First impression after seeing Duet Movies, Praksah Raj's Abhiyum Naanaum was - Neat. Yeah thats the word for almost all Radha Mohan movies, i should say. This man has got the guts to make movies with almost no oomph, or in other words vulgarity. Kudos to him. At no point of the movie do you wince at the dialogues or potrayal. In fact through the movie you find yourself saying " how very true". I was smiling all the time probably because it seemed so very close to heart. The main theme of the movie is " Children teach us more about life than we teach them".
The Plot:
The storyline is too very simple. It is about Raghuraman(Prakash Raj) his wife Anu (Aishwarya) and their daughter Abhi (Trisha). From the time Abiis born Raghuraman dotes on her and never ets her out of his sight lest anyting should happen to her. The scene in which he panicks thinking hot water has fallen on Abi when it is wife who is affected is an example. The single scene jus gives you the jist of the movie. Raghuraman is so very blinded with love that he doesn't think of anything else. But there are parts of the movie that are overdone especially the one where Raghuraman is seen slogging day and night for Abhi's LKG admission.
Abhi grows up, goes to school, and like Prakashraj says, gives him a shock or surprise every now and then. Like she brings a beggar home , Ravi Shastri (Kumaravel) and demands to keep him. Raghuraman gives in to all her demands. She asks to go to school by cycle and he assents after a fight. Follows her to be sure she reaches safe and getrs admonished. Abhi says " I know what i am doing". It sums up Abhi' s Character- Totally practical and independent.
Raghuraman lets Abhi go to Delhi for Mba and she returns with Joginder Singh (Ganesh Venkatraman). She says she wants to marry him. Everyone in the household is very happy but for Raghuraman who jus cannot come to terms with a Singh as his son in law. What follows is a series of events that culminate in a "all is well that ends well" climax.
The first half of the movie is funny inspite of some very silly scenes. The second half is slow and testing at times. It is truly about emotions. Raghuraman's love for Abhi brings himself to assent to the marriage but he realises that her choice is a very good one. Like she says " I know whate i am doing".
The whole movie is told in a sort of narration by Prakash raj to Sudhakar (Prithviraj) whom he meets at a park.
The Cast
Prakash Raj as Raghuraman is just apt. He is turning out to be an asset to any movie he features in. He gets to carry the movie on his shoulder all by himself. He has done great justice to the role. Anything said about his acting will be short of his real performance.
Aishwarya as Anu Raghuraman plays a perfect foil to Raghuraman. As practical as one could be. She steals the show in the scenes towards the end.
Trisha as Abhi Raghuraman is perfect for the role. The character fits her very much. And in the few scenes that requires acting fro her she pulls it off quite surprisingly.
Ganesh Venkatraman as Joginder singh is handsome. And man is he Tall. He jus looks a Sardarji. and acts like one too.
Kumaravel(Chithappa of Azhagiya Theeye) as Ravi Shastri is a excellent choice. His accent is also very good. Kailash Kher's voice doesn't suit him much but he stil pulls it off. His love for Jasbeer Kaur gives room for some humor.
Thalaivasal Vijay as Raghuraman's friend provides nice support.
Vidyasagar's music is worth hearing. Va va En devadaye is a nice song that is played in bits through the movie. Ore oru oorile sung by Kailash Kher is a little too loud but passes for its content. Azhagiya Kili is ahot like Rathiri berathil (anjali) but isn't so nice to hear. Pachai Katre is a good hear. The re-recording in the beginning of the movie is loud. The tribal music doesn't add any feel to the movie.
Dialogues by CP Narayanan and R Subramanian is the basis for the movie. Conveys the right ideas.
Editing by Kasi Viswanathan is crisp in the first half. Maybe in the second half he could have used his scissors to some avail.
Camera by Preetha capture Ooty and Munnar in all its glory. You just wonder why we should go to foreign locales when we have such excellent places in India. The camera jus keeps you chilled in the theatre.
Radha Mohan as yet again given a clean movie, but he could have done well to trim it a little more to suit the audience. But he gets the crticism as weel as the appreciation.
Vaaranam Ayiram tries to show a son's love for his father but ended up being a biography of the son but Abhiyum Naanum sticks to its motive. It showcases a Fathers' love for his daughter in all its glory..
"Grow up father"
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Monday, December 22, 2008
Bommalaattam- A review
I am forcing myself to write this review. Reasons being my long absence from my blog and my determination to review all movies i watch.
