Movie Review – Ponniyin Selvan: I

A non-gimmicky, classy period flick which makes us enjoy the film like a book reading session.

Finally the dream for so many filmmakers across generations has been made true by a filmmaker who has been considered as one of the India’s finest. But what makes the film special was the treatment by Mani Ratnam. For a film which has been a dream for many directors, Mani Ratnam’s version was a crisp, condensed and sincere adaptation of the book, which in fact makes us forget about the book while watching the film. That’s the biggest plus of the movie because it doesn’t come out as a loaded barrel of pent up emotions but straightforward polished film. Mani Ratnam shows what a great director he is my keeping his self-indulgence in check and making the most Non Mani-ish film which shows his respect to the subject and sophistication to the direction.

Aditya Karikalan (Vikram) comes out of smoke in the very first scene along with Vallavaraiyan Vanthiyathevan (Karthi) and that’s about the only massest unnecessary scene in the whole film. Otherwise it just talks about the characters. The film appears to be made in such a way that you’re present at the situation, witnessing the glory, heartbreak etc. but feeling sad inside about so many misdeeds. It’s kind of being in the midst of chaotic family like Chekka Chivantha Vaanam but it’s an emotion which didn’t work there but worked here.

Ideally Karikalan should’ve appeared only around the second half or even may be the second film and should’ve erupted the whole crowd but was handled differently by Mani. In fact it was curious and discerning to an extent to think whether Mani Ratnam has become a fan of Vikram and that’s why there were so many close ups and long shots. The emotion was similar to ‘Ravanan’ but here it doesn’t work. In fact Vikram appears to be the only person whose character who was not well written. He hardy gets any screen space but doesn’t get to hold fort even in that. It could have been easily glorified but Mani Ratnam chooses not to. Vikram’s character was the slight spike in the graph on an otherwise constant tempo movie.

The movies charm was Karthi, what an actor, Mani Ratnam has got the pulse of audience with Vanthiyathevan character. Karthi does it superbly and shares a great rapport with Azhwarkadiyan Nambi (Jayaram), just like the book. Probably the only character which got me reminded of the book. Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar (R. Sarathkumar) comes down as a morose man but doesn’t incur the fear which comes across in the book whereas Chinna Pazhuvettaraiyar’s (R. Parthiban) character was superbly written. Easily the most menacing character in the movie. There wasn’t much built up for Arulmozhi Varman aka Ponniyin Selvan (Jayam Ravi) but as a gentle skillful king he was perfect.

The real fire power of the movie was the two ladies, Nandini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) and Kundavai. (Trisha) How brilliantly was the clash of egos between the ladies handled. Aishwarya looked effervescent as Nandini and her scenes were superbly lit by Mani Ratnam to give a feel of her powers of beauty. She truly gets a demigoddess status whenever she acts in a Tamil film. Trisha on the other hand was surprisingly good with her cunningness and looked dashingly beautiful too. The scene where she waits an extra second to make Nandini come down the steps to greet her, inspite of being instructed by Periya Pazuvettaraiyar not to, was the only cinematic scene of the whole movie I believe but that was superbly done.

For a movie which could have been done in any way, Mani Ratnam choses to keep sincerity and exposition at front and carefully reveals the character. When all were of the opinion that it was going to go slam bang in the ‘Bahubali’ way, this was a film of a marked craftsman, someone who knows his art and not influenced by any other. This shows why Mani Ratnam is called a great director. I guess the film would go the ‘Vikram’ way were people would fear to call it a bad film even though they didn’t like it. May be the culture proudness is going to make the film a hit, even if not being entirely liked by a section of audience.

For a film of this scale, wish it had more grandeur and better music. The production values was really average. Expect for the climax sequence with the ship, the canvas was not big and awe inspiring. Thanks to the exposure to all the Hollywood series, this effort looks meek and the music too was average. Mani seriously misses Vairamuthu and his wordplay in the songs. Even the whole Tamil flavor in the movie was pretty normal for a historic movie. In all the movie was a surprise package and for the lack of better word is a proper film.

Movie Review – Maheshinte Prathikaaram

Not to the perfect size?

