Showing posts with label AR Rahman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AR Rahman. Show all posts

October 30, 2019

"Bigil" (Tamil)/ "Whistle" (Telugu) Film Review



"Bigil" is a fine example of how a blockbuster unfolds and ends with 178 minutes of Vijayana. Yes, its a sports film and also has gangster movie shades. Hence, you see a combo of "Chak De" and "Baasha". Director Atlee has given a pass to many rules of soccer game but the energy levels never drop - infact the second half is the brightest second half ever seen in recent films. Vijay shines well both as father and son Bigil and this must be his finest performance. BGM by AR Rahman and almost all the songs scored are gold-diggers which will haunt you long. Go for 'Bigil' ('Whistle' in Telugu) even if you are not a Vijay fan. From the times of doing remakes of Mahesh Babu films and doing chocolate boy films, Vijay has come a long way. As for Atlee who is now sought after by the likes of Shah Rukh Khan and NTR Jr to direct films for them, this is crowning glory. If only the first half is pruned a bit, and those over-the-top football moments edited out, "Bigel" would have been a cult classic. The highlight of the film is the sequence of getting a housewife and an acid attack victim into the team - much impact without much ado there. Despite the director and the hero flaunting their religious leanings in close camera shots, the film will mint its way to the top this year at least in Tamil belt. 

April 18, 2015

"Sakhi" Review - Back to Nostalgia after "OK Bangaram"

Fifteen Years back, I wrote this film review after watching Mani Ratnam's movie"Sakhi" ("Alaipayuthey" in Tamil and "Saathiya" in Hindi) on April 14, 2000. Yes, it is edit-worthy but I wouldn't change one word. If a reviewer has mellowed, I am sure Mani Ratnam has too - waiting for a perfect reprise of another love story in "Ok Bangaram" ("O Kaadal Kanmani" in Tamil). Soundtrack by AR Rahman got released yesterday. Sounds promising. As I said here, welcome back Mani! My review of "Ok Bangaram" below in previous post.


"Ok Bangaram" (Telugu)/ "O Kadal Kanmani" (Tamil) Movie Review



When it comes to romance, Mani Ratnam has an uneven advantage in making even the mundane plots dance on screen with unblemished technical brilliance and undiminished attention to the nuances of love. “Ok Bangaram” passes the test for Mani Ratnam  and it is no mean feat for one of the finest masters of Indian Cinema. He has made a memorable romantic movie in every decade since the 80s that gets burnt in our psyche. “Mouna Raagam”, “Gitanjali”, “Sakhi” and now “Ok Bangaram” joins that league. Even if the plot is not something unfamiliar and the treatment lacks wow factor at few places, the finesse of the film with all the visuals, the rich music of AR Rahman and the tracks between the lead pairs (there are two pairs in fact) transport you into trance. Roping in such technical stalwarts like PC Sreeram, Sharmistha Roy, Sreekar Prasad and Rahman, Mani can heave a sigh of relief that his product, after a long gap, will taste some success at the box office. 

Indeed the plot is mundane and much cited on silver screens - a live-in relationship between two mature professionals - Aadi  (Dulquar Salmaan) and Tara (Nitya Menen) who are spectacularly in love with each other while keeping an eye on their fledgling careers. Dulquar is a gaming guru who conceptualises  imaginative online games that rake in the millions and Nitya is an architect who is seeking her Masters in Paris. Dulquar stays as a PG with an elderly couple  - Prakash Raj and Leela Samson. Love grows between the two young pros with faultiness often arising from live-in expectations. It goes through a roller-coaster ride before a familiar climax with many moments of truth inspired by the geriatric couple of Mrs and Mr Ganapathy (played by Prakash Raj and Leela Samson). But Mani Ratnam doesn’t believe in a riot of love without a cause, so you see a romantic track with the duress of a success-seeking professional and the affections of your immediate family, however dysfunctional or the care of those who need. In 138 minutes or so, Mani Ratnam’s old magic of story-telling returns without any temptations of narcissism of the craft or visuals that rush up your adrenaline. With good screenplay, stunning visuals and a commendable starcast, the movie deserves a once-watch even if some familiarity with his treatment creeps in at many points. In many ways, the old film “Sakhi” still remains unsurpassed because of the beauty of a sober plot that has many uncharacteristic twists and pathos moments. 

