Tunes on Tuesday.

Finally its here!! I have been meaning to post this series from Ugadi but you know the busy me!! Tunes on Tuesday is going to be a weekly medley of some of the songs from my I tunes collection. I have over 4GB of songs on my I phone and keep adding to them. The one thing that I am really glad is that I listen to extremes when it comes to music. When I was three, I used to sing Tum Bin song from the 60's tune to tune , key to key. The songs I listen to depend on my mood majority of the time. This feature is just to remember and recollect some new, some old forgotten tunes. These songs are random picks from my I tunes. Enjoy.

• Anando Bramha, Movie: Shiva, Language: Telugu
• Yeto Vellipoyindi, Movie: Ninne Pelladuta, Language: Telugu
• Thillana Thillana, Movie: Muthu, Language: Tamil
• Ballelakka, Movie: Sivaji, Language: Tamil
• Meri Bheegi Bheegi Si, Movie: Anamika, Language: Hindi
• Khamoshiyan, Movie: One Two ka Four, Language: Hindi
• Bheegi Bheegi Boondein, Movie: Thakshak, Language: Hindi
• Kadhal Pisase, Movie: Run, Language: Tamil
• Oh Sunita, Movie: Chintakayala Ravi, Language: Telugu
• Hosanna, Movie: VTV, Ye Maaya Chesave. Language: Both!(My I tunes picked this probably cos I listen to this song WAAAY too much!)

Go ahead put your players on shuffle and listen to the songs that you have not played in a while. You will be surprised at how enriching the experience is. What are your picks for the week? I want to know....

Vinnaithandi Varuvaaya - Edited Ye maaya Chesaave

OK, this is going to be a loooong prologue. I absolutely adore Gautam Menon, period. He is the only film maker   apart from Mani Ratnam & Shankar whose movies I cannot afford to miss. I have seen every single movie of his numerable times. Harris Jayaraj's music is bliss to me and I don't miss any of his albums either. Their movies were equivalent to Vamsi-Illayaraja, Mani Ratnam/Shankar - A.R. Rahman combination always MAGIC. I am throughly disappointed that the pair has broken their professional association and I am one of the many people who are praying that they get back together. There are 2 reasons why I am curious about this movie, Simbu pairs up with Gautam & Rehman composes music for Vinnaithandi Varuvaya(VTV). I saw the movie twice in 2 days. I will post a different review for Ye Maaya Chesave because it is a remake and not a dubbed movie and also I have read somewhere that the climax is different for both movies.

Film: Vinnaithandi Varuvaaya

Cast: Silambarasan, Trisha Krishnan, Bob Anthony, Uma Padmanabhan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu & Others

Music: A.R. Rahman

Producer: Madan, Ganesh

Director: Gautam Menon

Release Date: February 26th, 2010

My Rating: 4/5

What's It About:

Boy Karthik(Simbu) meets girl Jessie(Trisha) and its love at first sight. Simple? Not really. Karthik, a mechanical engineering graduate, who wants to become a director is 22, Jessie is a MCA graduate who is 23. That is not the only problem. Karthik is Hindu, Jessie is a Malayali Christian from Kerala. See the problem? Karthik is undeterred by all this and follows her, confessing that he is crazy about her and loves her.Jessie doesn't respond, goes on her annual vacation to beautiful Alappuzha. Karthik follows her  to apologize for his foolishness and they decide to be friends.Their decisions do not hold on a train journey where love blossoms. Jessie keeps denying her love for Karthik and their parents know about this. Like any filmy parents Jessie's marriage is fixed but she jilts the guy at the altar. Then comes the interval. Will Jessie & Karthik unite? Will their parents agree? What happens to Karthik's movie career? All these questions are answered in the climax. 

Artist Performance:

Frankly speaking I am not a big fan of Simbu. I think he is the epitome of mass Dialogues and cinematic over-action. His pairing with a classy director Menon was shocking and to his credit Simbu is perfect as the underplaying Karthik. He is likeable as a lover boy and he excels in the romantic scenes. Trisha, I have never thought of her as a performer. In this movie she is beautiful. The way she acts as a confused girl in love unable to betray her father is perfect. I loved her simple costumes in the movie. Ganesh who acts as Simbu's friend has good screen presence. Bob Anthony is nice as Trisha's father.

