multi millionaire who is madly in love with the beauty, Kamini(Urmila Matondkar) .He marries Kamini and visits his mother and sister. But Kamini kills Ravi Verma (in league with the villain , Sir Juda) trickily in the plane itself and proves it as an accident.Consequently, Ravi's mother approaches Maa Kaali and claims her son back. After 25 years,Monti (Himesh Reshamiya), a singer who is (funnily) called a rock star, musical sensation, genius and many more, realizes his past birth and gains revenge against Kamini, who enjoys the undisputed wealth of the Verma empire as the princess of the palace.Then, he reunites with his mother and sister in his present birth.Finally, Kamini crashes in the same place where Ravi Verma's plane crashed.

The only good aspect in this film is Urmilla's roaring presence and exceptional action.But much to our disappointment, she looks old in most of the frames.Dino Morio only makes a special appearance and has done his part well.Though Shweta Kumar needs to work on her make-up and costume, she emotes well. Now coming to Himesh Reshammiya.His chapped lips, drowsy eyes and stubbles make his appearance horrid.Moreover, he tortures the audience with his bland emotions and annoying dance steps .Not to mention, he churns out a song after another, but luckily some of them are of an acceptable quality.But the title "rock star", bestowed on him (of course, in the film) is a definite misnomer.There are many more characters like the villain Sir Juda, who communicates by using his musical touch pad,Monti's selfish foster parents, Kabeer chacha etc those who have done their parts satisfactorily. Similarly, cinematography is a big plus for this movie. In particular, the helicopter crash scene in the beginning was shot exceptionally well.

But the film is a mere bland treat to the audience. It fails to keep the audience under its spell. The major drawback in the film is the absence of nativity. The film is completely shot abroad for no reasons.In my opinion, Karz is a curse on the audience.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Dasavatharam-In My Opinion

Another daring attempt by Kamal Hasaan. The story revolves around Govindarajan (Kamal haasan), a scientist at a US tech lab. Govind and his colleagues develop a chemical substance, which is actually capable of killing a million people to tame terrorism. But the team in-charge device plans to sell the chemical substance for a huge sum. Govind being a good natured man trickily takes the chemical substance into his custody. During his attempts to take hold of the substance, he was chased by one of the agents, Fletcher (kamal) in his company. Accidentally, the chemical substance was routed to India. Therefore Govind travels to India illegally in the goods container of a courier company in search of the chemical substance. As a result, he was labeled as terrorist. Fletcher continues to chase him in India. Whether Govind escaped from Fletcher and managed to save the lives of people from the ill effects of the chemical substance forms the rest of the story. The director has roped in the chaos theory and butterfly effect http://imho.com/grae/chaos/chaos.html in the story. But the opening sequences that ways back to the 12th century doesn’t provide any basis for the movie. The director didn’t establish any explicit relation between the 12th century events (idol drowning) and the 20th century effect (tsunami). As a result, to the common viewer, both the events look like two separate stories. Moreover, the chasing scenes are very tiring and they fail to create a kind of curiosity among the viewers. Furthermore, the ten roles played by kamal, which is supposed to be the major attraction of the movie turns out to be a downside. Most of the roles are forced and do not fit into the story. But Kamal Hasaan has made full justice to all the roles that he has played. The actor has stolen the whole show. Asin who plays a Brahmin girl is present in most of the frames but has a very little part to play. She repeats the same “perumale” dialogue throughout all the frames. Other eminent actors such as Napoleon, Nagesh, KR Vijaya, Rekha and Jaya Pradha hardly show up for one or two scenes. The major upside of the film is the cinematography. The camera angles are very innovative and are of Hollywood standard. Kudos to the cinematographer, Ravi Varman. Similarly, the art direction is also worth a mention. The art director, Prabhakar has brought full life to the movie through his sets. The music director, Himesh Reshamiya deserves accolades too. In particular, the “kallai mattum” number rendered by Hariharan is lilting and brilliant. The placement of the songs and the absence of an obligatory duet song is also another aspect that takes the movie almost nearby to success. But too many characters and lack of a proper flow between scenes witness the flipside of the movie.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Why I Like late 80's and early 90's movies?

