Tunes On Tuesday

So, Yes its been way too long...I know, I know, I always apologize. The last couple of months have been a roller coaster ride. My life has changed in unexpected ways and I don't want to discuss it here. I went through a lot of emotions. I do not want to dwell in the past. I am finally in a space where I can get on with everyday life. To gel with my mood, I have picked up some songs that always take me to my happy space. Here's to life and getting on with it. I am finally happy to be back.

• New York Nagaram, Movie: Sillunu Oru Kadhal, Language: Tamil
• Tumsa Koi Pyara, Movie: Khuddar, Language: Hindi
• Nijamena, Movie: Brindavanam, Language: Telugu
• Enadhuyire, Movie: Bheema, Language: Tamil
• Chori Chori, Movie: Mera Pehla Pehla Pyar, Language: Hindi
• Manasa, Movie: Munna, Language: Telugu
• Idhutana, Movie: Saamy, Language: Tamil
• Dilko, Movie: Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein, Language: Hindi
• Prema Geema, Movie: Rowdy Alludu, Language: Telugu
• Anal Mele, Movie: Vaaranam Aayiram, Language: Tamil

These are my picks for this week. They always make me smile. Until next week, happy listening.

Varudu

Oh my dear lord! I watched Varudu last week. I have been procrastinating writing this review until now. I feel less acerbic today and its a good time to get this one out of my system. If you are a big Arjun fan, pardon me and it might be a good idea to not read any further. But Hey! It is my blog and these are my thoughts so suck up and deal with it. So, what did I think of this movie? Read on!

Film: Varudu

Cast: Allu Arjun, Bhanushree Mehra(Debut), Arya, Suhasini, Ashish Vidhyarthi & Others

Music: Mani Sharma
Producer: Danayya
Director: Gunasekhar
Release Date: March 30th, 2010
My Rating: 1/5


What's It About:

Sandeep(Arjun) is a happy go lucky kind of youngster. His respect for traditions are established in the first few minutes of the movie. His parents have had a love marriage and have no problems if he follows suit. However, our charming(?) hero wants to get married the old fashioned way - arranged marriage. 16 rojula pandaga, 5 rojula pelli is what his heart desires. Shocked? Don't be, it gets better, I promise. He wants to see the face of the bride only on the pelli peetalu during jeelakarra bellam time. Getting better right? Well there is more! The bride Deepti (Bhanushree) is apparently thrilled by this idea and says I will also see my groom when he sees me. Hey, I promised it gets better didn't I? That's not all. When the bride and groom do see each other, it's love at first sight! But wait a minute, If that's all there is to the movie then it should be done in an hour right? Wrong! To make things even more intresting, just when the hero is about to tie the nuptial knot, the mandapam collapses and the bride is kidnapped by Diwakar(Arya). Now Diwakar says a very catchy word Khushmanda. Confused? Me too! So who is Diwakar? Why does he kidnap Deepti? And what in the world is Khushmanda? Curious? Really? Then go watch the second half of Varudu!

Artist Performance:

Arjun, what were you thinking when you signed the movie? Let me guess. Gunasekhar made movies like Okkadu & Manoharam. This might probably be a good move career wise. Your are forgetting here that Gunasekhar also gave us Sainikudu & Mrugaraju. Maybe Arjun thought, In Arya 2, I had a very passive role and did not get a chance to flex by 6 pack abs. In this movie, I get to wear a pancha and I can get to how off my muscles! Or it has to be this! Maybe he enjoyed getting married on screen so much in Arya 2, that he wanted to make a movie solely based on marriage. Whatever might be the reason Arjun, it was a blunder to do this movie. Performance wise, Arjun is good at fights, dances and flexing abs. Apart from that there is nothing much to do. Bhanushree Mehra was hidden from the media and a waiting game was played. There was no need for such hullabaloo as she is just not heroine material. She only appears in 40 minutes of the movie and the girl cannot emote or dance. Very bleak prospects for this one. It looks like a pattern with Arjun's heroines,Aditi Agarwal, Anuradha Mehta, Gowri Munjal all debuted with him but no foothold in the industry! Arya who is quite popular as a hero in Tamil movies decided to debut as a villain with this movie but I am so disappointed with his decision. Nevertheless, he has good screen presence and does a decent job with the plot given to him. Bramhi is wasted. Suhasini and Ashish are good. 150 real life families which were in the movie were completely unnecessary.

