Ishqiya Movie Review

Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Vidya Balan, Arshad Warsi
Director: Abhishek Chaubey

Ishqiya, directed by debutant Abhishek Chaubey, is a delicious little film that teeters dangerously between saucy comedy and suspenseful noir. Unapologetically adult in its relationships, its language and its humor, the film sparkles for its inspired writing and uncompromised direction.

Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi star as Khalujaan and Babban, a pair of thieves in Uttar Pradesh who're on the run from their boss, having taken off with his money. They show up at the home of an old friend in Gorakhpur but discover that he is dead. His widow, Krishna, played by Vidya Balan, takes them in nevertheless, and with that the stage is set for a complicated love triangle against the backdrop of kidnappings, deaths and blow-ups.

Written by Vishal Bharadwaj, Sabrina Dhawan and the film's director Abhishek Chaubey, Ishqiya is a film that has wheels within wheels, a film that's constantly unraveling itself, surprising you as every new layer is peeled.
Chaubey wastes no time in setting up his drama, throwing you into the thick of the story immediately, never wasting more time on back-story than necessary. The film's most enjoyable track is the love triangle which the director treats delicately yet cleverly, aided by remarkable performances from his leads, and an extraordinary score that comprises original compositions by Vishal Bharadwaj and snatches of previous musical hits.

Vidya Balan shines as Krishna, the sexy, deceptive temptress who seduces both men cunningly, and the actress achieves this without ever compromising her character's vulnerability. Naseeruddin Shah is charming as Khalujaan, whose old-style bashful romance is captured beautifully in Bharadwaj's utterly disarming number Dil toh bachcha hai ji, and his flirtations with Krishna set against the melodious evergreen music of SD Burman and Hemant Kumar. Arshad Warsi, meanwhile, goes balls-out as the sexually aggressive Babban whose bindaas wooing of Krishna is complemented appropriately by contemporary chartbusters.

Much of the film's genius lies in its crackling dialogue which throws up so many little gems it's hard to pick just one. Arshad Warsi's character Babban sums up the film's generational difference towards romance perfectly in that resentful dialogue to Khalujaan: "Kya mamu, tumhaara ishq ishq, hamara ishq sex?”
If the film falters, it's in the third act where a key twist comes off as unconvincing, and a climax too convoluted. But these are small nitpickings in an immensely enjoyable journey that deserves to be relished more than once.

Rann Movie Review

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Mohnish Behl, Paresh Rawal
Director: Ram Gopal Verma

In the climax of Ramgopal Varma's Rann, Amitabh Bachchan's character, a senior respected journalist Vijay Harshvardhan Malik delivers an eight-minute impassioned monologue explaining the relevance and the responsibility of the media. Earlier on in the same film, this pillar of journalistic integrity agrees to air an anonymously received sting-operation that implicates the country's Prime Minister for his involvement in a communal riot, without so much as verifying the source of the footage or investigating its authenticity.
As it turns out, the sting is fake. So much for his bhashan on the media's responsibility!

For a film set within the world of television news, Rann is embarrassingly ill-researched and contains plot holes the size of craters. Varma threatens to expose the politics of television news, but with his simplistic, misguided approach his film ends up just as sensational as the very channels he points fingers at.
Bachchan's character Malik is an ethical, principled channel head who's losing the TRP battle to a former colleague Amrish (played by Mohnish Behl) whose channel believes in packaging news entertainingly. Advised by his industrialist brother-in-law, Malik's son Jai (played by Phoonk's Sudeep) makes a discreet deal with a corrupt politician to air a fake sting framing the Prime Minister in exchange for enough money to save his failing channel and to set up a few more.

The sting, once aired on the channel by an unsuspecting Malik Sr, takes down the PM and helps the corrupt neta (played by Paresh Rawal) get the top job instead. But before long an earnest reporter at Malik's channel (played by Ritesh Deshmukh) smells a rat and unearths the truth. He approaches the boss with the information, and Malik Sr eventually exposes everyone involved in the scandal.

Rann is not so much a bad film as it is a boring, predictable one. Varma and his writers borrow the Madhur Bhandarkar-blueprint and give us uni-dimensional characters who are either black or white, seldom grey. Although the film's portrayal of a certain kind of Hindi news journalism may not be far from the truth, it is the film's lazy stereotyping that is tiresome here.

Varma uses crazy camera moves, tight close ups and a booming background score to create the drama that his simplistic script fails to.

What ultimately comes in the way of Rann achieving the potential of its premise is the over-use of cliché in the absence of original writing. As a result, Amitabh Bachchan is wasted in a part that requires little else but for him to look dismayed throughout the film.

JAGGUBHAI Tamil Movie Review

Cast: Sarathkumar, Shriya Saran, Goundamani

Music: Rafi

Direction: KS. Ravikumar

Production: R.Radhika Sarathkumar

Banner: Raadan Media Works

Stories on father-daughter relationship are rarely made in Tamil cinema. Filmmaker K.S Ravikumar, who is known for commercial entertainers, has tried his hands at a touchy tale, however quite typical to his style. There is action, romance and sentiment in the movie which has a strong storyline too.

Unlike earlier movies of Ravikumar, ‘Jaggubhai’ doesn’t involve a huge star cast but the artistes have a role to play in the script. Ravikumar has woven the screenplay around Sarath Kumar and Shriya with enough scope for sentiments and emotions. The whole story is set in Australia.

The movie, seemingly inspired by Japanese film ‘Wasabi’, does leave an impact with audience. Ravikumar has made certain changes that suit to the taste of the local audience.

Jaganathan (Sarath Kumar) is a tough cop, who is known for his rude ways of handling criminals. A bachelor, Jagannathan is dreaded by baddies. One day he gets a call from Australia informing him that his girl friend (Ilavarasi), who he met last some two decades ago had died and that her last wish was that a girl child born to her and Jaganathan be taken care by him.