This movie was one of my long hauled overdue and somehow escaped my radar all this while. Considered to be the finest of Fahadh Faasil and start of a new era by Dileesh Pothan and Syam Pushkaran. Unfortunately as I had watched and blown away by ‘Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum’, as a non malayalee who doesn’t understand the meaning of the words, even by the rhyme of it, ‘Maheshinte Prathikaaram’ was a little underwhelming. I guess both of it together would work as a dual feature, not like that or Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, but something like that of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ and ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington’. The feeling was similar to how it felt after watching ‘Mr. Smith goes to Washington’ after being blown away by ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’

The initial vibe of the film was terrific, the elongation of the word “pennu” and the sudden halt while saying “Idukki” in the titular song would give smiles to anyone settling in theatre. It’d have given a proper settling of rustling leaves vibes when you had seen people enter the theatre and you’re already in your dreamland. I thought it was going to be one happy film seeing that song sequence but it was entirely not so.

Mahesh (Fahadh Faasil) is a normal guy, in writer Sujatha’s words, a satharanan, one who has lived his life in peace in a small town, known by his friends and hated by none. He’s neither skillful nor terrible. He lives his life as if he’s not even in the frame. He loves a girl who too has affection on him but it doesn’t materialize for obvious reasons, the reason not explained in the movie but it felt like an eventual. This breakup felt harsher and realistic than Fahadh Faasil’s highly acclaimed but terribly boring ‘Annayum Rasoolum’. He doesn’t grimace in pain, may be part of him too knew that it was not going to happen. There isn’t any bitching, thankfully. Furthermore, post her marriage we don’t see her suffer. There were mild cues in the movie where the groom was shown as a possessive man, but thankfully being a positive non melodramatic movie we don’t see her suffering even though a part of us who sympathize with Mahesh would want that.

Due a sequence of events, a Butterfly Effect may be, we see Mahesh getting into a fight and getting beaten up and he swears that he wouldn’t wear a chappal until he avenges his man. While we think that the movie was going to get into a serious tone, the man who beat him up goes to Dubai. It was a terrific interval. It’d have been great if the movie had just ended there. The second half felt obvious. A girl who’s a sister of that man, Mahesh avenging him and asking for the girl, felt a little bit preposterous. The punch that he had expected while the directors name flashes on screen actually happens during the interval block.

As much as one would want to appreciate Fahadh Faasil, not just him but everyone could be appreciated in the same vein. There wasn’t a single badly acted scene in the whole movie. Everyone did their role to perfection. Even Mahesh’s Kung Fu colleague who beats up the auto driver. The climax fight gets us on the hook but isn’t it a film which is greater than this to have our emotions ridden in such a straight forward scene.

There was a part where Mahesh’s dad asks him not to call his studio as shop. There was a slight “coming of age” touch there but it wasn’t overdone and didn’t drift the film in some other direction. But it’s something which could’ve even be taken off and the film would have still worked fine and his character would have felt earthier. For some reason I was constantly getting ‘C/o Kancharapalem’ vibes which made me feel that this film as a less great one among the two.

As I said before, this movie would have worked better if I had seen it first and seen it with less disturbance. It’s not a movie for pause and play, in fact no movie is. But as it plays around with the feelings and emotions more than the story, a strong settling time would be appreciated.

Movie Review – Thiruchitrambalam

A film which was not good enough to appreciate, not bad enough to reject

From the outlook, ‘Thiruchitrambalam’ looked as generic a film can get. With the amount of “different” films which Dhanush was doing, this looked like a film to miss. But for some strange reason, this film got the love of audience and started doing well in the Box Office. There was comparison to Dhanush’s earlier films, especially “VIP” by a large section of people. Most of it looked to be deliberately done. In the end it was a simple film which had its moments. When a film like this becomes a hit it raises two questions, does audience except only this much from a movie or are the so called commercial movies not even this good.

We travel with Thiruchitrambalam Jr alias “Pazham” (Dhanush) and Shobana (Nithya Menen) throughout the film. Nithya Menen was as annoying as she could get. She is one of the rare actress who can be effervescent naturally but here her cuteness was exploited and her Tamil, by the way she stressed the words, was irritating too. They wanted to fit in a Tara from ‘OK Kanmani’ as a friend here, which didn’t work. And she had been given a character which if you hate, you’d be hated by remaining. Wonder when we’d get to see an un-bloated Man Woman friendship in Tamil Cinema. Closest we got was Autograph and Sneha, especially the chemistry between them when they were actually not uttering any dialogues in “Kizhake Parthen” song was fantastic.

