Film Appreciation

Rang De Basanti: A road movie to self-discovery

2006-01-31T16:09:00.001+04:00

Rang De Basanti
(Hindi)
Cast: Aamir Khan, Siddharth, Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor, Atul Kulkarni, R Madhavan, Alice Patten, Soha Ali Khan, Anupam Kher, Kiron Kher, Waheeda Rahman
Lyrics: Prasoon Joshi
Music: AR Rahman
Cinematography: Binod Pradhan
Story: Kamlesh Pandey
Dialogues: Prasoon Joshi, Rensil Di Silva
Script and direction: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Showing at theatres in Bahrain

Forget the forced idealism of Mani Ratnam’s “Yuva” and Farhan Akhtar’s “Lakshya.” Ignore the preachy, pompous patriotic fervour that lined Ashutosh Gowariker’s “Swades.” Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s “Rang De Basanti” is one of the finest films to roll out of contemporary Bollywood that understands and taps the mindset of India’s burgeoning urban youth.
In a way, “Rang De…” is a road movie into India’s past through the eyes of Generation Next. And Mehra does away with most platitudes and clichés, and brings in a rare wave of freshness that one seldom associates with the melodramatic kitsch that Bollywood has increasingly come to stand for. The protagonists of “Rang De…” are neither plastic nor do they wear the mask of cinematic idealism. They are young and vulnerable - their gullibility being the biggest selling point of the film.
Mehra seamlessly integrates the past with the present, and intelligently juxtaposes India’s fetters under the British rule with the corruption that characterises modern Indian governance - all through the eyes of the youth. Like many good story-lines, “Rang De…” had the possibility of degenerating into thoroughly predictable fare. The film doesn’t thanks to the tight control Mehra exerts on the script.
At three hours, “Range De…” looks a trifle too long. And incidentally, one film that “Range De…” brings to mind is Marco Tullio Giordano’s “The Best of Youth.” And that one is six-hours long. As they say, no good movie is too long.
Mehra’s blend of unabashed fun and yuppie cynicism in the protagonists - DJ (Aamir Khan), Karan (Siddarth), Sukhi (Sharman Joshi) and Aslam (Kunal Kapoor) - is thoroughly true to type. Walk into any Indian university and you will find a cross-section of these prototypes - there is a carefree DJ loitering outside the campus walls; a mellowed Aslam who loves colours and art; a troubled Karan, who finds the solace he doesn’t get at home from his friends; and a clownish Sukhi.
“Rang De…” is journey of self-exploration for not only these men but also for Sue (Alice Patten). She is a British documentary maker who wants to film the revolutionaries of the Indian Independence movement as seen through the eyes of her sympathetic grandfather. She finds her actors in the four men, who are at first unconvinced and then bemused. When Sue declares her intention to pit them as the actors all that DJ can say is: “By God, she speaks Hindi…”
At moments at like these (and there are many such), the camera by Binod Pradhan is so unobtrusive and the script thoroughly natural that the world of DJ and his friends becomes a (virtual) reality. Mehra, indeed, takes his sweet time in telling the story, and you can’t complain, what with Pradhan’s brilliant cinematography that shows India in unseen splendour.
“Rang De…” gives equal footing to the trials and tribulations of Sonia (Soha Ali Khan), whose fiancé, an Indian Air Force pilot Ajay Rathode (R Madhavan) dies in a MiG 21 crash, as well as to Laxman Pandey (Atul Kulkarni), a firebrand political activist who naively believes that his “saffron” party can indeed make a difference to India.
Even as the narrative thread of “Rang De…” shifts to contemporary India following the death of Rathode, it doesn’t break away from the past, and suddenly, the young protagonists find a greater relevance in their lives as well as in those of the countless youngsters who sacrificed their lives for a cause - an independent India.
The final twists in “Rang De…” precariously walk the line of empty platitude but Mehra rescues the film with an ingenious script. What could have been a moody, gloomy trip to hopelessness thus concludes on a note of cheer and hope.
“Rang De…” gives room for all actors to perform. While Aamir Khan exudes the confidence of a seasoned veteran with a loveable Punjabi diction to boot, actors like Siddharth, Kunal Kapoor and Sharman Joshi find their turf unchallenged and romp home with impressive performances. Atul Kulkarni is a natural; Soha Ali Khan finally gets a chance to prove her mettle; and Alice Patten stuns with her sheer grace. After Toby Stephens in “Mangal Pandey,” here is one actress who truly makes a successful “cross over” into Bollywood. Unforgettable, also, is Waheeda Rahman, who faces the death of her son Rathode with the stoicism of a war-widow; and Kiron Kher, as DJ’s mother.
AR Rahman’s music is the unseen, vibrant presence of the film. He enlivens the film with music that takes a life of its own.
“Range De…” in its making, had evoked shades of the path-breaking Hindi film, “Dil Chahta Hai.” Unlike many “DCH” clones that failed to impress, “Rang De…” walks true to its time, and is a proud showcase of Bollywood finally breaking the mould. Here is a must-watch.

Rajeev Nair's reply to Ari Sandel

2006-01-06T14:55:00.001+04:00

Dear Ari

Thanks for the mail and a pleasure to interact and build on the dialogue that has been initiated.
But just to put the record straight, the review wasn't based on our meeting. It was written much earlier than we had met, immediately after a press screening. And as you might have observed, I had asked you precisely the criticisms that I had raised about the film.
We had featured your interview during the film festival itself, and I thought that was a fair way to deal with reviews - giving the director to respond to criticism. Yes, we are aware of the positive vibes your film created in Dubai, and we had even carried a story on that. I will post a link of the interview we did and try to send you across a cutting of the film's reaction here, as it doesn't have a weblink.
Despite my negative tone, as I had admitted to you at the time of the interview, I thought the film's ultimate message was really important. As for attributing the ultimate solution to peace as "simplistic," frankly, that is the reality. Do you at any point in time really, really believe that the Palestinian issue could be easily resolved?
But I do admire your guts to make a film of this nature, foster a debate and kindle the hope that lasting peace is indeed possible.
I must also admit that I agree with you in the observation that yes, perhaps, non-Palestinians might be a bit too harsh in their evaluation of the film becuase at the end of the day, we are outsiders. I am Indian; so obviously my feelings for the cause are coloured by what I read and hear from Palestinians and other Arabs whom I work with and meet.
In fact, the film angered quite a number of the journalists who attended the screening that day, which could have affected my views too. I would defintely revisit the film, and hope to discover a different persepctive.
Ari, I really liked to be proved wrong on this count because eventually it is not my review that matters - but a truly noble cause that you tried to uphold with your film. In that respect, shoving all my ego aside, I would like to say an apology for having been a bit too harsh with the film and you too. I know you are quite well-informed about the conflict.
I will anyway post your reply right at the end of the review so that any misunderstanding my review might have raised is immediately resolved in the minds of the readers.
I wish you all the best and greater courage to come out with hard-hitting films.