The Plot:
If i say much about the story here it'll be a give away. I'll just stick to the outline. The story is about Rana( Nana Patekar) a film director. He is an accomplished movie maker and expects perfection from his artistes. He gets annoyed at people who have airs about them. The film begins with him, chucking a heroine out from his movie for her denial to do a scene the way he wants her to. He ends up going in search for a heroine. He finds one in Trishna (Rukmini) and starts shooting for his film. But a lot of unfortunate events take place at his shooting spot and two people die under suspicious conditions. And after the movie is released Trishna dies too. This ultimately points the fingers of suspicion at Rana and he is taken into questioning by the CBI officer Vikram Verma (Arjun). There is Anitha (Kajal Agarwal), a tamil poet who is Vikram's love interest or rather Ex interest who likes Rana's movies a lot and worships him. Ranjitha is Rana's wife and she provides another angle to the already intriguing plot. The movie takes interesting turns and even as u start guessing who the killer could be, you are in for a surprise. This part is really novel if not believable. But in fact i thought it was quite a bold thought to make a film on. A challenge as Rana himself puts it. A challenge Bharathiraja has taken upon himself.
The film addresses a lot of issues about the film industry and the kind of misconceptions about relationships within the industry. Though the Director doesn't totally deny such things he is careful to add that there are honest people and honset intentions as well.
One major let down about the movie is that it looks made for a Hindi speaking audience. the name of the actors, the locations, the dialogues, the lip sync etc. this could have been looked into. In fact in a particular scene Arjun is shown riding a bike with a Maharashtra registration number. Not that u can't drive such a vehicle in Tamilnadu but it defies basic logic. Also the music is totally pathetic. Himesh is a bad composer. The background score adds to the woes of the already irritated tamil audience.
The Cast:
Nana Patekar as Rana is jus pure excellent. He fits into the role like glove. In the scene where he shows his film's lead how to perform a particular scene, he almost outdoes a real director. Though he is a Hindi actor his acting transcends the language barrier. But the lip sync gives the character a very odd feel. Nizhalgal Ravi's voice is a strong point to the role.
Arjun as Vivek Verma does a nice work. For a change he is not bashing up baddies. He looks cool. But his looks have been changed to make him look a North Indian.
Rukmini as Trishna. she is the pick of the lot. She has pulled off her role with ease. She has a nice future and will have to chose her roles to suit her image. A bold decision indeed to have taken up the character.
Kajal Agarwal as Anitha has nothing much to do except show up at intervals and help us show the real character of Rana. She is this guardian angel to Rana. But she doesn't fit into the character of a Tamil poet. it seems ridiculous.
Ranjitha has done a nice work as Rana's suspecting wife.
Vivek has a very small role as a village guy who keeps pestering the director for a role in his movie. There is not much in the name of comedy. infact after some time it seems like a dampener.
Manivannan has done a nice job as a village head who keeps troubling the herione of the movie crew. His role though is a little too crude to digest.
Other small artistes have done nice work too.
Editing could have been a little crisp for a thriller movie.
On the whole a welcome change from the regular run of the mill movies. The movie is different even in it's own genre. Bharathiraaja should be commende for making a comeback. I would say this is a nice offering from the Director of one of the greatest pupl movies of his times Tik Tik Tik. Bharathiraaja may not have exactly made a blockbuster but he has surely proved that he is still a versatile and innovative film maker.
The Plot:
If i say much about the story here it'll be a give away. I'll just stick to the outline. The story is about Rana( Nana Patekar) a film director. He is an accomplished movie maker and expects perfection from his artistes. He gets annoyed at people who have airs about them. The film begins with him, chucking a heroine out from his movie for her denial to do a scene the way he wants her to. He ends up going in search for a heroine. He finds one in Trishna (Rukmini) and starts shooting for his film. But a lot of unfortunate events take place at his shooting spot and two people die under suspicious conditions. And after the movie is released Trishna dies too. This ultimately points the fingers of suspicion at Rana and he is taken into questioning by the CBI officer Vikram Verma (Arjun). There is Anitha (Kajal Agarwal), a tamil poet who is Vikram's love interest or rather Ex interest who likes Rana's movies a lot and worships him. Ranjitha is Rana's wife and she provides another angle to the already intriguing plot. The movie takes interesting turns and even as u start guessing who the killer could be, you are in for a surprise. This part is really novel if not believable. But in fact i thought it was quite a bold thought to make a film on. A challenge as Rana himself puts it. A challenge Bharathiraja has taken upon himself.
The film addresses a lot of issues about the film industry and the kind of misconceptions about relationships within the industry. Though the Director doesn't totally deny such things he is careful to add that there are honest people and honset intentions as well.
One major let down about the movie is that it looks made for a Hindi speaking audience. the name of the actors, the locations, the dialogues, the lip sync etc. this could have been looked into. In fact in a particular scene Arjun is shown riding a bike with a Maharashtra registration number. Not that u can't drive such a vehicle in Tamilnadu but it defies basic logic. Also the music is totally pathetic. Himesh is a bad composer. The background score adds to the woes of the already irritated tamil audience.
The Cast:
Nana Patekar as Rana is jus pure excellent. He fits into the role like glove. In the scene where he shows his film's lead how to perform a particular scene, he almost outdoes a real director. Though he is a Hindi actor his acting transcends the language barrier. But the lip sync gives the character a very odd feel. Nizhalgal Ravi's voice is a strong point to the role.
