Movie Review:

Banner: Fairy Queen Productions, Emil And Eric
Cast: Mohanlal, Vimala Raman, Balachandramenon, Saikumar, Nedumudi Venu, Innocent, Salimkumar, Suraj, Vijayaraghavan, Kochupreman, Indrans
Direction: Thulasidas
Music: Shibu Chakrabarthy, Ouseppachan


  

A enchanting mix of college life, campus politics and of course, Mohanlal promised to charge and welcome us in the new year. And standing by their words is 'College Kumaran', the new release of the star which is not a classy affair, but surely an entertaining one. The film offers us excitement all through as we settle into our seats for the movie and the director has made it a point to keep the tempo sustained with little bit of twists coming up in every twenty minutes. The film which stretch a little more than two and a half hours, is definitely a passable fare, when compared with the recent outings of the star.

The film is a rollicking ride through the life of Kumaran alias Captin Sreekumar, an ex military officer, who is presently running the campus canteen of Mahatma College.

Spending his days entirely for and with the students Kumaran popularly called as Kumarettan, is the life and soul of the campus. Kumaran is the only person who can influence the students of this college to any extent. He is like a gang leader who is always in front to support and raise the needs of students, be it the agitation demanding the recognition of courses before the Secretariat or the strike against Prof Vikraman (Rizabava) who runs special tuition in the time of college classes. Even the principal Narendranath (Janaardhanan) and manager Shivaraman Nair(Nedumudi Venu) turns to him, whenever the students starts fights on petty issues and politically targeted strikes.

Kumaran's father Karunakaran Nair and his sister died in a fire that happened in the canteen ten years back , and there after Kumaran left the army to be with the students and the college, which he maintains like his own home. But there were many who hated Kumaran and his freehand in the college administration. The spearhead among them was Sethunathan, the educational minister, and the chieftain of all illegal business activities related to education. A former chairman of the college, he raved to buy the college from the manager Shivaraman by hook or crook. And for this he hatched many plans which get spoiled always by the timely intrusion of Kumaran. Madhavi (Vimala Raman), the college's English professor, was another person who felt that Kumaran is the major reason behind the students getting pampered and spoiled. But very soon the tables are expected to turn against Kumaran as he get enmeshed in a bigger trap, Will Kumaran be able to survive the commotion? Can he save the college from Sethunath? See the film for the answers.

The film rooted in the campus itself has a pretty thin story line. But Thulaseedas has finally managed to convert the flick into a passable fare. The director is spot on the little subject, he had and races to the final with the help of fine cuts by P C Mohanan. The screenplay and dialogues by Suresh Pothuwal flesh out the characters of this thin concept, with not many deviations. The later half is more impressive, but with too many cliches, that makes the flick a predictable stuff. Mohanlal looks tired but ease through the role which he had been in, many times before. Vimala Raman as Madhavi is ok but has precious little to do. The shortcoming of the script is that it doesn’t have many hilarious moments, funny sequences, punch lines or witty one liner. Suraaj and Harishree Ashokan as Kumaran's aides in canteen try to bring in chuckles but fails more than often. Siddhique as Sethunathan is in his usual self while a bunch of young artists completes the castline as campus groups.

Venugopalan support Thulassedas behind the camera. The film has three songs of which ''Kanakuyilin'' is the best, sung by Sujatha and Venugopal. The background score by Ouseppachan also give the needed impetus on many scenes, lifting it to the needed moods. Altogether the film may not be a must-watch but it's also not a total let down either. Something you could fish out, still endurable on account of its running time of just 145 minutes, and of course Mohanlal. When you have two hours to do nothing important, just have a look at 'College Kumaran'.

Movie Review:

Cast: Dileep, Meera Jasmine, Indrajit, Vimala Raman, Innocent, Bindu Panikkar
Direction: Blessy
Production: Thampy Antony

  

Blessy is a master story teller. His previous endeavours had proven it beyond doubt. Now, 'Calcutta News ', produced by Kaayal Films, also stands testimony to that. Set in the backdrop of urban Kolkata, this gripping story deals with the disturbing social menace of sex rackets. More than a love story, the plot explores the lives of innocent women who feel shunted out by a world that doesn't understand them due to their circumstances.

The news is not just from Calcutta alone. This absorbing story can happen anywhere in the country or at any part of this world. So universal is the theme. And the narration is bonny to watch - even if it is somewhat cinematic and overly simplistic, in the context of the bolder theme.

The film is a variation on the village-family themes that the director had been with for long, but instead, our female protagonist brood about in the caliginous emotional aftermath of her husband's death. On the surface, the film is very much in the detailing the plight of innocent country girl who winds up in the big city and becomes the punching bag victim of a fake marriage, undergoes the death of his so called husband and rejection by unfeeling society, and who becomes so besieged by tragedy that she is blind to the genuine love offered to her by a gutsy journalist.

The film opens with Ajith Thomas (Dileep), an acclaimed investigative television producer and anchor of a leading channel 'Calcutta News', being felicitated for his work 'Shadows of Calcutta' -entirely shot via mobile phone cameras, receiving a national award for its sincerity and boldness of theme. The plot lines open with Ajith narrating the incidents that made him to produce this work of art. Ajith, the son of a former footballer of Mohammedans grew up in Kolkata with his two sisters and his mother, in an apartment that his mother considered important as they resided there from their early days. An active member of kairalee malayalee samajan headed by a comical president (Innocent ), Ajith has at his disposal a strong media team including producers Smita (Vimala Raman), and news anchors Aruna (Manasa) and Sheela (Brinda) and bunch of cameraman and editors.