This & That:

The major flaw in this movie is story. It's like a regular run of the mill story, villain runs away with the heroine and the hero fights back. Gunasekhar wanted to add the marriage part to make it interesting but the whole product is half baked and tasteless. It does not gel with me why the hero wants to go for an arranged marriage and the 5 day wedding. It is hard for me to digest how a club going, 21st century kid would want to take a decision of not looking at the bride till the time of marriage. Had the characterization of the hero been different, maybe it would have made sense to me. There is no comedy, no entertainment values in the film. Why is the villain a psychopath? No proper justification is given. Music by Mani Sharma is not up to the mark. I liked Om Namaho & Rela Rela. Choreography is, to put it in one word, Tacky. Especially in the marriage song. What should have been traditional looks like some ammavari jaatara. Climax is stupid. Why would the hero climb the tower and them ask the villain to climb after him and fight with him on top of it. Isn't the ground a good enough venue for him? Graphics and sets which were supposed to be Gunasekhar's forte are cheap and unsophisticated. Boy am I glad Mahesh Babu did not work on this project!

Did I Enjoy It?

No, But I did have a good time cracking up watching this movie. Please give this one a miss.

Tunes On Tuesday.

Tuesday is here again!! A brand new Tunes on Tuesday post is here! This week I am still in the older, golden tunes. However to spice things up I have only picked some peppy, feel good ones. Here goes.

• Pukarta Chala Hoon Main, Movie: Mere Sanam, Language: Hindi
• Kushi Kushiga Navvutu, Movie: Iddaru Mitrulu, Language: Telugu
• Rang Bhare Baadal Se, Movie: Chandini, Language: Hindi
• Gopemma Chetilo, Movie: Preminchu Pelladu, Language: Telugu
• Aaja Shaam Hone Aayi, Movie: Maine Pyaar Kiya, Language: Hindi
• Ghallu Ghalluna, Movie: Neerajanam, Language: Telugu
• Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna, Movie: Guide, Language: Hindi
• Ghuppu Ghuppu, Movie: Rakshana, Language: Telugu
• Gulabi Aankhen, Movie: The Burning Train, Language: Hindi
• Jilibili Paluku, Movie: Sitara, Language: Telugu

What are your picks for the week? Until next Tuesday, Happy Listening!

Tunes on Tuesday.

I can't believe that another Tuesday's here! Oh how the times fly? The past week has been one hectic one. Time and again, I feel like I am drawn towards older songs which have simple instruments. They just relax me and believe me I need to relax today after a hectic day at work! Here goes, some of my favorite oldies!

• Khayalon Mein Kisike, Movie: Bawre Nain, Language: Hindi
• Mein Pyar Ka Raheen Hoon, Movie: Ek Musafir Ek Haseena, Language: Hindi
• Chehere Se Zara Anchal, Movie: Ek Baar Muskurado, Language: Hindi
• Parde Mein Rehne Do, Movie: Shikar, Language: Hindi
• Chehera Hain Ya Chand, Movie: Sagar, Language: Hindi
• Ye Divilo Virisina, Movie: Kanne Vayasu, Language: Telugu
• Oka Saari Kalaloki, Movie: Gopaludu Bhupaludu, Language: Telugu
• Vandanam Abhivandanam, Movie: Premabhishekam, Language: Telugu
• Chinukula Raali, Movie: Nalugu Sthambalaata, Language: Telugu
• Yenneno Janmala Bandham, Movie: Pooja, Language: Telugu

I won't be surprised if many of you haven't heard some songs till date! If this list triggers your interest, do make an effort to listen to them. Who knows you might have some new(old) favorites! Until next week, Happy Listening!

Tunes on Tuesday.

Another week, another Tuesday! This week on Tuesday Tunes, I want to do something different. This week I want to focus on one great musician, Illaiyaraja. I worship Illaiyaraja, period. I want to compile a few of my favorite compositions by him in this post. I have been having a whale of a time going through the old songs!! I am so glad I started this feature.