As an IT employee, I lead life in a fast lane.My favorite pass time during weekends is watching movies. I either visit a theater with my friends or watch movies at the comfort of my home. I have realized from my years of movie watching experience that cinema is nothing but the reflection of society.Today's movies reflect the same society that I live in. Yes, a society where people lead life in a hurry just like me.They don't live life to the fullest. Whereas, in late 80's and early 90's, people should have lead a relaxed yet active life. The movies thoroughly capture the essence of the lifestyle of people lived in that period . How movies of late 80's and early 90's are different from present days' movies? There was more attention to the details , the movies were quite far from the reality(it depicted the ideal self), the songs, fight, location and props created a kind of utopia.It gratified the dreams of the audience.In other words, those days audience lived their dreams through the movies.
In contrast, the present day audience would like to see themselves in the movies. They would like to see the real-self, not the ideal self. They dismiss ideas that are far from reality. But the late 80's and 90's movies portray a kind of dream-like world in a detailed manner with a little use of technology.Moreover, those days' movies were much creative than the present days. Even today, I buy DVDs of 80's and 90's movies.Just like those days audience, I gratify my wishful dream to live a peaceful life by watching those movies. It is needless to say that I don't merely fancy the movies of 80's and 90 's but actually adore the peaceful lifestyle of the people lived in that period.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Om Shanti Om- In my point of view


If you want to sit back and simply enjoy the magic happening in the screen, Om Shanti Om (hereafter, OSO) is certainly for you. Farah khan has provided the viewers with a staple dosage of entertainment. By the time, your left brain raises questions about the possibility of rebirth and existence of spirits, your right brain suppresses such thoughts and commands you to appreciate the screenplay, dialogues and characterization in the movie. Of course, the music and actors are tower of strength. SRK rocks as usual.He has got ample scope for comedy, romance,sentiment, dance and fight in this movie. Kingkhan has utilized the opportunities to the fullest. In particular, he has handled two opposite characters well. He shows adequate differentiation in his body language as both poor "Om Prakash Makhija" and rich "Om Kapoor". Hats off to SRK!!

The greenhorn Deepika Padukone is sure to be a next big thing in bollywood. She looks gorgeous and full of life. In my opinion, of late, no bollywood actress is of stunning beauty other than Deepika.She plays the role of "Shanti", an actress who has made it big in the filmdom .She acts well too. What's more the future is going to be full of surprises for this young actress.

Disco and Om shanti Om are sure chart toppers in the composition of Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani. The highlight of this movie itself is the Om Shanti Om song, in which Farah surprises the viewers by introducing one star after another dancing for this song. At least, two dozens of stars make their appearance in this song. Thanks to the industry experience of the director! But she could have avoided the superstitious and cinematic treatment of the story. The climax vouches for the heights of superstition.

The cinematography by Manikandan and art direction by Sabu siril adds more strength to the story. In particular, the posh bangalow , which was set to fire with Shanti and Om alive, fails to leave our memory even after the end of the movie. Kudos to Sabu Siril for his excellent work. So if you believe in magic and don't care much for the logic , OSO is your kind of film.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Velli Thirai – In my View

A remarkable movie that captures a glimpse of the world of cinema. The movie unveils the hard realities of the dream world. Kanniah (Prakash raj) is a bothersome individual, whose sole dream is to see himself play the protagonist in the big screen. His dream is very strong that he will not accept anything less than that of a role of the hero. He almost pesters and annoys everyone around him and knocks the doors of people who have made it big in the celluloid. He badgers saravanan (Prithvi raj), a young assistant director who is waiting for his dreams to see the day’s light and shares his room. On the other hand, Saravanan is in love with Mythili (Gopika) who has already carved a niche for herself as a big heroine in the filmdom. At this juncture, kanniah trickily steals a story penned by Saravanan and registers it has his own story. He approaches producer Balaji (Sarath babu) and director (Pratap Bhothan) and blackmails them to make a movie for him by using the story. Being impressed with the brilliancy and soulfulness in the story, they had no other go than to accept his blackmail and make him the hero of the movie half heartedly. From then on, there is no looking back for the cunning Kanniah. He baptizes himself as Dhilip kanth, appoints MS.Bhaskar as his manager, refuses to give appointment for his friends and so on and so forth. On top of all, he blames poor Saravanan for trying to kill him and files fake charges against him. Mythili, who rescues Saravanan, was abandoned by her greedy and cunning brother ( Sampath Raj). Consequently, she marries Saravanan and starts a whole new life with him. Saravanan, who is now known to the world as the husband of a well established actress, did not like shining in the reflected light of his wife. All his attempts to become a director only drive him to the dead end. He had to accept life with its realities and as reality bites, he joins as a cab driver. Mythili, who can’t tolerate the agony of her husband anymore, decides to part. At this point, opportunity knocks for Saravanan, but with a price tag of having to direct Dhilip kanth, who has now become a big hero with an iconic image. How he tackles egocentric and selfish Dhilip kanth and whether he has been successful in completing the venture that he set out and whether the parted couples rejoined and whether Saravanan proved himself makes the rest of the story.

