Hallo is pedestrian fare

Jithin Arts produces "Hallo" starring Mohanlal and scripted and directed by Rafi- Mecartin. To start with, I have never been a big fan of the Rafi- Mecartin brand of humor. Whatever tall claims the duo may try making, they are the ones, along with the likes of Shafi, Benny P Nayaramblam and Uday- Sibi who brought about double meaning humor to Malayalam Cinema. We have always made good comedies- ones which were decent, ones which were close to life and reality and ones which we can remember for generations. But, apart from Punjabi House and Thenkashipattanam, none of Rafi- Mecartin's comedies would figure in that list. The others were made by experts like Sathyan Anthicaud, Sreenivasan, Priyadarshan and Siddique- Lal. With every passing film, Rafi- Mecartin seem to be losing the little bit of magic that they had. Their previous directorial venture, if I remember right, was the immensely irritating "Pandippada" which did not have even a single scene or dialogue worth remembering. The script of Hallo is nothing better. It is saved from being a complete disaster by Mohanlal and Jagathy Sreekumar though. Hallo is the story of Advocate Sivaraman (Mohanlal) who is a full time alcoholic, thanks to his parents (Janardhanan and Fathima Babu) and younger brother (K B Ganesh Kumar) who did not allow him marry the girl of his choice (Samvrutha Sunil), who eventually is brutally killed. Sivaraman roams around from one bar to another and it is Chandi (Jagathy Sreekumar), his friend who brings him back every time he goes missing. Sivaraman receives a call on his mobile from Parvathy (Parvathy Milton), a rich heiress, who is being targeted by her money hungry relatives and he decides to save her. From here on, life is one big ride for Sivaraman and how he successfully tackles all obstacles that comes his way and saves Parvathy and her family from the villains is what the rest of the movie is about. To start with, Hallo lacks a plausible story- line and it is so very difficult to relate to what is happening on screen because everything looks made up and unrealistic. The script goes haywire and the dialogues are pointless, save a few good one liners here and there. Technically too, there is nothing extra ordinary about the movie. Even the music department helmed by Alex Paul fails to deliver. New comer Parvathy Milton lacks screen presence and talent and she will easily pass off as a one film wonder. Siddique with his bald plate looks different but has little to do. Veteran actor Madhu just comes and goes. Suraj Venjarammoodu irritates while Jagathy Sreekumar entertains. The rest of the cast just pass muster. Mohanlal is at ease playing the drunkard, but starts looking lost while the movie progresses. However, there is no doubt that had it not been for the talented actor, the audience would have definitely stayed away from this movie. Malayalam has produced excellent comedies in the past and Hallo cannot be compared to any of those. The movie is apparently, running to packed houses probably because of the charisma of Mohanlal. In my opinion, such movies should not be encouraged since these only serve to bring down the standards of Malayalam Cinema. I would remember Hallo for one reason though- the funny ring tones of the mobile phones appearing in the film.