Jaganathan sets on a trip to Australia to realise her last wish. Flashback reveals the incidents that took place 20 years ago. Jaganathan had been to the abroad country then as an under cover. He goes to the place disguised as Jaggubhai to catch a dreaded criminal (Hamid Ansari).

The Australian government provides a police officer called Man In Black (Goundamani) to help Jaggubhai. One day, Jaggubhai comes across a young girl (Ilavarasi) and slowly develops an affinity with her, He comes to know that she works for the don whom he is searching for.

He hatches a plan by which he decides to marry her. For the wedding cones the don. There a drama unfolds and the don manages to escape holding the girls’s father as bait. Coming to know that Jaggubhai had chosen to marry her only for catching the baddie, she starts to hate him and deserts him.

Come to present, Jaganathan lands in Australia and meets Man in Black. He also meets Monica (Shriya), his daughter. But hides the truth that he is her father and befriends her in the pretext of her care taker. The rest of the events are all how Jagannathan with the help of Man In Black wins over her confidence.

Sarath Kumar, who had played a mass hero untill now, settles down to play a father. Shouldering a major burden, he seems to have come up trumps bringing out the emotions of a dotting dad who wants to reunite with his daughter. He vents out anger, dejection and yearning for the love of his daughter very well.

Shriya, who untill now, has been seen as glamdoll in the industry, has played a spoilt brat. She is chirpy and active all through. Comedian Goundamani makes a comeback to play Sarath Kumar’s friend, who helps him in his mission. He is as usual is impressive with his one-liners.

The action scenes are the hallmark of the movie especially in the climax. The grand locations of Australia and the peppy background score are the USP. Produced by Radhika Sarath Kumar, Jaggubhai is no mindless masala movie, but an emotional tale which sustains interest in good parts.

Tamizh padam Movie Review

Cast: Siva, Disha Pandey, M S Baskar, Vennira Aadai Moorthy, Manobala
Direction: C S Amudhan
Production: Dayanidhi Alagiri
Music: Kannan

First of all, a big round of applause for the director for introducing a new genre in Tamil film industry. Holly wood had it since long with movies like Hot Shots Naked Gun or Scary Movie series and Tamil television has beaten it to death. But a full length spoof running for more than two hours on big screen is really difficult to make considering the sensitivity of the industry people. Even Bollywood hasn’t tried a full fledged parody yet.

Thamizh Padam has done it nicely without hurting the sentiments or feelings of any body. Though only regular movie goers will identify every spoof still they will enjoy it even if it is of their favourite heroes. Director Amudhan has walked the tight rope very effectively.

The film starts with a mother giving birth to a child – our hero Shiva - on a rainy night in a typical village which detests male babies being born in the village. The ‘Nattamai’ of the village had already passed a decree to kill any male child born to any body in the village for a peculiar reason. The male children don’t stay in the village when they grow up. So the father asks his mother-Paravai Muniamma-to kill the baby. When the old lady is about to feed the baby with branded cactus milk in tetra pack the infant pleads with the grand mother to put him in a goods train so that he can reach the city and become a big man. Why a goods train? Because the infant knew all goods train leaving a village is destined to reach Chennai city.

Touched by the aspiration of the infant the old lady takes the baby herself to Chennai to help him achieve his dream. In Chennai Shiva grows at the spin of a cycle wheel up and spends time with his college going friends Nakul, Siddharth and Bharath – MS Bhaskar, Manobala and Vennira Aadai Murthy. Shiva who appears to be a spoiled child actually is an undercover cop like Pokkiri Vijay. He eliminates the city rowdies like Thirupachi Vijay using techniques of Ghajini ,Suriya, Anniyan Vikram ,and Apoorva ,Sahodarargal Kamal Haasan.

Meanwhile on the other side of his life Shiva sees Disha like Kadhalukku Mariyadhai Vijay and love strikes like Mozhi Prithviraj. Shiva expresses his love to her like Maounaragam Karthik. But Disha’s father doesn’t approve their love because Shiva is poor and doesn’t know who his father is. Humiliated Shiva decides to become rich and find his father in the village. He becomes rich in a jiffy like Annamalai Rajini and Sivaji Rajini. The love finally succeeds.

Then in search of his father Shiva lands in his ancestral village Cinemapatti like Winner Prashanth. Its a village where couples go to bed only when Vaidegi Kathirunthal Vijaykanth starts singing ‘Netru rathiri yamma’ at night. He searches his long lost father in the neighbouring villages Serialpatti and Thangachipatti nad Sentimentpatti in vain. Finally with very little help Shiva finds about his father from one of his associates. The associate gives him a CD of his family song which incidentally is the ‘Michael Learns To Rock’ number, ‘Someday someway’. Armed by the CD Shiva croons the song in public and he is united with his parents and sister.

Now back to the city. Shiva is entrusted with the tough job of finding the main switch of the rowdy gang called ‘D’ gang Chidambara Rahasiyam Delhi Ganesh. The thrilling, breathtaking tasks he undertakes to accomplish his mission and the real identity of the dreaded underworld boss of the ‘D’ gang in the climax sequences are going to be the shockers. When you see the film please don’t reveal the climax to others.

When you enter the theatre knowing the film is a spoof you don’t expect anything logical. The movie has followed every rule of a parody. It has sarcasm, typecast, making fun of scenes from serious movies, violence with no major consequences, obvious references to actions or names, lampooning with no purpose, casual scenes with many layers etc.

Shiva, introduced as Chandramukhi Rajini plays his part to his known character. His timing and dialogue delivery sets him apart. The rip offs from Thalapathy, Kakkha Kakkha, Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu and many more don’t fail to tickle you. Shiva over shadows all other characters just like that with his witty presence in every frame.

Music by Kannan is another fine element in the film. The cryptic ‘O Maha Zeeya’ is very watchable on screen. Other songs also match the mood and genre.

Director CS Amudhan is welcomed with open arms. He has revealed that there are still some facets of cinema still unknown to many. A brave new attempt for which there will be many followers in the future.

