Friends its been a while since I've blogged, been busy @ work & then was held up with my brother's wedding and the related activities.
But in the meanwhile there hasnt been much action on the movie front.Speed-though a decent take-off on Cellular has not done well at the box office.Nothing much happening on the tamil front either.Telugu industry saw the release of Venaktesh-Nayanthara starrer-Thulasi ( doing decent business) & Mahesh Babu's latest Athithi which also has Amrita Rao in her first telugu flick.
Athihi is probably a hit but not in the league of Okkadu,Athadu or Pokiri.Malayalam cinema saw 4 movies releasing for Ramzan- Mohanlal's Paradesi, Mammooty's Nasarani, Prithviraj's Chocolate & Suresh Gopi's Black Cat.Surprisingly the winner is Chocolate.Last friday ( 26th Oct) also saw the release of Jab We Met ( Shahid,Kareena ) No Smoking ( John Abraham, Ayesha Takia).
Will come out with my reviews for most of these movies soon, very soon.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
Laaga Chunari Mein Daag-A Quick Review
Well some of my friends and my brother say that I have always had a soft corner for Yash Raj Films & their movies. While I wont deny their claim completely it is also true i feel that these days they have been churning out quite a few uneventful movies some which like Fanaa have unfortunately been successfull & some of it like Tara Rum Pum, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom etc have bitten the dust.
Here comes one more such uneventul film from their stable-Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (LCMD).Directed by Pradeep Sarkar the veteran ad film maker & director of movies like Balo Theko ( Bengali which introduced Vidya Balan) & Parineeta and starring good actors like Rani Mukherjee, Konkona Sen,Jaya Bhaduri, Abhishek Bachchan etc, this could have been an excellent combination to boast of.
Alas the subject of the movie is a big let down- its inspired by a Marathi short story ,Doghi written by Vijay Tendulkar which was made into a play & a marathi movie of the same name.It also bears resemblance to Aaina a movie starring Mumtaz & Rajesh Khanna in the 1970's which was a remade by K.Balachandar from his own tamil movie-Aval Oru Thodarkathai.
Well going back to the plot, Anupam Kher & Jaya Bhaduri lived a miserable life in Varanasi.They have only tales of old glory left.Even their haveli is under legal dispute with their relatives laying stake- Tinnu Anand & Sushant Singh.Rani Mukherjee & Konkona Sen play the free spirited daughters.One fine day when things get very difficult,Rani decides to support the family & goes to Mumbai to work.
So as usual she is made to compromise in order to make ends meet & ends up becoming a high class "escort" in order to ensure things at home are taken care of!!!Well she also ends up meeting Abhishek Bachchan in Switzerland, but has to move out of there soon.Konkona comes over to Mumbai and gets a job in an ad agency.She also falls in love with Kunal Kapoor, a colleague.
Alls well till here, when Konkona finds out about her sister's profession.But she doesnt let her down & insists Rani accompnay her for the wedding.Thats when its known that Abhishek is Kunal's bada bhai.Well I hope you all can understand that the story ends on a predicatble happy note.
The whole story is so so predicatable, you can take lots of breaks in between & still know where the story has reached!Performances are decent, music is just ok with only the first song-Humto aise hain bhaiyya staying on your mind.While Varanasi & Switzerland have been shot well ( expected from YashRaj Films), there is nothing much to redeem the movie.Certainly a disappointment from Yash Raj & Pradeeo Sarkar.
Rating-1.5/5
Here comes one more such uneventul film from their stable-Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (LCMD).Directed by Pradeep Sarkar the veteran ad film maker & director of movies like Balo Theko ( Bengali which introduced Vidya Balan) & Parineeta and starring good actors like Rani Mukherjee, Konkona Sen,Jaya Bhaduri, Abhishek Bachchan etc, this could have been an excellent combination to boast of.
Alas the subject of the movie is a big let down- its inspired by a Marathi short story ,Doghi written by Vijay Tendulkar which was made into a play & a marathi movie of the same name.It also bears resemblance to Aaina a movie starring Mumtaz & Rajesh Khanna in the 1970's which was a remade by K.Balachandar from his own tamil movie-Aval Oru Thodarkathai.
