Raanjhnaa - Movie (Hindi)

Raanjhnaa - Movie (Hindi)

Director: Aanand Rai
Music composed by: A. R. Rahman

My Rating - 

Music Score by Rahman, passable story line, crisp dialogues and great acting - if this does not guarantee success at box office .... What can ? 

A movie, set in Banaras with a Southern star at its helm is a recipe for failure - there is little anyone could have done. If the empty seats in the theater were anything to go by the movie is really heading the Madhavan way. 

Well, the collections I hear fare a little better on day two. Let us hope the movie is appreciated for all the right reasons and not typecast into a corner like the earlier movies with similar setting. 

I for one still fail to understand how Madhavan's - Rehna Hain Tere Dil Mein could fail. The only reason I could attribute to its failure is our reluctance to accept a Southern Star in a Bollywood role .... well thankfully the story is very different for the southern Heroines (I am hoping - Trisha and Tamanna fared little better, though both were at their peak down south). If this trend continues it would soon get difficult to find a producer who would be ready to finance a movie with Southern lead. 

Well they should try and take a leaf out of Rohit Shetty and Salman's formula :-)

The first half of the movie flies before you realize what is happening - excellent performance by Dhaush keeps you plugged to your seats. The dialogues are crisp and deliver the punch. The star cast is wonderful - Dhanush fits his role to the hilt and so do Sonam and others. 

The story does get a little painful in the second half, at times the crisp dialogue delivery and story line seem to go awry, but thankfully Dhanush puts on a great performance to pull things together. Sonam looks good as a estranged lover. The supporting acts are commendable and they do fit into the characters - I must say the people who put together the cast did a great job. 

It is sad to see Abhay Deol leaving so soon - I have always enjoyed his acting and his movie acumen. Abhay seems to have a panache for picking up great movies and again with Raanjhnaa it is no different. 

The movie is sure worth a second watch, if for nothing else just for the crisp dialogues and Dhanush.

Dhanush has been slapped 16 times by the time you are ready for the high priced popcorn. And when you get back to your seat you are welcomed by a twist in the story. The story just seems to start missing the punch that it packed in the earlier half. 

The story may be a little to far fetched for some of us to digest, but nothing compared to what we have relished earlier thanks to bollywoods latest fascination for southern movies :-). The movie does make you think, and is not the typical 'keep your brains at home' fare. 

Finally if you are looking for wholesome entertainment without having to leave your brains locked up at home - and if you are ready for some disappointment in the second half - please open a new window and book your tickets. I for one would be waiting for snippets of this movie to appear online, I would also not mind a second outing if I am not the one paying for the tickets this time.

 

Let me do it now ....

Looks like my friend is heading the philosophical way.

There has been little rain in Bangalore this week - which as I understand is a good thing, given how bad the traffic and roads can get with a little rain. 

Elsewhere in India rains have been a menace, I feel sad for the thousands who are paying the price for someones callousness .... life comes cheap in India :(

If you find this to be infringing intellectual property, give me a shout and I will pull this out - but till then I will leave it here.

Change ....

My friend Palani keeps sending me these quotes, at most times I read them and forget and at others I wonder if I should save them somewhere safe. And that is when I start thinking about copyrights and what not ....

Well if you think this is infringing intellectual property, give me a shout and I will pull this out - but till then it is here to stay.

Bhau and Sivaraj this is for you ....

Aravaan (Movie, Tamil)

Aravaan 

My rating –  
Year – 2012 
Director - Vasanthabalan 
Cast - Aadhi, Dhansika, Archana Kavi, Pasupathy, Kabir Bedi, Bharath.

A period movie based on 18^th century Tamilnadu is a tale of village feuds and intricacies of life during that period. Beautifully filmed and adequately paced the film takes you back to an era where life was a struggle, adventure and in some ways probably more fulfilling. 

The movie though beautifully picturised fails to captivate the viewers attention or imagination in the way that it could have. The script is captivating in parts but lacks the punch required to keep the viewers on the edge of their seats.

While for most part I liked what I watched the ending spoilt it for me. This, to be very clear is not a movie that would appeal to me against corporal punishment – while  it does in a way condemn human sacrifice, done needlessly, it no way justifies the message the makers want to convey. 

The songs in the movie would not have been missed; the director tries to make up for the lack of melody and at times succeeds, but he cannot do the impossible – make you hum them. The actors do well and justify their roles, but none of the characters individually or collectively are strong enough to captivate the viewer. 

The screenplay, direction and the subject in itself is strong enough to make the movie watchable and you are  left wondering what a good script could have done to the overall package.

