tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54130430786337619952024-03-23T15:54:42.908+05:30Dilse reviews...Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.comBlogger724125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-67253051717438622202024-02-25T19:39:00.006+05:302024-02-25T19:39:40.916+05:30Anweshippin Kandethum, Premalu & Manjummel Boys: "Happy days at the box office!!!"<p style="text-align: justify;">Even as "<i>Bramayugam</i>" has garnered both critical acclaim & commercial success, there were a couple of others that had released the week priot to that which had kept the box office bells ringing. Though I had watched them last week itself, I didn't quite have the time to pen my opinion about them which incidentally had satisfied the audience in me. The movies in question include Darwin Kuriakose's "<i>Anweshippin Kandethum</i>" & Girish AD's "<i>Premalu</i>". In addition, Chidambaram's "<i>Manjummel Boys</i>" also joined the bandwagon to make it one of the most profitable February of the industry in recent times.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkvS5MMHhwtMyuxydF8hwhIcHsBCFM4SadA-8MXvj0PgzttLvH1RgRwfYeqqLzqHH5kqLhD91coE_xZqTXSzVBYtJy28j3nkFmsoJBbMpv1foapnD1AqFYx6nRXgdMSUgATZuaCKoRMkalf4OK_dbkLSxa3S23rlunlLbmuUsR7zt2owuYnQlMCWdbII2/s808/ak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="372" data-original-width="808" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkvS5MMHhwtMyuxydF8hwhIcHsBCFM4SadA-8MXvj0PgzttLvH1RgRwfYeqqLzqHH5kqLhD91coE_xZqTXSzVBYtJy28j3nkFmsoJBbMpv1foapnD1AqFYx6nRXgdMSUgATZuaCKoRMkalf4OK_dbkLSxa3S23rlunlLbmuUsR7zt2owuYnQlMCWdbII2/w421-h193/ak.jpg" width="421" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Anweshippin Kandethum: "A well crafted flick that should have searched for a better release date!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As the name & trailer made it evidently clear, Darwin's debut venture that Jinu Abraham had scripted is essentially an investigative drama that is set in the early 1990s. The movie unfolds with the suspended SI Anand (Tovino Thomas) coming to meet his superior who had entrusted on him a case in the hope of easing him back into the force coz of his impressive performance in his maiden investigation. So what had led to his suspension & will the second case bring any difference to his fate after all it had baffled even the finest in CBI ???</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There has been a deluge of investigation thrillers and dramas over the past few years which would invariably involve the use of telecom services, CCTVs & innovative tech. However, the time period set meant it was old fashioned crime drama meant none of these was in play & still Jinu managed to keep it engaging. Darwin has crafted it well to the point that we are completely involved in the proceedings which is no mean feat. The character arc given to the protagonist was praise worthy as they showed him being belittled by his seniors & rather than retaliate for the sake of heroism, kept it realistic & showed his sustained fightback. Personally, I was literally hooked to the film until the very end & the manner in which the points are joined to reach the culprit was impressive. Kudos to the crew especially Mohandas for the production design that felt very authentic, Girish Gangadharan for the visuals & Saiju Sreedharan's smooth editing that maintained the flow.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As Anand, Tovino has done a fine job as he perfectly captured the body language of the cop who had to exercise restraint to keep his emotions on check. The rest of his team included Vineeth Thattil, Rahul Rajagopal & Pramod Velliyanad who did their parts well, though I felt the substance given to their roles was not in sync with the amount of screen time they had. Apart from them, each & every artist have done utmost to their roles be it Indrans, Shammi Thilakan, Baburaj, Indrans, Kottayam Nazeer, Sadiq etc.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict:</b> A well crafted movie backed by a good script & impressive performances. It has certainly collected decent numbers, though I felt a more sensible release date might have improved its box office numbers!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>3.25/5 </b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Premalu: "Feel good rom-com that clicked with the audience...no kidding!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Just two weeks into its release & Girish's third directorial venture has zoomed past the 50C mark with ease. As mentioned in the title, it is a rom-com & pretty much follows the same track as his previous ventures but in a different track. However, unlike the others; this does take a fair bit of time to hit the ground running. Girish has set the stage predominantly in Hyderabad where we have the protagonists moving into the city for different reasons before their paths eventually cross each other. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sachin (Naslen), had recently completed his Engineering from Salem & was hoping to move to UK to make a living. However, due to financial constraints; that plan didn't quite materialize & that's when he decided to accompany his buddy, Amal (Sangeeth Prathap) to Hyderabad for GATE coaching. Around the same time, Reenu (Mamitha Baiju) got an offer from an IT MNC & moved to the city to sprout wings for her career aspirations. Incidentally, both of them get to meet at a friend's wedding which leads to their friendship, even as Sachin nursed feelings for her. But his efforts to impress her was bound to be a challenge after all she was quite sure as to what kind of a partner she wanted. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">One of the main highlights is undoubtedly the situational humour especially the dynamics between Sachin & Amal. Girish also made sure that the romance aspect doesn't take centre stage & that I felt was a smart move. At the same time, I felt the humour could have dialed in a bit more evenly, as it wasn't a laugh riot for me, unlike what I heard from many others. Obviously, love is blind & there are cinematic liberties, but the climax didn't quite work for me; though I do agree with the manner Girish chose to end it. On the technical side, it was neatly done with Vishnu Vijay's music deserving special mention.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The USP is undoubtedly the performances with almost all of them having done a praise worthy job as it elevated many of the sequences solely because of them. I would rate Mamitha's performance a tad higher than Naslen & it is also because of the manner that Girish and Kiran Josey had etched it. Naslen continues to impress with the roles offered & hope he continues to get good roles. Shyam Mohan as Aadhi was spot on who camouflages his possessive creep nature with goofiness. Sangeeth has some of the best lines while Akhila Bhargavan was fine though Meenakshi bordered on being irritating. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict:</b> A feel good rom-com that worked primarily on the basis of its fine cast who has elevated many scenes which would have failed to work in the hands of less talented artists. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.75/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Manjummel Boys: "Tight adichadaaa in the latter segment from a technical perspective makes it thoroughly engaging!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">In case you had seen the promotional events of this latest flick from Chidambaram, you would realized that this survival thriller is adapted from a real life event that happened to a group of friends during their trip to the Guna Caves in Kodaikanal. After a successful directorial debut with "<i>Jan.E.Man</i>", Chidambaram has chosen to pen his script on this incident as a tribute to their friendship, perseverance & hope. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Based in 2006, a group of friends known as the 'Manjummel Boys' decide to make a trip to Kodaikanal. After having a blast, they decide to head back until when one of them suggests that one of the highlights in that region were the Guna Caves which ought not to be missed. However, on reaching the spot, they find that some of the iconic section of the caves were cordoned off by the authorities. But the reckless nature of the team saw them explore those parts with scant regard for the dangers that lurked there. Little did they realize what lay in store for them as one of their friends fell into a seemingly depthless hole. What subsequently unfolds are their efforts to save their friend even as history stated that no one had ever managed to escape alive from that area also known as the 'Devil's kitchen'.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">To be frank, until the time the movie reaches the cave section; there is hardly anything in it that could be reasoned as being engaging & humorous. On the contrary, it turned out to be rather monotonous. But from the time, the friends step foot into the forbidden area; Chidambaram & his technical team elevates the sequences with their skill. Chidambaram's exquisite vision for that section, be it the horror of Subash (Sreenath Bhasi) falling into the pitch, the manner in which that was shot, the body language of their fear struck friends & people who are called into help & the rescue operation was pretty top notch. Sushin Shyam's BGM was impressive as always as it captured the mood of the sequences perfectly & the unique choice of using the sound track from "Guna" which though seemed odd was indeed an excellent choice. Hats off to Ajayan Chalissery for the production design & Shyju Khalid's cinematography, not to forget the contribution of the sound department.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Each & every artist has done justice to their roles and kudos to Ganapathi who also donned the role of the casting director pretty well. Bhasi & Soubin Shahir had the more heavy lifting roles, & both of them aced their part. The rest of the cast have also done their parts extremely well be it Balu, Lal Jr (his act really surprised me), Ganapathi, Deepak Parambol etc. to name a few.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>A movie that instantly comes to mind is Bharathan's "<i>Malootty</i>" & Chidambaram's effort will surely be appreciated for its technical quality. It belongs to that group of movies that could be better appreciated if viewed in theatres. So do check it out!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>3.25/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-29534286237343494322024-02-17T23:17:00.003+05:302024-02-18T23:43:08.114+05:30Bramayugam: "Exquisite viewing experience backed by brilliant performances!!!"<div style="text-align: justify;">Which movie in recent times had the most interesting publicity designs in the lead up to its release? I guess most people would have different opinions but if I am to answer that, it is undoubtedly the work done by Aesthetic Kunjamma for Rahul Sadasivan's "<i>Bramayugam</i>". For one of the most awaited movie of the year, the hype & expectations were already sky high & the design team took it up a couple of notches. So how was the experience inside the theatre? Oh boy...it was just exquisite. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_GXBpd-5QoAnSt2W2ZB7vQJKvY854_DW8pSy9ABws9BS0v17r0F7G6fvEcYumOQWewutwzFsC6_ZI8QzWQMUrIN_6ADAjwT1YAaGDH1CXtqxW9vATRWxZYMs-819ugwGKe-2-dj58mH1tRwtz5APawdM7E_NxeW864rYb5ew2NOK7BO5eDB7cEMUaUvLk/s1151/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="1151" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_GXBpd-5QoAnSt2W2ZB7vQJKvY854_DW8pSy9ABws9BS0v17r0F7G6fvEcYumOQWewutwzFsC6_ZI8QzWQMUrIN_6ADAjwT1YAaGDH1CXtqxW9vATRWxZYMs-819ugwGKe-2-dj58mH1tRwtz5APawdM7E_NxeW864rYb5ew2NOK7BO5eDB7cEMUaUvLk/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Based on the script by Rahul Sadasivan & dialogues by the esteemed TD Ramakrishnan, the movie is set in Southern Malabar in the 17th century. Thevan (Arjun Ashokan) who belonged to the Paanan community was on the run from the slave market but before he could reach the safety of familiar territory, he found himself lost in the forest. His urge for survival brought him to a dilapidated 'mana' where the patriarch, Kodumon Potti (Mammukka) impressed with the Paanan's singing abilities gave him refuge, even as his cook (Siddharth Bharathan) didn't approve it. For Thevan, it was a pleasant surprise to be given respect but little did he realize that it was the beginning of something that would change his life forever. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">First & foremost, hats off to Rahul for his wise decision to shoot this movie in monochrome as it has massively benefitted in creating the desired mood and effect that the genre demanded. Even as it is crafted as a horror/survival thriller, the topic that it essentially conveys has strong political tones. The oppression on the basis of caste, the intoxicating effect of power & how it breeds greed is all portrayed through a trio of complex characters in an eerie setup. Equally impressive were TD's dialogues that made the interactions authentic to the era without being too dramatic. At the same time, I did feel that the story could have been more impactful towards the end as it felt a tad hurried. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Kudos to the technical team as all of them deserves to be praised for a fine job done which includes Shehnad Jalal's cinematography as the black & white format enhanced the horror aspect. Jotish Shankar's team was impressive in the art department be it the 'mana' & the attention to detail with regard to the artefacts while Christo Xavier's BGM and music was in sync with the mood of the movie. There is no denying that it would appear slow paced in the earlier segments which might be a dampener for some, but once you get immersed in its mood, Rahul's craft does manage to get us transported to that era. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">By now, pretty much all of you would have heard numerous comments singing praises about Mammukka's performances & to be absolutely frank, it is completely justified. In a career that has spanned close to half a century, the legend has never ceased to amaze & as Kodumon Potty, he has taken it to a whole new level. 'Brilliant' will be an understatement as I believe this is undoubtedly one of his finest & I would consider it surprising if he is overlooked for his fourth National award. Both Siddharth & Arjun have given their career best performance be it in their facial expressions & body language that mirrored the struggles that their characters suffered. Apart from the trio, Amalda Liz & Manikandan appears for a couple of sequences and they were fine as well.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict:</b> It is a great time for movie lovers with some back to back creditable flicks but from a business perspective, I feel the industry needs to be more smart as to when they plan their releases rather than eat up on each other's revenue. As for "<i>Bramayugam</i>", it is an experimental flick & might not cater to the family audience, which could affect its box office collections in the long run (hope I am proved wrong). But trust me, the performances are brilliant & definitely experience Rahul's craft in a well equipped theatre as it is totally worth it!!!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>4/5</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-31772104840387101402024-01-28T00:23:00.004+05:302024-01-28T12:19:16.871+05:30Malaikottai Vaaliban: "Kandathum Kettathum Nijam, technically impressive but an underwhelming screenplay!!!"<p style="text-align: justify;">The much awaited magnum opus of LJP hit the screens on the eve of Republic Day & from whatever I have heard, the opinions has been rather mixed. Well obviously everyone perceives each movie according to their own taste & hence it is important that other's opinion are taken with a pinch of salt before you have actually seen it. So did the LJP magic work this time around??? Since this was his first collaboration with Lalettan, the pre-release expectations had touched stratospheric levels. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3EqD-Bdn89t3i0hOlpyqTXFIbTUHOZw9EW8BdhwbgTM1QfAdYRzpPEkWR8oTg_AcVA34jbXZ1Q_E6motjxRrobiDJlbICtaJXltGL1jskxOLYvwmoX4uCrMzlwkIPKnfhgyiW6lv2xekoC0C0TZ8IXj3h9BWxsiPEbt1RtSH3vqV7j3qJRvB95O7PTM57/s1794/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1794" data-original-width="1435" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3EqD-Bdn89t3i0hOlpyqTXFIbTUHOZw9EW8BdhwbgTM1QfAdYRzpPEkWR8oTg_AcVA34jbXZ1Q_E6motjxRrobiDJlbICtaJXltGL1jskxOLYvwmoX4uCrMzlwkIPKnfhgyiW6lv2xekoC0C0TZ8IXj3h9BWxsiPEbt1RtSH3vqV7j3qJRvB95O7PTM57/s320/1.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">As LJP had said in the promotions, the movie is set in a fictional space & time where the protagonist, Malaikottai Vaaliban (Lalettan) is an invincible wrestler whose feats of valour & strength had travelled far and wide. He moved from place to place in search of new challenges in the company of his foster father, Ayyanar (Hareesh Peradi) & brother, Chinnapayyan (Manoj Moses). One such duel saw him prevail over Chamathakan (Danish Sait), who swore to have his revenge at any cost & that essentially is what this movie is about.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Before even talking about the script & screenplay, it is imperative to mention that from a technical perspective this is undoubtedly one of the finest crafted Malayalam movie that I had watched. Kudos to Madhu Neelakandan, for the exquisite frames, be it in bright light or in the dark, in the narrow corridors or in the vast expanse of land; it was an absolute treat to the eyes. Equally brilliant was the sound department, Gokul Das's art direction & the work done by the costume team. Prashant Pillai's music was unique as it was in sync with the mood of the movie and elevated the impact of Vikram Mor's well choreographed (for most parts) action sequences. In short, it would be surprising if Madhu & few others doesn't get recognized on a National level for their efforts.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Coming to the story, it has that typical LJP touch whereby his vision manages to create that larger than life aura for Vaaliban, the choice of colour gradients depending on the mood & the nod to spaghetti Western, Samurai flicks including ones back home such as "<i>Sholay</i>", "<i>Baasha</i>" etc. Even as all of these makes it a grand spectacle on the screen, it fails to engage the audience in terms of the storyline except for the initial interest generated with the introduction of the protagonist. It was surprising that someone as accomplished as P.S Rafeeque came with an underwhelming screenplay which lacked cohesiveness for most parts such as the Portuguese caricatures to name one instance. However, it starts to come together in the last 30-45 mins whereby it draws our attention to the series of events that unfold rather hurriedly culminating in a climax that literally set the stage for a sequel (somewhere along the lines of "<i>Brahmastra</i>"). </p><p style="text-align: justify;">As Vaaliban, Lalettan was impressive as he made the character believable both in terms of what the warrior goes through mentally despite the accomplishments, body language and the agility that the role demanded. His voice modulation in some of the intense scenes were also top notch. Danish Sait was a pleasant surprise as the scheming antagonist whose laughs reminiscent of '<i>Joker</i>' was haunting. Hareesh Peradi deserves praise while Manoj Moses, Sonalee Kulkarni (as Rangarani), Katha Nandi (as Jamanthi) & Manikandan Achari did their parts well.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict:</b> There is no doubt that it is a visual spectacle & deserves to be watched once on the big screen just for that. However, there is no denying that the screenplay failed to keep us invested in it except towards the very end. In short, falls well short of expectations & if at all, you intend to watch it; please do so in theatres coz you are unlikely to enjoy it as much on the OTT!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>3/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-66530800524400062052024-01-21T00:10:00.001+05:302024-01-21T12:04:56.110+05:30Some of the hits & misses of Bollywood in the latter half of 2023<p style="text-align: justify;">It's been quite an eventful Christmas for the various film industries as we had big banner releases that had taken the box office by storm. Well I have already penned my opinion about them & I thought to make use of that holiday season to pen my views about some of the movies that I had watched but didn't have the time to write about them. This writeup is about many of the Bollywood movies that I had watched in the last six months of 2023. So without further ado, here it goes.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdYbMA8MaOGX4_0DqjJnAO5VeOM_ONjCW-9XTL7VHDHcNltLi7UHC_0cx50MLVknXzRzA55FAvs3QFyAly6zeGQ9LnZdkxbnTq_R09a-DaGu13TOwT1Dmy5eipe2rhqBA4e8wnaIE6c3Q10LsSqHbzJNn_WD97MqbN11nNxccfgjkfhZuMYwogEjfn2dU/s1002/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="1002" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdYbMA8MaOGX4_0DqjJnAO5VeOM_ONjCW-9XTL7VHDHcNltLi7UHC_0cx50MLVknXzRzA55FAvs3QFyAly6zeGQ9LnZdkxbnTq_R09a-DaGu13TOwT1Dmy5eipe2rhqBA4e8wnaIE6c3Q10LsSqHbzJNn_WD97MqbN11nNxccfgjkfhZuMYwogEjfn2dU/w405-h201/1.jpg" width="405" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Animal: "Sandeep takes violence to the repulsive level!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Even before the release of the movie, it was the talk of the town since Sandeep Reddy had announced that the violence & misogyny would be manifold compared to his earlier blockbuster, "<i>Kabir Singh</i>". Well he has been true to his word as it was just way too much for me, to the point that it felt repulsive & that certainly affected my viewing appearance irrespective of the monstrous numbers that it continues to garner at the box office. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The script that Sandeep had penned is based on the obsessive adoration that a son had for his father & the extent to which he goes to showcase that, so that the latter would be proud of him. The protagonist is Vijay Singh (Ranbir Kapoor), the son of the billionaire, Balbir Singh (Anil Kapoor) was unable to find the pride that he had hoped for from his father & circumstances panned out in such a way that he was sent packing to boarding school abroad. His father's attitude remained the same even after he returned coz of his issues with his brother in law & decision to marry his school crush, Geetanjali (Rashmika Mandanna). But their relationship equation changes when there is a murder attempt on his father & Vijay returns to take charge. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The no-holds barred attitude of the protagonists is the signature style of Sandeep & he takes it several notches up in his latest outing. Even as I found the violence nonsensical & abhorrent after a point of time, I do have to admit that the cinematic vision of Sandeep is quite unique and deserves praise, though I dont know how many will embrace it. Technically, I felt the movie was impressive be it the imaginative action sequences (however, the fight between Vijay & the masked assailants with the axe in a corridor seemed like an extravagant sequence inspired from LJP's "<i>Nayakan</i>"), Amit Roy's excellent cinematography & the impressive variety music with 'Papa Meri Jaan' rendered by Sonu Nigam being my favourite. At the same time, Sandeep could have kept the movie much shorter as it does take a toll on our patience. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Among the younger lot, Ranbir Kapoor is undoubtedly one of the finest actor in Bollywood & as Vijay, he was bleedy good at it. His portrayal of the obsessive son who would go to any lengths was spot on & giving him apt support was Anil Kapoor, who was equally impressive. Bobby Deol did his part well though surprisingly, it was more of an extended guest appearance while Rashmika & Tripti Dimri were ok. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict:</b> As per box office reports, it has made a humongous 880 odd crores which would have made the makers go laughing to the bank. Though the cast & crew did impress me, the screenplay as such felt more like an over dosage of testosterone which seemed to go on & on for close to 201 minutes!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Sam Bahadur: "A brilliant Vicky Kaushal makes this biopic worthwhile!!!</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have always loved biopics but not many in our Indian film industry has always been able to justice to it as they are invariably not aware where to draw the line between reality and cinematic liberties. Hence when the biopic of India's first field marshal, Sam Manekshaw was announced, I was hopeful as the project was being helmed by Meghna Gulzar who has already made a name for herself with some impressive movies to her credit.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The movie unfolds with events from 1934 where Sam is part of the first batch of cadets to be trained at the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun. Subsequently, Meghna & Shantanu Shrivastava has explored all the major events in his life with the focus being on the influence that he had on his men & the political circles. Kudos to both of them that in terms of a character sketch of that legend, it was spot on as we are given a proper view about who he was & what made him so charismatic. They made sure that jingoism & blood seeking war cries are not squeezed into the story which made it for a much grounded viewing experience. At the same time, that would have made many feel that it didn't quite have the punch that we usually expect from such flicks.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Could there has been a best actor to portray Sam? After having watched it, I can confidently say that no one else could have been better than Vicky at it. He was literally mind boggling as his gait, posture, expression & diction were just like the legendary field marshal. It would be a shame if he isn't recognized for his efforts as it was certainly one of the finest of the year. The Dangal sisters were both part of the project with both Sanya Malhotra (as Sam's wife, Siloo) & Fatima Sana (as Indira Gandhi) having done justice to their parts. There were a plethora of other artists, but none of them quite stood out.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict:</b> The biopic as such comes across as rather bland to be frank but Vicky Kaushal's brilliant performance makes it worthwhile. So do check it out!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>12th Fail: "Among the very best of the year!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Vidhu Vinod Chopra is a name that doesn't need much introduction after all he has been part of some of the celebrated movies for close to 50 years such as "<i>Parinda</i>", "<i>1942: A Love Story</i>", "<i>Munna Bhai</i>" series. Over the past two decades, his directorial ventures has been far & few. Hence when his latest movie "<i>12th Fail</i>" was announced which he had penned based on Anurag Pathak's book by the same name, it generated expectations . The story is the real life account of Manoj Kumar Sharma who rose from the struggles that life threw at him to become an IPS officer. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">From a cinematic point of view, it is a predictable story about an underdog but the manner in which Vinod had infused life in those proceedings without resorting to clichés is what made this movie endearing. It is essentially an emotional movie but rather than give a melodramatic feel to it, he infuses humour, inspiration & determination to the characters and sequences that it keeps us in good spirits. On the technical side it is neatly done be it Rangarajan Ramabadran's cinematography & Shantanu Moitra's music.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But the heart & soul of the movie is Vikrant Massey's brilliant performance as the protagonist. The manner in which he portrayed the innocence, determination & earnestness of the character was spot on as we are kept engrossed in his journey. Each & every artist have done utmost justice to their roles be it Anshumaan Pushkar as Gauri bhayya, Medha Shankar as Shraddha, Anand Joshi as Pritam, Harish Khanna & Geeta Aggrawal as his parents, Priyanshu Chatterjee as DSP etc.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict:</b> Undoubtedly, one of the best movies of the year which proved that Vinod still has the skill to know the pulse of the audience. To add to that, Vikrant's performance made it even better!