Murder on Sowparnika Express

K Madhu produces and directs "Nadia Kollapetta Rathri" which is a thriller that investigates the death of 3 girls on board a train that plies between Chennai and Mangalore. For all of those who are familiar with Agatha Christie, this murder in a train part is a straight lift off "Murder on the Orient Express" published in 1934. But, unfortunately, our own AK Sajan who is creditted with the story(!), screenplay and dialogue is no Agatha Christie and this is where the film suffers. I would not give away the entire snapshot of the movie, but this is just an intro as to what to expect in the movie: National Shooting champion Nadia Mather (Kavya Madhavan), renowned Classical dancer Thulasimani (Suja Karthika) and daring NDTV reporter Shreya Mariya (Suja) are on board the first class AC coach of Sowparnika Express with many others like the Railway SP of Palakkad division, a renowned Tamil Novelist, a small time actress and her parents, a mentally ill young man and his parents, 4 junior doctors who look more like thugs, a TTE who is more interested in playing cards and the AC coach attendant. The next morning, Thulasimani is found hanging in her coupe, Nadia Mather is found fighting with death in her coupe with the mad guy next to her and the corpse of Shreya Maria is found on the tracks. This case is taken up for investigation by Railway Action Task Force head Dr. Sharafuddin Taramasi IPS (Suresh Gopi) and how he solves each of the mysteries is what the rest of the movie is about. Though K Madhu has occassionally been serving thrillers to the Kerala audience, three girls being killed on board the same train is a very novel thought for Malaylam cinema. The mystery behind each murder has been solved well, and AK Sajan could have done a lot with a plot like that. Unfortunately, he decides to glorify Suresh Gopi's image and the result is that we have quite a few shoddily written and badly shot scenes in the first half and Suresh Gopi's irritating slang makes it all the more unbearable. After every dialogue, one sees Suresh Gopi turning his head fast in a bizarre fashion and such scenes make you squirm in your seat. K Madhu does a fairly good job with his direction especially in the second half, though this film is nowhere close to any of his CBI movies (not even Nerariyan CBI). The veteran Anandakuttan does a good job with his camera work. The art direction is first class though the editor could have done a better job in the first half. Background score by Rajamani is in keeping with the mood of the film though there is nothing extraordinary in it like what we heard in Irupatham Noottandu or the CBI series. Suresh Gopi is his usual self. This is definitely not one of his best performances but he doesn't disappoint completely either. Siddique looks good in his new hairstyle and get up, though he does not have much to do. Anoop Chandran, Suresh Krishna, Shammi Thilakan and Sadique are good. Suraj Venjarammoodu needs to be careful in selecting his roles. He plays Thathamangalam Muthu here who hails from Palakkad district, but still speaks his trade mark Thiruvananthapuram slang thus repeating himself. This is how talented artistes are wasted, I suppose. The movie, however, belongs completely to Kavya Madhavan. This is probably the best role she has played till date and she makes good use of every opportunity in the script, clearly overshadowing even the hero of the movie in the climax. Good going, girl. To sum up, if you can bear the first half of Nadia Kollapetta Rathri, you will enjoy the second half!

Weddings anybody???

Ever since I can remember, I have enjoyed attending weddings. Being born to working parents and having never stayed with my grand parents, I have always liked the company of people. Weddings provide one the best opportunity to meet all one's relatives and family friends under the same roof. Not to forget the festivities associated- the nadaswaram, the whole lot of people turning out in their best of clothes, the mouth watering sadya, the sweets that are served etc etc. Food has been a great passion for me and that was also a reason why I used to look forward to the malayalam months of Chingam, Medam, Vrischikam etc when there would be a lot of weddings. The very thought of sitting in front of the plantain leaf and being treated to a lavish sadya with all items starting from kichadi to kalan to pappadams to the pickles to the ubiquitous payasam used to excite me. Now, I am all of 27. I have started loving privacy though I would still like to believe that I am people's person. The passion towards food is still very much there, but the level has come down significantly. Elderly mamis draped in rich kanjeevarams, laden with gold jewellery and with that infectious smile have now started sending a chill down my spine. I realized the extent to which my "behaviour at weddings" has changed only very recently when two of my cousins decided to get married back to back. The first one got married on June 25 at a lavish wedding at Thrissur. He is an IIM- MBA working for Accenture and his wife is a software engineer working for Polaris. They look great together and I was extremely happy for both of them. My second cousin got married on July 9 at Ernakulam. She is a software engineer working for CTS and he is an engineer working for Thermax. They also look absolutely stunning together and I, again, am extremely happy for them. I really had a whale of a time at both the weddings, enjoying to the hilt. Since both the weddings were in Kerala and that too on Mondays, I did not have any issues with taking leave from work either. I participated completely in all the activities associated with the wedding and the experience was good enough to linger in my mind for years! So far so good... Apparently, it is such a big issue if one remains unmarried while one's younger cousins are getting married! This piece of information was given to me during the weddings by not one or two, but umpteen number of people. Kanjeevaram Mamis and Golden karai mundu mamas could simply not help offering their services to my mother, in finding out a docile, home loving, educated, employed, tall enough (to match my 6'2" frame) daughter in law. What I fail to understand is why people are unnecessary intruding into one's personal life. To marry or not to marry is purely a choice that one has to make oneself and it is not fair on anyone else's part to force people into a life long commitment like marriage. Again, 27 years for a man, in my opinion, is too early an age to get into a life long commitment. There might be people who have different opinions, but my dictum here is- To each his own! I am all eyes and ears for the comments on this particular update!

