Friday, July 24, 2009
Back in Chennai
Well life takes a curious turn once again & I saw myself moving out.It's now been close to 4 weeks of having moved back to Chennai.It's a new job, so new office and new people at work.But I find myself relatively at peace.After the emotional turmoil I went through in the last few months, I guess I needed this peace.It's nice to be back in a city which has always been home to me.And to top it up I've also moved back into the same building where I used to live earlier. So in a way its like a homecoming for me.Meet up with friends whenever I get time and of course watch a lot of movies especially @ my 2nd home- Sathyam Cinemas.Shradha's taking a liking to Chennai, which is quite heartening.Hopefully she'll be back to work again soon.The past one week has been a 'family' week with my parents having come over. Hoping to settle down at work at the earliest and enjoy life to the fullest.Viva Chennai!!!
Sankat City- drives away the blues caused by Bhramaram
We keep using the phrase ‘as different as chalk & cheese’ in our daily life so often that sometimes it takes one by surprise when you actually experience it in a very interesting way. The weekend that went by was another filmy weekend for me, but one that was rather very special. Just like enjoying a biriyani and a pizza equally or freaking out on ghazals and rock music with the same zeal, I happened to watch 2 movies this weekend which were completely unlike each other. The movies concerned were Bhramaram and Sankat City ( SC from hereon ) and there was hardly anything in common between them. For starters Bhramaram is a Malayalam movie made by Blessy (his 5th film) and stars Superstar- Mohanlal. SC on the other hand is a Hindi movie made by Pankaj Advani ( his 1st official release ) and has no superstar in it but a very talented cast comprising of Kay Kay, Anupam Kher,Rimi Sen,Chunky Pandey, Rahul Dev,Yashpal Sharma,Dilip Prabhavalkar etc.
While Bhramaram is more of a road movie with the undertone of a thriller, SC is a mad caper and is a fun ride all the way. Bhramaram is more or less a one man show (Mohanlal) while SC belongs to a whole host of characters and it is difficult to just single out just one or two characters. Well I can go on & on but then I guess the message is loud and clear by now. But what is important to know is that I had a good time watching both these movies. In their own ways both Bhramaram and SC have the capacity to engage the viewer and there in lies the one common thread between the two.
Saturday evening saw me taking off early from office to be in time to watch Bhramaram. The initial scenes are quite ordinary and it takes a while to slowly get hooked to the narrative. Suresh Menon (whom we’ve seen for ages on T.V & in Bollywood films) is Unni, a stock broker who lives with his wife (Lakshmi Gopalswamy) and daughter in Coimbatore. One fine day a very shabby looking Jose (Mohanlal) lands up at Unni’s place and introduces himself as his old classmate from school. Unni is unable to recollect Jose but since Jose is able to describe a lot of events from the school days, he is forced to believe him. Jose who claims to be a jeep driver in the high ranges of Kerala does not initially reveal the reason for his visit.
Once the reason is revealed the movie really gets going and you see traces of vintage Mohanlal slowly unraveling. After Unni and Jose embark on their journey it then goes on to become a taut game of emotions. Blessy manages to keep the narrative interesting enough by interspersing humor in certain places which helps in maintaining a balance. The cinematography of Ajayan Vincent certainly impresses especially in the night shots captured in the hills. Music by Mohan Sithara is decent. Suresh Menon certainly impresses and hopefully this performance should help him fetch more such roles. Muralikrishnan as Alex, friend of Unni is also quite effective. Lakshmi Gopalswamy and Bhoomika (Mohanlal’s wife) have nothing much to do. On the whole the movie is certainly a far cry from the recent Mohanlal movies like Red Chillies, Sagar Alias Jackie (Reloaded), Bhagawan etc and gives you glimpses of the brilliant actor that he is. Blessy again redeems himself to some extent with Bhramaram (after Calcutta News) and hopefully should do even better the next time around. Definitely not great cinema, but certainly one of the better films in recent times.
While I kept thinking of what could have made Bhramaram even better, I couldn’t escape the fact that the movie had disturbed me. Later that night Lalettan’s Shivankutty/ Jose continued to haunt me and I realized that the character was not just lingering in my mind, it was also making me feel low (those who’ve watched the movie would understand). So on Sunday morning when I woke up slightly earlier than usual, I was unsure of how to get back into groove and that’s when I realized I didn’t even have to try hard- I was lucky to end up watching a 10.30 A.M show of SC.
By now most of us know the plot and characters of SC so I wouldn’t really get into that. But yes to give a quick insight I can say that it’s all about money and how a host of characters get interwoven into a tale that has money as the fulcrum. Right from the first frame till the end I kept smiling and at times couldn’t really control myself from laughing hard- I guess it was true for everyone else among the audience too. For the sake of people who are yet to watch the movie I wish to point out a few things about the movie-
What SC definitely has-
1.Characters who are loud and even over the top and thankfully do not pretend that they are anything else2.A sparkling cast of some superbly talented actors and some of them would even surprise you with their portrayals.3.Uniform pace of the movie- there’s hardly any dull moment and you do not have to keep looking at your watch.4.Enough and more entertaining moments to keep you glued to the screen till the end, the very end.5.Some wonderful locations in & around Mumbai that have been captured brilliantly ( like for example the garbage dump )6.The budget seems to have been completely well utilized or rather most efficiently utilized ( check out the scene in the bus when the bags get switched )
What SC definitely doesn’t have-
1.Superstars and A – list heroines2.A routine structured story ( it’s a mad caper after all )3.Emotion, tragedy, drama ( well yes it does have it, but certainly not like what you think )4.Item numbers by Rakhi Sawant etc ( well there’s a small bit where Anupam Kher and dynamite are dancing though )5.Songs shot abroad6.Gyan-baazi ( oh! There’s nothing preachy here )7.While actors like Kay Kay , Anupam Kher etc have done some serious, meaningful cinema- this is certainly not a serious off beat movie.
All I can say is that SC is one movie that not only entertains it also makes you think- as to why we don’t have more of such movies coming out of Bollywood these days. While watching the movie I also realized that Pankaj Advani & his team must have certainly had a blast while shooting the movie, it clearly shows on screen as everybody seems to be enjoying what they are portraying on screen. That to me is a very big achievement indeed and I heartily salute Pankaj and the entire cast and crew for giving us SC- a film that we can certainly enjoy time and again.
It’s my fond hope that somebody concerned would do something to enable a much better presence in theatres for the movie by increasing the shows and also by enabling prime time shows wherever possible. A sincere movie like this which has also been getting good reviews needs a much better reach than what it has presently. Till then it’s a sincere request to all those who are passionate about cinema to go on & watch SC- you won’t be disappointed for sure.
P.S- Originally published in PFC- check it out here- http://passionforcinema.com/sankat-city-drives-away-the-blues-caused-by-bhramaram/
While Bhramaram is more of a road movie with the undertone of a thriller, SC is a mad caper and is a fun ride all the way. Bhramaram is more or less a one man show (Mohanlal) while SC belongs to a whole host of characters and it is difficult to just single out just one or two characters. Well I can go on & on but then I guess the message is loud and clear by now. But what is important to know is that I had a good time watching both these movies. In their own ways both Bhramaram and SC have the capacity to engage the viewer and there in lies the one common thread between the two.
Saturday evening saw me taking off early from office to be in time to watch Bhramaram. The initial scenes are quite ordinary and it takes a while to slowly get hooked to the narrative. Suresh Menon (whom we’ve seen for ages on T.V & in Bollywood films) is Unni, a stock broker who lives with his wife (Lakshmi Gopalswamy) and daughter in Coimbatore. One fine day a very shabby looking Jose (Mohanlal) lands up at Unni’s place and introduces himself as his old classmate from school. Unni is unable to recollect Jose but since Jose is able to describe a lot of events from the school days, he is forced to believe him. Jose who claims to be a jeep driver in the high ranges of Kerala does not initially reveal the reason for his visit.
