BluffMaster

Another DVD I got from my neighbor. I had just heard the name of the movie, am no Abhishek fan, so never bothered to hunt for it. Now that, I got it for free, I decided to give it a try.

It is the story of a conman, Roy, who is too proud of his bluffing skills. According to him, anyone in the world can be conned. I am not in a mood to explain the story, so to finish up this draft version of the review which has been sitting out here for a long time now- it was an interesting and catchy movie. It sure reminds me of a Hollywood movie, especially the climax - forget which one that is.

For the first time, I liked Abhishek in a movie. He always came across as expression-less to me. Here also, the role would want him to be uptight, but he managed to evoke some emotions in romantic scenes. Like I could believe that he and Priyanka are really mentally close. Priyanka is so beautiful. All the actors did their job well.

I loved the song - Ek Main Aur Ek Tu Hai..
I won't spoil the suspense for anyone, but would say it is definitely worth watching once.

Dhol

Grabbed the DVD from my neighbour who has an awesome collection , which has become my main hope for B's study times, so I can kill time easily with kids by my side.

When I saw in titles that it is directed by Priyadarshan, I became alert. Hmm, this could very well be one of the movies I saw in Malayalam already. And yes it was, one of the classic comedy films etched in my memory form college times. In Harihar Nagar. In this version, the villain is in search of a DHOL (drum) which is a drum loaded with currency - used to be a doll in the Malloo version.

It is very hard to enjoy a movie if you have already seen its original. Especially one which is rated in your mind as high. Anyway, I sat down and watched it, laughed a bit here and there. I laughed for the Hindi jokes - some were original, some I knew right away what the Malayalam version of the joke is. So I could not laugh..I could only review it!

I am mostly nice to everyone - not very hard to please! So I declare that the direcor did a great job with remaking the movie - it will be real fun for the folks who have never watched the original. The actors whom he cast, the selection of the faces - I would say, he did a great job with that too. The 4 guys are good. The heroine is just a fashion babe - nothing great about her. Worth watching only if you have not seen In Harihar Nagar!

Subramaniapuram

After a long time, I came across a very nice Tamil movie which captured my attention right from beginning and held on to it till the very end. So much so that, I felt compelled to watch it in one shot.

Starring: Jay, Swathy, Kanja Karuppu, Sasi Kumar, Samudhirakani. Direction: Sasi Kumar Music: James Vasanthan

It is the story of 5 (or mainly 4) friends in 1980's in Subramaniapuram, a Madurai suburb.

All these guys have beards and initially it was hard for me to tell them apart.Jay is from "Chennai 60028" movie and even though I saw that movie, I could not tell right away for sure which of the cricketer guys in that movie is this guy! I do have a guess and I think I am right.

The movie starts with the beautiful portrayal of the innocent secret love between Alagu (Jay) and Thulasi (Smitha). The scene were Alagu proves to his buddy Paraman that the girl is interested in Alagu is nice to watch. Everything seems realistic and you feel like you are living with them there in that era and at that place.

The story line reminded me of Kireedom (Lal) where to his surprise, all of a sudden, the hero finds himself a criminal and separated from the loved ones. And I was totally shaken to see what happens when the uncle convinces the girl to 'stand' for her family. I would not break the suspense now, but it is a pain to see if a woman is not strong at heart and gets manipulated by emotional blackmail, it could turn too heartbreaking for the man!

And music by James Vasanthan is great . Hard to believe it is his debut. Very refreshing!

Must see movie - if you love watching good movies!

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na

"Tera Mujhse Hai Pehle Ka Naata Koi
Yunhi Nahin Dil Lubhata Koi
Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na
Maane Tu Ya Mane Na"

This is the theme song of the movie - I should say - theme song of the college gang in the movie! The song is from an old Hindi movie (aah, I googled it to remind myself of the original movie name and it is Aa Gale Lag Ja..have watched it numerous times in Chitrahaar!) .

And the motto of the movie is - However horrible one may sound singing this, what matters is the feeling beneath!

A super light movie which captivates you entirely - not using any fancy animation or visual gimmicks, but solely on the 'close-to-life' realistic acting of all the people who star in it. Kudos to the selection of artists - Imran Khan and Genelia are too cute to believe! Every actor has made a mark and it is just like watching them all in person in real life.

Songs are superb and catchy. (ARR)..especially the 'Pappu Cant Dance Saala'!

Story is not great. But the narration makes it interesting. The girl who is Jiggy's girlfriend generally does not get impressed by anything. Not at all romantic. But the gang folks narrate to her the story of Imran-Genelia pair and it is interesting to watch how quickly she gets hooked to it.And in the end, she goes to the extent of introducing herself to Imran and Genelia as Jiggy's girl friend. That was cute!

A must watch movie which will transport you to your college days for sure!

Aaja Nachle

Quick note to record that I saw it and liked it. Madhuri and her dance, the movie is all about that.