One day on a hectic shoot of kali pooja, he bumps into a newly married Malayalee couple who were seen irritable before camera. And in the next day Ajith meets them again on a tram and the guy turns hostile realizing Ajith is a malayali. Within few days Ajith once again finds him while editing the news, this time found as an unidentified body found near Kalighat. Ajith immediately go through the rushes and make arrangements to beam the previous shots of the couple that he shot, so that some one may come forward to claim the body.

Within a couple of days Ajith get news about the girl, 'Krishnapriya' who was brutally beaten and locked up in a petty lodge in the city. Ajith with the help of kairali samagam offers help to her who identifies the body of her husband Hari (Indrajith), with whom she was married five days back. She being a an orphan from Pattambi with no one back in her village, they leave the claim on the body. But the shattered girl with the agony, anger and grief combined with the uncertainty of life tries for a suicide. But Ajith comes up in the role of her protector and arranges her stay with his workmates in the channel. Soon he gets attracted to Krishnapriya primarily due to her love for singing and music.

But within days, Ajit finds that Hari was one of the henchman in a sex racket that traps innocent girls and sells them for lakhs to the Sonagachi sex mafia led by one-arm bearded guy (Kathal fame Krishnamoorthy) . But as days goes by, Krishnapriya develops a kind of obsessive compulsive disorder thinking about herself being the cause of Hari's death.

Ajith tries to help her out, with the support of a psychiatrist. Going after the causes of Hari's murder then lands them into further problems, ultimately resulting in the mafia kidnapping Krishnapriya to their den at the red lit area. Ajith with the help of his fellow media men try to rescue her, following them to the red street and shooting all in his mobile, which lead to a riveting climax.

Blessy is once again at the top of his game, telling a tale in a clean and crisp illustrative terms, never meandering too much (except in the scenes of development of infatuation among protagonists and their mutual interest in music, which is indeed a letdown in this inspiring tale) and propelling the tale forward with relentless and masterful editing by Vijay Shanker. And it’s sure, the tacked-on and forced cheesy ending is okay to appease the masses, but for a film which stresses such a bold theme and in context of what the film tries to say, could have been more impressive, if it had taken a different route.

The storyline sounds simple and, perhaps, clichéd to some extent. But what makes it really different is the treatment. Blessy deals with human emotions very well and provides equal space for all characters to develop but the screenplay ought to have been tightened a little more. The film begins on a sombre pace (and slips back off and forth) it gains momentum post the first half an hour. But it also let us know very well , the unsurely of the scriptor director, whether to keep the film in a track of drippy romance, a psychological thriller, or a realistic paradox, or even a appropriate mixture of all. The film gets predictable as it progresses, failing the attempts to maintain an air of mystery allover by the inclusion of extrasensory perception and the psychiatrist act. But all these shortcomings can be excused for the broader cause of the bolder theme, with which the films stands tall.

The superlative performances of the lead are the other highlights in the film . Meera Jasmine is amazing in the role of a lifetime, playing a lady pushed to the extremes of dilemma and dichotomy of choices. She is believable in every shades offered in the plot. Dileep as Ajith Thomas, with a new look with straightened hair and glasses also has done a superb job playing a gutsy , determined and modest journo. All others in the cast including Vimala Raman as Smitha , Innocent as the Samajam president and Indarajith as Hari does their roles impressively.

The film leaves a lot of physical space for mind-blowing camerawork by Cinematographer S Kumar, who has brought in a marvel with well shot sequences and frames which speaks more than what the film offers verbally. The stunning look of the movie is mostly due to his creative and brilliant cinematography, making it an adorable piece of art. Renjith Amabadi's makeup and Manu Jagand's art work is definitely commendable and can be listed among their bests.

For music, it’s Deojyoth Misra whose work fits the situations to a T, particularly excelling in the folk based songs, which is tasteful while also conforming to musical standards. Most pleasing to the ear, perhaps, are the 'Kannadi koottile', 'Ariloru chilla' and ‘Engu ninno vanna' with its simple tones, all sung in the rich voice of K S Chithra. Ouseppachan also gel best with his background scores, which control the tempo and lift the mood of the film in many a scenes. Considering the present standards of commercial ventures in Mollywood, ‘Calcutta News’ is definitely a immensely watchable film, very hard to leave behind. It is a commendable movie, one that needs to be talked about, discussed, and recommended.

Film Review:

Banner: UTV Motion Pictures
Cast: Hrithik Roshan,Aishwarya Rai,Sonu Sood,Kulbhushan
Kharbanda,Suhasini Mulay,RazaMurad,Punam Sinha,
Rajesh Vivek,Pramod Moutho,Ila Arun,Surendra Pal,
VisshwaBadola,Prathmesh Mehta
Direction: Ashutosh Gowarikar
Production: Ashutosh Gowarikar, Ronnie Screwvala
Music: A R Rahman

After several reshuffling of dates and over 2 years in the making , UTV and Ashutosh Gowarikar bring to you Jodhaa-Akbar a complete epic in itself. Any comparisons with Mughal-E-Azam or Ashutosh’s previous piece of work should be strictly avoided.

Besides a good star cast and soulful music, Jodhaa-Akbar has much more to offer. Set in the sixteenth century, JODHAA AKBAR is a love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a great Mughal emperor, Akbar, and a Rajput princess, Jodhaa. Little did Akbar [Hrithik Roshan] know that when he married Jodhaa [Aishwarya Rai Bachchan], he would be embarking upon a new journey -- the journey of true love.