Please do check out the interview we had at:
http://www.diff2005reports.blogspot.com/

All the best

Warm regards

Rajeev Nair

Ari Sandel on West Bank Story review

2006-01-06T14:55:00.000+04:00

Dear Rajeev,
I wanted to write and thank you again for sitting with me to discuss my film West Bank Story. I recently had an opportunity to read your article and I must say I was very surprised at how different the tone of the article was from our very friendly interview.
I would like to tell you that I welcome all responses, positive or negative, and invite all to speak freely but I was amazed to see that none of what you asked me was in this article.
You make a lot of judgments about the film but include none of my explanations or answers. It seems to me that you knew what you wanted to write before we sat down and could have done so without an actual interview. That is disappointing. However the real disappointment is that you did not attend any of the real screenings and have therefore missed the true "newsworthy" story - the actual response of Arab audiences. I think you would have been amazed. The film played four times at the festival, more than any other film. It was also the only short to have a Gala screening in the main Arena (the last night).
My opening screening at midnight at the Emirates mall played to about 150 mostly Arab viewers. It was probably the best screening I have ever had! Not because it was all praise but because it was a totally honest and open dialogue about the film and the conflict in general.
Many Arabs, who were speaking on behalf of Palestinians, reacted similarly to the conclusions of your article but many also loved the film and wanted DVD's for their families. We were supposed to have a 10 minute Q & A after the film but it lasted over an hour because no one wanted to leave. Several people voiced their opinion that the film simplified a complicated subject and did not show the true suffering of the people involved. To that I whole-heartedly agreed.
I will say to you the same thing I said to them. This is not an informational film, nor is it designed to provide an historical explanation or a political solution. It is a movie about hope and peace. I believe the film HAS to be simple in order to be a comedy. One has to remove the suffering in order to get off the subject of blame and address the idea of hope. And to address your article, I do not think that making a comedy trivializes the conflict. Instead, it shines a big bright light on the message I focused on - Hope.
I don't think there is anything trivial about that. The validation I received came from the many Palestinians and other Arabs who stood up in the Q & A and defended the film, saying they thought it was hilarious and heartfelt. Several Palestinians came up to me in the mall and at the hotel over the next few days and asked for DVD's. It was amazing and very emotional for me.
The film received applauses after the first dance number and an enthusiastic applause after the Gala screening at the 1000-seat Arena (unusual for that venue). In fact, in the first Q & A, the attitude of the audience members who did not like the film seemed to change when actual Palestinians began defending it. It is very interesting, but it seems that non-Palestinian Arab audiences react more defensively to the film than actual Palestinians.
Perhaps they feel an obligation to defend the Palestinian voice and to speak on their behalf. But I think we don't give enough credit to Palestinians who have lived with this conflict for decades and who feel they are ready to see something new. A Palestinian woman who thanked me for making the film said it was refreshing to see the conflict shown through a new and softer lens. That was exactly my purpose.
Your article failed to mention that my goal was to make a film that countered the hundreds of negative media articles and documentaries that leave viewers with a feeling that there is no hope for solving the conflict. In my heart, I believe there will be peace and that Jews and Arabs can live together - that is the message of this film and to know that message got across to so many Arab viewers is a major success. Certainly there were mixed reactions from audiences in general but I think it is necessary to take into account the gravity if this screening. This is the first time many Arabs have seen this conflict portrayed as anything other than a tragedy so it is a bit of an initial shock to see it as a comedy. However, even to my surprise, I got the same amount of laughs with each screening as I would at say, a screening in California or Spain. It is also the first time most Arabs have seen an Israeli portrayed as anything other than a villain in a film. That is a big deal in a country that does not allow Israelis citizens to visit.
Likewise, for Jewish audiences, it is the first time seeing a film with a Palestinian who is not a terrorist. I have received similar comments from both Jews and Arabs but once people realize that this film is not meant to represent either side's cause, instead it represents Hope, people who dislike the film begin to look at it differently. Your article speaks of the simplicity of the film but your review is equally simplistic.
I feel compelled to make it clear that the wall is not a "joke" to me nor is the suffering of either side in this conflict. In fact I remember you asking me that question and I specifically said that. The film also does not say that Jews and Muslims can "only" live together in Beverly Hills. It uses Beverly Hills to prove that they "Can" live together since so many doubt that it is even possible. That is probably the most well-received joke in the film that almost always gets a huge applause. Even people who have a negative opinion of the film love this joke because they know its true.
I appreciate your comments but you totally miss the point with the entire film and had the audiences agreed with you I would concede and tell you that what you have written is correct. However, I strongly encourage anyone writing about this film to attend a screening and see for themselves what people think about this film and its reaction.
The purpose of my letter is not to argue with your own opinions but tell you that you missed a unique opportunity to report on something new and different. Instead of focusing on the same cynicism about the conflict that we have seen for decades I wish your article could have conveyed some of these positive results.
I think your readers would have found it refreshing and insightful to learn that the notion of peace is still embraced by Jews, Arabs, and people around the world

Sincerely,
Ari Sandel
Director
West Bank Story

West Bank Story

2005-12-07T18:42:00.000+04:00

Love that heals

Can romance blossom in the midst of aggression? And can that love between two individuals heal the pain of strife? West Bank Story, a musical comedy to be screened at Dubai International Film Festival addresses the issue