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>3.75/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani: "Karan Johan mixes opulence with content!!!"</b></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It is no secret that Karan Johar's movies are taken with a pinch of salt with one section of the society warming up to it while the rest abhorring it. Well the reason for that divide is primarily because of the glitz and glamour that he puts into it without much content, due to which many don't quite relate to it. However, that doesn't imply that he is not a good story teller coz we have seen him do it (albeit in his own extravagant style). His latest release as always felt more like opulence on the outside, but it did have content as well. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The script was penned by Ishita Moitra, Shashank Khaitan & Sumit Roy is essentially about the cultural clash between a Punjabi & Bengali family. The Punjabi family were the Randhavas who owned the famous Dhanalakshmi sweets named after their matriarch (Jaya Bachchan). They were a family whose traditions and mind-set were still stuck in the past. She ran the business with her son, as her husband, Kanwal (Dharmendra) suffered from amnesia & was confined to the wheelchair. Incidentally, when Kanwal utters the name, 'Jamini'; his grandson, Rocky (Ranveer Singh) decides to locate her in the hope that it would his grandfather's condition. That search eventually led him to Rani Chatterjee (Alia Bhatt), a renowned news anchor whose grandmother happened to be Jamini (Shabana Azmi). The influence that it has on both the families as a result of this is what this movie is about.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Apart from the usual Karan's film making template, the characters also poses credible questions on various topics such as patriarchy, cultural chauvinism, social conditioning, women empowerment & gender equality. However, it is not necessarily path breaking coz we have come across many movies in the past that has done it & that too in a much subtle manner. It kind of reminded me of being a variant of Mohan Raja's "<i>Santhosh Subramaniam</i>". Despite the effort to bring in political correctness, the execution of the project still felt old-school & at close to 3 h, it is definitely a tad too long.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the technical side, Manush Nandan's visuals were fine while the rest were average at best. The performances were pretty good to be honest with both Ranveer & Alia doing justice to what their characters demanded. Both Dharmendra & Shabana were fine while Toti Roy & Churni Ganguli as Alia's parents were good though Jaya Bachchan's role didn't offer as much as scope as we know she is capable of. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>Apart from making big bucks at the box office, it is also a movie that does have sensible content packaged in a typical glossy Karan Johan cinematic style. In short, it is worth a try; though if you don't like the glitz & over the top opulence of his movies, then don't bother!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Tiger 3: "Despite Salman's presence, it lacked the punch of the previous installments!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The third installment of the 'Tiger' series was one of the most awaited movies of the year & the hype was heightened after it was announced that it would be part of the YRF Spy Universe, not to forget the much celebrated cameo of Salman in "<i>Pathaan</i>". Anyway the movie did roaring business at the box office making it the fifth highest Hindi grosser of 2023. However, there is no doubt that Maneesh Sharma's directorial effort was the weakest among the three. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">This time around the story unfolds in 1999 where Zoya (Katrina Kaif / Gurket Kaur) is witness to her father, ISI agent Rehan Nazar (Aamir Bashir) being killed in a bomb blast. Subsequently, his protege, Aatish Rehman (Emraan Hashmi) supports her & motivates her to join the ISI. The movie cuts forward to the present day where Tiger (Salman) is called upon by RAW to rescue his former handler, Gopi (Ranvir Shorey) who was captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Though Tiger manages to rescue Gopi, the latter succumbs to his injuries but not before revealing that Zoya does have some sinister hand in the dealings.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Apart from bank rolling the project, Aditya Chopra has penned the script & as a whole, it looked interesting since it was about the internal crisis in Pakistan rather than the typical Indo-Pak friction. But Sridhar Raghavan's screenplay failed to add the necessary punch to bank on the core thought & what we are served with is a standard template of numerous action sequences in various locations. The action choreography, production value & Anay Goswami's cinematography were top notch with the CGI effects also deserving praise. Even when the screenplay falters, the performance of both Salman & Katrina were impressive in both the emotional and action sequences. However, Emraan Hashmi was the pick among the lot while Simran & Revathi did their parts aptly. As for SRK's cameo, it was good though the impact wasnt as much as Salman in "<i>Pathaan</i>" due to lack of the novelty factor.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>On the basis of the story, it definitely under performed due to an extremely average screenplay. It is however still worth a watch & that is because of the performances!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.25/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>The Great Indian Family: "Vicky's earnest performance fails to salvage the movie!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">More often than not, Vicky Kaushal has always stood out whenever his movie hits the screens irrespective of the fate of it at the box office. One such example is Vijay Acharya's "<i>The Great Indian Family</i>" that turned out to be a dud for the Yash Raj Films. To be frank, it wasn't as bad as the final numbers were; though the response from the audience would have reminded Vijay & Aditya of "<i>Thugs of Hindostan</i>", their previous venture together.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This time around, Vijay had chose to pen his thoughts around the need to embrace diversity & religious camaraderie. Incidentally, we are living in an age where questions are repeatedly raised about the socio-political situation in the country. Hence this kind of a story was a welcome change from the over dosage of violence that we have been treated to in pretty much every other movie. Billu (Vicky) was the undisputed king of devotional songs & was son of Siyaram Tripathi (Kumud Mishra), the most respected priest in their region. Everything seemed to be moving along fine until he received a letter that claimed that he belonged to a different family & religion. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It is essentially a comedy drama where Vijay tries to convey his point as to how similar people indeed are, though they might have different religious beliefs and customs. In terms of the content, I am not quite sure as to what people actually expected coz as a light hearted take on the subject at hand; I felt Vijay did do justice. On the technical side, Ayananka Bose's visuals were fine while the rest doesn't deserve special mention. As I mentioned earlier, Vicky has done a fine job with credible support from Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa etc, though I dont think they were properly utilised. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>Didn't feel it was as bad as the box office numbers indicated.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Mission Raniganj: "No rescue for Akshay from another failure!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The last time around Tinu Suresh Desai had directed a movie, it had won Akshay his maiden National Award for "<i>Rustom</i>". With all due respect to Akki, I still fail to understand as to how he was awarded for it. Anyway their latest film together was about the Raniganj Coalfield Collapse of 1989 in which 65 trapped miners were rescued by the brilliance of the mining engineer, Jaswant Singh Gill. The screenplay was prepared by Vipul K Rawal & to be absolutely blunt, there is nothing novel about it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There is no need for a synopsis for the story coz it is pretty much standard affair whereby we have Jaswant Singh (Akshay) up against a bunch of government officials who are egoistic and lazy. They are prepared to go to any lengths to ensure that Jaswant's plan fails & the public has no faith on him, while his confident wife sing praises about his valour & selflessness. Anywaz Jaswant proves his detractors wrong & becomes the saviour of the masses. There is literally nothing more in the story apart from what I had mentioned & that is exactly the problem with this movie. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The story, the characters & everything related to the mission is just cliched stuff as no effort has been put in by the makers to research more into the incident. Tinu failed to provide the excitement & tension that a mission of this magnitude ought to have given the audience. None of the technical aspects was worth mentioning & even the CGI effects was damn average. As for performances, Akshay goes through the motions with a pathetic artificial beard, Kumud Mishra was wasted, Pawan Malhotra was fine while the rest of the cast were average at best.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>The inability of the makers to make a meaningful biopic that does complete justice to the protagonist still continues to plague the industry. As expected, the audience did not give any rescue for the makers at the box office!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>1.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>The Vaccine War: "Deserving tribute to the scientific community with undeniable shades of propaganda!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">When Vivek Agnihotri announced his latest project, I was a bit sceptical as to what to expect since I wasn't a huge fan of his "<i>Kashmir Files</i>". However, I still decided to give it a try as it was about the scientific community that had tirelessly for the development of Covaxin, India's first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine. Being a senior scientist & having worked with mRNA vaccines, I was keen to know as to how it was captured on celluloid.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The movie is based on Dr. Balram Bhargava's 'Going Viral', the former Director General of ICMR who spearheaded the vaccine development mission. It is literally about the challenges & struggles the scientists at ICMR & NIV had to go through as they raced against time to get the vaccine rolled out. Vivek deserves appreciation for capturing it pretty well & also include references regarding the attitude of pharma companies, WHO etc., towards India. On the whole, this time & effort that he invests into this aspect of this story was impressive. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, there are a couple of points that stuck out as a sore thumb which was a clear indication of political propaganda. There was an urge to emphasise on the point that the scientific community was given the freedom to perform under the new Government while discarding the fact that our scientists & the research facilities have done praise worthy work in the past as well. The line between raising legitimate questions & vested interested are blurred here, whereby it is made to appear that the scientific editor Rohini Singh (Raima Sen) asked questions only with the intention to show them in poor light coz of foreign sponsors.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As for the cast & crew, almost all of them have done justice to their roles be it Nana Patekar, Pallavi Joshi, Girija Oak, Nivedita Bhattacharya etc. to name a few. Udaysingh Mohite's cinematography was fine while the other departments also neatly did their parts. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>I might be a bit biased but I certainly felt Vivek has done a fine job & given a befitting tribute to the scientists. At the same time, it still seems that he wants to emphasise on his political inclinations!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Jaane Jaan: "Does justice to the adaptation!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">How often have we come across inspired or copied Indian movies that give credit to the original? To be honest, not so often. However, Sujoy Ghosh who has given us movies like "<i>Kahaani</i>" etc., announced that his latest movie is based on Keigo Higashino's popular Japanese novel '<i>The Devotion of Suspect X</i>'. Since there are quite a few movies that were adapted from it, I presume most of you would have a fairly good idea about the story.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The movie unfolds in Kalimpong, where Maya (Kareena Kapoor) is a single mother who runs a cafeteria. Her neighbour was a respected Mathematics professor, Naren Vyas (Jaideep Ahlawat) who had a crush on her though his reclusive nature prevented him from expressing it. Things take a turn when Maya's abusive ex-husband, Ajit (Saurabh Sachdeva) from whom she had fled many years before, shows up at her place & threatens to take her daughter. This leads to a tussle between them & eventually led to Ajit being killed. At this juncture, Naren steps in to help her & whether they manage to outsmart the police is what is explored in the rest of the movie. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">All the artists who were involved in this project have done utmost justice to their roles be it Kareena, Jaideep, Vijay Verma & Saurabh. Jaideep has been going from strength to strength after each movie & over here as the introverted Naren, he was bang on in his body language. Kareena effectively conveyed the tension of the character while Vijay was spot on as the intelligent cop. The technical aspects were impressive as well as Avik Mukhopadhyay's frames & Urvashi Saxena editing ensured that the thrill & tension was sustained throughout the movie. Kudos to Sujoy for the subtle changes that he incorporated in the screenplay, since most of us are already aware as to what is in store at the end. However, he manages to make sure that the twists & the reason behind it still had an element of freshness to it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Verdict: The audience had already given its verdict as it emerged as the most viewed Hindi movie on Netflix of 2023. I thoroughly enjoyed what Sujoy had created & kudos to both the cast & crew for a job well done. Do check it out!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>3.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Mast Mein Rehna Ka: "Delightful performances in a feel good movie!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">With numerous OTT platforms, movies having a direct release in them is a common affair nowadays & Vijay Maurya's latest release also happened to be one of them. It had released on Amazon Prime last month & he had written this comedy drama in collaboration with Payal Arora. It is essentially about two elderly individuals who find companionship in each other that lights up their lonely lives. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Kamath (Jackie Shroff) has been a widower for quite a while & wished that his days were numbered than having to lead this mundane life. Incidentally, his life takes a turn when his apartment is burgled & he decides to find someone with whom he could strike a connection. That search led him to Parkash Handa (Neena Gupta) whose apartment also gets similarly burgled & the two strike a chord, though their demeanors were poles apart. How that friendship becomes a source of hope and happiness for their life ahead is what Vijay tries to portray here.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It is essentially a feel good movie that gives us a smile as the two couples show that we need to forge ahead even when solitude and adversity threaten to take away our zest for life. Each of the four individuals are from different walks of life, who find companionship in each other coz of similar challenges that life throw at them. All the technical aspects were handled neatly & the dialogues were meaningful. Jackie was top notch as this was the best performance that I have seen from him in ages. Neena Gupta was impressive as always while Abhishek Chauhan & Monika Panwar were good. Even Rakhi Sawant did her part aptly.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict:</b> A feel good movie with some delightful performances makes it a good watch!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>3/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-53267808342458364952024-01-17T12:11:00.003+05:302024-01-17T12:11:29.368+05:30Aattam & Abraham Ozler: "2024 begins with a bang!!!"<p style="text-align: justify;">A couple of weeks into 2024 & we already have had a couple of interesting movies from pretty much most of the industries. Despite some mind boggling numbers at the box office last year, it still saw a good number of producers burning their hands for investing on projects that barely had anything worthwhile. At the same time, there has been instances where a deluge of movies meant there were lack of adequate screens for certain movies that had the potential to break even. Anyway January should bring in smiles as there are movies that are poised to do well at the box office.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhybXZtUjPHuhKq7ry0thZFcvXAQJRbBAQAARBXK_c2IlRWZSJU8rkAccUAdCFn6PCvOHiYjEXnW6Nah17qPE0BmoYFNK6ptNoisu6ioG1mDWMH5XZMkaTigboyob1zqit2WZOzbSGjbPX8dPxAwBqBW0yolKsOPYedP1iepnpUEHEU9Lhdd2YxpFSoxj0a/s981/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="981" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhybXZtUjPHuhKq7ry0thZFcvXAQJRbBAQAARBXK_c2IlRWZSJU8rkAccUAdCFn6PCvOHiYjEXnW6Nah17qPE0BmoYFNK6ptNoisu6ioG1mDWMH5XZMkaTigboyob1zqit2WZOzbSGjbPX8dPxAwBqBW0yolKsOPYedP1iepnpUEHEU9Lhdd2YxpFSoxj0a/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Aattam: "12 hypocritical men!!!" </i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">At the 28th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), one of the movies that had garnered effusive praise was Anand Ekarshi's "<i>Aattam</i>". It was his debut directorial venture & he had penned a script that looked into the judgemental & hypocritical attitude of men when they had confronted with a situation that expected them to be morally impartial. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The focus is on a drama troupe named 'Arangu' that had gathered headlines in recent times coz of the quality of their performance & the presence of Hari (Kalabhavan Shajon), a popular film star. Incidentally, the troupe had a solitary female artist, Anjali (Zarin Shihab) & twelve male artists which included Vinay, who was her lover & the main lead before his role was swapped with Hari. However, things take a ugly turn when Anjali confides to Vinay that she was molested in her sleep by a member of the troupe & believed it could possibly be Hari, though she wasn't sure. What subsequently happens is how the team try to address the issue?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Kudos to Anand for an exceptionally crafted screenplay which kept us engaged right through the entirety of its run time. After the main issue takes centre stage, he adopts a subtle thriller mode whereby a presumably morally ethical stand is taken but when queries are raised, doubt starts to emerge. Even their stand & queries were a reflection of the double standards, selfishness & the inherent patriarchal traits, where the blame is also put on the female for what had happened. Each & every individual irrespective of their profession is treated in the same manner & that was a clever decision as we tend to have preconceived notion about different professions. As a matter of fact, it reminded me of Sidney Lumet's "<i>12 Angry Men</i>", one of my all time favourite flicks. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the technical side, all the aspects were neatly done be it Anurudh Aneesh's choice of shots, <span style="font-family: "Droid Serif", serif; font-size: 16px;">Mahesh Bhuvanend’s editing & the apt placement of silence which contributed to the viewing experience. Coming to performances, each & every artist have done complete justice to their roles and hence I am not going to name each one of them (incidentally except for Zarin, Vinay & Shajon, all the rest had used their original names).</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Droid Serif", serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>Verdict:</b> A well crafted flick which keeps us engaged till the very end & it was indeed, a smart decision by Anand to keep it open ended as it ensured that the questions raised remained relevant with the audience. In short, dont miss it!!!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Droid Serif, serif;">Rating: <b>3.5/5</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Droid Serif, serif;"><i><b>Abraham Ozler: "Reasonably well crafted though it doesn't quite rise beyond a generic template!!!"</b></i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Droid Serif, serif;">It would be fair to say that Midhun Manuel's latest directorial venture was one of the most awaited movie of the year. Ever since the first look was revealed, it has been the talk of the town & with Mammookka's voice in the trailer, the hype grew exponentially. As we all know, more often than not such movies have struggled to meet expectations. So what was the fate in store for this one?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Droid Serif, serif;">This time around Midhun had focused solely on direction as he chose a script </span><span style="font-family: "Droid Serif", serif;">written by Dr. Randheer Krishnan </span><span style="font-family: "Droid Serif", serif;">that belonged to the medical crime thriller genre. ACP Abraham Ozler (Jayaram) was a broken man who struggled to come to terms with the loss of his family three years back. It had affected him to such an extent that he suffered from insomnia & hallucinations. This was when he was put in charge of the investigation of a series of murders which had the same modus operandi indicating that a serial killer was on the prowl. How he went about this investigation was the crux of the story. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Droid Serif, serif;">Since it was a medical thriller & penned by a doctor, I was naturally intrigued & expected something unique. Well apart from the incisions being made at anatomically critical points, I didn't feel it offered anything novel from other similar movies of this genre. This doesn't imply that it lacked the thrills as the intro of Mammookka was quite good, but beyond the stature of the legend; the character wasnt etched well & failed to utilise his potential. Even in the case of Ozler, though there is mention of his mental condition early on; it neither gets mentioned nor has relevance later. At the same time, I did feel the flashback segment was fine. With Theni Ishwar behind the camera, the visuals were bound to be good while Midhun Mukundan's BGM was fine especially the intro track for Mammookka was top notch. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Droid Serif, serif;">Jayaram has done an admirable job be it the body language, dialogue delivery , gait & expressions which was completely in sync with what the protagonist was going through. Mammookka did justice to his part & elevates the mood; but the makers failed to maximise on his presence. Jagadish continued to rock despite the short screen space while Anaswara Rajan is steadily establishing herself as a commendable artist. Saiju Kurup was fine & the five youngsters in the flashback namely Sabic, Shiva Hariharan, Shivaraj, Shajeer & Joseph Mathews were pretty good. There were quite a few cameos as well & they were quite apt.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Droid Serif, serif;"><b>Verdict:</b> Though it didn't quite rise to the level that was expected, but it still does have its moments and manage to keep us engaged. In short, do check it out!!!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Droid Serif, serif;">Rating: <b>2.75/5</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Droid Serif, serif;">Regards...Ben</span></p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-54519247303689493862023-12-26T18:35:00.006+05:302023-12-26T18:55:58.408+05:30Salaar Part 1 Ceasefire: "Aura of the protagonists drives forward this heavily inspired action drama!!!"<p style="text-align: justify;">I still remember the day when my friend asked me check out the trailer of "<i>KGF</i>" which completely took me by surprise. As I spent about 5 years of my career in IISc, I was no stranger to Kannada movies though barring a few, none of them had managed to make me sit through it for more than 15-20 minutes. Hence Prasanth Neel's magnum opus was a revelation & it was released around Christmas as well. After the "<i>KGF</i>" series, Prasanth is back with his latest release with Prabhas & Prithviraj in the lead which was more than ample reason for most of us to be excited about the project. So does the movie manage to live up to expectations???</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZFNrmBb3xepI9KaUsnmAnHg37kmSuccHcJoPg4mSVO750OLc4n7Lu-3sg3VRSBKOpeaNO2Og_n6SO5DDmFDUjVYZcpAao6Hsg-Skl0UwdaPIF-Ivstau38mBkxT_ESbNNIBjUunQ4RqvfqT3stVph2Hrpr5Tar6Mq8Y5eu4gPmaxOKScPDIrwzAA05MVp/s1280/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZFNrmBb3xepI9KaUsnmAnHg37kmSuccHcJoPg4mSVO750OLc4n7Lu-3sg3VRSBKOpeaNO2Og_n6SO5DDmFDUjVYZcpAao6Hsg-Skl0UwdaPIF-Ivstau38mBkxT_ESbNNIBjUunQ4RqvfqT3stVph2Hrpr5Tar6Mq8Y5eu4gPmaxOKScPDIrwzAA05MVp/s320/1.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The story is placed in the fictional region called Khansaar that had been in existence since the 12th century through the combination of three tribes, Mannars, Shouryaangas & Ghaniyaars, who chose to retain the autonomy of their state even after India's Independence. The movie unfolds in 1985, where Vardharaja Mannar (Prithvi / Karthikeya Dev) & Deva (Prabhas / Videsh Anand) are the best of buddies who stuck for each other through thick & thin. However, when Vardha's father Raja Mannar (Jagapathi Babu), ordered the decimation of Shouryaangas to which Deva's family also belonged to; he stepped in to protect them in exchange for his inheritance. As a result of this, the friends were separated but not before Deva promised that he would return whenever Vardha needed him.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As in the past, Prasanth had penned the script & there is an undeniable influence from his previous works. The story as such is inspired from his "<i>Ugramm</i>" while the location, maternal sentiment & monochromatic colour tone reminds of "<i>KGF</i>". As Prithvi mentioned in one of the interviews, it is essentially an Indianised Game of Thrones & we are presented with a blend of medieval culture and modern artillery. The story unfolds at a leisurely pace in the first half & kind of lags to be frank. But it picks up pace from the action sequence which signals the interval block followed by an engaging latter half which is not coz of the story but rather stylized action set pieces. The history of Khansaar was an interesting thought though apart from that, the making style of Prasanth is what captures our attention. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Kudos to the technical team as they have done an impressive job be it TL Venkatachalapathi's production design, Anbariv's stunt choreography (though some sequences have started to become repetitive) & Bhuvan Gowda's cinematography. At the same time, Ravi Basrur's music & the dialogues by Sandeep Reddy, Hanumaan Chaudhary & Dr.Suri lacked the punch of "<i>KGF</i>". </p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is undoubtedly Prabhas's best since "<i>Baahubali</i>" & with due respect to him, it isn't coz of his acting credentials but rather the manner in which Prasanth has presented him. The imposing aura & the gentle giant demeanor is what this character demanded & Prabhas was fantastic at it apart from being impressive in the action sequences. At the same time, Prithvi did complete justice as Vardha (except for the drunken scenes) & he was top notch in the intense scenes and action sequences. As for the rest of the cast, Bobby Simha, Sriya Reddy & Surabhi (as local tribal girl) were good, Jagapathi Babu & Tinnu Anand were ok, while John Vijay, Eeswari Rao & Shruti Hassan were mediocre at times. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>It has already grossed humongous numbers at the box office which will have the Hombale Films in good spirits. However, in terms of the quality expected from Prasanth Neel; it has failed to rise to expectations. Both Prabhas & Prithvi were impressive and if you dont mind watching the gore violence which has been a staple in most movies this year, do check it out & that too in theatres (coz you might not necessarily enjoy it on the small screen as it is dependent more on visual impact than the story)!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.75/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-58697224755346266112023-12-23T18:10:00.001+05:302023-12-23T18:10:31.032+05:30Neru: "Impressive performances & neru paranjal, a role that did justice to Lalettan's caliber!!!"<p style="text-align: justify;">The much awaited Jeethu Joseph's "<i>Neru</i>" finally hit the screens on Thursday. It was the biggest Malayalam release for this Christmas & undoubtedly, one of the most anticipated movie of the year. Though there are quite a few big banner releases from other industries like "<i>Dunki</i>" & "<i>Salaar</i>", I am sure that just like me many others would have been more excited to see the combination of Lalettan & Jeethu in the hope that they can recreate the "<i>Drishyam</i>" magic. As always, Jeethu had tried to tone down the hype by stating that it is an emotional courtroom drama that has been kept as authentic as possible without any awe inspiring suspense elements. Anyway how did the movie eventually pan out, after all it was a movie that I personally had a lot of hopes in as it's been quite a while since I saw Lalettan so realistically presented in a trailer. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioU36Vmj3_HInKBPaRSLKsSwhsHHz1hZvQousl_-KIoiYx90jPyYoloeVoPYg14FhId28_8WBGUtEnVV90DJXkqqNDOFByZX6UGabeoldf_s9sC24a9Je5nHUjSChV-4ppdv532Np2PSQ_pI8s_RcCscHm9OjpHqnHXPh4egDXpTQxQiDQn-w8cTkpYBnt/s798/1.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioU36Vmj3_HInKBPaRSLKsSwhsHHz1hZvQousl_-KIoiYx90jPyYoloeVoPYg14FhId28_8WBGUtEnVV90DJXkqqNDOFByZX6UGabeoldf_s9sC24a9Je5nHUjSChV-4ppdv532Np2PSQ_pI8s_RcCscHm9OjpHqnHXPh4egDXpTQxQiDQn-w8cTkpYBnt/s320/1.webp" width="257" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Based on the script by Santhi Mayadevi & Jeethu, it is essentially a courtroom drama where the case is about a visually impaired girl, Sara (Anaswara Rajan) who has been raped. Though Sara had identified the culprit, there was difficulty in proving it in court as she was blind. It was at this juncture that a reluctant & unconfident lawyer, Vijayamohan (Lalettan) is requested to appear for her as the special public prosecutor. Due to personal reasons, he had chosen not to be involved in trials for quite a while; however Sara's resilient attitude inspires him to fight for her justice. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">As mentioned earlier, it is a courtroom drama & Jeethu has still managed to picturize it an engaging manner. There is no over the top monologues on the part of the lawyer or the victim which is usually the strategy employed by movies of a similar genre. Kudos to Santhi & Jeethu for keeping it as grounded as possible without resorting to extensive cinematic elements and also for conveying the crime without resorting to graphic detail. At the same time, I felt that some of the characters were barely followed up in subsequent scenes or stuck out as sore thumbs. The climax might feel a bit far fetched though the segment showing Anaswara coming out of court & Lalettan disappearing into the crowd deserves applause. On the technical side, it was neatly done with Vishnu Shyam's BGM being worthy of special mention. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">There is no need to harp about Lalettan's acting credentials, as all of us know that he is an absolute legend at it. The issue over the past few years has been his choice of movies that barely made use of caliber. However, as Adv Vijayamohan, he finally got a role that gave him the opportunity to perform & he effortlessly showcased the vulnerabilities & insecurity through his expressions, body language & voice modulation (the last time I remember him doing that was in "<i>Villain</i>", though the movie wasn't great while the character profile in "<i>Lucifer</i>" & "<i>Drishyam 2</i>" where he was excellent were different). </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Equally impressive was Anaswara in a career best performance as it was not an easy role to portray. Irrespective of whichever role is given to Siddique in whichever movie it might be, he will always be excellent at it & over here as well, he was top notch. Jagadish continued to impress with his recent choice of movies while Sreedhanya & Ganesh Kumar did their parts well. At the same time, Priyamani was rather wasted while Santhi who appeared in way too many scenes than required was amateurish & at many instances, irritating as well (on a lighter note, reminded me of Rajappan refusing to give the script unless he is allowed to act in it in "<i>Udayananu Thaaram</i>"). </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>It was heartening to see Lalettan in a movie that gave him the scope to perform & with strong performances from Anaswara & Siddique; it is one that needs to be checked out!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>3.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-49549782062990812932023-12-22T16:54:00.000+05:302023-12-22T16:54:03.348+05:30Dunki: "Far from Raju's best, but his combo with SRK should make it a blockbuster!!!"<p style="text-align: justify;">Christmas is here & all the film industries have been looking to cash in on the holiday season. The biggest among them is definitely Rajkumar Hirani's "<i>Dunki</i>" (despite the presence of Prasant Neel's "<i>Salaar</i>") after all it featured his maiden collaboration with SRK. Raju's track record over the years has been enviable & King Khan has been on a roll this year with "<i>Pathaan</i>" & "<i>Jawan</i>". This has led to immense expectations & it would be interesting to see as to how much they will mint at the box office. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKDaAhvez25XQhehEmFUxIGMEv3fY6UevXxrxxj7eth8yD5PKXsBJiU6IZx7EcBefBQD37MaWrkoC60ClL0FDhz3U3Y8WgP6HKR0D8yK6AGu9tOAmxnzuThDf5-2pMKUFNu4KqjE0SeoYIFSBRpiaNgpMn7quj2YL7uoIWvYiEOPkU8COVAtsiJ8BMMnK4/s1315/dunki.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1315" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKDaAhvez25XQhehEmFUxIGMEv3fY6UevXxrxxj7eth8yD5PKXsBJiU6IZx7EcBefBQD37MaWrkoC60ClL0FDhz3U3Y8WgP6HKR0D8yK6AGu9tOAmxnzuThDf5-2pMKUFNu4KqjE0SeoYIFSBRpiaNgpMn7quj2YL7uoIWvYiEOPkU8COVAtsiJ8BMMnK4/s320/dunki.jpg" width="243" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Just as in most of his previous movies, Raju had penned the script with Abhijat Joshi while Kanika Dhillon has also contributed. They have touched upon the topic of illegal migration, known as 'donkey flight' or 'dunki' in Punjabi. The movie unfolds in Laltu where Hardy (Shahrukh), a soldier who had come over to return the radio of a fellow soldier, Mahinder (Suhail Zargar) who had saved his life during a mission. Over there, he gets to know that Mahinder had passed away & that the latter's sister, Manu (Taapsee Pannu) & her friends, Buggu (Vikram Kochhar) and Balli (Anil Grover) were trying to migrate to England in search of a better life. However, they neither had the means nor the required qualification to get the visa & that's when Hardy agrees to help them out by opting for 'dunki'. However, it was easier said than done. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The template is pretty much similar to what Raju had opted for in the past whereby he conveys the main subject in a hilarious manner in the first half. Subsequently, the tone turns rather melodramatic & the victim of the core issue is shown ("<i>Munna Bhai</i>", "<i>3 Idiots</i>"), before the protagonist drives home the point in an emotional climax and a happy tail end. In the previous movies, the central point was conveyed effectively & the comedy aspect adds on to the enjoyment element; which unfortunately is not the case here (the humour does work). I dont mean to say that it had me bored, but the impact of illegal migration was way too diluted be it their journey & the sequences in England. As a result of which we barely empathise with the gravity of the situation that such immigrants go through. Another aspect that didn't quite gel was the appearance of the characters after they meet 25 years, coz I felt they looked much older than the role demanded. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the technical side, Pritam's music was fine though the melodies weren't quite memorable. The frames were colourful & had that 'feel good' aura to it, & interestingly quite a few had worked on the cinematography such as C K Muraleedharan, Manush Nandan, Amit Roy & Kumar Pankaj. Coming to performances, SRK has done his part well though I felt some of his emotional segments didn't come across convincingly. However, his energy and aura carries the movie despite its evident shortcomings. Taapsee has done justice to her role, however the chemistry between her & SRK wasn't so palpable. Both Vikram & Anil have done their parts well while Boman Irani was rather wasted. But the standout performer was undoubtedly Vicky Kaushal who impresses in a special appearance as Sukhi. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>Certainly failed to match the expectations that was expected from this dynamic duo & the primary reason for that was Raju's treatment of the subject which lacked the impact that it deserved. However, it is still an enjoyable movie & worth a watch though I do rate it as Raju's weakest movie to date!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.75/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-16637903180608405002023-12-16T20:07:00.008+05:302023-12-17T21:54:24.484+05:30Shesham Mike-il Fathima, Maharani, Pazhanjan Pranayam, Antony, Philip's, A Ranjith Cinema: "Reasonably ok in general!!!"<p style="text-align: justify;">Into the last month of the year & as always there has been a steady release of movies over the past few weeks, hoping to cash in before the big banner movies take centre stage. Well the ones that I got to watch over the past few weeks were a mixed bag which was kind of a relief considering there were many in the past which were pathetic. So without further ado, read on to know about my opinion of the six Malayalam movies that I had watched recently. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ynLfhKXJZwHlpzsb66IKRFapU2NtFsv4xelQh71tfD4S9hiFoZZxKV6fI9DJxcWur5Sfscx1xpqS7rL2Miq7KsD2HqavGbr1uXqhJoLmKmYInX5_MBWbvh7tYFd5Iv1gRUza_-y6bCsXB2RUCK3hjI0zzuRX_65xH1R1lYKFaDCKkdfJsrDzvD1wPbxn/s879/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="729" data-original-width="879" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ynLfhKXJZwHlpzsb66IKRFapU2NtFsv4xelQh71tfD4S9hiFoZZxKV6fI9DJxcWur5Sfscx1xpqS7rL2Miq7KsD2HqavGbr1uXqhJoLmKmYInX5_MBWbvh7tYFd5Iv1gRUza_-y6bCsXB2RUCK3hjI0zzuRX_65xH1R1lYKFaDCKkdfJsrDzvD1wPbxn/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Shesham Mike-il Fathima: "Kalyani carries the movie convincingly!!!"</b></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As has been the trend for quite a while, Manu C Kumar became yet another director to mark his debut this year. Apart from calling the shots, he has also penned the script which focused on the journey of a young Muslim girl from Malappuram who wished to become a football commentator. It was quite an interesting thought & he touched upon the various challenges that a girl would face when they try to embark on such a dream such as patriarchy, misogyny, male dominated profession etc. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the whole, Manu has done a fine job & does keep us entertained, though the challenges that Fathima had to go through wasn't conveyed to the audience effectively. Obviously, we are aware that it is not an easy task to break into something like the IFL; but the manner in which Fathima is shown to tackle the challenges didn't come across as authentic. Kalyani has played the role of the protagonist & though it did have shades of her 'Beepathu' from "<i>Thallumala</i>", she has performed her part with conviction with the energy that her character demanded. The rest of the cast included Aneesh Mohan (as her brother, Asif), Sudheesh (as her father, Muneer), both of whom did their parts well while others such as Sarasa Balussery, Femina George, Sabumon etc. were also ok. On the technical side, it was well executed be it Kiran Das's frames & Hesham Wahab's music. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>It belongs to that group of movies that gives us a laugh & an enjoyable time over the course of its run-time which to be frank isn't so common nowadays. Obviously it does have its flaws in terms of its writing, but it is still worth a watch!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.75/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Maharani: "Felt more like maha-bore!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Prior to watching this, I did think twice whether I should risk my time for it especially since the recent track record of Shine Tom & G Marthandan wasn't exactly encouraging. However, I still decided to give it a try coz of the presence of Roshan Mathew & quite a few reliable veteran artists. Among the ones that Marthandan had helmed, the only one that I actually liked was "<i>Paavada</i>" but since he was collaborating with Ratheesh Ravi who had penned "<i>Ishq</i>", I presumed their combined efforts would lead to something worthwhile. Hmm...well I was completely wrong.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Viji (Roshan) was a casanova who had multiple relationships & dumped girls as per his whim & fancy. His latest romantic interest was one from a wealthy family & being a gold-digger, he decided to pursue that. In contrast, his brother, Aji (Shine) was in a serious relationship with Kavya (Sruthy Jayan) who was from an upper caste. Since her family was unlikely to agree to their relation, they decided to elope with the help of Viji. However, they had a bigger problem in store as Viji's girlfriend Rani who in a fit of anger for being dumped went missing & the blame fell on him. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ratheesh has touched upon a host of subjects such as right/left wing politics, casteism etc and all of this has been narrated in the backdrop of humour. But to be frank, except for a couple of sequences; none of the rest managed to evoke even a chuckle. It felt like an outdated tale that didnt provide anything that we haven't seen in the past & at times, I was left wondering whether it was a spoof or did Marthandan actually believe that it would make us laugh. None of the technical aspects deserves mention while in terms of performances, Harisree Ashokan, Jaffer Idukki, Nisha Sarang & Johnny Antony were fine in the limited scope provided while Roshan & Shine was pretty mediocre along with most of the rest.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>Undoubtedly, one of the weakest movies that I saw this year!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>1/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Pazhanjan Pranayam: "Execution had a pazhanjan feel to it!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the back of the success of "<i>Kannur Squad</i>", Rony David & Azees Nedumangad joined hands for another project with the talented Vincy Aloshious as the female lead. This was more than ample reason for me to check out Bineesh Kalarikkal's debut directorial venture titled "<i>Pazhanjan Pranayam</i>". Though the trailer didn't inspire much expectations, I still decided to give it a try because of the above mentioned reasons. The story by Kiranlal was about Mohan (Rony) who was a teacher by profession but presently on indefinite leave to take care of his father who suffered from dementia. He was in the search of an ideal life partner, but none of the proposals quite worked out because of his traditional & timid attitude. It was around this time that he sought the services of a caretaker for his father which brought in Maya (Vincy) to their lives. Incidentally, her presence brings in a positive change in his father's condition. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In terms of the story, this is pretty much what the movie is about & had a predictability in the manner it unfolds. This isn't a flaw at all provided it an engaging screenplay which isn't the case here. Both Rony & Vincy have done justice to their roles while the rest of the cast doesnt have much to do. Bineesh touches upon topics such as societal expectations and acceptance which judges an individual harshly especially if he doesn't fit into those norms. On the technical side, Amosh Puthiyattil's cinematography & Satish Raghunathan's music were fine. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>It was rather predictable and doesn't quite have the content to keep us engaged. However, it doesnt test our patience & hence you may give it a try if you are into such kind of flicks. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Antony: "Not massy as Porinju but still engages!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">When the veteran Joshiy announced his latest directorial venture, "<i>Antony</i>"; the first thing that would have struck out for most of us would have been the similarity in the cast & crew of his previous flick, "<i>Porinju Mariyam Jose</i>". So much so, it almost seemed as to whether it was a spin off. This time around, Rajesh Varma had penned the script for the legend & I was pretty keen to check it out since I did enjoy Rajesh's "<i>Life of Josutty</i>" on repeated watch when it came on TV. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The movie unfolds with the murder of Xavier (Tini Tom) by Antony (Joju George) who subsequently goes to jail for it. However, due to lack of convincing evidence; he is let off but as fate would have it he becomes the guardian of Xavier's daughter, Ann Maria (Kalyani Priyadarshan) on the insistence of his godfather, Avaran (Vijayaraghavan) & his friend, Fr Paul Kattakayam (Chemban Vinod). As one would expect, the two were at loggerheads with each other & how this relation influence their lives is what this movie is about. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It is essentially an emotional action drama & comes across as a decent entertainer that is worth a one time watch. The action sequences were pretty standard affair while the emotional segments were neatly done for most parts. One aspect that was not well thought of was the antagonist, as none of them had any standout moments. Joju as always was impressive in a role that is tailor made for him and his chemistry with Chemban evokes laugh. Kalyani has done a decent job though her action sequences didnt come across as convincing. The rest of the cast have done their parts aptly be it Vijayaraghavan, Nyla Usha, Asha Sharath etc. Even the crew have done justice to their craft with Renadive's frames & Jakes Bejoy's music being fine. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>It provides what was expected of the movie with emphasis for both emotion & action. In short, a decent entertainer though it could have been a tad shorter!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Philip's: "A family drama that has both pain & the feel good elements!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">To be frank, I had no clue that this movie was lined up for release until I saw some articles which mentioned about Alfred Kurian's "<i>Philip's</i>" as being the last movie in which the late Innocent had performed. To add to that, it was Mukesh's 300th movie & not to forget that it was from the same team that had made "<i>Helen</i>" which I had enjoyed. These were more than ample reason for me to watch this family drama & I would have to admit that I enjoyed it. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Philip (Mukesh) was a widower who was settled in Bangalore with his children which consisted of his son, Basil (Noble Babu Thomas) & his two daughters, Blessy (Navani Devanand) and Bitty (Quinn Vipin). Basil shared the responsibilities with his father & life moved along peacefully until an unprecedented tragedy hit them which threatened to tear the family apart. Whether they managed to tide over the crisis & if so, at what cost is what this movie is about. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In "<i>Helen</i>", Mathukutty Xavier had called the shots while Alfred had penned the script for it. However, this time around they have exchanged their roles as the latter made his directorial debut. Even though it starts off as that feel good family dramas, the makers made sure that the pain and insecurities that each of the characters goes through is also captured. That is essentially what made this movie work for me as we empathise with them. The situational humour works as both Mukesh & Innocent get their moments to showcase it. Both the veterans were fine be it with humour or emotion. Quinn was fine while both Navani & Noble who had more scope for performance in terms of the emotions that they go through, had done their parts pretty well. Whenever we talk about 'feel good' flicks, we instantly know the color tone & frames that such movies comes with & Jaison Jacob has done justice to it. Another important factor for such genre is music & in the hands of Hesham Wahab, it was safe.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>An engaging family drama that makes us smile & feel the pain that the characters experience. Certainly, a befitting swansong for the veteran legend Innocent. In short, do give it a try!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.75/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>A Ranjith Cinema: "Manages to engage in the latter half!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I am pretty sure that the first thing that would have made the movie catch the attention of many was the smart choice for the title. Incidentally, Nishanth Sattu's debut venture also had an interesting name "IDI: Inspector Dawood Ibrahim". But then that was the only thing that I liked in that film apart from the funny pose that Joju & Sudhi Koppa used to show, which still cracks me up. Anyway will his second movie also have a similar fate???</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This time around Nishanth decided to pen the life of an aspiring film-maker, Ranjith (Asif Ali) who also worked occasionally in a prank show for a television channel. On one of such shows, the prank was on a businessman, Sunny Cherian (Saiju Kurup) & that incident turned out to be life changing for Ranjith & Sunny, to such an extent that it seemed to threaten their very existence of them & their loved ones. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">We have seem quite a few movies in the past where the focus is on the movie within a movie & Nishanth has added a psychological element to it by bringing in the 'deja vu syndrome' (kind of reminded me of Mamas's "<i>Cinema Company</i>"). On paper it sounded like an interesting thought, but the primary flaw over here is that it takes its own sweet time to set the stage & that undoubtedly failed to entertain the audience. It however picks up on the intrigue factor in the second half & to be frank, that did engage me. On the technical side, it was average at best while on the performance front, Asif Ali has done a decent job along with Saiju Kurup. The rest of the cast such as Anson Paul, Hannah Reji Koshy, Harisree Ashokan were ok.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>The lack of a coherent & engaging first half is likely to be its bane, despite the latter segment being reasonably good. In short, if you can sit through the initial sequences, you might end up enjoying it!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-25163184394323904272023-11-27T18:50:00.003+05:302023-11-27T18:50:51.628+05:30Garudan, Tholvi FC, Bandra, Vela, Falimy & Phoenix: "Interesting titles but most had content that werent half as interesting!!!"<p style="text-align: justify;">We are almost into the last month of the year with some big banner releases lined up in different languages for Christmas. Just like in the previous months, November also saw a plethora of movies hit the screens; some of which hit the mark while the others were a test of our patience. Since I haven't had the time to pen down my opinion about some of them, I thought to club them up & present it here. So it will be interesting to see how many of these will manage to bag fat pay checks from the OTT platforms???</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6O-KJWZGkwLAwTp6QkWb4pnU8UX2hRw8nomPHiEBSpjVq2rq9Cr4bRY74exSwS187XwoO9x-TgafeZF9YVDBbcbc9Q4DCDAax5vPaQ6gD-goadB_Dd2QcmMcix2UQ5WoOQuVrWd1jeU_eCQh9lffE7eGLzQUj9tAwNsSWzVlIwvLEOmcpk7CTPtK1QiMh/s671/Garudan2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="671" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6O-KJWZGkwLAwTp6QkWb4pnU8UX2hRw8nomPHiEBSpjVq2rq9Cr4bRY74exSwS187XwoO9x-TgafeZF9YVDBbcbc9Q4DCDAax5vPaQ6gD-goadB_Dd2QcmMcix2UQ5WoOQuVrWd1jeU_eCQh9lffE7eGLzQUj9tAwNsSWzVlIwvLEOmcpk7CTPtK1QiMh/s320/Garudan2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Garudan: "Execution wasn't as engaging as the core idea!!!"</b></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The first major release of the month was Arun Varma's "<i>Garudan</i>" which had Suresh Gopi & Biju Menon take centre stage. Apart from the presence of seasoned veterans, another major reason as to why I was interested to check this out was that the script was penned by Midhun Manuel which was based on Jinesh's story. The movie unfolds with the brutal rape of a college student, Theresa Philip (Chaitanya Prakash) which left her on life support & the investigation was entrusted to DCP Harish Madhav (Suresh Gopi). Soon enough it gets proved that the perpetrator was the professor, Nishanth Kumar (Biju Menon) & he gets sentenced to jail. However, after having served his sentence, he vows to prove his innocence which in turn raised questions about Harish's integrity.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There is no doubt that the central theme was interesting but the execution of it particularly the courtroom drama sections felt quite hurried & convenient. The emotional toll that takes on Harish in the second half keeps us hooked while the same cant be said about Nishanth. This was particularly important coz the story takes a predictable route and hence such dramas were the ones which was supposed to keep the movie together. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">But does it mean it was boring? Certainly not & Arun can be proud of his directorial debut. On the technical side, it was decently done though I cant think of anyone that deserves a special mention. As for performances, both the veterans were fine though I would rate Biju Menon better while the others such as Siddique, Jagadish, Divya Pillai etc have done their parts aptly.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>A promising crime thriller on paper that was kind of predictable & had an old school treatment to it. But it still manages to keep us engaged for large parts!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Tholvi F.C: "Not a complete tholvi but still!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Over the past couple of years, if there was one genre that is kind of relegated to the sidelines that it has to be comic capers. The primary reason for that is the lack of quality writers coz if it isn't handled smartly it could very well to be a test of our patience. This month witnessed George Kora attempt one in that genre with "<i>Tholvi F.C</i>" that he himself had penned which is essentially about a disjoint family where every member of it had failed in their respective endeavours. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It reminded me of those goofy Hollywood underdog comedies but the issue over here is that it ended up being a mishmash of numerous sequences but they did not get interlinked seamlessly. Though the technical aspects didnt have much to talk about, the performances were pretty good be it Johny Antony, Sharaf U Dheen & Meenakshi, and that is the reason why it felt like an acceptable time pass. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict:</b> Well nothing much to talk about except that it provides a couple of laughs!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>1.25/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Bandra: "Apart from the technical aspects, hardly anything else felt worthwhile!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">When was the last time did Udaykrishna pen a credible story that kept us genuinely engaged? Hmm...well I dont quite recollect to be frank. So this brings us to the question as to why did I watch Arun Varma's "<i>Bandra</i>" & the answer to that lied in the name of the director as I did enjoy his debut venture "<i>Ramaleela</i>". But what Udaykrishna gave us was an inferior rehash of what we have seen in many movies in the past like "<i>Once upon a time in Mumbai</i>" etc.