The daughter of King Bharmal of Amer [Kulbhushan Kharbanda], Jodhaa resented being reduced to a mere political pawn in this marriage of alliance, and Akbar's biggest challenge now did not merely lie in winning battles, but in winning the love of this defiant princess.

Firstly Jodhaa –Akbar isn’t too complex a film to understand, the script and screenplay is simple and above all the language is simple with a mix of Hindi and Urdu.

The characters in the film are so real and leave a heavy impact on you. Only a visionary such as Ashutosh Gowarikar can dare to do such a film. When Ashutosh kept justifying the shuffling of the release date, one thought it was all humbug. But on viewing the film, you are more than convinced that a film of such magnitude indeed requires a lot of courage and patience to firstly shoot it and then edit and compile the various scenes.

It is so obvious on screen the amount of effort put in and the care taken to craft a film such as this. Just observe the casting of the film, besides the prime faces we know of, Ashu brings to you such tremendous talent that fits the bill even with their slightest of roles in the film. For example, take a look at the Villain in the film-Niketan Dheer, he is much taller and built than Hrithik which makes it so believable in the fight sequences that Hrithik is bound to fall when he collides against him. Also take a look at the various kings, the common men depicted in the film, the warriors etc. It’s just apt.

On the performance graph, no one could have possibly played Akbar with such elegance as Hrithik. Hrithik is simply fabulous. It’s not just his body and looks that impress but it is the way Hrithik carries himself throughout the film. He impresses in almost every sequence. Watch out for Hrithik’s duel with the elephant, his sword fight with Aishwariya , his dialogue delivery and expressiveness when he is betrayed by his step-brother. Also the climax fight sequence has some great dialogue delivery from Hrithik.

Aishwariya stands perfect as Jodhaa. Many would state that after Hum Dil Chuke Sanam , Ash is simply at her best in Jodhaa-Akbar. The sequence where she sets her demands before Akbar are impressive. She emotes well in sequences where she is humiliated by Akbar’s step mother played by Ila Arun. She also does well in bringing out that romance and is smooth with the sword sequences.

Sonu Sood is yet another character to watch out for as he portrays Sujamal, Jodhaa’s step-brother with ease. He impresses with both his dialogue delivery and sword handling. Poonam Sinha returns with a terrific guest appearance. Ila Arun freaks you out and watch out for her dialogue delivery with Ash as she expresses how possessive she is of her son Akbar. Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Raza Murad and Rajesh Vivek are all so apt and add to this epic.

Defintely the credit for this magnum opus goes to Ashutosh whose dares to dream big. But, without a skillfull team of technicians this would still be just a dream. Firstly, A.R.Rehman’s music is simply soulful and the right mix for a film such as this. The songs just grow on you and the background score is simply terrific. On leaving the theatre you are sure to hum either the ‘Jashne Bahar’ or ‘Azeem-o-Shaan Shehanshah’ track. The choregraphy and picturisation of ‘Azeem-o-Shaan Shehanshah’ is splendid.The song that was shot in 12 days is rich in colour , choreography, camera movments- you name it, it carries all. It’s been a while since the Indian Audiences have ever seen something like this.

Kiiran Deohans brings in topnotch cinematography. You are simply floored by the way the camera tracks out from low below the horse’s legs and various other sequences show you simply how brilliant the D.O.P is. Take a look at even simple sequences where Ash’s brings in a curtain to separate Hrithik from her and the conversation between the two is shot with great style.

Haider Ali teams up with Ashu to bring a screenplay that is highly researched, interesting and very impressive. The length of the film is indeed 3hrs 20 mins but , Haider and Ashu can’t be fully blamed for it.Haider does a cameo in the film , he is seen in the ‘Khwaja Mere Khwaja’ track. K.P.Saxena’s dialogues are terrific. They are simple and carry the aura that an epic such as this requires. Take a look at the dialogue when Akbar takes on Jodhaa in a swordfight .The costumes by Neeta Lulla are so rich , apt and terrific. The costumes just make the characters stand out.

To sum it up Ashutosh has taken great care and pain in bringing us an epic. Even the animals in the film have been dealt with great care and surprisingly you don’t have a single scene where horses are made to fall , elephants rolling etc unlike those done in epics before. Ashu simply proves that he is a master of crowd sequences right from Lagaan to Jodhaa-Akbar, just take a look at the number of people that fill the screen.

The only drawback of the film is it’s heavy length which can’t really be dealt with as Ashu attempts to compress years of history and bring it to the masses in just 3hrs 20 Mins. Kudos Ashu!

Movie Review: 

Cast: Arun, Padma Kumar,Arjun, Anjali, Devipriya, Harshan, Govind Sudheer, Sabitha Jayaraj
Direction: Jayaraj
Production: Jayaraj
Music: Vinu Thomas

 
 
After the super hit ‘Four The People’, expectations were naturally high about the new avatar of the four vigilante college students, who were always there to help the ordinary man by punishing unjust people. But in this poor sequel to the big hit, the viewers are left in the dire streets with the same old wine in a new bottle story line and powerless iconoclasm of the protagonists with negative thinking of eliminating the wrong doers.

In the new version, the heroes have turned out into territorial gangs with determinant distinctive symbols, even uses Che Guevara in all their proceedings, including style and color of dress, and hand signs. As we are used to watching heroes in these movies, which has also ultimately resulted in our disability to perceive the actual courage of real people. Above all that, the moral and political viewpoint is the most confusing point that the director needs to explain to the people, in person.