Arjun as Vivek Verma does a nice work. For a change he is not bashing up baddies. He looks cool. But his looks have been changed to make him look a North Indian.
Rukmini as Trishna. she is the pick of the lot. She has pulled off her role with ease. She has a nice future and will have to chose her roles to suit her image. A bold decision indeed to have taken up the character.
Kajal Agarwal as Anitha has nothing much to do except show up at intervals and help us show the real character of Rana. She is this guardian angel to Rana. But she doesn't fit into the character of a Tamil poet. it seems ridiculous.
Ranjitha has done a nice work as Rana's suspecting wife.
Vivek has a very small role as a village guy who keeps pestering the director for a role in his movie. There is not much in the name of comedy. infact after some time it seems like a dampener.
Manivannan has done a nice job as a village head who keeps troubling the herione of the movie crew. His role though is a little too crude to digest.
Other small artistes have done nice work too.
Editing could have been a little crisp for a thriller movie.
On the whole a welcome change from the regular run of the mill movies. The movie is different even in it's own genre. Bharathiraaja should be commende for making a comeback. I would say this is a nice offering from the Director of one of the greatest pupl movies of his times Tik Tik Tik. Bharathiraaja may not have exactly made a blockbuster but he has surely proved that he is still a versatile and innovative film maker.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Sa-Ro-Ja - Bull’s Eye
First things first. This movie proves that Chennai-28 was no flash in the pan for Venkat Prabhu. This man is really creating a niche for himself. His movies have that youthful feeling to them, that anyone can identify with it so well. So very local as far as the theme is concerned but the technical expertise is really world class.
Warning: Possible Spoilers Ahead
THE PLOT:
This is about a group of four friends who are in the wrong place at the wrong time. The film starts of with the number starring Yuvan Shankar Raja that says “Lets get Cheeky”- true this one is cheeky. The first few scenes show who is related to whom and in what way and then it gets to the main story. A day or rather should I say a night in the life of these guys. The leads are Jagapathi Babu (SPB Charan), his brother Ram Babu (Vaibhav), Tv soap actor Ajay (Mirchi Siva) and the lovable (yet lovelorn) Ganesh Kumar (Premgi Amaran). Ajay is betrothed to Kajal agarwal and what follows is a out of place song with all small screen artistes dancing to Yuvan’s tune. The film picks up tempo when the four guys start of to Hyderabad to watch the India Pakistan match. Right from the beginning the film revels in the frequent digs and one liners from Premgi. If it was “Enna koduma sir ithu” in Chennai-28 here it is “ Evlavo pannittom itha panna mattoma?”. To add to it there is the Bharathiraja movie spoof element of “Angels of love”(kaadal thevathaigal) clad in white, circling around the girls he sets an eye on. There is more- like the karagattkaran music when the van they travel is introduced, and the telebrands style advertisement when siva explains the van’s features.
The friends then set off to Hyderabad and find themselves in a dilapidated warehouse ( Binny mills again) when they take a detour because of a road block. Suddenly in a succession of events they are stranded amidst a gang that holds Saroja as ransom for 20 crores from her father Vishwanathan (PrakashRaj). Though the quartet manage to escape they come back for a trifling of a reason namely Charan’s wallet. What follows is wild goose chase after the four try to save the girl Saroja. Though most of the film is shot in darkness the shots are clear at least to the basic details. The movies winds up to a twist of a climax. The scene with the booby traps that get the better of the villain gang is a little too far fetched but forgivable.
Jayaram as the Asst. Commissioner is very apt. and more so are the artistes in minor characters. Nikitha is wasted except for a item number.
On the whole the movie is a thrilling experience with a subtle undercurrent of humor running. There is no single serious moment that isn’t made light with gibes.
THE CAST:
Mirchi Siva is very apt. He has a knack of making himself sound funny with his diction. He provides nice support to Premgi. Fortunately there is no particular occasion where his acting skills are really required and he manages to get through unscathed.
Vaibhav is the new find and he is smart. A nice telugu hero material. He has the build for a action hero. And his character offers ample scope for his talent.
SPB Charan is the surprise elemnt. I have never considered him to be a good actor but he really scores in Saroja. Be it humor or pathos, he has given his best and it is commendable.
Premgi is easily the best of the four. Funny all the way. His unsteady love for every girl in town gives lot of room for unending laughter. He carries the humor element of the movie single handedly in some parts.
Praksah Raj as usual is excellent. The very enterprising businessman who has no time for his daughter or family. The scene where he expresses to his wife, the love for his family with a short film of his daughter running in the background is just plain wonderful. In fact though he appears calm throughout the kidnap drama, he breaksdown at a stage.
Saroja (don’t remember the girl’s name though) has a expressive face. And she does her bidding.