Simplistic. Shallow. Wacky. Belittling. Breezy. Frivolous. West Bank Story is bound to evoke mixed reactions. And there is one word which certainly wouldn't fit its premise: Profound.
Conceived by Ari Sandel to fulfil his MFA programme at the University of Southern California's School of Cinema and Television, West Bank Story has been the toast of many film festivals, alright.
But doesn't it tackle a very tricky situation and, in an effort to be wickedly funny, tend to trivialise biting, every-day realities?
The Wall isn't a joke for Palestinians. It is, apparently, for Sandel. The ignominy of frisking isn't funny for Palestinians. Looks like, it is for Sandel.
That, put above, is perhaps an unkind cut to what is essentially a student film, which tried to approach a grave issue with the least expected of tools: Music and comedy.
For people far removed from the Middle East crisis, perhaps the Romeo and Juliet adaptation in West Bank turf might appear a charming attempt at social satire. But will it curry favour among those exposed to the pain and misery of living with guns, barbed wires and bombs? Doubtful.
If you can shut out these realities and are willing to travel to a make-believe, mock-believe world of simplistic actions and reactions, yes, West Bank Story is 21 minutes of breezy viewing. Somehow West Bank Story demands that you take it all easy.
After all, you don't get to see Israeli soldiers falling in love with charming Palestinian waitresses elsewhere. You don't get to watch the entire Palestine crisis defragmented down to two rigid identities in the form of competing falafel restaurants, Hummus Hut and Kosher King. And surely, you won't get to watch "walls" coming up and going down because love triumphs over the rest.
Despite its satirical moorings, West Bank Story, however, manages to touch a chord — for a simple reason. You wish ardently that — love or not — these conflicts should be resolved, that peace should prevail. And here is an alternate take from Sandel, who is also billed to have an in-depth knowledge of Islam and Judaism.
But West Bank Story's proposed solution is the momentary peace of a hunger-satiated stomach. Sandel leaves you with a smack on your conscience for being gullible enough to believe him that love can heal.
(Spoiler alert). Hear the film's parting salvo: Muslims and Jews can live in harmony, yes, but only in Beverley Hills.
The film couldn't have held so well, technically or structurally, without its musical format. Perhaps, as is expressed in the title, the film is Sandel's tribute to the seminal West Side Story (1961) starring Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood.
Ben Newmark as David, the Israeli soldier, and Noureen DeWulf (seen in National Lampoon's Pledge This with Paris Hilton) as Fatima, the waitress, bring in the innocence of love-struck youngsters — and in their silent romance lies the only endearing truth of the film. The rest are frills — often drawn out to over-stress a point and drive home the satire.
Does West Bank Story make great cinema? Definitely not. Does it make good, easy viewing? Yes. And can it build bridges? Let's hope it would.
That is as kind as you can get with this film.
— Rajeev Nair

Box

West Bank Story
Cast: Ben Newmark, Noureen DeWulf, AJ Tannen, Joey Naber, Assaf Cohen
Music: Yuval Ron
Cinematography: Gavin Kelly
Editing: Avi Youabian
Written by: Kim Ray, Ari Sandel
Direction: Ari Sandel

Deewana Huye Paagal (Hindi - Audio)

2005-12-07T16:45:00.000+04:00

Lyrics: Sameer
Music: Anu Malik
Film directed by Vikram Bhatt
T Series (QRC)

What happens when a music composer gets carried away by a false belief in his own vocal skills? The result is one tragedy of an audio compilation called Deewana Huye Paagal. Anu Malik needs an urgent restraint and the clutch of songs he so self-indulgently sings for the album is reason enough.
Trying his age-old stunts of recycling his own beats and melodies as well as seeking inspiration from his contemporaries, Malik is on his own trip here. And it is hardly inspiring stuff. For the fun film that Deewana Huye Paagal is Malik’s opening track that blends bhangra rhythm with hip-hop and rap is foot-tapping but the vocal interruptions by the composer are hardly impressive. He continues on the same vein with Meri Jane Jigar that opens fairly well as a well-composed melody but soon degenerates into another Malik show of limited vocal prowess. Malik also dons the Suthradhar’s hat for Vivek Oberoi. He tries hard to imitate Big B and of course fails.
A little relief comes with Shaan, Kunal Ganjawala and Krishna singing Aisi Umar Mein but the song is hardly a refreshing composition. And it is tiresomely long – the song would have suited some 80s flick with all those predominant retro Rock influences.
Malik takes centrestage again with Chakle Chakle that is remixed on the flip side. The song has some interesting interludes. After enduring another round of Suthradhar glib talk that gives away much of the film’s story-line, Malik gives way to Shaan and Sunidhi Chauhan for a foot-tapping number, which has rip-off elements scattered all over its body.
On the whole, Deewana Huye Paagal tries too hard to be sane and doesn’t really succeed.

Bluffmaster (Hindi - Audio)

2005-12-07T16:44:00.000+04:00

Bluffmaster
Music: Vishal Shekhar, Trickbaby, Arash, Aneela Mirza and Sameerudhin
Film directed by Ramesh Sippy
Vanilla Music

It doesn’t take too many aspiring composers to wreck a jewel of a song from the past. Bluffmaster proves it. Starting with Trickbaby’s remix version of the earthy, hearty song, Sabse Bada Rupaiyaah sung by Mehmood, the album tries hard to be different. And it shows. The songs seriously lack identity despite digging into the archives and bringing in all sorts of actors’ voices including that of Abhishek Bachchan’s into the sound track.
What is at best a naïve DJ’s wild attempt at getting the dancefloor kick-started, Bluffmaster starts to wear you down with clichéd DJ beats. And eventually the only winning track in the album is Arash’s Buro Buro, a Farsi number that is a chart-buster in Europe. So what is this pot-pourri of music mix-and-match trying to do? Make a statement? Flaunt an attitude? Either ways, the album has little recall value. It almost saddens to hear Mehmood’s voice trailing out from afar trying to stand out from the din caused by what Trickbaby believes is modern beats.
Say Na works because it doesn’t tamper with the formula of bhangra pop. The song is foot-tapping with the female singer imparting a distinct nasal tone – perhaps another deliberate effort to be different. Sameerudhin spins the Destiny remix, which is a perfect carbon copy of the retro, far-away sounds Bally Sagoo had successfully tried in his earlier remixes.
Vishal and Shekhar compose Right here, right now with Abhishek Bachchan and Sunidhi Chauhan on the vocals. Well Junior B doesn’t have the senior’s baritone; the song is rather flat-toned and at times irks with its contrived slow pace. On the flip side is a hip-hop mix. Trickbaby composes Nine Parts of Desire, which is more like a desi afterthought in a rock album. Why these pretensions please?
And so welcome the winner of the pack, Arash’s Buro Buro with some truly infectious Middle Eastern beats and easy-on-ears lyrics. Rock along - this one is going to ignite the charts. The flip side sustains the remix hangover with the composers cutting new versions of their own remixes.
Bluffmaster’s songs are ideal for the dancefloor and perhaps might work well on-screen. For sheer listening pleasure, it is hardly the right material.