Dhanush does Pazham with élan. It’s a mark of a great actor who can still be relatable after a string of high voltage performances. Something which Vikram let go off him after his success in big budget films. Due to an accident, a misunderstanding develops between him and his father and he loses his braveness. Thankfully he didn’t have a big fight while saving his dad, Inspector Neelakandan (Prakash Raj) towards the end. I was praying that it shouldn’t become a mass moment. His performance in ‘Thiruchitrambalam’ was like that of Ranveer Singh in ‘Gully Boy’. You don’t get to see their greatness on screen but you’ll know how easily they’ve become part of script. It’s like that silent partner who doesn’t lose his wicket and gives strike to another free flowing batsman at every given chance.

The second love story with Ranjani (Priya Bhavani Shankar) was a disaster. Not only the bit story but even Priya Bhavani Shankar overacting in those scenes were a pain to watch. Even her cuteness couldn’t save her performance. On the other hand Anusha’s (Raashii Khanna) love track, when it started to feel interesting, fell in a typical chauvinistic judgmental all-now-get up-and-clap-your-hands template. Wish the film was about them explored more about each of their worlds rather than fault finding. So Mr. Pazham loves a “city” girl and a “village” girl and when he knows that both don’t suit him, he selects his friend, who loves him since he was a child. How lame!

But to be honest, the film doesn’t look as lame as the story. That’s where the director, Mithran R Jawahar has excelled. He has created an environment which makes us believe Pazham’s feelings are real. Leave the accident and bad back story for it. At present, three men from three generation living in a housing board flat, with bikes parked on road, where any middle class man would have thought how other bikes would go in the adjacent street if bikes are parked in such haphazard manner is a great setup. He could have done wonders with the setup, in fact he could have done Asghar Farhadi with a strained relationship of dad and son, without reveling any details but chooses cute by opting for Ilayaraja poster and motta madi sentiment. That’s where he fails.

Bharathiraja for most part excels as thug Sr. Thiruchitrambalam but it was Prakash Raj who holds the fort. Recently we see a more matured version of him. The gap has done a world of him for him I believe, or maybe we’re seeing him after a point and feeling it that way. Anyways it was a pleasure to watch him on screen. And Dhanush was superb playing the second fiddle to both of them. Few scenes, even though filmy were lit. The scene were Pazam tells that it’d be good only if his dad hits him, the way he enters to lift him etc. But there would be an equally bad scene for every good scene, for example, here we see Sr. Pazham in the zoom out.

The fun portions between the Pazham’s were lovely. Especially the train sequence where Sr. says about his death. It was superbly handled. Wish their beer seasons lasted more in that manner. (Did you notice those couple of beers in a plate so that it wouldn’t fall of the bed?) Overall it could have been a great movie if it had the love track taken off. Even if not explored in a serious way, it could have still been good. In the end, the film eventually ends in the only way I didn’t want to. For which I can never forgive.

Movie Review – Cobra

Blasphemy!

If there was an award for choosing disastrous script, then Vikram would win it every single year. If there was an award for honesty in acting even in that disastrous script, Vikram would win even that. This film was again an example of such ridiculousness. Guess directors who want to take rest, earn big bucks and travel onsite for the film would have to do just one thing, imagine few getups and narrate the script to Vikram, rest all he’d take care. Even the directors who had fool proof record would do something like that to him. Every movie other than ‘Rajapattai’ was a hit by Suseenthiran. Same for Shankar and same here for Ajay Gnanamuthu. If a biopic would be made of an actor, of how great he could’ve been but couldn’t be, Vikram would fit right in. Something he himself can act.

The first half of ‘Cobra’ was utter rubbish. It’s a disgrace to even discuss it. Of his entire career, this was the only part of film where he doesn’t get to “act”. Even in a highly ridiculous ‘Kanthaswamy’ he’d have acted well in those horrible scenes. But here it was impossible to even sit through the movie. It was the first movie which totally didn’t work. Even ‘Rajapattai’ had few comic scenes, few which looked like comedy and certain massy scenes which would have got great applause if it had appeared in a Vijay or Ajith movie. Fights, needless to say were impressive. But in the first half of ‘Cobra’ even that was not good.

The director looked like he was badly inspired by Nolan, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to make a movie this bad. Sci-fi or to be specific, a Nolan genre is not an easy nut to crack. Yes, the geeks love Nolan for the intricacies but as laymen, it’d work even without knowing anything. That’s how good he’s at his craft. That shows his sincerity. Not like here where a man is showed a genius just through few muted dialogues. Judith Samson (Meenakshi Govindarajan) was Ariadne (Ellet Page) whose role was to admire the killer for his math skill. But if you would point to the audience, why even to the director to tell about one complex math he did to do the killing, they couldn’t, and that’s how shallow the script was. The titular explanation of ‘Cobra’ by her was the second worst in Vikram’s career, the first being ‘Bheemaa’. Of the three actress, Meenakshi Govindarajan was the one who looked pretty and looked like someone who had the potential to actually nail a character like Ariadne but with such a horrible story, even Manorama during her peak days couldn’t have evoked any interest in the character.