Well going back to the plot, Anupam Kher & Jaya Bhaduri lived a miserable life in Varanasi.They have only tales of old glory left.Even their haveli is under legal dispute with their relatives laying stake- Tinnu Anand & Sushant Singh.Rani Mukherjee & Konkona Sen play the free spirited daughters.One fine day when things get very difficult,Rani decides to support the family & goes to Mumbai to work.
So as usual she is made to compromise in order to make ends meet & ends up becoming a high class "escort" in order to ensure things at home are taken care of!!!Well she also ends up meeting Abhishek Bachchan in Switzerland, but has to move out of there soon.Konkona comes over to Mumbai and gets a job in an ad agency.She also falls in love with Kunal Kapoor, a colleague.
Alls well till here, when Konkona finds out about her sister's profession.But she doesnt let her down & insists Rani accompnay her for the wedding.Thats when its known that Abhishek is Kunal's bada bhai.Well I hope you all can understand that the story ends on a predicatble happy note.
The whole story is so so predicatable, you can take lots of breaks in between & still know where the story has reached!Performances are decent, music is just ok with only the first song-Humto aise hain bhaiyya staying on your mind.While Varanasi & Switzerland have been shot well ( expected from YashRaj Films), there is nothing much to redeem the movie.Certainly a disappointment from Yash Raj & Pradeeo Sarkar.
Rating-1.5/5
Friday, October 12, 2007
Bhool Bhulaiyaa-A Quick Review
Well the big Eid release-Bhool Bhulaiyaa is here.Priyadarshan is back again & yes this is another remake.But no its not a remake of Chandramukhi ( the Rajnikant hit Tam/Telugu movie made by P.Vasu which in itself was a frame to frame remake of P.Vasu's own Kannada hit-Apthamitra which in turn was "inspired" by the malayalam
movie Manichitrathazhu by Fazil) thankully its a remake of the original mallu movie-Manichitrathazhu by Fazil.
This malayalam movie ( Mohanlal,Shobana,Suresh Gopi) is a modern day classic within the mainstream genre & shared the National Award in 1993 for Best Film providing Wholesome Entertainment along with Darr.But for those expecting a Priyan's trademark, please be warned- this is not a comedy.Its a psychological thriller with doses of comedy thrown in.Coming to BB's plot ( for those who havent seen any of the 4 south Indian versions :) ), Shiney Ahuja & Vidya Balan are newly married & come down to their home town from the U.S.
They have a large extended family-Manoj Joshi,Paresh Rawal,Rasika Joshi,Amisha Patel etc.When Shiney & Vidya decide they want to stay in their pushtaini ( old traditional) haveli, the family throws a fit since the haveli is supposed to be haunted.After some mishaps everyone stays in the haveli & people suspect Amisha Patel of being ghost possessed.
Well its nearly interval time & thats when our hero Akshay arrives-he's Shiney's friend-a well known Psychiatrist.How he goes along to solve the mystery is the rest of the story.Performances wise Akshay is in form, since its a role laced with humour, which comes naturally to him.Shiney Ahuja is ok, though people will like Vidya Balan here, her performance pales in comparison to those who have played the roel earlier like Shobana ( malayalam), Soundarya ( kannada) & Jyothika ( Tam/Telugu).
Amisha Patel doesnt thankfully have any emotional scenes, Manoj Joshi does well.Paresh Rawal & Asrani are ok but dont have too much to do here, same for Rajpal Yadav.Music by Pritam is good- especially the title track which is rocking the nation ( hey!it comes at the end of the movie with the end credits, so junta stay on for the same)& Labon se.
Priyan who was associated with the original mallu movie also is sure to take the bollywood audience by storm.For more or less sticking to the original script & daring to bring the hero almost as late as the interval but still making gains out of the same,credit goes to him.
The holiday crowd ( Eid & weekend) along with the title track + Priyan-Akshay combo will ensure a terrific start for the movie.Go watch this one, its one different journey.
Rating-3/5
movie Manichitrathazhu by Fazil) thankully its a remake of the original mallu movie-Manichitrathazhu by Fazil.