Arabikkatha is refreshing and poignant

Kerala is one Indian state where the spread of communism and leftist thinking is so far and wide that it has cut across all kinds of boundaries- religious, monetary, casteist, the works. Even though the propounder of communism, Russia, has given up the ideology completely, the strength of the movement in Kerala gives one an impression that the movement had its origin here. Another aspect the state is famous for is the percentage of its population that works in the Middle East or the Gulf Countries. There are towns and villages in the state where one member from each family invariably works in the ME. On a closer analysis, one might be able to find out a correlation between these two aspects- Rampant spread of communism opposing industrial set up, "n" number of trade unions, closing down of industrial units, creating a generation that is aware only of its rights but not duties, all resulting in unemployment and underemployment culminating in the migration of skilled and unskilled youth to the Middle East in search of greener pastures. The film makers in Kerala have dealt with this subject, analyzing the same from different view points (K G George's Visa, I V Sasi's Iniyenkilum), but this is for the first time that the plight of Keralites in Gulf has been shown on screen through the eyes of a staunch communist. This is precisely where Arabikkatha scores. Arabikkatha is the story of the life journey of "Cuba" Mukundan (Sreenivasan), a local committee secretary of the Leftist party at Chemmannur. He is a dedicated party worker ably supported by hot blooded comrades like Anvar (Indrajith) and morally supported by his father- old time Communist leader Society Gopalan (Nedumudi Venu). The movie starts with Mukundan and his fellow comrades emerging successful in closing a factory owned by Dubai based Keralite businessman Kunjunni (Jagathy Sreekumar); for discharge of chemical wastes into rivers. A faction of the party headed by Karunan (Sivaji Guruvayoor) wants Mukundan to stay back from such activites, but he does not budge. Infuriated, Karunan with the help of Kunjunni frames Mukundan's father Soceity Gopalan in a scam of Rs. 20 lakhs. Gopalan passes away without being able to offer an explanation and the burden of repaying the debt falls on Mukundan. To earn enough money to repay the debt, Mukundan lands in Dubai- the land of opportunities. From here on, life is a roller- coaster ride for the simpleton who gets cheated by all and sundry. Mukundan finally ends up as a supplier in a tea stall owned by an old Keralite Muslim. He comes across an attractive Chinese girl who sells pirated Malayalam CD's in Dubai and falls for her, thanks to the high regard he has for the Red Dragon. He even manages to win a jackpot of Rs. 10 lakhs out of a private financing agreement, but is cheated again of the money. Unable to bear the trauma, Mukundan disappears. The rest of the movie is about how his friends from Kerala manage to find Mukundan out and how he finally emerges victorious. The best thing about Arabikkatha is that it deals with normal human beings. The characters, their background, the language that they speak, the way they appear, the way things transpire in their lives- are all so very realistic and identifiable. Add to that the straight from the heart performances from each and every member of the cast and the result is an extremely enjoyable fare. Sreenivasan literally lives the character of Mukundan. Indrajith and Samvrutha Sunil are adequate. Sivaji Guruvayoor is an actor to watch out for. Jagathy and Jayasurya are their usual self. Nedumudi Venu puts in a neat cameo. The Chinese heroine is endearing. Manoj Pillay's photography goes with the mood of the story, Ranjan Abraham does a neat job with his scissors. Lyrics by Anil Panachooran are outstanding and Bijibal's music add to their lyrical quality. Dr. Iqbal Kuttippuram has shown some promise as a script writer in the past (Swapnakoodu, Gramaphone, For the People), but Arabikkatha is definitely his best till date. He has successfully brought out the emotions of the characters and made his script appealing to one and all. However, a lion's share of the credit for making Arabikkatha what it is, should go to the captain of the ship- Lal Jose. The courage and conviction with which he has carried the narrative forward deserves a pat on his shoulder. With this movie, Lal Jose definitely joins the ranks of the most talented directors in Malayalam Cinema like K S Sethumadhavan, Padmarajan, Bharathan, K G George, I V Sasi and Sathyan Anthicad. To sum up, Arabikkatha is a golden feather in Lal Jose's already over crowded cap. Bravo!

