A post on largely unnoticed Tamil albums and songs of A.R. Rahman.
Anbae Idhu from Rhythm - This song depicting one of the elements of nature, sky was largely unnoticed. A song of sheer brilliance in terms of music arrangement, lyrics and rendition (except a few mis-pronunciations) was probably not picturised well and not shown on TV to make it popular among the masses. A classy song, and will always remain one of favorites.
I Miss You Da - This song probably features in an earlier post, but did people even know that this song existed? Too futuristic in terms of the music arrangement and the rendition, this song was probably the one well picturized song in the movie 'Sakkarakatti.' The singer and her alter-ego ooze passion into this song, and this song definitely deserved a better recognition.
Kaiyil Mithakkum and Nenjae Nenjae from Ratchakan were probably over-shadowed by the more popular Soniya and Chandiranai songs. One of the very few melodies that were rendered with a full heart by the singers.
Thigu Thigu from Ah Aah, just like I Miss you da had a futuristic feel to it, and a excellent instrumental arrangement, just to be ruined by a over-acting lead pair on screen.
Kadhal Vettukili from Parasuram was one song that I didn't know ARR had composed. One of the fast paced numbers and beautiful orchestration, was largely unnoticed yet again by the masses. Apparently, an RJ in Chennai plays this song often, since it is his favorite.
Kuliruthu Kuliruthu from Taj Mahal has such a wonderful feel to it, and the singers Swarnalatha and Unnikrishnan have done such a good job in this flawless melody.
Udhaya had a few good songs including the popular title track, but thanks to the delay in the movie release, the songs found a disinterested audience. Pookum Malarai is a wonderful track by Hariharan.
Not a comprehensive list as usual, but features a few of the missed ones. It's a nice thing to note that Mani Ratnam's songs have not found a place in this list. He somehow does just to the songs, though he might cut short a major portion of the song. This includes my ever-favorite Ay Hairathey Aashiqui in Guru, one song that I will never excuse Mani Ratnam for not picturizing completely.
Dec 19, 2009
Dec 7, 2009
Wake Up Sid! - A review
For a mind that needed some relaxation and a light movie to watch, I guess Wake Up Sid came as a refresher. Streamed on Netflix Instant Watch, I sat to watch it with no expectations (as always).
The character Sid was so close to relate to, especially with his happy-go-lucky nature and living on dad's money. I sure have done that, and I still am that way. Without having a clue of what to do next, the way he metamorphizes into a slightly responsible guy is portrayed so realistically. One thing that was praiseworthy was that, there was no drastic change in the guy's behaviour, while he begins working; he still is the same kid with some responsibility. A simple story, yet told in a such a beautiful and clean way. The relationship shown between the lead characters was a refreshing change. The college friends were definitely believable, and the best character in the movie apart from Sid and Ayesha, was the mother. A typical mom, who puts up with everything the son does, and greets him with a smile always. The father-son relationship in the end is shown so beautifully, and I guess this was better than the one shown in 'Bommarillu.'
Technically, the film was brilliant - amazing photography, locales, background and the music by the trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. I am sure Iktara will be the top-ranked song of the year. Lovely melody and blends so well to the mood of movie. (Just read that Iktara was composed by Amit Trivedi - the genius who composed for Dev D!)
I was not a big fan of Ranbir prior to this movie, but I changed my opinion. He proves that star-kids can be good performers too. He is too natural in the role, and I doubt if anyone else would have suited the role better. Konkana Sen-Sharma is as always, at her best. She sure has a wonderful resume to boast of, and I guess this will be one of the movies in gold.
A movie that Karan Johar and Dharma Productions can be proud of (after their Dostana - which I despise), and something that the debutant director can show off even after 10-15 years, and I guess it will be contemporary.
I wish I watched it in a theater, but I guess now that it is on NetFlix Instant Watch, I will watch it often :)
The character Sid was so close to relate to, especially with his happy-go-lucky nature and living on dad's money. I sure have done that, and I still am that way. Without having a clue of what to do next, the way he metamorphizes into a slightly responsible guy is portrayed so realistically. One thing that was praiseworthy was that, there was no drastic change in the guy's behaviour, while he begins working; he still is the same kid with some responsibility. A simple story, yet told in a such a beautiful and clean way. The relationship shown between the lead characters was a refreshing change. The college friends were definitely believable, and the best character in the movie apart from Sid and Ayesha, was the mother. A typical mom, who puts up with everything the son does, and greets him with a smile always. The father-son relationship in the end is shown so beautifully, and I guess this was better than the one shown in 'Bommarillu.'