This malayalam movie ( Mohanlal,Shobana,Suresh Gopi) is a modern day classic within the mainstream genre & shared the National Award in 1993 for Best Film providing Wholesome Entertainment along with Darr.But for those expecting a Priyan's trademark, please be warned- this is not a comedy.Its a psychological thriller with doses of comedy thrown in.Coming to BB's plot ( for those who havent seen any of the 4 south Indian versions :) ), Shiney Ahuja & Vidya Balan are newly married & come down to their home town from the U.S.
They have a large extended family-Manoj Joshi,Paresh Rawal,Rasika Joshi,Amisha Patel etc.When Shiney & Vidya decide they want to stay in their pushtaini ( old traditional) haveli, the family throws a fit since the haveli is supposed to be haunted.After some mishaps everyone stays in the haveli & people suspect Amisha Patel of being ghost possessed.
Well its nearly interval time & thats when our hero Akshay arrives-he's Shiney's friend-a well known Psychiatrist.How he goes along to solve the mystery is the rest of the story.Performances wise Akshay is in form, since its a role laced with humour, which comes naturally to him.Shiney Ahuja is ok, though people will like Vidya Balan here, her performance pales in comparison to those who have played the roel earlier like Shobana ( malayalam), Soundarya ( kannada) & Jyothika ( Tam/Telugu).
Amisha Patel doesnt thankfully have any emotional scenes, Manoj Joshi does well.Paresh Rawal & Asrani are ok but dont have too much to do here, same for Rajpal Yadav.Music by Pritam is good- especially the title track which is rocking the nation ( hey!it comes at the end of the movie with the end credits, so junta stay on for the same)& Labon se.
Priyan who was associated with the original mallu movie also is sure to take the bollywood audience by storm.For more or less sticking to the original script & daring to bring the hero almost as late as the interval but still making gains out of the same,credit goes to him.
The holiday crowd ( Eid & weekend) along with the title track + Priyan-Akshay combo will ensure a terrific start for the movie.Go watch this one, its one different journey.
Rating-3/5
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Eid Mubarak- Bhool Bhulaiyya Vs Laaga Chunari Mein Daag
Well its Eid & a major time for festival releases in Bollywood.This time its two biggies- T.Series with Bhool Bhulaiyya Vs Yash Raj Films with Laaga Chunari Mein Daag.Its an interesting clash, one- a subject made succesfully in all the 4 south Indian launguages & the other a supposedly bold attempt.
Actors in both sides are top notch & the music too is rocking the charts.So is it gonna be Priyan,Akshay,Vidya,Shiney etc in Bhool Bhulaiyya or Pradeep Sarkar, Rani,Abhishek etc in LCMD who will win the battle at the Box Office?
As a film buff I am hoping both do well.Will keep the updates going this weekend.Do look out for this space............
Actors in both sides are top notch & the music too is rocking the charts.So is it gonna be Priyan,Akshay,Vidya,Shiney etc in Bhool Bhulaiyya or Pradeep Sarkar, Rani,Abhishek etc in LCMD who will win the battle at the Box Office?
As a film buff I am hoping both do well.Will keep the updates going this weekend.Do look out for this space............
Katrathu Tamil- A Quick Review (Tamil)
I had the privilege of watching a special show of this movie with my good friend,Kishore @ Priyadarshan's Four Frames Preview Theatre in Chennai.It turned out to be a good experience.Starring Jeeva & directed by a new comer-Ram ( but doesnt look like a debutant director's effort!), this one has class written all over it.
Its about the trials & anguish a Tamil M.A qualified school teacher, played by Jeeva goes through.He only has his childhood girlfriend ( new find Anjali) to look upto as a source of succour.The movie portrays how Jeeva turns pyshcopath, killing people in a fit of rebelling against the system which gives no chance to people like him but allows mediocre people in the name of IT & ITES to move ahead in life.
Its also a journey of Jeeva finding his girl & redeeming himself, though to a tragic end.Though there are a lot of questions left unanswered in the movie, overall its a brave attempt by Ram & must be commended.