Jayaram is the pick of the lot. He impresses form the beginning to the climax. He has come a long way from being the hero to such roles. And he has way to go.
Cinematography is by Sakthi Saravanan. Though almost 85% of the movie is in darkness it doesn’t pain your eyes. The canning is candid. Half the time it is hand held running behind the leads. Nice work there.
Music by Yuvan Shankar Raja is pathetic. Only Dost Bada Dost and Kodana kodi stand out in the lot. Re recording is quite good.
Editing by suresh is a highlight. On spot editing(Avid) is a very difficult art and is handled well.
Venkat Prabhu can now settle down for a breather because he has hit the bull’s eye second time around. Lets hope he keeps it going.
P.S: Sorry if the review is too long. Wanted to scribble whatever I had noted bout the movie.
Warning: Possible Spoilers Ahead
THE PLOT:
This is about a group of four friends who are in the wrong place at the wrong time. The film starts of with the number starring Yuvan Shankar Raja that says “Lets get Cheeky”- true this one is cheeky. The first few scenes show who is related to whom and in what way and then it gets to the main story. A day or rather should I say a night in the life of these guys. The leads are Jagapathi Babu (SPB Charan), his brother Ram Babu (Vaibhav), Tv soap actor Ajay (Mirchi Siva) and the lovable (yet lovelorn) Ganesh Kumar (Premgi Amaran). Ajay is betrothed to Kajal agarwal and what follows is a out of place song with all small screen artistes dancing to Yuvan’s tune. The film picks up tempo when the four guys start of to Hyderabad to watch the India Pakistan match. Right from the beginning the film revels in the frequent digs and one liners from Premgi. If it was “Enna koduma sir ithu” in Chennai-28 here it is “ Evlavo pannittom itha panna mattoma?”. To add to it there is the Bharathiraja movie spoof element of “Angels of love”(kaadal thevathaigal) clad in white, circling around the girls he sets an eye on. There is more- like the karagattkaran music when the van they travel is introduced, and the telebrands style advertisement when siva explains the van’s features.
The friends then set off to Hyderabad and find themselves in a dilapidated warehouse ( Binny mills again) when they take a detour because of a road block. Suddenly in a succession of events they are stranded amidst a gang that holds Saroja as ransom for 20 crores from her father Vishwanathan (PrakashRaj). Though the quartet manage to escape they come back for a trifling of a reason namely Charan’s wallet. What follows is wild goose chase after the four try to save the girl Saroja. Though most of the film is shot in darkness the shots are clear at least to the basic details. The movies winds up to a twist of a climax. The scene with the booby traps that get the better of the villain gang is a little too far fetched but forgivable.
Jayaram as the Asst. Commissioner is very apt. and more so are the artistes in minor characters. Nikitha is wasted except for a item number.
On the whole the movie is a thrilling experience with a subtle undercurrent of humor running. There is no single serious moment that isn’t made light with gibes.
THE CAST:
Mirchi Siva is very apt. He has a knack of making himself sound funny with his diction. He provides nice support to Premgi. Fortunately there is no particular occasion where his acting skills are really required and he manages to get through unscathed.
Vaibhav is the new find and he is smart. A nice telugu hero material. He has the build for a action hero. And his character offers ample scope for his talent.
SPB Charan is the surprise elemnt. I have never considered him to be a good actor but he really scores in Saroja. Be it humor or pathos, he has given his best and it is commendable.
Premgi is easily the best of the four. Funny all the way. His unsteady love for every girl in town gives lot of room for unending laughter. He carries the humor element of the movie single handedly in some parts.
Praksah Raj as usual is excellent. The very enterprising businessman who has no time for his daughter or family. The scene where he expresses to his wife, the love for his family with a short film of his daughter running in the background is just plain wonderful. In fact though he appears calm throughout the kidnap drama, he breaksdown at a stage.
Saroja (don’t remember the girl’s name though) has a expressive face. And she does her bidding.
Jayaram is the pick of the lot. He impresses form the beginning to the climax. He has come a long way from being the hero to such roles. And he has way to go.
Cinematography is by Sakthi Saravanan. Though almost 85% of the movie is in darkness it doesn’t pain your eyes. The canning is candid. Half the time it is hand held running behind the leads. Nice work there.
Music by Yuvan Shankar Raja is pathetic. Only Dost Bada Dost and Kodana kodi stand out in the lot. Re recording is quite good.
Editing by suresh is a highlight. On spot editing(Avid) is a very difficult art and is handled well.
Venkat Prabhu can now settle down for a breather because he has hit the bull’s eye second time around. Lets hope he keeps it going.
P.S: Sorry if the review is too long. Wanted to scribble whatever I had noted bout the movie.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Jayamkondan- "A Winner"
What do u expect when a raring to go hero, a equally fresh director, and a whole gamut of cast come together- A nice movie thats worth the money.