Raajamanickam (Malayalam)

2005-12-07T16:41:00.000+04:00

Mammootty rocks

Film Review
Raajamanickam
(Malayalam)
Cast: Mammootty, Manoj K Jayan, Salim Kumar, Sai Kumar, Rahman, Cochin Haneefa, Padmapriya, Sindhu Menon
Script: TA Shahid
Music: Alex Paul
Direction: Anwar Rasheed

More than Mammootty, the true hero of Raajamanickam is the unique “Thirontharam” slang of Malayalam language commonly spoken in southern Kerala. After successfully delivering the Kottayam slang for super-hits films like Kottayam Kunjachan, Mammootty freaks out with the Thiruvananthapuram dialect in the film, which otherwise has little else to showcase.
A very ordinary thriller, Raajamanickam derives its strength from the characterisation of Mammootty — his flashy costumes, loud mannerisms, and best of all, the rustic dialect. It isn’t unusual in Malayalam cinema to have the heroes deliver their lines with rustic intonations. Mammootty had earlier successfully worked out the dialect of the fishermen folk in Amaram. Mohanlal charmed audiences with his Trichur dialect in Thoovanathumbikal. Otherwise it was largely left to the comedians to raise laughter by mimicking the various dialects. Jagathi Sreekumar and Oduvil Unnikrishnan had attempted a celebration of the southern Kerala dialect to hilarious results in Mattuppetty Machaan.
But the beauty of Mammootty’s Bellary Raja, a buffalo dealer, in Raajamanickam is not merely in the way he flashes rustic usages with flourish. It is in his overall body language, which has relaxed considerably. He effectively replicates the “azhagiya Raavanan” (pompous) effect yet lending respect to the character. The end-result is a breezy entertainer that offers undiluted fun.
There has little novelty value to the story. A mother denies love and recognition to her son out of compulsions that aren’t clearly delineated; the boy walks into the wide world and makes it big. Giving the film a twist, the son doesn’t return to his village on his free will. He has been entrusted the care of all properties by his step-father, who dies a painful death after his own son and daughter turn against him for petty gains. The hero thus finds himself aligned against not only his step-brother but also his childhood foes. How he metes out revenge for his step-father’s death and also fulfils his wishes make the film.
But the wafer-line plot gets abundant cinematic strength thanks to the debutant director’s understanding of cinema as a medium that ought, first, to communicate not confuse. There are clearly drawn out characters; there are no ambiguous ends. Nor is there any doubting that the hero is out there to play second fiddle to anyone.
And thus Raajamanickam becomes an unabashed celebration of Mammootty, who rocks with his style, confidence and attitude. There is no doubt that Mohanlal could have delivered the Thiruvananthapuram slang better (in fact, Mammootty, on at least two counts, finds his lingo moving the Amaram way). But Bellary Raja is made for Mammootty. While Mohanlal’s easy charm would have given it a different identity, it is the almost awe-inspiring and imposing presence of Mammootty that gives the character that extra dimension.
In the supporting cast, enough opportunity is given for Rahman and Bheeman Raghu to strike a chord with the audience. But it is Manoj K. Jayan who stands up to Mammootty and delivers another memorable performance. The immensely talented guy has truly reinvented is career. Sai Kumar, despite the television hangover and theatrics, is impressive.
The only handicap with the southern lingo is that it doesn’t pack a punch when it comes to sentiments, which explains the mad rush by the serial makers to feature the Valluvanadan dialect in their productions. Mammootty indeed struggles with the diction in the few sentimental moments and he unintentionally slips into over-acting mode. But that is minor blemish in an otherwise stellar performance meant to do nothing else but entertain.
Watch Raajamanickam. Have a good laugh.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta (DVD)

2005-11-23T17:40:00.000+04:00

Power of love

Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Cast: Olivia Hussey, Sebastiano Somma, Michael Mendl, Laura Morante, Ingrid Rubio
Music: Guy Farley
Cinematography: Giovanni Galasso
Editing: Alessandro Lucidi
Direction: Fabrizio Costa
Written by: Massimo Cerofolini and Francesco Scardamaglia
Front Row Entertainment

A stubborn lady who speaks her mind, stands her ground and finds no comfort zone in institutional procedures…
A kind-hearted woman who believes in love as worship and discovers in prayers the ultimate answer…
A simple soul who works to allay the suffering of humanity in her own little way…
All these are the images of Mother Teresa that the film, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, leave behind on the viewers. The film, featuring Olivia Hussey, in the title role, sticks to Mother’s life faithfully. And the mind-blowing tale of that remarkable human being, who has left behind a legacy hard to replicate, gives the film strength — in content.
From where the filmmakers take over, in the execution of her tale, and in finding a narrative structure to the film, the results are, however, hardly impressive. Sad, indeed. How one wishes that a far more accomplished filmmaker, say in the league of Richard Attenborough, had attempted to portray the life of Mother Teresa on to the big screen.
Director Fabrizio Costa’s attempts are sincere alright but he falls prey to too many clichés. Not nit-picking here, but one of the biggest irritant in the film is the sight of all Indian women walking around in bunches of white and orange flowers.
Even the beggars, even the tired old lady who is idling in her broken down home’s backyard, the lady reporters – every one has flowers on their hair. Sorry Mr Costa, this is Calcutta, not Chennai, down south, where jasmine flowers are more common (but certainly not this rampant) and what are those Tamil film posters featuring MGR and Shivaji Ganesan, south Indian stars, doing up there in 1950s Calcutta?
Costa fails to capture the ambience, and the seeming anachronism of the frames soon starts to bog you down. In the deluge of clichés — villainous Indian bureaucrats, beggars stretching out their palms in unison — there is only one saving grace: The individuality of the frail looking Mother Teresa effortlessly captured by Olivia Hussey. A body language of urgency, the kindness in the eyes, Hussey gets them all perfect. If only she had the support of a better art direction and a more visionary director, who could have done away with amateurish shots.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta centers on the life of Mother from her early convent days in Calcutta to her death. In all fairness, Costa must have faced an uphill task in collating the significant moments from Mother’s life. The film touches on a number of them including the media controversies regarding fund management and child adoption. The weak point is the execution. The sight of a British television reporter urging his cameraman to “shoot it, get it all,” is outright childish.
On final count, despite the hiccups in the film’s structure, it is hard not to be moved by the film. The final takes that expound Mother’s simple philosophies — to love, to give, to share — touch a chord.
But that isn’t the success of the filmmakers. It is the magic that Mother Teresa leaves on your lives. For that experience, yes, the DVD is worth a watch.

