A marathon journey and had it not been for Movies and Music, the journey would have been excruciatingly painful one too. Thanks to technology,I was able to keep myself engaged and entertained for the length of the journey.
By the end of the Journey I can say, i became eligible to call myself as "A Movie Addict" and a "Music Maniac". 6 movies in a span of 21 hours is I believe too high a number by any yardstick. The good thing about the whole exercises however was that most of them were real good, with a couple of them in the league of "Extra Ordinary".
All started off with "Sparrow" a Chinese movie, which deals with the story of a pick pocket and his gang of men and how they go about freeing a girl from a Big Shot. It was a a movie which started off well and tapered off towards the end. Then came Taimur n Shafia an Arabic movie which dealt with the story of lovers and the ego clashes between them. The movie must have been made as a full fledged comedy movie, however the director made it a regular commercial flick by adding some unnecessary elements towards the end.
After 2 movies i got a bit tired of movies and I moved to the Music Section where Haydn provided me not only the much needed entertainment but great comfort with his symphony Number 88.
With over brimming joy i returned back to continue my movie marathon and resumed it with "45 Yoam" an Arabic movie, which deals with the mindset of a youngster, who is charged with having murdered his parents. Did he really murder them? If so why did he do it?, the movie although moves on predictable lines in the second half makes for a good watch with a really moving climax. Wall- E followed and Pixar Studios with this movie have covered a subject which is not a subject which is usually covered by Animation movies. Handling a sensitive subject and handling it with finesse,the makers have made an all time great movie.
After taking a short nap and recharging myself i switched back to watch "The Dark Knight" and i felt so happy and joyous after watching this all time classic. If i were to write about this movie that alone would take up a few pages on itself. If Heath ledger's performance was brilliant to say the least, the Script work was simply out of the world. The whole angle in which the subject has been approached and dealt with calls for a "Thumbs Up". Amazing movie. After a series of emotional movies i needed to get myself out of that mood and i decided to go for Mamma Mia a light hearted musical characterized by Cool songs, awesome locations and an average screenplay.
After all this, i still had time and what better way to spend time rather than to listen John Williams, Indiana Jones, ET, Jaws, Jurassic Park,Goodness Me!!! Hats off to U Sir. And when my journey ended and i reached my Native Place with Superman and Olympic Fanfare theme ringing in my ears, I felt like a KING notwithstanding the fact that I dont have a fortune or a Kingdom or a Queen ;)
A movie which holds a mirror and shows to us the real India, thts Slumdog Millionaire for you.
Getting into the details.
Story:"Rags to Riches" story, nothing more am i going to reveal here :|.
Screenplay: Brilliantly written screenplay by Simon Beaufoy. Rather than going on for pages and pages about how wonderfully written script it is, I would like to say "Make the script of this movie a part of the curriculum for Film Institute students".
Cinematography: It actually never struck me that I was watching a movie, Now isn't that enough to speak about the quality of the cinematography?? Simply Stunning work by Anthony Dod Mantle
Editing: Huh, I m running short of adjectives here :(, I was not able to find a single shot extra in spite of the fact that the movie oscillates back and forth between 2 time periods,which makes editing all the more difficult. Hats off to Chris Dickens.
Music: A R Rahman is here to stay in Hollywood is what I can say after watching this movie. Background score is not only about composing music to elevate the scenes, but it also about silence. There are a few places in any movie where u feel that Silence is the best elevator, U don't spoil that by music. U let the audience feel that silence, let that feeling sink in them. A R Rahman has done that brilliantly and the Music is bound to haunt u for a long time to come. I Promise.
Casting: Ever thought as to why Hollywood is able to churn out far better movies than what Bollywood or for that matter any "Wood" in India. Simple, Hollywood is more "Professional" and no where is this more exemplified than in the case of a Casting Director. I don't even know if there is any Casting Director in any of the "Woods" in India. Kudos to the Casting Directors Lovelaan Tandon and Gail Stevens of this movie for having made the apt choices for all the roles.
Direction: I am sure we are going to hear lots and lots more about this director Danny Boyle. He deserves a pat on his back or rather a standing ovation for making such a Honest "Raw" movie and making it so entertaining. He hits you hard with reality and portrays brillaintly the the huge Inequality that exists in the Indian Society,at the same time he has made sure that he has made the movie as an entertainer and not as a boring advice soap opera.