Once the reason is revealed the movie really gets going and you see traces of vintage Mohanlal slowly unraveling. After Unni and Jose embark on their journey it then goes on to become a taut game of emotions. Blessy manages to keep the narrative interesting enough by interspersing humor in certain places which helps in maintaining a balance. The cinematography of Ajayan Vincent certainly impresses especially in the night shots captured in the hills. Music by Mohan Sithara is decent. Suresh Menon certainly impresses and hopefully this performance should help him fetch more such roles. Muralikrishnan as Alex, friend of Unni is also quite effective. Lakshmi Gopalswamy and Bhoomika (Mohanlal’s wife) have nothing much to do. On the whole the movie is certainly a far cry from the recent Mohanlal movies like Red Chillies, Sagar Alias Jackie (Reloaded), Bhagawan etc and gives you glimpses of the brilliant actor that he is. Blessy again redeems himself to some extent with Bhramaram (after Calcutta News) and hopefully should do even better the next time around. Definitely not great cinema, but certainly one of the better films in recent times.
While I kept thinking of what could have made Bhramaram even better, I couldn’t escape the fact that the movie had disturbed me. Later that night Lalettan’s Shivankutty/ Jose continued to haunt me and I realized that the character was not just lingering in my mind, it was also making me feel low (those who’ve watched the movie would understand). So on Sunday morning when I woke up slightly earlier than usual, I was unsure of how to get back into groove and that’s when I realized I didn’t even have to try hard- I was lucky to end up watching a 10.30 A.M show of SC.
By now most of us know the plot and characters of SC so I wouldn’t really get into that. But yes to give a quick insight I can say that it’s all about money and how a host of characters get interwoven into a tale that has money as the fulcrum. Right from the first frame till the end I kept smiling and at times couldn’t really control myself from laughing hard- I guess it was true for everyone else among the audience too. For the sake of people who are yet to watch the movie I wish to point out a few things about the movie-
What SC definitely has-
1.Characters who are loud and even over the top and thankfully do not pretend that they are anything else2.A sparkling cast of some superbly talented actors and some of them would even surprise you with their portrayals.3.Uniform pace of the movie- there’s hardly any dull moment and you do not have to keep looking at your watch.4.Enough and more entertaining moments to keep you glued to the screen till the end, the very end.5.Some wonderful locations in & around Mumbai that have been captured brilliantly ( like for example the garbage dump )6.The budget seems to have been completely well utilized or rather most efficiently utilized ( check out the scene in the bus when the bags get switched )
What SC definitely doesn’t have-
1.Superstars and A – list heroines2.A routine structured story ( it’s a mad caper after all )3.Emotion, tragedy, drama ( well yes it does have it, but certainly not like what you think )4.Item numbers by Rakhi Sawant etc ( well there’s a small bit where Anupam Kher and dynamite are dancing though )5.Songs shot abroad6.Gyan-baazi ( oh! There’s nothing preachy here )7.While actors like Kay Kay , Anupam Kher etc have done some serious, meaningful cinema- this is certainly not a serious off beat movie.
All I can say is that SC is one movie that not only entertains it also makes you think- as to why we don’t have more of such movies coming out of Bollywood these days. While watching the movie I also realized that Pankaj Advani & his team must have certainly had a blast while shooting the movie, it clearly shows on screen as everybody seems to be enjoying what they are portraying on screen. That to me is a very big achievement indeed and I heartily salute Pankaj and the entire cast and crew for giving us SC- a film that we can certainly enjoy time and again.
It’s my fond hope that somebody concerned would do something to enable a much better presence in theatres for the movie by increasing the shows and also by enabling prime time shows wherever possible. A sincere movie like this which has also been getting good reviews needs a much better reach than what it has presently. Till then it’s a sincere request to all those who are passionate about cinema to go on & watch SC- you won’t be disappointed for sure.
P.S- Originally published in PFC- check it out here- http://passionforcinema.com/sankat-city-drives-away-the-blues-caused-by-bhramaram/
Why Kamal Haasan should never watch Kambakkht Ishq
Ok so Sajid Nadiadwala entrusts a debutant filmmaker Sabbir Khan to make a movie. So like all Nadiadwala productions they decide to make another lavishly mounted project with A listers Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor. There are also top notch Hollywood stars like Sylvester Stallone, Brandon Routh and Denise Richards featuring and to top it all they decide to shoot the movie against the backdrop of Hollywood. And what do they do about the story – well they just decide to look down south and rip apart a Kamal Haasan’s Tamil movie.
Followers of Tamil cinema and fans of Kamal Haasan would remember a movie called Pammal K.Sambandham (referred to as PKS hereafter) which had Kamal Haasan and Simran in the lead. Directed by Mouli and with hilarious dialogues by none other than Crazy Mohan, the movie was a simple tale of a stuntman and a lady doctor, who both have distinct identities of their own. This movie was shot without too much of grandeur in Chennai except for a couple of songs which were shot abroad.
But in case of Kambakkht Ishq (referred to as KI hereon) there is nothing called originality. In fact exaggeration is too weak a word to describe the happenings in the movie as virtually everything is over the top. The plot is extremely silly and it’s all about Viraj ( Akshay) a Hollywood stuntman who doesn’t respect women & has them literally falling all over him. Viraj arrives at his brother Lucky’s (Aftab Shivdasani ) wedding to Kamini ( Amrita Arora ) to admonish Lucky for getting married. That’s where Viraj bumps into Simrita ( Kareena )who is Kamini’s best friend and who in turn admonishes Kamini for getting married to Lucky, as she doesn’t trust men.
The die is cast and there’s a virtual ego clash between Viraj and Simrita now. So after numerous silly jokes, some illogical situations and some constant love- hate banter between the two, the movie ends on predictable lines. Akshay Kumar seems to have literally sleep walked through the movie as the role is a cakewalk for him and he has no need to try hard. Kareena looks gorgeous no doubt but there’s nothing beyond it. Vindoo Singh as Akshay’s side kick is o.k. while Amrita Arora and Aftab have nothing much to do. Javed Jaffrey and Boman Irani are virtually wasted in the movie. Kiron Kher has again a very typical role.Anu Malik’s music is nothing great- you are likely to forget the songs after the movie completes its theatrical run.
While a lot of things can & should be overlooked considering that it is a movie after all, nevertheless certain things are almost tantamount to crime. I have never heard of any stuntman who is able to lead the kind of lavish lifestyle that Akshay Kumar leads in the movie. The kind of excessive indulgence shown in the movie actually starts hurting the eye after a point. None of the so called appearances of the Hollywood actors make any worthwhile impact on the movie. Kamal Haasan’s stuntman character was a Hanuman bhakt who wants to remain single. The character was largely believable unlike the fake portrayal by Akshay over here. Though Simran who played the heroine in PKS also has a fiery temper, she still endears to us by some realism in her depiction whereas Kareena tends to certainly go overboard often.
The script (Anvita Dutt Guptan,Sabbir Khan ) seems to be the big culprit here in what could have otherwise been a reasonably engaging movie similar to PKS. Considering that KI is probably made at more than 10 times the budget of PKS, Kamal Haasan would indeed be shocked to see what a relatively quickly made medium budget movie has turned out to be in its Hindi avatar. And yes it would also remind him again that while people are not willing to back his magnum opus – Marudhanayagam or Marmayogi due to budget constraints, there are people in Bollywood who have it going for them to produce an expensive tasteless film like KI ( at more than half the budget of a Marudhanayagam ).