• Aye Zindagi, Film: Sadma, Language: Hindi.
• Cheeni Kum, Film: Cheeni kum, Language: Hindi
• Janmoki Jwala Thi, Film: Hey Ram, Language: Hindi
• Mari Mari Ninne, Film: Sindhu Bhairavi, Language: Tamil
• Elangaathu Veesude, Film: Pithamaghan, Language: Tamil
• Rakamma Kaiya Thatu, Film: Thalapathi, Language: Tamil (This song features in BBC's World Top Ten Music Poll)
• Prema Ledani, Film: Abhinandana, Language: Telugu
• Aakasham Yenatido, Film: Nireekshana, Language: Telugu (A beautiful film, with a more beautiful and soul stirring BGM by Raja)
• Keeravani, Film: Anveshana, Language: Telugu
• Thatika Thadimi, Film: Saagara Sangamam, Language: Telugu (This one is just a classic!)

These tracks are my picks for this week!What are your's?

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!

Kedi

I have been missing in action since the last couple of days and I can go on and give a million reasons for them. I have a week's worth of drafts waiting to get posted as I have been a busy little bee watching many movies. I went to Dallas last weekend and I had to choose between My Name is Khan & Kedi as we had time to watch only one movie. Needless to say, I watched Kedi (Cos that is what the post is about!). What did I think of it?

Here goes.

Film: Kedi

Cast: Nagarjuna, Mamata Mohandas, Ankur Vakil, Kelly Dorjee,Bramhanandam, Sayaji Shinde, Harshavardhan & Others.

Music: Sandeep Chowta
Director: Kiran
Producer: Kamakshi Kala Movies.
Release Date: 12th February, 2010
My Rating: 1.5/5


What's It About:

Ramesh a.k.a Rummy(Nagarjuna) is a gambler who survives by duping people. When he was young he falls in love with Sweety and when their parents know about their affair, he tries to elope with her. Sweety declines his proposal as she wants to enjoy material comforts and needs money for them which Rummy doesn't have. Rummy grows up with a strong affinity for money. He works for a local don Chandra(Ankur) in Goa. An honest cop Shekhar(Sayaji) is after Rummy. Why is the cop after Rummy? What happened to Sweety? Why does Rummy work for Shekhar? All these questions are answered when Shekhar interrogates Rummy.

Artist Performance:

I am baffled as to why Nagarjuna accepted this film. Nagarjuna looks like a 30 something with a classy wardrobe.He is strictly OK in terms of acting, but that is not his fault as his charector is unconvincing. Mamata Mohandas is a miscast in the movie. She does not look the part of a mother to a kid in a completely non glamorous role. Bramhanandam makes you laugh in places, especially the shipyard and the marriage scenes. Harshavardhan is nice as a sidekick. Ankur Vakil's antagonistic act is adequate.Kelly Dorjee seems to be Nag's favorite person, he finds a role for Kelly in all his films after Don. 

This & That:

The film does not work on so many levels because of many loopholes in the story line. There was no justification for the foreign girl thread or the item song Muddante Cheda. The flashback concept is too cliched. Screenplay for Kedi is a joke. Dialogues are not worth a mention. Re-recording and sync for songs and dialogues is bad. Music by Sandeep Chowta leaves a lot to be desired, Kedi gadu & Muddante being the better songs. Anushka does a special appearance for the title song and it could have been so much better, It looks like Nag already knew the fate of this movie as there were no massive promotions or grand scale audio functions.

Did I Enjoy It?

No, I wished I saw My Name is Khan instead.

Yuganiki Okkadu/Aayirathil Oruvan

I have this policy where I don't watch dubbed Tamil movies in Telugu. Part of the reason could be because I can't bring myself to listen to the songs in Telugu, especially if I like the Tamil version. That's why I still haven't watched Ghazini, Cheli and other movies in Telugu. I have been hearing a lot of buzz about Ayirathil Oruvan(AO). People who know me vouch for the fact that I am a sucker for all things thriller/mystery. When I heard that the movie was an adventure thriller, I watched it, regardless of people telling me that its going to be gory.This is what I thought.