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sakshi (Mamta Mohandas) was an aspiring film maker who in search of a possible story for her debut directorial venture decided to research into the life of yesteryear Bollywood superstar Tara Janaki (Tamannaah Bhatia) who had committed suicide at the peak of her career. As Sakshi dug into more details, it brought to life the details of Tara's lover Ala (Dileep) who was a gangster. But the more she dug into the past, it revealed many truths that the world wasn't aware about. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The major issue in Uday's script is the lack of authenticity as we have come across whatever is conveyed in some form or the other in much better movies in the past. At more than 2.5 hours, it was a test of my patience though to Arun's credit the execution of this stale tale did have some impressive moments especially when it came to the art direction team and the stunt choreography. When it came to performances, Dileep was ok in certain sequences while Tamannaah felt like an apt choice for the character though her expressions at times weren't in sync with the emotional dialogues that was dubbed for her. The rest of the cast which was literally an army of artists such as Mamta, Kalabhavan Shajon, Dino Morea, Lenaa etc., were average at best.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict:</b> High time that Udaykrishna reinvented himself & the makers be sensible about what they want to convey to the audience rather than just put the blame on the social media!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>1.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Vela: "Syam definitely knows his vela!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Along with "<i>Bandra</i>", another movie that hit the screens on the same weekend was Syam Sasi's "<i>Vela</i>" which had Shane Nigam & Sunny Wayne in the lead. This was Syam's directorial debut & along with M. Sajas they have crafted a pretty decent crime drama that keeps us hooked for most parts. Ullas Augustin (Shane) had lost his father when the latter was in police service & as a result of which, he gets a job in the control room. Among the numerous calls that he attended, he happened to come across one that had a significant impact on his personal & professional life. Apparently, it was from a father who reported that a couple of guys along with his minor son was using drugs in his premises. Ullas promptly conveyed the news to a patrol unit in the area to check into the matter. Incidentally, SI Mallikarjun (Sunny) was in charge of that patrol & the minor was deemed missing after his raid. Ullas was certain that Mallikarjun was behind it, but his efforts to prove it had him suspended. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sajas has penned a pretty intriguing story where the focus is on Ullas's efforts to prove the crime that Mallikarjun was believed to be involved in. The latter who wielded significant political support, quashed those efforts with disdain. Both the characters were etched well and touches upon the influence of politics, narcotics, casteism and the manner in which those factors handicapped the law and order personnel. Syam has done an admirable job in executing it quite well and manages to keep the audience engaged with his narration style. If at all there was one aspect that could have been better then I would have to say it would be the climax as that was quite predictable & lacked the impact that was expected.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Kudos to both Sunny & Shane who has done a praise worthy job especially the former who finally had a meaty role after quite a while and made full use of it. The rest of the cast have also done their parts aptly especially Sidharth Bharathan (though I felt Binu Pappan could also have been a good choice for that role). On the technical side, Suresh Rajan captured the frames quite well considering most of the sequences happens at night. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>An engaging story that was crafted reasonably well & performed admirably by both Sunny & Shane!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.75/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Falimy: "Hey Sulochana, you are both hilarious & emotional!!!"</b></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The list of debutants continued to grow in November as well as Nitish Sahadev made his directorial debut with "<i>Falimy</i>". It was quite a smart choice for the title coz it emphasises the dysfunctionality in the family who are the protagonists of this comedy drama. Along with Sanjo Joseph, Nitish touches upon each of the characters in the family & the struggles that they go through which creates tensions among them. Janardhanan (Meenaraj Palluruthy), the patriarch fed up with the constant squabbles in his family had been wishing to make a visit to Varanasi for quite a while & made attempts to embark on that journey quite a number of times. However, each time it was prevented by someone or the other, until his grandson, Anoop (Basil Joseph) who was frustrated with the numerous failed marriage proposals decides to take him with the rest of the family tagging along. The hilarious and emotional moments that unfold over the course of their journey is what this movie is about. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It is an endearing movie that make us laugh and reflect upon the emotional baggage that each character carries, who might appear insensitive to others. It has shades of "<i>Home</i>" & "<i>Jan-E-Man</i>", and we are pretty sure as to how it would eventually pan out. But it still has a soul of its own and the manner in which humour and emotions are intertwined has an authentic feel to it rather than merely trying to squeeze in sequences to make the audience laugh. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The technical aspects were neatly done be it Bablu Aju's cinematography, Vishnu Vijay's music and Nidhin Raj'e editing. However, it is the impressive performances from each member of the family that made it delightful. In recent times, Jagadish had the opportunity to don characters that showcased his abilities and he has never failed to deliver in such occasions which includes here as well. Manju Pillai is an artist that I have always admired for her calibre & it is heartening to see her showcase it more on the big screen nowadays. Over the past year or so, Basil's credentials as a performer has grown by leaps and bounds which is a testament to the hard work he has put in with regard to expressions and nuances that the character demanded. The rest of the family included Sandeep Pradeep as Abhi & Meenaraj Palluruthy, both of whom have done their parts well.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>Certainly one of the most endearing movies that had released this year which keeps us in good spirits thanks to its clean humour!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>3.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Phoenix: "Doesn't rise from the ashes that it created!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">This month also saw Midhun Manuel collaborating yet again as a writer & this time around it was with Vishnu Bharathan who was making his directorial debut with "<i>Phoenix</i>". Along with Bigil Balakrishnan, he had penned this romantic horror flick for which Midhun had drafted the screenplay. In terms of what they wanted to convey, it did have an intriguing element to it in the first half which set the stage for an engaging second half. But that is where the movie fizzled out as the backstory lacked the punch & consistency. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The movie is set in the 90s & it unfolds with Advocate John (Aju Varghese) & his family, in search of a home. Being a person who preferred privacy, he eventually opted for one by the seaside. Even as they start to get accustomed to their new home, a couple of sinister events start to happen which threatened to put their lives at risk. Left with no option, John sought the help of the church but even they seemed to have no immediate solution in their hands. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">As I mentioned earlier, the back story that is narrated in the second half is the weak point of this movie. When they brought in elements of the Cholera epidemic in the 70s, it felt like it would have a significant effect but apart from a visual depiction perspective; it didnt add much. Even the lack of consistency when it came to character arcs was kind of odd be it the gruffy nature of Aju, the silent sufferer in Nilja as Daisy or Chandhunath as Freddy. It felt like they wanted to present it as a romantic tale that lived on beyond life but they failed to provide that impact due to the lack of credible stuff in the script. However, the technical aspects were pretty neat especially Alby's cinematography, the visual effects & Sam CS's BGM. Coming to performances, Aju was good along with Baby Aavni (as Mariya) while Chandhunath, Anoop Menon etc were ok.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>It certainly had the makings of an engaging horror thriller in the first half which gets watered down as it moved to the backstory!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><br /></i></b></p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-53373041098341260842023-11-24T20:36:00.004+05:302023-11-25T11:06:22.421+05:30Kaathal: "Relevant subject treated sensibly & executed excellently by the cast & crew!!!<p style="text-align: justify;">Ever since the announcement of the Mammookka-Jeo Baby project, I have been eagerly waiting for its release just like many others. When the legend himself decided to bankroll the project, it was evident that he was in the process of creating yet another delight after all his production house has already made a reputable name for itself courtesy of his choice of movies. Most probably, most of you would be aware of the subject that is being discussed in this movie but if you aren't aware, then I would suggest to watch it as soon as possible.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIv7C9HWlVKpvsl_z3A0irxCYz_q9DIGLMivtzIOuXCrcffEA3QOcXKAoI0UwH7eoLSLAcpjg85slE6pQXmG_1L80_3Lv0Yr8qH7ny3Y0eBFZOqaZS8AtFNQf2R5SpQIBW7EEYmZ5wUxe5v9LqpggWqQ2mXJMBme7d0Qt7yB1_beIunaP1n489KoVwY4oT/s1800/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1350" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIv7C9HWlVKpvsl_z3A0irxCYz_q9DIGLMivtzIOuXCrcffEA3QOcXKAoI0UwH7eoLSLAcpjg85slE6pQXmG_1L80_3Lv0Yr8qH7ny3Y0eBFZOqaZS8AtFNQf2R5SpQIBW7EEYmZ5wUxe5v9LqpggWqQ2mXJMBme7d0Qt7yB1_beIunaP1n489KoVwY4oT/s320/1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The movie unfolds in Teekoy where Mathew (Mammookka) & Omana (Jyothika) had been married for about two decades, blessed with a daughter, Femi (Anagha Maya Ravi) and lives with his father, Devassy (RS Panikkar). Mathew was a retired bank manager & was also involved in politics whereby he was chosen by the party to represent them in the panchayat election. However, on the eve of submission of his nomination; Omana filed for divorce unexpectedly & the reason for it left everyone stunned. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Jeo Baby has already earned a name for himself with the type of movies that he had crafted & "<i>Kaathal</i>" was no different as it adds yet another golden feather on his hat. However, unlike his previous flicks, the script has been penned by Adarsh Sukumaran & Paulson Skaria, and the duo deserves praise for handling the subject sensibly without adopting a preachy tone. Jeo's expertise came to the fore in the manner it was executed as the audience are made to feel empathetic for each and every character affected by the situation. The choice of location, people involved & how different generations handled the situation gave it an authentic feel to it. Equally impressive were the technical aspects be it Salu K Thomas's frames, Mathews Pulickan's BGM which elevated the impact in many sequences in the second half and Francie Louis's editing which maintained the tempo it required. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">What do I even say about Mammookka??? The legend continues to take on roles and movies that gives him the opportunity to perform which absolutely floors us. Incidentally, he doesn't have a lot of dialogues but he was able to express his anxiety, helplessness & indecisiveness brilliantly. As for his voice modulation in which he is obviously a master, was top notch as it will invariably gives us a lump in our throat in a couple of scenes. Jyothika also deserves praise for a fine performance with some touching scenes in the latter half though in some sequences, I felt Jomol who did the dubbing could have done a better job. Another individual that deserves the same amount of applause is Sudhi Kozhikode who gave a touching performance though his part deserved to be explored more. The rest of the cast such as RS Panikkar, Muthumani, Chinnu Chandni, Joji John, Anagha, Alex Alister etc have done complete justice to their roles. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>Kudos to Mammookka for taking up this role & also for producing it. The legend continues to inspire with his decision to keep pushing the envelope with such varied roles. Both Jeo Baby & the script writers have done a fine job, with Jyothika and the rest backing it with credible performances. It is a slow drama & hence there might be few who might be irked by its pace but trust me, do check it out!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>3.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-73757526952302171762023-11-04T14:21:00.003+05:302023-11-04T14:21:43.202+05:30Kasargold, Theepporri Benny, Vaathil, Chaaver, Pulimada & Otta: "Even England's abysmal WC campaign felt better!!!"<p style="text-align: justify;">As has been the trend for quite a while, plethora of movies releases every week with most of them disappearing even before we come to know about them. Since Onam, there were quite a few movies that I had watched but none of them seemed quite worthwhile. More often than not, I am left wondering as to whether the investors have no clue as to whether the product is worth the time of the audience. There is no point in lamenting later on when the movie tanks & putting the blame on external factors rather than the inferior quality of their movie.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2d1OF40gptuV8L8uL8fxz_6W8qH_S-hhmA9okkKzSH3WMb0sLmP0Ri-QQFxmv4O6Ee6wiMLCHppSJJ7CM5v8QpNGUm4KcX9RIfIaQwGQwOkYGt7JK4ewM35P29SeM6Xzjx8Zix9t0Gcb0C9jI1fqGKTIuRadB-ymtz62PNXkZRa99L5Vb1zeKjuKxl0n4/s659/Otta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="659" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2d1OF40gptuV8L8uL8fxz_6W8qH_S-hhmA9okkKzSH3WMb0sLmP0Ri-QQFxmv4O6Ee6wiMLCHppSJJ7CM5v8QpNGUm4KcX9RIfIaQwGQwOkYGt7JK4ewM35P29SeM6Xzjx8Zix9t0Gcb0C9jI1fqGKTIuRadB-ymtz62PNXkZRa99L5Vb1zeKjuKxl0n4/s320/Otta.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Kasargold: "As a bedtime story it would have worked but not as a movie!!!"</b></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is Mridul Nair's second directorial venture after "<i>B.Tech</i>" & along with Sajimon Prabhakar, he has chosen to focus his attention on gold smuggling. It is a relevant topic considering the regularity with which such news appear on our channels. At the same time, it was important for the makers to understand that it is a subject that has been explored in quite a few movies like "<i>Loham</i>", "<i>Thankam</i>" etc. So in order to make the audience interested, they had to provide something that was distinct & intriguing. Well to be frank, they haven't been to achieve that as they also resort for the tried and tested route of showing the nexus between the politicians and the kingpins, and the fate that befalls on those who tries to double cross them. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In terms of the content, it just didnt have the flesh to pull off as a full fledged flick & would have better off if it was shot as a short film. There is no denying that there were some elements in the movie which felt like it might come across as something unique or at least in terms of the treatment. But it wasnt to be as all the sequences are very predictable & even the technical aspects didn't have anything unique to praise about. On the performance front, Asif Ali did his part neatly, Sunny Wayne didn't come across as natural in many portions while Vinayakan's swag and attitude was fine. As for the rest of the cast, it was reasonably ok though Ratheesh Poduval was impressive.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>Reminds one of other movies that followed a similar template & fails to quite pull off what it aspired to achieve, though it did have the thread for it!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>1.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Theepporri Benny: "Hardly felt any theepporri in the story!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">When I started watching this flick, the first thing that caught my eye was the house where the protagonist was staying & it seemed like Biju Menon's home in "<i>Vellimoonga</i>". Later on, when I saw the credits; it became evident that what I felt as indeed true as Joji Thomas who is one of the directors had written the script for the former. This time around he has donned the hat of a director in the company of Rajeesh Mohan apart from penning the script along with him. To be frank, I dont think they even attempted to write a script since it felt more like one of the versions that they would have written for Jibu Jacob's venture.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Well the movie is about Benny (Arjun Ashokan) who detested his Communist father's (Chettayi: Jagadeesh) selfless helping mentality even as he struggled to make a livelihood that he aspired for. Though Chettayi tried to mend his relationship with son, the latter didn't quite warm up to it. Unlike his father, Benny decided to use politics for his own benefits & how that decision pans out is what is explored in the movie.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There are certainly some hilarious moments, but more often than not it doesn't provide anything that we haven't seen in the past & to make matters worse, it gives us a lingering feeling of it being a rehashed inferior version of "<i>Vellimoonga</i>". It does tries to create an identity of its own in the latter half as the general tone in the movie changes to a more melodramatic mode but it lacked the punch that would have made us buy the emotions that the directors wanted us to have. On the technical side, it was neatly done such as Ajay Francis's cinematography. Even in the performance department, Jagadeesh did his part well while Arjun Ashokan was fine and Femina George was ok. As for the rest of the cast such as Nisha Sarang, Muhammed Rafi (as Binu Mon), T.G Ravi, Shaju Sreedar (as Manthan Baby) etc did their roles aptly.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>The biggest flaw is undoubtedly the lack of an identity of its own & ends up as one of those movies that we watch, laugh a bit & forget as soon as it ends.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>1.75/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Vaathil: "An engaging latter half, just about manage to make us not to close the vaathil on it!!!"</b></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Unhappy martial relationships is a topic that has been explored by many film makers over the years with varying degrees of success. The latest to add to that list is Ramakanth Sarju's "<i>Vaathil</i>" who returns to call the shots more than a decade after his forgetful directorial debut in "<i>Utharaswayamvaram</i>". He has sought the help of Shamnad Shabeer is his latest venture whose has penned the script on the discord in marital harmony.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The movie begins with the focus on the strained relationship of Tani (Anu Sithara) & Denny (Vinay Forrt) who had drifted apart for quite a while. The first half movie pretty much focuses on that aspect as to what had led them to the present crisis in their lives. However, an unexpected event that involved Denny threatened to change their lives forever & whether he manages to overcome that forms the crux of the movie.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It would be fair to say that the first half failed to create much of an impact while the latter half does manage to engage coz of the tension that it palpably manages to create. At the same time, the incidents that unfold lacked the believability factor as it seemed way too convenient and easy which is literally impossible to happen. The technical aspects were handled decently and the performances by both Anu & Vinay was fine. The rest of the cast such as Krishna Shankar, Sruthy Jayan, Merin Philip were ok as well.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict:</b> Despite the lack of believability in the events of the latter half, it still manages to keep us engaged. However, as a whole; the film had significant shortcomings.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>1.75/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Chaaver: "Technical quality can't mask the lack of a fleshed out script!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The pre-release hype and anticipation that awaited Tinu Pappachan's "<i>Chaaver</i>" created hope that the box office will be in for some good times. Well it was kind of expected after all his previous two ventures certainly provided the belief that he would have an ace up his sleeve. However, the response from various quarters were quite mixed; to which he reacted stating that his movie was being intentionally degraded. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Since the script was penned by Joy Mathew, I looked forward to it & the manner in which the events unfolded early on held promise. Apparently, a quotation team that included Ashokan (Chackochan), Musthafa (K.U Manoj), Asif (Sajin Gopu) & Thomas (Anuroop) were on the run after having committed a murder. Since Ashokan had sustained an injury, Musthafa sought the help of Arun (Arjun Ashokan), a medical student to help them out. However, on the instructions of the leader who had assigned them the quotation, Arun was forced to remain with them & it seemed like it was for a journey with no return.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Despite Kannur politics and the associated murders becoming the topic of discussion for the nth time in our movies, I still believed that in the hands of Joy Mathew & Tinu, we would be in for an engaging ride. It turned out to be so far away from the truth, since what Joy gives us is just an extremely generic scenario with none of the characters quite having the depth to arrest our attention. It was evident that the heavy lifting had to be done by Tinu & to be fair to him, he has done that as I felt the technical aspects were pretty notch especially Jinto George's cinematography, Nishadh Yusuf's editing & Justin George's music. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Coming to performances, Chackochan had the looks that his character demanded; but in quite a few sequences his dialogue delivery came across as quite artificial & the same applies to Arjun Ashokan, when it came to showcasing his naivety. The rest of the gang actually did a fine job be it Manoj KU, Sajin & Anuroop while Sangita & Antony Varghese were rather wasted in roles that intended to be significant but didnt came across as such on screen. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>There is no denying the effort that Tinu & his technical team has done; but without a credible story or fleshed out characters; there is precious little that it could accomplish.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Pulimada: "Joju's performance makes it engaging to a certain extent!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Whenever Joju George is involved in a project nowadays, it raises hope that it might have something that would make it a worthwhile watch. His latest release is A K Sajan's "<i>Pulimada</i>" & the manner in which the events panned out after 15 minutes into the movie, evoked similar belief. But it wasn't to be and I wouldn't put the blame for that on Joju coz he did a fine job to be frank. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The movie unfolds in a house situated in a rocky terrain which was decked up for Vincent Scaria's (Joju) wedding. He had been a loner for quite a while after the demise of his mother since none of his earlier proposals had progressed for various reasons though one main factor could possibly be the fact that he was a patriarchal person. However, his hope for a life partner doesn't quite materialise yet again as the bride had eloped with her relative. It was a shock that he wasn't ready to accept and he goes on a rampage leading him to situations that he least expected. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Apart from calling the shots, Sajan had penned the script as well and I would have to admit that the settings and the tone that he had set for large parts of the movie gave an intriguing feel to it. The introduction of a character like Mahishmati (Aishwarya Rajesh) raises more questions in the audience but rather than build on it; it fizzles out in the end with a rather tame climax. The technical aspects were average, however Joju deserves praise on a fine performance. The way he portrays the myriad of emotions that he goes through over the course of the night makes it engaging. Aishwarya has also given a good performance in a type of role that we havent seen her much while the rest of the cast such as Chemban Vinod, Jaffer Idukki, Johny Antony, Lijomol Jose etc., were also ok. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>Despite quite an underwhelming conclusion, it is still worth a watch coz of Joju's performance!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating:<b> 2.25/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Otta: "Relevant theme that lacked depth in its script & execution!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Resul Pookutty, a name that needs no introduction has finally decided to try his hand in direction & came out with a movie that focused on the relevant theme of toxic parenting. His directorial debut known as "<i>Otta</i>" was based on S Hariharan's "Runaway Children" with Kiron Prabhakar adapting it into a cinematic version. The protagonists were Hari (Asif Ali) & Ben (Arjun Ashokan) who were kept on a tight leash by their respective father (Sathyaraj) & mother (Bhavana Ramanna). The similarity in their situations drew them together & an incident that unfolds in Ben's life makes them decide to leave their homes. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The primary issue with this movie is that it feels like it has a lot of stuff to convey but fails to do so effectively. It drags on from situation to situation in a predictable manner that does not provide with anything that we haven't observed in the past. One of the main reason why I wanted to watch this was Indrajith's presence but he was provided with a role that barely had anything worthwhile. None of the technical aspects deserves special mention & as for performances, Indrajith was fine while Asif Ali did his part neatly. Arjun Ashokan wasn't effective & the rest of the cast were just about ok at the max, though the reason to bring in artists like Satyaraj & Bhavana and make them utter Malayalam felt rather unnecessary. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>As the title says, the number of people in the theatres would have been otta after a couple of shows!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>1.25/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-63020136570776390842023-10-21T19:51:00.003+05:302023-10-21T19:51:30.794+05:30Leo: "Not so bloody sweet"<p style="text-align: justify;">The much awaited Lokesh Kanagaraj's "<i>Leo</i>" has finally hit the screens after the pre-release hype and expectations had touched stratospheric levels. It has already broke quite a few opening day records and looks poised to be in pole position to claim a few more enviable records. There is obviously a lot of hype when Thalapathy's movies are up for release but this time around with Lokesh & his LCU being part of the discussion, it was quite unprecedented. So the question is whether it has managed to deliver what the audience expected???</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDarW_NYODPp4qMa2x4DoDwmlMPfErX7SUEJH30hjHA8t4XnXuGXFzwa6xW13SaxCigHYs7UC4WASIOs_HfIb5xg49Fx0gk-bEHJZgecxHtOGr14hhxTMIJqjtl5uHtswkBkyhnkpSHsyzs3MdN07GwIQOrv3rqLfZyyv8xs_Bk4hMfniE9A_QNVtphWrp/s1280/101172246.