This & That:

It is a difficult task for any movie maker to base a film on just 2 charectors and it takes a lot of guts. There is a tremendous scope of boredom especially when there is no comedy, fights etc and the film does not bore you though it has some dull moments. The romantic scenes where Trisha looks over her shoulders in fear of her dad, the train scenes and the scenes after the interval where she confesses her love are so real. I loved Minnale(Cheli)  & Vaaranam Aayiram(Surya S/o Krishnan)  for the romance and love between the lead charectors and this movie just takes the cake. There is subtle humor infused in the scenes like Karthik humming the tune from Bombay in the church, Mustafa Mustafa background music when they decide to be friends. That brings me to music, A.R.Rahman is mind-blowing. The thing about Rahman's music is you have to listen to the songs over and over to experience the nuances. The background score is Awesome. The use of  guitar strumming in the crucial scenes and Aaromale in both the romantic and tragic sequences are brilliant. My favorites are Hosanna, Omana Penne & Aaromale they are on repeat in my car as well as my I pod. Cinematography by Manoj Paramahamsa is ethereal. Majority of the movie is shot in Kerala and it is God's own country, truly breathtaking. I feel like going to Kerala and hopping on a houseboat! That being said, there are also some negative points which could have been avoided. The whole Nandini track is unnecessary, scenes after the interval are slow and screenplay could have been better. The Anbil Avan song before the climax is unwanted and it reminds me of Manjal Veyil song. Choreography is not up-to mark and it reminds me of Vaaranam Aayiram(Surya S/o Krishnan). Climax is shocking but it suits the whole feel of the movie.

Did I Enjoy It?

Yes, It is a real love story which talks about the difference in temperaments of a girl and a boy in love. Go Watch It NOW!

P.S. I have happened to know that YMC is a scene to scene copy of the movie, so I will do some edits to this post when I see the movie and not post a new review. 
So I watched Ye Maaya Chesaave. I just wanted to add a few points to the post.
Naga Chaitanya has improved considerably since his last movie. He still has to improve a lot in diction and dances. But he seems to have a promising career. Samantha is nice. A very restrained performance. I dunno why people are going gaga over her? Guess that is a man's perspective. Dialogues are a copy of the Tamil one's but nevertheless fresh. Climax is nice. Gautam Menon said that he had guts to shoot an alternative climax for the Tamil version & not the Telugu One. I liked the Tamil Version just because it seemed more real  taking into account the whole premise of the movie. This just shows me that we have a long way to go in terms of cinematic growth. All in all, an enjoyable watch!

Bindaas

I have watched Bindaas a couple of weeks back but never got around to posting it. I had read earlier that the movie was a good watch and a complete entertainer and I was curious to see it. Here's what I thought!


Film: Bindaas
Cast: Manchu Manoj, Sheena, Bramhanandam, Jaya Prakash Reddy, Ahuti Prasad, Subba Raju & Others.
Music: Bobo Shashi
Producer: Sunkara Ramabramham
Director: Veeru Potla
Release Date: February 5th, 2010
My Rating: 3.5/5


What's It About: 

Mahendra Naidu( Ahuti Prasad) & Bhupati Naidu( J.P Reddy) are warring families. They both vie for a MP seat from the same party. For 25 years they keep rotating the seats and they want Mahendra to continue his post due to public support. In the chaos the follows this decision, Bhupati's brother- in-law is killed by Mahendra's family. Fearing a threat to his family members, Mahendra gathers them at his house. Ajay(Manoj) is Mahendra's brother's son whom everyone hates due to his jovial, fun loving nature. Ajay falls in love with Girija(Sheena) his maradalu. He learns of the feud between the two families and hatches a plan to unite them. How he proceeds in solving the problem forms the rest of the story.