Akshay- inspite of the setbacks of late (CC2C and 8*10), you are still right on top with the Khans.Why do a film like this in the first place? And as for your statement that you & Kareena in KI would be the new Mr. and Mrs.Smith, well I have no words to describe my feelings on the same. In spite of all the excesses your recent blockbusters like Welcome and Singh is Kingg worked because it was patronized by the family audience. But with KI you seem to have only alienated them and in case you haven’t realized it by now it’s certainly a pity.
Thanks to the Bollywood strike people have been literally starved of movies and so the terrific opening for KI is not a surprise at all. But it would be interesting to see if the movie is able to sustain the momentum and emerge profitable for all. I’m someone who loves the smaller films but once in a while would like to indulge in the regular mainstream stuff also. But if this is Bollywood’s idea of entertainment then I guess I would rather stay away from it. So what made me watch this? Well at 50 bucks for a balcony ticket at a good standalone cinema, I thought the deal couldn’t go wrong. But I was proved wrong. So go on if you are getting some good deal like this or else leave it for one of the T.V channels to air it shortly- you won’t regret it one bit.
On a parting note I would like to ask a question to Sajid Nadiadwala and co- when you had a lot of people to thank in the opening credits, was it too difficult to acknowledge anybody concerned with PKS? This is all the more surprising because due to industry sources, the remake rights have been bought officially.
P.S- Originally published in PFC.Check it out here- http://passionforcinema.com/why-kamal-haasan-should-never-watch-kambakkht-ishq/
Followers of Tamil cinema and fans of Kamal Haasan would remember a movie called Pammal K.Sambandham (referred to as PKS hereafter) which had Kamal Haasan and Simran in the lead. Directed by Mouli and with hilarious dialogues by none other than Crazy Mohan, the movie was a simple tale of a stuntman and a lady doctor, who both have distinct identities of their own. This movie was shot without too much of grandeur in Chennai except for a couple of songs which were shot abroad.
But in case of Kambakkht Ishq (referred to as KI hereon) there is nothing called originality. In fact exaggeration is too weak a word to describe the happenings in the movie as virtually everything is over the top. The plot is extremely silly and it’s all about Viraj ( Akshay) a Hollywood stuntman who doesn’t respect women & has them literally falling all over him. Viraj arrives at his brother Lucky’s (Aftab Shivdasani ) wedding to Kamini ( Amrita Arora ) to admonish Lucky for getting married. That’s where Viraj bumps into Simrita ( Kareena )who is Kamini’s best friend and who in turn admonishes Kamini for getting married to Lucky, as she doesn’t trust men.
The die is cast and there’s a virtual ego clash between Viraj and Simrita now. So after numerous silly jokes, some illogical situations and some constant love- hate banter between the two, the movie ends on predictable lines. Akshay Kumar seems to have literally sleep walked through the movie as the role is a cakewalk for him and he has no need to try hard. Kareena looks gorgeous no doubt but there’s nothing beyond it. Vindoo Singh as Akshay’s side kick is o.k. while Amrita Arora and Aftab have nothing much to do. Javed Jaffrey and Boman Irani are virtually wasted in the movie. Kiron Kher has again a very typical role.Anu Malik’s music is nothing great- you are likely to forget the songs after the movie completes its theatrical run.
While a lot of things can & should be overlooked considering that it is a movie after all, nevertheless certain things are almost tantamount to crime. I have never heard of any stuntman who is able to lead the kind of lavish lifestyle that Akshay Kumar leads in the movie. The kind of excessive indulgence shown in the movie actually starts hurting the eye after a point. None of the so called appearances of the Hollywood actors make any worthwhile impact on the movie. Kamal Haasan’s stuntman character was a Hanuman bhakt who wants to remain single. The character was largely believable unlike the fake portrayal by Akshay over here. Though Simran who played the heroine in PKS also has a fiery temper, she still endears to us by some realism in her depiction whereas Kareena tends to certainly go overboard often.
The script (Anvita Dutt Guptan,Sabbir Khan ) seems to be the big culprit here in what could have otherwise been a reasonably engaging movie similar to PKS. Considering that KI is probably made at more than 10 times the budget of PKS, Kamal Haasan would indeed be shocked to see what a relatively quickly made medium budget movie has turned out to be in its Hindi avatar. And yes it would also remind him again that while people are not willing to back his magnum opus – Marudhanayagam or Marmayogi due to budget constraints, there are people in Bollywood who have it going for them to produce an expensive tasteless film like KI ( at more than half the budget of a Marudhanayagam ).
Akshay- inspite of the setbacks of late (CC2C and 8*10), you are still right on top with the Khans.Why do a film like this in the first place? And as for your statement that you & Kareena in KI would be the new Mr. and Mrs.Smith, well I have no words to describe my feelings on the same. In spite of all the excesses your recent blockbusters like Welcome and Singh is Kingg worked because it was patronized by the family audience. But with KI you seem to have only alienated them and in case you haven’t realized it by now it’s certainly a pity.
Thanks to the Bollywood strike people have been literally starved of movies and so the terrific opening for KI is not a surprise at all. But it would be interesting to see if the movie is able to sustain the momentum and emerge profitable for all. I’m someone who loves the smaller films but once in a while would like to indulge in the regular mainstream stuff also. But if this is Bollywood’s idea of entertainment then I guess I would rather stay away from it. So what made me watch this? Well at 50 bucks for a balcony ticket at a good standalone cinema, I thought the deal couldn’t go wrong. But I was proved wrong. So go on if you are getting some good deal like this or else leave it for one of the T.V channels to air it shortly- you won’t regret it one bit.
On a parting note I would like to ask a question to Sajid Nadiadwala and co- when you had a lot of people to thank in the opening credits, was it too difficult to acknowledge anybody concerned with PKS? This is all the more surprising because due to industry sources, the remake rights have been bought officially.
P.S- Originally published in PFC.Check it out here- http://passionforcinema.com/why-kamal-haasan-should-never-watch-kambakkht-ishq/
Masilamani and Sun Pictures- Changing phase of Tamil Cinema- for better or worse?
I am just back from a late night show of Masilamani- a recent Tamil release. For a movie into the 4th week of its release there was more than 80 % occupancy. At a large single screen theatre like Kasi in Chennai which is regarded as a collection center, this certainly means that the movie is a safe proposition. The movie has a close connection to last year’s surprise hit- Kadalil Vizhunden (KV from hereon). Not only is the lead pair the same (Nakul and Sunaina), this one again is a Sun Pictures release. KV was the first movie to be released by Sun Pictures, the film division of Sun TV network and emboldened by its success they have gone on to buy over and release a spate of movies like Thenavattu, Dindigul Sarathy, Padikathavan, Ayan etc.
The success of KV itself could be a case study in isolation. While the anthem song – Nakka Mukka had already become popular, the movie was in the cans for a while. Starring virtually the unknown pair of Nakul and Sunaina, there wasn’t much going for the movie- i.e till Sun Pictures took over the movie and decided to make it their first venture. What was then unleashed was the marketing might of the Sun T.V network. All of a sudden the T.V audience was bombarded with promos of various kinds for KV. No, they did not stick to the earlier trailer which was floating on air for some time earlier. They unleashed a series of different promos of various time durations with sharp focus on the selling points.In fact so impressed was Sun Pictures with the response to Nakka Mukka that they even made the cast and crew shoot another version of the song which wasn’t earlier there in the movie. It also helped that there were other songs which were also quite good (like thozhiya en kadhaliya ) and Vijay Antony’s songs and the lead pair got well recognized. Whether you were watching news, a daily soap or a movie, any interruption would be greeted with a KV promo and lo and behold the people flocked to the theatres out of curiosity. Thankfully the product was reasonably entertaining and thus a successful business model was created. Buoyed by the success of KV, Sun Pictures announced that they were there in the market for keeps.