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDarW_NYODPp4qMa2x4DoDwmlMPfErX7SUEJH30hjHA8t4XnXuGXFzwa6xW13SaxCigHYs7UC4WASIOs_HfIb5xg49Fx0gk-bEHJZgecxHtOGr14hhxTMIJqjtl5uHtswkBkyhnkpSHsyzs3MdN07GwIQOrv3rqLfZyyv8xs_Bk4hMfniE9A_QNVtphWrp/s320/101172246.webp" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The movie unfolds in Himachal Pradesh where Parthiban (Vijay), & his wife, Satya (Trisha) is happily married and settled with their kids. Apart from being a cafe owner, he was also an animal rescuer & his expertise came to the fore as he was called in to tame a spotted hyena that had wrecked havoc in his locality. A few days after that incident, he became the talk of the town when a botched robbery attempt in his cafe ended with the gang being murdered by him. However, the court left him free of charges as he had committed the crime in self defense. But it was just the start of his troubles. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Based on David Cronenberg's "<i>A History of Violence</i>", Lokesh along with Rathna Kumar & Deeraj Vaidy has definitely adapted it well to cater to the sensibilities of a Tamil action thriller. Unlike the usual Vijay flicks, which has a standard template of celebrating his stardom and making the fans swoon for it; this one has a subtle take which is more in sync with Lokesh's style. During the promotions, Lokesh was harping about not missing the first ten minutes & I would have to admit that the VFX work that as gone into the hyena was impressive (though the VFX in the car chase in the second half lacked finesse). The mood is set right in the beginning & it continues to build on it in the first half, though unlike the other LCU flicks there is more emphasis on family and emotions. With the introduction of the antagonists, the anticipation is significantly built with the belief that Lokesh will build an enthralling character arc for those characters & take the movie to the next level.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately, it wasn't to be as the movie fizzles out in the latter half with the core theme for the conflict being rather tame & hardly any homework being done to cash in on the screen presence of Sanjay Dutt and Arjun. It literally felt like the movie was directed by someone else from this point or Lokesh was forced into thinking that he needed to keep Thalapathy fans happy and hence resorted to the usual mass masala observed in the former's movies. Even the LCU angle felt added for the sake of it rather than being blended into it. In all likelihood, I doubt whether we will see Leo in an extended role in the rest of the LCU. At the same time on the technical side, it is made pretty well be it Manoj Paramahamsa's delightful visuals and colour tone, Philomin Raj's editing, Anbariv's action choreography in the first half & Anirudh's music which unlike his recent blockbusters is much more subtler but still gels well with the mood and sequences. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It would be fair to say that I was pretty impressed with the performances as most of them have done complete justice to their roles irrespective of how their characters were written. First & foremost, it has to be Vijay who pulled off Parthibhan's character really well as he effectively conveyed the angst and anger. However, as Leo; it felt like a repeat of his usual style but still that was what the role demanded and he did it fine. Both Trisha & Gautam Menon did their roles neatly along with Mathew Thomas. Arjun had an stylish aura to him while Sanjay Dutt oscillated between being an imposing character to rather mediocre. As for the rest, Sandy Master was impressive, Madonna was a miscast as Sai Palavi would have been a better choice while Babu Antony was wasted.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>From an engaging first half which started off promisingly to being below average by the time it ended. Undoubtedly, the weakest in the LCU & Vijay's best performance in recent times. In short, it is still very much worth a watch!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-21082162630881200452023-09-30T19:19:00.008+05:302023-09-30T20:56:22.379+05:30Kannur Squad: "Brothers emulate their Dad as they create success with Mammookka!!!"<p style="text-align: justify;">1989 an iconic year in Mammookka's career as it led to his maiden National award & also landed him with his fourth State award. Among the movies that made him worthy for the latter honour was Joshi's "<i>Mahayanam</i>" which was bank rolled by C T Rajan. Despite the critical acclaim, the movie incurred losses at the box office which put Rajan in financial crisis. However, more than three decades later his sons, Roby & Rony collaborated with the legend in "<i>Kannur Squad</i>" & it would be fair to say that they have a winner in their hands. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsH1tNW5zvmjL4XULuwOjiIj_RoqsNKIawxNpPFAVzhBuCubhNUZQQ6-IyfmRjgb_-Brhna4OQ6Ef2KjRBXwm_OPELI7IR6bPRDjdadoznp78TBCNwQTGBxMKXVd18IPDKaQdzx-q86xz462hOC3SRTgrXktMRkuNZO9A27KXkknWxuI03yhv4Ja91w0Q/s900/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsH1tNW5zvmjL4XULuwOjiIj_RoqsNKIawxNpPFAVzhBuCubhNUZQQ6-IyfmRjgb_-Brhna4OQ6Ef2KjRBXwm_OPELI7IR6bPRDjdadoznp78TBCNwQTGBxMKXVd18IPDKaQdzx-q86xz462hOC3SRTgrXktMRkuNZO9A27KXkknWxuI03yhv4Ja91w0Q/s320/1.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Kannur Squad as the team was known was formed by Kannur SP Krishnalal (Vijayaraghavan) and comprised of ASI George Martin (Mammookka), CPOs Jose (Azees Nedumangad), Jayan (Rony David) & Shafi (Shabareesh). The team had already created a credible name for themselves over the years with their investigation skills and efficiency. It was at this juncture that Kasaragod SP Cholan (Kishore) requests for their help to nab the culprits behind the dacoity and murder of an affluent politician, Abdul Wahab (Manoj K U). However, due to the politically sensitive nature of the issue there was pressure to wrap up the case in ten days not to mention the tensions that brewed within the team.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Roby Varghese Raj is a relatively known cinematographer having worked in projects like "<i>Puthiya Niyamam</i>", "<i>Eesho</i>", etc. This is his directorial debut in which he joined with his brother, Rony & Muhammed Shafi who had penned the script. As many of you would be aware, there is an actual team called 'Kannur Squad' which was formed by the former Kannur SP Sreejith & the events captured in the movie was basically two cases that they had handled. It is essentially a police procedural drama but they have been sensible enough to introduce cinematic elements to it making sure that they didn't go overboard with it. In terms of the story template, it is similar to Rajeev Ravi's "<i>Kuttavum Shikshayum</i>" & Vinoth's "<i>Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru</i>"; but still manages to have an identity of its own with its engaging screenplay. A prime example is the way that they managed to create an emotional connect with the Tata Sumo, the fifth member of the squad. Even the technical aspects were well executed be it Muhammed Rahil's cinematography, Praveen Prabhakar's editing & the exceptional sound track of Sushin Shyam which elevated the impact of many of the sequences (loved the intro track). </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiOZmqfp2qWSwijkhq9oCo_ei_nycVARkDO5HfmZJfkpcs2y-nHpV6p3LbHreOVCUV-Ki1XN4ElSGEU67gEg9LoLkFI8e6DzspefKwUW9PM0ILkQeRukiP57XRwubjmxrhZxTqcD96usbY2gq_xchj4WCU8wvbWBalQuK1hKnCBnANvgJjOIi7_0Bbtfcc/s545/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="545" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiOZmqfp2qWSwijkhq9oCo_ei_nycVARkDO5HfmZJfkpcs2y-nHpV6p3LbHreOVCUV-Ki1XN4ElSGEU67gEg9LoLkFI8e6DzspefKwUW9PM0ILkQeRukiP57XRwubjmxrhZxTqcD96usbY2gq_xchj4WCU8wvbWBalQuK1hKnCBnANvgJjOIi7_0Bbtfcc/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The real Kannur squad</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">On the performance front, there is nothing much to say about the veteran legend as he was spot on with his performance & still manages to make it distinct from the innumerable police officers he portrayed in the past. Just like Mammookka had mentioned in the promotions, Azees has done an impressive job & will in all probability get more meaty roles just like how Kalabhavan Shajon's career zoomed off after "<i>Drishyam</i>". Among the four, Rony was the one who had more of a backstory & he has done his part aptly along with Shabareesh. Whenever Arjun Radhakrishnan has appeared in a movie, I have always found him do utmost justice to his part & over here as well, he was impressive in bringing out the menacing feel to his character. As for the rest of the cast, Kishore, Vijayaraghavan, Sarath Sabha, the North Indian constable (not sure of the name) etc. did justice to their roles. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>Mammootty Kampany continues to be associated with quality script & "<i>Kannur Squad</i>" is the latest addition to it. Kudos to the legend who continues to awe us with his eye for talent as yet another director makes his entry into the industry & also for his own performances. In short, don't miss it!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating:<b> 3.75/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-90870858291701493722023-09-12T18:47:00.005+05:302023-09-12T18:59:49.414+05:30Jawan: "King Khan's swag & aura shoulders this cliched South Indian masala template!!!"<p style="text-align: justify;">Just five days since it's release & Atlee's "<i>Jawan</i>" has entered the 300 C club in the domestic circuit while the world collection has gone past 500 C. It's undoubtedly validation of the star power of King Khan who took an hiatus from the industry for about four years and came back with a vengeance. After the roaring success of "<i>Pathaan</i>", it seems more than likely that this would also clock similar number by the end of its run. So does the content actually justify the numbers generated? Well, to be frank that it is not even a relevant question coz what matters is whether it managed to entertain the audience. In that sense, what is my opinion about SRK's juggernaut at the box office???</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOmWdLLqCVDEeiX9O5TWSSIp_xqJMtmRjxI71ROzGOfBF7vJxzkd61Cx9ZwEMocAWY7jEUSzVgsrW86ifkHgqoytf2khPoIVS8dC-BXxDKJYZN1J1_XdkoU7g-FXw7plqQpuoty03iHRSW236Mh9ankY_f-BI_A3cmHkjYngJBYFtkPZisMF8QLvVBHTV/s1024/1.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="669" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOmWdLLqCVDEeiX9O5TWSSIp_xqJMtmRjxI71ROzGOfBF7vJxzkd61Cx9ZwEMocAWY7jEUSzVgsrW86ifkHgqoytf2khPoIVS8dC-BXxDKJYZN1J1_XdkoU7g-FXw7plqQpuoty03iHRSW236Mh9ankY_f-BI_A3cmHkjYngJBYFtkPZisMF8QLvVBHTV/s320/1.webp" width="209" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The movie unfolds three decades back with an unconscious injured man nursed back to health by villagers & how he became their Messiah. The story jumps to the present day, where a balded man who called himself Vikram Rathore (SRK) along with his band of girls hijacked a Mumbai metro train for a ransom of 40,000 crores in exchange for the lives of the passengers which included the daughter of Kailee Gaikwad (Vijay Sethupathi), the biggest arms dealer in the country. The negotiation was done with NSG Officer Narmada Rai (Nayanthara) & Kailee transferred the money to the gang. However, what surprised the NSG was that the money in turn was re-directed to the accounts of seven lakhs farmers to waiver their loans. So who was this Vikram Rathore & what was his motive to become a modern day Robin Hood??</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For starters, I have to confess that I have not been a fan of the type of movies that Atlee had churned out with "<i>Raja Rani</i>" being the sole exception. When it was announced that SRK was collaborating with Atlee I was interested to know whether it would indeed be a Bollywood movie or rather SRK in a Tamil movie spoken in Hindi. Well the second statement turned out to be true as it was mish mash of numerous Tamil mass movies that we have seen in the past with elements of the story literally taken from "<i>Bigil</i>", "<i>Mersal</i>", "<i>Thaai Naadu</i>", "<i>Aarambham</i>" etc. In essence, it felt like we were watching a reel of all these movies in a single movie. Apparently, the screenplay is credited to Atlee & S.Ramanagirivasan and I seriously dont think much thought has gone into into it as it felt like they were hurrying to tell all the issues that plagued the nation and make the protagonist handle everything. But still it manages to keep us engaged for large parts & that is solely because of SRK, who just owned the screen. On the technical side, it was executed quite well be it G K Vishnu's visuals, the action choreography, VFX etc., though I would have to admit that I was a tad disappointed with Anirudh's efforts which was average at best unlike what he did in "<i>Jailer</i>". Another part that felt odd was the make up for Vijay Sethupathi which just didn't suit him & at times, lacked continuity. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">King Khan was fantastic as the protagonist as he had the swag and aura that the character required. The only segment that I felt rather odd was when both the avatars of SRK were on screen together whereby the younger one's performance felt rather odd. Despite the presence of Sethupathi, Nayanthara, Priyamani etc ., none of their characters were written well enough due to which except for certain scenes none of them managed to create an impression. The only exception to that was surprisingly the extended cameo of Deepika Padukone whose part had more meat to it & which she performed well. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>Well the audience have already spoken & given their verdict. As for me, it does throw light on many issues (far too many, rather than being focused) & the breaking of the fourth screen at the end was also impactful, but it all worked solely coz of SRK. So watch it solely for King Khan's swag !!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.25/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-30390445516150997862023-08-28T23:10:00.003+05:302023-08-28T23:10:20.827+05:30King of Kotha, Boss & Co & RDX: "Audience satisfaction turned out to be inversely proportional to the hype created!!!"<p style="text-align: justify;">On the eve of Thiruvonam, we had a trio of movies hitting the screens over the weekend hoping to cash in on the holiday season. It's that time of the year where literally every Malayali tries to make the most of the festive mood, after all the time with our family makes it completely worth it. Apart from the goodies, sadya & cultural events, an inevitable part of Onam are the big banner movies and this time too, it was no different. Though all three of them came with varying degrees of hype, the satisfaction that each one gave was quite unlike that.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB4F38lSVb4uNj_nC_mCB7llb1aMHlFLPlbtscnfzZc76BaS0YktriCr9loB7J-geIeBOv__tcZBI1rDaW-7PJiEoZEtxGzTY0qmy7YPj4MwlYKWfIubWtRsSOb2Rtl3zvVOI9_DRktCMHmCroV_RI2tLKHlETlbKqHCjQrXsKMa1Bhtqu_6y-aROuB1Rc/s783/rdx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="378" data-original-width="783" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB4F38lSVb4uNj_nC_mCB7llb1aMHlFLPlbtscnfzZc76BaS0YktriCr9loB7J-geIeBOv__tcZBI1rDaW-7PJiEoZEtxGzTY0qmy7YPj4MwlYKWfIubWtRsSOb2Rtl3zvVOI9_DRktCMHmCroV_RI2tLKHlETlbKqHCjQrXsKMa1Bhtqu_6y-aROuB1Rc/w409-h197/rdx.jpg" width="409" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>King of Kotha: "Screenplay lacked the punch to make it unique despite the potential!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Over the past year or so, whenever the topic of "<i>King of Kotha</i>" came up in interview of artists who were part of the cast; all of them were profuse in their praise for the project. As a result of which, this was one of the most awaited movie of the year with Abhilash Joshiy making his directorial debut with DQ's Wayfarer Films bankrolling the project with Zee Studios bringing back memories of the successful collaboration of their fathers. The promotions were literally unprecedented by Malayalam standards & definitely generated a lot of hype, though the trailer as such didn't quite catch my fancy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Abhilash decided to take up Abhilash Chandran's script, who had earlier penned "<i>Porinju Mariam Jose</i>" for the former's father. The movie unfolds in 1996 in the fictional town of Kotha where violence was a way of life as Kannan bhai (Shabeer Kallarakkal), the dreaded gangster ruled over the place with an iron fist. His narcotics empire had put the people at his mercy & CI Shahul Hassan (Prasanna), who had recently taken charge hoped to put an end to it. But it was a task that was easier said than done as the only person who could challenge Kannan was Raju (DQ) who was last seen in Kotha more than a decade back. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It is the standard story template that we have come across in numerous movies in the past & which is still fine as long as you have an engaging screenplay. Unfortunately, that is where Abhilash had faltered as neither the characters were etched properly nor most of the sequences lacked the punch that it required. There were elements such as friends turned foes, Manju's track (Nyla Usha), elevation of Kannan etc. indicating that it had the skeletons to create an engrossing gangster saga. But it failed to do so & instead they resorted to focus on the protagonist, in which also they weren't able to do justice convincingly. Another major flaw that I felt was the dialogue which at times came across as unintentionally funny & lacked the zing that such a movie required . </p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, on the technical side; the movie has been crafted well such as Nimesh Ravi's cinematography which did have a feel of "<i>Porinju</i>" & his own earlier "<i>Kurup</i>" in terms of the lighting and colour tone. Jakes Bejoy has done a praise worthy job as his BGM was responsible for elevating many of the scenes. In addition, kudos to the action choreographers though I personally feel we are going way too far in the manner the rawness of violence is portrayed.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">DQ has done a decent job though at times I felt he didn't quite radiate the menacing aura that the character required. I barely recognized Shabeer who had rocked as 'Dancing Rose' in "<i>Sarpatta Parambarai</i>" & over here as well, he was fine. Another artist who impressed was Shammi Thilakan while the rest of the cast such as Aishwarya Lekshmi, Nyla Usha, Prasanna & Gokul Suresh were ok. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>The pre-release hype has worked in two ways with the movie not able to match the lofty expectations while the initial brought in significant returns. To be frank, it isn't as bad as some of the YouTube videos that I saw claimed, though it failed to elevate itself to being a unique standout among the numerous other gangster movies that we had watched!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.25/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Ramachandra Boss & Co.: "Except for some comedy, hardly anything else works!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Among the other Onam releases, Haneef Adeni's latest directorial venture was expected to have an advantage as it seemed like a fun filled hilarious flick that would have the family audience flocking towards it. But without a shadow of doubt, this is the weakest among the trio as Haneef's idea of heist in the backdrop of humour came across as rather lame & unimaginative. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">There is no dearth of style as has been the hallmark of Haneef's movies as he brings in a group of individuals who were in financial crisis for a heist masterminded by the protagonist, Boss (Nivin Pauly). His aim was to steal a priceless portrait that was in the custody of Amar (Munish), a business tycoon & & how they got about that task is what this movie is about.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In a way, it kind of reminded me of Farah Khan's mediocre "<i>Happy New Year</i>" & this one felt inferior to that. For a heist movie, it is essential that it should have elements that would surprise us with their plans & twists. But there was hardly anything of that sort with the only saving grace being the humour and that too, fell flat more often than not. On the technical side, Vishnu Thandassery's visuals were good while the rest of the aspects were ok.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">None of the characters were written well & barely had much to do. The only credible back story was given for Jaffer Idukki's character which he did neatly. Vinay Fort evoked laughs occasionally and his banter with Nivin was entertaining at times. I fail to understand as to why Nivin agree to be part of such movies that just tarnishes his brand value even further. To make matters even worse, the part of the villain essayed by Munish Sharma was the worst written part & it was a torture to say the least.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>Nivin's wait for redemption at the box office continues indefinitely!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>1.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>RDX: "As explosive as the same!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">When I initially heard that this movie was going to be released for Onam along with the other two, I have to admit that I was circumspect about their prospects. However, with Sophie Paul's Weekend Blockbusters bank rolling the project; that certainly had me interested in it. By the end of the movie, it was evident as to why she believed that Nahas Hidayath's celluloid creation had what it takes despite this being his debut directorial venture.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In one of the promotional interviews, Antony Varghese (Pepe) mentioned the struggles that Nahas had to go through especially since the latter's directorial debut "<i>Aaravam</i>" in which he had collaborated was shelved in the first schedule itself due to financial crisis. But Nahas kept on trying & came up with the script of "<i>RDX</i>" which was a full on action flick and indicated the three protagonists, Robert (Shane Nigam), Dony (Pepe) (who were brothers) & Xavier (Neeraj Madhav). All three of them were trained in martial arts and boxing by Xavier's father Antony (Babu Antony) and used to get regularly involved in brawls. However, certain events in their lives make them resort for a peaceful livelihood & things moved along peacefully for a few years until Dony's father, Philip was manhandled by a gang during a function. What subsequently happened was a series of events which threatened their very existence. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">On paper it seems like a pretty normal story but Adarsh Sukumaran's screenplay made sure that the events were knitted together neatly thereby making it an engaging survival drama. It reminded me of Tinu Pappachan's "<i>Ajagajantharam</i>" as the action sequences kept on coming which is the USP of the movie for which hats off to action choreographer duo Anbariv who has been on roll with projects like "<i>KGF 2</i>", "<i>Vikram</i>", "<i>Sarapatta Parambarai</i>" etc. to name a few. Equally impressive was the cinematography which was handled by Alex Pulickal while the choreography was neatly done for Sam C S's music. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">All three of the main leads have done their parts well with Neeraj Madhav's performance with the nunchaku being absolutely phenomenal. However, I would place Vishnu Agasthya a step above the rest as he just embodied the negativity that the character demanded. He has definitely made the audience sit up and notice in whichever role he has featured in recent times. Looking forward to seeing more of him as he surely has the potential & the versatility. The rest of the cast such as Babu Antony, Mahima Nambiar (kudos for her impressive action segment), Lal, Baiju, Nishanth Sagar etc. have all done their parts aptly.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict:</b> Certainly the pick among the Onam releases & should see more screens added up over the next few days. An entertaining action flick that will cater to the masses though the families are likely to stay away!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.75/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p><p><b><i><br /></i></b></p><p><br /></p><p> </p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-49998363260652646962023-08-21T00:07:00.001+05:302023-08-21T00:07:15.421+05:30Gadar 2, OMG 2 & Ghoomer: "Both sequels have set the box office on fire!!!"<p style="text-align: justify;">Even as "<i>Jailer</i>" had the crowd flocking to the theatres in South India, Bollywood decided to cash in on the long weekend with sequels of "<i>Gadar</i>" & "<i>OMG</i>". Well as in most cases, both of them doesn't quite match upto the impact that its prequels had created. However, the box office numbers tells a totally different story as it has been clocking mind boggling numbers & hence it's quite evident that my opinion is quite different from many others. So why didn't the movies work for me???</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXRLjbgXaPhXutNt77EuEp1s-Gsqmn9A5BDLHGeNx-kAA5FUEuv76-a5XgUZXLxcXiAIJycg_twva3zvm0V9U7bgGPM0lvQuDp-IWz0evMSfnDcVGVaSoS_GGV90LX6VuERnVDdVF5tCYk7CIw-2GEJyjtNX6T1_J3u6bCLETCKZIolRKZ-bqrfnGuMviA/s815/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="815" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXRLjbgXaPhXutNt77EuEp1s-Gsqmn9A5BDLHGeNx-kAA5FUEuv76-a5XgUZXLxcXiAIJycg_twva3zvm0V9U7bgGPM0lvQuDp-IWz0evMSfnDcVGVaSoS_GGV90LX6VuERnVDdVF5tCYk7CIw-2GEJyjtNX6T1_J3u6bCLETCKZIolRKZ-bqrfnGuMviA/w421-h188/3.jpg" width="421" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Gadar 2: "Anil Sharma's movie sensibility still stuck in the past!!!"</b></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">When "<i>Gadar</i>" had released in 2001, I was in my second year of Medical college & over the past two decades, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge. Though it was a blockbuster, I didn't enjoy it much even then & with the passage of time, the movie has also led to many trolls. So the next question naturally would be, why have I bothered to watch it? The answer to that is Sunny Deol coz it's been quite a while since we have seen him on screen with the last one being "<i>Chup</i>" in which I felt he did a decent job. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The movie begins 17 years after the events in the prequel & against the backdrop of the 1971 Indo-Pak war. Tara Singh (Sunny Deol) & Sakeena (Ameesha Patil) led a contented life along with their son, Utkharsh (Jeete), until Tara goes missing in action during an attack between the armies at the border. This is when Utkharsh decides to go to Pakistan to rescue his father who was believed to be in one of the high security prisons. What subsequently happens is pretty much predictable as Shaktimaan Talwar has just rehashed the prequel and followed the exact same template (the insane decibel level from Sunny, the hand pump etc) with the only change being the characters.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There is nothing in the movie that could be termed as fresh and different as it literally felt like watching something that was more than two decades old. So much so, there were quite a few sequences that were unintentionally hilarious. However, Mithoon's music was reasonably fine while Sunny Deol gave an honest performance, to the extent that we will actually buy the fact that he is indeed capable of wrecking havoc. Ameesha was pathetic while Utkharsh, Manish Wadhwa (as Major Iqbal) & Simran Kaur (as Muskaan) were average.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>Certainly glad for the makers that it has grossed close to 400 C. But the movie just didn't work for me!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>1/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>OMG 2: "Still impresses with its execution laced with humour!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">About a decade has passed since Umesh Shukla's "<i>OMG</i>" had released where the exploitation of people on the basis of religion was explored. This time around, the responsibility of calling the shots was on Amit Rai who had also penned the story where the focus is on the need for sex education in schools. The protagonist this time around is Kanti Sharan (Pankaj Tripathi), an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. Life moves along peacefully until his son is rusticated from school for immoral conduct. Though Kanti was hard on his son initially, it eventually dawns on him that the school authorities also need to take responsibility for not giving proper guidance to his son. So he decides to take them to court & the events that unfold is showcased in the movie. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The need for sex education in schools is conveyed reasonably without adopting a preachy pattern. Just as in the prequel, the subject matter is conveyed with humour and that is an effective of putting the message across. The manner in which God's presence is shown to provide hints to the protagonist was also impressive as it does not resort to any showcase of divine power. The technical aspects were handled well though it does not deserve special mention.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Just like Paresh Rawal in the prequel, Pankaj has done a fine job as the protagonist as his way of presentation of dialogues and body language were all spot on. Despite a cameo, I personally felt Akki was pretty damn good in Lord Shiva's avatar & actually better than his version in the prequel. Yami Gautam was good though I felt the role demanded a much tougher character. As for the rest, Pavan Malhotra (as the Judge), Geeta Agrawal (as Kanti's wife) etc have all done their parts aptly.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>The move has been termed as a blockbuster as the cost of production was modest by normal standards. It is certainly worth a watch as it does provides a few laughs while talking about a relevant subject!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Ghoomer: "Impressive performances makes this standard template engaging!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's no secret that I love sports especially cricket & hence I have been a huge fan of sports dramas. So when one of my favourite Bollywood director, R. Balki decided to craft his latest creation in that genre; I was more than eager to check it out. The trailer looked promising & the movie also lived upto the expectations that were created. In terms of the template adopted by Balki along with Rahul Sengupta & Rishi Virmani, it is pretty much along expected lines but the former managed to keep the audience engaged.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Anina (Saiyami Kher), a promising batter has been chosen for her debut series to England, but fate had other plans as she met with an accident whereby her right hand had to be amputated. However, Padam Singh Sodhi (Abhishek Bachchan), an ex- Indian cricketer instills confidence in her that she can make it back into th.e team as a bowler. But his methods were unconventional & there was no guarantee whether their efforts will even bear fruit. In effect, it is crafted along the lines of Nagesh Kukunoor's "<i>Iqbal</i>"</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Usually in sports dramas, the biggest issue is the authenticity with which the game is shown; but over here Balki has managed to ace that part. Kudos to his choice of Saiyami & Abhishek, both of whom were fantastic in their roles with the former's body language and skills would have convinced many that she is indeed a professional cricketer. Even the family dynamics that Balki was interesting as it featured a emotional father who constantly prayed for his daughter's success while her grandmother was a cricket buff & a Roger Federer fan who preferred to keep her emotions in check. The latter half had a '<i>Lagaan</i>' vibe with '<i>Munna Bhai</i>' like emotions, so I presume that will give you an idea as to what to expect. On the technical side, Amit Trivedi's music and Vishal Sinha's cinematography were good. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">As I mentioned earlier, both Saiyami & Abhishek have done utmost justice to their parts. Abhishek's dialogue delivery in certain segments reminded me of his father but still managed to own his part in his own typical style. Just as in the case of all his previous movies, Balki yet again had Big B in a cameo role which in all probability would have been cheesy & corny, but the veteran still managed to bring class to it with his baritone. As for the rest, Shabana Azmi, Angad Bedi etc did their parts aptly.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>It doesn't quite have as much authenticity that we would normally expect from Balki's movies but the cinematic liberties taken and the impressive performances makes it an enjoyable watch!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>3/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-49651625415619070452023-08-20T23:57:00.006+05:302023-08-21T00:00:00.674+05:30Jaladhara Pumpset Since 1962, Kunjamminis Hospital, 1001 Nunakal: "Surprising twist to the expectations created!!!"<p style="text-align: justify;">Onam is just round the corner & in the interim period there has been a number of low profile releases. Unfortunately, none of them has managed to attract attention & to be frank, it isn't the fault of the audience but rather the lack of quality in the movie that are being screened. Over the past week, I happened to watch quite a few of them & it was hard to understand as to why talented artists like Urvashi, Indrans, Indrajith etc., wanted to be associated with such mediocre stuff.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4JmMVjYakcKSYvDCrJpW4C_8C2W3w17PgCnkVNR1E3yfYz7qiC-kYQY_Sf66-ZQSluKGKdw611LF9eOwZn8HiJ9-AmrLGQDPVdh-gm5ocLgp7ymvEMK7fEpXO8VMkt4cTHeOOBxYPy040-Rwz3mGTIb6VqhnhgEUElJ4M69lQYNrWt-4jAI5Q24Fp473g/s918/Jaladhara%20Pumpset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="918" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4JmMVjYakcKSYvDCrJpW4C_8C2W3w17PgCnkVNR1E3yfYz7qiC-kYQY_Sf66-ZQSluKGKdw611LF9eOwZn8HiJ9-AmrLGQDPVdh-gm5ocLgp7ymvEMK7fEpXO8VMkt4cTHeOOBxYPy040-Rwz3mGTIb6VqhnhgEUElJ4M69lQYNrWt-4jAI5Q24Fp473g/w469-h190/Jaladhara%20Pumpset.jpg" width="469" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Jaladhara Pumpset Since 1962: "The title was the only interesting part!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Lat year saw courtroom dramas such as Ratheesh Balakrishna's "<i>Nna Thaan Case Kodu</i>" & Tharun Moorthy's "<i>Saudi Velakka</i>" gain critical acclaim for the manner it engaged the audience. Hoping to garner a similar response from the audience, Ashish Chinnappa chose the same genre and worked on the script with Prajin MP based on the story by Sanu Chandran. Without mincing words, I have to say that both of them have miserably failed to come up with anything worthwhile with the exception of a couple of sequences.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It is basically about the delay of our judicial system which takes a toll on everyone involved in the case. Over here, Mani (Indrans) had attempted to steal the water pumpset from Mrinalini's house (Urvashi), but was caught during the act. Her husband, Chandran Maash (Vijayaraghavan) decided to pursue the case as both of them being teachers believed that law should take its course. Little did they realize that the case would drag on for seven years during which time Chandran had passed away & his wife, decided to continue the legal battle.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The main factor that makes such dramas interesting are the legal arguments, evidence & the struggles that the petitioner and accused goes through. None of these are credible enough in the movie with the exception of maybe the last point where they tried to explore the equation of Mrinalini & Mani with their respective daughters. But that was not properly fleshed out due to which it failed to create the impact that was possible. It was evident that they hoped that the sprinkling of humour would make up for the lack of an empathetic story & that also wasn't up to the mark. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">As in most movies, Urvashi has done a fine job as she balanced humour and the emotional segments with elan. Indrans & TG Ravi did their parts well also along with Nisha Sarang while Sanusha & Sagar Rajan (as Unni) were average to mediocre at times.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>Just like the seven year wait tested Mrinalini, this 139 minute directorial debut of Ashish will test the audience!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>1.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Kunjamminis Hospital: "Hmm...the producer might have to get his vitals checked!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Another director who made his debut over the past week was Sanal V Devan who collaborated with the writer duo, Abhayakumar & Anil Kurian who came up with the theme of a comic horror flick. Incidentally, both of them had penned the techno horror "<i>Chathur Mukham</i>" which though interesting on paper failed to impress. Over here, it is no different as they barely had no idea what they wanted to convey.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It is essentially about spirits that haunted a mansion which was being renovated into a hospital by the present owner, Riny (Nyla Usha). Apparently, it was a hospital initially before it was converted into a lodge where quite a few had died under mysterious circumstances. The challenges that Riny had to overcome to ensure that her hospital wasn't shut down forms the basis of the story. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">None of the characters failed to create an impact as the characterization was poor & even the comedy that is pushed in to make up for the lack of a credible story, failed to create genuine laughs. Despite the presence of talented artists like Prakash Raj & Indrajith, they barely had anything worthwhile to do. the only person who did have something to work with was Nyla & that didnt quite have the punch to take the story forward. There were quite a few other artists as well, but I don't think it is worth mentioning. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>Fail to understand why artists like Prakash Raj & Indrajith want to tarnish their reputation with such mediocre projects!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>1/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>1001 Nunakal: "An interesting take on lies and candour in a relationship!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Frankly speaking, I had no idea what to expect from this flick though there were two factors which attracted me to it. The first was the title as it reminded me of the famous 1001 Arabian Nights & secondly, it was released on Sony LIV which usually has a reputation of choosing movies that has quality. Anywaz it managed to keep me engaged over its relatively short run time of 104 minutes. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The movie unfolds in Saudi where a residential building had caught fire due to which two families decide to take refuge in their friend's mansion, Vinay & Divya (Vishnu Agasthya & Ninin Kaassim). Incidentally, it was their 10th wedding anniversary & they arrange a party for their close friends. One among them was a lawyer (Sudheesh Scaria) who suggests that they all play a variant of the "Truth or Dare" game whereby each couple will reveal one lie that their partner wasn't aware of. Though it initially starts off as fun, things starts to get serious as some lies seemed to threaten the very existence of their relationship. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is Thamar k V's debut directorial venture & he deserves praise for having done a neat job on a script that he had worked on along with Hashim Sulaiman. It follows the same template as Jeethu Joseph's "<i>12th Man</i>" but I felt this was much better coz of the relatability in the equations of the various couples and the scenarios that each one faces at various stages of their relationship felt realistic. Despite being set within a confined space, all the technical aspects were handled well be it Jithin Stansilaus's visuals, Neha Nair & Yakzan's music score and Yusuf's editing which maintains the right tone. Even all the artists have done their parts well.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>An neatly made movie that doesn't have much to boast about in terms of the cast & crew. However, the word of mouth should gain it audience!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>3/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-79547151604429649392023-08-11T22:30:00.001+05:302024-01-28T02:11:44.828+05:30Jailer: "Thalaiva & Anirudh provides an upbeat theatrical experience!!!"<p style="text-align: justify;">Finally Thalaiva is back & that too, with a bang!!! The much awaited "<i>Jailer</i>" has hit the screens & it is a much desired comeback of the legend & Nelson. It's almost four years since Karthik Subbaraj's "<i>Petta</i>" had released & undoubtedly, the last time that fans like us grooved to the swag of the Superstar in the theatres with gay abandon. So how exactly did Nelson plot his own rise from the ashes & in the process gave us the Thalaiva that we had dearly missed.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK5HVf1rEmZYcQY6tpJrX07BWPMY8Gm1glp8OkHfpbd6j5HjS4y8HcW8BX3RGe0ocWLVNMoLXxpNeeuenyDIafK4DRyexz6IiJQlAiC33K1ict06i5HIChB07m_VtID6yPYfig8RRQ8R4zqrjojS74r-RHAndk4jwN9lDCA7Xcre9vYOg2G3hjV4KwiyBw/s1200/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK5HVf1rEmZYcQY6tpJrX07BWPMY8Gm1glp8OkHfpbd6j5HjS4y8HcW8BX3RGe0ocWLVNMoLXxpNeeuenyDIafK4DRyexz6IiJQlAiC33K1ict06i5HIChB07m_VtID6yPYfig8RRQ8R4zqrjojS74r-RHAndk4jwN9lDCA7Xcre9vYOg2G3hjV4KwiyBw/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">ACP Arjun Pandian (Vasanth Ravi) was hot on the trails of Varman (Vinayakan), the kingpin of the idol smuggling racket. But before he could get him behind bars, Arjun goes missing & it is believed that he was murdered by Varman's men, which shatters his family especially his father, Muthuvel (Rajni), a retired jailer who was much respected by the force for his honesty. He sets out to take revenge for his son's death & goes on a rampage against Varman which is essentially the crux of the movie.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">After the forgetful "<i>Beast</i>", Nelson is back with a much improved screenplay even though the story that he penned is largely predictable for most parts. Well in a Thalaiva movie, do we even care about logic? Certainly not. It's about ensuring that the screenplay flows & mounting scenes that celebrates the legend's style and swag. In that respect, Nelson has performed impressively as he provide numerous whistle worthy moments and blends it with his quirky humour. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Personally, I felt the movie is a tad too long and there were segments in the second half that could have been handled far better such as Blast Mohan's portions that culminates in a heist as the story over there was far too frail. But the manner in which Nelson has handled the cameos of Lalettan & Sivanna was brilliant as the impact that both of them created in the theatre was thunderous. On the technical side, Vijay Karthik's cinematography was impressive but the highlight of the movie apart from Thalaiva was undoubtedly Anirudh's BGM. It was just fantastic to say the least as the BGM literally elevates most of the sequences. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">As Neelambari famously said in "<i>Padayappa</i>", '<span style="font-family: inherit;">Vayasanaalum Un Style-Um Azhagum Innum Unnai Vittu Pogala' & that is what Thalaiva is all about. The style, swag & aura that this legend has on screen is mesmerising and he continues to do that even at this age. It was upto Nelson to give him an apt stage, which he managed to & the Superstar weaved his magic. The level to which the impact of a hero can be enhanced is significantly dependent on the antagonist & in that sense, I felt Vinayakan has done a fine job with the opportunity given to him. But it could have been way better if the writing was better. The much expected combination with Ramya Krishnan unfortunately </span>didn't<span style="font-family: inherit;"> have much scope in the script though as usual she did her part well. Coming to the much celebrated cameos, both Lalettan & Sivanna were brilliant & being a Malayali, we are reminded of the fact that directors in our state just </span>don't<span style="font-family: inherit;"> know how to make use of his charisma; while Jackie Shroff & Tamannah did their parts aptly. As for the rest of the cast, Yogi Babu, Sunil (as Blast Mohan), Vasanth Ravi etc were ok. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>There is no doubt that there are significant shortcomings from Nelson as a writer, but as a director he has showcased Thalaiva in the avatar that we had hoped for. In short, do watch it in theatres to feel the vibe!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.75/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-74579188232129035472023-08-06T23:25:00.004+05:302023-08-06T23:25:40.842+05:30Pappachan Olivilaanu, Corona Dhavan & Article 21: "Wait for an elusive hit continues!!!"<p style="text-align: justify;">Among the three flicks that I got to watch this week, except for Lenin Balakrishnan's "<i>Article 21</i>", the other two were a test of our patience. I fail to understand as to why would the producers even invest in such movies which barely had a credible story to narrate. Seems like such mysteries are beyond the thinking of mere mortals like us.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQZ9_2vUCwfeLv2xH6TH9b6vUhOtwXU2va2gGqGLPYyitYsSTkVACAqin9Lu4Rq1kAPkwcec2Xk9uh8f4XCuvMvQ8uQiqPIARSOUCbnb393HaoaXCPhJUrFOEIQcUfL6rKM21dzUSmPkE6gAM2v67bppHIDnzHhJmeo1anOuIqAD49NKxDrx87eC8XiI0/s839/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="839" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQZ9_2vUCwfeLv2xH6TH9b6vUhOtwXU2va2gGqGLPYyitYsSTkVACAqin9Lu4Rq1kAPkwcec2Xk9uh8f4XCuvMvQ8uQiqPIARSOUCbnb393HaoaXCPhJUrFOEIQcUfL6rKM21dzUSmPkE6gAM2v67bppHIDnzHhJmeo1anOuIqAD49NKxDrx87eC8XiI0/w434-h180/1.jpg" width="434" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Pappachan Olivilaanu: "Sinto need to go to olivil for such a senseless flick!!!"</b></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is Sinto Sunny's third directorial venture & one in which he has penned the script as well. Well did he actually write anything? Frankly speaking, I dont understand what exactly has he written or was it his incapability to execute whatever he had written. It's a question that only he could answer coz what folded on screen was nothing more than a mishmash of many sequences stitched together.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Pappachan (Saiju Kurup) was a big mouth who constantly tried to cash in on the respect that the people had for his father, Mathachan (Vijayaraghavan); but to no avail. The movie is literally about his efforts to create an image for himself & the mess that he gets into as a result of that. I actually think that I might have made the movie sound interesting isn't it? Well, don't be fooled by what I wrote as the reality is far from it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sinto had no clue how to make the sequences flow sensibly from one to the other. It seemed like he was hell bent on making every scene comical & most of them fails to hit the mark. Saiju Kurup's character comes across as the comical version of Jayan from "<i>Upacharapoorvam Gunda Jayan</i>" & his performance was pretty mediocre at times. However, some of the others were fine such as Vijayaraghavan, Alexander Prashanth & Darshana; but all their characters were lazily written which severely impacted their effort. None of the technical aspects were worth mentioning except for maybe Ouseppachan's music. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict:</b> Hmm...better luck next time Sinto!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>1/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Corona Dhavan: "Provides laughs occasionally but nothing more than that!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Just like Sinto, another person who attempted to make a comic flick this week was CC Nithin with his "<i>Corona Dhavan</i>". This is his directorial debut and he had joined hands with Sujai Mohanraj who had written a movie based on a batch of alcohol stocked by the protagonist, Vinu (Lukman Avaran) even as the nation went into lockdown. The movie unfolds in Aanathadam where Vinu was making arrangements for his sister's wedding which included alcohol for his friends. However, the wedding got cancelled as his sister eloped with his friend before the party began. Later that night, lockdown was enforced & with everything shut down, Vinu becomes the much sought after person. Seeing that this was a situation to be milked to his benefit, he decides to play his cards carefully.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There is no doubt that the story as such had much scope for comedy, but there was evident lack of ability on the part of Sujai to create a chain of events that blended with each other. More often than not, many sequences were like isolated events whose sole purpose was to make the audience laugh. It certainly managed to do that at quite a few places. At the same time, some sections like Sreenath Bhasi's track, the drone incident (after the initial mishap) etc. were a test of patience. I dont think any of the technical aspects quite stood out. There were a lot of artists in this flick among which I felt Lukman did a decent job while others like Johny Antony, Irshad, Sarath Sabha etc were average though they did evoke laughs at times. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict:</b> The end result could have been far better if Sujai had given more thought into the screenplay as he did have a credible thread!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>1.25/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Article 21: "Feel good movie that comes across as a Govt publicity campaign at times!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Another director that made his directorial debut over the past fortnight was Lenin Balakrishnan with "<i>Article 21</i>". The primary reason why I decided to check it out was coz of the different appearance of Lena which seemed to imply that the story was quite unlike the usual ones. For the uninitiated, Article 21 A in the Constitution of India states that the state shall mandatorily impart free and compulsory elementary education to children belonging to the age group of 6 to 14 years. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The focus over here is a Tamil immigrant family that comprised of Thamara (Lena) & her two sons, Muthu (Nandan Rajesh) and Dalapathy (Leswin). They made a living out of collecting scrap & things take a turn when Dalapathy comes across a school bag that had fallen off an auto. His eyes lit up seeing the books which motivated him to seek education but their financial situation was such that it was beyond their means. At this juncture, he befriends a kind hearted auto driver (Aju Varghese) who helps him to pave a path towards his dream.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In terms of the story, Lenin has kept it quite predictable as everything falls into place without much of a hiccup. The attention to detail with regard to their hardships early on is not seen towards the latter half as it felt like everything was way too easy than it would have been in reality. The sequence that featured Bineesh Kodiyeri felt like a Govt publicity campaign & came across as rather artificial. At the same time, I do appreciate the awareness that Lenin provides with regard to the options that are available for people in the lower socio-economic strata. Coming to the technical aspects, it was handled reasonably well especially Gopi Sundar's music and Ashkar's cinematography. A special word of mention for Rasheed Ahammed for the make up work that he had done. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Lena has done a convincing job as Thamara both in terms of body language and dialogue delivery. Both the boys were also fine while Aju continues to grow in stature with restraint performances. Even the artist who essayed the role of Victor was ok while Joju as usual was good in a cameo role. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>Despite the predictability, it is still worth a worth for the feel good experience!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-41544713308054353532023-08-01T14:00:00.003+05:302023-08-01T19:25:16.834+05:30Padmini, Valatty, Voice of Sathyanathan, Kurukkan, Appatha & Kolla: "Most of them have struggled to bring in audience!!!"<p style="text-align: justify;">The last couple of weeks has been rather cold at the box office as most of the movies have struggled to draw in the audience to the theatres. The only exception among the lot seems to be Raafi's "<i>Voice of Sathyanathan</i>" which has managed to break even within the first weekend itself. Whether it would be able to sustain it remains to be seen. So was it as good as the numbers showed & why had the others struggled???</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwituo5rXHMhG_wuwQDSBcKw0hpNb5BdqMv2gTyslfe0QgKAtVad2kG44eBd-2j2vPViRGIPfKxCJ0fPXXFpECOuoHEGIBsFSdcp1VDEjmdrX_izMIcOSv0x1dHTV50lxYZO92nXPK1F88xzza6CjulRh_JID95Yn-TyltDvLp4yAzZT62741vofHjhAP/s650/padmini.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="650" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwituo5rXHMhG_wuwQDSBcKw0hpNb5BdqMv2gTyslfe0QgKAtVad2kG44eBd-2j2vPViRGIPfKxCJ0fPXXFpECOuoHEGIBsFSdcp1VDEjmdrX_izMIcOSv0x1dHTV50lxYZO92nXPK1F88xzza6CjulRh_JID95Yn-TyltDvLp4yAzZT62741vofHjhAP/s320/padmini.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Padmini: "Not quite up to the level of Hegde's previous ventures!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The 53rd Kerala State Awards were announced a few days back which saw Chackochan earn a Special Jury mention & Vincy Aloshious, the best actress award. Add to that, the presence of Senna Hegde, Aparna Balamurali & Deepu Pradeep, and it's evident that there is a talented group of people working both in front & behind the camera in this project. Just like many others, even I had high expectations about this movie after all Hegde's previous ventures were both entertaining & quirky in equal measure. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">This time around, the story happens in Palakkad & it opens with the chatter of guests that had gathered for Rameshan's (Chackochan) marriage to Smrithi (Vincy). But even before the night had passed, Smrithi eloped with her lover & Rameshan became the laughing stock of people. As a result of which, he was reluctant to think of a marriage again until he met Padmini (Madonna Sebastian). But that's when they realised that his first marriage was yet to be legally dissolved & to aid him in the task, he sought the help of Adv Sreedevi (Aparna). </p><p style="text-align: justify;">For the uninitiated, Deepu Pradeep was the one who penned the script for "<i>Kunjiramayanam</i>" & when he joined hands with Hegde; it felt like we were in for another rib tickler. Though it began promisingly, it kind of lagged off after a while as the quirky humour which was expected from the duo was largely restricted to Sreedevi's fiance Jayan & his 'raareeram' mattresses. That does not imply that the flick was boring as the humour does work at many parts but the tale as such was largely predictable. As for other aspects, Jakes Bejoy's music & Sreeraj Raveendren's visuals were fine. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Coming to performances, Chackochan was ok while Aparna finally got a role where she had more scope to perform & she did reasonably well with her expression of helplessness. Madonna did her part aptly while Vincy & Sajin Cherukayil (as Jayan) were the ones who brought in the laughs as those were the ones who fitted the category of quirkiness that we had come to expect from Hegde. As for the rest, Anand Manmadhan, Ganapathi Poduval etc were ok.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>A story that certainly had the elements for a quirky hilarious flick but falls well short of that. However, it is still worth a try!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.25/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Valatty: "Commendable effort but cliched story proves to be its bane!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Among the various production houses that we have in the Malayalam film industry, I do consider Friday Film House as one of the best for their constant effort to do something different & interesting. At times it might not click ; but their efforts are usually commendable. The latest production from their stable is Devan Jayakumar's "<i>Valatty</i>" which is on anthropomorphic animals, something which is not attempted much in our movies. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Though Devan's effort to try something different needs to be applauded, the same cant be said about his script which was the typical cliched storyline that we have seen in innumerable movies. The protagonists are Tomy (Roshan Mathews), a golden retriever & Amalu (Raveena Ravi), a cocker spaniel who are neighbours & in love with each other. However, their owners, disapproved of it & they decide to leave their homes. What subsequently happens is the crux of the movie & I am sure you would have easily guessed the rest by now.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The adorable nature of the dogs makes it an endearing and engaging flick for the kids. However, apart from the fact that the dogs replaced the humans (I am not belittling the effort, as it is by no means easy); there is hardly anything in the story that manages to surprise us. Another aspect that required more attention to be paid was the cinematography & I felt Vishnu Panicker's efforts were average at best. At the same time, pretty much everyone who lend their voices here did a fine job be it Roshan, Raveena, Soubin, Sunny Wayne, Indrans etc. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>Both Devan & Vijay Babu deserves praise for doing something quite unique. However, if Devan had invested more thought into the script then it would have been a far more fruitful experience!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Voice of Sathyanathan: "Much louder voice of Rafi's humour than in recent times!!!" </i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">When was the last time that a Rafi movie genuinely had you entertained? In my case, the answer to that will be Lalettan's "<i>Hallo</i>" which was released in 2007. Since then none of Rafi's movies have quite matched up to the standards of his vintage comedies. His latest flick to hit the screens last weekend was "<i>Voice of Sathyanathan</i>" & he would be hoping that he could recreate the magic of his yester years. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The film unfolds with a tiff between Sathyanathan (Dileep) & his neighbour, Varkeychayan (Siddique), over the former's message at Varkey's birthday party. Satyanathan's efforts to resolve the matter gets him into bigger troubles largely because of his carelessness to articulate his train of thoughts properly. Eventually, he comes under the scanner of the law enforcement agencies for his apparent unintentional threat on the President & the situations that he gets himself into coz of that, is what this movie is about.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There is no doubt that the humour that Rafi created in the beginning of the movie largely works, though it is not quite upto the level that we had seen from him in the 90s & early 2000s. The emotional segment is shouldered by Joju & that is where the movie starts to get into a credible shape. But the segments featured in Mumbai lacked the thrills that Rafi was trying to create before it culminates in a predictable manner. None of the technical aspects deserves special mention. On the performance front, Dileep was fine and scores in the humour sequences while Joju was spot on in the emotional segments. Veena was ok while Siddique manages to tickle the funny bone. As for the rest, Jagapathi Babu, Makarand Deshpande, Jaffer Sadiq etc did what their roles demanded while Ramesh Pisharody felt like a misfit. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>As an audience, it certainly had its moments but I wouldn't say that I was thoroughly entertained. However, for the industry's welfare it is heartening to see that the movie has worked at the box office.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Kurukkan: "Not even half as wily as the kurukkan!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's been quite a while since we have seen Sreenivasan feature in a movie coz of his ill-health. Hence there was a lot of good will and expectations in the lead up to Jayalal Divakaran's "<i>Kurukkan</i>", in which the veteran actor was expected to return. The promos & stills indicated that it was a crime investigation flick that was packaged with humour. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is Jayalal's directorial debut & he had joined hands with Manoj Ramsingh, who had worked on the script. The movie unfolds with the murder of the social media influencer, Neenu (Mareena Michael) & Inspector Dinesh (Vineeth Sreenivasan) is entrusted with the investigation. After a failed drug bust, the latter was keen on solving this case in the hope of improving his tarnished image. In the absence of a solid lead, he decides to frame the case on Hari (Shine Tom), an IT professional with the help of Krishnan (Sreenivasan), a habitual false witness who gave fake testimonies in favour of the police. Who comes up trumps at the end of it is what this movie is about.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The basic flaw with the screenplay is the inability to do justice to either of the genres that they are trying to portray. As Vineeth had said in the promotions, the character of Dinesh is made in the same mold as Shikhari Shambhu but the issue here is that except for sparse comical situations, there is hardly much to laugh about. Similarly, in the urge to make it comical; not much thought went into the investigation track as well due to which it barely had anything to make it engaging. At the same time, I felt the climax was ok with the facts laid out & also for Vineeth's performance. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The manner in which Vineeth's character is etched out is such that it showcases shades of caricature, stupidity and a streak of villainy. He has done a fine job within the scope that was offered to him. Sreenivasan was fine in the initial segments though in the latter half, his character barely had much to do & it didnt come across as convincing. Shine Tom was comparatively better with regard to his recent performances while Malavika Mohan also did her part well. As for the rest, Srikant Murali, Aswath Lal, Sruthy Jayan etc were ok.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>It neither managed to do complete justice to the humour part nor to the investigation part.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>1.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Appatha: "If it wasnt for Urvashi, it would have been a debacle!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Our industry has been graced by numerous brilliant female artists over the years, but if one has to choose who is the finest among the lot, then just like me many would say Urvashi. This talent powerhouse has steadily transitioned to mature roles & consistently given praise worthy performance in different languages. Her latest movie is helmed by Priyadarshan & marks a landmark, as it is her 700th movie.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The movie is about Appatha (Urvashi) who was a much respected lady in her village for her wisdom, empathy & pickle business which was a source of livelihood for many. However, her son who lived in the city didn't think highly of her abilities & shared a strained relationship. Things take a turn when her son invites her over to the city; only for her to realise later that the main purpose was to take care of their dog, Zeus while he went on a family tour. Despite being terrified of dogs, Appatha agrees & how she gels with Zeus and the rest of the people in the apartment complex forms the rest of the story.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Along with Deepthi Govindarajan, Priyadarshan has penned the screenplay which initially starts off an emotional drama but then incorporates humour into the proceedings. On the whole, it is a feel good movie & as a OTT release, worthy enough to be a relaxing watch; though if you are looking for originality and uniqueness, you are likely to be disappointed. Madhu Ambat's frames were impressive as always while the other technical aspects were ok.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The movie is essentially about Urvashi & the veteran legend has given a fine performance as always. Though her brand of comedy in recent times feels artificial occasionally, it was still decently done. As for the rest of the cast, all of them did their parts aptly. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>A feel good movie that is sensibly released on OTT</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Kolla: "Quite underwhelming compared to the potential of the thread!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Being an admirer of Bobby-Sanjay's work, I was more than eager to check out Suraj Varma's "<i>Kolla</i>" as the brothers had penned the story. Apparently, the modus operandi employed in the movie has similarities with the 2007 Chelembra bank robbery (which incidentally was inspired from "<i>Dhoom</i>"). Anywaz the protagonists over here were Annie (Rajisha Vijayan) & Shilpa (Priya Varrier) who had come over to a small town with the plan of opening a beauty parlour. With the help of the localities, they earn good will & proceed with the renovation work in the space that they had acquired. However, on the eve of inauguration of their parlour, the Co-Operative bank above their shop was robbed with the route of entry chosen by the burglars being through their roof. This essentially meant their business plans were stalled until the police had solved the case. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Frankly speaking, I certainly liked the idea behind the heist as it had a credible cat and mouse feel to the proceedings. The USP was obviously the masterminds behind the robbery & the apt casting choices, which implied Suraj had a winner in his hands. However, I felt Jasim Jalal & Nelson Joseph ought to have put more thought into the screenplay as they left way too many unanswered questions or was it a case of unjudicial editing. In the end, it did have its moments but one cant help feel underwhelmed considering the potential the thread had. The technical aspects were neatly done though as I mentioned earlier, it remains to be seen if Arju Benn needs to be held responsible for the editing.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Both Rajisha & Priya did their parts well and they were properly complimented by Alencier & Vinay Forrt. It was sad to see Kollam Sudhi for one last time, Alexander Prasanth didnt have much scope while Shebin Benson & Shaan Rahman were ok. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>It had the scope to be much more impactful & engaging, if it wasn't for the lack-lustered screenplay!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.25/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-8689929916225782092023-07-23T21:40:00.003+05:302024-03-11T15:17:20.568+05:30Mission Impossible 7 & Oppenheimer: "Wholesome entertainment!!!"<p style="text-align: justify;">Even as Hollywood is in a deadlock with the screenwriters of the Writers Guild of America & the actors union on strike to curb the influence of AI & the pay inequality in the industry, the box office was witness to some of the biggest releases of the year. To be frank, it was a rewarding feel to watch quality entertainment & that's what I felt about the two flicks that I have penned my opinion about.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHq88uhgi4Shc7WcPR_Ep_HvwSgmBngn01gUizh7Kz4QNar2lC715VXgZB17R9g36tPeb9fQhlsijcwtr6NBJkxh6qr9t0GD5aFtNuioq36Y0d9xVFeccrhn1LIVU8MxPX4tYXIUk9_yqmBZUsZbFKgvSMQ3DbepQyRb-cjq_HivR6-Aagm6qpcp8eXLAt/s569/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="418" data-original-width="569" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHq88uhgi4Shc7WcPR_Ep_HvwSgmBngn01gUizh7Kz4QNar2lC715VXgZB17R9g36tPeb9fQhlsijcwtr6NBJkxh6qr9t0GD5aFtNuioq36Y0d9xVFeccrhn1LIVU8MxPX4tYXIUk9_yqmBZUsZbFKgvSMQ3DbepQyRb-cjq_HivR6-Aagm6qpcp8eXLAt/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><i>Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1: "Continues to thrill as always"</i></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;">The seventh installment of the hugely popular Mission Impossible series hit the screens last week & the response has been reasonably encouraging as they are expected to break even this weekend. Since it is made at a whopping cost of $300 million, the makers certainly require a sustained footfall at the theatre which unfortunately hasn't been the case for most of the other biggies that released earlier this year. To add to that Christopher Nolan's "<i>Oppenheimer</i>" & Greta Gerwig's "<i>Barbie</i>" have released this week & that should add to the competition even more. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;">This project is the first of a two part series and is helmed by Chrisopher McQuarrie, a person with whom Tom Cruise has collaborated for most of his movies in the past decade or so. Incidentally, this is not Christopher's first work in this spy action series as he had called the shots in Mission Impossible-Fallout as well. Over here, he was also involved in the screenplay along with Erik Jendresen where the duo decided to focus on the havoc that AI can cause if it goes rogue. The Russians had launched their latest submarine, Sevastopol whose computer housed a high end AI for its navigation purposes. However, the AI became rogue and sabotaged the submarine before it went on to infiltrate the military and intelligence networks of many nations. As expected, the world powers were trying to figure out means to control it & the answer to that seemed to be a cruciform key to the chamber of the computer that housed the AI or otherwise known as 'the Entity'. Ethan (Tom Cruise) & his team were entrusted with the task of retrieving the key, but they knew the only solution to the problem was to destroy it. But can Ethan out-think the Entity which was a master in deception and can twist the truths such that it ceases to exist. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;">It is undoubtedly an engaging story and keeps us hooked to the plot, not to mention the jaw dropping action sequences which has always been the USP of this series. I presume most of you would have seen the behind the scenes of the stunt done at the Alps which was just sensational to say the least. All the technical aspects are top notch be it Fraser Taggart's cinematography, Lorne Balfe's music etc. Coming to performances, Tom Cruise has always been the heart and soul of this franchise and he continues to push the envelope with his charismatic screen presence and awe inspiring stunts. Even the rest of the cast such as Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell, Rebecca Ferguson etc. have also done their parts admirably </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b>Verdict:</b> For people who might not be fans of the franchise, it will seem like the usual formula of exhilarating action packed in a thriller mode. It is indeed that, but if it has to go strong even after seven installments then obviously the makers are doing something right to appeal to the audience. In short, do check it out!!!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;">Rating: <b>3.5/5</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Oppenheimer: "BRILLIANT"!!!</i></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For a self confessed fan of Christopher Nolan & as a movie aficionado who also loves historical biographies, "<i>Oppenheimer</i>" is a movie that I have been eagerly waiting like million others ever since it was announced. Based on 'American Prometheus' by Kai Bird & Martin Sherwin, it is about the life of Robert Oppenheimer, the American theoretical physicist who was the director of the Los Alamos laboratory during WWII that led to the development of the nuclear weapons and hence credited as the 'father of the atom bomb'.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nolan had also worked on the screenplay and he chose to narrate the story alternating between colour and black and white whereby Oppenhiemer's subjective version was chosen for the former. In typical Nolan style, we are introduced to two different timelines with one section focusing on the politically motivated security clearance drama that unfolded in 1954 to crucify Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) & the other in 1959 at the Senate meeting convened to confirm the elevation of Admiral Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr), the former US Atomic Energy Commission to the cabinet. Through each section we are introduced to the various events that unfolded in his life beginning with his career at Cambridge, development of the atom bomb, the Trinity blast, aftermath of the devastation unfurled at Hiroshima & Nagasaki & the witch hunt to paint him a traitor in a kangaroo court. Essentially, the price that Oppenheimer had to pay for what he had created.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unlike what most people would have expected, the focus is not on the visual depiction of the massacre that unfolded in Japan but rather the drama that unfolds & the discussions that happen between the greatest intellectual minds of that time. Einstein appears only in a couple of sequences but boy, the impact that he creates is something that we would have least expected early on. At the heart of all this, it is essentially about the greed for power irrespective at whatever cost it comes which could even mean the end of the world as the probability for that was only 'near' zero (& not zero). The world remembers Hitler for the Jewish genocide that he orchestrated, but the truth is anti-semitism was also prevalent in the US & even Oppenheimer despite his service to his nation couldn't escape from it. Hats off to the brilliance of Nolan in the way he captivates with the way he narrated the story & also for his conscious decision not to showcase the Hiroshima tragedy lest it ends up glorifying the invention unintentionally. He emphatically makes the point clear that in the bid to end the war, the world chose to indulge in an arms race and that is evident when the protagonist chant the words from the Gita 'Now I have become death, the destroyer of worlds'.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nolan well & truly deserves every accolade that comes his way but it wouldn't have been possible without the brilliant cast and crew that he had at his disposal. The first aspect that blew me off was the music which was magnificent & which I presumed was created by Hans Zimmer, only to realize later on that it was Ludwig Goransson. The Academy Award winner already has an impressive body of work at just 38 years of age & I would definitely be surprised if he doesnt win his second Oscar for this one. When it came to camera work, we expect only the best from Hoyte van Hoytema & he has done just that as with his last three previous collaborations with Nolan. The same goes for Richard King who has been a constant presence in Nolan's ventures as sound designer. Actually aspect of the movie was top notch & hence it is beyond the scope of this review to mention about everyone. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For anyone who has followed Nolan's filmography, apart from Michael Caine; another artist that has constantly featured in his movies was Cillian Murphy. As 'Oppenheimer', he was exceptional to the extent that we cannot imagine anyone else in that role. It's been a while since Robert Downey Jr had bid adieu to his Iron Man avatar & what a way to comeback. He was magnificent as Admiral Strauss & could very much be in the running for the Oscar along with Cillian. Emily Blunt (as Katherine) was awesome as the firebrand partner while Matt Damon (as General Groves) & Florence Pugh (as Jean Tatlock) was impressive as well. As a matter of fact, each & every artist have done complete justice to their roles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict:</b> Hats down one of the best movie that I have ever seen and should sweep the Academy awards. Just don't miss it & definitely watch it in theatres so as to have the full feel of the experience!!!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>4.75/5</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><div class="adm" style="margin: 5px 0px;"><div class="ajR h4" id="q_52" style="background-color: #e8eaed; border-radius: 5.5px; border: none; clear: both; color: #500050; cursor: pointer; font-size: 11px; line-height: 6px; outline: none; position: relative; width: 24px;"></div></div></div>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-25557248523863809992023-07-16T15:09:00.001+05:302023-07-16T15:09:17.800+05:30Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, Adipurush, Satyaprem ki katha, Neeyat & Tarla: "Interesting mix of movies!!!"<p style="text-align: justify;">It's been quite a while since I have penned my opinion about the Bollywood flicks that I had watched over the past 2 months. To be frank, contrary to popular belief there were quite a few interesting mix of movies & it has also resulted in footfalls to the theatre. Quite a few of them impressed me while there was a colossal debacle as well which I presume you would have guessed even without me mentioning its name. Anywaz without further ado, let me get into the details.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu4G4mZHtT5DyDh5-cNlnGypJhoZ9vtytmmorA9-wrpgKIUzMsJHacx8q4YqYWVqHDdWKHQ6lQ_J7bOUgFAy9Y-tELaJviFL4JSieTzsnFd9zk8n1blE4ZmlIXHqZbYp9NkMvAj9LvelG9cWlxnyO35iS-2Mz-8_iuoWHADWOAT2JHmv696BHUVhv3MJwD/s1254/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="1254" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu4G4mZHtT5DyDh5-cNlnGypJhoZ9vtytmmorA9-wrpgKIUzMsJHacx8q4YqYWVqHDdWKHQ6lQ_J7bOUgFAy9Y-tELaJviFL4JSieTzsnFd9zk8n1blE4ZmlIXHqZbYp9NkMvAj9LvelG9cWlxnyO35iS-2Mz-8_iuoWHADWOAT2JHmv696BHUVhv3MJwD/w479-h127/1.jpg" width="479" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Zara Hatke Zara Bachke: "Neither hatke nor does the audience have to stay bachke!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is Laxmi Utekar's third directorial venture & he has stuck on the rom-com genre with Vicky Kaushal & Sara Ali Khan in the lead. The movie unfolds in Indore where the duo (Kapil & Saumya) is a happily married couple with diverse familial backgrounds who has been together for two years. Due to lack of space & privacy in Kapil's ancestral home, they decide to move out with the dream of having their own pad. But they soon realize that it was beyond their financial capabilities. This is when they get to know about the Govt's housing scheme for low income families & try to see whether they could put in their names in the list. But it was easier said than done. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Both Maitrey Bajpai & Ramiz Khan had worked on the script and have come up with an enjoyable screenplay. In terms of the story as such there isn't anything that comes across as unique or make us sit up and take notice. But it certainly had quite a few hilarious sequences such as the court scene that would make us chuckle. On the technical side, most of the tracks created by Sachi-Jagir were good with 'Tere Vaaste' track rendered by Varun Jain, Shadaab Faridi & Altamash Faridi being one of my favourite track of the year. When it came to performances, both Vicky & Sara did their parts well with the supporting cast though cringe at times were also up to the task.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict:</b> Laxmi certainly knew how to package the movie since it does have the elements to keep the audience entertained. In short, you may give it a try!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating:<b> 2.25/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Adipurush: "Mockery of a classic epic!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Unlike Laxmi, Om Raut had a wonderful epic in his hand that had inspired many across the globe to make their versions of it either as live action or animated movies. But I can confidently say without batting my eyelid, that this was undoubtedly the most pathetic celluloid creation of Ramayana. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">First & foremost, Raut came up with a screenplay which was preposterous to say the least. It seems like as if he wanted to combine elements from various flicks like Planet of the Apes, Marvel's Asgard, DC's Flash, Dementors from Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones etc. & ended up making a mess of it without an iota of originality. The VFX which was said to be the USP turned out to be its bane as it was absolute crap with complete lack of finesse. I fail to understand as to where exactly had they invested all the money. It also shows Raut's lack of visualization coz there were many sequences where they could have opted for natural locations & that would have made the visual language much more digestible to the audience. None of the other technical elements deserves mention as it barely had any effect in making the movie engaging.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">After the highs of '<i>Baahubali</i>', Prabhas has been going through a rough patch & it's primarily because of his poor movie choices. He was not the right choice for this role & there was hardly any chemistry with Kriti Sanon, who was pretty mediocre while Sunny Singh (as Laxman) was even worser than that. Though comical & bizarre at times, I still felt Saif (as Raavan, despite his character written so horribly) & Devdatta Nage (as Hanuman) did their part reasonably well. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>As the Allahabad High Court had stated, it was indeed a test of our tolerance!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>0.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Satyaprem Ki Katha: "A katha that had potential in its core theme only to be messed up in the build up to it!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">A couple of weeks back, the Marathi audience had one of their respectable director, Sameer Vidwans make his directorial debut in Bollywood with "<i>Satyaprem Ki Katha</i>". Since I haven't seen any of his Marathi films, it would be hard for me to comment on his craft though his "<i>Anandi Gopal</i>" had earned him the National award for Social issues.. Hence it wasn't surprising that he opted for a romantic drama that was penned by Karan Shrikant Sharma. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The protagonist as you would have guessed is Satyaprem (Karthik Aryan), an unemployed Gujarati lad who loafed around after having discontinued his law course. At the same time, he was head over heels for Katha (Kiara Advani),who belonged to an affluent family & was in a relationship. But as fate would have it, Satya saves Katha's life at a crucial juncture & that eventually led to their wedding. However, despite Satya's best efforts Katha refused to warm up to him & the reason for that was something that would test his love for her. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Spoiler alert..the subject that Sameer & Karan talks about is indeed relevant & we did have Shoojit Sircar's "<i>Pink</i>" that also spoke about it but from a different perspective. The issue over here is that Sameer seems to be unsure as to how to balance the Bollywood elements (music, song & dance) and in the process the core subject gets relegated to the sidelines and is not given the screen time it deserved. Another aspect that I felt could have worked upon in a better manner was the way Satya's character was written as it lacked the depth it required which is also the case in the roles given to the supporting cast (especially Satya's parents). On the technical side, the art department ought to have done a better job as the sets were quite artificial, Hitesh-Sonik's music was average while Ayanaka Bose's cinematography was fine.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Coming to performances, Karthik Aryan fits the bill of a goofy guy but when the latter half of the movie touches upon the core subject, it needed someone who had the capability to handle the emotional scenes authentically which he clearly lacked. At the same time, Kiara was impressive & effectively conveys the trauma of her character. As for the rest of the cast, it's quite unfortunate that artists like Gajraj Rao & Supriya Pathak were wasted in poorly etched roles. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>In the urge to pack everything into the movie, Sameer failed to do complete justice to the subject that he wanted to convey!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>1.75/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Neeyat: "The makers should have invested on the script with more neeyat!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">When Anu Menon's "<i>Neeyat</i>" was announced with Vidya Balan yet again as the lead, I was certainly eager to check it out after all the duo's "<i>Shakuntala Devi</i>" was reasonably well made. Incidentally, the presence of numerous collaborators such as Girvani Dhyani, Advaita Kala, Priya Venkataraman apart from Anu in the drafting of the script made me wonder as to whether it would be a situation where many cooks spoiled the broth. Well it almost felt like in the first half until it kind of redeemed itself to a certain extent.