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...

I deserve something good...

I don’t know whether my Boss would agree, but of late, I have been feeling that I am doing nothing much other than going to work, coming back, going out for movies during weekend and blogging! I am kind of stuck in a rut and there is nothing much exciting happening in life- the kind that is different from normal and that leaves you re energized and rejuvenated.

I have been thinking of doing many things but considering the work- life schedule on hand would not be able to do all those things that I want to. But, the following are some things that I would really like to do in the next few months:

• Read a couple of good books- light, frothy and refreshing and of a modern, contemporary kind

• Watch a couple of good movies- the kind that I have already seen, the kind that leaves me wanting for more every time I finish watching them

• Take a trip down Kanniyakumari with a couple of close friends and sneak out some time on the beach watching the sun setting, all by myself 

• Learn French- a little bit to read and talk. It will help at work, no doubt, it will also provide me with a challenge of trying to learn something totally new, something that I have not done in ages!

• Learn driving and get a 4 wheeler license. That will put things in order at home besides making me self driven (literally, of course!)

• Just sit at home, all alone, catch up with some sleep and sleep for long hours without being disturbed, dreamily while it is raining outside…

May be not all of them make sense, but I am sure these will take me out of the rut that I think I am stuck in and I could be more energetic in life if I do at least one of those…Not sure when I am going to get time, next 3 months at work are going to be hectic but December 2009…well, I am keeping my fingers crossed

Oh Darling, Yeh Hai India!

These were the lines that came to my mind when I boarded the Jet Airways flight from Toronto yesterday afternoon after a 3 week stint in Canada. The good thing about a Jet Airways flight is that the moment you enter one, you feel you are home irrespective of which airport in the world you are in! There is lots of noise, people are here, there and everywhere, they sit everywhere other than the seat allotted to them, make unreasonable demands of the cabin crew and most importantly, you will have at least 20 families traveling with young kids who will do anything but sleep on the flight!

I have often wondered whether there will be any other set of people who make it a point to take that long flight home every 2 years for a vacation without even caring about how their infant kids will feel! There cannot be another set of kids in the world, who are as irritant and hyper active as Indian kids especially if they are in the middle of a crowd. Worse is when Indian families are traveling in groups- the men discuss the situation in Silicon Valley and the Indian economy; the women discuss almost everything under the sun and it is up to the fellow passengers and the Cabin Crew to take care of the kids who will be all around the place, crying, smiling at passers by or worse, even snatching stuff from others!

After a fairly sleep deprived night, this is the kind of chaos that I got into when I boarded the flight. The flight from Toronto to Brussels was unbearable to say the least. If all those 40 odd kids were not enough, the young girl sitting next to me was looking at me as though I was a professional rapist; the gentleman sitting behind me did not like the idea of me pushing back my seat and the gentleman sitting in front of me was getting disturbed because I was tapping my feet! Can it get any worse than that? The only reason I could survive the flight was the hot, fresh and tasty food and the excellent in flight entertainment!

I think it is high time we learn a thing or two about etiquette in public places. One can not really blame the kids when their parents itself forget the basic rules of etiquette. You might be interested in making use of every penny you spent in buying the tickets but what you need to remember is that others have also spent money on their tickets and they deserve as much of privacy and space as you do! I am hoping things will get better by the time I board my next international flight of Jet Airways…

Festivals: How Important are they?

This festival season I was more or less out of India- I left home on the evening of Janmashtami, boarded my flight to Canada on Independence Day, celebrated my 30th Birthday and Onam in Canada and am back in time for Ashtami Rohini (11 September!).

I personally did not give much importance to what I was missing since the call was taken more for work than anything else but all these came into the limelight when our client from Canada came visiting India during Onam and saw all festivities associated with it. The good soul that he is, he was worried and unhappy that I missed out on all this fun and probably, this whole visit of mine could have been scheduled differently.

On my side, I had a good time at Halifax, there is no denying that! As for missing festivals, whenever I encounter these scenarios, the one thing that comes to my mind is what my ex- Boss used to tell me- “What is there in festivals? If you have money, every day is a festival. If you don’t, you don’t care whether it is a festival or not.”

That might probably be a cruelly practical way of looking at things but considering the fact that I need a job to survive and that I am quite happy with my work and pay, I should say that is how I would like to look at things. My manthra in life is very simple- “Enjoy your work, make enough money to enjoy your time off from work. If you are not happy with work, don’t sit and whine, move out as early as you can and find out something that will keep you happy (hopefully!)