Yet, “OK Bangaram” scores high because of the freshness of the pair. Nitya Menen takes the cake in the movie with an effortless performance that will win hearts, she is at once vulnerable yet measured, cute yet cold-blooded with her mother, innocent but also volatile in moods. Wearing dresses that she might wear on a day of no-shooting, Nitya strikes a delicate balance with versatility and grace unbelievable for a South heroine. The only thing that takes away marks in her performance is the  inconsistency in her characterisation; she first turns down a lover who is interested in her estate but with Aadi, she gets distracted all the time falling for the same tricks that she believes boys play before getting fresh with girls. Aadi, played by Dulquar Salmaan is exciting. The boy who won all the hearts in “Bangalore Days” is the most promising youngster that Mani Ratnam has re-launched for an audience far removed from Mollywood (Malayalam movies). Whether in control of emotions in love or losing it, in anger and poise, camaraderie at work or sympathy for an elderly landlady, Dulquer smarts ahead with a great show of talent - something that comes easily to him from father and superstar Mammooty. His characterisation is the most consistent and worthy of a protagonist coming of age. Kudos to Actor Nani for lending his inimitable voice to Dulquer in the  Telugu version. Nani’s voice has amplified Dulquer’s character for the masses - it is a great idea and a good sporting gesture. Normally, Aalap Raju or Srinivas Murty are the only voices you hear for all Tamil heroes in Telugu versions but this is a delectable experiment - must be at Dil Raju’s bidding who produced the movie in Telugu. Prakash Raj gets such a meaty role in this film, after “Iruvar”that he should thank his stars for a spotless role which will re-ignite his career in that space where he was virtually unchallenged. If Jayasudha stole the show in “Sakhi”, Prakash Raj did it in “Ok Bangaram” with shades of “SVSC” performance. Leela Samson gives a soulful performance as a lady losing her way in life with Alzeimer’s. Her lines linger on and give the depth to an otherwise elementary story. 

What endears the film is Mani Ratnam’s mature handling of the themes and visuals he wants us to go home with. He could have been tempted to show cliched scenes of fights to elevate heroism or sympathy to pad up the love story etc.but he shows great restraint by sticking to responsible and refined cinema. In the film, for example, the heroine’s mother uses her influence to subject the hero to police torture. Any other director would have shown the scene  - right from Shankar to Rajamouli but Mani dismisses it as an aside plainly told by the hero to the heroine, matter-of-factly. Similarly, a love story doesn’t fire up without a customary item song or a drunken scene or fights. Cleverly, quite deftly, Mani shows none of these banalities - instead, he uses the montage of the gaming animation to show stunts and other chutzpah - skip it or snooze, the story doesn’t jar you. Heroism for the heroes and glamor for the heroines - both these get redefined by Mani in the film, a lesson somewhere for master manipulators of emotions in Tollywood. It is good that successive failures and biting criticisms of Mani’s previous films have made him mellow in his love with the craft versus attempt to tell a good story. 

Mani has told a good story with a familiar message though - with conventional trappings and some deja vu moments of bitterness and celebration in love and life. But the effort shows and leaves you with a nice aftertaste unlike some of his forgettable films in the last decade. Helping him to get a breather again are technicians who worked closely with him in several films. PC Sreeram, that ace cinematographer proves  a nonpareil when it comes to catching fire with screenshots. This time, he choses Mumbai’s lesser-highlighted imagery - torrential rains, jerky rides  on bike, high seas of the Arabian Sea with up-close shots of the ships that keep a vigil on the coast at night and many other shots like that. Sreeram’s work is itself paisa vasool for the film and makes it above-average viewing. Of course, his lighting is legendary - and while he makes the lead pair sizzle in their chemistry and screen presence, he has highlighted the old pair in the moods that Mani wanted them to be in, Leela Samson’s shrinkage from a carnatic musician to a forlorn patient is captured well by Sreeram as also the shots in the trains in which lot of Mani’s films revel. AR Rahman’s music has been a chart-buster before the film released, now it will egg you on more since the film is a treat to watch. With nine songs rich in variety and orchestration, Rahman has given the season’s best songs and BGM. And Mani hasn’t fully done justice to their picturisation;  he hasn’t subtracted though from the music with his visual output. Visually, the song on the gaming concepts that greets you on titles has the raciest groove in the score. The carnatic  number sung by Chitra is the only song abruptly cut short by Mani. Otherwise, almost three or four songs which are good audio tracks are extended in the second half which increase the hummability of the songs. Songs by Rahmanand the music co-scored by Rahman and another troupe take the experience to a new high. Mani’s imagination is not commensurate with Rahman’s perceptible instrumentation reserved for “Mani Sir’s films”. The only song that stands out is the duet in the lodge in Ahmedabad where the young lovers feel the physical temptations of love but don’t give in yet. Dubbing-wise, you don’t feel this is coming from Tamil, the quality and the Telugu diction  is so good. Also, references to local towns and a couple of politicians make it credible. Sirivennala’s lyrics make the Telugu songs enchanting and classy compared to some of the hopelessly inapt lyrics penned in Mani’s previous films dubbed from Tamil. Instead of using words like “Gunde Kinda Needocche” and “Kuriseti Gadiyaaram”, Sirivennala uses lilting words which are also sensible. Dialogues by Kiran are in the same metric length of Mani Ratnam - crisp and business-like. Despite many moments where you feel the lag of a director who is not able to outgrow his favourite love scenes and hurrah moments, “Ok Bangaram” will get Mani’s fans happy again. Here’s a master who gets his mojo back. It is not brilliant and not the best of his movies - but he re-presents the timeless paradigms of skin-deep love for another generation confused in online chats and careerist obsessions with reinvigorated craft and squeaky clean touch of class. Watchable, for sure.