By that time the then big players- Pyramid Saimira and Ayangaran were already facing the heat and Sun Pictures was more than happy to capitalize on the situation. Things turned a complete circle later on as Shankar’s mega project- Endhiran changed hands from Ayangaran to Sun Pictures. After KV Sun Pictures literally went on a buying spree and picked up movies for release. Whether it was a small movie like Dindigul Sarathy or a mass movie like Ayan, they showed that they were adept in handling the project. They even went on to release an English movie- Outlander all over South India in both English and the regional languages.
While their efforts at releasing and marketing the movie is commendable when we look at it from the view point of a KV or a Dindigul Sarathy, it becomes extremely irritating to accept carpet bombing on air in the form of promos for movies like a Thee. Dindigul Sarathy (a remake of Sreenivasan’s Malayalam movie Vadakku Nokki Yanthram) would have definitely struggled for a release considering it had comedian Karunas in the lead but Sun Pictures ensured that not only did the movie get a good release, it was also well promoted. Thenavattu saw Jeeva attempting an action movie for the first time and while critics blasted the movie and said Jeeva should rather concentrate on doing movies like Ram and Katradhu Tamil (leaving the mass movies to Vijay and Ajith), the marketing of the movie seemed to work and the movie was a success.
The heavy duty promotion of Ayan has been a big factor in ensuring the spectacular success of the movie. So once again with Masilamani they have been doing what they’ve been reasonably successful with. Expecting just a regular masala movie (coming out very clearly from the promos) I went on to watch Masilamani for the heck of it but came out both disappointed and confused. The movie directed by RMR Manohar has nothing great in terms of a plot. Its all about Masilamani (Nakul) fondly called Masi by all and he is the typical do-gooder. The heroine Divya (Sunaina) is a dance teacher and while Masi falls in love with her at first sight somehow whenever she sees him, he comes across as a ruffian to her due to circumstances.
That’s when Masi comes up with an alter ego called Mani who is the opposite of what Masi is and the rest of the movie goes completely in predictable fashion. Music by D.Imman is of the typical variety and couple of songs have become reasonably popular. The movie has a stock comedy track (no connection to the main story) with M.S.Bhaskar and Karunas. So obviously the promos are all focusing on the songs and the comedy scenes. While the movie is not on the lines of a Villu or a Thoranai it certainly is nothing great to talk about.
This gives me a major cause of concern all of a sudden. With the kind of financial and political muscle that Sun Pictures has they are only going to be producing and releasing a lot many more movies. While I salute their efforts to release and promote a small movie like Dindigul Sarathy, I am also happy to see them push a big movie like Ayan. After all the money made from an Ayan can be used to fund many more smaller films. But what I’m not in favor of is having movies like Thenavattu, Thee and now Masilamani thrown down our throats.
As a keen follower of Tamil cinema I do welcome the advent of a big player in the industry but I’m watching them carefully and curiously to see how they are headed. Let’s see what unfolds in the days to come.
P.S- Originally published in PFC.Check it out here- http://passionforcinema.com/masilamani-and-sun-pictures-changing-phase-of-tamil-cinema-for-better-or-worse/
The success of KV itself could be a case study in isolation. While the anthem song – Nakka Mukka had already become popular, the movie was in the cans for a while. Starring virtually the unknown pair of Nakul and Sunaina, there wasn’t much going for the movie- i.e till Sun Pictures took over the movie and decided to make it their first venture. What was then unleashed was the marketing might of the Sun T.V network. All of a sudden the T.V audience was bombarded with promos of various kinds for KV. No, they did not stick to the earlier trailer which was floating on air for some time earlier. They unleashed a series of different promos of various time durations with sharp focus on the selling points.In fact so impressed was Sun Pictures with the response to Nakka Mukka that they even made the cast and crew shoot another version of the song which wasn’t earlier there in the movie. It also helped that there were other songs which were also quite good (like thozhiya en kadhaliya ) and Vijay Antony’s songs and the lead pair got well recognized. Whether you were watching news, a daily soap or a movie, any interruption would be greeted with a KV promo and lo and behold the people flocked to the theatres out of curiosity. Thankfully the product was reasonably entertaining and thus a successful business model was created. Buoyed by the success of KV, Sun Pictures announced that they were there in the market for keeps.
By that time the then big players- Pyramid Saimira and Ayangaran were already facing the heat and Sun Pictures was more than happy to capitalize on the situation. Things turned a complete circle later on as Shankar’s mega project- Endhiran changed hands from Ayangaran to Sun Pictures. After KV Sun Pictures literally went on a buying spree and picked up movies for release. Whether it was a small movie like Dindigul Sarathy or a mass movie like Ayan, they showed that they were adept in handling the project. They even went on to release an English movie- Outlander all over South India in both English and the regional languages.
While their efforts at releasing and marketing the movie is commendable when we look at it from the view point of a KV or a Dindigul Sarathy, it becomes extremely irritating to accept carpet bombing on air in the form of promos for movies like a Thee. Dindigul Sarathy (a remake of Sreenivasan’s Malayalam movie Vadakku Nokki Yanthram) would have definitely struggled for a release considering it had comedian Karunas in the lead but Sun Pictures ensured that not only did the movie get a good release, it was also well promoted. Thenavattu saw Jeeva attempting an action movie for the first time and while critics blasted the movie and said Jeeva should rather concentrate on doing movies like Ram and Katradhu Tamil (leaving the mass movies to Vijay and Ajith), the marketing of the movie seemed to work and the movie was a success.
The heavy duty promotion of Ayan has been a big factor in ensuring the spectacular success of the movie. So once again with Masilamani they have been doing what they’ve been reasonably successful with. Expecting just a regular masala movie (coming out very clearly from the promos) I went on to watch Masilamani for the heck of it but came out both disappointed and confused. The movie directed by RMR Manohar has nothing great in terms of a plot. Its all about Masilamani (Nakul) fondly called Masi by all and he is the typical do-gooder. The heroine Divya (Sunaina) is a dance teacher and while Masi falls in love with her at first sight somehow whenever she sees him, he comes across as a ruffian to her due to circumstances.
That’s when Masi comes up with an alter ego called Mani who is the opposite of what Masi is and the rest of the movie goes completely in predictable fashion. Music by D.Imman is of the typical variety and couple of songs have become reasonably popular. The movie has a stock comedy track (no connection to the main story) with M.S.Bhaskar and Karunas. So obviously the promos are all focusing on the songs and the comedy scenes. While the movie is not on the lines of a Villu or a Thoranai it certainly is nothing great to talk about.
This gives me a major cause of concern all of a sudden. With the kind of financial and political muscle that Sun Pictures has they are only going to be producing and releasing a lot many more movies. While I salute their efforts to release and promote a small movie like Dindigul Sarathy, I am also happy to see them push a big movie like Ayan. After all the money made from an Ayan can be used to fund many more smaller films. But what I’m not in favor of is having movies like Thenavattu, Thee and now Masilamani thrown down our throats.
As a keen follower of Tamil cinema I do welcome the advent of a big player in the industry but I’m watching them carefully and curiously to see how they are headed. Let’s see what unfolds in the days to come.
P.S- Originally published in PFC.Check it out here- http://passionforcinema.com/masilamani-and-sun-pictures-changing-phase-of-tamil-cinema-for-better-or-worse/
Dreams in the cans- A Filmmaker's worst nightmare
A few days ago I was having a conversation over coffee with one of my friends who works in the industry and had just attended the first screenwriting workshop organized by Kamal Haasan’s Rajkmal Films in a tie-up with IIT-Madras. While my friend was sharing his insights about the workshop, he mentioned that apart from the various films screened as part of the course, they were also shown the teaser of ‘Marudhanayagam’, Kamal’s magnum opus which got stalled after the shooting started with a bang. Since I had seen the trailer myself, both of us went on an overdrive, discussing the merits and demerits of the project (as it appealed to us). I still remember the way the muhurat function was held. The chief guest for the event was none other than Queen Elizabeth who was in India at that point of time.