I am not sure how many will agree to me, but this is how I am and this is how I see myself to be long into the future, as well 

How Airports change...

As I type this down sitting in the Security Area of the Chatrapathi Sivaji Domestic Terminal at Mumbai, I am just thinking how things have changed in Indian airports. I remember the Mumbai airport from my first trip to North America which was a little more than 5 years back (time flies and how!). That was the time I got my first taste of Mumbai airport and to be honest with you, it left a bad after taste!

It was crowded, dirty, could not handle all those flights or passengers, with either check in or security check rarely being completed on time. People were shouting at each other and every single passenger was complaining!

Cut out to Kochi International Airport in the later part of 2004 and earlier part of 2005 (during my stint in the Middle East), it was as if the same story was being repeated. With almost a dozen flights to various countries in the Middle East, all scheduled to leave within a time span of an hour or a little more than that, mornings would be absolute chaos at Kochi International Airport. No one would know what to do and where to go and everybody including the station crew and the passengers would be equally confused and irritated. Not a single flight used to leave Kochi Airport on time then…

Bangalore- November 2007- my first trip to Canada. If I call that experience a nightmare, I would be making an understatement! By this time the HAL Airport was operating at much in excess of its original capacity- leave alone some place to sit and relax, there was no place to even stand in the airport- thanks to the international services by British Airways and Lufthansa and the multitude of techies who used to take these flights every single day!

And how things have changed…today Mumbai International Airport is as good as the ones in Paris or Frankfurt or Brussels. Mumbai Domestic Airport could give any airport in any country a run for its money- not only in terms of ambience, space or aesthetics but also in terms of cleanliness- a trait that India has always trailed in. Cut to Bangalore, the new Airport is an Engineering marvel and a traveler’s delight. Very Modern construction and attention to even minute details make this airport truly international- its unique ambience and ability to handle crowds is really being spoken about.

Things have not changed significantly in Kochi but the introduction of the new check in hall at the International terminal has ensured that things are managed much better than what they used to be. With the kind of money the airport is making and with the kind of land it already possesses, there is no need for us to be surprised if the CIAL goes ahead with its multifarious development plans. The Golf track is already under progress and so is the Go karting track! Construction is in progress and there are plans to construct a 5 star hotel within the airport itself…

India is now the service center for the world and considering the number of Indian travelers per day, it is only logical that our airports are renovated and we rise to the occasion to cash in on the kind of money being spent by Indian companies on travel. Even the so called Economic Recession has affected only the short visits of the honchos high up the ladder. Go to any of the big international airports in the country and you will still see a young Indian techie beaming with pride at his/ her folks, all set to embark on his/ her first international trip!

It is reassuring to know that there is some work happening in this direction- There is frantic reconstruction happening at Delhi, which has also to do with the proposed Common Wealth Games next year and the Hyderabad Airport is every South Indian’s pride. Airports are what any tourist would see of any country and a well managed and well maintained airport always sends out positive vibes about the country to all the visitors. (KL Airport, anyone?). Things definitely are moving in the right direction and the day is not far away when Mumbai/ Delhi/ Bangalore/ Chennai/ Hyderabad airports will be spoken about in the same manner as, lets say, Paris/ Frankfurt/ Zurich/ London/ Brussels. Let us keep our fingers crossed and feel happy at what we have achieved and look hopefully into the future…

Airports, Festivals, India and myself

These posts were typed out on my laptop while I was waiting for my flight out of Mumbai 4 months back. I am posting these just because I had drafted them completely. They are coming out too late but please bear with me :-)

"The Hangover" leaves you with a good one

No one can match upto Hollywood when it comes to making adult comedies, or below the belt comedies to be specific. I have always been a sucker for these (I still remember how I laughed out loud watching “There’s something about Mary) considering the fact that good ones in this genre happen once in a while and after catching “The Hangover” I must tell you that this is one of the best that I have ever seen.

It all happens when four friends embark on a journey to Las Vegas to celebrate the bachelor’s party of one of them who is getting married the next evening. They check into a Hotel, get onto the terrace of the hotel, raise a toast for their friend and gulp down their first shot for the evening. The next morning when they get up, the prospective groom is missing, there is a baby in their closet and a Royal Bengal Tiger in the washroom and worse- none of them remember any incidents from the previous evening!

They have just few hours at hand and they need to decode what happened the previous night, most importantly, they need to find their friend who is getting married that evening. What ensues is a hilarious ride when they find out many funny things- one of them has lost one tooth of his and has got married to a stripper; the Tiger was stolen from Mike Tyson’s house and they have to pay a whopping 80 grands to a Chinese bi sexual who they cheated the previous night at the Casino!!!

