Tunes On Tuesday

This week I've been listening to a mixed bag of songs. Some old, some new here are my picks for this Tunes on Tuesday post.

• Kiraaku , Language: Telugu, Album: Attarintiki Daaredi
• Ninnu Choodagane , Language: Telugu, Album:  Attarintiki Daaredi
• Oh Laila , Language: Telugu, Album: Ramaiyya Vastavayya
• Neneppudaina , Language: Telugu, Album: Ramaiyya Vastavayya
• Satrangi Re , Language: Hindi, Album: Dil Se
• Tujhe Bhula Diya , Language: Hindi, Album: Anjaana Anjaani
• Lungi Dance , Language: Hindi, Album: Chennai Express
• Oh Mama , Language: Hindi, Album:  Saat Khoon Maaf
• Tanhayee, Language: Hindi, Album: Dil Chahta Hai
• Maiyya Maiyya , Language: Telugu, Album: Paisa

These are playing in my car this week, Until next week, Happy Listening!

Ramayya Vastavayya

I have been waiting to watch this movie ever since the promos released and the songs have been playing non-stop in my car. NTR's new look, Harish Shankar's imminent hat trick, Samantha's golden leg along with Thaman's music all added to the expectations. Did the movie hold up to the expectations? The review follows.


Film: Ramayya Vastavayya
Cast: NTR, Samantha, Shruti Haasan, Rao Ramesh, Rohini Hattangadi, Tanikella Bharani etc
Music: Thaman
Director: Harish Shankar
Producer: Dil Raju
Release Date: October 11th, 2013
My Rating: 3/5

What's It About: 
Nandu(NTR) is a happy go lucky guy who happens to come across Akarsha (Samantha) and it's love at first sight. He follows her around, teases her and even gets close to her grandmother Baby Shamili (Rohini Hattangadi) to woo her. He finally impresses her and attends her sister's wedding. Her father (Mukesh Rishi) is a powerful man who faces a death threat. He promises to save him. What happens next? Will he be successful? All these questions are answered in the second half.

Artist Performances: 
I must say that NTR has lost oodles of weight and he looks very fresh and fit in this movie. He has been renowned for heavy/hard hitting roles but he is surprisingly very good as a tapori youth. His scenes with Samantha and his dialogue delivery make the movie much more interesting. Samantha looks great but doesn't really have much scope to perform apart from the songs. Shruti Haasan's cameo is good. Saikumar's brother Ravi acted well as an antagonist. Rohini Hattangadi was hilarious and so was Vidyulekha. I have to mention that there are no comedians in this film. Harish Shankar had once said that he doesn't need character artists to bring humor in his movies and must say that he has been successful in that front.

This & That: 
The dialogues are punchy and the songs are catchy! My picks would be O Laila & Nenepudaina for both their music and picturization. My favorites scenes are the diary sequence, the interval bang and NTR's scenes with Shruti Haasan. NTR has some good dance moves in this movie. The film looks very promising all the way up to the interval bang. Infact, even after the interval, NTR's scenes with Rao Ramesh are also worth mentioning. However, the movie goes downhill from that point. The flashback episode and the climax are cliched and you have a deja-vu effect. Harish Shankar had so much potential and so many factors working from him but he could not ulitize them to a maximum potential. The climax was a routine fare. Production values by Dil Raju were good.

Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, I enjoyed the first half and the comedy/punch dialogues in the second half. I felt restless during the tail end of the movie.

The Final Word:
Ramayya comes with an average fare. The holiday season might work in it's favor. Go watch it once, time pass flick.

Attharintiki Daaredi

I am sure telugu movie audience all over the globe have heard the news about the first 90 mins of the movie's pirated version being released over the internet.  There has been a tremendous pre-release buzz around this film as it repeats the super hit combo of Pawan Kalyan and Trivikram. How did the movie fare? My review follows:


Film: Attarintiki Daaredi
Cast: Pawan Kalyan, Samantha, Pranitha, Nadia, Bramhanandam, Ali, Rao Ramesh, Boman Irani etc.
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Director: Trivikram Srinivas
Producer: BVSN Prasad
Release Date: September 27th, 2013
My Rating: 3.25/5

What's It About:
Gautam Nanda (Pawan Kalyan) is the scion of the super rich Nanda family. His grandfather Raghu (Boman Irani) is pining for his daughter Sunanda(Nadia). She was disowned by him for marrying Shekhar(Rao Ramesh) a middle class lawyer against his wishes. He wants to re-unite with his stubborn daughter and pleads Gautam to go to India and persuade his aunt to forgive them. Gautam joins his aunt's house as a driver and meets her daughters Pramila (Pranitha) and Sashi(Samantha). What happens next? Will his family re-unite? Or will they throw him out o knowing his facade? These questions are answered in the second half.

Artist Performances:
Pawan Kalyan's mannerisms are fully supported by Trivikram's razor sharp dialogues. His comedy timing is top notch and he is aptly backed up by the support cast of ali and M.S. Narayana. His best pairing though is with Bramhi who entertains as "Bhaskar". Samantha performs well in a role that mixes innocence with humor. Pranitha is beautiful. Nadia is very graceful. I personally like Boman Irani's performance when he tries to convince his son that his pining for his daughter is justified.