Performances: Each character lives in its role. Is there a bigger praise that I can heap on the artists?? If so let me know please.
My Favorite Scenes:
"When the Kid jumps into a pool of shit and gets up and runs without washing himself to get the autograph of Amitabh Bachan",the director clearly shows the go getter nature of the character in this single scene.
"When the hero says "I Donno" to the police officer who asks to name him the personality who is on the 1000 Indian Rupee Note. Another scene which shows to us how even Independence of 5 decades has not made much of a change to the lives of these people and they have not even got the opportunity to earn a decent livelihood.
When the hero says "Had it not been for Ram and Allah i would have still had a mother"
Yeah thts enf :), I might give away all the scenes at this rate.
To sum it all up "Slumdog Millionaire Hits the Jackpot"
Which is the most difficult thing to do in a movie? If someone were to ask me this question, my reply without any hesitation will be "To Convey a message in a movie and to do it successfully", as most people who come to the theaters have only one "Entertainment" in mind.
Now Krish the film maker pulls of the aforementioned task with nonchalant ease with his movie "Gamyam (Telugu)" . I must say its been quite sometime since i have seen any movie like this. Absolutely Honest Film making. Handling a story, which had more chances of making the audience run for their Pop Corn out of boredom, the director not only manages to keep the audience interested, but also goes a step beyond and makes the audience think, think for a moment.
I am not going to give any reviews for this movie as its been quite sometime the movie had released and the web media contains enf and more reviews. But i would like to point out some points which i felt interesting about the movie.
I read a lot of reviews which spoke of Allari Naresh as the second most person of the movie, but i beg to differ on this, I name the Lyricist of the movie Sri Vennela Seetarama Sastry as the second hero of the movie. Never before i guess a lyricist played the role of a second hero. The one song where he explains life is awesome to say the least. To Sum it Up "No Praise can be too high for the lyricist."
For the first time or maybe in a long long time we saw "Naxalism" handled in the most objective manner.And the brilliant part is that's not in the main scheme of things too. Such was the attention paid to even the not so critical track.The track was handled in a very objective and honest fashion.
Finally the episode that deals with the dance girl, God! Wonderful, On your face hard hitting dialogues, Never were these episodes treated with such finesse before.
All in all, a fantastic journey, a thought provoking one.
P.S:Although off the topic, i would like to ask this doubt here, "Whats that so special about Philosophy in general, everyone knows the truth but when every time we hear it again and again it sounds like new, it becomes a new learning. Is that the beauty of the Truth or the Human Mind?"
Readers please go ahead and listen to "Mungaru Male" songs in case if u have not yet listened. ( Guess most of u would have by now). Wat an amazin album!!! Songs simply take me into a different world altogether. Mano Murthy has come out with a GEM.
P.S: Mungaru Male is the Highest Grossing Cinema in the History of Kannada Cinema.
Well,it has happened finally, Dasavataharam easily the most hyped movie of the Decade has finally released. So has the movie, which was touted as India's answer to Hollywood lived up to its expectations? Has it become a landmark movie for KamalHaasan which it was expected to become?Read On
Story: I am not going to dwell too much on the story, So much has been made about the Story."Chaos Theory","Butterfly Effect" and a lot many more jargons have been used. Put it simply it is about a Scientist trying to Destroy a Bio Weapon which is finally done by a Tsunami. Is Tsunami the work of God? Why should God create such things? Does anyone called GOD exist? the movie raises these questions.
Screenplay: This is the make or break section for any movie, and as far as this movie is concerned the screenplay is of the worst possible kind. Now, Hold On. Dont get angry. If u think that i am intent on Kamal Bashing , then u have got it wrong. Answer the questions raised below with a neutral mindset
1. The scientist does not know before the monkey's death that this bio weapon will be used for destructive purposes( Well what a KID the scientist must be to think so) and all of a sudden he changes his mind.(Huh)
2. Once he gets hold of the Virus(which takes place in the first half) why does he not go ahead and destroy it right away?? The story is logically over there and from that point on till the climax the story goes no where.It seems that at the climax the hero realizes that the time is up and we cannot make the audience wait anymore. Fatal Flaw.
3. How come a case in which even George Bush is interested in is handed over to an Officer( Read as Joker). The tactics employed by him are extreme sillly. Ridicilousness to the core.