Sauda (Hindi - Video)

2005-11-02T14:13:00.000+04:00

Awry ambitions

Sauda - The Deal
Cast: Sanjay Kapoor, Preeti Jhangiani, Aryan Vaid, Suman Ranganathan
Lyrics: Praveen Bharadwaj
Music: Anand - Milind
Direction: Jai Prakash
T Series (QRC)

Sauda - the Deal is Bollywood's umpteenth take on Indecent Proposal, and it simply goes sleaze-happy. In what is arguably the most crucial moment of the film, millionaire Vijay Oberoi (Sanjay Kapoor) says: "Every businessman looks into profit and loss before making an investment."
What profit did Sauda's makers see in this production is not hard to guess. With a curvaceous Suman Ranganathan, ready to dare and bare, the formula was simple: Sell it all cheap. Sauda, heartless and crude, does it without an iota of self-respect.
Indeed, self-respect and integrity are sorely lacking in this skin-flick, which has the hero, Sameer (Aryan Vaid), falling for the indecent proposal Oberoi puts forth to him. Devika (Preeti Jhangiani), the "commodity" in this trade is not keen to oblige.
But the deal has more to Oberioi's lust — after all, he is simply an art and artist lover. The "facilitator" of the deal, Monica (Suman Ranganathan), must wreck the happy marriage of Sameer and Devika because back in college, she was madly in love with Sameer. Pushing immoral tactics to new levels, Monica tries to corner Devika, which takes you to a gory climax akin to Daar meets Baazigar.
Millions are doled out by the film's protagonists like nobody's business. Money has little value; so has human dignity. Whatever little redemption comes in the final twist to an otherwise "all's well that ends well" tale.
Performances aren't the highlight of this film. Locations are. Shot almost entirely in Dubai (for no particular reason), the film is watchable if only to see familiar jaunts like Bur Dubai and the creekside on the big screen. But that isn't enough lure to watch a battered tale.

Udayananu Thaaram (Malayalam)

2005-10-26T16:01:00.000+04:00

Good dose of black humour

Film Review
Udayananu Thaaram
Starring: Mohanlal, Sreenivasan, Jagathi Sreekumar, Mukesh, Salim Kumar, Indrans, Meena, Bhavana
Lyrics: Kaithapram
Music: Deepak Dev
Story: Sreenivasan, Roshan Andrews
Screenplay, dialogues: Sreenivasan
Direction: Roshan Andrews
(Showing at theatres in the UAE)

Udayananu Thaaram makes headlines for all the right reasons. A black humour on the state of the current "crisis-ridden" Malayalam film industry, the film's proceedings are to be taken for the larger context they stand for than its twists and turns per se.
For a fault, there are countless loopholes in the film; Sreenivasan doesn't bother to cover them. He doesn't have to — for the simple reason that he treats the film as a vehicle to mouth his anger against the "super-stars" whom he squarely blames for pushing the industry into a deep abyss.
He taunts them, the super-stars, at all quarters; he takes swipes at Mammootty (through some mannerisms), Mohanlal (with comments on actors endorsing parathas and pappadam), Suresh Gopi (by insisting on being the all-out action hero, who walks away after beating villains to pulp in slow motion) and Dileep (by striking CID Moosa poses and mocking at his hit titles). In fact, he spares no one. And that is the heart of this film. It showcases Sreenivasan in top-form — a trifle too much, for a fault. But then, for an audience numbed with pedestrian fare, any wake-up call better be loud and clear.
Sreenivasan is assertive in his final statement with the film that stars are made by talented directors. His enthusiasm to drive home the point should explain the many contrived edges to the story and the loud acting of some of the protagonists in the film. But such peripheral faults or not, what Sreenivasan deserves is a nice round of applause for his sheer guts.
Yes, he gets carried away. He takes factual liberties; the climax is contrived; it isn't even convincing. And even Sreenivasan cannot turn his back to the song-dance routine that hikes up the cost of Malayalam films. The main narrative of the film — the marital discord of a struggling filmmaker, Udayabhanu (Mohanlal) — starts pretty well and then sags. But yet, Sreenivasan gets away with it all — the seasoned professional that he is.
Just as the film, for its content, belongs to Sreenivasan, it is also a true showcase of the actor, Mohanlal. He simply is Udayabhanu, nothing less, nothing more. In his sterling performance is a silent retort to Sreenivasan too: No matter what you say about superstars, cinema is a team-exercise where talented superstars can indeed make a difference.
If superstars were indeed the bane of the industry, why did Sreenivasan, who would have had tremendous clout over the producer and director, still decide to rope in Mohanlal? Sreenivasan knows, and he wants the audiences also to know, that stardom too is part of the game that is cinema.
There is hardly a great story-line for Udayananu Thaaram. But the moment the opening credits close with the camera-eye turned straight onto the audience, and Sreenivasan steps in as a narrator, the film dares to be different, to be a true visual experience.
Sreenivasan lends tribute to the strugglers, who fail to make it big in cinema through Udayabhanu, whose dream of becoming an independent director is shattered when a highly ambitious actor Rajappan (Sreenivasan) steals his dream-script. Rajappan convinces a producer (Cochin Haneefa) and gets ace-director Prathapan (Lohitadas) to direct him. Of course, Rajappan, now Saroj Kumar, will play the lead.
For his transition, Rajappan also owes to Pachalam Bhasi (Jagathi Sreekumar), a dancer who teaches not just nine but 12 emotions (and what a show by the incredible actor! The extra rasas from Jagathi are inimitable. Take a bow, Sreekumar. You are one of a kind.)
Meanwhile, Udayabhanu has to bear the emotional baggage unloaded by Madhumathi (Meena), an actress who got her first role thanks to him. The top-notch heroine is bored with the clichéd fare in cinema; she is also taunted by his father and brother — a rather oblique reference to the Meera Jasmine episode, where the actress had to take refuge with the police to escape the "greed" of her parents.
Udayabhanu is shattered when he learns of Rajappan's cruelty; he also is forced to protect Madhu. They get married. But with no doors opening, Udayan sinks into self-destruction. Meena deserts him to boot.
Help comes from a kind-hearted producer, Babykuttan (Mukesh), who agrees to do a film for Udayan. But he must relent to cast Saroj Kumar, and so starts another round of undiluted Sreeni show — hilarious, hard-hitting, sometimes, over the board.
While Sreenivasan deserves much of the credit for the film, there is no denying the fact that first-time director Roshan Andrews shows a thorough professional's flair. He gets his cast and crew going in true spirit to the script, and together the effort is laudable.
Every character in the film makes a mark — that is the success of Sreenivasan, who has a firm finger on the character build-up. Memorable moments come from Saleem Kumar as a struggling actor who gets a break when Udayan gets his director assignment; Mukesh; and even Indrans in a two-bit role as a production executive — indeed, you meet such guys.
Sreenivasan’s utter practicality about life, as it is, as it comes, is reflected in his dialogues. He doesn’t paint his characters in black and white — at least not the main protagonists. They have their failings too.
Udayananu Tharam, for the uninitiated to Malayalam cinema’s ways, must be taken with a pinch of salt — there are gaping holes in the story and the cinematic build-up. But for those who love a good laugh, and love to see Sreenivasan policing the rest of his peers (and even himself too), this one is a must-see. If only to watch Jagathi Sreekumar’s “extra rasas…”