Another message that this movie has is that the stardom is not a magic and is not as gleeful as it seems to be. The most impressive part of this movie is its dialogues. “Try to ape the technology of Americans in your movies, not their culture”. “Small small words should not mar the love that started with small small eye contacts”. Adds a touch of class to the movie indeed! The movie also has a gamut of big names showing their faces for a scene or two. The list includes Trisha, Sandhya, Swarnamalya, Lakshmi Roy (although assumes the role of a second heroine) playing their real time roles in the movie as well.

The artists fit their roles appropriately and lived in their respective roles. Leading the pack is Prakash Raj. He has not only kept up to his caliber but goes well beyond his previous standards and also emerges successful in it. Prakash Raj definitely steals the show. The young and smart looking Prithvi Raj lives up to his role. He just not resembles a good hearted and ambitious young chap, but lives as one through his role. Gopika is a welcome addition to this movie and has done a good job. Not to mention, well established actors like Sarath Babu, Pratap Bhothan have played their parts well. And the music director, G.V Prakash could have done a shade better. This is definitely not his standard. Let’s expect more from him in his next venture. What’s more? Kudos to the entire team of Velli Thirai for their extraordinary production.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Top five melodies of Illaiyaraja

Illaiyaraja is reckoned as a king of the melody. Many of his music albums left the world spellbound. His harmonium (keyboard) has made magic onscreen for more than a decade. This divine music genius has captivated many hearts around the world. I am one among his diehard fans. The following is the list of my top five favorite numbers in the genre of melody composed by the music maestro.

Thallattum Poongatru (Gopura vasalille) - This lilting song is rendered by veteran singer S.Janaki. You simply close your eyes and tune your ears to this unique piece, I am sure you will move to another world. The finest use of flute, piano and violin throughout the song vouch for the brilliance of this legend.

Sangathil padatha kavithai (Auto raja) – Not many are aware of this brilliant composition of Illaiyaraja. He himself has rendered the voice for a duet with S.Janaki. The dialogues that form part of this song in Illaiyaraja’s voice add zing to the album. The singers have sung in their base voice in most part of the song. The subtle use of instruments such as piano and violin is the major attraction of this song.

Enthen nenjil ezhulangangal (Guru) – This is a lilting solo by S. Janaki. You hear it once and it will linger in your mind forever. The song calls for a high comfort level with both the base voice and high pitch. The singer has handled the transition form base voice to high pitch and once again to the base, very well. This song embraces the western classical style of music and is full of soul. The music maestro has once again proved his brilliance through this number. Kudos to Illaiyaraja.

Rathiriyil poothirukkum (Thanga magan) – A masterpiece of Illaiyaraja, which is rendered by music king SP. Balasubramaniam and S.Janaki. This song is set to tune in hamsanandi raga and the veena notes are the most enchanting part of the song. The singers are to their best in this song. In particular, SPB, who did not receive any formal carnatic music training, has rendered the song with good “gamakkam”. In the line “kannasaivil oru bhavam”, SPB has treated the word “bhavam” very well. No wonder he is called “padum nila balu” ( balu, the singing moon) by the people of Tamilnadu affectionately. I have another point here. Though the mother tongue of both S.Janaki and SPB are different, their Tamil diction is just like that of a native Tamilian. They have a lesson for the new breed of singers from other languages that “Be a Roman when you are in Rome”.