Technically, the film was brilliant - amazing photography, locales, background and the music by the trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. I am sure Iktara will be the top-ranked song of the year. Lovely melody and blends so well to the mood of movie. (Just read that Iktara was composed by Amit Trivedi - the genius who composed for Dev D!)
I was not a big fan of Ranbir prior to this movie, but I changed my opinion. He proves that star-kids can be good performers too. He is too natural in the role, and I doubt if anyone else would have suited the role better. Konkana Sen-Sharma is as always, at her best. She sure has a wonderful resume to boast of, and I guess this will be one of the movies in gold.
A movie that Karan Johar and Dharma Productions can be proud of (after their Dostana - which I despise), and something that the debutant director can show off even after 10-15 years, and I guess it will be contemporary.
I wish I watched it in a theater, but I guess now that it is on NetFlix Instant Watch, I will watch it often :)
Nov 22, 2009
Life, people and relationships
Wrote this in a different state of mind - sounds a little stupid when I actually read it again - but here it goes!
Life sure teaches a lot of things. Failures always need not be the stepping stone to success. They can be a precaution to things that you might not want to land yourself in, a second time. Like 'once bitten, twice shy,' it is indeed hard for us to depend on someone or trust someone, if there is no one to actually help you in that when you need someone the most.
I am no expert in people psychology, but still can say that, most people in this world is self-centered and quite opportunistic. Gone are the days, when people who actually go out of their way to help people or make them feel good. A person who does this is probably one in thousand, and he better not expect such a help in return. Indeed, if he expects something, there is no bigger fool than him.
Not a great expert in love/romance either, but surely, for a relationship to work there needs to be mutual effort and interest, just more than attraction and feeling. Agreed that, you are attracted to a person and feel for the person, but that alone is not enough to sustain the relationship over time. (Having never been in a serious relationship, I might be wrong in saying so.) Just brought this topic up, since this sounds so hollow and that's probably the reason for many relationships breaking up and higher divorce rates. Just hope, people (including me) get to see a person beyond their looks and appearances.
Just feel that world can surely be a better place for all of us, if we are little more accommodating, helpful and don't expect much from others!
Life sure teaches a lot of things. Failures always need not be the stepping stone to success. They can be a precaution to things that you might not want to land yourself in, a second time. Like 'once bitten, twice shy,' it is indeed hard for us to depend on someone or trust someone, if there is no one to actually help you in that when you need someone the most.
I am no expert in people psychology, but still can say that, most people in this world is self-centered and quite opportunistic. Gone are the days, when people who actually go out of their way to help people or make them feel good. A person who does this is probably one in thousand, and he better not expect such a help in return. Indeed, if he expects something, there is no bigger fool than him.
Not a great expert in love/romance either, but surely, for a relationship to work there needs to be mutual effort and interest, just more than attraction and feeling. Agreed that, you are attracted to a person and feel for the person, but that alone is not enough to sustain the relationship over time. (Having never been in a serious relationship, I might be wrong in saying so.) Just brought this topic up, since this sounds so hollow and that's probably the reason for many relationships breaking up and higher divorce rates. Just hope, people (including me) get to see a person beyond their looks and appearances.
Just feel that world can surely be a better place for all of us, if we are little more accommodating, helpful and don't expect much from others!
Nov 21, 2009
100th post
Apparently my 100th post on this blog (saw it after I wrote the blog!) - So dedicating it to just the number 100 :P
Nov 1, 2009
Social Networking and employers - my posts or my resume??
In an age of social media and networking, it is quite likely that your prospective employers want to know more about the 'Real' you, while they are considering you for a position. While it is understandable that they need to get a responsible person for the position, it is quite unreasonable that they go over your profiles and posts in Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, Myspace, Orkut and the like. Going over it in Linkedin, the professional site is understandable, but not the others.
These sites are more a platform to voice out your opinions on current topics and one definitely has freedom of expression and thought. Maybe using unparliamentary language, commenting abusively or posting pictures that ought to be private, is not a ethical thing, but having your own opinion on things is not wrong. Its your personal space and you have the authority to say things out.
If one is going to judge you based on your posts rather than your technical skills and people skills, it is indeed unfortunate. I would not call this kind of networking as a part of social skills (even though it actually is), since it is something that is private and a good line has to be drawn between professional and personal life.
