Udit and Deepa Narayan in concert...

JT PAC gave me one more opportunity to cheer- Udit and Deepa Narayan in concert along with Rachna Chopra and Shashi Suman. Being the Bollywood fan that I am, I had a blast at the concert. Udit made a dramatic entry crooning his first hit "Papa Kehte Hain" from QSQT and followed it with one superhit after another- Tere Naam (Tere Naam), Ruk Jaa (Papa Kehte Hain), Nazar Nazar (Fida), Jadoo Teri Nazar (Darr), National Award Winning O Mitwah (Lagaan), Pehla Nasha (Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander), Khaike Paan (Don), Aye Ajnabee (Dil Se), Mein Nikla (Gadar- Ek Prem Katha), Chand Chupa (Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam), Kab Tak Jawaani (Mujhse Shaadi Karogi) and finished it up with Chilambolikkatte (CID Moosa- Malayalam).

He was ably supported by Deepa Narayan, his wife and a singer herself who started with Its Rocking (Kya Love Story Hain) and joined Udit to croon Sahana (Sivaji- Tamil), Punidhu Punidhu (Mungaru Male- Kannada), Rama Chelakamma (Telugu) and moved on to Hindi duets like Humko Humi se (Mohabbatein), Lal Dupatta, Kaho Naa Pyar Hai, Bole Choodiyaan (Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Ghum), Koi Mil Gayaa (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai) and finished it off with Dekho Dekho (Om Shanti Om).

Rachna Chopra was in retro mood and tried doing an Asha Bhonsle with a fair amount of success. She belted out numbers like Chura Liya (Yaadon Ki Baraat), Yeh Mera Dil (Don), Raat Baaki (Namak Halaal) and Shaam hai (Don- The Chase Begins). She was joined by Shashi Suman to sing the foot tapping Beedi Jalai Le (Omkara) and from there Shashi took over to Mitwah (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna), Teri Diwani (Kailash Kher) and joined Deepa to sing Teri Ore (Singh is King) and Udit to sing the title track of Partner.

The orchestra was just perfect and the excellent acoustics at JT PAC complemented the singers and the orchestra. Add to it, the excellent crowd support to the foot tapping numbers, this one turned out to be a memorable evening not just for the audience but also for the performers :-)

Hamlet: the play by Rajat Kapoor

It was not with much expectations that I went to the Fine Arts Hall, Kochi with 2 colleagues of mine to take a dekho at Rajat Kapoor's play (Dil Chahta Hai fame) "Hamlet" in English and Gibberish. But I came out laughing and I kept laughing at the jokes for the next 3 days. I was narrating the jokes to everyone I met for the next 3 days and kept on laughing with them.

Who would have thought that the biggest Shakespearean tragedy could be turned into a rib tickling comedy, that too of the below the belt kind, by an Indian stage person? Rajat Kapoor does the unthinkable and he does it in style without compromising on the characteristics of any of his lead players- thus, Hamlet is his undecided, spineless self; Ophelia dies professing her love for Hamlet; Gertrude is Hamlet's mother who cheats on his father and Cladius is the scheming uncle who takes over the throne from King Hamlet and plots to get Prince Hamlet too killed.

The best thing in the play is the Gibberish and also the immediate connection that the actors establish with the audience. They even bring references to Kochi, Kerala, Fine Arts Hall, the food and the traffic into their dialogues and make sure they don't slip or move away from the main plot at any point of time. With its English and Gibberish dialogues, this one is more of a talkathlon for each of its actors who have the audience in splits everytime they utter a dialogue.

This is good time pass and a very good way of spreading awareness about a timeless classic which no one will otherwise bother to read or listen to. Even the bard will smile in his grave in appreciation of Kapoor's talent...

Book Review: The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay

All is not lost with Indian English authors- that is what Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi tries to tell us through his brilliantly drafted "The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay" (LFB). Loosely based on the Jessica Lal murder, LFB is a candid look at the underbelly of Mumbai's high society life through the eyes of a photographer, Karan.

Mr. Shanghvi has a unique way with words- his prose has a lyrical quality to it that flows uninterruptedly like a water stream and takes you, the reader, along with it. His characters are all very well etched out and he brings out their emotions very passionately.

Be it his protagonist, Karan or the gay piano player, Samir, or his actress girl friend Zaira, or Karan's own girlfriend- Rhea- all of them are created in flesh and blood and you start owning them with all their minuses and short comings.

The relationships are unexplained but you can feel the togetherness between Samir and Zaira, Karan and Zaira or Karan and Rhea and you end choked up with emotions when these characters go through tough times. The best part of the narrative is how Bombay itself becomes a character in the book- be it the narrow bylanes of Chor Bazaar or the cozy interiors of Samir's palatial house or the Sewri seaside- Shanghvi's narrative is poetic enough for you to paint a beautiful picture in your minds!

Imaginative writing rooted in realism that reflects today's society and youth- that in a nutshell is what "The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay" is. Need I say more?

Book Review: My Friend Sancho

               

What is it with these popular bloggers that one fine morning they get up and decide they are going to be writers? Don't publishers learn from one such debacle? These are the questions that keep coming back to your mind as you glance through Amit Varma's (India Uncut fame!) "My Friend Sancho".

The good thing about Sancho is that you don't have to read the entire book to know what is happening. All you need to glance through is the last 10 pages of this 217 page punishment to understand what it is all about. The narrative moves around in circles and not even once manages to find its centre. This could have well been another post on Mr. Varma's celebrated blog. Spare the book reading public please...

Oh Shit, Not Again!

It indeed was very thoughtful on the part of Mandar Kokate to name his first (and hopefully, only) book "Oh Shit, Not Again!" for that's precisely what you feel when you have been through this apology for a novel once.

Published by some non entity based in Pune and about a group of horny friends out to have some fun, the book does not give any insights into friendship or provide any moment of fun. Instead it leaves you feeling idiotic at having bought this one and frustrated for having read through the entire stuff. The less said about its pointless narrative, the better.

Time to get environment friendly guys, crap of this kind should not be published. Let us save Paper and also some currency! Do not even recommend this to your worst enemy!!!