Rating: 3.25 / 5

#ManiRatnam #OkBangaram #OKadalKanmani #NityaMenen #DulquerSalmaan #ARRahman #PCSreeram #Tollywood #Kollywood #MovieReviews #DilRaju #PrakashRaj #Nani #OKBangaramReview 

April 1, 2015

"Uthama Villain" - the magic of music in Kamal Hassan's films continues!

Kamal Hassan’s “Uthama Villain” raised sky-high expectations as the Telugu audio got launched last Sunday. It was entertainment to see Kamal Hassan’s spectacular entry splitting at the centre of curtains after amplifying late K Balachander’s memorable tribute to the great actor. SPB’s lyrical affections on Kamal elevated the mood to infinite nostalgia. I had followed Kamal Hassan’s films since childhood and despite the fact that he didn’t have the mass-hysterical following of Rajinikanth, he had his own indomitable footprint in South and North Cinema (the few Hindi films he starred in). But this is not the subject today. I wanted to write about  the audio of “Uthama Villain” and make a fleeting mention of Kamal’s taste for high-caliber, different sounding music.

“Uthama Villain” has music by Ghibran, the most happening music composer in Tamil and Telugu cinema today. Not the first time he scored music for Kamal - he did for “Vishwaroopam-2” and “Paapanashanam” earlier. Before that Kamal rotated many music directors  - DeviSriPrasad, Himesh Reshmiya, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Jayachandran, Ramesh Vinayakam and even his daughter Shruti Hassan for one of the films which came in Telugu (“Eenadu”). What I find intriguing is that but for the great Ilaiyaraja and the inimitable MS Vishwanathan, Kamal never really settled with any music composer throughout his career post that phase of MSV-IR. If you take out MSV and Ilaiyaraja’s overarching influence on his films, his sense of sound and music scores that provided such rich variety for the maestro to compose for almost 130 films or more, Kamal remained restless for the last decade hunting for the perfect composer after Raja. He tried AR Rahman twice (“Indian” and “Tenali”), Shankar Ehsan Loy twice, Deva twice, Vidyasagar and Harris Jayaraj once (or twice) but never repeated them afterwards. I read in some of his interviews too that he never liked the approaches of some of the gifted composers like Rahman or Vidyasagar despite getting good output from them. He was the only one who never got carried away by the Oscar-wins and the global adulations greeting Rahman; Rajinikanth on the other hand continues to enlist ARR for taking bigger bites into overseas distribution markets - having Rahman on your side as music composer is a sure-fire passport to box-office success and global appeal. The only person from Tollywood who got calls from Kamal for OST few times has been DSP - but that maybe more than just because DSP is an open admirer of Ilaiyaraja. DSP’s remixing and rerecording  stood out in most of his movies thanks to his energy and relentless handwork. Surprisingly, Mani Sharma - the best RR specialist in Tollywood never got a call from Kamal. Kamal Hassan movies, if one observes, never needed an over-melodious music director like Vidyasagar or Harris Jayaraj to imaging things that were never intended as per  the actor-director's film grammar. You just had to score one or two melody songs and some minimalistic but thoroughly realistic portrayal. But that one song is remembered forever in his films. This was the easy part that most of his music composers missed except Ilaiyaraja - thats how their chemistry endured for film-buffs because it left a rich legacy that will be studied by musicologists and music fans for many decades. 