(Thanks to Prathap for initiating this discussion and also to Harish for bearing with me in the discussion :).)
These sites are more a platform to voice out your opinions on current topics and one definitely has freedom of expression and thought. Maybe using unparliamentary language, commenting abusively or posting pictures that ought to be private, is not a ethical thing, but having your own opinion on things is not wrong. Its your personal space and you have the authority to say things out.
If one is going to judge you based on your posts rather than your technical skills and people skills, it is indeed unfortunate. I would not call this kind of networking as a part of social skills (even though it actually is), since it is something that is private and a good line has to be drawn between professional and personal life.
(Thanks to Prathap for initiating this discussion and also to Harish for bearing with me in the discussion :).)
Sep 28, 2009
What's Your Raashee?
Disclaimer: The review follows the movie in terms of length :).
Braving the length of the movie and the not-so-good reviews it has been getting, I sat through 'What's Your Raashee?' (WYR?), with no expectations, though I knew Ashutosh Gowarikar (AG) would have something different to entertain with. For a person with an impeccable track record of three epic (long) movies, shooting (rather stretching) a romantic comedy should have definitely not been a hard task. After all Jodhaa Akbar, if set in modern times would classify as a romantic movie with hints of comedy thrown in between.
'What's Your Raashee?' will probably a film, that AG would definitely like to show to people that he is capable of not only period films, but also light ones. And he should definitely be proud of making Priyanka Chopra (PC) star in twelve different roles and extracting the best performance from her.
The storyline of the movie is quite simple. To obtain ancestral property, to help his brother settle his debts, Yogesh Patel (Hurman Baweja), based in Chicago, has to get married in 10 days. The wedding date is set, the wedding hall is ready, he just has to search for a bride. In trying something that is novel, he decides to meet just 12 girls, who are of twelve sun-signs and select one out of them. He meets the twelve and finds PC in everyone of them. How the proceedings go, how he interacts with each of them and makes a decision is what is told in a funny, at times over-the-top, and interesting manner.
Coming to PC, she is probably the heart and soul of the movie. Portraying varied characters, none like another, with respect to mannerisms or body language or the accent, is quite a hard task. Starting off with Anjali who attempts to show off a cool girl including the 'Mondates, Tuesdates' and 'No menson,' to the 15 year old Jhankana, she carries off all her characters with elegance. (details on all characters in the end). PC may be overlooked for awards, but she surely deserves praises for taking the challenge of acting in 12 different roles. (I personally feel, this movie and these characters were far better etched than Kamalhassan in 'Dasavatharam.')
At the intermission which comes after almost close to 2 hours, one thing that needs to be appreciated is that, not one character is shown as a perfect girl, and nor is someone shown totally bad to reject right away. It would have been a disaster if a few girls were eliminated at this point.
A three and half hour movie needed a tight script backed by dialogs which engage the viewer. At most times, the dialogs are quite hilarious though the screenplay tends to drag. But, AG can be excused from this, for providing good laughs all way through the movie. Also, the amount of the details provided to minutest things including the props on screen is really appreciable.
A.R.Rahman a regular in AG's films is sorely missed, and Sohail Sen is no ARR, but gives decent tunes which blend well through the mood of the movie. He sings a couple of songs, and AG regulars like Bela Shinde (Mann mohana in JA), Madhushree (Swades and JA) lend their voices to this movie.
Hurman as Yogesh is sober, and luckily doesn't have any heroics to display in this PC-dominated movie. I am sure AG would have to compromise, if he had any other actor play this role bending to the actor's stature. Yogesh's family members are quite funny, but do blackmail him emotionally most of the time, putting him in a tight spot. The families of the each of the twelve characters (wherever introduced) are mostly believable, show the typical Gujarati behavior. The regulars in AGs films are present in this movie as well. The cinematography is spectacular capturing a few locales in the songs very well.
What could have been better off in the movie was --- a tighter screenplay with less focus on songs for each rashee, and probably doing away with the detective sub-plot (which did invoke laughter at most times). One thing that's realistic, but something that I couldn't digest is – what happens to the rest of the suitors. In reality, I don't think any one goes back to check their status out, but here we've grown attached to each of the PC's characters and do want to know what has happened.