Film: Yuganiki Okkadu/Aayirathil Oruvan(In Tamil)
Cast: Karthi Sivakumar, Reema Sen, Andrea Jeremiah, Parthiban(Special Appearance) & Others.
Music: G.V. Prakash
Director: Selvaraghavan
Producer: R. Ravindran
Release Date: 14th January, 2010
My Rating: 3/5


What's It About:

The movie starts in 12th century AD where the Chola Empire is coming to an end. The Pandyas have waged a war with them and in order to save the crown prince, the Cholas send him away with a few trusted men to a secret place, taking with them the Pandya's sacred idol. The Pandyas follow them but they cannot find the hiding place. The films cuts to the present day where expeditions are still going on to trace the secret  location of the empire. Lavanya(Andrea) is an archeologist whose dad is missing after he locates the empire. Anita(Reema) is an army officer who is assigned the task of leading a search party to locate him and Lavanya joins them. The party employs Muthu(Karthi) and a group of porters to help them. The team goes through a series of traps that the Cholas have set to frighten people away from looking for them. Many lives are lost and the trio get separated from everyone. They finally find the Chola civilization and meet their king(Parthiban). What will the Cholas do to them? What happened to the idol? Will they ever get back to normalcy? All these questions form the rest of the story.

Artist Performance:

This is Karthi's second movie and the movie has released 3 years after his first one. It is Karthi's show all the way. He is endearing as a tapori coolie who is a hopeless flirt. He provides the sole source of humor in the whole movie. His facial expressions are too good in his combination scenes with Parthiban. Reema Sen has a meaty role and has a tremendous scope to perform but she is uneven at places, putting in a laudable effort especially in the last 30 minutes of the movie. Andrea does not have much to do or say and I cannot talk about her acting skills when she doesn't have to exhibit them. Parthiban is nice in a extended special appearance and  this acting in the scene where he realizes his mistake is brilliant. 

This & That:

Selvaraghavan has to be appreciated for attempting a film  with such grand attributes. The sets are grand, cinematography is beautiful. The screenplay is slow and editing could have been better. It would help if some screen time is reduced as it is well over 3 hours. Music by G.V. Prakash deserves a special mention. My favorite picks of the album are Oh Eesa & Un Mela Aasadhan, which is well choreographed. The climax of the movie is very hard to digest and too graphic for my taste. The twist in the end and the 7 obstacles that the charectors face are interesting. The movie is a super hit in Tamil and is apparently doing good business in A.P as well.

Did I Enjoy It?

Yes, the movie is entertaining. Steel your stomach for the graphic scenes.

Revisiting - Shalimar

This post has been sitting in my drafts page since the last 5 days. A busy weekend and a busier social scene deprived me of my blogging time. Nonetheless, the post.Watching Khamosh yesterday reminded me how much I enjoy old movies. Especially movies that are not pucca commercial masala movies. I was reminiscing the good old days when my parents would sit together on a Sunday afternoon, drinking their coffee and having animated discussions about movies and songs. I vividly remember, I was 12-13 years old when we watched Shalimar together. The movie was stuck in my head for many days, especially the title song. I have been looking for the movie from the past 3 years and I finally found it. I wasted no time in watching it and 2 hours later I had a big satisfied grin on my face!

Film: Shalimar

Cast: Dharmendra, Zeenat Aman, Rex Harrinson, Shammi Kapoor & Others.

Music: R.D. Burman
Director: Krishna Shah


*Spoiler Alert* Plot revealed after Jump.

Revisiting - Khamosh

I came across an interview of Vidhu Vinod Chopra recently and being me; I had to google him up. I landed on his wikipedia page and laid my eyes upon Khamosh. This movie was made in 1985 and boasted of a huge star cast. I remembered watching this whodunit when i was a kid. I knew I would not be at peace till I see the movie so I happily gave up working out in favor of watching Khamosh. I must say I am not the least disappointed. This is a mystery so if you are planning to watch the movie please don't read further as I will be revealing the plot. Do watch the movie and come back to read this as it is definitely worth watching.

Film: Khamosh
Cast: Amol Palekar, Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapoor, Soni Razdan, Deepak Qazir & Others.
Music: Vanraj Bhatia
Director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra


*Spoiler Alert* Story Revealed after Jump.