Book Review: 2 States- the story of My Marriage

With the recent brouhaha that Mr. Chetan Bhagat has been creating all over the media for not being creditted for 3 Idiots, we have to understand one thing- Mr. Bhagat has a lot of time at his disposal after quitting his high paying job at an Investment bank which he uses either in picking up fights with Bollywood or writing books like "2 States- The Story of My Marriage"

Now don't get me wrong- 2 States is not half bad. The book has its few moments especially where Bhagat chooses to take potshots at the Punjabi and Tamil culture with intelligent 3rd party insights into most of their time barred rituals! But, havent we seen and read similar stuff in all his earlier works? If 3 mistakes of my Life was about Gujju culture, Five Point Someone and One Night@ the call centre were about the youth of today.

2 States also starts from the IIM and then meanders meaninglessly between Chennai, Pondicherry and Punjab and after an extended climax, finally ends in the wedding of its 2 protagonists- Krish and Ananya.

There definitely are laugh out loud moments in the narrative just like Bhagat's earlier outings but just when we thought Bhagat had matured a little bit with 3 Mistakes of My Life comes this one which sounds and feels so much like it was written by someone totally new to the craft. Recommended only for strong CB fans (and I used to be one of them till very recently!)

Zenith of Cinematic Brilliance!

How else can one describe James Cameron's "Avatar" which is even beyond what a common man can dream? At the core, "Avatar" is just another sci- fi movie that Hollywood churns out with a certain regularity- It talks about a different planet, a different race of people, a different set of flora and fauna and finally, about the American attitude of invading everyone and everything.

What makes it different from Independence Day or Jurassic Park is the sheer vision of that one person- James Cameron and his bold experiment that has costed close to 2000 crores of Indian Rupees- money enough to feed the entire population of India for one year!

Its only when you sit through the movie with your 3D glasses on that you realize that not a single penny has gone waste, for such is the sheer brilliance with which Avatar has been made. Avatar unfolds in AD 2154 when the world is facing an energy crisis and American scientists have discovered a rare metal called "Unobtanium" on planet Pandora that is inhabited by Navis- blue colored, tailed and angular faced huge creatures. The mineral can be excavated only if the Navis leave their village and with this end in view, they create Avatars of 2 human beings- a lady scientist (played brilliantly by Sigourney Weaver) and a wheel chair bound Army man. The Avatars are released into Pandora and they take only little time to get close to the Navis- so close that they become one among the Navis and start opposing the plan to vacate the Navis from their village.

All hell breaks lose and it is for the Navis and the Avatars to fight the humans who are armed with Robots, Missiles and Warplanes. Fight they do, with their bows and arrows and also with the help of those unexplainable creatures that walk the Pandora. The movie ends with the human race conceding defeat and leaving Pandora for good.

The basic premise is the good winning over evil story that is part of all religious textbooks and mythology known to mankind. But the CGI enabled visuals of Pandora that Cameron creates need to be seen to be believed. He takes the audience with him to Pandora and gives them that one cinematic experience that is likely to last beyond his lifetime. And the best part is the human angle and personal traits that he gives to each of his characters so that when they play out before you, you start relating to the mind of the character and not over his/ her cartoonish looks.

Cameron deserves a tight hug for having come out with something like "Avatar"- every moment of his 12 year toil was worth it and you realize that as you leave the theatres in awe of the sheer brilliance of James Cameron!

Aall Izz Well...

Bollywood has this unique ability to connect Indians all over the world and Indians all over the world have just one sentence to utter when asked about Bollywood these days- "Aall Izz Well"- thanks to the historic success of Raj Kumar Hirani's "3 Idiots".

The success does not really come as a surprise considering the track record of Raj Hirani as a film maker and Aamir Khan as the actor. With 3 Idiots, Aamir Khan has turned out to be the Santa Claus of Bollywood who brings that one brilliant film at the end of every year that becomes the face of Bollywood for that year- he did that with Ghajini in 2008 and Taare Zameen Par in 2007 and he does that again in style with 3 Idiots in 2009!

3 Idiots is not just unspoilt Bollywood entertainment at its best, it is also a statement against many ills that is plaguing the society these days- our Education System that focusses so much on grades and not on knowledge, the priority that money and material comforts have over a meaningful life and the unnecessary pressure that parents put on their children to see them become successful professionals in life without considering the interest of the child itself. As with Hirani's Munnabhai series, 3 Idiots never gets into the idealistic mode to drive home its point and that is where its success and acceptability lies.

Hirani with the backing of a successful producer like Vidhu Vinod Chopra takes his basic premise from Chetan Bhagat's best selling novel and turns it round into a cohesive and enjoyable script (Co writer: Abhijat Joshi) with enjoyable sequences, witty oneliners and brilliant character sketches. He does not get it 100% right but the minor flaws are more than made up his excellent cast- Boman Irani breathes life even into a caricature, US based actor Omi makes the cliche'- ridden Chatur Ramalingam look real, Television star Mona Singh puts in a delightful cameo, Pareekshit Sahani is adequate, Sharman Joshi makes good use of the most well written and layered character in the script, Aamir Khan is all over the place with his excellent comic timing and endearing screen presence and the leading lady, Kareena Kapoor lights up the screen and comes out with a solid performance even in a role that seems to be a last minute addition to the script.

Shantanu Moitra- Swanand Kirkire team deliver a couple of hummable songs- All Izz well has become the new national anthem and Zoobi Zoobi is a peppy romantic number that gets a boost with the electrifying chemistry that Aamir and Kareena share on screen.

The few scenes that stand out are the suicide of the brilliant student on campus, Omi's felicitation of the Director played by Boman Irani and the friends' visit to Sharman Joshi's house. On the flip side, Hirani seems to have not gotten over his Munnabhai hangover- old men and hospital seem to be present in all his films and the delivery scene on the ping pong table is pushing things a bit too far!

Hirani, Chopra and Khan have very little to be worried about though- 3 Idiots has clicked with all sections of the audience and is on its way to be the highest grosser in the History of Indian Cinema. If there is anyone who does not say "All Izz Well", it is Mr. Bhagat who has cut a sorry figure in the media. As they say, the arguement continues...

Bachchan is one brilliant Bachcha...

There are actors and then there is Amitabh Bachchan- India's answer to Clint Eastwood and Ben Kingsley. Mr. Bachchan's talent has been showcased in many directors in many landmark movies of the past. But, R Balki very skilfully brings out the bachcha in Mr. Bachchan through his 2nd directorial venture- "Paa", a sensitive take on Progeria, a rare medical condition, that thankfully does not rely on melodrama.