Verdict: It was repetitive and long, but refreshing and entertaining! :)
Roles of the suitors for Yogesh all played by PC:
Anjali (Aries) pretends to be this cool girl with English and many other things, only to flop at the end. You begin to sympathize with the character, and probably think if this is going to be the end of it.
The character Hansa (Cancer), the silent girl who comes out with the past truth is easily the girl, one would emphathise on (including Yogesh).
Kajal (Gemini), the chirpy college girl is entirely the opposite, with her spontaneous romance.
Sanjana (Aquarius) with whom he goes on a drive even after rejecting her (forced by her), is initially a weak character, which does evolve over time.
Rajni (Libra) is a no-non-sense ultra-practical girl who wants a marriage partner who will dance to her tunes. This was a little impractical with an agreement before marriage. However the song is quite imaginatively shot.
Chandrika (Pisces) believes in re-incarnation and thinks they were together in the past. A song that shows Yogesh like a South Indian hero, shot at exotic locales comes up. The only thing you remember about this girls is her dad that says 'Humari koi shaakha nahi hai'.
Mallika (Leo) is a good dancer, whom Yogesh falls for, just to be rejected for his show-off as an NRI with a delicate stomach.
Nandini (Scorpio) is a aspiring model (sober at home) who wants to use Yogesh as a ticket for an entry into Chicago fashion industry.
Bhavna(Sagittarius) is an astrologer who predicts something really ridiculous for Yogesh and seduces him, only to facilitate his departure from her house really early.
Pooja (Virgo), the doctor was the most realistic character and surely a contender if not for her 'Swades'hi dream. Kudos to PC for downplaying the character very well.
Vishaka (Taurus), the girl who tries to test Yogesh, if he is after her money, fails terribly in her attempt by acting crazily. I wonder why one would do such a thing. The song that comes in this segment is quite foot-tapping.
Jhankana (Capricorn) is an underaged girl forced into marriage, and is portrayed so very well by PC (supposedly a 27 yr old). The way she finally thanks Yogesh, saying she wants to study further is a bit emotional, but ends well.
Braving the length of the movie and the not-so-good reviews it has been getting, I sat through 'What's Your Raashee?' (WYR?), with no expectations, though I knew Ashutosh Gowarikar (AG) would have something different to entertain with. For a person with an impeccable track record of three epic (long) movies, shooting (rather stretching) a romantic comedy should have definitely not been a hard task. After all Jodhaa Akbar, if set in modern times would classify as a romantic movie with hints of comedy thrown in between.
'What's Your Raashee?' will probably a film, that AG would definitely like to show to people that he is capable of not only period films, but also light ones. And he should definitely be proud of making Priyanka Chopra (PC) star in twelve different roles and extracting the best performance from her.
The storyline of the movie is quite simple. To obtain ancestral property, to help his brother settle his debts, Yogesh Patel (Hurman Baweja), based in Chicago, has to get married in 10 days. The wedding date is set, the wedding hall is ready, he just has to search for a bride. In trying something that is novel, he decides to meet just 12 girls, who are of twelve sun-signs and select one out of them. He meets the twelve and finds PC in everyone of them. How the proceedings go, how he interacts with each of them and makes a decision is what is told in a funny, at times over-the-top, and interesting manner.
Coming to PC, she is probably the heart and soul of the movie. Portraying varied characters, none like another, with respect to mannerisms or body language or the accent, is quite a hard task. Starting off with Anjali who attempts to show off a cool girl including the 'Mondates, Tuesdates' and 'No menson,' to the 15 year old Jhankana, she carries off all her characters with elegance. (details on all characters in the end). PC may be overlooked for awards, but she surely deserves praises for taking the challenge of acting in 12 different roles. (I personally feel, this movie and these characters were far better etched than Kamalhassan in 'Dasavatharam.')
At the intermission which comes after almost close to 2 hours, one thing that needs to be appreciated is that, not one character is shown as a perfect girl, and nor is someone shown totally bad to reject right away. It would have been a disaster if a few girls were eliminated at this point.
A three and half hour movie needed a tight script backed by dialogs which engage the viewer. At most times, the dialogs are quite hilarious though the screenplay tends to drag. But, AG can be excused from this, for providing good laughs all way through the movie. Also, the amount of the details provided to minutest things including the props on screen is really appreciable.
A.R.Rahman a regular in AG's films is sorely missed, and Sohail Sen is no ARR, but gives decent tunes which blend well through the mood of the movie. He sings a couple of songs, and AG regulars like Bela Shinde (Mann mohana in JA), Madhushree (Swades and JA) lend their voices to this movie.