With Ilaiyaraja, Kamal’s last film was “Mumbai Express” that was in 2005. In ten years, Kamal never worked with the Maestro and fans are waiting when the two will create magic again. Over the last decade, Ilaiyaraja has matured beyond what Kamal Hassan may have expected - Raja worked with almost all the new kids on the block who are directing Tamil films with dangerous themes and vivacious outputs - Bala, Myskin, Balki (in Hindi) ,Gautham Menon and many others who are hailed as the new trailblazers leaving the likes of ManiRatnam and old stalwarts to bite dust. Of course, Mani Ratnam himself never worked with Ilaiyaraja after parting ways bitterly before Rahman burst at the world stage. But that’s another matter. In the last ten years, there was no dearth of new music composers in Tamil and Kamal tried most of them while Ilaiyaraja exerted himself with different genre films ranging from biopics like “Bharati” to “Pandavas” to “Ajanthaa”. I sense somewhere we are about to see the coming together of the original Maestro and the actor extraordinaire in the coming years because the old wine has matured to give us richer, orchestral music and Kamal’s plots are becoming more complicated and multi-dimensional - even if they appear highly contrived. The budgets have also gone up for Ilaiyaraja, I am told, making it easy to assemble a 400 member orchestra from London or Budapest to configure a particular symphony.

With that background, I am relieved that Gibran’s latest composition for UV is spectacular and worthy of the high standards set by Kamal’s films. The original Tamil score has 17 numbers with elaborate interludes, situations and symphonies as if you are listening to a Hollywood musical OST. The Telugu version is cut down to 9 numbers and as expected the audiences on the day of the audio release lapped up the two songs  - “Kaanuke Bondu Malli” and “Lovee Lovee Single KissKe Lovaa” for the outrageous melody and the stretch in the songs. “Kaanuke..” has an extra lilt and a sensuousness that is rarely captured in today’s songs where the male singer and the female singer sing in their own time and the original purpose of duet is lost in remixing. You can hear the O-shouts and murmers of the male singer and the seducing spell of the heroine Puja Kumar in the song very well. Ghibran gave a completely different score in UV compared to the techno-thrills and fast-tempos seen in some of his latest films like “Jil” or “Run Raja Run”. Obviously, Kamal’s kitaab for Gibran both before and during the audio launch settles it that he is the right choice for the film which has a 7th Century theatrical plot intermixed with contemporary settings. I always love the background scores segued with the songs in the audio because it is such a treat for music lovers  - don’t we miss all of that for Ilaiyaraja whose BGMs float on the youtube channel with an ever-swelling following. If only music directors take note of this, they can raise the standards for audio and make the audiences stand up to rich music -of which many are capable of. The last time, a catalogue of this length - which includes songs and instrumental versions of the various scenes - came was for “Mask”(“Mugamoodi” in Tamil). Music by K  -that was from a different planet. And this album “Uthama Villain” belongs to the same class - Ghibran must take a bow. Can’t wait for the movie.

#UthamaVillain #Ghibran #KamalHassan #Ilaiyaraja #ARRahman #Vidyasagar #TamilMusic #TamilMusicComposers #TamilFilmComposers #HarrisJayaraj #Kollywood

December 20, 2014

"Linga" (This is not a Movie Review)



What made Rajinikanth select a shallow story shows a grandson as a joker and the real hero as a a learned Raja Lingeswara? The contrast was not compatible with each other till the end.

Why the same makeup, hairdo and cowboy costumes used for both the dual roles? When you are showing two generations, the simplest copybook rule is to show contrast in characterisation.

Why does Anushka the heroine for the grandson Rajini insist on taking him to the village of his grandfather? What is her connection to the village or the legend of Linga? Not very well answered.

Was the film based on true story? Why does it give an impression it is based on the life of Sir Arthun Cotton  - who built a bridge, splitting the tributaries of rivers Godavari and Krishna which were anyway flowing into the sea and changed the livelihoods of Andhra farmers forever? Was there any king who built a dam like this? The nation wants to know.

Why was the film so low on entertainment? Why did we not have more of Santhanam in the second half?

Why director Ravi Kumar who relies on good story-telling and drama give such a weak characterisation for everybody? 

Who is the main villain in the film? Is it the Britisher who opposed Linga's efforts to build the dam? Is it Jagapathi Babu who abuses the people of Singanoor? If it is Jagapathi Babu, as he's lasted out, why is he under-utilised? Rajinikanth's best blockbuster hits have been movies where the antagonist gets equal if not meaty footage. 

Why are there so many lags in the film? What happened to director's sense of energy and speed in story-telling? Why do you have to show a museum robbery for 25 minutes? Why do you have to show a dam construction in such detail? Is this a documentary or a film on dam construction? Why is the shot selection so bad? Where did you highlight Rajinikanth? Did the director do justice to Rajinikanth's charishma and  one-liner witticisms? 

In the scene where Rajini and Anushka get ensconced in a close room, when Rajini tries to open up the locked door by using magnets to attract the keys up the path he navigates on the other side of a strong wooden door, does the director know that wood is not a magnet conductor? 

Why were there only one duet song with each of the heroines? While full marks for the lavish settings and the extravagant picturisations, why was there no other relief moments in second half with the heroines or atleast a mass song? 