Hilarious circumstances and dialogues appear one after the other and the 100 minute film is a laugh out loud caper that will have you in splits. The jokes are crude and sexist, but then you don’t expect a story revolved around a Bachelor’s party to sound like a bible session, do you? If your idea of entertainment is having pure fun and if you are the kind you enjoy non- veg jokes, “The Hangover” is the best bet to spend a lazy weekend afternoon. Go for it, if you have your male friends for company, you will have a blast 

"Sarvam" is awful!

I was really looking forward to catching Sarvam at theatres. Though Vishnuvardhan, the director disappointed with his last outing, I thought there was something to look forward to in this modern love story starring Arya and Trisha together for the first time. Add to it, this was supposed to be Indrajith’s return to Tamil Cinema plus you were getting to watch J D Chakravarthi in a significant role after ages!

Fortunately or unfortunately, I could not catch this one in theatres, something I was really unhappy about till I caught “Sarvam” finally as an in flight movie. At the very outset, let me tell you Sarvam is a movie that fails on all counts but two- Nirav Shah’s cinematography and Anu Vardhan’s costumes.

The movie begins with a happy go lucky, young, dashing architect (Arya) falling in love with a paediatrician (Trisha) at first sight. He literally chases her until she finally falls in love with him and they decide to get married. However, Trisha gets killed in a freak car accident and her heart is transplanted to a young boy, who is about to be murdered by a man (JD Chakravarthy) since the boy’s father (Indrajith) had accidentally killed his own son.

It is here that the script falters big time. To start with, the characterization of J D Chakravarthi is quite weak, so much so that as an audience you feel like giving a smack right across his face, when he keeps on saying- “My son passed away!”. It is so surprising that Indrajith does not really approach the Police to help him out of his predicament. The suspension of logic reaches its peak when Arya decides to protect the kid since the kid’s heart belongs to his departed love. By this time, if you start pulling your hair, no body will blame you.

The director literally drags the script and the lead players into the thick forests of Munnar in the second half and from there on, more than the characters; it is the script that gets lost to the point of no return. If there is one thing that remains consistent through the movie (apart from the pathetic script, that is), it is Nirav Shah’s cinematography which spells magic on screen. The romantic track of Arya and Trisha have been filmed in bright, vibrant colors and the green tone of agony that Shah lends to the second half of the film comes out a winner. Anu Vardhan clothes Trisha and Arya in the best of costumes. Trisha looks like a goddess on screen though she has very little to do in terms of acting. Arya is his dashing best, a far cry from his aghori avtar in Naan Kadavul!

Art Direction is good to one’s eyes but the whitish hospital interiors and the colorful children’s ward look too good to be true. Editor seems to be on vacation. Yuvan Shankar Raja’s music is just mediocre and there is no magic as far as re- recording is concerned.

Couple of things that stand out- Arya’s sincere approach towards an awfully written character and the repeated references to Ilaiyaraja’s romantic numbers. It gets more entertaining when Arya and the kid fight over the Maestro and A R Rahman! Prathap Pothan puts in an interesting cameo as the psychiatrist who is half mad!

To sum up, Sarvam is a typical example of body beautiful, soul zero! It’s time Vishnuvardhan moved back into stories of substance- like his earlier outings- Arinthum Ariyamalum and Pattiyal.

Its been ages...

Gosh, Its been like 4 months since I posted anything on my blog...this probably has been my longest absence from the wired world. I had made it a point that I would start 2010 by finishing my backlog of emails and blogging and I have been quite successful with what I planned. So here I am folks, after what one may call a hibernation more than a sabbatical...

My last post had to do with losing YSR and look at what all has happened in Andhra Pradesh in 4 months' time. Yours faithfully had a fleeting visit to Hyderabad and before the Telangana issue blew out of proportion, was lucky enough to board a flight home..

KCR's hunger strikes, PC's declaration of Telangana state creation followed by hartals, bandhs, demonstration, violence, destruction of public property and en masse resignation of Congress MLA's has made Andhra Pradesh living hell. The funniest thing is that in the middle of all this, the 84 year old Governor could find time to vent out his carnal desires that has cost him his position...thats a long thread to discuss and will continue for quite sometime in future as well.

For the time being, let me go back to what all I had in store for the blog. I have forgotten half the movies I saw, have no clue about the new restaurants that I checked out and only faintly remember the books I read but let me recollect whatever I can for the benefit of the readers. So, here I go with my nonstop, nonsense...