Hurman as Yogesh is sober, and luckily doesn't have any heroics to display in this PC-dominated movie. I am sure AG would have to compromise, if he had any other actor play this role bending to the actor's stature. Yogesh's family members are quite funny, but do blackmail him emotionally most of the time, putting him in a tight spot. The families of the each of the twelve characters (wherever introduced) are mostly believable, show the typical Gujarati behavior. The regulars in AGs films are present in this movie as well. The cinematography is spectacular capturing a few locales in the songs very well.
What could have been better off in the movie was --- a tighter screenplay with less focus on songs for each rashee, and probably doing away with the detective sub-plot (which did invoke laughter at most times). One thing that's realistic, but something that I couldn't digest is – what happens to the rest of the suitors. In reality, I don't think any one goes back to check their status out, but here we've grown attached to each of the PC's characters and do want to know what has happened.
Verdict: It was repetitive and long, but refreshing and entertaining! :)
Roles of the suitors for Yogesh all played by PC:
Anjali (Aries) pretends to be this cool girl with English and many other things, only to flop at the end. You begin to sympathize with the character, and probably think if this is going to be the end of it.
The character Hansa (Cancer), the silent girl who comes out with the past truth is easily the girl, one would emphathise on (including Yogesh).
Kajal (Gemini), the chirpy college girl is entirely the opposite, with her spontaneous romance.
Sanjana (Aquarius) with whom he goes on a drive even after rejecting her (forced by her), is initially a weak character, which does evolve over time.
Rajni (Libra) is a no-non-sense ultra-practical girl who wants a marriage partner who will dance to her tunes. This was a little impractical with an agreement before marriage. However the song is quite imaginatively shot.
Chandrika (Pisces) believes in re-incarnation and thinks they were together in the past. A song that shows Yogesh like a South Indian hero, shot at exotic locales comes up. The only thing you remember about this girls is her dad that says 'Humari koi shaakha nahi hai'.
Mallika (Leo) is a good dancer, whom Yogesh falls for, just to be rejected for his show-off as an NRI with a delicate stomach.
Nandini (Scorpio) is a aspiring model (sober at home) who wants to use Yogesh as a ticket for an entry into Chicago fashion industry.
Bhavna(Sagittarius) is an astrologer who predicts something really ridiculous for Yogesh and seduces him, only to facilitate his departure from her house really early.
Pooja (Virgo), the doctor was the most realistic character and surely a contender if not for her 'Swades'hi dream. Kudos to PC for downplaying the character very well.
Vishaka (Taurus), the girl who tries to test Yogesh, if he is after her money, fails terribly in her attempt by acting crazily. I wonder why one would do such a thing. The song that comes in this segment is quite foot-tapping.
Jhankana (Capricorn) is an underaged girl forced into marriage, and is portrayed so very well by PC (supposedly a 27 yr old). The way she finally thanks Yogesh, saying she wants to study further is a bit emotional, but ends well.
Aug 31, 2009
Amma Un Pillai
Naan Kadavul is one of the movies that I might not watch ever in my lifetime, though I want to. Bala's movies are something that I so want to watch, since I know they are quite different from the run-of-the-mill movies. I was kind of scarred by the ending of Sethu (which was the only scene I saw in the movie), skipped Nandha (thanks to the trailers shown by Sun TV), and saw Pithamagan first half featuring Surya and Laila's comedy. I probably would have watched NK, if Ajith starred in it, since I was a loyal Ajith fan till a while ago. Unfortunately that didn't happen and Arya acted in it getting rave reviews.
The Maestro reworked on a few of his earlier scores and created magic with his music in this movie. One of the songs that will linger on in your mind for a long time is this song 'Amma Unn Pillai.'
This song starts with a gruffy Lata-Mangeshkar-kind-voice, and sails smoothly only to unravel that Sadhana Sargam is singing this song. Reworked from one of his songs in the early 80's Ilayaraja makes it very contemporary and probably apt for the movie.
The violin piece before the first charanam is a classic composition, and the interlude before the second charanam reminds you of the really good 1980's music. The interlude before the third charanam is something that you would have definitely heard in the movie climaxes, but the way the Maestro mixes it into this song is really superb. Hopefully this is picturized on screen well. That way Bala picturized a lot of his songs so very well including: Malaiyil Vethanai in Sethu, Mun Paniya in Nandha and Elangathu in Pithamagan.