Revisiting - Sundarakanda

Last night I was planning to watch Om Shanti & I did. Halfway into the movie I needed a break. So I ended up watching Sundarakanda on a whim. I wanted to post my thoughts about this movie and it will be my first Revisiting Movies post! Since it is not a traditional review, the format of these posts will be a tad different. Why don't I just go ahead and post it and you can see what I am talking about.

Film: Sundarakanda

Cast: Venkatesh, Meena, Aparna Sen, Bramhanandam, Gollapudi Maruti Rao, Kota Srinivasa Rao & Others.

Music: M.M. Keeravani

Director: K. Raghavendra Rao

*Spoiler Alert* Story Revealed After Jump.

Revisiting Movies.

One of the main reasons I started this blog was to talk about older movies that people might have seen many times. I won't be rating the movie but I will be talking about the plots, twists, songs, climax and the whole shebang. I will be revealing the story so it will be a spoiler alert post with a jump. Happy memories!

Seeta Ramula Kalyanam .... Lankalo

Nitin & Hansika team up for this movie. Nitin is hoping for a success after 13 consecutive flops. Hansika's last movie Jayeebhava was a flop. Let's see if this movie does anything for them. Here's what I thought of the movie.

Film: Seeta Ramula Kalyanam .... Lankalo

Cast: Nitin, Hansika, Suman, Jayaprakash Reddy, Salim Panda, Subba Raju, Bramhanandam, Ali, M.S. Narayana & Others.

Music: Anoop Rubens

Producer: Malla Vijaya Prasad

Director: Eshwar Reddy

Release Date: January 22nd, 2010

My Rating: 2/5

What's It About?

Chandu(Nitin) is a college student who falls in love with Nandini(Hansika) after she lectures him about the injurious effects of smoking. He puffs and pants, fights and rants and wins her over. Nandini's dad Peddi Reddy(Suman) is a factionist(but of course!) and his rival factionist Jayaprakash Reddy's son Veera Pratap(Salim Panda) falls in love with Nandini when he comes across her at a function. Veera Pratap kidnaps Nandini and wants to get married to her(Duh!). Chandu goes to Veera Pratap's house and plots to save his love. The marriage of Chandu & Nandini forms the climax. Now, the analysis.

Artist Performance:

I admire the audacity of the producers and directors who come forward to make movies with Nitin time and again.How he gets to work with top actresses like Illeana, Hansika, Kajal etc. beats me. Coming to his performance, Nitin has a lot to improve in terms of acting, emoting and dialogue  delivery. Hansika has nothing major to do except pout and look pretty and she does her job well. Salim Panda plays the villain, who has to shout, beat his lungs and tear his clothes in every scene and that he does fantastically. Suman is unconvincing as a factionist and thankfully he does not have a lot of screen presence.  Bramhanandam, Ali and Subba Raju are entertaining. Jayaprakash Reddy plays a factionist for the nth time and he does it with gusto.

This & That:

As you can see, there is no novelty in the plot. Same old story served the same old way. First half of the movie is dragging and moves at a snail's pace. The second half is better with the nice comedy track between Bramhanandam, Ali and Subba Raju. M.S. Narayana's principal act was tawdry. Music by Anoop Rubens is strictly ok; with kiss me and  cheetiki maatiki being the better picks of the lot. Choreography is good and Nitin does a commendable job in dances. The Sri Lanka devullu  concept is funny. If it wasn't for the post interval part of the movie; my rating would have been 1/5 only for the effort that went into making this movie. Nitin should stop concentrating on his 6 pack abs and start taking acting classes.

Did I Enjoy It?

No, except for the second half. When compared to the other releases, this movie's performance at the box office will be absymal.

Namo Venkatesa

Ok, I am back. I watched Namo Venkatesa last night. I have been wanting to watch this movie for a long time because of the many expections from the Vytla-Venky combo. Read further to see what I thought.

Film: Namo Venkatesa

Cast: Venkatesh, Trisha, Bramhanandam, Ali, Subba Raju, Dharmavarapu, Mukesh Rishi & Others.

Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Director: Seenu Vytla
Producer: 14 Reels Entertainment

Release Date: January 14th, 2010

My Rating: 3/5


What's It About?