Paa is the story of Auro (Amitabh Bachchan), a progeria affected 13 year old being brought by his single gynaecologist mother Vidya (Vidya Balan) and feisty grandmother whom he fondly calls "Bum" (Arundhathi Nag). The media starts stalking him when he wins a prize in a school competition presided over by Amol Apte, the young MP (Amitabh Bachchan). Amol takes an instant liking for Auro only to find out later than Auro is his own son who was conceived by Vidya during their student days together in the UK.

Auro's condition worsens and he manages to unite his parents on his deathbed. That is where "Paa" ends. There is nothing new in the storyline except the Progeria angle but the treatment of the narrative is light and entertaining. There are not many cry out loud moments, instead Auro's character is established through a set of humurous incidents and witty one liners that appeals to one and all- notable among those are his telephone conversation with his friend where the friend discusses his dad and his verbal exchange with his paternal grandfather (Paresh Rawal) on the hospital bed.

R Balki comes up with this novel approach to family movies which is enjoyable without slipping into melodrama and manages to succeed with Paa. He is ably supported by P C Sreeram (Camera), Anil Naid (Editing), Aki Narula and Sabyasachi Mukherji (Styling & Costumes) and the brilliant Iliayaraaja (Music score).

He manages to extract brilliant performances from his cast- Arundhathi Nag shines in the role of the grandmother, Abhishek Bachchan is adequately subdued as Amol and Vidya Balan digs her teeth deep into the author backed role that has come her way since "Parineeta".

At the heart of "Paa", however, is the great Amitabh Bachchan who scales even greater heights with his performance and proves to one and all that he is irreplaceable in the history of Indian cinema. "Paa" explores the mother- son bonding more than the father- son bonding and thus, does not justify its title. Also, the much winded media bashing sequences mar the flow of the otherwise brisk narrative. These are but minor glitches in an otherwise enjoyable film- Go for it with your entire family, you will come out in awe of Amitabh Bachchan's performance and Vidya Balan's beauty :-)

Noble Intention, Good Execution

Its sad that not many looked beyond a backless Kareena on Kurbaan's posters. Probably, thats where such a well made movie failed to click with the audience- it gave out wrong messages of what kind of movie it was. If you watch "Kurbaan" (which is incidentally on Tata Sky these days), I am sure you will come out feeling happy that there are filmmakers in Bollywood who make serious, issue based films very well.

Kurbaan helmed by debutante Renzil D'silva deals with a set of Muslims in USA who want to teach America a lesson, following 9/11 and their invasions to Iraq and Afghanisthan. Ehsaan Khan (Saif Ali Khan) belongs to this group and wants a reentry to the USA. He befriends and falls in love with Avantika Ahuja (Kareena Kapoor), an unsuspecting Psychology professor in a Delhi University who was teaching in the US earlier. They get married and Avantika is asked to come back to US. She takes Ehsaan with him and Ehsaan tricks Avantika to taking a rented apartment in a Muslim dominated region that has Bhaijaan (Om Puri) and his wife, Aaapa (Kirron Kher) among its other residents. Avantika suspects something fishy here and her fears are confirmed when she learns that her rebellious neighbour, Salma (Nauheed Cyrusi) has been killed by her husband. She confronts Ehsaan only to learn that he is also part of the group and is left with no choice since she is pregnant and her lonely father (Aakash Khurana) in Delhi is also under their custody.

She learns about the plan to bomb an aircraft that has Salma's reporter friend Rihana (Dia Mirza) is traveling in, but is not able to do anything on time. Her voice message on Rihana's phone reaches her boyfriend Riyaz (Vivek Oberoi) who joins the gang only to bust their plans. Does Ehsaan find out about Avantika's intentions" Are Avantika and Riyaz successful in busting the plans of the gang? This is what Kurbaan tries to answer in its concluding reels.

"Kurbaan" does not belong to the entertaining Bollywood film type, something its producers, Dharma Productions are renowned for. Instead it is a hard hitting and realistic film that does not move away from its focus at any point of time. Renzil and Anurag Kashyap have scripted Kurbaan very well with poignant dialogues and excellent character sketches. Renzil also manages to extract excellent performances from his cast. It is heartening to see Om Puri play a character that does justice to his talent. Kirron Kher is adequately subdued and not her boisterous self (thankfully!). Vivek Oberoi gets to play an author backed role after ages and he makes full use of the opportunity. Saif Ali Khan plays Ehsaan very intelligently. Layers are peeled off the character as the narrative progresses and this has been done to excellent effect. The strongest performance comes from the leading lady- Kareena Kapoor looks bewitching on screen especially in the initial reels- she enacts all emotions of Avantika brilliantly- be it her love for Ehsaan, shock when she finds out the truth, her earnestness in helping out Riyaz or her helplessness when she learns about the plans of the terror group. She even dares to go where no commercial Hindi film heroine has gone before with the aesthetically shot love making scene that is extremely integral to the script.

Karan Johar, Renzil D'silva, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor can definitly be proud of "Kurbaan"- it is a strong statement against Terrorism- a well intentioned movie that has also been made brilliantly!

Don't bother about these Khannas...

As I was watching "Main Aur Mrs Khanna" on Tata Sky, I was thanking my stars- not for having been able to watch this movie but for not being able to catch this one at a Bangalore multiplex since that would have amounted to embarrassment in addition to loss of money!

Why would anybody make a movie like this one is something that I have not been able to figure out ever since. What could have easily ended as a 30 minute episode in a serial is stretched to almost 2 hours and when you have non actors like Sohail Khan, Yash Tonk and Bappi Lahiri (spare the thought!) playing prominent roles, it becomes a test of your endurance. Salman Khan sleep walks through the entire movie and does not make one sincere effort to emote. Kareena Kapoor looks ravishing on screen but appears to be confused with what she is doing. To top it all, you have an embarrassing special appearance by Preity Zinta which is simply not happening.

The only merit in this movie is the fairly hummable "Alvida" song- everything else is dull, drab and unimpressive! Visit a temple rather than watching this movie- you will get some peace of mind!

Ajab Santhoshi ka Ghazab Comedy!

Raj Kumar Santhoshi is often remembered for his hard hitting and realistic dramas like Ghayal, Ghatak, Damini, Lajja, Pukaar, Khakhee and Halla Bol. Most of us often forget that it is the same Santhoshi who gave us that cult comedy of the early 90's- "Andaaz Apna Apna" that can make you fall of the chair laughing even if you are watching it the 25th time.