The trailer shows a glimpse of what the movie could have been. It in all probability could have certainly been India’s answer to movies like Braveheart as it falls in that genre and was deemed to be an extravagant affair. Unfortunately all that is left of the movie is around 30 mins of canned film and a dream that’s still not forgotten by Kamal Haasan for sure. Around the time when the shooting had to be stopped, the budget seemed to be something that Indian cinema would have found it hard to support. Now with bigger projects like Endhiran and Blue getting made, there’s still some light at the end of the tunnel in terms of getting some funding for Marudhanayagam. But the question to be asked is will that day be too late?
The reason for that is that Marudhanayagam in the present form requires extremely high levels of fitness and agility from Kamal Haasan and with every year that’s passing by, this is only going to get tougher and tougher for him. Some time last year Kamal even tried to come up with another mega project, again a period movie called Marmayogi. Pyramid Saimira who were initially picking up a lot of projects to produce and/or distribute had decided to produce Marmayogi and then had to back off after their losses suffered due to Kuselan. So now only time will tell whether Kamal Haasan would be able to fulfill his long pending dream of completing Marudhanayagam or whether it remains as just another incomplete dream in the cans.
This discussion made me realize that no matter whatever technical advancements that Cinema is witnessing, some things just don’t change. For one there’s still no safe formula for a successful film. Fortunes are still made and lost on Fridays. And yes luck is a crucial element in this business. That being the case isn’t it extremely heart wrenching for a film maker to see his/her movie getting stalled or lying in the cans unsold? Time and again we have seen so many film makers facing this predicament. This is a phenomena witnessed by both established and new filmmakers.
By now everyone (on PFC at least) knows the kind of struggle that Anurag Kashyap has had to face for Paanch ( still unreleased ) or what Pankaj Advani has had to face for Urf Professor ( again unreleased as of now ). These are just 2 popular examples that I have mentioned to explain a very common phenomena. That people like Anurag Kashyap and Pankaj Advani have a lot of conviction is evident as Anurag has gone on to make movies like Black Friday,No Smoking, Dev D, Gulaal etc and Pankaj Advani is right now gearing up for the release of his ‘ Sankat City’. But not every other filmmaker can carry within themselves so much of conviction, especially if it’s a new comer.
At the moment while I’m writing this my heart goes out to 2 other filmmakers, who share something in common with each other- their first film as a director was well recognized and fairly successful too. On one hand you have Sagar Ballary who made the popular Bheja Fry and whose second film Kachcha Limbu was completed quite some time ago. On the other hand you have Vasantha Balan who made the acclaimed Tamil movie- Veyyil and whose 2nd movie- Angadi Theru is also ready. So what else is common between these 2 directors apart from their first film being noticed? Well simple enough, both their 2nd movies are ready but still unsure of their release.
While Kachcha Limbu is a Sahara production, Angadi Theru is an Ayangaran production. Till recently both Sahara and Ayangaran were fairy serious players in production of Hindi/Tamil movies, but with the recession setting in, both these production houses have been affected to some extent. Sahara already has asked Sagar Ballary to try and find another entity to buy the movie from Sahara and then release it. While in case of Ayangaran as of now the release is still likely though a bit delayed. I just hope for the sake of Sagar and Vasanth that they manage to get their respective films released at the earliest and focus themselves on their other projects.
When my fellow PFC author Shivajee Chandrabhushan’s first film Frozen finally got released in India last month after doing the rounds of 30 odd festivals and winning 20 awards internationally, Shivajee was a much relieved man. And why not, for finally his dream was not in the cans anymore and was there for the whole world to see. And yes the wait can be sweet if it does not go beyond a point and the movie still gets the same reception that it was expected to receive. But if the waiting period goes beyond a point, then sometimes things can certainly go out of hand too.
A classic case in point is the Tamil movie- Kutrapathirikai directed by R.K.Selvamani. The movie was highly controversial for being based on former Prime Minister Rajeev Gandhi’s assassination. It was banned by the censors in 1992/1993 and after a prolonged court battle, the movie finally released in early 2007. For old times sake I did go and watch the movie but was thoroughly disappointed for 2 reasons- first of all the movie did not have anything objectionable for getting banned and secondly after nearly 15 years, the movie looked so out of place in terms of technique and sensibility that it was not surprisingly a big flop.
For the sake of all filmmakers and wannabe filmmakers I would certainly hope that as far as possible celluloid dreams lying in the cans should not go on to become a cause of concern. The celluloid dreams deserve to hit the silver screen and not lie around in the cans, unseen. Let the audience then deserve the fate of the movie, at least the filmmaker would have received his/her realistic chance of seeing his/her dream come true.
P.S- Originally published in PFC- check it out here- http://passionforcinema.com/dreams-in-the-cans-a-filmmaker%e2%80%99s-worst-nightmare/
The trailer shows a glimpse of what the movie could have been. It in all probability could have certainly been India’s answer to movies like Braveheart as it falls in that genre and was deemed to be an extravagant affair. Unfortunately all that is left of the movie is around 30 mins of canned film and a dream that’s still not forgotten by Kamal Haasan for sure. Around the time when the shooting had to be stopped, the budget seemed to be something that Indian cinema would have found it hard to support. Now with bigger projects like Endhiran and Blue getting made, there’s still some light at the end of the tunnel in terms of getting some funding for Marudhanayagam. But the question to be asked is will that day be too late?
The reason for that is that Marudhanayagam in the present form requires extremely high levels of fitness and agility from Kamal Haasan and with every year that’s passing by, this is only going to get tougher and tougher for him. Some time last year Kamal even tried to come up with another mega project, again a period movie called Marmayogi. Pyramid Saimira who were initially picking up a lot of projects to produce and/or distribute had decided to produce Marmayogi and then had to back off after their losses suffered due to Kuselan. So now only time will tell whether Kamal Haasan would be able to fulfill his long pending dream of completing Marudhanayagam or whether it remains as just another incomplete dream in the cans.
This discussion made me realize that no matter whatever technical advancements that Cinema is witnessing, some things just don’t change. For one there’s still no safe formula for a successful film. Fortunes are still made and lost on Fridays. And yes luck is a crucial element in this business. That being the case isn’t it extremely heart wrenching for a film maker to see his/her movie getting stalled or lying in the cans unsold? Time and again we have seen so many film makers facing this predicament. This is a phenomena witnessed by both established and new filmmakers.
By now everyone (on PFC at least) knows the kind of struggle that Anurag Kashyap has had to face for Paanch ( still unreleased ) or what Pankaj Advani has had to face for Urf Professor ( again unreleased as of now ). These are just 2 popular examples that I have mentioned to explain a very common phenomena. That people like Anurag Kashyap and Pankaj Advani have a lot of conviction is evident as Anurag has gone on to make movies like Black Friday,No Smoking, Dev D, Gulaal etc and Pankaj Advani is right now gearing up for the release of his ‘ Sankat City’. But not every other filmmaker can carry within themselves so much of conviction, especially if it’s a new comer.
At the moment while I’m writing this my heart goes out to 2 other filmmakers, who share something in common with each other- their first film as a director was well recognized and fairly successful too. On one hand you have Sagar Ballary who made the popular Bheja Fry and whose second film Kachcha Limbu was completed quite some time ago. On the other hand you have Vasantha Balan who made the acclaimed Tamil movie- Veyyil and whose 2nd movie- Angadi Theru is also ready. So what else is common between these 2 directors apart from their first film being noticed? Well simple enough, both their 2nd movies are ready but still unsure of their release.