Goa Tamil Movie Review

Goa movie storyline:
Goa is a Tamil movie taking to the subject of a Teen romantic comedy. Goa written and directed by Venkat Prabhu, starring his Jai, Vaibhav, Premji Amaran and Aravind Akash in the lead roles along with the female artists Sneha, Piaa Bajpai and the Australian model Melanie Marie Jobstreibitzer. The film, produced by Soundarya Rajinikanth’s Ocher Studios. The film follows the journey of three young men, Ramarajan, Vinayagam and Saamikannu, who flee from their remote, conservative village to escape their overly strict families and travel to the international tourist-destination Goa, where they enjoy themselves, experiencing things they have never had a chance to.The film Goa is not about fun and entertainment. As many think Goa is a destiantion where they find only great deal of fun and frolic. Goamovie has big message underlying every sentence in the film. Goatamilmovie deals with sexuality in a very mature and non-sleazy way.The story starts with lead actors who feel discomfort by their over protective parents and finally they break and comes out. This takes them to Goa. Suddenly the mens in this group turns completely different people. Premji plays a crucial role in this film.

Goa movie review:
Jai and Vaibhav have done a good job at performance. There has lot of good drama in this film. The movie ends on a positive message throwing on your face. This movie has got different storyline you can go and watch it atleast once.

VEER Movie Review

Cast: Salman Khan, Mithun Chakraborty, Prithvi Singh, Jackie Shroff, Lisa Lazarus, Sohail Khan
Director: Anil Sharma

Even if you're willing to forgive all the historical inaccuracies and the complete disregard for detail, Veer starring Salman Khan, is still an impossible film to appreciate.

Set in the late 19th century - although dates in no way correspond with costumes, language or even age and appearance of actors - this Anil Sharma-directed clunker is the story of a Rajputana warrior clan, the Pindharis, who swear revenge on the King of Madhavgarh (played by Jackie Shroff) after he joins hands with the British and cheats the Pindharis of their land and deceitfully slaughters their men.

The head of the tribe, Prithvi Singh (played by Mithun Chakraborty), sends his sons Veer and Punya (played by Salman and Sohail Khan) to study in London to become familiar with the British game-plan for their country. But as often happens in most unoriginal Hindi films, once there Veer falls for the princess of Madhavgarh and the daughter of his tribe's sworn enemy Yashodhara (played by overfed debutante Zarine Khan). ((pause)) Scripted by Salman Khan himself, Veer suffers from formulaic overkill. There is just so much contrived jabber-jabber you can take about defending your honour, about duty versus love, and about drinking the blood of the British. The film's director, Anil Sharma, may have touched a chord with a similarly jingoistic approach in his Sunny Deol-starrer Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, but in Veer the chest-thumping melodrama appears mechanical and excessive.

The film's action is visceral with several blood-splattered slaughter scenes, but often runs the risk of coming off as ridiculous. A Gladiator-style duel ends with Salman literally twisting a man's head 360 degrees around, and there's another one in which he yanks out a rival's insides with his bare hands.

The film also suffers on account of too many songs that don't take the narrative forward, including one in which Neena Gupta jiggles and wiggles and heaves her bosom suggestively at the entire Pindhari clan including her grown-up sons who dance along merrily.
Much of the film's first half holds up because there's conviction even in the stupidity. You may find it hard to believe that one man can single-handedly fight an armed gang, but Salman and his director dive into the most preposterous scenes unblinkingly.

The film, then is watchable for Salman Khan's arresting screen presence, his charming romantic overtures, and a degree of involvement from him that you haven't seen before. Unfortunately, what lets Veer down in the end is the fact that it overstays its welcome. At almost two hours and forty minutes, it's way more than you can handle on an evening out. It doesn't help that key parts are filled by weak actors like Sohail Khan, Puru Raaj Kumar and Aryan Vaid who rob the film of any shred of credibility it might have otherwise earned.

There's unintentional humour to be found in abundance here, especially in the track involving Jackie Shroff's character who after losing an upper-limb to an angry Pindhari, sports a gold forearm complete with rings and diamond bracelet, which our hero tugs off in a later scene.
I'm going with two out of five for director Anil Sharma's Veer. Watch it if you're a die-hard Salman fan. It's an epic-sized period film with tacky special effects. Unacceptable in these times. From Cameron's Pandora to Anil Sharma's Pindhari, we've come a long way baby!

Asal Movie Trailer

Chance Pe Dance - Movie Review

Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Genelia Dsouza and Arshad Warsi .

Director: Ken Ghosh.

Rating: 1 / 5

There are three moments in Chance Pe Dance that I can't get out of my head. The first involves a small kid, digging his nose furiously, followed by a tight close-up of his booger. The second is that of a Parsi gentleman in a sudreh, scratching his hairy chest and armpits incessantly. The third is a scene in which Shahid Kapoor scrapes his nails against a blackboard, the shrill sound of which is deafening.

Evidently each of these scenes is intended to make you turn away, to be repulsed even. The thing is, director Ken Ghosh needn't have tried so hard. Chance Pe Dance is an annoying, exhausting film that entirely fails to entertain. ((pause)) Shahid Kapoor stars as Sameer Behl, a struggling actor chasing the Bollywood dream. He faces rejection every day, until finally his killer dance moves get a prominent film director to notice him and subsequently sign him up as the lead in his next film. Not much later, he is dropped from the film.

Sameer has no money for rent and finds himself living out of his car. He has no money for meals, and must take up a dance-teacher's job at a school. It doesn't take a genius to predict that he will lead his oddball students to victory in an inter-school dance championship, and depite all odds, he will become a movie-star after all.

Chance Pe Dance doesn't work because you feel no empathy for its protagonist. The film's writers -- if you can call them that, considering there is no script to speak of -- fail to invest even a hint of vulnerability in Sameer. Moreso, Shahid Kapoor's surface-level performance doesn't help convey the desperation his character's supposedly feeling.