Its probably to remind us this fact that Santhoshi has come up with something as refreshing and hilarious as "Ajab Prem ki Ghazab Kahani'. With the extremely talented Ranbir Kapoor and the extremely beautiful Katrina Kaif, Santhoshi delivers a beautiful romantic comedy and how! The setting is Ootty where you bump into Sid (Ranbir Kapoor) who along with his friends has formed Happy Club and his only intention is to help others and make them happy. He bumps into Jennifer and falls head over heels in love with her. Trouble comes in the form of Rahul (Upen Patel) who Jennifer is in love with. She befriends Prem and his clubmates and seeks their help to unite with Rahul. What happens later forms the rest of the story.

APKGK does not have much of a storyline but it is the treatment that makes it stand out. The slapstick comedy has been woven very well into the narrative. The conflicts between Prem and his father (Darshan Jariwala) has been brought out very well. The don angle (Zakir Hussain) reminds you of Shakti Kapoor in Andaz Apna Apna and Santhoshi uses Salman Khan's guest appearance very cleverly. The final action sequences are also peppered with excellent comedy.

Pritam's musical score is average and only "Prem Ki Naiyya" is impressive. Thiru's camera work is brilliant. Ranbir and Katrina have been clothed very well and look ravishing on screen. Katrina Kaif displays very good comic timing, looks like she has benefitted from the company of Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal. Darshan Jariwala, Smita Jaykar, Zakir Hussain, Govind Namdeo, Mohan Ram and even Upen Patel play the fools perfectly and add to the charm of the film.

But, it is Ranbir Kapoor who has a good time playing Prem. His charming screen presence, impeccable comic timing and natural performance need to be seen to be believed- its such a great departure from his earlier outing and Ranbir proves beyond doubts that he is the Actor to look forward to.

Kudos to Raj Kumar Santhoshi for having come up with a feel good, slapstick comedy with the promising youngsters of Bollywood. Its no surprise that "Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani" has the Tauranis laughing all the way to the bank! 

Magic that fails to enchant...

The story of Aladin and the Magic Lamp from the Arabian Nights has inspired quite a lot of filmmakers who have come out with their own versions in many languages. It is one of the most used and abused Fairy tales that exist but Sujoy Ghosh (Jhankar Beats, Home Delivery) deserves kudos for taking this one and turning it completely around to give us something as different as "Aladin".

Aladin deals with the sufferings of its lead player (Riteish Deshmukh, his best performance ever!) who is bullied by all and sundry because of his name. He hates his name and hates the sight of lamps but he has to accept the lamp that is presented to him as a birthday gift by the most beautiful girl in college (Jacqueline Fernandez, heavenly in looks and confident in performance). Before he can say 1-2-3, out comes a Genie (Amitabh Bachchan) who can fulfill 3 wishes for Aladin and has to go on retirement. Aladin wants the girl to fall for him but none of the Genie's tricks would work. In the meantime, we have the evil Ringmaster (Sanjay Dutt) who wants to usurp the lamp and the Genie to become the most powerful man on the earth. Will Aladin be able to propose his love? Will Ringmaster be successful? Will the Genie be able to save both Aladin and the world? These are the questions that Sujoy Ghosh tries to answer in the concluding reels of his magnum opus.

The good thing about "Aladin" is that it has its heart in the right place. Add to it the marvelous special effects and you end up feeling you are watching one from the Harry Potter franchise. Riteish and Jacqueline are good. Sanjay Dutt lends an evilish tinge to Ring Master and Amitabh Bachchan is deliciously over the top playing the Genie. These actors are so much in control that you can comfortably ignore the irritating Saahil Khan and the awfully miscast Ratna Pathak Shah in a role that smells so much of Juhi Chawla.

Then, where does it go wrong? Its the script that pulls Aladin down. Sujoy tasted success with his maiden venture "Jhankar Beats" thanks to the uber cool and lazy script. The writing style suited something like Jhankaar Beats but you cannot use the same medicine always. "Home Delivery" was a confused piece of work and "Aladin' also suffers from the same syndrome. When one sets out to retell a Fairy tale with a top star like Amitabh Bachchan and at such huge a budget, there should not be any room for complacency. It is here that Sujoy fails miserably. His casual script and lack lustre direction take Aladin a few notches lower than where it would have otherwise been.

Its time Sujoy got out of his complacent mood and start working hard on his script and direction. Better luck next time!

Wake up to the next superstar!

Coming of age stories are such a rarity in mainstream Bollywood and that probably, is the first reason anyone would fine "Wake Up Sid" cute and entertaining. Debutant Director Ayan Mukherji does a brilliant job with establishing his lead characters clearly in the first few reels itself- thus you have the rich, spoilt and happy go lucky Siddharth (Ranbir Kapoor) whose only aim in life is to have fun. He ignores his studies, roams around with his friends and finally fails in his exams. This is too much to handle for his businessman father (Anupam Kher) who has had a rags-to-riches past and his affectionate, uneducated mother (Supriya Pathak Kapur). Disillusioned with his son's ways, the father asks Sid to leave the house.

Sid takes shelter with Aisha (Konkona Sen Sharma), who he had earlier bumped into at a party. Aisha hails from Kolkata and has come down to Mumbai to pursue her dreams of working with "Mumbai Beat"- an upmarket magazine. She is very clear about what she wants in life and is very methodical and practical- totally opposite to what Sid is. Though she is charmed by Sid, she finds it difficult to adjust to his ways and finally becomes instrumental in bringing down a positive change in his attitude.

It is a very simple story that relies primarily on its 2 protagonists- Sid and Aisha played brilliantly by Ranbir and Konkona. Ranbir lends his character a natural charm and lights up the screen with his presence. He portrays the playfulness, innocence, disillusionment and realization of Sid very effectively and is the strongest link in this movie. Konkona successfully plays a perfect foil to Ranbir and ends up being Aisha on screen. Anupam Kher and Supriya Pathak are good in their respective parts and Rahul Khanna ends up playing a useless cameo like in his earlier outing. Namit Das and Shikha Talsania who play Sid's friends, are extremely impressive.

Anil Mehta's camera captures Mumbai like never before and anybody who watches the movie is likely to end up falling in love with the city. Shankar- Ehsaan- Loy's compositions stand out especially "Bawra" and "Kya Kahoon". Wake Up Sid is quite a departure from the kind of movies that Dharma Productions have made till date and Karan Johar should be congratulated for making an enjoyable movie on a serious theme.

The real hero here is undoubtedly Ayan Mukherji who comes up with a strong script and has learnt his basics of direction very well. Ayan appears to be in complete control over his script, cast and crew and deserves recognition for having come out with a clean, entertaining film. This is one story teller Bollywood can really look forward to...