Jayamkondan is good, no- its better than good. Thank god this review or even the movie watching experience was not spoiled by a bad theater, because it deserves to be seen in civilized surroundings.
THE PLOT:
Arjun (Vinay) comes back to Chennai from London after earning lots of money, from a job that he feels, doesn't give a damn about family and love. He nurtures a grudge at the whole job scenario which prevented him from even attending his father's funeral that his friend Krishna carries out on his behalf. On his way from the airport he meets Brinda (Lekha Washington) to whom he gives a lift. She talk about her admission into MIT and her life time ambitions. The particular dialogue on US, emmigrants is very good.Then Arjun decides to venture into some business with the hard earned money he sent his father, only to find to his shock that all the money he sent his missing. With no clues as to where the money could have gone Arjun is confused until he learns that his father had another wife and that his father had bought a house at Madurai. Incidentally Brinda happens to be his Step Sister. Both get into a war of sorts to sell the house without the other's knowledge and get the money, Arjun for his construction company, Brinda for her MIT admission. This is when Arjun travels to Madurai and meets Poorni ( Bhavana) his childhood sweetheart. Her family lives at the house and she threatens to somehow stop him from selling it. This sparks of another obstacle for the hero. But love blossoms and songs floe out. Enter Guna (kishore kumar) a local rowdy who happens to be making it big in the city and his wife(adhisya). In sudden twist of events the villi, i mean the villain's wife dies in a freak accident and the villain takes Arjun to be the reason. He vows to wreak revenge.
The second half of the movie focuses on the way the bro sis duo get closer though it doesn't exactly happen till the climax. Guna keeps searching for Arjun til the climax. Poorni comes to chennai to sing and dance with Arjun. But the bro sis exchanges are good and the justification each gives for their actions is remarkable. The way fear controls a person is well chronicled with Krishna, when he asks Arjun to leave his home. The film ends on a positive note, with a fight in a remote warehouse( rings a bell), some thangachi sentiment and a piece of messagu.
THE CAST
Vinay as Arjun is good, but his moustache is very irksome. Doesn't exactly suit him. His preformance when he learns of his father's second wife is noteworhty and so are the scenes where he showers love on his sis though in a nonchalant way. This young man ahas a long way to go if he chooses his roles. He is not action stuff though.
Lekha as Brinda is excellent. A very expressive face for all rasas except smile. The stubborn wrong headed character jus fits her like glove and she pulls it off quite well. The final scen jus reduces her to a loving sis to whom her bro is everything.
Bhavana as Poorni is not jus beautiful she is "very beautifu". But her decision to dub for herself proved a let down. She has that local touch to her voice. She doesn't have much to do but to romance Vinay, sing songs, and provide lighter moments. And for god's sake she can't play volleyball- noway.
Kishore Kumar as Guna is good. He has redeemed his Rowdy ways after Pollathavan. and he does jus fine. But he should take care not to let himself get branded as a Villain. The Madurai lingo in the film has a whole doesn't fit anyone.
Vivek as Vinay's friend is funny this time around as a enterprising youth (stil). Santhanam as a village guy trying to broker the house is also humorous. V M C Hanifa has a role to play in the villain's inclusion to the plot. Krishna as Vinay's friend pulls off a coup.
What is the point in using Saranya Mohan- The lovable sis from Yaaradi Nee Mohini as Bhavana's sis in a otherwise brilliant casting coup. All she gets are a couple of dialogues and a song to dance to. Or if she had more, The Editor is to be blamed
Music is by Vidyasagar. The songs in the second half are hummable. " Naan nadanthu vantha" is a romantic interlude. The first half's songs aren't exactly great though the first one is good.
Editing is crisp.
The director R.Kannan has done a excellent work for a first movie and he sure has a carrer in the industry. As Mani Ratnam's assistant his script writing skills come to the fore. He has made maximum use of a big banner -Sathyajyothi Films and Excellent cast.
Jayamkondan is good, no- its better than good. Thank god this review or even the movie watching experience was not spoiled by a bad theater, because it deserves to be seen in civilized surroundings.
THE PLOT:
Arjun (Vinay) comes back to Chennai from London after earning lots of money, from a job that he feels, doesn't give a damn about family and love. He nurtures a grudge at the whole job scenario which prevented him from even attending his father's funeral that his friend Krishna carries out on his behalf. On his way from the airport he meets Brinda (Lekha Washington) to whom he gives a lift. She talk about her admission into MIT and her life time ambitions. The particular dialogue on US, emmigrants is very good.Then Arjun decides to venture into some business with the hard earned money he sent his father, only to find to his shock that all the money he sent his missing. With no clues as to where the money could have gone Arjun is confused until he learns that his father had another wife and that his father had bought a house at Madurai. Incidentally Brinda happens to be his Step Sister. Both get into a war of sorts to sell the house without the other's knowledge and get the money, Arjun for his construction company, Brinda for her MIT admission. This is when Arjun travels to Madurai and meets Poorni ( Bhavana) his childhood sweetheart. Her family lives at the house and she threatens to somehow stop him from selling it. This sparks of another obstacle for the hero. But love blossoms and songs floe out. Enter Guna (kishore kumar) a local rowdy who happens to be making it big in the city and his wife(adhisya). In sudden twist of events the villi, i mean the villain's wife dies in a freak accident and the villain takes Arjun to be the reason. He vows to wreak revenge.