After a numbing experience, around the interval there was a twist that at least evoked some curiosity. The second half had a solid story about twins. We don’t really know why their mother was in jail, but that’s okay, the meet up of the characters was well made and the action sequence in rain was shot well. The umbrella scene where Vikram stands on top and before the fight where he ties his hair were the scenes which worked but the audience were too tired before those scenes because the entire first half was buffoonery.

The story was about twin brothers, rivalry and chivalry between them. When the movie ended it was still not clear as to who was who, which was actually nice, audience were mumbling with each other. If it had happened for an English movie, it would have been appreciated but it’s not the mistake of audience. You got to have a solid plot to make such a movie, not just fool around with makeup.

The investigation scene should have worked like the ‘Anniyan’ scene but again it didn’t due to shoddy screenplay of first half. Climax was really good, the thinking of killing all Vikram’s imaginary characters along with him in such a serious way had to be appreciated. If someone like Vignesh Shivan had done that scene it’d have come out terrific. But here, audience were already exhausted to appreciate anything.

The flashback sequence, fight between brothers were all lame and as my friend pointed out, thankfully he didn’t reduce weight to act as a college student. But how well had he dubbed! Srinidhi Shetty actually looked hot than her previous outings, especially in “Thumbi Thullal” song. Only place in the entire movie where Vikram looked happy. Mirnalini Ravi was such a waste. Rahman’s music too was wasted here. Few of the BGMs were terrific which could’ve done a world of good to other normal masala flicks. Overall, yet another disaster.

Movie Review – Drishyam 2

Twist, too many!

It was one of the movies which was cited as a sequel which was better the first part. So naturally I was intrigued to watch. ‘Drishyam’ could easily be classified a modern day classic, just the amount of remakes would be a proof of it. With each additional language the movie released, the respect for the original got higher, not only for filmmaking but for Mohanlal’s acting as well. It’s not just the mere numbers but the difference in each of the films which got praise for the first film. But with the second part of the film which feels like a “suspension of disbelief” or “too much of a coincidence”, it makes the part one feel far less great and whimsical.

The movie begins at the most important juncture of part one, where a man on the run sees Georgekutty coming out of Police station. He gets arrested by the police later. The setup was good because it’s a given that no one who commits a crime would do it without leaving a trace but the problem which that scene made was, it makes us think of the moment this was going to break. So we couldn’t enjoy Georgekutty’s normal life.

This was a tool which was appreciated by majority of critics and kept the casual film goers hooked but it was the same reason I started disliking the movie. It would have been nice to have seen their family who was still reeling under the aftereffects, without a problem of contention which was going to come in future. Thankfully the problem was not as bad as ‘Taken 2’ which would lead to the second daughter facing a crisis.

Around the interval block we get to know that the neighbors are not really neighbors but undercover cops. That secret reveal was nice and un-guessable. Actually the film till then was a bore. It felt like Jeethu Joseph wanted that as interval and wrote the remaining part to maintain the “normalcy” which was not as normal and enticing as the first part. It lacked the charm. By charm I don’t mean that it should have had a happy vibe but at least the oscillation between the restlessness and normalcy could have been conveyed in a more interesting manner.

The second half was quite engaging and made as an “Edge of the Seat” thriller but the sudden introduction of characters, especially the lawyer who fights for Georgekutty felt finicky. The book twist was too good to believe. Ebert said that if one doesn’t understand something it’s not meant to be understood. Similarly, if it’s too good to believe, it’s not believable. The fun and satisfaction of seeing George Kutty escape in the first film couldn’t be matched in the second one.

The director used various tools to employ the tension. The storytelling, literally, was different because it was literal at most points, as you hear it from people directly and don’t see it. Kalabhavan Shajohn was a major miss from part one, the tea shop too looks different. So the whole acting heavyweight falls on Mohanlal, which he does well but there are carefully composed massy elements and minute “high” scenes, like the one where he comes out of the court. These scenes actually make us look at him as a hero and applaud but not a man next door.

It was great the way the image of Georgekutty had transformed among the villagers, who no more see him as hero but jealous of how famous he had become. It was a nice change of play. Wish we could have seen more of Jose George’s story (Ajith Koothattukulam) which felt like an intriguing prospect. Guess, it was intentionally kept that way so that there could be some solid story/twist in part three. But whatever little role he got he was terrific.