What was Brahmanandam doing in a film with star comedian Santhanam? Why did Brahmi get such poor lines? Why did his appearance go waste?

Why is the interval so weak? Even if you use flashback for over two hours, did it not occur to the director Ravi Kumar to use current time period to bring a good interval block? Even inexperienced directors do not use flashback scenes for interval bang effect.

The period drama dates to 1939 when the ruling queen of England was Queen Elizabeth. But the pictures show Queen Victoria all the time. Why? You could have used Mona Lisa if you had to use a lady's picture. More masses would recognise her.

When the only conflict in the film is between the Britisher and Raja Lingeswara, why didn't the director concentrate more on that in revving up more emotional quotient - through feelings of patriotism, righteousness and fight against poverty? The only highlight of the film is the dialogues between the Britisher, his wife and of course Linga the Senior. That could have got more mileage and emphasis.

In the opening shot of the introduction of legend Lingeswara, Rajini sits cross-legged reading a seminal book rated amongst the most influential books ever released: Joseph Campbell's "The Hero with a Thousand Faces". The scene looks impressive with shots in the dark on a moving train where a group of bandits try to kidnap Rajini. The shot had all the elements of a firebrand sequence but gets lost in translation into special effects. Why? And why use a book which was originally published in 1949 when the period setting pertains to the last stage of the second war? But the book highlighted was good - it has inspired many film-makers world over.

Why were there so few songs in the film when the scenes lag? The resonation of AR Rahhman's music with Rajini fans is so good that there is room for more songs in a film dominated by too much flashback. The background music, as usual is good but the scenes were not dramatic for a commercial film. So Rahman's effort looks wasted. But the songs  - "Mona Mona" and the song with Sonakshi Sinha stand out in picturisation and feel of the sound.

The dam is in Singanur but the king Linga is from Gadwal. Agree it is a dubbing mistake. But what is the connection?

Director KS Ravi Kumar shows woman as strong and powerful characters. But in this film an over-weighty Anushka and a naturally plumpy Sonakshi Sinha are used as mere paper weights in visually-rich songs. Rest of the time, they have no screen presence. If you take the "Padayappa" or "Muthu" for Rajini or for Ravi Kumar's previous films with Kamal Hasan like "Tenali", "Panchatantram" and "Dasavatharam", the heroines got great screen-shares with the hero. Why? And why is Anushka over-dressed? And why is Sonakshi  so under-dressed?

Why make films with 2 hrs. 55 minutes? At the end of this unbearable duration, why are  commercial elements awfully missing? Where is the swagger of Rajini Kanth? Where is the style of the style icon? What is so creative about this film which got completed in less than 100 days?


Why am I writing such a long post-mortem for a dud fillm? Why are you even reading this?

My rating remains at 1.5/5

#Linga #LingatheMovie #MovieReviews #FilmReviews #Kollywood #Tollywood #SuperstarRajini #Rajinikanth



February 25, 2014

"Highway" (Hindi) Film Review



“Highway” is a surprisingly pleasant and at one level a bold film by Imtiaz Ali. Pleasant because he breaks the mould of regular commercial fare with an irregular theme that will stop you on your tracks. Bold because there are more than one or two messages that run undercurrent to the main narrative which are disturbing in the pace of modern life. I am taken in by the titles of Imitiaz Ali always because he is one of the few directors who hits the bull’s eye on putting titles that sum it up while conveying motifs that he wants to linger on you long after you left the movie hall. Look at his previous films – “Jab We met” , “Love Aaj Kal” and “Rockstar” and you will find one main theme but also many subtexts embedded. Likewise, “Highway” is a motif for what happens when a contract killer kidnaps a girl about to enter an arranged wedlock and both of them hit the highway of life as they are compelled by circumstances to travel together across the “roadiest” surfaces of North India.

In 133 minutes, Imtiaz Ali transports us to a world of rich visuals of snowy peaks and sylvan surroundings, rough roads and dingy corners but the perimeter for everything remains the highway where in a truck Randip Hooda drives down without knowing where the destination is in order to escort away Alia Bhatt (debutante) from police interception before deciding to leave her, because he realizes he had actually kidnapped a rich girl of mighty surname of a biggie –“Tripathi”.

The story moves, layer by layer with the girl actually feeling more comfortable with the kidnappers and enjoying the ride as one helluva ride of a lifetime, away from the suffocations of air, life and outlook that are common in affluent households. Aliah is the girl who shows maximum variation in her characterization as she moves from being terrified to diffident to curious to comfortable to confident in her interactions with the kidnappers. As she opens up to the largeness of life in the open, she realizes these kidnappers are a lot less harmful than the people of her cocooned life at home, where there are insensitive parents and predators like her uncle. In one scene, she blurts out about the same uncle who used to haul her up physically while tempting her with imported chocolates since the age of nine.