The second half of the movie focuses on the way the bro sis duo get closer though it doesn't exactly happen till the climax. Guna keeps searching for Arjun til the climax. Poorni comes to chennai to sing and dance with Arjun. But the bro sis exchanges are good and the justification each gives for their actions is remarkable. The way fear controls a person is well chronicled with Krishna, when he asks Arjun to leave his home. The film ends on a positive note, with a fight in a remote warehouse( rings a bell), some thangachi sentiment and a piece of messagu.
THE CAST
Vinay as Arjun is good, but his moustache is very irksome. Doesn't exactly suit him. His preformance when he learns of his father's second wife is noteworhty and so are the scenes where he showers love on his sis though in a nonchalant way. This young man ahas a long way to go if he chooses his roles. He is not action stuff though.
Lekha as Brinda is excellent. A very expressive face for all rasas except smile. The stubborn wrong headed character jus fits her like glove and she pulls it off quite well. The final scen jus reduces her to a loving sis to whom her bro is everything.
Bhavana as Poorni is not jus beautiful she is "very beautifu". But her decision to dub for herself proved a let down. She has that local touch to her voice. She doesn't have much to do but to romance Vinay, sing songs, and provide lighter moments. And for god's sake she can't play volleyball- noway.
Kishore Kumar as Guna is good. He has redeemed his Rowdy ways after Pollathavan. and he does jus fine. But he should take care not to let himself get branded as a Villain. The Madurai lingo in the film has a whole doesn't fit anyone.
Vivek as Vinay's friend is funny this time around as a enterprising youth (stil). Santhanam as a village guy trying to broker the house is also humorous. V M C Hanifa has a role to play in the villain's inclusion to the plot. Krishna as Vinay's friend pulls off a coup.
What is the point in using Saranya Mohan- The lovable sis from Yaaradi Nee Mohini as Bhavana's sis in a otherwise brilliant casting coup. All she gets are a couple of dialogues and a song to dance to. Or if she had more, The Editor is to be blamed
Music is by Vidyasagar. The songs in the second half are hummable. " Naan nadanthu vantha" is a romantic interlude. The first half's songs aren't exactly great though the first one is good.
Editing is crisp.
The director R.Kannan has done a excellent work for a first movie and he sure has a carrer in the industry. As Mani Ratnam's assistant his script writing skills come to the fore. He has made maximum use of a big banner -Sathyajyothi Films and Excellent cast.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Government job - what's it like inside?
Long back alagu wanted me to write on a typical govt. job in general or about ISRO work culture in particular . So here it goes. But before I proceed i would like to clarify that Govt job here doesn't refer to all those public sector undertakings, corporations etc etc. And on top of it i don't want to argue on this issue.
Govt job as of today has lost its sheen particularly because it doesn't pay as much as it used to in the bygone era of the British India. But even for ppl who think money or rather remuneration is not a big deal, the challenges that a Govt job offer are fewer in terms of technical problems and more in terms of adaptability.
I joined ISRO because i thought i would have some type of research work to carry out. If not original path breaking research, at least a precious little that i could atleast remotely term as research. But i am unfortunately i cannot term my work here as anything of that sort. All we do in India is REVERSE ENGINEERING Do not come to conclusions from my views alone. Ask other patriots, who read papers and articles in magazines and they will tel u that India is developing Cryogenic Engines and all such new technology for the space age. Initially i used to believe all that crap but now that i am an insider i know better. I can tell u only so much without jeopardizing my commitment to the organization I work for.
So much for the technical side but the real challenge is the adaptability. To get yourself in tune with the govt machinery, requires lot of sacrifices. Hundreds of rules. Some of them so old that they possess no relevance as such in today's scenario. But there is no mechanism to review all that. because no one wants to take the pains.
And the monetary benefit is almost nothing to talk of. A pay commission to study the need for a raise. And they take their own time to submit the report. When it is submitted all that a hike provides is a trifling 3k or 4k. This hike is easily matched by a software firm's yearly hike or even half yearly in some cases if am not mistaken. But NEWS channels inflate figures and project that Govt employees are getting a 21 pc hike above what the pay commission recommends. Bull shit. No doubt the tax payer gets irked. Politicians loot the public money, squander it for their personal use, but to ppl a meagre hike seems a big deal. Thank you.