4.These criminals whose photos are flashed all over the papers and TV channels roam throughout Tamil Nadu without anyone being aware about them. The Public is simply absent and so is the police. No police at the Check Posts, No Searchings nothing. Kiddish
5. Where does the story take place? Chidambaram, Next Scene Pondicherry Border and the next scene the people are admitted into a Hospital which God knows where it is and the next scene the concert takes place in Chennai(Simply Confusing)Although a minor one, which not many would have noticed it is still a flaw.
So with these many flaws the screenplay is just poor.
Direction: When u have such a poor screenplay there is nothing that can be done by the director, So there is no need to even speak about the director.
Music: Take away the first song and there is simply nothing in the movie, Background score is also weak.
Editing: Well Shoddy screenplay makes the work of an editor that much more difficult. I dont want to speak more on this( u wud have understood it)
Cinematography: Adequate
Special Effects: Well Done, the special effects are really good. Perhaps the only saving grace in the movie.
Dialogues:Dialogues try to support the half baked nature in which the movie has tried to deal with religion.
Performances:
Kamal in 10 roles and most of them are fogettable, not that he performs badly but there is no depth in characterization.
Asin has done the role of a semi lunatic( thats what i could make out of that stupid characer) to a T
Mallika Sherawat as usual has proven that she is poles apart from acting.
The rest of the cast( Was anyone there???) are Ok
All in all a very disappointing movie, I would say the most disappointing movie in the recent past, ranking higher than even Sivaji and Okka Magadu.( Now dont think that I am comparing OM to Dasavatharam, OM had expectations of a different kind)
Verdict: Well, Huge Numbers will be publicized, a Success Function wil be held for sure. But reality is something which will only be known the people who distributed and exhibited the movie.
P.S: One of my friend said that "Indian Cinema is at Kamal's feet", I dunno whehter he made it generally or keeping this specific movie in Mind,In case if it is a general statement then yes that statement can be taken up for debate, but had he said this keeping this movie in his mind, then there is no doubts over the fact that he must be a die Hard Kamal Fan who praises Kamal as a Duty without any analysis.
At the Outset i would like to mention that this is the view of a lay man. I am not an expert at analyzing the quality of Cinematography or the technical aspects. My reviews will be based on the entertainment aspect for Masala movies and Involvement aspect for Devotional Movies.
Coming to Pandurangadu my equation will be KRR+MMK+Devotion=SUCCESS. Seems to me like the actors and the actresses are only secondary. The actors and actresses are secondary. I am not degrading the artists but it is the amount of elevation and involvement that they are able to bring through their combo that makes them the pillars of these devotional movies.
I am not going to dwell too much on the story. It is about a flirt who realizes the value of parents and finally realizes GOD.
The first half is meant for the masses and is there any man better than KRR for the masses? Commodification of women is his forte and the way he shows Meghna Naidu, Tabu and other girls is simply a testimony of that.
The second half is all about KRR's other side the devotional side and boy! hasn't he done a great job? The last 40 minutes containing 4 songs just moves through extra ordinarily. I am not able to still believe that it lasted 40 mins for it seemed just like 10 mins. Brilliant grip.
Performance wise Balakrishna is simply outstanding. Be it in enacting the role of a flirt or that of a devotee he excels. However his best performance comes as Lord Krishna, he has tried to emulate his Dad(NTR) and he has done a great job at that. KUDOS to Balayya for that.
Sneha does the role of an innocent devotee to perfection. Neat job from her. Tabu was meant to make the masses drool and she succeeds at that. K Visvanath does a neat job as the dad. The rest of the cast are Ok.
Mohan Babu does a short role and as usual is very good in it.
Coming to the music, as i said at the start MMK is just brilliant. Songs or background score he is just at his best. Songs still continue to linger in my mind and i am sure that i am not alone.
Editing in my opinion is good and Cinematography seems adequate, nothing great but nothing bad as well.
Dialogues are gud at important places which is very important. About the quality at the rest of the places, well nothing much to write home about.
However there are some things which if avoided would have made this movie a great one
1. Plethora of comedy artists forced into the script and testing our patience( it was the case in the previous 2 movies as well). They were there in the previous 2 movies as well and i guess the success of those movies have made KRR to have them again in this movie as well.
2. Establishing the reason for God showering the Ranga character with so much grace. Although God showers all of us with grace with no reason, it would have been better if such a thread was there.