The obligatory romantic track between Sameer and an upcoming choreographer (played by Genelia D'souza) is so random, it adds no dimension to the central plot. This is a film without any character arcs, or plot progression. To be honest, Chance Pe Dance is a film that probably started shooting before a script was ever written; a one-line idea that never developed into a complete story.

The dance portions here are impressively performed by Shahid Kapoor, but you could interchange each of the sequences and it would make no difference to the final film. Much of the blame for that must by shared by composer Adnan Sami who delivers an uninspired soundtrack of indifferent tunes.

Chance Pe Dance is only a little over two hours in running time, but feels much longer because the screenplay limps lethargically in no particular direction.

Of the cast, Genelia D'souza saddled with a half-baked role and left pretty much to her own devices, screeches through her scenes and strums up none of that buoyant energy one has come to expect from her. Shahid Kapoor for his part, makes too many faces throughout the film, and lets his chiselled abs and his nimble feet do the talking. Unfortunately, that's not enough.

I'm going with one out of five and a thumbs down for director Ken Ghosh's Chance Pe Dance; he borrows liberally from such Hollywood films as School of Rock and the Jessica Alba-starrer Honey. But with it's theme of a struggling actor's ultimate vindication, in the end I suppose Chance Pe Dance could be described as "Luck By Chance-For-Dummies". Although it would be a crime to mention the two films in the same breath!

Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai Tamil Movie Trailer

Selvaragavan and premji + Yuvan Halwa comedy video

National Film Awards 2008 | 56th National Film Awards Winners

1. BEST FEATURE FILM: Antaheen (Bengali) Producer: Screenplay Films Pvt. Ltd. Director : Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury
2. INDIRA GANDHI AWARD FOR BEST FIRST FILM OF A DIRECTOR: A Wednesday (Hindi) Producer: UTV Motion Pictures Director : Neeraj Pandey
3. BEST POPULAR FILM PROVIDING WHOLESOME ENTERTAINMENT: Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye (Hindi) Producer: UTV Motion Pictures Director : Dibakar Banerjee
4. NARGIS DUTT AWARD FOR THE BEST FILM ON NATIONAL INTEGRATION: Aai Kot Nai (Assamese) Producer: Rajen Bora, Director: Manju Borah
5. BEST DIRECTION: Naan Kadauul (Tamil) by Bala
6. BEST ACTOR: Upendra Limaye for Jogva (Marathi)
7. BEST ACTRESS: Priyanka Chopra for Fashion (Hindi)

TRON Movie Trailer

Jaggubhai Movie Trailer

Releasing This Jan 29

VGA 2009

Video Game Awards

1. Game of the Year: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
2. Studio of the Year: Rocksteady Studios
3. Best Independent Game Fueled by Dew: Flower
4. Best Xbox 360 Game: Left 4 Dead 2
5. Best PS3 Game: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
6. Best Wii Game: New Super Mario Bros. Wii
7. Best PC Game: Dragon Age: Origins
8. Best Handheld Game: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
9. Best Shooter: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
10. Best Fighting Game: Street Fighter IV
11. Best Action Adventure Game: Assassin's Creed II
12. Best RPG: Dragon Age: Origins
13. Best Multiplayer Game: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
14. Best Individual Sports Game: UFC 2009 Undisputed
15. Best Team Sports Game: NHL 10
16. Best Driving Game: Forza Motorsport 3
17. Best Music Game: The Beatles: Rock Band
18. Best Soundtrack: DJ Hero
19. Best Original Score: Halo 3: ODST
20. Best Graphics: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
21. Best Game Based On A Movie/TV Show: South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!
22. Best Performance By A Human Female: Megan Fox as Mikaela Banes in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
23. Best Performance By A Human Male: Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in X-Men Origins: Wolverine
24. Best Cast: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
25. Best Voice: Jack Black for the voice of Eddie Riggs in Brütal Legend
26. Best Downloadable Game: Shadow Complex
27. Best DLC: Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony
28. Most Anticipated Game of 2010: God of War III
    

Vinnaithandi Varuvaya Movie Trailer

Paiyaa Movie Trailer

Tamil Padam Movie Trailer

Releasing This Jan 29

Porkkalam Tamil Movie Review

Starring: Kishore, Sathyan, Tinu Anand.
Direction: Saroj Kumar
Music: Rohit Kulkarni
Production: A Barani Minerals Production

A young breed of filmmakers is emerging in Tamil cinema, keen on setting new technical standards. Bandi Saroj Kumar is one more addition to the list of directors striving for technical excellence.

His maiden venture 'Porkkalam' is a marvel to watch. The cinematography, stunts and sound engineering provide a fresh feel and almost match the world standards.
But the black and grey shades with more slow motion shots find it difficult to engross us. Also the director has concentrated more on the technical aspects missing out on the content. He seems to have missed out on the story which hampers the flow of the film. Unbelievable script and needless stunts are eyesores.

At the same time, he deserves accolades for choosing an apt star cast. His choice of artistes for lead roles is interesting and evokes interest. Be it Kishore or Sathyan, they stand up and deliver. Saroj Kumar has tried some experiments in the movie. The result one has to wait and watch.

The movie is all about Karna (Kishore), who spends his life with his cook-and-friend (Sathyan) in Chennai. Sneha (Smitha) manages to run from Andhra Pradesh where she is forced to marry local don Dronam Raju (Sampath)'s brother. She takes refuge in Karna's house in Chennai.

The do-gooder Karna's life takes a turn when Sneha falls in love with him. The latter sends her back to Andhra. A twist in the tale occurs when it is informed that Karna is blind but has learnt to be like any other person. He is good at detecting sound and even practised shooting well aiming a target.
Now Karna decides to go to Sneha's rescue. He goes all the way to Andhra and fight all the goons of Dronam Raju which is all but gore and blood. Eventually all is well that ends well.

Kishore is impressive in the role. His trim physique combined with strong and stubborn looks adds pep to his role. Impressive is Sathyan who manages to evoke laughter. Smitha has nothing much to do and so are the gang of baddies including Sampath, Tinu Anand and Lal.