Madhuri looks gorgeous, but for the slightly aged look on her face. Her body is made of elastic still and she is in great shape. She dances beautifully. Music and dance were a good treat to my senses.

Parts that made me ponder were:
1. Madhuri elopes with an American photographer to US. And how coolly, within 1 sentence, it is told that soon she discovered that she and him were not made for each other. It shows how common divorce is becoming in our soceity. She is pregnant by the time she divorces and is a single mom. And the story is not making a big deal about at all that. She portrays the role of a single mom with her individuality and personality. There does not seem a need of a man in Dia's life.A very nice and cool relation with daughter is shown too. Cute!

2. Akshay's role and acting was good.
3. I loved Konkona Sen and her acting. Always. She is really talented.

Everything else has to be taken with a pinch of salt. It is a movie, after all.
In this world, who can take the time to rehearse for a dance drama every day? I wondered if all the folks she selected for her play were jobless and that is probably why they can turn up for rehearsals without fail. Including this politician. It is like a fairy tale and we should take the story like that.

The selection of the cast for her drama and the rehearsals reminded me of 'Rang De Basanti' similar sequences. RDB scenes had a punch in them. Aaja Nachle was a good entertainer, if you dont expect too much from it.

Cassandra's Dream

One more nice pick of DVD that my husband can boast of. Enjoyed the movie thoroughly, feeling the pain the brothers feel and aching with them. Brothers Ian (Ewan McGregor) and Terry (Colin Farrell) Blaine have been taught that family comes first and even when there is no one to turn to, family will always be there. Ian is an overambitious lad who is not satisfied with where he is in present life. He helps out his dad with his restaurant purely based on his love for his family, but ready to fly out far away seeking new horizons. He falls in live with this attractive theatre artist who is clearly above his class.

Terry is addicted to gambling, drinking and pills. He has a girl friend (or wife) and is planning to buy a new home. But he ends up losing a lot of money in gambling. They both buy this boat and name it Cassandra's Dream , that is the name of the dog who won the dog race and gave him the money for buying it.

The family has a really successful uncle who is the only savior when they need financial help. But the brothers are taken aback when the uncle himself is looking for help from them. And what kind of help? He wanted them to murder someone. Ian is so focussed on getting what he wants. He does not worry so much about doing this. But Terry struggles so much with this. When you see the mental struggles, at one point, even you start thinking like Ian. So what - just one murder - then was then and NOW is NOW ,after the murder is over. But Terry is unable to come out of it. Now uncle and Ian have no choice but to take Terry out. Ian cant think of doing this, but Terry forces him towards it. And in the end...I am not going to spoil the suspense.

The emotional struggles of every character including the uncles and the parents, the girl friends and the brothers are clearly portrayed. The actors did such a wonderful job playing these characters. MUST WATCH!

The Illusionist

I feel so much at home with Indian movies, that it is hard for me to talk about English movies the way I review Indian movies. I always believe that language is no barrier and good movies do touch your heart and make the same impact. But I do end up going for an Indian movie selection, that is just me. But thanks to B, who keeps following the English movies and their class, I do experience the pleasure of watching them also. This is a movie he saw years back, when I dozed off to sleep. He has been asking me to watch it ever since. That happened this Saturday. Knowing it is an Edward Norton starrer was a motivating factor for me. Enough of autobiography and on to the review!

This is the story of a magician Eisenheim and how he uses his magical skills to secure the woman he loves, even though they are not in par from a social status perspective in that society. This time, I am not going to elaborate on the story. This is a must watch. Very interesting twist in the end.

Bhool Bhulaiya

Knowing it is the remake of the great Malayalam movie "Manichithrathaazh", anyone who watches this movie or the Kannada remake Apta Mithra or the Tamil remake 'Chandramukhi' is bound to compare it with the original frame to frame. There is no question about it. Nothing can compare to the original movie and the talents of the stars which made it a success. The question is how successful are you in entertaining the new target audience with this theme that had been a success everywhere in the past. I don't think Priyadarshan failed in that.

Given that, I was watching the movie out of curiosity. I was not biased to keep saying to myself from scene to scene - hey, this was better in the old one. I should say I enjoyed Bhool Bulaiya and there is nothing wrong in watching it once. People who have not watched the original movie will enjoy it better because it is exposing them to this totally different story.

I liked the location where this has been shot. The palace is a great fit for this story line.

Selection of artistes is commendable, I felt. For example,Vikram Gokhale for Thilakan's role. Good fit!

Akshay Kumar has done a good job - compared to the old past when I had nothing to expect of him.

I loved the gorgeous sarees the ladies wore throughout the movie. Hmm Hmm! it is a delight to watch those colors.

One thing I noted was: it is a ditto of the original. Even the way the actors stand or react has been copied from the original.

Amisha Patel has been wasted totally.

About climax dance sequence and emotional scenes - Vidya Balan's performance looked artificial to me compared to Shobana's. I liked Soundarya's performance in ApthaMithra better. Jyothika overacted in the whole sequence with some black paint around her eyes in the Tamil counterpart.

