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/

Priyadarshan- The Run Machine of Indian Cinema

So far this year we have seen the frenzy generated by SDM and the success of movies like Dev D and Raaz- the Mystery Continues. And of late we have been hearing a lot about the ongoing strike in Bollywood. But there has been a landmark that was also noticed in the 1st Qr of 2009, something which did not really get so much of attention. This landmark was achieved on 13th February ’09 when Billu got released. No this write-up is not something about either Billu or SRK. For those who are not aware I wish to inform that Billu is the 75th movie directed by Priyadarshan in his career spanning around 25 years in Indian Cinema. This is indeed a commendable achievement because there aren’t too many directors with such a big tally of completed projects and more so when it’s from someone like him who has successfully made a transition from South Indian cinema to Bollywood.

Oh! Yes we all know that a lot of his recent movies have started getting repetitive. There are valid complaints like he’s been using the same locations time & again, he’s been working with a stock set of actors, he continues to remake his own movies or those directed by others (mainly Malayalam) etc. But all said and done we just cannot ignore the fact Priyan has given us countless memorable movies in Malayalam like Chithram, Thalavattom, Kalapani etc and even some of his early Hindi movies have been quite refreshing like Gardish & Virasat. This year also has finally seen the release of his critically acclaimed Tamil movie- Kanchivaram. This year also is seeing him work on serious movies like Bum Bum Bole (with Darsheel Safary and supposedly inspired from Children of Heaven) and an untitled movie on AIDS awareness with Akshay Kumar and Mohanlal.

Hence considering all this I think this is the right time to look back in time and re-visit some of the best works of Priyan. Given below are 5 films that I feel would be top on my list and they are described below in chronological order. Considering his repertoire it has not been easy for me to choose the movies. But nevertheless here I go-

Poochakke Oru Mookuthi- This Malayalam movie released in 1984 was Priyan’s debut movie which he went on to remake later in Hindi as Hungama. The movie was a brilliant comedy of errors and had superlative performances not just from the lead cast of Shankar,Menaka and Mohanlal but also from the supporting cast like Nedumudi Venu,Sukumari, Shankaradi, Jagathy Sreekumar etc. The ‘chaotic’ style of climax which is a Priyan trademark actually originated from this movie. One of the best scenes from this movie is when Shankar an aspiring singer comes to teach music to Sukumari and Nedumudi Venu interferes. The scene does not feature in Hungama. Given below is the video link- have a look & enjoy J



Thalavattom- Released in 1986, this Malayalam movie was unsuccessfully remade by Priyan later in Hindi as Kyunki. With more than subtle shades of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, what made the movie special was Mohanal playing the character of Vinod who is mentally ill. Mohanalal’s portrayal was extremely convincing and was ably supported by others like Karthika, Nedumudi Venu, Soman,Jagathy Sreekumar etc. Inspite of the slightly serious subject Priyan retained his comic touch in the movie with some memorable comedy scenes like the one in the link below-



Music by Reghu Kumar also deserves a special mention here.

Chithram- Released in 1988, this Malayalam movie is one of the biggest hits in the history of Malayalam cinema. The movie was so successful that it went on to be remade in a lot of other languages including Tamil and Hindi but none of them were directed by Priyan, The movie was written by the prolific actor-writer Sreenivasan and once again had Mohanlal in the lead. Chithram is the story of Vishnu ( Mohanlal ) a photographer who goes to jail for accidentally killing his wife and then escapes from jail to make money for his child’s surgery. That’s when he comes in contact with Kalyani ( Renjini ) and her uncle ( Nedumudi Venu) who want him to act as Kalyani’s husband to make her father ( Poornam Vishwanathan ) happy as he is ill & on vacation. What ensues is a comic series of adventures with an extremely emotional climax. Music by Kannur Rajn was also one of the main reasons for the movie’s success. Given below is the link to the video of my favorite song from the movie – Doore kizhakkudikkum sung by M.G.Sreekumar and Sujatha.



Kilukkam- This Malayalam movie released in 1991 was also remade by him in Hindi as Muskurahat. It is certainly one of the best comedy films in Malayalam cinema – but definitely not just a routine comedy. While Mohanal as Joji the tourist guide in Ooty and Revathy as the orphan in search of her father were certainly commendable, IMO the actual star of the movie is Jagathy Sreekumar who plays the role of Mohanalal’s friend Nishchal.This movie is one of the best examples to showcase the powerhouse of talent that Jagathy Sreekumar is. Watch the scene in the video below – one of my favorites from the movie. This was one of the earlier works of Sharat Saxena in South Indian cinema.Music by S.P.Venkatesh was also in line with the mood of the film.




Kalapani- Not all movies directed by Priyan were comedies and Kalapani ( Siraichalai-Tamil, Saza-E-Kalapani-Hindi) is a fitting example to underline the statement. The movie told the poignant story of a doctor (Mohanlal) who is wrongly accused of being a naxalite and sent to the Cellular Jail in Port Blair (Andaman & Nicobar Islands). The movie brilliantly described the cruelty that the Indian freedom fighters suffered in the Cellular Jail during the British regime. Performances by the supporting cast of Amrish Puri,Prabhu,Tabu,Annu Kapoor etc were all praiseworthy. Music by Ilayaraja and cinematography by Santosh Sivan further enhanced the appeal of the story.Earlier this year when I finally got to visit the Cellular Jail, I couldn’t but help recollecting a lot of scenes from the movie.