The major problem, as said above was the scenes where he escapes. He becoming friends with everyone, writing a book, using it as evidence etc. was farfetched. Didn’t like the oral dictation of his character as a man who has sworn to protect his family at any cost by the police. Wish he wasn’t made such a hero but left as such a person who did heroic things.

Movie Review – Jai Bhim

Rings the right bell, almost

Probably one of the most impactful film of recent times. It’s good to see big actors breaking the shackles and going into roles like this. Between the concept, I’d rate ‘Nerkonda Paarvai’ better than this, not only because it had a bigger star but it’s far tougher and uncomfortable movie. But as a film, ‘Jai Bhim’ was better made. ‘Jai Bhim’ for most part keeps us in the grips, if not for the minor flaws. But it’s not easy to make a film on a definite subject. The director would always be confused on which route to take between documentary and traditional film making. This film too suffers somewhat in the process but doesn’t fail, thankfully.

Not a big fan of Surya, but he was at his scintillating best in ‘Jai Bhim’ with a serious character, much closer to his personality. Thankfully he need not appear as a rough guy shouting his guts out, in the process of appearing raw. The characters that best suit for him would be like that of ‘Ayan’ or ‘24’. A charming lad getting in the midst of action. That’s where he appears at home. Other characters, it just feels like he’s trying too much. With only exception being ‘Pithamagan’, easily his best and totally unexpected of him. People would think ‘Nandha’ was on the same lines, but that character felt mechanical. Vikram having aced ‘Sethu’ and ‘Pithamagan’, Suriya’s character in Nandha felt like it was more conscious to not imitate what Vikram did in those films, than to bring its own flavors in the film.

Coming to the film, the film was on point right from the first scene. We get to know what we’re going to witness, so it was just a matter of time before it was going to get hard hitting. Even though Rajakannu (Manikandan) and Sengeni’s (Lijomol Jose) part was short lived, it was sweet and makes us want more. Many a time, I used to see Nari Koravar’s and wanted to research/make a film about them, so I was happy to see something on the lines of that in the film, but the film was more about the injustice they face than about their lifestyle. Happy that my subject was not touched upon, but I’d have really loved to see about their life before their plight.

Within quick succession Rajakannu gets caught by police and the investigation starts. Adv. Chandru (Suriya) comes to fore. His introduction was dramatic and needless but otherwise he did a fair job. Thankfully the makers didn’t do any prosthetic make up to make Suriya look like Chandru, because that was not the point of film. But every other actor barring Prakash Raj, didn’t make any impact. With only exception being Lijomol Jose, what an actor! Except for that one shot where she sits in rain with her kid, her scenes were lit. Be it the pride when walking to her place by not getting on jeep or when talking to Suriya with sympathy about gold in her thaali, she was lovely and a pleasure to watch. Even though she appears throughout the film, the way she makes herself small and even invisible is a trait of a great actor. In a way the director achieves to show how small and unfilled their community is, in the midst of civilization.

Having the likes of Guru Somasundaram, M. S. Bhaskar and wasting them in such small roles was a disgrace. In fact, even Rajisha Vijayan doesn’t have any role. It was the second time I was seeing her character wasted. First in ‘Karnan’ and now this film. She was one of the actors whom you’d wish to remember to be the character you love, than as an actor. Just like how Emma Watson would always be remembered as Hermione. But she broke it and came out in flying colors in ‘The Perks of being a Wallflower’. I thought Rajisha would do a similar thing in any one of the films, unfortunately she doesn’t. I’d have been happy to remember her as ‘June’ and never saw her afterwards.

For all the good things, why were there so many songs in the film. especially the romantic song in the middle which comes as a flashback was so so needless. Spoils the flow of our film. Its unacceptable to mention that it was added for a commercial value. It’s not a film which you’d do adjustment. If the songs had been removed and the film had been trimmed by twenty minutes, it would have been even more impactful. Thankfully except for the scene where Sengeni (love the name) and her kid get drenched in rain during climax, there was not much of dramatic scenes.

It was not a flawless film, the narrative was dodgy, there were too many scenes depending on shock value, but the attempt altogether feels like a decent, impactful film. Wish the making would have been on the lines of ‘Pariyerum Perumal’ to have made it a more complete film.