Had the director concentrated on the story and made it more interesting, the movie would have been a different one that would be admired and adore. But at the same time, Saroj Kumar can be appreciated for trying some thing honest and sincere on screen.

NAANAYAM TAMIL MOVIE REVIEW

Starring: : Sibiraj, Prasanna, SP Balasubramaniam, Ramya Raj.
Direction : Sakthi S Rajan
Music : James Vasanthan
Production : Capital Films


Tamil cinema had seen family feelings, murder mystery and romantic potboilers. But a seat-edge crime thriller was truly missed. Capital Film Works seems to have packed the negated with ‘Nanayam’. Thanks to producer S P B Charan, debutant director Sakthi K Rajan has tried to come out with a film that is fresh and filled with fascinating twists.
The story seems to be enthused heavily on British thriller ‘The Bank Job’ released in 2008. The movie was about a group of men, who plan to rob a bank by digging a tunnel from a restaurant which is few meters away. But fresh color and suitable characterizations make ‘Nanayam’ engage attention all through.

More quick than brawny, this crime thriller works out well. The pace at which the scenes open out and the good use of technology particularly in cinematography and editing make it count. Rich shades used by cameraman Omprakash and shiny editing by K L Praveen and N B Srikanth give the film a stylish feel. In short the movie is about a young man, who becomes a victim of his own circumstance, helping a gang rob a bank. Does he fall prey to plans of the gang or bail himself out from all troubles forms the crux.

Ravi (Prasanna) lands with a job in Trust Bank, Chennai, after he helps its CEO Vishwanath (S P Balasubrahmanyam), whose important documents are robbed from him when he is playing golf at a recreation club in Coimbatore. Ravi seeks to start his own business, but Vishwanath recommends him to work for a while in his bank, gather experience and muster finance before venturing to start self-governing business. Meanwhile Ravi, who is in-charge of security system in the bank, develops a fool-proof method and urges Vishwanath to declare that his bank operations are safest in the world. Ravi comes across a journalist Nandhini (Ramya). He falls for her instantly after coming to know that she is a divorcee. When they spend a night in a sea shore, Ravi is attacked by a gang. At the end of the fight, he is knocked down by a firm hit on his head with an iron-rod.

Next morning he wakes up to know that the foe was Nandhini’s ex-husband. But when he reaches his house, all troubles start. Fareed (Sibiraj), a forbid informs Ravi that Nandhini’s ex-hubby is killed by him and threatens him with photographs of Ravi bashing him at the beach. Fareed manages to make Ravi consent for a plan in order to save him from being arrested by the police for committing a murder. He hatches a plan to rob the Trust bank and seeks Ravi’s help. When he resists, he kidnaps Nandhini and threatens to end her life.

Ravi ultimately agrees to his plans. Few attempts by Ravi to run away from trouble cause difficulties the whole issue. With no other option, he sits down to draw a blue print and head the mission to rob the bank. As events unfold, he gets shocks after shocks. When Ravi sets out to confess the conspiracy to Vishwanath, he gets another rude shock from him.

Prasanna looks cool, suave and fashionable. Thanks to costume designer Vasuki Baskar, Prasanna sports rich suits and colourful attires. He shoulders a major burden with ease in the film. An image make-over for the actor indeed, who seems to have utilized the occasion well.

Giving him good company is Sibiraj. The young actor has projected to play a baddie in the movie and fits the role fine. But at many places he reminds one of his father’s (Sathyaraj) who played alike roles in his heydays.

Ramya looks cute and charming. However at places when her character demands more performance, she loses out in the race. S P Balasubrahmanyam does a key role. The rest of the cast includes Jasper, Sundar, Jayanth and Vishwanath.

James Vasanathan, who overwhelmed everyone in his preceding films, has had an average outing but for the melodious number 'Nan Pogiren', sung by S P Balasubrahmayam and Chitra. Thaman’s brisk background score sets up the momentum.

On the flip side, one wonders why Prasanna develops so much charm on a girl whom he had met just once. The reasons for their romance are not stoutly portrayed. Also the scene where Ramya manages to shirk laser lights to open the doors of the safe vault could not be believed.
At the same time, Nanayam is a sincere attempt that needs to be cherished. Sakthi K Rajan has presented an entertainer that is different in colour and content. The movie lives up to its title.

Aayirathil oruvan Tamil Movie Review

Cast: Karthi, Parthiban, Reema Sen, Andrea, Azhagam Perumal, and Prathap Pothan
Director: Selvaraghavan
Music: G.V. Prakash Kumar

Director Selvaraghavan's long-awaited "Aayirathil Oruvan", which has been touted as his dream project, is a brave attempt at seeking novelty in the world of Tamil cinema. Breaking away from the shackles of the stereotypes, the director transports us to a whole new world...and we are dumbstruck by the visuals, the packaging and his unique way of storytelling.

The jet-paced first half offers comedy, action, eye-catching songs, stunning visuals and grandeur. However, the film fails to impress as a whole, as it gets diluted in the second half due to the over-ambitious and illogical approach of the director.
In the movie, the government appoints a secret team led by archaeologist Anitha Pandian (Reema) and a military officer Ravi (Azhagamperumal) to track down the missing links after an archaeologist (Pratap Pothen) vanishes into thin air during his mission to discover the lost Chola civilization!

To reach the lost city, Lavanya, the missing archaeologist's daughter is roped into the mission. A group of labourers led by Muthu (Karthi) helps the team carry their luggage and wade through the tough and inhospitable terrain and face hidden dangers and nature's fury.

After a tedious expedition, they stumble on the lost Chola king (Parthiban) and his people and find hitherto unheard of and unexplained links between them and the world's earliest cultures. What follows is a series of bizarre happenings that try to disentangle the whole mystery.

The fight sequence with the tribal folk and the arduous journey through thousands of snakes are some of the best scenes the film has to offer. The minus points are the length of the movie and the grave flaws in the screenplay.
Some questions are bound to come to mind - If the team suffers due to the mystique powers of the Chola dynasty, why couldn't the kingdom save itself from extinction using the same powers?