This film which opens brilliantly with heavily toned visuals, good title roles and acute camera angles begins with three of the four protagonists of Four The People-Sebastian, Shafeeq and Iyer getting out of jail after serving three years for the crimes committed in the first part of the trilogy. The
fourth one played by Bharath is supposedly killed by the police in their earlier encounter. This time, every close members associated with them urge the trio, to play safe evading the violent roads as they used to be. They continue with their studies but for long can’t keep mum to the necessary evils they find everyday, around their society. Finally they reinvent themselves killing the state minister who sold much of the state to international mafia.

Now termed ‘Of The People', they venture into the jungle ala their hero Che Guevara, sets up an interactive website, and operates on their laptop taking complaints from common folks and exterminating the wrongdoing big guns wearing the Guevara type dress code. The chief minister of the state, under big political pressures, appoints an officer Harishankar, to grab the trio but in a short time he realizes that the common man are always on the side of 'the gang’ and he being a righteous guy, change sides operating as a person from the force for ‘Of The People', who let them know about the possible evil doers inside the government machinery and the initiatives of the government to capture them..

The film showcases everything that happened in the political arena in the last few months -- whether it is the demolition drive in Munnar, the pathetic roads of the state and the Pathibel incident, ever venomous speaking devaswam minister and his remarks, real estate mafia and land bank concepts, the recent faris interview episode of a leftist Tv channel or the infighting in the ruling coalition suppressing the good intentions of Chief Minister.

The director in the race for creating a safer hit have never looked on to the chances of complex social problems that may appear due to the persistence and proliferation of such youth gangs who get excited with these type of affairs on screen. Jayaraj, with the film has once again brought to fore his lack of stands in any of the societal issues by boomeranging between all type of ideas and beliefs in his past few films.

Even though the film tells a lot about political atrociousness, the narratives don’t inject any kind of vigor asking you to clap for the protagonists, but made lame by the amateurish dialogues by Shreekumar Shreyas (particularly that of 'Of The People') and incompetent and sometimes indifferent performances from the majority of the cast, including Harshan as Harishankar and the actor who plays the D G P Rajasekhar. The protagonists too appear plastic with singular emotions maintained all through without discontinuity. Govind as Mani Sharma, Nancy as TV reporter and Nedumbram Gopi as the C M are saving graces in the acting departments.

Thanu Balak makes good use of this opportunity behind the camera, but the editing with multitude of cuts and effects seems overdone. Debutante musician Vinu Thomas creates a couple of better tunes, but don't give any big help to the narrative flow of the movie (as Jazzie's music has done with the first of the trilogy). Moreover the same backdrops of Boats (vallam) and lorry used in the musical video type visualizations are not refreshing enough to capture our interests.

The film may find it hard to operate itself for more than a few weeks .But I suspect the producer -director himself will be more than happy if the movie does such a rounds for a similar time. It is high time, Jayaraj need to look out for any better scripts and regain his magical touch with innovative ideas.

Movie Review:

Cast: Prithviraj, Kavya Madhavan, Jayasurya, Jagathy Sreekumar, Harishree Ashokan, Bindu Panikkar, K P A C Lalitha, Lalu Alex, Salimkumar
Direction: Raj Babu
Music: Saji Ram, Alex Paul

 
Prithviraj has been lucky enough with the films which had English titles. Be it with 'Classmates', 'Chocolate' or 'Khakhi', all did well to increase the fan followings of the star. The new movie from him for this Christmas, with another English title ‘Kangaru' was tipped as one that may reveal the potential of the actual crowd puller from the younger lot. Coming particularly after the bumper hit 'Chocolate', the film is definitely a time-pass flick that won't ruin the prospects of the star material in Prithviraj. The movie directed by Raj Babu could have done better if it has been crisper and the narration, a little racy.

The film is set in the backdrop of Christian milieu, particularly as all the associated characters are from knanaya sabha, which has got a plenty of ceremonies attached with their marriages. The film tells about the life and endeavors of Josootty, a Masters Degree holder in Commerce hailing from the famous Palakunnil tharavaadu. But as the present economic situation of this tharavaadu was quite pathetic, he is forced to become an auto rickshaw driver to look after his family which consists of an ageing mother, an insane elder brother Mathukutty, and two sisters, one who was married off to an electricity board worker, but staying back in her house due to financial problems. Josootty now keeps on attending all other interviews, but couldn’t make good of them and is now waiting for a lottery to end his incessant problems.
  

It is in this juncture, Pappykutty, the panchayat member and a part time marriage broker, who is also a friend of Josootty, brings in an offer, attached with heavy dowry to marry an unwed mother Nancy (Kavery), hailing from Manikyaleth tharavadu, the richest family of the area. She is the sister of Stephen, who is ready to offer anything for a suitable man who is ready to marry Nancy .But already Josootty has a silent love for Jancy (Kavya Madhavan), sister of Nancy who met him in his auto. Papi Kunju arranges for a meeting with Nancy, but due to a mix-up he meets Jancy, her sister, confuses her as Nancy and readily agrees to marry. To escape another incommopdious situation in his house, Papi force Josootty to claim he is the father of the child of Nancy. Meanwhile Stephen's family henchman Monachan (Jayasuriya) who dislikes Josootty complicates every matter related to him. And on the day of the engagement Josootty finds that he has mistaken Jancy for Nancy, but before he could do anything to escape the situation, Nancy is found dead hanging on her room. All that was left for Josootty was to take care of the baby, as he openly proclaimed the parenthood earlier as the father of the child .He stitches a 'Kangaru' pouch and starts taking the baby in style all around in his auto. But by this time, Nancy comes to know about the truth behind the claims and the story progresses to reveal how all the irrepressible happened to both the families and how Josootty with the aid of his fellow drivers find ways to get out of them, in an impressive climax.