Movie Review – American Made

A Scorsese style Tom Cruise quirkiness

A fairly unnoticed film which caught my attention when I was trying to watch something fun. The powder smeared poster of Tom Cruise in ‘American Made’ pretty much gives the idea of what to look forward in the movie. It’s a quirky story about a drug dealer. Unfortunately, you can’t help but compare with a Scorsese movie as it deals with drugs and personality. Probably for the ones who haven’t watched much of Scorsese, this film would have done wonders with the way it was made. But the Scorsese fan in me didn’t let me be so. Keeping that aside, the film promises a joy ride.

The films mood is set right from the scene one, a smoky cockpit, a dozing Barry Seal (Tom Cruise), a cigarette in the copilot’s hand which was going to ashes and more importantly handheld camera to give the uneasy feel. Barry Seal shakes up his plane a little bit to wake up his copilot, in the midst waking up the entire flight. Goes home tired and dozes off while his wife would be waiting for some action. That’s pretty much his life. Mundane and boring. This very sequence could have been made either in depressing way like ‘Evano Oruvan’ or quirky like this. ‘American Made’ choses quirky and in that one sequence we get to know what to expect out of this film.

CIA Agent Monty Schafer (Domhnall Gleeson) meets Barry Seal with an offer he can’t refuse. The first scene they meet up was superbly made. We have the same reaction which Barry does. CIA is the last thing we could associate Monty with. I thought he’d be either a reporter or a low-profile drug dealer but he in fact was a CIA agent. It was fun. Going by the films nature and Barry’s character he immediately accepts the deal. No remorse. And that’s the beautiful thing. It’s not a film which deals with guilt and self-reciprocation. It’s fun and informal.

Post that it’s a typical Scorsese’s film with ups, more ups and down. Unfortunately seeing DiCaprio and Jonah Hill in a similar setup in ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’, this film was underwhelming. As much as I’d have wanted to enjoy the film. I kept on reminiscing the glory of ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’. Which was in fact phenomenal, it was like a comeback film of sorts for Scorsese, it is up there as one of his best work or may be even his best. That constant comparison made me not like the film as much as I wanted to. Scorsese has setup a benchmark in the category of drugs and chaos.

Like any of the drug film, the hero was reckless, had a hot wife, a friend who’s a problem and more importantly a brother-in-law who blows up the cover and gets blown up in the midst of it. Loved the way his character was “taken care” by Medellin Cartel. It was fun to see the Drug Cartel during the early days when they were not big. Wish a little more of it could have been explored but its understandable that it’s not a film about them but about Barry.

The film ends on expected lines, I felt a teeny bit emotional, but it was intentionally made in a dark tone to not feel bad for the hero. In fact, it cuts the very next second from the frame. Overall, the film looked a little hurried, just like Seal’s character. The Films tone was restless and made so. Each film has a tone and this film stuck to the restless tone. Although it felt restless, there were junctures which felt boring and mundane in the middle. A much recent example which handles the tone of a film beautifully was ‘Uncut Gems’. The way it handles ‘anxiety’ made us both anxious as well as interested in the movie. We couldn’t move away from the screen even if it does so, like getting into a roller coaster, even though we know its not going to be a smooth ride. That’s the beauty!

Movie Review – K.G.F: Chapter 1 and Chapter 2

Noise or Music?

‘KGF’ is a problematic film. I watched the first part in TV with not so much concentration and the film’s trajectory swings here and there like mood swings of an irritable person. I couldn’t completely enjoy it like a guilty pleasure as well as couldn’t completely set it aside as a not-my-type-of film. It was here and there and that was the biggest problem. I saw myself applauding for few scenes and hating some. Both were in fact okay but together it didn’t piece together and ends up as a film too long trying to express what it was trying to express. That’s my I waited and watched the first part again before watching the second part to come to a conclusion…

We’re in good days that each film industry has given a big blockbuster extravaganza. It’s not by luck it has become so but it was written so and marketed that way as well. So comparisons were bound to happen with ‘Bahubali’ 1 and 2. That’s where the problem lies, ‘KGF’ couldn’t cope up with it, but the director Prashanth Neel would have written the film before the release of Bahubali or may be in parallel with it. So even though it has similar sentiments like being a people’s champion, mother sentiment, respecting women etc. ‘KGF’ progresses in its own way.

The film was an out and out Rocky (Yash) show and other characters, both positive and negative were just commentators enhancing his macho image. The confusing thing here was, watching it dubbed in Tamil, it was working for large extent, and I was constantly confused how and why it was working. Of course, many dialogues by now have taken a comic template or in memes but it’s more so because it impacted for that sentiment in the movie. Wish I could have just enjoyed and not be confused or just hated it. The confusion part was confusing me, just like the screenplay of the movie.