Aah- the- One!

Fresh from the super duper success of "Ayan", Suriya Shivakumar scores again with K S Ravikumar's "Aadhavan". As is the case with most KS Ravikumar films, Aadhavan also offers nothing new in terms of storyline. However, the director's racy treatment, excellent performance from an ensemble cast and the supersonic speed at which the narrative progresses more than makes up for the flaws in the story line.

Aadhavan is the story of a contract killer who is hired to kill a Supreme court judge. The killer disguises himself as helper to the chief cook and gets into the family and befriends each and every family member. Whether the killer manages to succeed in his objective or not forms the rest of the story.

Suriya Shivakumar is in fine form playing the title role. He is growing younger with time and has an on screen charisma that attracts people across ages. Nayanthara looks good since she is fully clothed and does justice to her miniscule role. The late actor Murali is adequate as the judge and veteran Padmabhushan B Saroja Devi shines in the role of the grandmother. But, it is Vaigaippuyal Vadivelu who literally runs the show. His comic timing and dialogues are perfect and he is a RIOT in the movie!

Add to it a couple of hummable songs composed by Harris Jayaraj and excellent camerawork, "Aadhavan" is good enough for a weekend with the entire family :-)

He is not that much like you...

"Unnaipol Oruvan" has been in the news ever since it was announced thanks to the coming together of Kamalhassan and Mohanlal- 2 of the greatest actors of Indian Cinema; Sruthi Hassan's debut as a Music Director and also because it was a remake of the critically and commercially successful "A Wednesday"- A Bollywood film directed by debutante Neeraj Pandey.

Unnaipol Oruvan remains extremely faithful to its Hindi original and scores because of that. The story that deals with how a frustrated common man drives the Police department crazy on a Wednesday and finally manages to kill 4 cruel terrorists is definitely thought provoking and something every common man would have thought about doing at least once.

Add to it, solid performances from an ensemble cast and a technically perfect film, you would not have any reason to complain, save one- Kamal Hassan does not pass off as a common man as much as Naseeruddin Shah did in the Hindi original. His accented English is irksome and he brings in unnecessary heroism in his body language and diction that takes away the simplicity and identifiability from the principal character.

However, this small glitch is more than compensated by the rest of the cast. Anusha Ayyer as the cigar smoking journalist is pitch perfect, Ganesh Venkatraman is a revalation and veteran Lakshmi is completely at ease portraying the Chief Secretary. But, if there is one actor who elevates the movie to another level, it is Lt. Col. Padmashree Bharath Mohanlal who plays IG Nambiar- a soft spoken, duty bound police officer who is out to nab the character played by Kamal Hassan. It is a strong role performed with grit and determination and you can only come out in awe of the great actor that Mohanlal is.

Shruthi Hassan's background score is OK but she scores very well with the promotional video- the song has been sung and shot very well! Chakri Tolati makes a confident debut as a Director but he needs another film to prove his calibre considering how faithful Unnaipol Oruvan is to its original. Camera, Editing, Sound and Art Direction are all done very well and contributes to the overall impact that movie leaves on you.

Its probably the first time that an actor marches over Kamal Hassan in terms of performance- "Unnaipol Oruvan" is a must watch just to see Mohanlal in action, even if you have seen "A Wednesday" 10 times. Strongly recommended!!!

A Bridge of Contention!

I have always been quite vocal about how big a fan I am of Director K G George. Ditto is the reason why I did not hesitate to grab Panchavadippalam when I saw the VCD on sale at a second hand books shop in Kochi.

I remember vaguely having seen Panchavadippalam as a kid. Though I enjoyed the comedy, I was not old enough to enjoy the satire that this one is- and that too easily the best satire ever made in Malayalam Cinema. Panchavadippalam is a cartoonish satire that attempts to bring to light the corrupt way of functioning of the local bodies in the state and how they use politics and party to further their personal agenda. It also skilfully shows how benefits extended by the Government end up in the hands of the non deserving and mocks the bureaucracy for its indifferent attitude to the common man.

The story creditted to cartoonist Yesudasan unfolds in a small village that has Dushassanakurup (Bharath Gopi) as the Panchayath President and Ishak Tharakan (Tilakan) as the leader of opposition. Mandodariamma (Sreevidya), the better half of the President literally rules the Panchayath and the President is always mocked by others for this. We have Panchayath members like Rahel (Sukumari), Shikhandi Pilla (Nedumudi Venu) and Barabos (Innocent) who will switch sides to derive benefits. Add to it the local tea vendor (K P Ummar), the local prostitute Poothana (Shubha), Rahel's husband Aabel Mappilla (Jagathy Sreekumar), the conman swami Sheershasananada (V D Rajappan) and the representative of the common man, the paralyzed Kathavarayan (Sreenivasan) whose only interest in life is to listen to speeches by political leaders.

The Panchayath President is losing his hold over the panchayath and to better his reputation, Shikhandi Pilla creates stories that the Panchavadippalam is in trouble. Steps are taken to reconstruct the bridge and along with it for some Maramath works at the residence of the Panchayath President, Shikhandi Pillai and Rahel. There is a big fight between the ruling party and opposition on who gets the contract for reconstruction and finally all differences are settled. Jeemoothavahanan (Venu Nagavally) wins the contract to reconstruct the bridge and he gets engaged to Panchali, the President's daughter. The bridge is inaugurated on their wedding day and collapses as soon as the villagers try crossing the bridge. In the bargain, the paralyzed Kathavarayan ends up losing his life.

With a tight script by K G George, witty one liners by Yesudasan and an excellent performance by an ensemble cast, Panchavadippalam succeeds in driving its point very well. Its been close to 25 years since the movie had a theatrical release but the issues are still relevant. The sequencing, scenes and dialogues need to be seen to be believed and there is no way you can control your laughter as Panchavadippalam unfolds before you.

Its easily the best political satire ever made in Malayalam Cinema and you would not know what you are missing until you watch this one...

Not quite Heavenly...

The media has been going ga ga over the Land Mafia that is gripping the Kerala soils for quite sometime. That someone could convert this issue into a script for a commercial movie featuring one of the biggest stars of Malayalam Cinema was not quite imaginable. James Albert has done just that with "Ividam Swargamaanu" featuring Mohanlal and directed by Roshan Andrews.