War and Love (Malayalam - Video)

2005-10-26T16:00:00.000+04:00

A war on viewers

Video Review
War and Love
Starring: Dileep, Prabhu, Siddique, Vijayaragahvan, Sai Kumar, Kalabhavan Mani, Indraja, Laila
Lyrics: Yousefali Kecheri
Music: Mohan Sithara
Cinematography: Azhagappan
Editing: G Murali
Script, dialogues: Vinayan, J Pallasheri
Story, direction: Vinayan
Tetco Video

Much-delayed in its production, War and Love created just about a flutter at the box-office — and that thanks to Dileep's prevailing super-star status. The film on its own is so utterly contrived, it is an open war by Vinayan on viewer sensibilities.
In the name of patriotism, the director goes all out spewing burning vitriol that heals no wounds and digs into the ones that two nations now look determined to leave behind. The only relief about the whole proceedings is that the actors seem to have had some fun at the expense of the director — such is their half-hearted show. Even talented actors look like utter amateurs lost in situations they have no clue how to enact.
War and Love is strictly formula stuff. It starts with off with a show of patriotism, it ends pretty much on the same note, with the director adding on some cross-border romance and secular comments for added effect. Otherwise, it follows a pattern of firing guns, a gush of tears, exploding bombs, loud-mouthed and monotonous villains... And then there are the songs sprinkled wherever Vinayan feels like.
Every one in the film's regiment of Indian soldiers happen to be Keralites. They were seen together at the engagement reception of their senior officer, Sarath Chandran (Prabhu). Now, along with his fiancee Hema (Indraja) they are at the warfront. They have saved one village from "enemy" hands, but a traitor in the army leads them to an ambush.
All of them (Dileep, Kalabhavan Mani, Siddique, Sadique, Jagadish etc) are captured; they are tortured and made to work like slaves. But then Dileep, having saved the honour of Laila, the opposition head's daughter, finds time to romance, even as his compatriots die or are killed for their loyalty to their country.
Meanwhile, there is a missile to be defused, and militant groups to be handled, which is all entrusted to Vijayaraghavan, who has managed to penetrate a militant organisation. After many songs, dances, patriotic dialogues, and what not, some heroes die as patriots, some live to become motivational speakers. In Vinayan's world, there are only shades of black and white, and there is also an abundance of melodrama. Much of the film is pretty laughable — the scenes, the sets, the situation, the acting, the direction — all look immature.
Among the plethora of actors, only Vijayaraghavan manages to leave an impression — he has an author-backed role too. Prabhu is adequate; Dileep is simply out of place. Kalabhavan Mani, Jagadish et al go by the grind.
War and Love is taxing; how much it would have taxed its producer as he watched his cash go up as smoke and fire...

Yathrakkarude Sraddaykku (Malayalam - Video)

2005-10-26T15:27:00.000+04:00

A clean entertainer

Yathrakkarude Sradhaykku
Starring: Jayaram, Innocent, Sreenivasan, Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Siddique, TP Madhavan, Soundarya
Music: Johnson
Editing: K Rajagopal
Cinematography: Vipin Mohan
Story: GB Vijay
Screenplay, dialogues: Sreenivasan
Direction: Sathyan Anthikkadu