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">AK (Ram Kapoor) is a multi-billionaire who had exiled himself in the UK as he was wanted by the Indian authorities for financial irregularities. After much thought, he decided to surrender himself & planned to convey his decision to his close friends and family at his grand birthday party that he threw in his mansion. However, even before the night had ended he was found dead at a cliff nearby & the question was whether it was a suicide or a murder. Incidentally, he had also invited CBI officer Mira Rao (Vidya Balan) to the party & she decided to unravel the mystery. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">A few minutes into the movie & it becomes evident that the inspiration for it is Vijay Mallya & Rian Johnson's "<i>Knives Out</i>" series. The primary flaw that pulls back Anu Menon's effort is the predictability & the lack of authenticity in terms of the investigation pattern. We are already aware what happens & Kausir Munir's dialogues fails to provide the punch that would keep us engaged. However, the screenplay was better in the latter segment & it does provide some twists in the end. In terms of its making, Andrea Neo's visuals was in sync with what the genre demanded while Mickey McCleary's score was average.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Vidya Balan as a performer needs no introduction though her character in this came across as rather odd which she has still done reasonably ok. Ram Kapoor had the swag & the body language that his role demanded while the rest of the cast were ok. But to fair to them, they would have performed much better after all most of them are talented artists; if they were provided with much better written character arcs. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>Falls well short of expectations as the predictability & lack of genuine originality plagues this wannabe "<i>Knives Out</i>"!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Tarla: "Didn't quite match upto the flavour of Tarla's dishes!!!</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">How many of you have watched Surabhi on Doordarshan? Well I used to follow it keenly & if you also have, then you might recollect having watched Tarla Dalal appear as a guest on that show. For the uninitiated, Tarla was the first woman chef to appear on television & became a household name for many through her popular recipe books & cookery shows. It was a life that deserved to have a biopic & that is what Piyush Gupta had attempted with his debut directorial venture.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As a writer, Piyush already have some credible movies in his resume such as "<i>Dangal</i>", "<i>Chhichhore</i>" etc. Over here, along with Gautam Ved; he has captured all the major aspects of Tarla's life and gives us a gist of how she became the icon that we all know. Tarla (Huma Qureshi) always aspired to do something worthwhile with her life & she realized that her calling was in food when she tried her hand in giving vegetarian dishes a non veg twist. However, the path onward wasn't easy but she had the unwavering support of her husband, Nalin (Sharib Hashmi). </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The screenplay as such didnt quite have the flavour that was expected but that doesnt mean that it was a test of our patience. But the credit for that goes to the impressive performances of Huma & Sharib, both of whom have done utmost justice to their roles. Their chemistry & the endearing nature of their characters keeps us entertained. There were not much supporting artists as such but whoever did appear such as Bharati Achrekar, Rajeev Pandey etc did their parts aptly. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>It's a feel good movie & worth a watch which is beamed on Zee5!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-74918888685384459672023-07-09T23:17:00.003+05:302023-07-09T23:17:49.246+05:30Madhura Manohara Moham, Nalla Nilavulla Rathri & 18+ Journey of Love: "Humour scores while others fails to impress!!!"<p style="text-align: justify;">Over the last couple of weeks, though a number of flicks had hit the screens; there were only a few Malayalam movies that really motivated me to check it out. As has been the trend for quite a while, among the three movies that I had watched, two of them were by debutants while the third was one who was into his second directorial venture. So how did these movies fare at the box office even as the monsoon threated to wreck havoc at many places.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKww37gUvDs1OeN0gY8bMzSqM-f63SASReUnSlnvW1VQu_-DoPb4VY9tFAPQiZ9_VuEukBbrGxbFMywp_iUpev5faystN7DsbpfgiTH8_bC7i4-Dhl446vwsfkmzH37iCsEOlGERPaBxbtf28lTvKwxB2au0Kw9tQc3kvlTMfUFBmMAOV4MaI6CJXid9aO/s887/mm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="887" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKww37gUvDs1OeN0gY8bMzSqM-f63SASReUnSlnvW1VQu_-DoPb4VY9tFAPQiZ9_VuEukBbrGxbFMywp_iUpev5faystN7DsbpfgiTH8_bC7i4-Dhl446vwsfkmzH37iCsEOlGERPaBxbtf28lTvKwxB2au0Kw9tQc3kvlTMfUFBmMAOV4MaI6CJXid9aO/w397-h165/mm.jpg" width="397" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Madhura Manohara Moham: "Stephy's moham to give a madhura experience for the audience almost works!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Dr. Girija K.P, the owner of the Girija theatres in Thrissur is a name that is known to many primarily because of the struggles that she had to face being a female entrepreneur. With constant cyber attacks on her establishment for reasons unknown to her, she had to reach out to the authorities & media to help her out of the predicament. As a mark of solidarity, she had received unconditional support from many groups & this included Sharafudeen as his "<i>Madhura Manohara Moham</i>" was the latest release in Girija. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">This movie happens to be the directorial debut of Stephy Zaviour, a well known name in the industry who had build her reputation over the past decade as a talented costume designer. Based on the story by Mahesh Gopal & Jai Vishnu, they adopt a strategy (not sure if it was intentional) whereby they start off building the framework for something & then totally changes path to end with a track quite different. It is essentially a satirical take on the orthodox and the prevalence of the casteism mentality in the society, not to forget breaking the mold of the stereotypical girls from such families. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The focus over there is Manu (Sharafudeen), the member of the local NSS committee who was in an affair with the NSS President's (Vijayaraghavan) daughter, Salabha (Aarsha Baiju) & his sibling, Meera (Rejisha Vijayan). The latter was the responsible one in the family as their mother, Ushamma (Bindu Panicker) still firmly held to her beliefs of belonging to the upper caste. They were kind of aware about the challenges that Manu might have to face for his wedding due to the financial disparity, but little did they realize the mental trauma they had to face to arrange Meera's wedding.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Frankly speaking, I thoroughly enjoyed the hilarious sequences & kudos for that primarily goes to the performers rather than the screenplay. Though I do applaud the efforts of the makers, I felt they were kind of unsure as to how far they can push the envelope and opted for a rather tame end despite having the potential to try for something more impactful. As for the technical aspects, most of them were done neatly.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Both Rejisha & Sharafudeen has done a fine job with the former taking on a character that was quite unexpected which she aced. It would also be fair to say that Sharafudeen comedy had also improved while Bindu Panicker rocked as usual. The rest of the cast such as Saiju Kurup, Aarsha (definitely a fine talent that has potential), Althaf etc have done their parts well.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>Quite a hilarious end to a story that started quite unlike what was expected. It does not seek to ask questions & prefers to give the audience an enjoyable time. In short, do give it a try!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.75/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Nalla Nilavulla Rathri: "Predictable survival thriller!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">One of the most reputed production houses in the industry is 'Friday Film House' which was launched by Sandra Thomas & Vijay Babu. However, with time their partnership broke up & Sandra walked away from it for personal reasons. She eventually made a return back into the industry with her own production house & announced Murphy Devasy's "<i>Nalla Nilavulla Rathri</i>" as their debut venture. So I was keen to check out the project that she had come out with.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This also happened to be Murphy's directorial debut which he chose to make based on the script that he had penned. It is essentially about a group of friends, who turn on each other when they see the opportunity to make a quick buck. But fate had other plans in store for them. Kurien's (Baburaj) business was in financial crisis & that's when he happens to meet up with his college mates, Dominic (Jinu Joseph) & Joshi (Binu Pappan) who was involved in organic farming in partnership with a couple of other friends. On the pretext of helping his friends, Kurien sees it as an opportunity to help him get of the crisis. However, they also had other plans up their sleeve.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In terms of the story, Murphy takes time to build the characters & deserves appreciation for building up the intrigue and suspense between them. But the moment, the story shifts to the property in Shimoga it is reduced to a normal survival flick & does not offer anything that we haven't seen in the past. It becomes a blood fest as bodies get slashed and disfigured without hardly anything worthwhile taking the story forward. None of the technical aspects deserves mention as it was average at best.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The choice of artists for each of the roles was apt & each one of them have done their parts aptly. But as I said earlier, there is a limit to how much they can perform without a credible screenplay to back it up.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>Though it ended with the impression that it would have a second part, I doubt whether Sandra would attempt that especially since there were hardly much takers for this. In short, it will take some heavy lifting to match Friday Films!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>1/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>18+ Journey of Love: "Love between the lead pair didn't seem as convincing, but the humour and the politics was!!!"</b></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is Arun Jose's second directorial venture after a commercially successful debut in "<i>Jo & Jo</i>". It also featured the combo of Naslen & Mathew Thomas which was the primary reason why I decided to watch it. However, for a change it was Naslen who took centre stage while Mathew had limited screen space though he did feature in a significant role that was quite unlike he had done in the past. As in his debut venture, Arun had joined hands with Raveesh Nath for the script & the screenplay and the duo came up with a story that focused on elopement against the backdrop of caste and politics. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Akhil (Naslen), a cadre in the Communist party was in love with Athira (Meenakshi Dinesh), the daughter of Raveendren (Manoj K U), a prominent leader of the party unit in that region. Since they knew about the resistance that her family would pose, they decide to elope with the help of their friends. How they manage to elope and the events that unfold as a result of that forms the crux. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Though the makers have maintained a light mood right throughout the movie, they do pose relevant questions about caste in a subtle manner. The influence that politics has on the livelihood of the people & the so called progressive speeches which barely holds any significance especially when it comes to matters of their own household is all showcased well. On the technical side, both Christo Xavier's music & Satheesh Kurup's visuals were praise worthy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Coming to performances, both Naslen & Athira have done a fine job with their individual performances but the chemistry between them wasnt quite upto the level that we would expect. Safwan & Anshad as Naslen's friends provides the comic relief while Mathew did his part aptly. The rest of the cast have also done their parts well such as Manoj, Binu Pappan, Shyam Mohan (as Athira's brother), Rajesh Madhavan, the lady who acted as Naslen's mother etc. Even Nikhila impressed in the cameo though the the primary reason for that was the refreshing take that Arun had on magistrates.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict:</b> Personally, I felt it was better than "<i>Jo & Jo</i>" but whether it would translate into revenue remains to be seen especially with the monsoon lashing. In short, give it a try!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.75/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413043078633761995.post-16363011516635845072023-06-25T21:56:00.004+05:302023-06-26T16:52:43.811+05:30Dhoomam, O Baby, Thrishanku, Santhosham, Neeraja & Amala: "Fortunes will depend on the OTT platform!!!"<p style="text-align: justify;">As usual, quite a number of movies hit the screens over the past fortnight but none of them quite stood out. With the schools having opened and the monsoon season set in, the release of big banner movies is unlikely to happen though there was an exception this weekend. Anyway I decided to club quite a few of these flicks to pen my thoughts as to whether any of these managed to satisfy me as an audience.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLjptjkqnBmxyorjwVAXY95AOdzXFktyCNtHh7bWmtKtq4yGXJQ9bkV1PvtOqGwGNcHBdShI6L5z9HhxjiN4qka42_mL1dp0Wzo7Q7L9kZZnsyF8gnK-M3m5Ssffzhx3f2O2PxcHVbrryCoW4bpz6RrHO2Ol-4AR15GPp_sTUJOQCfxHlAY7-J_NiB8UbA/s601/Dhoomam.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="601" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLjptjkqnBmxyorjwVAXY95AOdzXFktyCNtHh7bWmtKtq4yGXJQ9bkV1PvtOqGwGNcHBdShI6L5z9HhxjiN4qka42_mL1dp0Wzo7Q7L9kZZnsyF8gnK-M3m5Ssffzhx3f2O2PxcHVbrryCoW4bpz6RrHO2Ol-4AR15GPp_sTUJOQCfxHlAY7-J_NiB8UbA/s320/Dhoomam.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Dhoomam: "Relevant subject though the execution went up in smoke!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Was any promotional events done in the lead up to the release of this movie? The reason why I asked this is coz I barely came across anything on social media. But then the valid question is does a movie with such an enviable cast & crew require such promotions. I guess that's what the makers thought, after all it is bankrolled by Hombale Films that had movies like "<i>KGF</i>" & "<i>Kantara</i>" with the shots being called by Pawan Kumar of "<i>Lucia</i>" & "<i>U-Turn</i>" fame. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The protagonist is Avinash (Fahad Faasil) who is the marketing head of a leading tobacco company that has Sid (Roshan Mathews) as its MD. The events unfolds with Avinash & his wife, Diya (Aparna Balamurali) being kidnapped & left on an isolated location where they are informed of dire circumstances unless they paid a sizable ransom. This marks the start of a cat and mouse game, as Avinash tries to piece the puzzles of his past to track the tormentor. Will he manage to unravel the mystery before it is too late???</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Apart from wearing the director's hat, Pawan has also invested his thought into this script where the focus is on the thought process of the tobacco industry, their marketing strategies & the impact it has on the public despite being aware about the after effects. It is a relevant subject & he has crafted it as a thriller which works initially. but as it reaches the interval it starts to feel rather tedious. The dialogues also contributed to that impression as it felt rather mechanical and devoid of genuine emotions. The production quality certainly had a class about it with the technical side being handled quite impressively be it Preetha Jayaraman's visuals or Poornachandra Tejaswi's music. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">As usual, Fahad impressed especially in the flashback sequences while in the thriller sections, it was fine. Aparna did a decent job but the pick among the lot was undoubtedly Roshan who outshone his co-artists as the suave and cool MD. As for the rest, glad to see Vineeth getting more opportunities while Anu Mohan, Joy Mathew etc did their parts aptly. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict:</b> It didn't come close to the lofty expectations that their names generated prior to the release. There is no doubt that it had a relevant subject & still deserve to be appreciated for that, but the execution of the thriller segment was kind of cold. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.25/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>O Baby: "Oooo...Ranjan, the climax was rather tame!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ranjan Pramod, a name that most Malayali audience will recognize after all he has penned some of the most popular movies such as "<i>Meesa Madhavan</i>", "<i>Manassinakkare</i>", "<i>Naran</i>" etc., to name a few. It's been a while since he had directed a movie with the critically & commercially acclaimed "<i>Rakshadhikari Baiju Oppu</i>" being his last released effort. Hence when "<i>O Baby</i>" hit the screens, it certainly attracted my attention.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As always, Ranjan has penned the script yet again with his focus being on a humongous plantation that is set in the Western Ghats & under the ownership of a prominent family for many generations. Presently, the day to day activities were managed by Baby (Dileesh Pothan), the trusted lieutenant of the family who still very much had the hangover of a feudal system. Even as tensions brew within the family over the future ownership of the estate, things take a turn when a romantic relationship is believed to blossom between Baby's son Basil (Devadath) & Mini (Haniya Nafisa), the great granddaughter of the family's patriarch, Paapi (Gopalakrishnan). The conflict that happens as a result of this forms the basis of the movie. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ranjan takes his time in building the story and essentially introduces us to a premise that we have come across some movies in the past. However, he still manages to give it an identity of its own as it gives us a glimpse of the life there & how things gets done to the liking of the patriarch of the family. In due course, voices of dissent emerges from the younger generation who believes in freedom & equality and the course of action adopted by the elders who doesnt quite understand or believes that a change is needed. All of this is portrayed well, but Ranjan falters in the manner in which he concludes his tale as I felt it was rather tame & didnt quite have the impact that it deserved. On the technical side, Arun Chalil's cinematography, Samjith Mohammed's editing & Lijin Bambino's BGM were fine. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the performance front, most of them have done a fine job especially Dileesh who expressed the various emotions such as angst, vulnerabilities & anger with ease. Vishnu Agasthya (as Stanley) deserves praise while Devadath & Haniya did justice to their roles. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>It is the type of movie that is likely to have more support from the audience after it is released on the OTT platform. Obviously, it has its flaws especially towards the climax but Ranjan was effective in conveying his message. In short, give it a try!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.75/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Thrishanku: "Enjoyable flick that is hardly novel but gives us a smile!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Prior to watching this movie, I had no clue as to what genre it belonged to since I haven't even seen the trailer. The primary reason why I decided to check it out was because of the presence of Arjun Ashokan who in recent times have shown the knack of being part of some interesting movies. It turned out that Achyuth Vinayak's "<b><i>Thrishanku</i></b>" could also be included to the same category.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Apart from being Achyuth's directorial debut, he also took on the responsibility of the script, dialogues & screenplay. He has chosen a topic that we have seen in many other movies where two lovers, Sethu (Arjun) & Megha (Anna Ben) decide to elope. But contrary to their plans, Sethu's sister Sumi (Zarin Shihab) elopes with her boyfriend on the very same day as her brother had planned. Left with no option, Sethu decide to abort their plan but Megha was in a trishanku situation where she is confused as to what to do. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">As I mentioned earlier, there is nothing unique as such in terms of the story but the manner in which Achyuth had penned the screenplay made it an enjoyable experience. There were many sequences that I ended up laughing and that was primarily because of the role of the uncles portrayed by Suresh Krishna & Nandu. None of the technical aspects deserves special mention as it was average at best.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The main reason why this movie worked for me was the hilarious combo of Nandhu & Suresh Krishna who evokes laughs with their characters & the mess they get themselves into. Both Arjun & Anna were fine while Zarin also did justice to her role. As for the rest, Shiva Hariharan (as Sumi's boyfriend) & Fahim Safar (as Sethu's irritating friend) were pretty average.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict:</b> It doesnt offer anything much in terms of its storyline but it does manage to keep us in good spirits!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2.75/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Santhosham: "Nothing worthwhile that would create santhosham in audience!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ajith V Thomas is yet another directorial debutant who made his entry into the industry with "<i>Santhosham</i>". It might sound surprising but the movie barely had anything more than what the trailer revealed. Interestingly, Ranjan Pramod's partner in crime in "<i>Rakshadhikari Baiju Oppu</i>", Arjun Sathyan has penned the script & it was surprising to say the least as it barely had any credible content. It is essentially the bond that is shared between two sisters, with the elder Aadhya (Anu Sithara) being more like a mother to the younger one, Akshara (Lechu Lekshmi). </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The basic issue with the movie is the lack of a central subject or conflict as it is essentially about how Akshara realizes the impact that her elder sister had on her upbringing. So the audience end up watching a chapter in their day to day life without an iota of surprise. The technical aspects were ok with the Karthik's frames being colourful while Jayhari's music was fine. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Anu Sithara did a fine job while Lechu also impressed in some of the sequences especially the emotional ones. As for the rest, Amith Chakalakkal looked artificial in the goofy scenes, Shajon, Mallika Sukumaran were ok while Asha Arvind seemed like a misfit. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict:</b> Nice to see movies with good vibes but there needs to be a purpose for all this positivity to endear to the audience!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>2/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Neeraja: "Fails to convey the message effectively!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">After having plied his trade as a script writer, Rajesh Raman decided to step into the role of a director & chose to remake Manjunatha Somashekara's critically acclaimed Kannada movie "<i>Nathicharami</i>". It had bagged numerous awards at the 66th National Film Awards. The story was penned by Sandhya Rani is essentially about the inability of Neeraja (Shruti Ramachandran) to emerge from the trauma of having lost her husband, Alex (GP) even after three years though her physical needs puts her in an emotionally disturbed and morally conflicted state. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Since I haven't seen the Kannada version, I cant comment on how they captured the dilemma of the protagonist but over here, Rajesh certainly struggles to convey that effectively to the audience. It is a relevant subject but the inability to flesh out the characters properly and understand the vulnerabilities that the females (Sruthi & Srinda) feel is the major drawback. The writing lacked depth and understanding to the extent that we dont empathize with Meera's character (Srinda) nor do we feel convinced about the transition that happens in Arun (Jinu Joseph). Apart from Ragesh Narayanan's cinematography, none of the other technical aspects deserves mention.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Despite the lack of a well etched character, Sruthi did a fine job and portrays the emotions and insecurities that her character goes through quite convincingly. Abhija Sivakala was fine, Jinu was average while Srinda came across as rather irritating but I would put the blame for her lack lustered performance to Rajesh's inability in creating her character properly. As for the rest, Guru Somasundaram certainly needs to take a breather rather than take up every random script that comes his way as he is turning out to be rather monotonous while the others were ok. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>Certainly the inability of Rajesh to create proper character arcs for the female protagonists is the main reason why it failed to connect with the audience. It comes across as rather sleazy and corny at times rather than convey the subject in a matured and convincing manner!!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>1.75/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Amala: "Lacked the impact that was expected from a psychological thriller!!!"</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is Nishad Ebrahim's directorial debut in which he has decided to opt for a psychological thriller. It is a genre that could be a sure shot winner if it provides the apt thrills & novelty, or else it is a recipe for disaster. It would be fair to admit that this particular venture somehow manages to balance itself though it falters to provide the genuine thrills that one would expect.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Set in the high range, there has been a series of murders which indicated that it could be the work of a serial killer. The case was handled by Akbar (Sreekanth),a shrewd police officer who seemed to up to the task. In the meantime, the killer (Appani Sharath) who had taken on the job of a taxi driver had zeroed in on his next target and it happened to be a deaf and mute girl (Anarkali Marakkar). Will she also meet with the same fate???</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The identity of the serial killer is revealed in the beginning itself & then it is essentially to build on the interest of the audience as to what made him become this dreaded killer. The back story & the trauma that the orphan went though in childhood is captured well but in terms of the story, it doesnt offer anything worthwhile and mysterious when it comes to the present day situation. On the technical side, Abilash Shankar's visuals were fine while the rest were just about average. The same goes with respect with the artists as well, as they have a decent job but nothing that makes us sit up and take notice.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Verdict: </b>Apparently, they have kept an open ending with the possibility of a second part but after having failed to create much of an impact in the theatres, I seriously doubt whether they will go ahead with it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rating: <b>1.5/5</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regards...Ben</p>Dilsebenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295693597863423391noreply@blogger.com0