The film was told through Anand Ingalagi (Anant Nag) in part one and son of him, Vijayendra Ingalagi (Prakash Raj) in part two. Both, film’s narrative wise as well as narrators’ wise, Part 2 was much better as it was clear. In Part one, scenes appear out of blue, that was contributed to Anand’s old age. Wish those scenes has a clearer explanation in part two but that wasn’t to happen. Wonder whether it should be appreciated as director’s cleverness or a cheap trick. Ther was no dearth of built up so to infuse scenes which didn’t fit to the screenplay was not really necessary. Anand overdoes in the first part. It was as if Prashanth had shot those scenes and didn’t find the right tool to place it in the film, so he fitted it somehow.

The films biggest problem and the most irritating character was Reena Desai (Srinidhi Shetty) who was given western dress in part one and traditional dress in part two and that was it. There was nothing interesting about her characterization otherwise. It was a movie which had caricatures as characters, so why not resort to make it an entirely guy movie. Rocky was having a hard time in song sequences; he was too macho even for an item number where he was not expected to express any love emotion. So, needless to say, the love track was just debacle. Reena not only looks confused about her emotion but makes us confused too as to what her character was trying to prove.

The mother sentiment, in short, works but again it comes out at needless times and spoils the flow of the film and changes the mood of the film suddenly. It was like two different films yet works for some weird reason. Wish it had been a complete guilty pleasure like an ‘Expendables’ or a ‘Death Race’ with men and machismo but it tries to do a sentiment film in the midst of that and tries to infuse values sometime and leaves our audience dazed and confused.

Even with respect to the titular character, ‘Rocky’ it was not clear whether why he was getting so much love. He was the same man who lets a couple of slaves being killed Garuda (Ramachandra Raju) which I found no logic to, apart from giving a cinematic high for climax. He who doesn’t feel bad initially about slaves being killed suddenly gets angry for a blind man about to be killed. The reason? Not sure. So, his love towards him and people’s love towards him were both problematic and confusing. I guess it’s a film which couldn’t be analyzed. Like how no one can say why they like certain people, how certain actors become famous, ‘KGF’ should be left alone.

Movie Review – No Time to Die

A feel at home, Bond

‘No Time to Die’ probably had too much time for everything and in a way it didn’t feel bad. Of course, the title was one of the worst of the Bond Series but for some strange reason, this Bond film felt at home. It’s not a statement one would associate with a high-octane action film. It’d even be considered a disgrace to be called so but this film had some sort of closeness to me. It might not be my most favorite, it’s not easy to beat ‘Casino Royale’ you see, still the film had its feet on the ground.

As soon as the preliminary title card ends, there was feel goodness, for once the place didn’t look like an impending danger. It felt settled and relaxed. How beautiful are places in Bond movies which only get spoilt by an explosion unless it’s a sex scene, even if it’s sex scene, the focus moves from place to people. Here for once, the focus was more on the place than the people, which felt good and different. Of course, there was an explosion which takes place by surprise and action sequence after it but I’m sure people would appreciate the sequence prior to it than this.

Ever since Daniel Craig came into the scene, the Bond game has changed, the purists who go by the movies, still feel that Pierce Brosnan was The Bond. But back then Bond was fantasy. Daniel Craig made it look real, the makeover was beautiful unlike the Marvel/DC makeover where everything became dark for the sake of it. Gone are the days when superhero movies were simple and fun to enjoy. Now it feels like a thesaurus to go through them. But when it comes to Bond, the evolution was beautiful. For fanatics as well as for newfound fans. There was so much of Bourne in the form of Bond. Probably, the only thing I don’t like when it comes to Daniel Craig movies is that he falls in love way too often and the attachment sucks. Way too much sentiment for a macho man. Well, this is what happens when you want to make every movie a socially aware politically correct one. Hopefully, if this is Craig’s last movie, next would have a bad bass Bond and not a crowd-pleasing mama’s boy.

Craig had a curious list with a mix of good and abysmal movies. This movie was in between the two. Had to give credit to Cary Joji Fukunaga for not making it soupy or super heroic just because it’s going to be the final film of Craig. As much as I want him to be the Bond forever, it would be just unacceptable if he appears alive after such a climax.