Ividam Swargamaanu is about Mathews (Mohanlal), a successful agriculturist who owns a farm of his own that grows cereals, vegetables and rears cows. He is supported by his parents (Thilakan and Kaviyoor Ponnamma), aunt (Sukumaari), a trusted friend (Sankar) and a dimwitted Assistant (Anoop Chandran). All is well with Mathews till real estate supremo Aluva Chandi (Lalu Alex) sets his eyes on Mathew's property. Chandi wants to buy the property and sell it to a Marvaadi. With this end in view, he unleashes propogation across the village that he is going to construct a township on Mathew's land. Mathew refuses to sell the land to Chandi and the entire village turns against him.

Chandi subjects Mathew and his family to extreme troubles- he registers a case against him for environmental pollution, works behind the curtains to slam a huge penalty notice from SFC through fake documentation and turns the entire village against him. Not to lose hope, Mathew fights against Chandi and everyone else who plots against him and finally, emerges victorious.

At the core, Ividam Swargamaanu is a victory of good over evil and tackles a lot of topical issues in the bargain. However, it does not quite measure up as a feature film- the characters are not well etched out and there are too many to count. New characters emerge every 15 minutes and finally you end up with a feeling that you are in the middle of a crowd and half the crowd is unknown to you. The pacing of the film is very lethargic. Though the makers show Mohanlal as a common man, there are not enough scenes/ dialogues that bring out the emotional upheaval that the character is going through. Casting is not good enough with both Lakshmi Rai and Lakshmi Gopalaswamy cutting sorry figures. The only actor who manages to shine is Lalu Alex. It has been a long time since Lalu Alex played an author backed role and the talented actor makes good use of the opportunity. Jagathy Sreekumar and Manian pilla Raju are impressive but the same cannot be said about the others and that includes Tilakan, Kaviyoor Ponnamma and Sukumari too. Priyanka Nair shines brightly in a brief role.

The songless film suffers on the Editing front as well. The film seems to have been made in a hurry and the Art department has not taken enough efforts to ensure that there is cohesiveness and connection between the backgrounds. The scenes make it very clear that the farm and the house are 2 separate locations though they are supposed to be in the same premises as per script. There are a lot of such minor and not so minor glitches here and there that takes away from the movie significantly.

Ividam Swargamaanu is also a tad too long and as an audience you feel the lag while sitting through the movie. Even Mohanlal appears ill at ease and artificial in some key sequences and that probably is the weakest link in this Roshan Andrews- James Albert outing. Though the intention is noble, the execution of Ividam Swargamaanu falls way short of expectations...

These Bluffmasters are FUN

Meaningful and logical comedies are rare to the extent of becoming non existent in Malayalam Cinema. Our comedies are mostly slapstick and rely a lot on double inneundoes to make the audience laugh. It is in the middle of all this that acclaimed Adman turned director VK Prakash has come up with "Gulumaal- the Escape" that has been inspired by Rohan Sippy's "Bluffmaster" starring Abhishek Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra.

Gulumaal is about Ravi Varma (Kunchacko Boban) who wants to earn some quick bucks to get his father (Nedumudi Venu) out of the financial mess that he has been in. He befriends Jerry (Jayasuriya), a habitual fraudster and together they hatch a plan to sell a fraudulent painting to a rich businessman (Devan), who is a connossieur of Fine Arts. Whether they succeed with the plan or not forms the rest of the plot.

In the middle of all this, we have Inspector Shambu (Suraj Venjarammoodu) who is out to book Ravi and Jerry. His attempts at nabbing the protagonists also contribute to evoking some laughs. The cops have been treated like cartoon characters and they should appeal to the young audience especially.

There is another track involving Jerry's family- his mother and younger brother who along with Jerry cannot see his sister (Mithra Kurien) eye to eye since they all believe that she was the reason why their father passed away.

The narrative goes through a lot of interesting incidents and culminates in a climax that is entertaining and unpredictable. Thanks to a strong storyline and an entertaining script (Y V Rajesh), Gulumaal manages to hold your interest till the end. Fowzia Fathima's frames and Mahesh Narayanan's editing are add- ons. V K Prakash manages to extract believable performances from the entire cast- this is a worthy comeback for Kunchacko Boban who plays his part very well. Mithra Kurien is promising. Salim Kumar, Manian pillai Raju, Devan and Nedumudi Venu are adequate. It is Jayasuriya who carries the entire film on his shoulders and puts in an extremely reliable performance. He literally lives as the fraudster who cares only for money. The only missing link in an otherwise complete script is the characterization of Jerry. No explanation is offered as to why Jerry turns out to conning people in spite of having been born into a respectable family.

Gulumaal is definitely worth a dekho with the entire family- you will enjoy this one!

In Full Bloom!

Among the current crop of filmmakers, Lal Jose, in my opinion, is the most talented. He is a master when it comes to making entertaining films based on simple themes and without compromising on the aesthetics of film making as an art. No wonder then that someone like M T Vasudevan Nair trusted Lal Jose with "Neelathamara"- a simple story of love, hope and redemption that is being remade after 30 odd years.

The best thing of Neelathamara is definitely its old world charm and the feeling of nostalgia it evokes in you. I would not be surprised if you tell me that you felt like being part of the story and the characters. Neelathamara does not narrate a story as such, it is a journey into the lives of few individuals and narrates few key events from their lives.

It is all about Kunjimaalu (Archana Kavi), the new maid servant at Malootty Amma's (Sreedevi Unni) palatial house who falls for the charms of her employer's son, Haridas (Kailash) and falls hopelessly in love with him. Haridas exploits her feelings for him and ends up marrying Ratnam (Samvrutha Sunil). Kunjimaalu endures this silently but when Ratnam finds out about her feelings for Haridas, she asks Kunjimaalu to leave the house.

Years later, they all meet only to discover that Haridas is dead, Ratnam is re married, Kunjimaalu is happily married to her cousin, Appukuttan (Suresh) and Malootty Amma is in the last stages of her life. They all sympathise with each other, accept each other as they are and bear no ill feelings to anybody. Neelathamara blooms in the temple pond after a very long time and signifies that all is well that ends well.

Neelathamara blooms slowly and the viewer has to be patient enough to enjoy every small nuances associated with the story. Newcomers Kailash and Archana Kavi play their parts skilfully and can give any veteran a run for his/ her money. Sreedevi Unni is a complete natural. Samvrutha Sunil is the surprise package of the movie. Suresh has very little to do and the scriptwriter in MT comes to the forefront through the characterization of Sharathe Ammini (Reema Kallingal, extremely HOT). Only the discerning viewer can understand the subtle hints given by the scriptwriter about what Ammini goes through and what causes her tragic demise.