YATHRAKKARUDE Sradhaykku is a clean film, and thankfully, it respects the audience. In an era, when Malayalam film-makers have decided that Keralites are a nonsensical bunch who would laugh their heads off at any inanity, and since they do not have much choice they would flock to the theatres to see whatever trash they dish out, YS comes through as a welcome change.
Don't call the film great, and surely, even Sreenivasan would not have wholeheartedly approved a best-script award for the film (which is now the twist in the tale of the Kerala state film award controversy, with the so-called intellectual film-maker Sarath, who triggered the controversy-chain, suggesting that even he would have welcomed such an award). But, YS is a refreshing change, and its success is a reflection that Malayalam cinema can indeed return to 'normalcy.'
Ramanujam (Jayaram) works in Chennai, and meets Jyothi (Soundarya) on a train journey. She has just fetched a job in the city, and the turn of events force her to eventually share Ramanujam's apartment. Fine.
When Jyothi announces her engagement to Pradeep (Siddique), Ram is shattered for doesn't he discover that he is in love with her. However, goaded by his friend Paul (Innocent) to overcome whatever feeling he has for her, Ram travels down for her marriage, which is when things turn topsy-turvy. The film takes a new turn, and now the Ram-Jyothi relationship has acquired a new dimension, which taxes both of them.
While the story-line, in its essence, is not entirely fresh, the treatment is definitely novel. The settings, the straight-forward approach, and sincere performances from the actors make the film a delightful view. The characters have a clear identity, and they behave like normal individuals, who have their share of pains, sufferings and frustrations. Filmy situations raise their head at key moments, but Sreenivasan has handled them cleverly to convey a sense of reality.
The film greatly benefits from the superb performance of Jayaram. While the role of Ram is not exactly challenging for the actor, and he has done the act many a time before, he injects a certain freshness. Above all, he makes a jovial and sincere Ram, an essential in the build-up of the character.
While Soundarya delivers an impressive performance, her built is not exactly made for a young, unmarried girl who lands her first job. The oddity is aggravated by some clumsy costumes that give her the appearance of a rude spinster than a lovely maiden.
Innocent is adequate, and let us excuse Sathyan for under-utilising a horde of actors including Nedumudi Venu (who hardly looks the retired colonel, at best he is a retired head-master), Siddique and Sreeraman. Oduvil Unnikrishnan makes an impression with his Satyan's beedi bit.
And when it comes to the one who must have made all the impression, YS offers a disappointment. It's Sreenivasan, who conceived for himself an ill-etched role that is hardly an essential in the narrative. Sreenivasan, however, compensates it by some quick wit. The dig at Mohanlal and the general level of comedy are vintage Sreeni.
Pleasing songs, intelligent editing and a mood-based camera make the film as good as it goes.
YS marks the return of good cinema, and it happens to come from one of the finest gentlemen in Malayalam cinema. Who else but Sathyan?

Kuberan (Malayalam - Video)

2005-10-26T15:25:00.000+04:00

Another unfunny comedy

Kuberan
Starring: Dileep, Mohan, Jagathi Sreekumar, Kalabhavan Mani, Harisree Ashokan, Indrans, Samyukta Varma, Umashankari
Lyrics: Girish Puthenchery
Music: Mohan Sithara
Editing: L Bhoominathan
Cinematography: Saloo George
Story, screenplay and dialogues: VC Ashok
Direction: Sundardass
Thomsun Video

DILEEP must be having all the luck on his side. To act in a film like Kuberan that makes a tease of your sensibilities, especially at a time when his star-status is on the ascent, and get away with a hit, needs ample doses of sheer luck. Probably, here is a film that fetched house-full audiences thanks to Dileep. One that offers an explanation for all the hue and cry the film industry makes about labelling actors as super-stars.
A hotch-potch of yesteryear Malayalam film hits, Kuberan has very little humour. If you like to laugh at crude, over-the-top comedy, here is your kind of film - one that throws all logic to wind, and banks heavily on the star-value of its actors. Director Sundardass, whose sole credit to fame and credibility is still his debut film (scripted by Lohitadas), Sallapam, has roped in such 'rib-tickling' names as Jagathi Sreekumar, Kalabhavan Mani, Harisree Ashokan, and crowned it with the antics of Dileep, but hey, where did all the laughs go?
Siddharthan (Dileep) is a kind soul, who has adopted three little children, who were left on the wayside by their mother. They hire out a big bungalow for one day every month, and live life king-size. Possible, if rich men hire simpleton domestic helps like the ones portrayed by Harisree Ashokan and Indrans. Sid has a lover in Uma Shankari, and every things is fine until Samyukta Varma makes her appearance. She plays the daughter of the household, and immediately Dileep and Varma find themselves at loggerheads.
It turns out that Varma has a serious domestic issue, and to escape from the unpleasantness of it all, she feigns to have chipped her marbles, and decides that Sid makes a good husband. The cat-and-mouse game continues, there are the customary dream-songs and stale jokes. To cut a long (meaningless) story short, a villain (the umpteenth version of Mohanlal's Narendran in Manjil Virinja Pookal) makes his entry, and the customary climax fight follows.
So who gets who? Will Dileep marry Shankari? What happens to Varma? And what happens to the bungalow? These form the rest of a film that tries and tests your patience in no mean measure.
Cashing in on the new-found super-star status of Dileep, Sundardass adorns him all sorts of costumes. Dileep goes through the grind and offers nothing exciting. He plays the typical I'm-meek-but-I-can-fight back hero with the customary innocence and vulnerability, which is growing a bit too jaded. Samyukta Varma hardly makes an impression, and Uma Shankari has little to do but smile and carry around her pretty face. The horde of comedy actors makes no impact, and if you laugh at some of their antics, count yourself lucky.
Coorg makes for a beautiful location (remember Innale?) but is hardly put to use effectively except to can the now-routine Minsarav Kanavu and Sound of Music frames. Mohan Sithara's music is pleasing on the ears but the less said the better of the choreography.
Kuberan is a contrived, laboured comedy, and if comedy in Malayalam cinema takes this track, before long the state would be what a wise soul decried it to be many years back. Well, probably, our film-makers have already reached that level of absolute nirvana.

Mutham (Tamil - Video)

2005-10-26T15:24:00.000+04:00

Gigabyte disaster

Mutham
(Tamil)
Starring: Arun Kumar, Charulatha, Sathyan, Jennifer, Madhanpap
Music: Bharani
Screenplay, dialogue, direction: Dr SA Chandrasekharan
Melodious Video