Prithviraj as Josootty does a decent job, emotes with passion and casualness in some of the difficult scenes and holds the film together. Kavya Madhavan with her new looks, makes a stunning presence as Jancy. Prithviraj and Kavya's good onscreen chemistry helps the film to move in their realms for long. And as usual Jayasuriya excels in another role that fit to him like anything. Lalu Alex as Stephen and Kavery as Nancy are also appealing enough

'Kangaru' is all together a better done family entertainer, but the problem with the film is that it unfolds in a leisurely pace in two hours and thirty minutes, which drags at a few points. The knanaya functions add a not yet seen dimensions to the proceedings initially, but adds to the drag else where. Jagathy and Suraj bring in some laughs, but attempts for chuckles by Harishree Ashokan and Salimkumar appear over done with half baked results. The story also has some loose ends, which leave the movie goers leave a yawn at times. A little bit of re editing, even in scripts of J Pallassery, could have made this another solid fare for the box office.

The technical side is strictly ok with Saloo George behind the camera and V Sajan in the editing departments. Alex Paul once again has created a hit in "Mazha mani mukile" the only song that he has done for the film. His background scoring also invites interests. Saji Raam the other music director has given music to another couple of songs of which "Aariraaro", by Yesudas is good.

Though the film fails to maintain its racy pace, it succeeds in marginally retaining the audiences’ interest till the end. Unlike most recent small banner films, 'Kangaru' may prove to be a hit product, if marketed well.

Movie Review:

Banner: Lumiere Cinema
Cast: Mammootty, Sreenivasan, Meena, Innocent, Mukesh, Jagadeesh, Salim Kumar, Jagathy, K.P.A.C Lalitha, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Sadiq, Mamukkoyya
Direction: M Mohanan
Production: Mukesh
Music: M.Jayachandran



'Kadha Parayumbhol' is an impressive return to the good old days of Malayalam cinema- a time when great scripts ruled over the techniques of cinema and when directors paid heed to get the best scripts before the actual production of movies. Here, it is the writer and lead actor of the film Sreenivasan, who has emerged the ultimate winner ,as a scriptwriter who reminds us about our good old cinema and as an actor who reminds us about our next door problems and third world snobbery's.

Debutante director M Mohanan pay his respect to his guru and popular director Sathyan Anthikkad by following a narrative line, very similar to the thespian director and by maintaining a tempo and pace that suits today's audiences. The plot of the movie, set in the backdrop of Melukavu, a picturesque, silent village is told as simple and sweet as reading a short story.

The basic premise of the story is all about friendship - that too a rare one, between a village barber and the reigning super star of Malayalam cinema. The film opens with Balan, struggling with his profession due the opening of a new beauty saloon in the junction, is trying for a loan to buy a revolving chair, and to upgrade his equipments. As Balan is a man of ideals with an truculent tongue and is against all kind of bribes, he finds it hard to get a loan through proper ways. He being a father to three school going children, who lives together in a small hut with no facilities, he often is the subject of ridicule to his wealthy neighbors and every one in his village.
Everything in the life of the village barber changes within days of the arrival of a film unit into the village to shoot the film 'Pakshykal parakkatte', which has super star Ashokraaj donning the main role. Every villager's keep away their daily chores and starts revolving around the shooting locations to get a glance of the superstar. From Balan's children, the villagers came to know about the acquaintance that the Superstar had with Balan, twenty five years ago. Within no time he becomes the most noted and talked about man in the village, mostly due to the snobs about this rare friendship. Even the local poet Das Kaatumantha pens a few lines about the friendship between Ashokraaj and Balan.

People began to do every favor including monetary support for him and his family and local financier Eepachan even gifted him with revolving chair and his new equipments. Every one in the village has secret intentions for helping Balan, as most wanted to have a close look of the superstar while some like Das wanted to pen a few lines for any of his upcoming films, making use of this alleged relationship of the film super star and Balan.

But the fact remained that Balan has never disclosed this closeness with the star, to any one in the village. Moreover Balan was reluctant to go ahead and refresh his friendship with Ashok Raj in the fear that the superstar may not identify him from the big group that he is accustomed to meet every day. This creates more problems to him as people gradually start to stamp him as a cheat who is there to make good for him, spreading false stories about his acquaintance. The film goes on to tell how these stories about companionship can turn into a menace for quite living village man.

The film, skillfully repeats the representative characters, from every layer of the rural villages, (reminiscent of Sathyan films) with which the writer makes a lot of careful observations and clarifications about the phenomenon of super stardom and lives of people living in the lower strata of the society. Mostly represented by local professional actors in these roles, the film also gives an authentic feel with all sorts of storyline surprises and political criticisms in spite of its simple exterior. In the scripts, Sreeni seems to repeat some of his earlier sarcastic attributes like dark skin and heightlessness, but more commendable is that he has easily stretched a wafer thin plot to two hours and ten minutes with out much space for idleness.

Once again it is Sreenivasan who gives a life like performance as Balan. He is a towering presence all along as a helpless victim of an idealistic era, who is left to torment between the rich and snobbishness of his surroundings. Mammootty essentially lives as himself in the coat of superstar Ashok Raj, which gives him ample space to echo his ideas about being a celebrity actor. Meena as Balan's wife Sreedevi, also gives the needed ambiance to the character. Innocent as financier Eepachan, Jagadish as Sarasan,the owner of a modern saloon, Mukesh as Venu,the parallel college teacher, and Suraj Venjaramoodu as Papan, a member of the film unit,suveeran as the film director, mamukoya as the teashop owner and a bunch of new artists present themselves in the best of emoting departments.

