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.