The inexplicable 'avatar' of Reema as the heir of the Pandian dynasty leaves much to be desired. The three rulers in south India - the Cheras, the Cholas and the Pandyas - are said to have led a civilized life unlike the way depicted by Selvarghavan, who shows them as cannibals. That is a bit too much to digest!

The fantasy element has been stretched too far...the director takes everything for granted in his pursuit to present a 'stunning' film.

The cinematography by Ramji is brilliant and G.V. Prakash's background score and music are good. "Un Mela Aasadhan" sung by Selva's younger brother and actor Dhanush, Aishwarya Dhanush and Andrea is a rocker.
Reema brings an uninhibited tempo to her role and the director has extracted a fine performance from her. Andrea is likeable and seems to have enjoyed her role. Karthi is lovable and humorous. His MGR-like punch-lines get thunderous applause.

Selvaraghavan is trying to widen the frontiers of commercial cinema and he deserves to be applauded for this. But he has failed to keep up the viewers' interest in the second half, which goes wayward.
"Aayirathil Oruvan" is undoubtedly a different attempt but the second half lets the film down.

Kutty Tamil Movie Review

Cast: Dhanush, Shriya Saran, Radha Ravi, Vincent Ashokan, Rajalakshmi and Mayilsamy
Director: Mitran. R. Jawahar
Music: Devisri Prasad
Producer: Gemini Film Circuit

Kutty, the movie is the remake of Telugu flick Arya with Allu Arjun in the lead. It is an entertaining movie altogether. Being an average flick there is no suspense in the movie as the story is known to all.

Shriya Saran and Sameer Dattani are in the same college and at one point Sameer Dattani force Shriya to love him. Dhanush is made to enter the screen at this point. Dhanush loves Shriya and Shriya loves Sameer. It’s not a love triangle nor one side love.

When Shriya tries to ignore Dhanush, he offer help to her and Sameer to fulfill their love. At the same point of time he challenges Sameer to curb his love so that Shriya doesn’t fall for him. Finally Sameer’s father Radha Ravi, a politician, plans to marry off Sameer to his friend’s daughter the couple runs away from home and Dhanush brings them to his village after a long chase. Soon Sameer disappears and Dhanush takes care of Shriya until Sameer returns after a week with his father, after convincing him. They all then return and at the time of marriage Shriya tells Sameer she want to marry Dhanush. What made her say so??? All lies in the climax.

The remake doesn’t give anything new. It is an average movie with lots of action scenes and good songs. It shows a campus love and its atmosphere. Dhanush is successful in imparting good comedy with good counter in it. Radha Ravi, Vincent Ashokan, Rajalakshmi and Mayilsamy are there but not seen often gives a feeling of one man show.

Nothing much is there in the movie but is watchable for time pass. It is produced by Gemini Film Circuit and is directed by Mitran. R. Jawahar, the same man who did Yaaradi Nee Mohini.

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Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) Movie Trailer

Bolo Raam Movie Review

Cast: Rishi Bhutani, Padmini Kolhapure, Om Puri, Disha Pandey, Rajpal Yadav, Govind Namdeo and Naseeruddin Shah.

Director: Rakesh Chaturvedi.

Rating: 2/5.

"Bolo Raam" can be compared to thriller "Aamir", which starred Rajeev Khandelwal. With newcomer Rishi Bhutani teaming up with director Rakesh Chaturvedi, the USP of the film lies in its novel plot.

Also, the ensemble supporting cast - Padmini Kolhapure, Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah - could be any filmmaker's dream.

But an unconventional film like this should have been pitched well through adequate marketing and promotion. This is where "Bolo Raam" suffers because even though it has an interesting plot, it doesn't quite reach out to audiences.

The minimal buzz and a poor release notwithstanding, "Bolo Raam" doesn't carry enough punch to warrant a strong word-of-mouth.

The plotline, which is based on Tamil film "Raam" (2005) that starred Jeeva as the protagonist, is actually quite novel. There haven't been many films made in the past where a youngster (Rishi) is shown to be the prime suspect after his mother's (Padmini Kolhapure) killing. He goes silent and the world around him wants him to speak up, hence the title "Bolo Raam".

Given the fact that he was a recluse to begin with, had a troubled past, loved his mother the most, was disturbed by all the injustice around him and was fist-happy, Raam is a tough nut to crack.

"Bolo Raam" has a slightly offbeat appeal to it but it does turn filmy towards the latter part.

Yes, there are shocking moments, especially during the entire build-up phase.

The introduction of characters played by Om Puri, Govind Namdeo and Naseeruddin Shah keep the wheels turning.

Milestone moments in the movie aren't bad as well, as evidenced in the opening sequence as well as the interval point. However, it's the culmination that makes you believe that "Bolo Raam" could well have been a suspense thriller for television viewing.

With the kind of budget that "Bolo Raam" has been made, it did stand a good chance of at least a decent recovery if it could have waited a little longer. A release at a time when "3 Idiots" is going super strong and there are a line of biggies for the next two months isn't really a good decision.

Goa Movie Trailer

Dulha Mil Gaya Movie Review

Cast: Fardeen Khan, Sushmita Sen and Shah Rukh Khan.

Direction: Mudassar Aziz

Rating: 2 / 5

Dulha Mil Gaya starring Fardeen Khan and Sushmita Sen, has been four years in the making, but has arrived almost fifteen years too late. A predictable old-fashioned entertainer that's a throwback to those homogenous family films of the mid-90s, Dulha Mil Gaya borrows so much from the Yash Chopra/Karan Johar school of synthetic filmmaking that it's hard to tell if there's anything original to this story at all.

Fardeen Khan stars as NRI playboy Donzai, who must marry the village bumpkin his dead father has chosen for him if he wants access to his $5-billion inheritance. He arrives in Punjab and weds simple desi girl Samarpreet (played by newcomer Ishita Sharma), who is way too conservative and unpolished for his tastes. Marriage solemnised, Donzai leaves his new wife back in the village and returns alone to Trinidad where he continues with his wild, partying ways.