The film has two songs by Anil Panachooran - M Jayachandran combo, of which “'Vyathyasthanaaya barbar…” is already in the charts due to its different vocals and lyrics. M Jayachandran also has done his best in the rerecording department, which is another highlight of the film.

Film Review:

Cast: Jayaram, Sada, Jagathy, Nedumudi Venu, Sarika
Direction: East Coast Vijayan
Music: M.Jayachandran , Bala Bhaskar

     


A ‘Novel’, as you know, is a term for an extended fictional prose narrative of considerable length, with some complexity that deals imaginatively with human experience.

Even its other signifier is about something strikingly new or different. But the new film with the same title is typically something that differs in everything from these definitions.

The film offers you nothing different or novel, and has a plot which can be told crisply as a short film, thoroughly extended to create hours of drag. It offers no imaginative settings or not yet heard experiences, but as an intended romantic flick, which sadly, doesn’t show off its heart.

The movie, which is the debut directorial venture by Vijayan East Coast, can be strictly prescribed for those with a romantic temperament. The film develops through the life of Sethunath - a successful businessman and a poet who is presently on the limelight following his new book ‘Swantham’ earning the commonwealth awards. As every media tries to get an exclusive from him, he keeps on evading all the possible attempts of getting into limelight. He passes off the award with less interest as he never knew who has translated the book and presented it as a nominee for the commonwealth awards.

Aneesa, the leading reporter of malayala nadu and an ardent fan of Sethunath is hell bound on getting an exclusive interview from him and for that she bribes Subrahmaniam Swamy, the personal assistant of Sethu and somehow gets into touch with him. Impressed by Aneesa who is also a product of an orphanage where Sethu was also a resident, he begins to narrate the events in his life that led to the creation of the coveted novel.

Thereafter the film takes us on a romantic trip into the lives of Sethunath and Priyanandini, the later, a singer who hit it big with the lottery commercial that was made by Sethu. Priya who is the daughter of Dr. Bhanumathy gets offers in films, with the support of Sethu, and within days the two are drawn closer to each other. Priya becomes a source of inspiration for Sethu , who is a victim of a disheartened marriage. He regains his power of creativity as Priya urges him to refresh his writing skills. All is well, until things get complicated following the arrival of Manju, Sethu's wife from U S, not to let him marry Priya.

As a script, the film's premises don't offer much promises. Moreover, with such a wafer thin plot, an experienced director could have made some sequences work. The scenarists Ashok Sasi, fails to bring out anything much impressive, even though from a weaker plot. The film suffers from slow narration from the very first scene, and the only thing modern and trendy in the film is the costumes that the characters use, all along.

The high light of the film is definitely Sada, who proves well with her first outing in Malayalam. She has a heavy role under her disposal which is done incredibly well. Jayaram is in his very usual self as Sethunath. None of the others in the cast, including Shaari as Manju, Nedumudi Venu as Kunjan Nair, Bindu Panicker as Sethunath's sister and Devan as his brother-in-law have much to do. Jagathy Sreekumar as Subramaniam Swamy, is wasted in a role that stretch all across the film. The actor seriously is having a bad time with the screen, now a days. Though he is appearing in every second film that is coming out, none of them is giving him ample space to leave his personal mark.

The other highlight of the movie is definitely its songs that are, penned by the director himself. Every song in the film is exceptional, even though it cannot be said about their visualizations. Songs like ‘Onninumallathe..’ and ‘Urangaan' are already in the helm of popularity. Azhagappan behind the camera gives the film a pretty serious and good look, withstanding its amateurish plotlines.

   

Film Review:

Banner: Aamir Khan Productions, PVR Cinema
Cast: Aamir Khan,Tanay Chheda,Darsheel Safary,Tisca Chopra
Direction: Aamir Khan
Production: Aamir Khan
Music: Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendonca

Welcome (pun intended) to the world of Walt Disney in India! Yes, that’s exactly how Aamir Khan, debuting as director, and his creative team package the film, making a classic entertainer that does not bore a second at 18 reels on a subject as socially-vital as dyslexia. So all you Revathis, Farhan Akhtars and Ashutosh Gowarikers et al out there who think that social issues need dry and drab treatments get ready for Mr Ram Shankar Nikumbh (Aamir Khan), a colourful arts teacher who – rightly and vitally – believes that every child is special, whether dyslexic or physically- and mentally-challenged.

And in this lies hidden the great myth about dyslexia, a disorder that spans a diversity of symptoms but is found only in children with above-average intelligence, imagination and emotional quotient. Taare… could have emerged as a cloying or crawling docu-drama without the colours in which Nikumbh and his favourite student Ishaan so boldly love to dabble. Instead, Khan uses his superstardom and his family tradition of full-on entertainers (his uncle and role model Nasir Husain) and his acting icon Shammi Kapoor’s mantra of universal connect to make a film that is vibrant and funny but stunningly moving and impact-laden too.

The top billing over the superstar to Harsheel Daftary who plays the clumsy, carefree, conventionally “duffer” and internally-suffering Ishaan is completely justified. The boy delivers a performance that can only be called stupendous, and no doubt a few more words can be added from the Thesaurus. Taare delights, touches, elevates, instructs and motivates both such children and adults who have to deal with such offsprings, students and kids in general, and full marks and more to the creative teams – writer and creative director Amole Gupte and his wife Deepa Bhatia who is responsible for the concept, the painstaking and authentic research and the compassionate editing that does not cut off scenes for dramatic brevity when detailing is vital.