Randip Hooda is a hardened criminal who melts with Alia’s childlike innocence and frankness. He also opens up gradually and becomes someone the girl begins to develop more than a trusting relationship before the dramatic end. Watch that end because it has the same quirk that marks all the climaxes of Imtiaz Ali’s films - something out of everybody’s comfort zone. I don’t agree that the film looks like a documentary at all because a documentary cannot bring life into a narrative without a voiceover.

In “Highway”, Imtiaz Ali uses two instruments to bring that narrative to bear pristinely – cinematography and music. Anil Mehta gives a stunning output in his picture frames, of course aided by the eye for detail of the director who revels in novel stuff. Eating on top of ant-hills, sky-kissing your way to see the clouds fritter away, keeping your head at the edge of the highway road while the vehicles speed in and out or dripping your hands into the swirling water currents meant for water-rafting – Anil Mehta gives us spectacular visuals. AR Rahman, of course, gives an original score that is in sync with the moods. Compared with his previous films, Rahman uses good pauses at times to sometimes use silence to elevate the impact of the scene – like when the girl speaks out against sexual abuse or when Randip and Alia interact. Rahman also uses some folk songs and a famous beat of “Wanna Mash up?” as a necessary interlude in the film, to show the contrast between his music and somebody else’s composition. A sporting move which other legends hardly attempt. In a collaboration of such fine talent, a worthy addition indeed is Rasool Polakutty’s diligent sound design – you can know every sound has a meaning and a context to why you hear.

Even if humor is subtle and unsubstantial, you have some laughs here and there, and that comes between the two main characters. The only gaps in the film are the establishment of the motives of the gang that originally kidnaps the girl and characterization that throws little light on them. It could have elevated Randip Hooda’s role better. Despite all of that, he emotes well. One can attribute this film to be an attempt by Imtiaz Ali to bring different and meaningful cinema to the urban folks. Are today’s girls more safer outside of homes than people at home – that’s a strong message. Are mothers and fathers playing their roles as parents well in giving the kids everything they need but not enough time and attention – that’s the underlying message. And finally, the broad message is that when the rubber hits the road, you might realize that the destination is less important than the journey and often goodness can come from people you dislike at first – almost like an Austen sensibility.

It is unlikely this film will boil well at the kettle of box office but it leaves you with a good impression and a lasting message. For that, I rate it 3.75 on 5 and take away points for the bits that didn’t add up.

February 2, 2013

"Kadali" Telugu / "Kadal" Tamil film review

“Kadali” (Telugu) or “Kadal” (Tamil) has been touted as a comeback vehicle for Mani Ratnam and a launch-pad for star-children Gautam Karthik and Thulasi Nair. It may turn out better for the newcomers but Mani Ratnam has given a disappointing film. “Kadali” means “ocean” and for the first time after “Sakhi” and movies like “Mouna Ragam” and “Gitanjali”, he has gone back to love story which got him maximum adulation. However, Mani Ratnam’s film leaves a lot to be desired because of gaps in characterization, screenplay, pace and overall lack in entertainment values.



The story is set in a fishing hamlet where the villagers care a damn about Church and God. When Aravind Swamy (Sam Fernando) sets foot in the village church as a Father, it is in shambles and un-serviceable. He slowly builds trust and respect for himself, God and folks taking their religion seriously. He shows restraint, patience, understanding and enormous love for all those who confess to him and Church. He starts doting on Thomas (Gautham Karthik) whose mother dies and father abandons him. Thomas grows up as an energetic fisherman and becomes a son to Father Sam. Enter Beatrice, a Nurse-in-the-making on the other shore who bumps into Thomas and instantly connect with each other. Meanwhile, Burgsman (played by Action King Arjun) re-enters the village as a warlord who is a terror in the village, he extorts, terrorizes, smuggles and kills people for a living. His first entry alongwith Aravind Swamy at the film’s outset dazzles; the scene carries the seeds of conflict between the two more like a battle between Evil and Good, Satan and God. The entire movie then is a double-pack sandwich: the rift between Aravind Swamy and Arjun who both influence Thomas into toeing their respective briefings on one side and the love story between Beatrice and Thomas on the other. Had Mani concentrated on the love story only or the conflict between the Good and the Evil, it could have got better. Instead of giving a simple story, Mani Ratnam complicates the plot and hasn’t really delivered on all fronts.