While Kachcha Limbu is a Sahara production, Angadi Theru is an Ayangaran production. Till recently both Sahara and Ayangaran were fairy serious players in production of Hindi/Tamil movies, but with the recession setting in, both these production houses have been affected to some extent. Sahara already has asked Sagar Ballary to try and find another entity to buy the movie from Sahara and then release it. While in case of Ayangaran as of now the release is still likely though a bit delayed. I just hope for the sake of Sagar and Vasanth that they manage to get their respective films released at the earliest and focus themselves on their other projects.
When my fellow PFC author Shivajee Chandrabhushan’s first film Frozen finally got released in India last month after doing the rounds of 30 odd festivals and winning 20 awards internationally, Shivajee was a much relieved man. And why not, for finally his dream was not in the cans anymore and was there for the whole world to see. And yes the wait can be sweet if it does not go beyond a point and the movie still gets the same reception that it was expected to receive. But if the waiting period goes beyond a point, then sometimes things can certainly go out of hand too.
A classic case in point is the Tamil movie- Kutrapathirikai directed by R.K.Selvamani. The movie was highly controversial for being based on former Prime Minister Rajeev Gandhi’s assassination. It was banned by the censors in 1992/1993 and after a prolonged court battle, the movie finally released in early 2007. For old times sake I did go and watch the movie but was thoroughly disappointed for 2 reasons- first of all the movie did not have anything objectionable for getting banned and secondly after nearly 15 years, the movie looked so out of place in terms of technique and sensibility that it was not surprisingly a big flop.
For the sake of all filmmakers and wannabe filmmakers I would certainly hope that as far as possible celluloid dreams lying in the cans should not go on to become a cause of concern. The celluloid dreams deserve to hit the silver screen and not lie around in the cans, unseen. Let the audience then deserve the fate of the movie, at least the filmmaker would have received his/her realistic chance of seeing his/her dream come true.
P.S- Originally published in PFC- check it out here- http://passionforcinema.com/dreams-in-the-cans-a-filmmaker%e2%80%99s-worst-nightmare/
‘Passenger’- A tale of trains, scams and the common man
Right from the days when I was a kid, I used to enjoy traveling by train. Whether it were the long distance journeys usually in the summer vacation or the suburban train traveling in a Mumbai or Chennai, I would always look forward to it. Over years I have gone on to notice how Indian Railways seems to have become a home away from home for a lot many people who travel by trains regularly to work. Whether you talk about the electric trains in the metro cities like Western/Central/Harbor lines of Mumbai or the Guindy-Tambaram route in Chennai, or the underground Metro rail in Kolkata and Delhi or even in places like Kerala where people travel from a Palakkad to Coimbatore (T.N) or from far off places like Thrissur and adjoining districts to Cochin/Ernakulam, this phenomena is witnessed on a daily basis. The exceptions must only be in case of Sundays and holidays. Of course in Kerala with strikes and hartals being quite common one must see a lot more exceptions to this aspect.
For all these people traveling to work, the journey by train becomes an extension of their life. They even know the train timings by heart and would have their own acquaintances/friends whom they meet on the train every day. Speaking of this reminds me of Naseeruddin Shah in A Wednesday, mourning the death of a young man, a fellow train traveler who dies in a bomb blast. When you get into a routine of seeing somebody so regularly on the train everyday, you tend to identify him/her as someone familiar to you & look forward to meeting him/her again and again.
Why am I rambling on and on about trains and train travelers? Well basically because this post is my reflections over a recent Malayalam movie that I saw- ‘Passenger’. It’s a movie that’s certainly better than some of the mediocre stuff that we have got used to seeing from Malayalam cinema these days and it makes me in its own ways also relive my days of having traveled by the suburban trains in Chennai and Mumbai. The movie is not just about train journey, it’s also about the common man and the role that he can play in today’s chaotic society. So in a way that reminded me of A Wednesday, but the comparison is slightly superficial because there are a lot of differences between the common man in both these films.
Ranjith Shankar (a former I.T professional) makes a debut as a writer-director with Passenger. The movie is a definitely more than a decent debut for Ranjith as it’s certainly not a run of the mill subject and that needs to be appreciated. When the opening credits start I was astonished to find a big thanks to the ‘fans of Dileep’ and I certainly expected this to be a way of just addressing star tantrums, but thankfully as the movie progressed, I realized the actual reason for the credit and couldn’t but afford to smile when I realized the same. I will come to that later.
Passenger is a movie that basically chronicles the events that take place in the lives of a few individuals whose paths cross due to nothing but quirk of fate. Sathyanathan(Sreenivasan) is the common man of the story and he works for a Pharmaceutical firm in Ernakulam and travels everyday to work (and back) from his house in a village near Chalakudy by train. On the train he usually encounters a constant set of people with whom he spends time by playing cards and chit chatting. This is how life goes on for him on a regular basis. That Sathyanathan has a social activist streak is evident as he is seen running signature campaigns for cleaner toilets on trains, asking for streamlining the halts on train routes etc.
On the other hand you have a young educated couple who are equally social minded. The husband Adv.Nandan Menon ( Dileep ) and his wife TV journalist Anuradha Menon(Mamta Mohan Das ) by way of work have locked horns with the Home Minister(Jagathy Sreekumar ) in connection with a case pertaining to sand mining in a coastal area. One fine day Sathyanathan pesters his boss to grant him leave for the next day as he being the local temple festival’s organizer wants to be there for the same. Reluctantly his boss grants the leave when Sathyanathan volunteers to work overtime for that day.
Having worked overtime Sathyanathan has to skip his regular train and take up another train at a later time. At the same time Nandan Menon is on the same train traveling to Guruvayoor (his wife Anuradha is part of a press team covering the minister’s press meet in Kottayam). A disturbing series of events unfold and the rest of the movie is all about what happens in the course of the next 24 hours or so. The lives of all the main characters in the story get intertwined. As far as the concept goes it’s not earth shaking but certainly better than the run of the mill stuff seen regularly these days.
In terms of casting again I think Ranjith Shankar has got it fairly right. Who better than Sreenivasan to play the common man? And kudos to Dileep for having accepted a role which is more of a second fiddle ( this is why I guess the thanks was mentioned for his fans- maybe for seeking their support ) and for a change it’s good to see Mamta in a non glamorous role. Though it’s become routine to see politicians as villains in Malayalam cinema, but still it’s refreshing to see the extremely talented Jagathy Sreekumar essaying the role over here.
The movie has managed to get a lot of nuances correct as seen in Kerala on a daily basis. For example in spite of attractions like T.V and cinema you still have a lot of people craving for the temple festivals, in most Malayalee homes you would find an elderly person typically watching an ‘Idea Star Singer’ or ‘Devi Mahatmyam’ on Asianet in the primetime slots on T.V leaving the others at home with no choice if you do not have a second T.V at home. The ending of the movie again is something that leaves you with a smile. And at a running time of just less than 2 hours, the length of the movie is just about right surprisingly.
But all said and done the movie still is not a path-breaker and is nowhere close to being called a great movie. There are a lot of loopholes in the script and sometimes you even question the validity of some events in the movie. But all said and done considering that it’s the first effort of Ranjith Shankar as writer-director and for having tried something different, the effort needs to be highlighted. I only hope that Ranjith and the other film makers only look to go beyond Passenger and come up with even better movies rather than stagnating over here. Malayalam cinema needs a revival, a revival that’s long overdue. Till that happens I have to keep re-visiting some of the good films of the 80’s and 90’s or keep hoping with every ‘Passenger’ that things are about to improve.