Is Koffee getting bitter?

I really don't know how many of the readers of this blog would know about Koffee with Karan (Star World, Sundays, 9 PM) and how many of those who know would actually care to watch it. But, let me make it very clear that I am one of the biggest fans of this talk show and more of its hugely talented host- Karan Johar whom I consider as one of the best things to have happened to Bollywood in the late 90's. KJo (as he is fondly called by his celebrity friends) is definitely a self made man what with bringing back to life his father's "on the death bed" production company, Dharma Productions (which was literally crawling after delivering box office duds like Gumraah and Duplicate) with that one massive hit which an average Indian would remember till the end of life- Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Ever since there has been no looking back for this genius of a film maker with a string of successes to his credit. (Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna). Today every actor in Bollywood from Amitabh Bachchan to Riteish Deshmukh and from Madhuri Dixit to Vidya Balan wants to work with this highly talented director and the easiest way of getting close to him is agreeing to appear on his talk show- Koffee with Karan. People might call it frivolous, saucy, regressive blah blah blah. But I have enjoyed each and every episode of it. Come on, on which other show, the host can nonchalantly ask Preity Zinta whether her Bombay is Dyeing or Rakhi Sawant which all parts of her body benefitted from Botox; that too keeping a straight face. The kind of troubles that actors have got into after appearing on Karan's show and the kind of controversies that their remarks on the show have created is unbelievable! It is for these reasons that I was hell bent on catching up the latest episode of the show that featured the come back queen of Bollywood- Madhuri Dixit. Mrs. Nene was her normal self. Dressed in a very ordinary Manish Malhotra saree, she was as casual as casual could get. Fine. But, what I failed to understand is the kind of significance that KJo was giving his all time favorites- SRK and Rani M. Direct questions on these two actors were thrown at Mads and there was a 5 minute long footage of SRK expressing his feelings (!) about Mads. If SRK's blabber was just on video, KJo surprised Mads and the viewers by inviting Rani towards the final leg of the show. Now, I don't understand the need for KJo to stoop to this level. An episode on Mads can very well remain an episode on Mads itself. Is there a need to bring in SRK, Kajol and Rani into every discussion he has with any celebrity guest? What was conspicuous, however, was the complete non reference to the Bachchans even in spite of the strong presence that all the family members have right now in Bollywood (there were a couple of questions where Ash was one of the few options for an answer). Now this brings me back to the one question that Bollywood and its paparazzi have been discussing for the last 5 months- Is there a problem between the Bachchans and SRK? If yes, who is KJo with? Is he with the Bachchans since he attended the big wedding this year? Or is he with SRK what with the complete non mention of the Bachchans in the Madhuri episode? Well, only time can tell. But there is one thing that I can tell all of you guyz now for sure- If Karan keeps on yapping about his 3 big friends to each and every celebrity on his show, the day won't be far away when stars would refuse to descend on his sets quoting their unwillingness to provide free publicity to SRK, Kajol and Rani. Karan Beware!