Rating-3/5
Its about the trials & anguish a Tamil M.A qualified school teacher, played by Jeeva goes through.He only has his childhood girlfriend ( new find Anjali) to look upto as a source of succour.The movie portrays how Jeeva turns pyshcopath, killing people in a fit of rebelling against the system which gives no chance to people like him but allows mediocre people in the name of IT & ITES to move ahead in life.
Its also a journey of Jeeva finding his girl & redeeming himself, though to a tragic end.Though there are a lot of questions left unanswered in the movie, overall its a brave attempt by Ram & must be commended.
Rating-3/5
Malaikottai-A Quick Review ( Tamil)
Well Vishal the one man army & the fastest "rising"star in Kollywood is back with his 6th movie-Malaikottai.Directed by Bhoopathi Pandian ( Devathaiyai Kandein, Thiruvilayadal Aarambam) who is known for his sense of comedy, this one tries to combine the action image of Vishal with comedy for the first time.
So whats it all about?Vishal gets into an altercation with a gang in his hometown Pattukottai & the court gives him conditional bail but asks him to report to Trichy Police Station every day for a month.The Inspector in the Police Station is Ashish Vidyarthi, his chittappa ( dad's younger bro).Vishal falls in love with Priya Mani who is an engineering student.Trichy is being ruled by Devaraj ( Kannada actor) & his brother.
Again Vishal knocks off the villain's brother & then it becomes a straight competition between the two.Vishal is good in action, but can improve in the lighter scenes.The scenes between Ashish Vidyarthi & Urvasi are good.What was Nirosha doing in the movie?Priya Mani has nothing much to do.Overall an average movie.
Rating-2/5
So whats it all about?Vishal gets into an altercation with a gang in his hometown Pattukottai & the court gives him conditional bail but asks him to report to Trichy Police Station every day for a month.The Inspector in the Police Station is Ashish Vidyarthi, his chittappa ( dad's younger bro).Vishal falls in love with Priya Mani who is an engineering student.Trichy is being ruled by Devaraj ( Kannada actor) & his brother.
Again Vishal knocks off the villain's brother & then it becomes a straight competition between the two.Vishal is good in action, but can improve in the lighter scenes.The scenes between Ashish Vidyarthi & Urvasi are good.What was Nirosha doing in the movie?Priya Mani has nothing much to do.Overall an average movie.
Rating-2/5
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Happy Days- A Quick Review (Telugu)
Shekhar Kammula is back with his fourth movie ( after Dollar Dreams,Anand & Godavari), this time its a fun filled nostalgia laced movie-Happy Days.Its about a bunch of people who join CBIT ( a well known engineering college in Hyd of which the director is also an alumnus) & their journey for the next 4 years.
The film captures a lot of intricate weavings of love, friendship, pain etc during the days in college.It in particular makes one relive one's own experience of love ( or the lack of it!) during one's college days & thats where the movie scores.
Except for Kamalinee Mukherjee in a guest role ( a la Sushmita Sen in Main Hoon Na) & Tamanna, the rest of the cast is completely new.But the performances are all very natural & makes the viewing a pleasure.Overall a good film to watch.
Rating-3.5/5
The film captures a lot of intricate weavings of love, friendship, pain etc during the days in college.It in particular makes one relive one's own experience of love ( or the lack of it!) during one's college days & thats where the movie scores.
Except for Kamalinee Mukherjee in a guest role ( a la Sushmita Sen in Main Hoon Na) & Tamanna, the rest of the cast is completely new.But the performances are all very natural & makes the viewing a pleasure.Overall a good film to watch.
Rating-3.5/5
Ratatouille-A Quick Review
Well tobe honest I had never seen a single cartoon movie on the large screem until this one came along.This was one genre of movies that I never wanted to spend my money on.It all changed when I saw the trailer of Ratatouille & actually liked it,so ended up watching the movie on a sunday morning.
Whats the story?Well its about a rat in Paris who's inspired by a popular chef & similarly wants to be a great chef himself.He ends up helping a young introvertish lad ( who is actually the son of the now dead great chef) become a chef & run a restaurant.