Govt needs a image make over. Jus advertising that ISRO or DRDO employs cutting edge technology is not enuf. There should be real investment in such areas. India shall talk of becoming a super power. But without the committed contribution of such research organizations it will fall short of any vision.
I quite realise that this post doesn't totally cover all the aspects of a govt job but this atleast represents my contentions.
Govt job as of today has lost its sheen particularly because it doesn't pay as much as it used to in the bygone era of the British India. But even for ppl who think money or rather remuneration is not a big deal, the challenges that a Govt job offer are fewer in terms of technical problems and more in terms of adaptability.
I joined ISRO because i thought i would have some type of research work to carry out. If not original path breaking research, at least a precious little that i could atleast remotely term as research. But i am unfortunately i cannot term my work here as anything of that sort. All we do in India is REVERSE ENGINEERING Do not come to conclusions from my views alone. Ask other patriots, who read papers and articles in magazines and they will tel u that India is developing Cryogenic Engines and all such new technology for the space age. Initially i used to believe all that crap but now that i am an insider i know better. I can tell u only so much without jeopardizing my commitment to the organization I work for.
So much for the technical side but the real challenge is the adaptability. To get yourself in tune with the govt machinery, requires lot of sacrifices. Hundreds of rules. Some of them so old that they possess no relevance as such in today's scenario. But there is no mechanism to review all that. because no one wants to take the pains.
And the monetary benefit is almost nothing to talk of. A pay commission to study the need for a raise. And they take their own time to submit the report. When it is submitted all that a hike provides is a trifling 3k or 4k. This hike is easily matched by a software firm's yearly hike or even half yearly in some cases if am not mistaken. But NEWS channels inflate figures and project that Govt employees are getting a 21 pc hike above what the pay commission recommends. Bull shit. No doubt the tax payer gets irked. Politicians loot the public money, squander it for their personal use, but to ppl a meagre hike seems a big deal. Thank you.
Govt needs a image make over. Jus advertising that ISRO or DRDO employs cutting edge technology is not enuf. There should be real investment in such areas. India shall talk of becoming a super power. But without the committed contribution of such research organizations it will fall short of any vision.
I quite realise that this post doesn't totally cover all the aspects of a govt job but this atleast represents my contentions.
Monday, August 18, 2008
GREat past week, this week boring already
A post after almost more than a month. Have been really busy. Not that i've started working at office, But my GRE preparation had kept me away from frequent blogging. Anyway i am done with GRE. Got 1340 (570 Vebal and 770 Quants) for the yet uninformed! But this is not about my GRE or my score. It is about my post GRE boredom. I took a week long hiatus from work(supposed) and spent some time at home. A honeymoon period. Had nice food- courtesy MOM. Chauffered my dad's car( if one could call it that) for him and slept well. So not very prolific isn't it? But had to come back to office today. And God could it get any worser. Haven't felt so much out of place. Slept off at office. Am really missing my brief sojourn at home. It should die down. But hope it happens soon. Anyways haven't been doing any movie reviews even for my regular readers. Sorry for that. Will be back on my feet.
This post is just to show people am alive and raring to go. anyway keep watching this space, hoping to see me fill it.
This post is just to show people am alive and raring to go. anyway keep watching this space, hoping to see me fill it.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Dasavatharam - intelligent and entertaining
hi ppl. readers who can't bear Kamal hassan may plz skip this review because its all about him. I am not gonna follow my usual template of pros and cons listed separately because i genuinely liked the movie. I will not fail to mention the sagging features though. But they might be very much hiddden, so GO! find them. I am a die hard Kamal fan and so this review is gonna be prejudiced and a answer to all the bad reviews.
So here is a film thats marvellously to the tune of a hollywood movie with so many features of a parallel cinema. Obviously they are not conspicuous but if u fail to see them there is the rest of the movie for u.
For the ordinary (yet the majority audience) man there is a racy movie with all the makings of a edge of the seat action movie. It has a hero who is just a ordinary man. He is a scientist who wants to save a Bio weapon( a la' anthrax) from the hands of the villain. The villain is just an Ex CIA agent who is paid to get the vial from the hero. Throw in excellent car chases, intelligent escapes, underplayed murders and killings and the hero lands in his country of birth-India. From here the film is fast til the interval. After which almost all of the Kamal characters are introduced. Then it is just a mixed bag of emotions, humour(though not exactly rib tickling), and action. Interestingly Kamal has given small roles to almost all his regulars. At the end of the movie when you jus rewind u could notice that there are a hell lot of ppl in there(and lot of implied meaning as well). The film ends with the triumph of good over evil(thats before they reason out the effects of tsunami). Thats it for the normal movie goer.