The film as such was a mix of good and bad scenes, not in the making but in the emotion. The girlfriend sentiment, wife sentiment, 007 tag etc. didn’t really appeal. Lea Seydoux was brilliant in the previous movie; she is such a great actor but couldn’t do much apart from being scared all the time in this movie. The other part where Ralph Fiennes plays M, Christopher Waltz as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, head of Spectre and Ana de Armas as gorgeous Paloma was brilliant. Best thing about all the latter actors was that they come only for limited time but steal the show. Fukunaga doesn’t extend their screen space just because that they were charming. In fact, we didn’t want Ralph to feel bad, Waltz to die and Ana to leave as soon as they do. Ana in back shot, sitting in the bar chair got me reminded of Eva Green in the Casino, maybe it’s a tribute or maybe it’s just me. That Casino Royale scene was the one which made me fall head over heels for Eva Green. What a woman! For a change the silliness of Ana was cute and didn’t feel dumb. The hurried end was a lovely way to close the chapter and making us want more.

Lyutsifer Safin’s (Rami Malek) character was overdone, and the climax didn’t really appeal. The faceoff was underwhelming and Bond coming back to the plant wasn’t as dramatic as it should have been. In fact, the entire film felt like it was toned tone. May be that’s why it felt at home but that’s what lacked in packing in the punch too.

Movie Review – Karnan (2021)

Touch too obvious

Karnan was heavy from the word go. The film shows the climax and only then carries on with the story. So, we know the eventual was going to happen and whether it was purposefully done or not I’m not sure but there was a sense of uneasiness throughout the film. Generally, when a climax is exposed, the film takes you through the happy phase and finally bring it to the moment, thus making it impactful but here, the mood was constant and quavers around uneasiness, waiting for something bad to happen, in the league of a horror film.

This kind of troupe where the climax gets exposed, or a main juncture is exposed has become a constant feature of B – grade action films or films which doesn’t take itself seriously because we get to know that the characters come out of the situation victoriously. So, to see it happening in this movie was surprising. Guess Mari Selvaraj didn’t find any tool apart from it to keep the audience in grip. In fact, he does too much for this film in the guise of making it artistic. Too many animals, too many motifs etc. If it comes naturally of course its fine but quite a few are strikingly on the face and gets annoying after a point.

In ‘Pariyerum Perumal’ the beauty was its feel goodness and naivety before the main strike but here, if not for the subject, it’s just a hero worship film. Just like how ‘Asuran’ was made. At least Asuran can be forgiven for its audacity because it can be termed as a commercial film eventually, even though it tries to be otherwise. Here in ‘Karnan’ it was not an outright commercial film, at points it feels like a docu drama and oscillates between fiction and reality, that’s why it was difficult as well as irritating to see all the focus on just one person. For Dhanush this would have been a piece of cake, he’s clever and gets such roles but he couldn’t exhibit dynamism like he did for ‘Aadukalam’ because he had such great scope in that film. Here it was unidimensional and if not for his presence it’d have been even poker-faced character.

As soon as I saw Lal’s name and seeing him allying with Karnan (Dhanush) I knew that he was going to die eventually so it was no surprise and couldn’t bring the impact it had to. Similarly, there was the donkey scene with a rope tied. It was quite evident the knot would be removed at an “important” juncture and so does it happen for the interval. Between these two supposedly impactful scenes, clash between the villages happen and the story becomes generic.

May be if the movie had been made by Bala, he’d have given a different treatment. If the film had been made in a ‘Sethu’ way, it’d have been way more impactful because there was a lot of scope for showing people happy. In ‘Pariyerum Perumal’ there would be a brief moment when “Pottakaatil poovasam” song appears. The love feel was one of the best in recent days. There would be clashes, violence etc. happening in the background but just like how anyone who are so madly in love, they’d be oblivious to the surroundings. That was beautiful. It pushes us too in that zone. The emotions worked perfectly for both happy and sad scenes there. Whereas in ‘Karnan’ we were waiting for violence to erupt, we were waiting for Karnan to strike. And we know that it was going to happen. The climax especially when he decides to return to fight, it was ‘meh’. Of course, it was going to happen. It was pretty much a Rajni film masked in this way.

Except for Lal others don’t get much scope. Must pity on Rajisha, just a brilliant actor. Probably for me, the takeaway from the film is Yogi Babu’s acting. First time I was seeing him in a serious role, and he nailed it. Dhanush’s sister Padmini (Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli) was good but would have been nice to get to know about her better. Overall, the film was hurried and tried to come to conclusion and close it off. The troupes, making and music, while trying to be different couldn’t give necessary impact and fringed only on shock value.