While the climax of Lagaan was set in a cricket match, here it is in an art competition, but the effect is as rivetting and cheering. Ishaan, the underdog, the boy who is a ‘disgrace’ to his parents, school and orthodox teachers with his blunders, low marks and aggressive behaviour blooms into the hero of the day, all because of the farsighted and motivated Nikumbh ‘Sir’ who waters this human plant with compassion, sympathy and affection instead of pouring reprimands, beatings, criticisms and ridicule on him!

The film takes care to paint the parents, hassled from their own perspective, as real, believable people who are ignorant of the enormity of the problem and where it can lead the loveless Ishaan. Ishaan’s animation diary is the masterstroke in the film (which has to be seen on screen rather than described) and the sledgehammer impact of Ishaan’s father’s second interaction with Nikumbh is another dramatic highpoint. Through subtly effective rather than in-your-face methods, the film spotlights vital points, like laws about handling dyslexics, the gifts of handicapped children, the lack of individual attention in schools, physical punishments, academic pressures of performance on small children and other rampant evils in the socio-educational fabric of Indian society.

Incredibly, the script even brings out dry facts in an interesting fashion through visuals and dialogues, and if cinematic license is taken in Nikumbh’s idealistic character, it is only to highlight how much better Indian children would be today if teachers and the system thought out-of-the-box even with normal children!

A word about the animation by Tata Elxsi – it is nothing short of fantabulous, and the same goes for the dialogues (Amole) and the outstanding lyrics (Prasoon Joshi) especially in “Maa”. Amole contributes here too, with “Mera jahaan”. The music (except for “Maa” and the title-track) could have been much better, ditto the background score. But Setu’s camerawork and Shruti Gupte’s production design are extraordinary and thankfully again, very ‘Indian film’ and bright. No noir or ‘mood’ rubbish here – the film is too progressive and bright for that!

The rest of the performances are no less, even if some of the teachers are intentionally caricature-like. Aamir Khan is effortless, his artless performance in the more dramatic and intense scenes packing a zor ka dhakka dheere se lage wallop. The kids are simply wonderful, especially Sachet Engineer as Ishaan’s bright brother who unwittingly makes things worse by his all-round genius and Tanay Chheda as the crippled Rajan, Ishaan’s best friend in class.

Here’s a film of which its makers and we as Indians can be truly proud. A film for every human being who realizes that the future of mankind lies in how he nurtures today’s children. If this film does not win any Best Film award this year, it will be the awards’ loss. For rarely have entertainment and message so exquisitely combined in Hindi cinema.

     

Review:
A lot has been told about the delay over Bheema. Some doomsayers even predicted that the movie would not see the light at all. But the team of Bheemaa was unperturbed. Vikram once said, "Bheema is a sure winner irrespective of when it comes. It is worth waiting for such a film".

Now the movie has seen the light and it has vindicated Vikram’s words.

The whole team deserves applaud for providing us a neat entertainer. Lingusamy, Vikram, Prakash Raj, Ashish Vidyarthi, Raghuvaran, Kanal Kannan, Harris Jayaraj, R.D. Rajasekar and S. Ramakrishnan have done their best to make it a smart and stylish action film. And you have the charming Trisha as a gentle breeze amidst a powerful storm.

The story is all about a tug of war between two underworld gangs trying to outsmart each other. Periyavar’s (Raghuvaran) group is bigger and more powerful, while Chinna’s (Prakash Raj) group is struggling to gain strength.

Enters Shekar (Vikram). The powerful man adds new life to Chinna’s gang. He challenges Periyavar’s powerful troupe and puts China on top. He is the man who grew up seeing Chinna as his ideal. He is a man of steel - physically and mentally. He, as Chinna tells once, bears everyone on his powerful shoulders like the Bheema of Mahabharatha.

The gangs are targeted by the new police commissioner (Ashish Vidyarthi) and the three pronged hunting begins.

Lingusamy has worked out a strong script and executed it with aplomb. He has excellently handled his cast to make it an entertainer. He has to be commended for not restoring to any gimmicks in the pretext of providing entertainment. He is also bold enough to avoid a comedy track, which would have been an irritant in the script.

The characterization is near perfect. Like the legendary Bheema, Shekar is always ready to attack, unmindful of who stands against him. If he puts a step forward, there is no looking back. Powerful, straight forward, and fearlessness. Lingusamy, with the able support of dialogue writer Ramakrishnan, has shaped the character remarkably well. The relationship between Shekar and China is well portrayed.

Likewise, his handling of the track of gang war, entwined with police action, is quite smart. The climax is something unexpected. The picturisation of the songs is spectacular.

Vikram has lived up to the expectations with a dominant and flawless performance. If his hard work to become physically strong is praise worthy, his efforts to transform himself as the character are stunning. He reflects the essence of the character both physically and mentally. His body language - particularly his eyes - is awesome. He breaths fire in the stunt scenes. The fights in the rain and in the construction site (intermission point) are astonishing. He also scores in romantic sequences, which are very less in this action packed movie. He brings out the transformation in his character because of love in a lovely manner. Hats off to Vikram.

Trisha gets her share in the action movie and succeeds in adding colour to the film by spreading her charm. She looks ravishingly beautiful in songs. Her eyes and minute facial expressions are pleasing.

Prakash Raj comes through out the movie. His character is so powerful that he looks like a second hero. The versatile actor has brought a new dimension to the character of a gangster.

Ashish Vidyarthi in a small yet significant role is competent. His portrayal of a smart police officer, who means business, is flawless. Raghuvaran as Periyavar impresses but his histrionics have become predictable. Sherin in ‘Rangu Rangamma’ is impressive.