For the person who sees symbolism, and the basic motive in a movie, here comes the better part. I din't mention the opening part of the movie earlier because it seems to have no relevance at all. But this is where Kamal Hassan brings in the Chaos theory aspect(the initial condition- the flutter of the butterfly), The drowning of the big idol of Govindaraja perumal. be it scientific or religious, it triggers of a series of events that finally cause a great catastrophe or averts another( left to the viewer to decide). Through a whole movie he just shows u how chaos theory really works. By involving seemingly unconnected ppl into the proceedings the movie jus scores in its motive. None of the kamal roles are for the sake of it. I am lifting some of the views below from other reviews so the original writer may plz pardon it. The CBI kamal is the reason for the chase continuing till the end, The tall muslim kamal is the resaon for Kamal's escape fro the police, Tha patti kamal is the one who causes the vial to be put into the idol, the Singh kamal causes the boxes to get changed and helps kamal escape, the jap kamal is the one who saves kamal from the tsunami(and fights the villain kamal), the black local kamal is the epitome of humanitarianism, he saves the couple from the hands of sand mafia. all these reasons seem childish but they fall into place.
some other things that i found very interesting were that though the movie is an attempt to make a action movie for the front row theatre goers, the hero is no super hero. he is gullible. the heroine is annoying. But like everyone said she starts to get on your nerve before the movie ends.
Some of the symbolisms i noted were (this is not all.. the movie has many,even if kamal din't mean to put it in) the death of Vincent Boovarahan which is drawn as a parallel to Nambi's death. Vincent dies to save a child, Rangarajan nambi for the idol. Excellent parallel.
The make up is awesome. Whoever thinks the George Bush get up wasn't gr8, think again. this is probably the best u can do. i especially liked the Fletcher kamal (terminator arnie deja vu',?) jap kamal, and the CBI kamal.
One thing i hated in the movie is the music, and the picturisation wasn't gr8 either.
The movie doesn't have theist or atheist undertones, its just a plain book. Its there for you to read. Watch it carefully.
So here is a film thats marvellously to the tune of a hollywood movie with so many features of a parallel cinema. Obviously they are not conspicuous but if u fail to see them there is the rest of the movie for u.
For the ordinary (yet the majority audience) man there is a racy movie with all the makings of a edge of the seat action movie. It has a hero who is just a ordinary man. He is a scientist who wants to save a Bio weapon( a la' anthrax) from the hands of the villain. The villain is just an Ex CIA agent who is paid to get the vial from the hero. Throw in excellent car chases, intelligent escapes, underplayed murders and killings and the hero lands in his country of birth-India. From here the film is fast til the interval. After which almost all of the Kamal characters are introduced. Then it is just a mixed bag of emotions, humour(though not exactly rib tickling), and action. Interestingly Kamal has given small roles to almost all his regulars. At the end of the movie when you jus rewind u could notice that there are a hell lot of ppl in there(and lot of implied meaning as well). The film ends with the triumph of good over evil(thats before they reason out the effects of tsunami). Thats it for the normal movie goer.
For the person who sees symbolism, and the basic motive in a movie, here comes the better part. I din't mention the opening part of the movie earlier because it seems to have no relevance at all. But this is where Kamal Hassan brings in the Chaos theory aspect(the initial condition- the flutter of the butterfly), The drowning of the big idol of Govindaraja perumal. be it scientific or religious, it triggers of a series of events that finally cause a great catastrophe or averts another( left to the viewer to decide). Through a whole movie he just shows u how chaos theory really works. By involving seemingly unconnected ppl into the proceedings the movie jus scores in its motive. None of the kamal roles are for the sake of it. I am lifting some of the views below from other reviews so the original writer may plz pardon it. The CBI kamal is the reason for the chase continuing till the end, The tall muslim kamal is the resaon for Kamal's escape fro the police, Tha patti kamal is the one who causes the vial to be put into the idol, the Singh kamal causes the boxes to get changed and helps kamal escape, the jap kamal is the one who saves kamal from the tsunami(and fights the villain kamal), the black local kamal is the epitome of humanitarianism, he saves the couple from the hands of sand mafia. all these reasons seem childish but they fall into place.
some other things that i found very interesting were that though the movie is an attempt to make a action movie for the front row theatre goers, the hero is no super hero. he is gullible. the heroine is annoying. But like everyone said she starts to get on your nerve before the movie ends.
Some of the symbolisms i noted were (this is not all.. the movie has many,even if kamal din't mean to put it in) the death of Vincent Boovarahan which is drawn as a parallel to Nambi's death. Vincent dies to save a child, Rangarajan nambi for the idol. Excellent parallel.
The make up is awesome. Whoever thinks the George Bush get up wasn't gr8, think again. this is probably the best u can do. i especially liked the Fletcher kamal (terminator arnie deja vu',?) jap kamal, and the CBI kamal.
One thing i hated in the movie is the music, and the picturisation wasn't gr8 either.
The movie doesn't have theist or atheist undertones, its just a plain book. Its there for you to read. Watch it carefully.
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