One of the very few songs with three charanams these days had wonderful lines like --- 'Vidhi enum Ezhuthellam Vizhi neeril Azhiyum Or Neram,' and 'Jenmangalil Paavam Pen Jenmame, Bandhangal Endru Sonnal Thunbangale.' The latter one is true!
Not a typical song of Sadhana, this needed a lot of emphasis on the words, which she has not mis-pronounced the words, which is good (including the hard 'zh' in 'Vidhi enum Ezhuthellam Vizhi neeril Azhiyum Or Neram' ). Though she gets a little screechy in the high pitches, she maintains the sober tone of the song. I would'nt call it her best rendition, but it surely is one rendition, she will definitely be proud of. From a gruffy voice in the first line to a sweeter voice in the charanams, she sails through the songs very well. And she definitely puts in a lot of emotions into this song.
In a time of really past paced songs with non-sensical or non-decipherable lyrics this is sure to stand out :)
The Maestro reworked on a few of his earlier scores and created magic with his music in this movie. One of the songs that will linger on in your mind for a long time is this song 'Amma Unn Pillai.'
This song starts with a gruffy Lata-Mangeshkar-kind-voice, and sails smoothly only to unravel that Sadhana Sargam is singing this song. Reworked from one of his songs in the early 80's Ilayaraja makes it very contemporary and probably apt for the movie.
The violin piece before the first charanam is a classic composition, and the interlude before the second charanam reminds you of the really good 1980's music. The interlude before the third charanam is something that you would have definitely heard in the movie climaxes, but the way the Maestro mixes it into this song is really superb. Hopefully this is picturized on screen well. That way Bala picturized a lot of his songs so very well including: Malaiyil Vethanai in Sethu, Mun Paniya in Nandha and Elangathu in Pithamagan.
One of the very few songs with three charanams these days had wonderful lines like --- 'Vidhi enum Ezhuthellam Vizhi neeril Azhiyum Or Neram,' and 'Jenmangalil Paavam Pen Jenmame, Bandhangal Endru Sonnal Thunbangale.' The latter one is true!
Not a typical song of Sadhana, this needed a lot of emphasis on the words, which she has not mis-pronounced the words, which is good (including the hard 'zh' in 'Vidhi enum Ezhuthellam Vizhi neeril Azhiyum Or Neram' ). Though she gets a little screechy in the high pitches, she maintains the sober tone of the song. I would'nt call it her best rendition, but it surely is one rendition, she will definitely be proud of. From a gruffy voice in the first line to a sweeter voice in the charanams, she sails through the songs very well. And she definitely puts in a lot of emotions into this song.
In a time of really past paced songs with non-sensical or non-decipherable lyrics this is sure to stand out :)
Aug 16, 2009
Reviews - Love Aaj Kal and Kaminey
Reviews for the two Hindi movies I watched in the theatre after a really long time. And I was looking forward to Kaminey for a long time!
Love Aaj Kal – A perfect example of how being 'practical' can unnecessarily complicate things. I wouldn't say it was a perfect movie or liked it entirely. The dialogues were one of the best in recent times. But the premise was a realistic one and something that everyone in the age group 20-30 faces, after all we are Mango people (Aam janta :P). Though, I wouldn't call it a tale of not-being-able-to-get-over-someone, that was what happened finally. The main characters were utterly selfish and this is true in today's life. The Punjabi kudi Harleen, actually a Brazilian model was the surprise package of the movie. Saif's Punjabi accent was something he could have improved on. Deepika Padukone was her usual wooden frame - looking good, but no acting skills to speak about. Her dialog on the second day of her wedding to Rahul Khanna- 'I have done a mistake, please let me go see Saif now, I will come back and apologise later' was enough to crack the entire audience. Pritam for once had a track that was not taken off any source. Loved the Twist song and the Rahat Fateh Ali Khan song. Rishi Kapoor didn't have a great role in the movie, but the way the second story was interwoven was really interesting. It was a good watch with interesting dialogues and decent touch of reality.