Apart from these 5 movies certain other movies also deserve a special mention like Thenmavin Kombathu (Saat Rang Ke Sapne by Priyan inHindi), Akkare Akkare Akkare
the 3rd part in the classic Dasan-Vijayan police series , Vandanam, Mukundetta Sumithra Vilikunnu. Do let me know what you all feel about these movies and about the other movies made by Priyan. Here’s hoping that Priyan – the run machine of Indian cinema continues to entertain us with his movies and makes even better movies hereafter.

Note- I have not mentioned any Tamil or Hindi movie in my list because all his movies in Hindi and Tamil have been direct remakes of other South Indian movies (mainly Malayalam) directed by Priyan himself or others.

Originally published in PFC- check it out here- http://passionforcinema.com/priyadarshan-the-run-machine-of-indian-cinema/

Next Month at the Movies- Money Saved, Joy Lost!!!

For a passionate lover of cinema like me, the anticipation of the next month always is keeping in mind the movies awaiting release- be it in Hindi, English or any other regional language. So why is it that introspecting on April’09 I’m feeling extremely sad? Ah! For the starters from April 4th onwards there’s going to be no Hindi movie releasing due to the strike called by the producers association as they have been unable to resolve their differences with the multiplex owners over revenue sharing.

For those who are unaware of the situation, let me quickly get into the details. All of us would be aware of how the producers & multiplexes have got into spats due to revenue sharing from time to time & Yash Raj Films have been in the forefront in this context. In fact we all know that Tashan did not release on time in the chain multiplexes due to this issue. Now the situation has worsened & hence the strike has been called for. The producers this time want clear 50: 50 equality in revenue sharing between the distributors & the multiplexes. Well if you are asking why do the producers bother about the distributors- the answer is simple- a lot of producers like UTV & Yash Raj are distributor’s themselves. And apart from that if the distributor is happy, naturally the producer is happy too. After all some producer- distributor relationships tend to be extremely strong over ages.

Apparently in countries like UK & UAE, the distributors and multiplexes have a clear 50:50 ratio of revenue sharing while it is 60: 40 in case of USA & Canada (first week).
But in India there has been no clear cut ratio of revenue sharing. It is all done on a case to case basis. So if it’s a movie which has a big star like Aamir/SRK/Akshay etc then the producers/distributors dictate terms &if the star cast is not very formidable then the multiplexes tend to take an upper hand. The multiplex owners on their side came forward & said they are willing to go in for revenue sharing based on a film’s performance. According to this formula if a movie succeeds like a RNBDJ or a Ghajini both parties gain & if a movie doesn’t succeed like CC2C, then both parties lose. But this proposal has been rejected by the producers & hence the strike is on.

Now how does it impact a passionate film viewer like me who’s also a victim of the Friday Phenomena (check out- http://passionforcinema.com/the-friday-phenomena/)? Well to begin with the only notable Bollywood release scheduled in April (April 3rd) is the Akshay Kumar- Nagesh Kukunoor movie – 8 *10 Tasveer. Even the release of this movie appears shaky since there is still some post production work going on. The next set of releases after April 3rd is only scheduled for May 1st (depending upon the strike getting sorted out). So which means for nearly a month I’m starved of new Hindi movies, something that I’m already beginning to dread.

So what’s the situation as far as regional cinema is concerned? Well as far as Tamil & Telugu cinema is concerned, the situation is again bleak. K.V.Anand, the ace cinematographer is back with his 2nd directorial venture (after Kana Kandein ) called Ayan ( starring Surya & Tamanna ) and this will see a simultaneous release on April 3rd. Director Vishnu Vardhan who redefined style in Tamil cinema with Billa also may see his next release- Sarwam ( Starring Arya & Trisha ) in April, but this is not yet confirmed. There are no other big releases lined up in Tamil & Telugu in April primarily due to the elections coming up.

Malayalam cinema is faring slightly better since there are important festivals like Easter & Vishu lined up in April. Hence in April one may get to see a few releases like To Hariharnagar (the sequel of In Hariharnagar), IG (Suresh Gopi), Mose & Cat (Dileep starrer directed by the veteran Fazil). But again the dates are all tentative as of now. Considering this situation what does a true filmy like me do? Well watch the odd Hollywood release that may turn out to be good, hope some more regional movies apart from those already mentioned release and just look forward to the strike in Bollywood getting over soon. Of course with elections lined up in April even if the strike is over soon it will be tough to see new releases in April.

So it becomes clear that people like me may end up saving some money as we do not have a lot of movies to watch in April, but that will come again at a cost- the cost of losing our joy of watching a lot of movies.

Originally published in PFC- check it out here- http://passionforcinema.com/next-month-at-the-movies-money-saved-joy-lost/