Its Rajni all the way in Sivaji

Finally, I did it! June 30, 2007- 11.30 AM- Padma A/c- Ernakulam. Me and 4 of my colleagues were in high spirits to catch a glimpse of the much awaited, much talked about and much anticipated "Sivaji". A Super Star film generates hysteria all right, but when you have Rajni teaming up with ace director Shankar, the highly revered production house of AVM and a host of technicians like A R Rahman (Music); K V Anand (Cinematography); Anthony (Editing); Thotta Tharani (Art Direction); Peter Hein (Stunts); Raju Sundaram, Prabhu Deva, Lawrence, Brinda (Choreography) and the like, expectations are even beyond "sky high". And whether, Sivaji lives up to all those expectations? The answer is a big YES! Sivaji is the story of its protagonist of the same name who is a wealthy and very successful software engineer in the US (Now, dont sneer- I know how difficult it is to imagine Rajni as a software engineer- thankfully for him and us, he does not get into the technicalities other than carrying a laptop whose password is voice enabled). Sivaji returns to India to spend his hard earned money on opening charitable educational institutions and hospitals, only to earn the wrath of Adiseshan (Suman). Adiseshan on his part is a very wealthy and manipulative entrepreneur who runs a host of, you guessed it right, educational institutions and hospitals that thrive on capitation fee and heavy service bills. The rest of the movie is about how Adiseshan tries to destroy Sivaji, how Sivaji loses everything only to resurface stronger and puts an end to Adiseshan's life. In the middle of all this, Sivaji also finds time to romance Tamizhchelvi (Shriya Saran) and gets married to her. The story is as old as the hills and the situations are predictable. But, it is to Rajni's credit to carry this massive film entirely on his shoulders and make it a fast paced entertainer. The superstar delivers and how. Rajni looks trim with Manish Malhothra's stylish costumes and some extremely well fitting imported wigs. The actor is in his late 50's and ends up looking as if he is in his early 40's. Remarkable indeed! Suman is menacing as Adiseshan. Shriya Saran does what is expected of a Rajni heroine. Manish Malhothra makes his presence felt once again when Shriya cavorts around in pastel shaded costumes with plunging necklines during the song sequences. Also, it is after a long time that we see Rajni getting up, close and personal with his heroine. Not to mention, this part of the movie is really jarring- one can make out for sure that the hero and heroine are at least 3 decades apart in age! Raghuvaran puts in a neat cameo and everyone else in the supporting cast do their best to support the Super Star. The highly talked about one song appearance of Nayanthara is nothing much to write home about. If there is one actor who manages the hog the limelight in spite of the presence of Rajni, it is Vivek who plays his uncle- cum- side kick. Vivek appears in the entire movie (barring the songs, of course) and takes good advantage of his debut appearance in a superstar movie. Thotta Tharani's art direction is remarkable, the opulent sets in the song sequences- "Vaaji Vaaji" and "Sahana saral" deserve special mention. Editing is crisp and photography is a feast for one's eyes. The choreographers have done their job well by bringing the best out of Rajni and Shriya. The way "Thee Thee" song has been shot is a good example here. A R Rahman's compositions are in tune with the expectations of the die hard Rajni fans. The lyricists (Vaali, Vairamuthu, Pa Vijay and Na Muthukumar) have done a good job with lines that praise the Super Star to the hilt. Peter Hein shines and his well choreographed stunt sequences are a treat to the eyes. The one involving Kanal Kannan at the music shop evokes laughter and another one in a workshop with Rajni and at least a 100 goons is real edge of the seat stunner. Sujatha's wit and intelligence come to the fore in his dialogues. Shankar churns out yet another biggie with corruption as its theme. Like his earlier superhits with the same theme (Gentleman, Indian, Muthalvan, Anniyan), this one also has a larger than life hero and a host of unrealistic situations. But, Shankar makes it all believable with the able support from Rajnikanth. However, there is no denying the fact that this is a Rajni film first and a Shankar film next. If you still don't understand why Rajnikanth is such a phenomenon, Sivaji is for you. And for all you die hard fans of the stylish superstar, all I can say is, it can't get any better than this!