Venkata Ramana a.k.a Venky(Venkatesh) is a ventriloquist. He is invited to perform at a European Telugu Association. There he meets his dream girl Pooja(Trisha), with whom he falls in love at first sight. Pooja's uncle Paris Prasad(Bramhi) is a prankster. Prasad fibs that Pooja also has feelings for Venky, after knowing his interest in her. Pooja's marriage is fixed with her bava, without her consent. Prasad enlists Venky's help to stop the marriage. Unaware of Prasad's lies, Venky agrees. How he manages to do that and wins his love forms the rest of the story. Here's how the film plays out.

Artist Performances:

Venkatesh has a very subdued role. I have always admired how he is game for being shown as a common guy instead of a demi god on screen. No other Telugu actor would agree to be hit and made fun of  by character artists. He is very entertaining in the combination scenes with Bramhanandam. His acting in the drunken scenes and his dances for other heroes songs brought the house down. Trisha has nothing to do in terms of performance; she looks good. Bramhanandam is good as a prankster. He has a meaty role and does complete justice to it. Seenu Vytla's comedians ensemble is adequate. It is a routine role for Subba raju, Mukesh Rishi and others.

This & That:

Seenu Vytla's movies are very heavily anticipated for their entertainment values. Almost all this movies in the recent times are similar in story lines and characterization. The story where the hero follows the heroine into her house to win over her folks, has been seen in a zillion movies. Even though it makes you  laugh at places; You get a feeling of been there done that when you are watching the movie. Music by Devi Sri Prasad is not upto mark. Only the title song is catchy. I liked the background songs in the screenplay( Emaindi ee Vela, Paapam Pasivadu). The drunken scenes in Vytla's movie are very interesting. Climax is abrupt. I felt that the post-interval part of the movie was lengthy. Comedy could have been infused in many places and that could have elevated the movie. The movie is doing good business so people are obviously enjoying it. Looks like Namo Venkatesa is the only family entertainer in all the Sankranthi releases.

P.S. Seenu Vytla, I enjoy your movies but please come up with something novel next time!

Did I enjoy It?

Yes, the film has it's moments. You can watch it for the comedy.

Phir Mile Sur Mera Tumhara

Happy Republic Day India! 60 years of being a Republic this year! To commemorate this day, Kailash Surendranth revamped the 1988 doordarshan production "Mile Sur Mera Tumhara". Originally released on  Independence Day 1988, the song meant to promote national integration and enjoyed cult status.It was a great collaboration of film stars(Amitabh, Mithun, Jitendra, Kamal Hassan, Hema Malini, etc), sportsmen(Prakash padukone, Kapil Dev, Arun Lal), musicians(Balamurali Krishna, Lata Mangeshkar) and most importantly, the common man. I for one, loved this song, It always brought tears to my eyes. My dad recorded this song on VHS for my sister and me and we might have seen the video like a million times and never get bored of it. 22 years later, the producers, Kailash and Arti Surendranath wanted to bring about a new version with the young generation. They released it today on Republic day. Here's my two cents on the video.

The Song:

The original song was so catchy. The lyrics were simple. They were translated to every language and the tune was similar and cohesive. The new version has almost the same lyrics as the old one but there is no rhythm. The song is a scrambled attempt and it does not have the same effect as the older version. It feels like some song in the current movies, jarring at many places.

The Video:

Let's talk about the original video here for a second. That video had lush fields of Punjab, shikaras on dal lake in Kashmir, elephants from Kerala, trams of Calcutta, in simpler words, the video had the whole essence of India captured on celluloid. What did I think of the new video? Let me break my thoughts down to the good, the bad and the ugly parts.

What's Good:

I liked the fact that these celebrities were included; Shobhana, Anoushka Shankar, Bhupen Hazarika, Baichung Bhutia, Yesudas(I just love him!), Amjad Ali Khan, Zakir Hussain, Shivamani & of course Mahesh Babu(My fiancé's favorite actor!), Salman Khan with the kids, was very heartwarming.

What's Bad:

That they chose Shilpa Shetty, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor,Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Karan Johar etc for the video. What have they accomplished?  Only the three Khans and no other major actors and actresses were included. The locales are not depicting the regions represented in the song. Major letdown.