On the whole, an average first half( with lots of cleavage and navel show) and an extraordinary second half.
Verdict: Definitely bound to attract Common audience. Definite HIT.
Jai, Zindabad, Thalaivar Vaazhga ever heard this before?? Well the chances are that most of the South Indians would have heard of this, at the time of the release of a movie whose hero commands a fan following. I have always thought what makes these people go crazy over an actor??
I used to look at these people and think of themselves as people as FOOLS. All thats history now. I have become a FOOL( no i don't want to use that word anymore) , let me say a FAN myself. Boy and it does feel great to be a FAN.
The only problem however is that when i led a tension free life before, it has got very tight now. Every time a movie releases my pressure goes up. How will be the movie like? How will be the performance of my hero? What will be the response of the Public?. These things really make me go mad. Boy, being a fan is indeed tough.
However all this really is not remembered when the movie turns out to be a hit and when people give Thumbs Up to the movie.
Oh i have still not mentioned the name of my Hero. He is TARAK also called as NTR Jnr.
Now that the movie is releasing, what will be the verdict this time around??? One thing is for sure whatever the verdict may be one thing is for sure A Fan is someone who stands by his hero through thick and thin. While success serves as a fillip and failure leaves us frustrated nothing will make us change our loyalty.
I am a True FAN.
MM Keeravani or MM Kreem as he is called in Bollywood is one of my favorite music directors, even though he is not in the league of Ilayaraja or A R Rehman. He is someone who always takes me in to a different world with his music.
He is supreme when it comes to Devotional or Classical music and above average when it comes to regular commercial stuff. So it was very natural of me to have sky high expectations when it came to Pandurangadu, the latest devotional flick in the combo of KRR-MMK.
So how is the album does it really live upto the hype or has Keeravani failed this test? The album contains 15 tracks.
Aadauv Devakideva: This is a sloka which captures in a single paragraph the entire life history of Lord Krishna. Very neatly done.
Brindavanuma: Keeravani's voice may not be a connoisseur's delight but it is a very soothing one when he sings commercial numbers and soul touching when he sings devotional numbers. This is a devotional number. Do i need to say more? Listen for urself and get transported into a different world
Govinda Krishna Jai: This is a song which speaks about the deeds of Sri Krishna the boy. Wonderfully rendered by SPB this song will grow on when seen on the screen. The way it is pictured is of utmost importance here as it is very easy to show some small boy doing all kinds of mischief. I personally believe this song will attain a new level if this song with the singer singing it in the height of devotion without any girls and boys there by preventing the trivializing of the lyrics.
Govindude Koka Chutti: Simply Stunning number. Keeravani does it again with this number. With Sunita providing great support this number is an outstanding one.
Hey Krishna Mukunda: SPB and SPB alone can render these kinds of songs. Good to hear i am pretty sure that this song will catch on when seen on as it is about the protagonist demanding the lord to give him darshan.
Jaya Ranga Ranga Vittala: A master at churning out chorus numbers which elevate the scene, keeravani comes out with this wonderful chorus. Could be the ending song. Excellent.
Jwalath Kaarala: Wonderful chorus.
Mathrudevobhava: Extra ordinary rendition and Lyrics of great depth makes this a simply extra ordinary number. Could go on and become an all time hit.
Koshaladeshapu: Mass number if i can call it that way, Now don't come to the conclusion that it is the usual mass number which has Shankar Mahadevan crooning to some stupid lyrics. This number has SPB again at his mischievous best as he sings about his love for women and his lifestyle. Sunita again provides great support. Fun Number.
Mathapitrusamo: An average chorus
Neela Megha:SPB at it again and this number when seen on screen will make a few people to shed tears for sure.
Sahasra Sheesara: Shankar Mahadevan sings this average chorus
Premavalambanam: An average duet.
Sri Sri Rajadi Raja: A fantastic fun number rendered by Shankar Mahadevan and Geeta. Mass will go berserk with this number for sure.
Yemani Adaganu: What lyrical value? My God!! Comes as a slap in the face for people like me who keep asking the lord for different things. Must listen number.
Overall, a fantastic album, definitely the cream of Kreem without an iota of doubt. A great relief for listeners from the run of the mill music stuff which we have been hearing for quite some years.
Kudos to Keeravani and Team
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