Kaminey – A movie you'll totally love or totally hate. Initially, I thought I was going to fall in the latter category, but surprisingly no! It was not an extra-ordinary tale, but was a dark (literally and on-screen) tale with each of the characters being selfish (yet again). The new style of story telling will surely will be a tutorial for a few film-makers. Fhahid.... oops Shahid Kapoor had the role of his career in this movie and executed it pretty well, both as Charlie and Guddu. As the Guddu character, he is shown as a simple NGO worker, and is pitted against Priyanka. Priyanka is shown as a talkative Maharashtrian girl, and had a few good lines for herself, though her role was limited on screen. Charlie is the 'F' for 'S' guy, with big dreams and trying to take a shorter shortcut to success. His characterization was near-perfect, both as a dutiful brother (son – as we are later told) and as a ruffian-in-the-making (is that word right?). Amol Gupte (the partial director of Taare Zameen Par) is in a nice 'Raj Thackeray' role. The movie subtly touches upon the 'Jai Maharashtra' issue, in addition to HIV prevention (Fatak songs) and drug peddlary. Though violent, it was not shown on screen graphically. Music as always in any Vishal Bharadwaj movie was top-notch. And in the end credits, the Mohit Chauhan song that plays should have found a place in the movie (in fact some romance shown in those credits could have been placed in between the movie.) The Dhan Te Nan song, the highlight of the movie found its place in the right portions in the movie and was used as energetically as it was sung by Vishal Dhadlani and Sukhwinder Singh. And I wondered why it earned an A certificate in India, and realized it, thanks to the 'intense' kissing scene between Piggy Chops and Shahid Kapoor. That one scene, though shot aesthetically, was enough for the movie to get an R rating. The dialogues were interesting yet again, and the timing sense was excellent. Overall an interesting watch, with a good time-pass element.
Love Aaj Kal – A perfect example of how being 'practical' can unnecessarily complicate things. I wouldn't say it was a perfect movie or liked it entirely. The dialogues were one of the best in recent times. But the premise was a realistic one and something that everyone in the age group 20-30 faces, after all we are Mango people (Aam janta :P). Though, I wouldn't call it a tale of not-being-able-to-get-over-someone, that was what happened finally. The main characters were utterly selfish and this is true in today's life. The Punjabi kudi Harleen, actually a Brazilian model was the surprise package of the movie. Saif's Punjabi accent was something he could have improved on. Deepika Padukone was her usual wooden frame - looking good, but no acting skills to speak about. Her dialog on the second day of her wedding to Rahul Khanna- 'I have done a mistake, please let me go see Saif now, I will come back and apologise later' was enough to crack the entire audience. Pritam for once had a track that was not taken off any source. Loved the Twist song and the Rahat Fateh Ali Khan song. Rishi Kapoor didn't have a great role in the movie, but the way the second story was interwoven was really interesting. It was a good watch with interesting dialogues and decent touch of reality.
Kaminey – A movie you'll totally love or totally hate. Initially, I thought I was going to fall in the latter category, but surprisingly no! It was not an extra-ordinary tale, but was a dark (literally and on-screen) tale with each of the characters being selfish (yet again). The new style of story telling will surely will be a tutorial for a few film-makers. Fhahid.... oops Shahid Kapoor had the role of his career in this movie and executed it pretty well, both as Charlie and Guddu. As the Guddu character, he is shown as a simple NGO worker, and is pitted against Priyanka. Priyanka is shown as a talkative Maharashtrian girl, and had a few good lines for herself, though her role was limited on screen. Charlie is the 'F' for 'S' guy, with big dreams and trying to take a shorter shortcut to success. His characterization was near-perfect, both as a dutiful brother (son – as we are later told) and as a ruffian-in-the-making (is that word right?). Amol Gupte (the partial director of Taare Zameen Par) is in a nice 'Raj Thackeray' role. The movie subtly touches upon the 'Jai Maharashtra' issue, in addition to HIV prevention (Fatak songs) and drug peddlary. Though violent, it was not shown on screen graphically. Music as always in any Vishal Bharadwaj movie was top-notch. And in the end credits, the Mohit Chauhan song that plays should have found a place in the movie (in fact some romance shown in those credits could have been placed in between the movie.) The Dhan Te Nan song, the highlight of the movie found its place in the right portions in the movie and was used as energetically as it was sung by Vishal Dhadlani and Sukhwinder Singh. And I wondered why it earned an A certificate in India, and realized it, thanks to the 'intense' kissing scene between Piggy Chops and Shahid Kapoor. That one scene, though shot aesthetically, was enough for the movie to get an R rating. The dialogues were interesting yet again, and the timing sense was excellent. Overall an interesting watch, with a good time-pass element.
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