Naan Ee (Movie, Tamil)

Naan Ee

My rating – 
Year – 2012 

Director - S. S. Rajamouli 
Cast - Nani, Sudeep, Samantha and Ee

Continuing with the tradition of keeping the ratings as simple as ever I have given ‘Nann Ee’ not so generous 3 out 5 - I am sure a number of you would object to this, but let me remind you of the principles behind the ratings.

1 – Better left to others 
2 – I failed to understand but maybe a few of you can 
3 – One time watch 
4 – Can be seen more than once
5 – Right on the top of must see list.

Again, these ratings take nothing away from the movie and are only a reflection of my views.

The movie does not boast of a story line, neither does it boast about emotional quotient – it is low on both the fronts. Truth to tell it has been kept elegantly simple with not too many frills. The director had multiple opportunities to go overboard with his imagination, but does extremely well to keep in control. One would have imagined ‘Ee’, our protagonist, would have roped in a few of his friends for help, but thankfully that is not the case – I am not even sure what direction the movie would have then taken.

There is a failed attempt to induce romance into the movie, but well, what can you get when a pretty heroine is cast opposite to a fly. Samantha sits pretty, justifying the role of maiden in distress. To take nothing from her, with a role like that you can hardly expect her to do more - it would be worth sitting up and taking notice if she can pull of a hardened role – for then we would know we have another actress to talk about. ‘Ee’, the protagonist does well to justify his role and at times even pulls off a difficult scene with aplomb. At times the graphics do make you realize that they are just so, but such times are very few and far between. Sudeep does enough to prove why he is in the reckoning, but other than him and ‘Ee’ there is little else to talk home about the cast. 

The movie would surely be loved by little ones and elders equally. But where the movie fails (or rather succeeds) is in its lack of substance to tickle your grey cells - I for one was unable to find anything worth remembering.  You could call me old school, but I love my movies when they make me think. I like to walk out, not only feeling good but also thinking about what the movie had to say. There nothing in ‘Naan Ee’ that you can carry home with you, but there is a lot that you can laugh at and leave behind. If you are looking for a serious movie this is not your cup of tea, but if you are looking for fun I would give it 4 out of 5.

The starting and ending of the movie would surely not be missed and could have been much better …. For a thought imagine being riddled with an ‘Ee‘ for the rest of your life – I for one would have wished better for a pretty girl. 

Keladi Kanmani ( Movie, Tamil)

Keladi Kanmani

My rating – 
Year – 1990
Director - Vasanth
Cast - SP Balasubramaniam, Radhika, Geetha, Janakaraj, Anju, Ramesh Arvind, Vivek, Poornam Viswanathan

For the romantic at heart this is a movie that should be on the must watch list. 

The song ‘Nee Paadhi Naan Paadhi’ started me on the journey, the lyrics, composition and the chemistry between Ramesh and Anju are captivating. It took years out of me and made me dream again.

The film continues to touch your heart at every corner, and there are very few moments when you feel bored. But that does not take away the fact that the film seems a bit hurried from the start. At times one is left dismayed by the lack of substance or attention given to details. This though does not take anything away from the movie it does leave you wanting for more. The issues that surround a father bringing up a child single headedly and the insecurities the child faces could have been a little more detailed. The movie would have also benefited if there was an attempt to resolve the issues before giving up to the inevitable. There is a feeling that the movie is rushed to achieve its ending - The story seems to have been written with the ending in mind rather than it being the other way round.

Janakraj and team are completely wasted; the parallel story does little for the movie other than taking one away from the main theme. But that has been the way with most Tamil movies from that decade, it probably was in flavor then, and the director and his team did not want to make a detour.

Anju is praiseworthy in her role and so is Arivind, but SPB takes the cake. He has again proved that he can act just as well as he sings.  Raadhika is good in her role, but not extraordinary enough to have received a filmfare, I would rather have seen it going to others on the cast.

The movie touches your heart, leaving you in tears. The ending takes nothing away, leaving the story open for interpretation …. the imaginative dreamers will have a roll thinking about various possibilities, I for one think that Anju recovered enough to marry Aarvind and go on to have a happy family (if that is ever possible ) :).

For my Brother - Tiff with the Maharajah

16^th February 2012 is a day that will be etched in our memories for years to come …. ahem err …. well it will be on this blog till Google decides it has had enough of dishing out freebies.

It was a wonderful morning when my brother woke up. It was still a wonderful morning when he decided to have his bath. But it wasn't so wonderful when he came out from the bathroom for it then became a wonderful afternoon.