The problem is also not a plot that smacks of Christian traditions. One can argue that from the first frame till the end, Mani Ratnam showcases the Christian traditions of Church and religion in full glory with a built-in bias. I have no problem with that because he wanted to make a film on aspects of Christianity where followers are torn between temptations of Christ vs. temptations of Satan the evil. But at several time in the film, the angles of cinematographer Rajiv Menon and the director’s eye point towards an explicit portrayal of a religion and its traditions rather than moving the story forward. He should have taken care to make a plot where atleast some characters have names from other religions. There is a scene in which the heroine steps into a boat driven by the hero and alongwith her ten girls step inside. All the ten girls’ names belong to a religion. I don’t understand what made Mani Ratnam give such a blatant treatment. I trust him to do an honest job as a director and not be influenced by anybody for extraneous considerations towards promoting a particular sect or religion so obviously. I have nothing against that too as a bit later in the film, I found it intriguing to learn about the traditions of baptizing, confessions, seminars etc. and also realized that most films are actually made for the majority with names like Rajesh and Gopi and Gita and Anjali so I could empathise with how others feel when there’s no inclusive approach to giving a universal evocative appeal. But as a honest critic, I felt this and thought it must be highlighted as many others may not even comment on such issues. In the 80s, Bapu made a film like “Rajadhi Raju” which shows a conflict between Satan and God more explicitly and all characters are biblical names. Bapu garu were quite honest in admitting the film is financed by Christian producers and the names and characterizations were all representative of a creed. Over 150 minutes of slow-paced screenplay and a half-baked story later, I felt a bit cheated by the dishonest approach in over-highlighting a particular religion. No offence meant here, please don’t get me wrong. In the 80s, “Seethakoka Chilaka” also portrayed an intense love story in the backdrop of a Church father but never made it look like a religious movie either. Here, Mani Ratnam portrays a parable in modern format and doesn’t give any hint of it in promotions so I failed to understand his compulsions.



As for the story, Arjun steals the show every time he appears on screen. He provides the lightest and most entertaining moments in the film with his versatile acting. Aravind Swamy also does his part with great conviction and honesty. Newcomers hold lot of promise together especially Gautam Karthik. Gautam is handsome like his father Karthik and has the right personality to make it big in films. Thulasi looks more elderly than her sister Karthika on screen but has the looks to make some impact in Kollywood. AR Rahman’s sound track and music give a good lift to the many moods of the film. Out of the two duets, Mani Ratnam uses one song “Gunjukunna” as a background song while showing dialogues between the young couple and the other song “pacchani thota” which is superbly shot is shot on the other side of the Indian Ocean in Mauritius, not on the side where all the story action is happening. That looked out of place but the song is a visual treat and compliments ARR’s music well. Rajeev Menon’s cinematography is breath-taking and elevates the feel of the film and its music to oceanic levels. I hope someone covers the craft of a cinematographer of his caliber one day to tell us how he gets into the mind of the director so well in giving the unseen eye such riveting attention of various visuals. Editor A.Sreekar Prasad is one of the few technicians who alongwith AR Rahman gets Mani’s recurring patronage for the last several films. But I wonder if that’s working now for him. Sreekar who is known to be now part of story discussions and film shooting sequences should detach himself from the director if the final output has to get better and watchable; this is not worth 150 minutes of footage and many scenes and even characters could have conveniently got left out. Dialogues are sharp but quite serious.



Mani Ratnam has taken three years to make this film. I wonder whether he has learnt or introspected on his previous works which failed to fire before completing this film. A sabbatical of three years should have done wonders to Mani’s original sense of story-telling but there is still no freshness in his frames. Most directors have, like any human being, three senses – visual sense (Bapu, Shantaram), sound sense (Sreenu Vaitla, K Balachander) and kinesthetic sense (sense of touch and feel – BharatiRaja, Balu Mahendra, Vishwanath, Subhash Ghai). Mani Ratnam falls somewhere between visual sense and kinesthetic sense but over the years since “yuva” and “Guru” and “Raavan”, his directorial prowess hasn’t kept pace with the lagging attention of his audiences who have outgrown the visuals he thinks the world will still love to see while ignoring the crying needs of entertainment, comedy and drama – which make a film click at the box office. In his obsession with crafty technicians and faultless film grammar, Mani Ratnam has developed a huge credibility gap and an execution gap between what’s on his mind and what’s the cinematic output he expects to get received as. Faultlines can also be blamed also for the teams that co-opt for his movies – everybody calls him “Sir” and everybody is overawed by him – there is no critical input coming at the shooting stage. I also have a bone to pick with him in Telugu dubbing, he has shown scant respect for the sensibilities of Telugu audiences over the years – audiences who love his films and his style, audiences who lapped up “Gitanjali” and made it one of his biggest hits, audiences who gave their first positive verdicts on films like “Gharshana” (“Agni Nakshatram”) and “Nayakudu” (“Nayagan”). Mani Ratnam, from what is reported, hasn’t treated Telugu audiences with the same veneer they look upto him with. He shows some town in Tamil Nadu with Tamil name and the dialogue says “its Bheemli”. Look at the lyrics in one song “Gunjukanna”, it is atrociously translated by Vanamali. Roughly translated from Tamil without respecting the beautiful nuances of Telugu language, it says,”Kudiseti gadiyaaram = a clock which rains” or “Palemo perugu laaga indaaka padukunde = milk is sleeping like curd”). What kind of crap is that which even bears the stamp of endorsement from AR Rahman. From the beginning, look at the producers who backed Mani Ratnam’s projects dubbed into Telugu, not one producer has gone back to him after one or two films – CL Narasimha Reddy (“Gitanjali”), MuraliMohan (“Iddaru”), Sunkara Madhu Murali (“Yuva”) and now Gemini Film Circuits. So, you see, he is investing in his catalogue of films but is not getting a consistent producer because of a dwindling reception at the box-office. He only invests in those Telugu dubbed films which he feels will click at the box office. The last time it worked was "Sakhi" and the bad run continues. This is more patience for an audience who adore Mani but he hasn't reciprocated their respect and treats them like a bid market. Mani Ratnam and his craft have been discussed at length by Baradwaj Rangan in his book “Conversations with Mani Ratnam” (a review I will deal with later). But for now, “Kadali” is a disaster and doesn’t deserve a rating better than 2 out of 5.