P.S- Originally published in PFC.Check it out here- http://passionforcinema.com/passenger-a-tale-of-trains-scams-and-the-common-man/
For all these people traveling to work, the journey by train becomes an extension of their life. They even know the train timings by heart and would have their own acquaintances/friends whom they meet on the train every day. Speaking of this reminds me of Naseeruddin Shah in A Wednesday, mourning the death of a young man, a fellow train traveler who dies in a bomb blast. When you get into a routine of seeing somebody so regularly on the train everyday, you tend to identify him/her as someone familiar to you & look forward to meeting him/her again and again.
Why am I rambling on and on about trains and train travelers? Well basically because this post is my reflections over a recent Malayalam movie that I saw- ‘Passenger’. It’s a movie that’s certainly better than some of the mediocre stuff that we have got used to seeing from Malayalam cinema these days and it makes me in its own ways also relive my days of having traveled by the suburban trains in Chennai and Mumbai. The movie is not just about train journey, it’s also about the common man and the role that he can play in today’s chaotic society. So in a way that reminded me of A Wednesday, but the comparison is slightly superficial because there are a lot of differences between the common man in both these films.
Ranjith Shankar (a former I.T professional) makes a debut as a writer-director with Passenger. The movie is a definitely more than a decent debut for Ranjith as it’s certainly not a run of the mill subject and that needs to be appreciated. When the opening credits start I was astonished to find a big thanks to the ‘fans of Dileep’ and I certainly expected this to be a way of just addressing star tantrums, but thankfully as the movie progressed, I realized the actual reason for the credit and couldn’t but afford to smile when I realized the same. I will come to that later.
Passenger is a movie that basically chronicles the events that take place in the lives of a few individuals whose paths cross due to nothing but quirk of fate. Sathyanathan(Sreenivasan) is the common man of the story and he works for a Pharmaceutical firm in Ernakulam and travels everyday to work (and back) from his house in a village near Chalakudy by train. On the train he usually encounters a constant set of people with whom he spends time by playing cards and chit chatting. This is how life goes on for him on a regular basis. That Sathyanathan has a social activist streak is evident as he is seen running signature campaigns for cleaner toilets on trains, asking for streamlining the halts on train routes etc.
On the other hand you have a young educated couple who are equally social minded. The husband Adv.Nandan Menon ( Dileep ) and his wife TV journalist Anuradha Menon(Mamta Mohan Das ) by way of work have locked horns with the Home Minister(Jagathy Sreekumar ) in connection with a case pertaining to sand mining in a coastal area. One fine day Sathyanathan pesters his boss to grant him leave for the next day as he being the local temple festival’s organizer wants to be there for the same. Reluctantly his boss grants the leave when Sathyanathan volunteers to work overtime for that day.
Having worked overtime Sathyanathan has to skip his regular train and take up another train at a later time. At the same time Nandan Menon is on the same train traveling to Guruvayoor (his wife Anuradha is part of a press team covering the minister’s press meet in Kottayam). A disturbing series of events unfold and the rest of the movie is all about what happens in the course of the next 24 hours or so. The lives of all the main characters in the story get intertwined. As far as the concept goes it’s not earth shaking but certainly better than the run of the mill stuff seen regularly these days.
In terms of casting again I think Ranjith Shankar has got it fairly right. Who better than Sreenivasan to play the common man? And kudos to Dileep for having accepted a role which is more of a second fiddle ( this is why I guess the thanks was mentioned for his fans- maybe for seeking their support ) and for a change it’s good to see Mamta in a non glamorous role. Though it’s become routine to see politicians as villains in Malayalam cinema, but still it’s refreshing to see the extremely talented Jagathy Sreekumar essaying the role over here.
The movie has managed to get a lot of nuances correct as seen in Kerala on a daily basis. For example in spite of attractions like T.V and cinema you still have a lot of people craving for the temple festivals, in most Malayalee homes you would find an elderly person typically watching an ‘Idea Star Singer’ or ‘Devi Mahatmyam’ on Asianet in the primetime slots on T.V leaving the others at home with no choice if you do not have a second T.V at home. The ending of the movie again is something that leaves you with a smile. And at a running time of just less than 2 hours, the length of the movie is just about right surprisingly.
But all said and done the movie still is not a path-breaker and is nowhere close to being called a great movie. There are a lot of loopholes in the script and sometimes you even question the validity of some events in the movie. But all said and done considering that it’s the first effort of Ranjith Shankar as writer-director and for having tried something different, the effort needs to be highlighted. I only hope that Ranjith and the other film makers only look to go beyond Passenger and come up with even better movies rather than stagnating over here. Malayalam cinema needs a revival, a revival that’s long overdue. Till that happens I have to keep re-visiting some of the good films of the 80’s and 90’s or keep hoping with every ‘Passenger’ that things are about to improve.
P.S- Originally published in PFC.Check it out here- http://passionforcinema.com/passenger-a-tale-of-trains-scams-and-the-common-man/
My Chennai Cinema Diary
Well as work beckoned, I was back in Chennai for a short visit of 3 days, incidentally my 2nd visit in less than 2 weeks time. Chennai has more than been home to me and so always has a special place in my heart. This visit was extra special because I ended up watching 3 movies on the big screen all in a span of 24 hours. It was back to my old days of glory and the feeling was accentuated since I saw the movies in Sathyam Cinemas, which is virtually my 2nd home in Chennai.
Considering that the last 2 months have been fairly drought prone in terms of movies, what with the strike in Bollywood (now finally called off) and hardly any major Hollywood release too, it was mainly regional cinema that kept me busy. So it was all the more interesting that I was watching a Hindi movie and 2 Hollywood movies one after the other after quite some time. And adding to all this was the fact that I genuinely enjoyed 2 out of those 3 movies, so without too much of a prologue, let me get into the details.
Thursday, 4th June,’09- 3.45 P.M show at Studio-5 (Sathyam Cinemas) – Movie-99
No one could have asked for a better way to capitalize on getting free so early on a working day. I was there with an industry friend to watch 99 again. Another friend, also from the industry was supposed to join in, but couldn’t make it due to some work. While I had asked my friend to get the tickets booked, my friend was slightly hesitant. His contention being that the movie was about to enter the 4th week and it was an afternoon show on a week day, so tickets should be easily available. But the scenario seemed to be completely different. Yes it was the smallest of the 6 screens in the multiplex but still it was a full house and hence very creditable for a movie on the 21st day of its release.Quite a few people among the audience were watching the movie for the 2nd time & most of the people seemed to be having a great time watching the movie. I think if the Bollywood strike has benefited anyone the most; it should definitely be the team of 99 as the movie certainly seems to be getting watched by a lot of people. I would not want to review the movie now as by now most of us know quite a lot about the movie. But yes I would definitely like to mention that by and large I was impressed with the casting choices. Of course I felt Vinod Khanna’s role had no meat and it could have been done by nearly anyone else. Kunal Khemu is a good actor and I would like to see him in more such movies than a Jai Veeru .
Soha Ali Khan,Cyrus, Boman Irani were all more than adequate. But I think Mahesh Manjrekar and Amit Mistry in particular rocked. I would really like to congratulate Krishna D.K, Raj Nidimoru and the entire team of 99 for not only have they been able to make a movie that’s entertaining yet made within a reasonable budget, they have also been able to bring in a lot of authenticity as seen by the way they have captured the years 1999-2000 in the movie. And considering that they have got the nuances of Mumbai and Delhi so well it becomes an even better spectacle to watch. There are so many wonderful moments in the film, that one always stays glued to the screen. Oh! Yes I do plan to catch the movie again probably sometime later this week.