Samarpreet, not one to give up easily, lands up in Trinidad a few months later, and discovers the cad has forgotten her. Fortunately she bumps into supermodel Shimmer (played by Sushmita Sen) who gives her a complete make-over, down to a wardrobe of cleavage-baring dresses and table manners to boot.

Expectedly, Donzai falls for her in this new avatar, and the couple is happily reunited. In the end, Samarpreet returns the favour to Shimmer by enlightening her that nothing is more important than love, and by convincing her to not let go of her doting boyfriend (played by Shah Rukh Khan).

Co-written by debutant director Mudassar Aziz, the screenplay of Dulha Mil Gaya skittles from cliché to cliché, packing in every stereotype you can think of - from a gay butler named Lotus, to a karva chauth ceremony that ends with Shah Rukh making an entry accompanied by swelling background score.

What saves this film from complete disappointment is Sushmita Sen, who in a stroke of casting genius, plays an exaggerated version of herself, delivering an inspired performance as the snootiest, ditziest diva with the funniest lines you can think of.

On entering the first-class cabin of an airline and spotting a small-town simpleton in her neighboring seat, Shimmer knowingly declares, "Aah, upgraded passenger!"

Dulha Mil Gaya is well-worn, formulaic fare that might appeal to viewers who find comfort in the familiar, and who are still excited by those hackneyed stories about righteous Indian girls who show materialistic NRI boys the error of their ways.

I'm going with two out of five for director Mudassar Aziz's Dulha Mil Gaya; if it's not entirely unwatchable, you have Sushmita Sen to thank!

Kutty Movie Trailer

Pyaar Impossible Movie review

Cast:Uday Chopra,Priyanka Chopra

Direction: Jugal Hansraj

Films with titles like Pyaar Impossible are begging to be spoofed. This impossible romantic comedy between a geek and a gorgeous girl stars Uday Chopra as nebbish nerd Abhay, who spends most of his college years crushing on the campus hottie Alisha (played by Priyanka Chopra), who barely notices him at all, even though he once saved her from drowning.

The two of them cross paths again, seven years later in Singapore, when divorced single-mother Alisha mistakenly hires Abhay as a nanny to her six-year-old daughter. Happy to just be around her, Abhay doesn't reveal his identity and sportingly goes along with the situation.

Before long he's won over the girl, an annoying, precocious tyke who decides to play cupid between mummy and nanny. Together with the kid, Abhay sabotages Alisha's budding romance with her colleague Varun (played by Dino Morea), who by the way has also stolen Abhay's revolutionary new software program and passed it off as his own.

Directed by Jugal Hansraj and written by Uday Chopra, Pyaar Impossible is painfully predictable, and offers nothing original in its writing or treatment. On more occasions than one, the makers compromise basic common sense to deliver scenes that are offensive or plain dangerous. Alisha leaves her six-year-old daughter to be supervised by a male nanny she has met less than 5 minutes ago. On another occasion, the kid volunteers to sleep over at a friend's house so Abhay can get some alone time with her mummy. The morning after she asks him for all the details.

To be entirely honest, I didn't quite understand what the film was trying to say in the first place. That beauty isn't skin deep and that there's more to love than just surface-level attraction? I suppose that's why Alisha ends up with Abhay in the end. But why doesn't the same logic apply to his interest in her? After all I can't think of one reason why anyone would be drawn to Alisha if it isn't for her beauty – she's pretty harebrained, she's not a responsible mother, she has a fake accent, and she dresses like a tart. If you ask me, Abhay's too good for her.

Pyaar Impossible doesn't work because it's hard to empathize with any of the characters and because the actors fail to rise above the flawed script. It's back-breakingly long at two hours and twenty-odd minutes, and I can't remember one single scene that made me smile. The humour is ordinary, and the pre-climax romantic scene in a Mac store is the most embarrassing I can remember in recent times.

For Salim-Suleiman's peppy music score alone, I'm going with one out of five for director Jugal Hansraj's Pyaar Impossible. Indeed, it's impossible to find much love for this film!

Sherlock Holmes Movie Review

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Mark Strong.

Direction: Guy Ritchie.

Rating: 3 / 5

Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes is an irreverent, comic-book take on the adventures of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's cerebral London detective. Robert Downey Jr stars as the beloved private eye who's been reinvented as something of an action hero who leaps out of buildings, dodges explosions, and gets down and dirty in a violent bare-knuckle brawl. Along with his relatively reserved sidekick, the dependable Dr John Watson (played by Jude Law), he still solves crimes for a living, but the pair spends most of their time bickering and sniping like an old married couple.

The film's silly plot involves the villainous Lord Blackwood (played by Mark Strong), who after being arrested and executed for satanic practices in the film's opening scenes, somehow engineers his return from the dead and hatches a nefarious plot to rule the British Empire. Holmes and Watson, of course, must stop him.

Ritchie's film is sheer popcorn entertainment with the kind of blockbuster trappings he's consciously avoided in the past - computer-generated special effects, big action set-pieces, and that pricey 19th century production design. The good thing is there's enough here for his hardcore fans to not feel completely alienated. There's a kinetic energy to the action scenes that's vintage Guy Ritchie, and occasionally he employs his trademark super-slo-mo to the hand-to-hand combat scenes that instantly remind you of the best bits in both Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.

But Sherlock Holmes is a buddy film in the end, and it's the fraternal bromance between Downey and Law that keeps you engaged. Both actors are in excellent form, and their witty banter makes up for everything else that's amiss, including a half-baked track involving Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler, a mysterious woman from Holmes' past.

Too much is happening all at once, and while that does throw you off occasionally, Sherlock Holmes is an enjoyable enough watch for the sheer charm of its two leads. Jude Law delivers a low-key yet elegant performance as Watson, giving his co-star all the room to shine. As the boozing, brawling Holmes, Robert Downey Jr is excellent. With the twitch of an eye or the subtle shift of a smile or a frown, he conveys a variety of feelings, and literally grabs the film from the word go.