Will not go too much in detail as far as the plot is concerned.Its better to see it & enjoy it instead.I am sure my opinion about cartoon movies has improved drastically after watching this.
Rating- As a regular movie-3/5, as a cartoon-4/5
Whats the story?Well its about a rat in Paris who's inspired by a popular chef & similarly wants to be a great chef himself.He ends up helping a young introvertish lad ( who is actually the son of the now dead great chef) become a chef & run a restaurant.
Will not go too much in detail as far as the plot is concerned.Its better to see it & enjoy it instead.I am sure my opinion about cartoon movies has improved drastically after watching this.
Rating- As a regular movie-3/5, as a cartoon-4/5
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Johny Gaddar-A Quick Review
Wow! Sriram Raghavan after Ek Hasina Thi is back with Johny Gaddar & it hits the bulls eye.Its big big tribute to the thriller genre in Bollywood.Some salutations are obvious like references to Parwana, Johny Mera Naam etc.The others are more subtle.
A 5 member gang ( Dharmendra,Neil Mukesh,Vinay Pathak,Zakir Hussain & Daya Shetty) want to make a big deal which would make them all wildly rich.But Neil who loves Zakir's wife ( Rimi Sen) & wants to go abroad with her, decides to double cross the gang & have the money for himself.Its then a complete zig zag tale, keeping you guessing right till the end.
All the performances including that of Govind Namdev as the cop are good.Neil Mukesh makes a good debut & Dharampaji continues his good work of Metro & Apne here.Surprisingly the Box Office performance so far has been very poor.
Rating- 3/5
A 5 member gang ( Dharmendra,Neil Mukesh,Vinay Pathak,Zakir Hussain & Daya Shetty) want to make a big deal which would make them all wildly rich.But Neil who loves Zakir's wife ( Rimi Sen) & wants to go abroad with her, decides to double cross the gang & have the money for himself.Its then a complete zig zag tale, keeping you guessing right till the end.
All the performances including that of Govind Namdev as the cop are good.Neil Mukesh makes a good debut & Dharampaji continues his good work of Metro & Apne here.Surprisingly the Box Office performance so far has been very poor.
Rating- 3/5
Chirutha- A Quick Review ( Telugu)
Well its the big telugu debut movie- Chiranjeevi's son Ram Charan Teja makes his debut here in Puri Jagannath's movie.First things first does the movie live upto the hype & does Ram Charan deliver?Well its a no & a yes. While Ram Charan makes a reasonably promising debut, Puri Jagannath seems to have got it wrong somewhere.
There's hardly a plot.Ram Charan's dad is killed by a goon-Ashish Vidyarthi & his mom is now sick. The hero grows up in a reform home & then moves to Bangkok where he is guide. Neha Sharma the heroine, whom the hero had already "met"in Hyderabad lands up in Bangkok & our hero is her guide.
She is the spoilt rich daughter of Prakash Raj.Once while saving her from the bad guys , the hero & heroine end up getting stranded on a deserted island.So its now time for romance.Well turns out that Ashish Vidyarthi & his son are now in Bangkok & after making peace with Prakash Raj, its time for Ram Charan to take revenge.
Whew! its one big mess out there. Neha Sharma only has to look pretty.The others are all wasted.The comedy is a big let down-surprising since its a whole brigade-Bramhanandam,Ali, Venu Madhav, M.S.Narayana, Dharmavarapu etc.The locales are quite lovely.All in all it goes as a failed attempt though at the Box Office its likely to be a safe bet due to lack of opposition & curiosity factor.
Rating- 2/5
There's hardly a plot.Ram Charan's dad is killed by a goon-Ashish Vidyarthi & his mom is now sick. The hero grows up in a reform home & then moves to Bangkok where he is guide. Neha Sharma the heroine, whom the hero had already "met"in Hyderabad lands up in Bangkok & our hero is her guide.
She is the spoilt rich daughter of Prakash Raj.Once while saving her from the bad guys , the hero & heroine end up getting stranded on a deserted island.So its now time for romance.Well turns out that Ashish Vidyarthi & his son are now in Bangkok & after making peace with Prakash Raj, its time for Ram Charan to take revenge.