Vijay Ulaganathan's camera captures the beauty of Valluvanad and the simplicity of the setting captivatingly. Renjan Abraham does a fine job with his scissors and the end product is as fluid as a well written poem. Gokul Das recreates the ambience of the 70's extremely well and Cuckoo Parameswaran deserves kudos for her job with the costumes. Melody king Vidyasagar resurfaces with all his might here and the entire state is going ga ga over "Anuraga vilochananayi". The other tracks are also equally mesmerizing and Vayalar Sharath proves his pedigree with the lyrics.

To sum up, Neelathamara is like a painting or a poetry. It takes its time to bloom. If you have the patience to get sucked into the experience, you will come out enchanted!

Murder at Midnight

Just when I thought Renjith was incapable of experiementing any further, comes up "Paleri Manikkam- Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha"- that smashes away all theories of how a Mega Star movie in Malayalam should look. Easily the best movie made since "Classmates" (though the two are not relatable), Paleri Manikkam is that rare movie where everything has fallen rightly into place- be it performances, script, direction, Art, Sound, Camera, Editing or Music. This one is as close to perfection as it can get.

Haridas (Mammootty) carries eerie memories of the night he was born in Paleri, a small hamlet in the Northern part of Kerala. The night he was born witnessed 2 deaths- a brutal murder of Manikkam, a 16 year old housewife, the tragic drowning death of the temple priest and also of the elopement of the Velichapaadu at the local temple. Haridas is not ready to believe that the Manikkam murder mystery was solved properly and hence, 52 years later, he lands in Kerala with his criminologist girl friend Sarayu (Gowri Munjal, the only weak link in an otherwise perfect scenario) to find out what actually happened on that fateful night.

Hari and Sarayu land in Paleri with all police records and from there on, it is an unstoppable journey into the past where Manikkam, Cheeru, Pongan, Velayudhan, Kunjikkannan, Othenan, Adhikari and the local barber come into life. Hari goes through the crime records, meets all living souls who remember something or the other about the Manikkam Murder and tries to piece together the mystery like a Jigsaw puzzle. We are also introduced to Ahmad Haji and Khaled (both played by Mammootty)- the former being a rich landlord who manages to sleep with every woman he wants to and the latter being his Aligarh University educated son.

The best part of Paleri Manikkam is its intelligent storyline (T P Rajeevan is the story writer) that has been translated into a perfect script and has been captured on screen flawlessly. Renjith is definitely a strong contender for all major awards this year at both State and National levels. Manoj Pillai's camera and Vijay Sankar's Editing are near flawless. The camera captures the lush greenery of Paleri in the same spirit as it captures the interiors of Cheeru's imporverished home. Most of the story happens during nights and the lighting used gives a natural feel to all those scenes. Art Direction is authentic and so are the Make up and costumes.

Casting is another factor that works in Paleri's favor- majority of the supporting cast are either novices or amateur drama artistes. They dont act, all of them just live their parts. Among the others, Siddique is as natural as it gets and Sreenivasan playing the ageing barber leaves a strong impression. T Damodaran, the legendary scriptwriter, plays Hamza, the local communist leader very well. New comer Mythili impresses as Manikkam though she has very little on screen time. Shwetha Menon puts in the best performance in her career so far. She is smoking HOT and effectively portrays the sensuality and helplessness of Cheeru. But, it is Mammotty who has a field day portraying 3 different characters- he not only looks different playing 3 characters, he also changes his looks, diction and body language to suit the milieu of each of the 3 characters. This is easily the actor's best performance in recent times and he should rightfully collect all major awards this year! I would not be surprised if Mammootty brings home a 4th National Award this year...

Paleri Manikkam is a treat for all those of you who love serious, meaningful, different and well made cinema. Don't miss it!!!

Ten to Tango...

Malayalam cinema of the 80's were known for their bold themes and experiments- thanks to stalwarts like Padmarajan, Bharathan, Mohan and K G George. Many ardent fans of Malayalam Cinema still refer to the 80's as the Golden Era and keep on ruing and crying about the sorry state of affairs in the industry today.

There is no dearth of talented filmmakers here but none of them are ready to push the envelope further. Instead, they all follow the tried and tested commercial potboiler route and end up making movies that have no stuff and are carbon copies of their own earlier creations.

Renjith has not been much different, but once in a while he comes up with worthy experiments. Kerala Cafe is another such experiment from Renjith that does not fall flat. This Renjith project showcases 10 short films by 10 different directors- all of them dealing with a common theme- "Yathra" or journey. Renjith has chosen his partners well- some established, some relative new comers and some rank new comers and the cast is also ensemble and eclectic. "Kerala Cafe" is a railway platform coffee shop in one of the busiest railway stations in Kerala and the lead characters in all stories either start from the cafe or end at the cafe. The connection with the cafe is jarring and not well established in all cases but works well most of the time. Here is a look at what the 10 stories have to ofer us:

1. Nostalgia by M Padmakumar features Dileep, Navya Nair, Sudheesh, Babu Namboodhiri and Sreelatha Namboodiri in the lead. It shows the twin faced, hypocritic NRI Malayalee who longs for his motherland while in the Emirates but hates, curses and poo- poohs everything after he lands here. It also shows how money minded the society has become and how we give false hopes to others to get things done. An above average effort
2. Island Express by newcomer Sankar Ramakrishnan takes us back to the days of Peruman Tragedy when the train fell into the Ashtamudi lake in the late 80's. It shows a bunch of people gathering at the accident site to pay tribute to their lost ones. A noble thought but the story suffers from poor execution and too many characters. Needed more screen time and hence, none of the actors- Sukumari, Manian Pilla Raju, Rehman, Jayasuriya or Prithviraj impress
3. Lalitham Hiranmayam by Shaji Kailas is the weakest of the lot with a story line as old as the hills, highly predictable climax and amateurish performances by Suresh Gopi, Jyothirmayee and Dhanya Mary
4. Mrutyunjayam by Uday Anandhan stands out because it absolutely lacks any connection with the central theme. It only leaves you confused as to why it is there in the first place. A stunning Reema Kallingal makes a fleeting appearance and Shanu Fazil seems to have come a long way since his listless debut in "Kaiyethum Doorathu". Boring fare!
5. Right Time by Anjali Menon is my pick of the lot. Starring Jagathy Sreekumar and Nithya, this one is a simple story and makes a dig at horny men who ogle at unknown women while traveling. The underlying humous is pleasant and this one shines in the midst of heavy duty tracks
6. Aviramam by B Unnikrishnan is the most predictable of the lot. It lacks novelty and plays out lazily though Siddique and Sweta Menon put in their best efforts to salvage it. Lacks depth like the filmmaker's earlier outings
7. Off Season by Syamaprasad is plain irritating. It is high time the director got rid of Joshua Newton- their previous outing together was unimpressive and so is this time. Suraj Venjarammoodu grates your nerves with his oft repeated Thiruvananthapuram accent and though it tries to speak about a global issue, the narrative goes haywire. Totally unimpressive...
8. Bridge by Anwar Rasheed is reassuring especially considering his last attempt. The director skilfully tells us 2 stories within a very short time frame and manages to do justice to all characters. The way he draws parallels between the pet dog and the have not's in the society needs to be seen to be believed. Supported by strong performances by Salim Kumar, Kalpana and Kozhikode Santhadevi, Bridge is easily the crowd favorite among all
9. Magal by Revathy draws on female trafficking and handles the issue sensitively. Getting Sreenath and Sona Nair to play the smooth talking agents is a battle half won. The other artistes from Tamil Nadu also contribute generously to the script and let Revathy drive the point home very well
10. Puram Kazhchakal by Lal Jose is definitely not outstanding but can be considered an honest effort. It showcases the great performer that Mammootty is and Sreenivasan plays perfect foil to Mammootty. The final scene will definitely leave a lump in your throat.

That sums up "Kerala Cafe" which needs to be lauded considering the fact that someone is being bold enough to experiment in the current scenario. The shoe string budget on which the movie has been made should definitely help. The movie lacks polish as a whole but is still watchable for the sincerity of its makers and the 3 odd stories that really stand out!

George of the Jungle!

Much has been written, said and discussed about the Magnum opus of Malayalam Cinema- Sree Gokulam Movies' "Pazhassiraja" written by veteran Gnanapeeth Award winner M T Vasudevan Nair and directed by Hariharan. If you ask me whether they deliver, my answer would be a big YES!

Comparisons to "Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha"- the landmark movie that brought the MT- Hariharan- Mammootty trio together earlier are natural but in my opinion it is not fair to compare Pazhassiraja to Veeragatha mainly because if the earlier film narrated the story of a character, Pazhassiraja is more like a chapter from the Indian freedom struggle.

That more or less explains the prominence that characters like Edachena Kunkan (Sharathkumar, looking like a beefcake and performing like a dream), Kaitheri Ambu (Suresh Krishna- a revelation here) and Thalakkal Chandhu (the ever dependable Manoj K Jayan delivers yet another punch) get along with the great Pazhassi himself.

Unfortunately for me, I missed the first half hour of th movie so I cannot comment on how it started. The movie is reported to have been made on a budget of 30 crores- too high by any standards for Malayalam Cinema- but the good thing is that it shows- the art team has recreated huge sets within the forests, the weapons and clothes are as authentic as they can get, the re recording is superb (Thanks to Maestro Ilaiyaraaja) and the sound design by Academy Award Winner Resul Pookutty makes that BIG difference.

The story is known to almost everyone in Kerala and MT weaves the story line into a cohesive script with ample scope for heroism, punchy dialogues, well choreographed action sequences and scenes that raise the patriotic spirit of the viewers. Ramnath Shetty's camera deserves special mention. Sreekar Prasad's editing is slick and the 3 songs blend well with the narrative. Special kudos to Ilaiyaraja, ONV team to have come up with a beautifully composed Daf Muttu song!

The entire cast delivers well and not just the lead players. Devan, Suman, Nedumudi Venu, Jagadeesh, Jagathy Sreekumar, Tilakan, Kanihaa and Padmapriya have all done well in their respective roles. At the end of the day, the movie belongs to director Hariharan who has mobilized all resources properly and correctly to deliver what can easily be called "The biggest movie ever in the history of Malayalam Cinema". The ringing cash registers are proof enough!

A message loud and clear...

While I sat through "Loud Speaker", I realized the potential of a director like Jayaraj, who of late, has been making a mess of his career by directing meaningless potboilers like Of the People, By the People, Rain Rain Come Again etc. The flash of intelligence is visible once in a while when he helms projects like Daivanamathil, Makalkku, Kannaki and the like, but after a long time, Jayaraj finds his footing with "Loud Speaker"- an age old story of bonding between 2 unlikely souls which has been narrated differently and nicely.

Loud Speaker is the story of Mike Philippose (Mammootty) who hails from the hills, talks loudly, does not wear slippers and is a complete village simpleton. He comes into the city to donate one of his kidneys to Menon (Sasikumar), a retired and lonely bureaucrat so that Mike can pay off his debts and recover his land. The operation forces him to stay with Menon in his high rise apartment and the rest of the story deals with how Mike befriends everybody in the apartment complex- the young and the old, the men and the women and even the suspecting nurse played by Gracey Singh.

The idea is nothing new and very little attention has been paid to the supporting characters so much so that some tracks are plain irritating like the Jagathy- Suraj track. The Kalpana- Bheeman Raghu domestic issue is also not thought provoking and the Janardhanan track was dealt with completely by Jayaraj in a separate movie earlier. Gracey Singh and her character appear to be totally out of place so much that you end up feeling this could have been a last minute addition.

In spite of a lot of shortcomings, Loud Speaker works due to the inherent charm that Mammootty brings into his performance and the brooding intensity with Sasikumar portrays Menon- a complete foil to the lead role. The 2 actors are so likeable and so natural in their performances and their visit to Valluvanaadu evokes nostalgia in the viewers.

Jayaraj makes use of the Anil Panachooran- Bijibal team's music very well. The Christmas Carol is everyday stuff and you cannot help liking "Munnazhi muthumaayi" but the icing on the cake is the remixed version of "Alliyambal" that has been well picturized and well cinematographed.

The climax is predictable but Jayaraj also manages to end Loud Speaker on a very positive note. This is a very simple tale of friendship that purports to tell us that not all hope is lost and that there are likeable and nice people around. In this age of terrorism and communalism outside and meaningless commercial potboilers in Malayalam Cinema, Jayaraj needs to be appreciated to have come out with something soothing and refreshing. Just for Jayaraj's guts, Mammootty's performance and Sasikumar's silver screen outing, "Loud Speaker" should be seen...