Kanal Kanan (action) and Rajashekhar (camera) have added immense value of the film. Kanal’s setting up of the fighting sequences is certainly a treat for action movie lovers. Rajasekhar’s camera work is brilliant. The shooting of intermission fight in the darkness stands out. Harris Jayaraj’s music, which is already on top, fits well in to the movie. Almost all the songs have come out very well.

Overall, Bheema has lived up to the expectations up to a large extent. Lingusamy and his powerful team have succeeded in presenting an action oriented entertainer. True to its name, Bheema is a power packed action entertainer.

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Featured Billa Review

To remake a 27-year old Rajinikanth film with another actor at a time when he is still the superstar, is a major challenge for any director. But Vishnu Vardhan is a daring young man who took up the challenge along with Ajit and they have come out with a fresh new Billa, an escapist comic book like fantasy film, which has been faithful to the original in spirit and soul. Spiffily shot and stylishly packaged, the remake is slick and will certainly appeal to today’s youth audiences.

Trailer:



Vishnu’s Billa is the first designer-look Kollywood film with classy action cuts. It's a technically chic, racy, engrossing entertainer with a Hollywood look. The director wears his Hollywood DVD influence on his sleeve, the way a shot is framed, and with black and white colours dominating as the camera angles convey style! Ajit looks sensational and clearly he is at home, playing dual roles of Billa and Velu. He is suave, dashing, and debonair and has terrific screen presence which makes the film work big time. You just cannot think of any other actor in Tamil donning the role made memorable by Rajinikanth


The film is set in Malaysia to give it a rich look. Billa (Ajit) is a modern day suited and booted underworld don who moves around in the company of two glamour girls Sasha (Nayanthara) and CJ (Namitha) who are part of his gang. Billa deals in all nefarious activities like gun running and drugs and has connections with international mafia gangs. The police force in 11 countries is in hot pursuit of Billa who they feel will lead them to Jagdish, the kingpin behind all the illegal operations. After successfully dodging the cops across the world, Billa is eventually pinned down by a sincere DCP of the Malaysian police Jaiprakash (Prabhu) after a spectacular car chase in which he is fatally injured.

Now Jai (Prabhu) sees Billa’s death as an opportunity to uncover the entire mob ring by replacing him with a look-alike Velu (Ajit) a petty small time crook and a simpleton to infiltrate into the mafia. Velu alias Billa is able to do the impossible by getting all the information that Jai wanted except about Jagdish the master brain of the underworld. But it's when Jai gets killed, that the real problem arises because he was the only man who knew that the real Billa is dead, and that Velu is actually a police mole. The other police officers investigating the case Gokulnath (Rahman) from the Interpol and the local police chief Anil (Aditya) refuses to believe Velu’s statement that he is not Billa when he is caught and interrogated. Velu escapes from police custody and with the help of Sasha uncover the shocking truth about the identity of Jagdish, which leads to a stunning climax.

The director and his team change the norms of commercial Tamil cinema and breaks new ground by having a script comprising of no more than six- seven dialogue tracks, there is no lengthy dialogues, mush or melodrama, all essential ingredients for mass masala films. The EQ (emotional quotient) which is there in large doses in Tamil films is absent here as Vishnu and Ajit are targeting only the multiplex audiences and they are quite honest about it. Yuvan’s title track and theme music is one of the highlights of the film, though the songs fall flat! The re-mix title song My name is Billa… is no patch on the original and lacks its fervor, while the other re-mix number Vethalaiya Pottendi… has a good beat that makes you dance and is well shot The only mass number is Seval Kodi.., with Vijay Yesudas’s striking voice and colourful picturisation .

For Vishnu Vardhan, a one-time assistant of the guru of cinematography Santosh Sivan, everything is visual and is dictated by the camera. Billa is a film where characters are playing mind games. So Vishnu’s cameraman Nirav Shah has used the super 35 mm and his camera is brilliant displaying an array of flourishes- freeze frames, optical dissolves, colour saturated images, giving a static energy to the frames, aided by Sreekar Prasad’s razor sharp editing. The action scenes have been superbly choreographed by William Ong and are a major highlight.

Billa is an out and out Ajit film. Don’t forget to carry a whistle with you when you watch Ajit meld into two characters- Billa with his Armani suit, Rayban glasses, has a Bond look about him and is cucumber cool while Velu is a riot as he brings the house down with typical one-liners (Athu aaru thalai, Naan oru thalai). Ajit brings to Tamil cinema a desification of Steven Segal, Van Damme style of pure high octane action and humour. He seems to be telling the audiences to just sit back and enjoy the fireworks. In short Ajith as Billa is a rocker!

Nayanthara has given her famous six-yard saris a miss and has decided to go full throttle to look her sexiest best in sizzling hot micro-mini shorts, leather jacket, tall boots! The gorgeous Nayan as Sasha is a show stopper and no Tamil heroine has looked so glamorous on screen in recent times, thanks to her right attitude and stylist Anu Vardhan. Her tan make-up and her costumes are designed with the intention to make your jaw drop. She has a beautiful body which she flaunts daringly and has no qualms about appearing in a two-piece string bikini and is also able to bring out the cold aloofness and bitterness of her character.

Namitha as CJ oozes sex appeal, is surprisingly restrained and her silences give meaning to the deep loyalty and devotion that her character has for Billa. Prabhu as the police officer is a delight while Rahman and Aditya are adequate. New girl Rose Dawn is a disappointment in the item number and is no match to Helen or Kareena’s sensuous jig.

Billa delivers the goods with its great star cast, a designer look, technical glitz, perfect chemistry making it an entertainment extravaganza. Fasten your seat belts and enjoy the ride. Don’t miss it.


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