What's Ugly?

This one will be a long category. I did not like the fact that Rehman was in the video and Illayaraja wasn't. None of the older actors were included. Amitabh was the only actor from the older version who was featured in the newer version. Southern states were very poorly represented. Surya and Vikram from Tamil Nadu, only Mahesh Babu for Andhra Pradesh, Yesudas, Vijay Yesudas & Mamooty for Kerala, Kavita Subramaniam & her husband were the only people I recognized from Karnataka. Was that clearly the best they could do? The North Eastern part of India was not present in the video at all except for Bhupen Hazarika's singing. I totally abhored the fact that there was not a single cricket or hockey player in the video. It looked like a high profile music video, instead of a national integration song.

Last Thoughts:

I appreciate the thought behind the video. In these times a national integration song sounds like a good idea. However, I am not completely on board with their idea of having only younger people in the video. They should have picked better celebrities to represent different states. The song did not impress me. I wish they used the same song with new people, it would have helped keep the charm of the older version alive. A very shoddy video is what they have come up with. I have added the links for the older and newer versions. Check them out. You need to see the newer version to appreciate the older one.


Old Version
New Version Part One
Part Two

My Review Policy

I should have done this earlier, before I posted reviews; but better late than never.

When I review a movie, I usually write about the story, performances, music and my thoughts on the movie in general. I am not a movie expert where I analyze the technical aspects. My review policy is very simple; I have a point system from 1-5. Here's how I break it down.

1- Avoid this movie at all costs.

2- The movie was Ho-hum, with too many distractions.

3- It was enjoyable but I wasn't impressed.

4- Very entertaining & I thoroughly enjoyed it.

5- Has to sweep me off my feet for me to give it a 5 star rating!

What I post on the blog is entirely my opinion and the ratings are based on how much I enjoyed watching the movie. I will post a different policy for my music reviews.

Adhurs

I watched Adhurs on January 23rd which was my Birthday in Tulsa. We were a group of 10 people and it is always fun when you go with friends. Here goes my review.

Film: Adhurs
Cast: N.T.R, Nayanatara, Sheela, Bramhanandam, M.S. Narayana, Raghu Babu, Ashish Vidhyarthi, Sayaji Shinde, Mahesh Manjrekar and Others.
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Director: V.V. Vinayak
Producer: Kodali Venakteshwara Rao
Release Date: January 14th, 2010
My Rating: 3.25/5

What's It About:

A Brahmin lady gives birth to a still born baby.At the same hospital a  lady gives birth to 2 twin boys. With the help of a nurse, the Brahmin lady's mother-in-law exchanges the dead baby with one of the twins. The twins grow up in different houses ; one of them is a pujari, while the other works as a police informer in hopes of becoming a cop.The pujari(N.T.R. as Chari) falls in love with Chandrakala (Nayanatara) and the informer (N.T.R. as Narsi) falls for Nandini(Sheela). A group of people are in search of Narsi.Unknown to him, his father who is an ex-militant is still alive. The father(Nasser) who creates weapons for the Army is held captive by Mahesh Manjrekar. How Narsi rescues his father and meets his twin brother has to be watched on the big screen.

Artist Performances:

It is N.T.R.'s show all the way. His performance as Chari was hilarious. All the people in the theater had a smile on their face when he showed up on screen. His typical Brahmin slang and mannerisms were totally entertaining.His portrayal of Narsi is an extension of his performance in Kantri. Nayanatara's expressions and acting was jarring.Sheela's glamorous but has little screen presence.Bramhanandam is rib-tickling as Bhattu, who is in love with Nayanatara. M.S. Narayana is good as "Atma". Raghu Babu is nice as a sidekick to the villain who predicts things before they happen. Ashish Vidhyarthi, Sayaji Shinde and Mahesh Manjrekar are adequate as the bad guys. 