If this had to be a blog about how to bathe efficiently, hygienically, ergonomically and also sing a song or two at the same-time, I would have resorted to detailing the various steps my brother took in the interval that he walked into the bathroom and entered the house (well if you noticed, in villages the bathrooms are located outside the house). On the contrary this is blog is determined not to cross the thin line dividing vulgarity from decency, and maintain its remit within the boundaries drawn above. Not that my bother sings beautifully, but then he does shake a few bones once he gets started – I have known people who have preferred to go deaf. Again, let us leave this topic about his singing and masculinity out of our conversation for today, today we have another very important topic to discuss – My bothers tiff with the Maharajah.  

My brother by nature is very docile, he would bite if you trouble him, but otherwise he is quite sane …. now don't get me wrong, but some Indians are really sane, it is another mater that they are hard to come by. Oops there I go, I am really sorry that I have deviated, I promise to get to the main topic of our discussion … the tiff.

It was again a wonderful evening when my brother left home in his new Tata car (here again please notice, I leave it to the reader to visualize the car. Any other reader will immediately think about a Jaguar while the Indian reader will visualize a NANO). TATA cars are very famous in our poor little country (little because we are being eaten at the sides by our neighbours and very soon what will remain is the island of Andaman and Laskhwdeep ….). Again, not to deviate from the main topic we return to the event that changed my perception of airline schedules. And in order to make sure that our readers have not missed the thread we start again …..

It was again a wonderful evening when my brother left home in his new Tata car. And the evening remained wonderful till he reached the airport at 18.30 for his 21.30 flight that had already left at 9.30. There I have told you the whole story in one single line, but like all good authors will continue in the same gist to fill up this page.

My brother walked out from the car, humming his favourite tune certain that he had made it to the airport well in time. He walked to the counter to collect his boarding pass and therein waited the biggest surprise of the day. The courteous lady (well no hard feelings but she was as courteous as AirIndia staff can be …. or maybe she was slightly off the mark) at the counter refused to provide my brother with a boarding pass, and her only retort for not doing so was the fact that the flight had already taken off that morning. All this while the ticket in my brothers hand still read 21.30.

Now, if you know my brother like I do, you would be prompted to blame him for the confusion at the counter. But you don't and hence you will continue providing him with unequivocal support in his fight with the Maharajah.  

Previous fiascos that my bother was involved in :-

• My brother had boarded a bus twenty four hours later than the time mentioned on his ticket
• He travelled on the train after having shredded the ticket by mistake and ….
• He arrived at the airport at 8.00 in the morning for the 20:00 flight.

But this time you have my word that my brother was not at fault, and you surely have the courteous officers of AirIndia express as his witness.  

Well in the end my brother did make it to Muscat a day later than originally planned and after hopping flights in Mumbai where he was forced to wait for 8 hours and watch MNS, BJP combine take to helm before heading home. Thankfully for him the AirIndia staff refused to provide any support, accommodation, courteous words or an apology – well they did keep up the high standards that only they are capable off.

A humble request and warning to all those who have reached this far down the blog

• Please do not book yourself with the Maharajah unless you have no option but to take the King fisher – well at this point you can curse your luck and pick the one that suits you because it is hard telling one from the other. Both will take care that you have a pleasant journey …. NOT
• And if you did book yourself with the Maharajah – Please reach the airport at least twenty four hours before their scheduled departure time for they have the tendency of preponing flights by Twelve to Twenty four hours, and at other times postponing. Either way please be ready for a long haul
• And if you missed the above please do not make the mistake of arguing with the Airline officers because they are always right and never discourteous.... NOT

Please show your support to my brother and his fight against the Maharajah by liking this post, and if you are one of those who have been molested by the Maharajah please do leave a comment.

We thank the Indian government for bailing out the great Maharajah for service like theirs could otherwise go extinct. Hail Maharajah and the people behind this wonderful airliens …. No wonder TATA's have refused to acknowledge any affiliation with them.

Random thoughts ....

For the first time, since last year I felt fear capturing me in its vice like grip – I felt myself sweating profusely.

I felt the sadness creeping into my thoughts as I watched the traffic crawl - I wondered what would give if I missed a heart beat; what would be lost if I stopped breathing.

The fog had engulfed the city, hinting at what could be in store for the coming winters. My thoughts constantly returned to the very same questions – the emptiness had been gnawing at me for the last few months was giving shape to doubt. The emptiness was making way for desperation that was seeping away all hope I had,  eating away my will to live and smile.

Life was taunting at me from the corner; smiling at me and reminding me that it would all end soon. But sadly no one knew what happened when one called it quits.

The dark shadow was lingering around waiting to engulf me, swallow me; it wanted to ensnare me in its arms and rejoice its victory. Rejoice the fact that it had subdued another victim, killed another one. I closed my eyes knowing well that my time had come  .... and there was no turning back.

I took a leap of faith shutting away all my fear and doubt.