November 14, 2011

"Rockstar" Movie Review

"RockStar" by Imtiaz Ali is quite an effort by the writer-turned-director in bringing to screen how rustic folks end up at the starry end of the rainbow - with power to sway fans to do their bidding. Imtiaz Ali has picked the right candidate - a born actor with starry eyes- Ranbir Kapoor - to play the title role and he does it with tremendous ease showing multiple shades of how raw innocence, ins...tincts and impulsiveness combine with luck to give a solo Guitarist mega stardom and the pains that come with it - adulation and sympathy, allegations and affairs, success as well as tragedy. AR Rahman's BGM and soul-stirring Punjabi Sufi melodies enhance different moods - it comes naturally to him and he just goes ballistic with his sense of music. Nargis Fakr is quite a find and plays the role with consummate charms - she steals the screen sometimes more often than Rockstar Ranbir. Shammi Kapoor is seen for the last time on celluloid - and Director uses his soulful presence sparingly at every crucial point in the film - those pining eyes with subtle mist in Shammi Kapoor playing Shehnai in the last frame he appears gets to you forever. Imtiaz Ali, I think, is an honest film-maker who tells a good story with his groove of experiential and sometimes autobiographical interpretations - whether it is taking Rumi's poetry or taking lives of famous rockstars who lived it up with their idiosyncracies and couldn't care less for social norms of the day. To that extent, Rockstar will shock some of the conventions when an artist becomes obsessed with his muse at the cost of his own reputation and the marriage of the latter but thats what underlies many artistes' lives - there is a hero and there's irony, allergy and stupidity, naivette and tragedy. Imtiaz has brought out the creative process that shapes up superstars who connect with the masses and in rendering a plausible story of a credible superstar he follows some ibby-jibbies unique to Hindi and keeps the nativity of the North Belt core to his films. Thats why, I think it is tough for other language film-makers to re-make his films - its easy for "Teenmaar" director to miss the magic in the original "Luv Aajkal". Thats why Imtiaz Ali's films are special. Second half could have been shorter and less jerky while the first half was brilliant. Whether Ranbir becomes a real Rockstar or not, this movie will remain his finest hour. And Rahman also can now be dismissive of the initial criticism he received on the OST. The only reason you may walk out of this movie is if the music and its creation is not your cup of tea.

August 16, 2010

"Robot" Audio Review: Hindi/Tamil/Telugu


Superstar Rajnikanth and Amitabh Bacchan come together after three years to launch  the audio of the most awaited movie by Rajni fans- "Robot". Music maestro AR Rahman creates music in sync with the theme of Shankar's technofantasy. Unlike his scores which take time to sink in, this one has catchy technobeat tunes, lyrics soaked in wired-garble - words like "neutron", "Newton's Laws", "electron", "photon", "Genes" and so on. It is fast, robotic, trance music-like and remind you of man-machine beats and Robert Miles, that kind of thing. Seven songsin all, probably set to meta-breaking dances in terrabyte sets. Sure to catch up with youngsters but expect no vintage Rahman.

"Jailor" (Telugu/Tamil) Movie Review: Electrifying!

        "Jailer" is an electrifying entertainer in commercial format by Nelson who always builds a complex web of crime and police...