There is only one person who did the same role he did in Malayalam in this Hindi movie. Vineeth! I think it is an achievement that he still looks the same and is able to fit in the same role after these many years.

The conclusion is, Manichithrathazh rules!

Laaga Chunari Mein Daag

I saw Rani Mukherjee and Konkona Sen Sharma on the DVD cover. I had no idea about the story or the director Pradeep Sarkar. Later I found that he is the one who directed 'Parineeta'. Anyway, I picked the DVD up trusting those faces. Konkona looked promising to me!

I did not regret the decision at all. I ended up enjoying the movie - a good one after a long time.I think it is a movie girls will enjoy and not guys.

Badki (Rani Mukherjee) and Chutki (Konkona Sen) are two sisters living in a palace which is falling apart. The relation between the sisters is painted so colorfully, interleaved with breathtaking cinematography of the Banares river banks in the song 'Hum To Aise Hain Bhiya'. I could not help humming that song - very catchy! During this song, the director conveys all the background of the story and their family situation. I could not stop wonder - who looks better, Rani or Konkona..not just from beauty perpective, but also the acting and the charm. Very good selection of cast.

Dad Anupam Kher is busy with buying lottery tickets and waiting for luck to kick in. Mom Jaya Bhaduri (so sad, she has turned so old..Guddi of old times..cant believe it..but well, she does a very good job with this role) is sewing petticoats day and night to make money for the family's living. They are constantly threatened by uncle and his rowdy son with whom a case is ongoing for the house.

Rani is emotionally upset that dad says 'If I had a son..' and sets out to Mumbai to shoulder family financial responsibilities. Now with the title - Laga Chunri Mein Daag - (meaning my dupatta is soiled)!, you can very well guess what is going to happen. But the way it is portrayed makes it interesting.

A commendable scene is when Rani calls her mom from Mumbai. She is faced with the decision on what course her life should take and her mom is totally lost in the frantic hunt for money to save dad's life in hospital. It was very nicely picturized.

You can debate on why Rani chose the path she chose. But then that is the basis of the story. Accept and move on.

The movie I was constantly reminded of was K.Balachander's 'Arangetram'. It has the same theme where a girl is forced into prostitution to become the breadwinner of the family. I kept on following LCMD story as it progressed, to see where it will differ from Arangetram. It did differ, and very beautifully. When Konkona Sen comes to know of how her sister has been earning money for the family, she did not react like KamalHassan did as the younger brother of the Arangetram heroine. Typically, even in real life, the reaction would be - oh My God, you sinned. How could you do this? etc. But the director did win my heart when Konkona said - everybody else should be sorry for putting Badki through this.

I would like to compare the rest of the movie to Vikraman's movies - where the story revolves around all nice people - and it is all about niceity (is there such a word). Those films always became hit. There is a positive message radiated from his movies.

It feels good to see a sister who understands Badki's reasons and tries to stand for her. It is a good change from the usual melodrama of complaints and curses. Abhishek's arrival also can be excused for the same reasons. It is good to see someone who accepts Rani knowing what her profession was. Reality could be different, but who can say that there are no such nice people on earth.

Kunal was really cute. Worth mentioning here.

This movie is definitely worth a watch.

Photographer

Quick review just to record that I watched this movie! This Mohanlal starrer directed by Ranjith Pramod got released in 2006. It is worth watching once for sure.

Dijo John (another Mallu name with a J!!! Grrrrr!) is a photographer whose pictures he submits to even National Geographic magazine. He goes to a Adivasi village and walks around with a little Adivasi boy Thaami to capture nice pictures. One day, police shoots Thaami's dad and sets fire to their homes. The little boy is now orphaned and Dijo is very sympathetic towards him. But Thaami is a threat to the police and politicians behind this. The movie revolves around the series of events that change the course of Dijo's life.

The relationship between Dijo and his son is portrayed very well. Same with the relation between Thaami and Dijo.The actress Neethashree acted very well - she has a magic button to launch tears I think.

When Dijo is released from CBI custody, I thought he is going to catch a bus or train to go back home. Could he not have asked for their help or at least I dont think the officers released him saying ' now you walk through the forest and take this challenge to swim across the river and get back home' ! What is the point of releasing him..I think director got extremely confused at this point. All the scenes of Lal wandering through the forest came out of nowhere and kept dragging on and on.

The double role of Lal came as a surprise too. There was really no need for this character, but nevertheless I accepted it thinking this is how the director commercializes the movie.There is some comedy woven around the intercaste marriage issues - especially the paatti made me laugh! Very realistic! There is action and tears and some very beautiful songs. Pulchaadi keeps buzzing in my ears still. Lot of actors appear and disappear wihout making a mark in the movie - Ganesh and Saranya Bhagyaraj to name a few.

A serious movie which tries to add commercial elements here and there lest it would be branded an award movie. If you are willing to tolerate the commercial elements inserted artifically, it is definitely an entertainer for 3 hours!