Thursday, 4th June,’09- 7.00 P.M show at Santham (Sathyam Cinemas) – Movie- Angels and Demons
Based on the book of the same name by Dan Brown, this one is the filmy sequel to The Da Vinci Code (while the book is more of a prequel). While the book series and the previous movie have created enough controversy, this movie has also generated enough curiosity. Tom Hanks reprises his role as Robert Langdon in this movie directed by Ron Howard. Set within the Vatican, this movie is the archetype Hollywood masala movie. With its stock characters, some fair bit of intrigue, twists and turns and some rescue acts galore, this is a movie that will be lapped up by majority of the audience and the crowd at Santham (Sathyam Cinemas) seemed to be no exception too. Thankfully the movie moves at a reasonable pace and is technically good (not a surprise for a film of this magnitude). All in all it was a movie I didn’t regret having watched, but not something that I’m proud of either.
After the movie was over I realized that there was a paid preview of Star Trek, later at night and being a Star Trek fan (Trekkie/Trekker), I was tempted to make it 3 movies in a row, but restrained myself as I already had taken tickets for the next day.
Friday, 5th June,’09- 10.15 P.M show at Santham (Sathyam Cinemas) – Movie- Star Trek
Ok this is a brand new installment of the franchise that I kind of grew up with. I still remember watching the T.V series on D.D as a kid and watching the movies those days. Oh! Yes I also remember reading the books/comics of the series when I was in school and so when I heard of the movie being made, I was naturally excited. When PFC had reviewed the movie after a sneak preview in the U.S sometime ago, my curiosity levels were raised and so there I was on the first day of its India release to watch it. First things first, the movie does not disappoint. For a lot of Star Trek fans, it’s like re-visiting the franchise as you are shown the origins of Kirk and Spock. And for most newcomers among the audience (majority of the people didn’t seem to be aware of the franchise) it was good that they got to understand the concept quite well. The actors have changed, some personality traits have changed but at heart the franchise remains the same.So there’s time-travel, black holes, Starfleet Academy, distant planets and more such things that the franchise had started to symbolize. And for all the original fans, one also gets to see Leonard Limoy (the original Spock) who reprises his role as the senior Spock in the movie. All in all, this is one adventure ( directed by J.J.Abrams )that’s lovely to experience. I’m now looking forward to the next movie in the series.
Finally before I left from Chennai for a short vacation to Kerala, I was almost set to watch another movie- the Malayalam hit, Passenger. But due to shortage of time, I had to cancel the plan and looked forward to watching it in Kerala instead. So coming up next is my Kerala Cinema Diary.
Note- This was written a few days ago and was to be posted over last weekend. Now at the time of posting this I have already watched 99 once more. Viva cinema!!!
P.S- Originally posted in PFC.Check it out here- http://passionforcinema.com/my-chennai-cinema-diary/
Considering that the last 2 months have been fairly drought prone in terms of movies, what with the strike in Bollywood (now finally called off) and hardly any major Hollywood release too, it was mainly regional cinema that kept me busy. So it was all the more interesting that I was watching a Hindi movie and 2 Hollywood movies one after the other after quite some time. And adding to all this was the fact that I genuinely enjoyed 2 out of those 3 movies, so without too much of a prologue, let me get into the details.
Thursday, 4th June,’09- 3.45 P.M show at Studio-5 (Sathyam Cinemas) – Movie-99
No one could have asked for a better way to capitalize on getting free so early on a working day. I was there with an industry friend to watch 99 again. Another friend, also from the industry was supposed to join in, but couldn’t make it due to some work. While I had asked my friend to get the tickets booked, my friend was slightly hesitant. His contention being that the movie was about to enter the 4th week and it was an afternoon show on a week day, so tickets should be easily available. But the scenario seemed to be completely different. Yes it was the smallest of the 6 screens in the multiplex but still it was a full house and hence very creditable for a movie on the 21st day of its release.Quite a few people among the audience were watching the movie for the 2nd time & most of the people seemed to be having a great time watching the movie. I think if the Bollywood strike has benefited anyone the most; it should definitely be the team of 99 as the movie certainly seems to be getting watched by a lot of people. I would not want to review the movie now as by now most of us know quite a lot about the movie. But yes I would definitely like to mention that by and large I was impressed with the casting choices. Of course I felt Vinod Khanna’s role had no meat and it could have been done by nearly anyone else. Kunal Khemu is a good actor and I would like to see him in more such movies than a Jai Veeru .
Soha Ali Khan,Cyrus, Boman Irani were all more than adequate. But I think Mahesh Manjrekar and Amit Mistry in particular rocked. I would really like to congratulate Krishna D.K, Raj Nidimoru and the entire team of 99 for not only have they been able to make a movie that’s entertaining yet made within a reasonable budget, they have also been able to bring in a lot of authenticity as seen by the way they have captured the years 1999-2000 in the movie. And considering that they have got the nuances of Mumbai and Delhi so well it becomes an even better spectacle to watch. There are so many wonderful moments in the film, that one always stays glued to the screen. Oh! Yes I do plan to catch the movie again probably sometime later this week.
Thursday, 4th June,’09- 7.00 P.M show at Santham (Sathyam Cinemas) – Movie- Angels and Demons
Based on the book of the same name by Dan Brown, this one is the filmy sequel to The Da Vinci Code (while the book is more of a prequel). While the book series and the previous movie have created enough controversy, this movie has also generated enough curiosity. Tom Hanks reprises his role as Robert Langdon in this movie directed by Ron Howard. Set within the Vatican, this movie is the archetype Hollywood masala movie. With its stock characters, some fair bit of intrigue, twists and turns and some rescue acts galore, this is a movie that will be lapped up by majority of the audience and the crowd at Santham (Sathyam Cinemas) seemed to be no exception too. Thankfully the movie moves at a reasonable pace and is technically good (not a surprise for a film of this magnitude). All in all it was a movie I didn’t regret having watched, but not something that I’m proud of either.
After the movie was over I realized that there was a paid preview of Star Trek, later at night and being a Star Trek fan (Trekkie/Trekker), I was tempted to make it 3 movies in a row, but restrained myself as I already had taken tickets for the next day.
Friday, 5th June,’09- 10.15 P.M show at Santham (Sathyam Cinemas) – Movie- Star Trek
Ok this is a brand new installment of the franchise that I kind of grew up with. I still remember watching the T.V series on D.D as a kid and watching the movies those days. Oh! Yes I also remember reading the books/comics of the series when I was in school and so when I heard of the movie being made, I was naturally excited. When PFC had reviewed the movie after a sneak preview in the U.S sometime ago, my curiosity levels were raised and so there I was on the first day of its India release to watch it. First things first, the movie does not disappoint. For a lot of Star Trek fans, it’s like re-visiting the franchise as you are shown the origins of Kirk and Spock. And for most newcomers among the audience (majority of the people didn’t seem to be aware of the franchise) it was good that they got to understand the concept quite well. The actors have changed, some personality traits have changed but at heart the franchise remains the same.So there’s time-travel, black holes, Starfleet Academy, distant planets and more such things that the franchise had started to symbolize. And for all the original fans, one also gets to see Leonard Limoy (the original Spock) who reprises his role as the senior Spock in the movie. All in all, this is one adventure ( directed by J.J.Abrams )that’s lovely to experience. I’m now looking forward to the next movie in the series.
Finally before I left from Chennai for a short vacation to Kerala, I was almost set to watch another movie- the Malayalam hit, Passenger. But due to shortage of time, I had to cancel the plan and looked forward to watching it in Kerala instead. So coming up next is my Kerala Cinema Diary.
Note- This was written a few days ago and was to be posted over last weekend. Now at the time of posting this I have already watched 99 once more. Viva cinema!!!
P.S- Originally posted in PFC.Check it out here- http://passionforcinema.com/my-chennai-cinema-diary/
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