Whew! its one big mess out there. Neha Sharma only has to look pretty.The others are all wasted.The comedy is a big let down-surprising since its a whole brigade-Bramhanandam,Ali, Venu Madhav, M.S.Narayana, Dharmavarapu etc.The locales are quite lovely.All in all it goes as a failed attempt though at the Box Office its likely to be a safe bet due to lack of opposition & curiosity factor.
Rating- 2/5
Sivi-A Quick Review
Well it was by pure accident that I ventured to watch Sivi- a tamil horror movie!For starters I dont recollect having watched any tamil movie made by completely new technicians & starring newcomers in the recent past.
So considering that & also that there have hardly been any noteworthy horror movies in tamil cinema, this is a good attempt.Though inspired by the Thai cult movie-Shutter, this movie still manages to hold your attention.
The hero is a photographer.One night when is travelling by car along with his girlfriend,they accidentally hit a girl on the road & speed away.Right after that there's a photoshoot and when the hero then gets the photos developned, he is shocked to find the photos distorted & carrying the image of a ghost.
The ghost happens to be that of a girl who was the hero's collegemate.Though she loved him, our hero after a brief fling refuses to marry her.Now the ghost is back to haunt.What happens next?The climax is interesting & gives way to the prospect of a sequel.
All in a all a fair attempt.
Rating- Though I am inclined for a 2.5/5 I would go for a 3/5 since it was made without any stars
So considering that & also that there have hardly been any noteworthy horror movies in tamil cinema, this is a good attempt.Though inspired by the Thai cult movie-Shutter, this movie still manages to hold your attention.
The hero is a photographer.One night when is travelling by car along with his girlfriend,they accidentally hit a girl on the road & speed away.Right after that there's a photoshoot and when the hero then gets the photos developned, he is shocked to find the photos distorted & carrying the image of a ghost.
The ghost happens to be that of a girl who was the hero's collegemate.Though she loved him, our hero after a brief fling refuses to marry her.Now the ghost is back to haunt.What happens next?The climax is interesting & gives way to the prospect of a sequel.
All in a all a fair attempt.
Rating- Though I am inclined for a 2.5/5 I would go for a 3/5 since it was made without any stars
Marudhamalai-A Quick Review
Well after a long time I saw a movie by "Action King" Arjun in the big screen, the last being , Mudhalvan ( in 1999). But Arjun seems to be still fit & raring to go & is tailor made for this role.Nothing much about the story-Arjun plays a law graduate who joins the police due to his dad (Nasser) who is a police constable.
So our hero joins as a constable & the head constable there happens to be Vadivelu.The heroine Nila happens to be a neighbour of the hero & daughter of the inspector.So the first half is mainly fun filled with Vadivel having a meaty part.The villain is Lal who prevents elections in that town & this time Raghuvaran the chief election commissioner is prepared to defy Lal & conduct elections.
So during the elections, in a freak encounter Arjun clashes with Lal & puts him behind bars.The 2nd half sees Arjun now as an Inspector & his game for supremacy with Lal.You know how the movie will end right?If Kireedam was for the classes, Marudhamalai is for the masses.Nila has nothing much to do.D.Imman's music is a big bore.In the end its basically Arjun & Vadivel ( to some extent) who salvage the movie.Nevertheless this is a winner at the Box Office.
Rating-2/5
So our hero joins as a constable & the head constable there happens to be Vadivelu.The heroine Nila happens to be a neighbour of the hero & daughter of the inspector.So the first half is mainly fun filled with Vadivel having a meaty part.The villain is Lal who prevents elections in that town & this time Raghuvaran the chief election commissioner is prepared to defy Lal & conduct elections.
So during the elections, in a freak encounter Arjun clashes with Lal & puts him behind bars.The 2nd half sees Arjun now as an Inspector & his game for supremacy with Lal.You know how the movie will end right?If Kireedam was for the classes, Marudhamalai is for the masses.Nila has nothing much to do.D.Imman's music is a big bore.In the end its basically Arjun & Vadivel ( to some extent) who salvage the movie.Nevertheless this is a winner at the Box Office.
Rating-2/5
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