This & That:
Trivikram's movies are known for their witty, rhyming punch dialogues and he is in full form in this flick. Pawan Kalyan's entry scene is good and the title song's flashback concept was unique.I loved the kevvu keka comedy track as well as the Gautam-Ahalya drama scene. I also enjoyed the scenes with Pawan Kalyan and his assistants who try to solve all of his problems with money. Music by Devi Sri Prasad didn't impress me much when I listened to the audio but they do grow on you once you watch them on screen. My picks would be the title song and bapu gari bomma. There is no novelty in the storyline, it is a simple story of re-uniting estranged family. However, the treatment, screenplay and the comedy track elevate the movie and entertain you. I've always felt that Trivikram's forte is his ability to handle emotions in a subtle format and the mild interval bang is an example of this. The film looks stylish and the producer must be appreciated for the rich production values.

Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, only because of the non-stop entertainment provided by the comic situations in the movie.

The Final Word:
The producer will walk to the bank smiling, the movie will do good business.

Tunes On Tuesday

Like I mentioned last week, I've been listening to a lot of indi-pop songs lately. This week I want to talk about some popular remixes that have rocked the charts in the last decade or so. Here are my picks:

• Aise na mujhe tum, Artist: Vikas Bhalla
• Kehedoon Tumhe, Artist: DJ Aqueel
• Sajna Hai Mujhe, Artist: DJ Hot Mix
• Yeh Vaada Raha, Artist: DJ Aqueel
• Mere Naseeb Mein, Artist: Baby H
• Kaliyon Ka Chaman, Artist: UMI
• Leke Pehla Pehla Pyaar, Artist: Smita
• Kaanta Laga, Artist: DJ Doll
• Bin Tere Sanam, Artist: DJ Suketu
• Chadti Jawaani, Artist: DJ Aqueel

These are playing this week. Happy Listening!

Video Courtesy: YouTube

Tunes on Tuesday

This week's theme is Indi-pop. There was a time when pop albums were more popular than movie songs and they came with their very own story lines! I gave my iPod a break this week and listened to CDs in my car. One long forgotten CD was filled with my favorite Indian Pop songs. Here are a few favorites.

• Made in India; Artist: Alisha Chinoy
• Boom Boom; Artist: Nazia Hussain
• Tu; Artist: Sonu Nigam
• Suno To Deewana Dil ; Artist: Kamaal Khan
• Pyar Ho gaya; Artist: Stereo Nation
• Pari Hoon Main; Artist: Sunita Rao
• Chandu Ke Chacha; Artist: Aasma
• Gore Naal ; Artist: Baloo Sagoo
• Ishq; Artist: Sukhbir
• Aaja Nacchle; Artist: Hans Raj Hans

These songs surely put me in an amazing mood all week. Next week, I'll look at popular remixes from the late 90's and early 2000's. Happy Listening!!

 

Videos Copyright: YouTube

Tunes On Tuesday

Every week when I plan Tunes on Tuesday's posts, I try to come up with a theme that could tie the different set of songs that I listen to everyday. Sometimes the songs are all fast and peppy, sometimes when I am stuck in traffic I find myself gravitating towards songs that are more soothing to the ear. In both cases, one thing remains constant, singing out loud using my lungs :) Here's the list of songs on my mind this week.

• Janmon Ki Jwala, Movie: Hey Raam, Language: Hindi (I swear, this song gives me goosebumps, every time I listen to Ashaji hum)
• Tasveer Teri Dil Mein, Movie: Maya, Language: Hindi (Love the lyrics of this song :) )
• Yeh Parbaton Ke Daayre, Movie: Vaasna, Language: Hindi (I had a crush on Biswajeet for the longest time. This one is one of my favorites to hum while driving!)
• Rama Rama, Movie: Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega, Language: Hindi (I don't have a reason as to why I like this song, I think it's probably because of the high octanes in the stanzas!)
• Bujji Pilla Tella Pilla, Movie: Potugadu ,Language: Telugu (Funny Lyrics!)
• Gulabi Aankhen, Movie: The Train, Language: Hindi (I searched for this song in YouTube and found this instead. I think my friends should have this as my ringtone :) )
• Raanjhana, Movie: Raanjhana, Language: Hindi (Watched the movie over the weekend, loved Dhanush in it!)
• Ek Ajnabi, Movie: Ek Ajnabi, Language: Hindi (This song reminds me of my sister's first stage performance, I think I still remember some of the steps.)
• Chennai Express, Movie: Chennai Express, Language: Hindi (Love Love Love SPB singing this song, this one's a new favorite!)
• Jalte Hai Jiske Liye, Movie: Sujata, Language: Hindi (This is one of my go-to sad songs :) )

I read somewhere that you can deduce a person by the songs that they listen to. I wonder what people think, based on the choice of songs this week? Happy Listening!

Tunes on Tuesday

This week's Tunes on Tuesday post comprises of random songs I've heard over this week, in no particular order.

• Titli, Movie: Chennai Express, Language: Hindi
• Kabeera, Movie: Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Language: Hindi
• Lazy Lad, Movie: Ghanchakkar, Language: Hindi
• Ninu Chusina Kshanamlo, Movie: Balupu, Language: Telugu
• Nee Jathaga, Movie: Yevadu, Language: Telugu
• The Violin Song, Movie: Iddarammayilatho, Language: Telugu
• Poolu Gusa Gusa, Movie: Saleem, Language: Telugu
• Sumam Prathi Sumam, Movie: Maharshi, Language: Telugu
• Lonely No More, Album: Lonely No More , Artist: Rob Thomas
• Give it to You, Album: Jordan Knight, Artist: Jordan Knight

These are playing in my car this week! Happy Listening!