I'm going with three out of five for Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes; at best it's a cheeky re-imagination of a British national treasure, but boy it's jolly good fun.

Kandha Kottai Movie Review

casts : Nakul, Poorna, Santhanam, Sampath and others.
Direction : Sakthivel S.
Music : Dheena.
Production : ESK Films, AGS Entertainment.

Nakul’s both the previous films ‘Kadhalil Vizhundhen’ and ‘Maasilamani’ proved to be successful films at box office. Of course, Sun Pictures had publicized the film with greater magnitude thereby increasing the popularity.

But this time, Nakul seems to have geared up for a similar style of ‘Maasilamani’ which fails to impress any centers.

The film is about beating the same bush where hero doesn’t believe in love and later falls for a girl and saves from the trouble.

The film is about Siva (Nakul), who has a great hatred for love and those who’re in love (the character itself reveals about it in the introduction part). On the contrary, Pooja (Poorna) does Vijay ‘Shahjahan’ here as she is ready for any risks to unite the couples in love. These characters encounter each other when Siva’s sister Girija and Poorn’a cousin boy are in love.

Later Siva develops a great affinity for Pooja and falls in love with her and so she does. But the problem strikes when Pooja rejects her friend’s proposal. Unbearable to her denial, he commits suicides and his father (Sampath) sets out to retaliate for the closer ones of Pooja.

Now our hero gets into the picture and wins over the baddie, joining hands with his belle.

The film has nothing to appreciate about. Nakul follows the same patterned performance as in his previous film. Naturally, he’s a good dancer and the song ‘Eppadi Ennul’ he crooned is a feet-tapping number. But it’s annoying to watch him fighting against hefty rowdies.

The audiences are expecting something worth for the money they pay.

Poorna on the other hand overblindly imitates Asin with her gestures, facial expressions, which in no way suits her. We kindly request Poorna to have a better makeover and costume designing and don’t try glamour.

Santhanam cannot afford something different other than passing funny comments, sometimes even clumsy.

Dheena’s musical score doesn’t catch-up our attention while cinematography is okay.

Finally, with a big ticket having hit the screens this weekend, ‘Kandha Kottai’ has no probabilities of get it going successful at box office. Nakul has to change a lot when it comes to choosing the script that has content value.

Vettaikaran Tamil Movie Review

Cast: Vijay, Anushka, Satyan, Salim Ghosh.
Production: Sun Pictures, AVM Productions.
Direction: Babu Sivan.
Music: Vijay Anthony.
Cinematography: Gopinath.
Editing: V.T. Vijay.
Verdict: Below Average.


Vijay’s fate continues – What does this mean? It’s so simple; ‘Vettaikaran’ in no way differs from his pervious films that were dissatisfying for the universal audiences. Vijay follows the same pattern of superman act of jumping from loftiest water falls with just a wound on his knee, yelling with punch dialogues and flying reverse sans gravity effects in stunt sequences.
The day Vijay stops working on these elements, he’s sure to make it big and gain yet more masses towards him. It’s worth mentioning that Vijay had whole lot of female fans, but with most of his recent films merely bounded to violence and punch dialogues, he’s loosing away the attention.
‘Vettaikaran’ has a right mix of Dharani’s ‘Dhill’ (mentor of Babu Sivan), ‘Tirupatchi’ and ‘Bhagavathy’.

The film is about Ravi (Vijay) in Tuticorin, whose only aim is to become a cop just like an IPS officer Rajendran. After passing his 12th std examination after 4 attempts, Ravi heads for Chennai with a big dream of completing his graduation and becoming a cop. He comes across his cherubic girl Susheela (Anushka) and falls in love at first sight with her.

After joining a college in Chennai, Ravi hires an auto from his girl classmate’s father (Manickam Vinayagam) for bread and butter. When things are well and fine, Ravi feels so disappointed as he isn’t able to meet his role model Devraj IPS as his house is always locked. His neighbors reveal that he has fled to Delhi on some mission and will return merely after 6 months, which is not true.
Meanwhile, he comes in for a hand-in-hand combat with a local goon Chella, who handles illegal businesses of his don father Vedanayagam (Salim Ghosh).
What follows next is a series of more clichéd storyline that can be doubtlessly predicted.

As usual Vijay dances well, utters dialogues that favors his fans and ‘Thai Kulam’. But in the second half, he starts beating the same bush of high-pitched punch dialogues. Though they aren’t more in number, the stunt sequences will really annoy you after a certain extent. Anushka, the red-hot girly makes you forget her ‘Arundhathi’ image as she gets into extreme glamour. Of course, she will leave a big lump in your throats out on erotic blast. Salim Ghosh does justice to his role, but is found repeating the same act again and again. Satyan is okay and Shayaji Shinde as a bad-turned-good cop has done a good job. The person taking on the role of Devraj IPS is great though he reminds off Nasser’s similar role in ‘Dhill’.

There are whole lots of absurdities so blatant and Babu Sivan should’ve strictly paid attention to these aspects that would have made the film finer. The second half is too lengthy with already seen ingredients of Vijay Vs Aashish Vidyarthi in ‘Bhagavathy’ and Vijay Vs rowdies in ‘Tirupatchi’. It would’ve been better if Vijay had foreshortened the stunt parts in second half. For God’s sake, he can stop conveying social messages… We’re curiously waiting for some of his best entertainers like ‘Badri’, ‘Youth’ and ‘Ghilli’….

After a long time, almost all the songs in Vijay’s film impress the audiences. Especially, he has completely changed his dancing style from his previous films.
Cinematography isn’t impressive and editing is mediocre.
On whole, Sun Pictures’ vivid promotions may turn this average film into a top-drawer, since it’s far better than some of the previous films that were released by the same production house this year.

Bottom – Line: Vijay’s fate continues

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Release date January 28, 2010

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In theaters 7.May.2010