Ennule ennule (Valli) - This romantic soulful number is from the album Valli. The song begins with the traditional mrindangam beat, which extends for a few seconds. The beat fades out abruptly and the chorus fades in. This unique treatment of Illaiyaraja is simply splendid. This song is rendered by Swarnalatha. If you listen to this number, no matter where you are and what you do, I am sure you will be left speechless.

Though limiting my favorite melodies in the creation of Illaiyaraja to five is an act of trying to fit a whole pumpkin into a small jar, I feel these songs are the epitome of his magnum opus in the melody genre.

Monday, February 25, 2008

A ride down the top notch theaters of chennai

The IT boom has made weekend getaways popular in Chennai.People are busy either shopping, or watching movie in a cozy theater during the weekends. If you are planning to visit your friend in Chennai on a Saturday, mind you, don't show up unannouncedly to his or her place.Your impromptu visit could actually make him or her miss their weekend outing, which is very sacrosanct.Weekend outing has become popular even among the middle class population in Chennai. The theater complex owners have thoroughly used this trend to their advantage.Most of these complexes are also shopping malls and have food courts, games etc in them.On the other hand, there are people who go for window shopping to these malls but the theaters are still chart toppers.

People have started looking for a class when they visit a theater.The theater owners have also well understood the demands of the movie goers and have introduced heights of sophistication in their theaters. Though there are many renowned theaters in chennai , leading the pack are Satyam ,INOX and Swarnashakti abirammi. Among these INOX and Swarnashakti abirammi are part of shopping malls.Abirrammi only recently joined this bandwagon with its introduction of Swarnashakti abirammi, which provides a matchless class to compete with Sathyam and INOX. The best part of the abirammi complex is the parking arrangement.The parking space is alloted in the fourth floor of the complex. You simply step your car into an elevator,it takes you to the terrace.It work just like the normal elevators that we use, but the difference here is that it takes you along with your car and you can park it in the terrace. Against this, the city center, where the INOX is , has an undergorund car parking set up.A drive to the underground parking lot was like a pleasant journey by itself. Abirrammi mall followed by the City center tops the chart , when it comes to the parking arrangement.But sathyam provides free parking( from monday to saturady 5 pm to 2 am and sunaday 8am to 2 am) within its complex and also it has special parking annexes at the "T" junction of Pattulous road and White's road.

As for as seating arrangement goes, again Swarnashakti abirrammi provides a very comfortable seating to the viewers. With just the press of a button, the seat extends to provide you with ample space for stretching your legs forward and leaning back .You can watch the screen as if you watch lying in a sofa at the comfort of your home. This seating arrangement is available only for poeple who choose to buy 120 rupees tickets, which is also the highest ticket price in INOX and Sathyam.Though Shree in Sathyam complex provides a sofa to ensure comfortable seating, the seating arrangement in Swarnashakti abirammi lives up to its name. But Sathyam provides its online customers with an option to choose their seats . They can have a say over the row of their seats. Sathyam and INOX also maintains a posh look and provides a very high index of cleanliness.But the theater authorities of Swarnashakti abirammi should pay more attention to their standard of cleanliness. Ofcourse,all the three theaters allow you to book your tickets online or over phone. Sathyam also has a unique prepaid card called fuel, which you can use to book tickets and snack online. Swarnashakti abirrammi and sathyam also allow you to order your snack beforehand and get it served right at your seats. Swarnashakti abirammi have waiter-on-call service for food and beverages.

Moreover, people also prefer to complete the movie going with a lunch , snack or a dinner. Abirammi mall and City center have exclusive food courts. Sathyam has also recently introduced its eatery called ecstacy.But the downside is there is a dearth of choice of food that are available over there. As i said earlier, if people are looking to combine shopping and movie going, then INOX , which is located in City center and Swarnashakti abirrammi, which is part of the abirammi mega mall fit their bill. On the other hand, Sathyam provides a unique movie watching experience. The sound effects are of very high quality in Sathyam. Similarly ,Abirammi mall also have other theatres apart from Swarna Shakti abirammi within its complex to serve all classes of people. So you name it and we have it is what seems to be the business mantra of these theaters.Isn's it appropriate to give them a five star status and label them as the five star theatres in chennai.