Artist Performance:

Manchu Manoj always goes for a variety in his scripts and I like that about him. He is full of energy in the movies and has a fantastic comedy timing. He performs his own stunts and must be applauded for that. I had a feeling that he tends to imitate his father in dialogue delivery. Sheena is like a little girl and as the norms of the Telugu film  industry has nothing to do. Master Bharat & Vennala Kishore are hilarious. J.P and Ahuti Prasad are adequate. Bramhi, Sunil, Raghu Babu are nice.

This & That:

The story is not novel but the taking is. The film moves in a fun manner and there is comedy in 80% of the movie and that is what works for it. The humor is fresh and the actors play it well. I especially liked "muddu krishna pedda yedava" & "short skirt" scenes. Music by Bobo Shashi is nice and my picks are Girija, Entamma,Bindaas. Choreography is nice and Manoj does a good job in dances. The pre-interval part is very good but post interval it's very similar to Ready & Dhee movies. Climax is very cinematic and it could have been better. I was reading somewhere that this is Manoj's first sucess and he deserves it.

Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, It is a fun film to watch. You won't be disappointed.

Leader

Finally, I watched Leader. Before I talk more about the movie, Let me just get this out of my system. I have been wanting to watch this movie from a looooong time as I think RaNa is Hawt! Jokes apart, I love the music of Leader and I have always enjoyed Shekhar Kammula's movies as they are very classy. It was a long wait as the movie was frequently postponed. Was it worth the wait? Let's see.

Film: Leader

Cast: RaNa Daggubati, Richa Gangopadhyay, Priya Anand, Suhasini, Subba Raju, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Rao Ramesh & Others.

Music: Mickey J Meyer
Producer: AVM Productions
Director: Shekhar Kammula
Release Date:  February 19th, 2010
My Rating:  3.75/5


What's It About:

Sanjeevayya(Suman) is A.P.'s CM. His convoy is bombed and he is in a critical condition. His brother Peddayya(Kota) is a caste fanatic who wants only people from his kin to rule the state. Dhanunjaya(Subba Raju) is Sanjeevayya's brother's son who has ambitions to become a CM. Raji(Suhasini) is CM's wife who wants her US educated son Arjun(RaNa) to become the CM after Sanjeevayya's death as she believes he can change the system of corrupt MLA's. After reading his father's principles and helplessness due to corruption from his diary, Arjun sets out to become the CM. How he manipulates the politicians and dodges his greedy family forms the rest of the story. How he maintains his position forms the climax.

Artist Performance:

This is RaNa's debut and he has to be appreciated for attempting to start his career in a purely performance driven, no frills attached character. There are no elaborate fights, mass dialogues, flashy costumes that a star son's debut has and he shines in a demure role. He is a delight to watch on screen in an authoritative charector and has good diction. I am not sure why Priya Anand is in the movie? She does not have anything important to do and her role could might as well be chopped. Richa is ok and she does not have a lot of screen presence. Harshavardhan is good as an accomplice to RaNa. Subba Raju who plays a villain's sidekick got his first full fledged villain's role and he is brilliant. Kota, Rao Ramesh, Ahuti Prasad are nice. Gollapudi Maruti Rao's 5 minute sequence and dialogues are amazing. 

This & That:

The story starts off with a bang and the tempo is consistent throughout the movie. Priya Anand's thread has no logic and conclusion and it should have been deleted. There is no comedy in the movie but you don't miss or yearn for it and Kammula must be appreciated for it. There are no boring segments and for a non-commercial movie, that is a plus. Music by Mickey J Meyer is very good. My favorites from the album are Maa Telugu Talliki, Vande Mataram & Avunana Kadana. Dialogues by Kammula are crisp and fresh especially in the assembly scenes.I liked the way the hero wins over the corrupt ministers  and the methods he employs. I am not sure why the hero has to play a love game with the heroine when he could have resigned in the first place and contested for the elections. The movie would have been even better if not as good without the heroines but I think that was an attempt to commercialize the movie. The climax is sudden and could have been better with more justification to all the charecters. Nevertheless, a very good movie from Kammula

Did I Enjoy It?

Yes. It is a classy movie which provokes you. Go watch it, am sure you will love it!