This & That:

The story is not new. The formula where twins are separated at birth and unite to fight off the bad guys has inspired many movies. Better  screenplay and innovative sequences could have added freshness to the story. Music by Devi Sri Prasad is foot-tapping. However, when you see the songs on the screen there is no sync between  the audio and the choreography. Dialogues for Chari and the whole Brahmin setup are good, especially "naakesaru" and the "kodi" incident. I liked the fact that the heroines were given equal prominence(in terms of songs). Choreography was innovative, especially for "pilla na valla kadu" and "adhurs". I do not have to talk about N.T.R.'s dancing skills, he is brilliant.The last 30 mins of the movie is a downer. The climax was not up to the mark. The whole weapon concept was insipid.Only one of twins being good at fights is cliched and the concept has been done to death in so many other movies. People, especially masses would totally enjoy this movie and it has good entertainment values. 

Did I Enjoy It?

Yes, I enjoyed it. The first half is full of comedy and the second half could have been better. I think that the movie will do good business.

Shambho Shiva Shambo

I know I was supposed to start off with Adhurs. However, I did end up watching Shambho Shiva Shambo last night. I am going to go ahead and review it. Here's what I thought.

Film: Shambho Shiva Shambo
Cast: Ravi Teja, "Allari" Naresh, Siva Balaji, Priyamani, Abhinaya, Rao Ramesh & Others.
Music: Sundar C. Babu
Director: Samudrikhani
Producer: Bellamkonda Suresh
Release Date: 14th January 2010.
My Rating: 2/5

What's It About?

The story revolves around 3 friends, Ravi Teja, Naresh and Balaji. They are the usual, masti type gang. Ravi Teja is in love with his uncle's daughter Priyamani. The uncle wants him to get a government job to marry Priyamani. Naresh  a hopeless flirt, seeking love in every good-looking girl he comes across, wants to go to America. Siva Balaji is in love with Ravi Teja's sister, played by Abhinaya and wants to open a computer center with the help of a bank loan. The film establishes these characters and the story starts when a common friend of the trio attempts suicide. He is in love with a girl and the parents being in powerful , warring positions oppose. After understanding the problem, they promise to unite the couple. They cleverly manage to help the couple in eloping but undergo personal tragedies. It's not fair on my part to disclose the tragedies as it gives the plot away. However, their sacrifices not withstanding, the couple have petty quarrels and their ego problems force the couple to separate. When the trio learn about the separation and the couples impending re-marriages, they seek out to teach a lesson.How they go about doing that is to be seen on the big screen. Here's my analysis:

Artist Performance: 

It's a typical high energy role for Ravi Teja, you can see many of his "elements" in the movie. He plays the central role. The artist that i was impressed with was definitely Naresh, I have throughly enjoyed watching his comedy movies but he is very good in a serious role and he walk away with top honors. Siva balaji did not have a big role when compared to the others but he shines in a few emotional scenes. Priyamani is good as a chirpy maradalu and as a scorned lover in the post interval part. Abhinaya who is speech and hearing impaired in real life is good also. 

This & That:

The movie is a remake of Tamil movie "Nadodigal" made by the same director.While the movie was a success in Tamil, it might not be the case here. The movie is not a masala movie, it does not have a conventional ending.This maybe be hard for the viewers to digest. The music has nothing to write about. It is a literal scene to scene adaptation of the Tamil version and it should have been adapted to suit Telugu tastes. For the first time in Telugu cinema a  multi-starrer movie has been adapted. I just hope that the concept of ensemble cast in a movie doesn't get avoided due to the debacle of this one.

Did I enjoy It?

Not really, the problems that the central charectors face was very unsavory for me. It left me with a bad after taste.

Welcome!

I have started this blog after many many years of procrastination. I had a blog before but never had the time to update it on a regular basis. 2010 is a year of many changes for me. (More about that later!) On this auspicious day of Sankranthi, I have finally begun this blog. I watch a lot of movies, need less to say. Pretty much end up watching at least a movie a day. I have always wanted to read about the story line of many interesting movies and would look up the wikipedia site for information. Unfortunately not much information is available for older , classical movies. This blog is an attempt to put forth all my opinions on all the movies I have watched or will be watching. I will also blog about Music. Thanks to my amazing parents who have made me a sucker for old hindi melodies and telugu "classics" if you may call them that. Even though my mother tongue is not Tamil, I have always enjoyed listening to albums and i will also post my music reviews as well. I will start off my first movie review with the telugu movie "Adhurs" next week and my first music album review with "Vinnai Thandi Varuvaya". Keep watching this space!