'EMOTIONAL decisions lead to disaster...' is the message (?) of Mutham, directed by Dr SA Chandrasekharan, now better referred to as the father of Vijay. It sure was an emotional decision to make the movie. It is disaster from the word go, not just in content but in treatment and acting as well. As for the viewers, what must have been emotional about watching the flick and enduring a disaster?
Just as he dipped his son (during the early days of Vijay's career) and scantily clad starlets in swimming pools, seas, and ponds, Dr Chandrasekharan makes every protagonist of his — they are a handful to endure — drench sufficiently for no reason apart from some titillation value.
And hey, didn't we forget? Mutham is supposed to be the first digital movie ever made in India. Do we have to redefine 'digital' to mean crass, crude humour, and filter-rich photography, the kind that was dumped years earlier by self-respecting filmmakers. There are some graphic animation but hardly the sort that has vow value.
Joe and Sudha love each other but Joe is an orphan, and Sudha the daughter of a politician, who is about to become a minister. Since their living together is out of question under threat from the villainous father, they and a clutch of friends travel extensively and reach a tourist bungalow in Kerala. On the way, you can hear one of the protagonists making that suggestion, which the film producers on the first hand did not take heed: Yes, the one about emotional decisions.
Despite being warned they stay on, and soon one by one the friends are killed. Finally, Arun and Charulatha are left to learn the grim details about their friends' death, and also to learn, along with the audiences, that Dr Chandrasekharan wisdom: "Emotional blah, blah, blah..."
The film lacks grace, punch or novelty. The songs may have some value on their own but watching them in the film is pretty tedious a task. If painting a wash of outrageous colours is creative choreography, forgive the world's ignorance.
A clearly unimaginative piece of work, Mutham denies rightful fame to the rightfully 'digital' movies to be made in India, and ends up as a sad foot-note in Tamil film history.

Bagavathi (Tamil - Video)

2005-10-26T15:23:00.000+04:00

Larger than life; far from captivating

Bagavathi
(Tamil)
Starring: Vijay, Vadivelu, Aashish Vithyarthi, Reema Sen, Monica, Seema
Music: Deva
Dialogues: Pattukotai Prabhakar
Editing: VT Vijayan
Cinematography: R Rathnavelu
Story, screenplay, direction: A Venkatesh
Melodious Video

BAGAVATHI is a celebration of Vijay. But it goes over the top, and ends up as an unconvincing, loud, cinematic exercise, leaving the "Ilaya Thalapathi" with no one else but himself to blame for the rather sad predicament of his films, including Bagavathi, at the box-office. How easily are these young heroes duped to believe that they have the kind of charisma and pulling-power boasted by Rajanikanth and Kamal Haasan!
Ajith and Vijay, two promising actors, no doubt, have both found their successful careers suddenly looking not all that rosy because they took their success for granted, and the star-worship of crazy fans as something sort of a reality. The two tasted success with well-made films, and now, falsely believing that they have an image that is larger-than-life they create such duds like Bagavathi and Villain.
As for Bagavathi, a whole lot of things seems to have gone wrong. Not the dances of Vijay of course. Without those rivetting numbers the film would have been an altogether wash-out.
Start with the story: It treads the path that all gangster-rowdy movies have taken, and the conversion of a tea-stall owner (Vijay) to a tough, shoot-to-kill goon is unbelievable and far-fetched. And the kind of stunts he does are nothing but unconvincing gimmicks, which the audience have for long now learnt to recognise for all its hollowness.
Bagavathi has all the routine formula elements too, all trying to create a super-hero image for Vijay: He fights policemen for the poor; he is full of principles, he has rich girls falling for him, and above all, he is a doted brother. And when his brother, Guna (Jai), falls for the charms of Priya (Monica), the daughter of Ishwara Pandi MA, LLB, MP, BA, Higher Secondary, etc, etc. — which Aashish Vithyarthi takes much pain to speak them all out in one stretch — trouble erupts. Guna is killed, and Bagavathi, the avenger is born.
And script-writer, director A Venkatesh makes it as confusing as possible. Priya is expecting — surely, a baby-boy, his brother, asserts Bagavathi — and Ishwara Pandi wants to make sure that nothing of that sort happens. It is open war now. Bagavathi vows to protect his to-be-born nephew, and Pandi is all set to wipe out his grandson. The clash involves bombs shaped as apples, frighteningly big knives, guns, bombs, car chases, and what not. Finally, we reach the much-hyped train climax, another 'stunt.' Pass the bag of salt please.
Here is a film that conjures up the least creative of situations to squeeze in a song. Do you need Vijay to have Viagra tablets to break into a song/dance dream sequence? Downright silly is the word.
Vijay tries to be convincing and endearing and tough and what not. But he makes a sad spectacle as he shouts at the top of his voice as he steers a train (nothing less) into 4x4s. Reema Sen as his lover has little to do but dance around. Aashish Vithyarthi makes a hateful villain, of course.
Credit for foot-tapping music could have been handed over to Deva had one of the chart-busting songs not been lifted from Telugu. The film has a jaded, worn-out look, which could possibly be a reflection of the creative bankruptcy that ruled its makers.
Bagavathi has a gun on a tea-glass on its title-card. But it isn't even a storm in the tea-cup. Just a mild ripple. Must have been the desert winds.

Kasthoorimaan (Malayalam - Video)

2005-10-26T15:20:00.000+04:00

Weak plot; intense moments

Kasthoorimaan
(Malayalam)
Starring: Kunchacko Boban, Shammi Thilakan, Meera Jasmine, Sona Nair
Lyrics: Kaithapram, Lohitadas
Music: Ouseppachan
Cinematography: Venu
Editing: Raja Mohammed
Script, direction: Lohitadas
(Showing at theatres in the UAE)

BRILLIANT characterisation, memorable performances, and hummable music — Kasthoorimaan, Lohitadas' directorial venture, has many pluses. Yet if the film fails to win over crowds to recreate the successful run of many recent Malayalam films, the reason is rather obvious.
For one, the film reached theatres some 86 days late: Kamal's Nammal had by then earned a place as a fanciful celluloid dream of campus as a playful place. Lohitadas pans his camera into the campus for the first half of Kasthoorimaan but he is rather out of sync with the pulse of the 17-somethings, so he resorts to cliches that include among others a loveable priest, an easily-duped principal and let's-break-into-a-chorus-dance simplistic rituals.
And when the film gathers steam in the second half, the story-line is all too worn-out. Sacrifice, rejection, sheer villainy — the three elements that propel the film post-interval have been used to desirable effects in many earlier productions. Yes, by Lohitadas himself.
These, however, are not in anyway to underrate some truly excellent cinematic moments that Lohitadas stamps self-assuredly in Kasthoorimaan. Treading between the thin line of reality bites and melodrama, Lohitadas emerges a winner in capturing what he knows best: Rustic moorings.
So, whatever the reason, the characters that leave lasting impressions are not the protagonists but some supporting roles like a vitriolic mother-in-law, a brutal policeman, and well, even a little girl, who can do nothing but cry and watch helplessly as her mother is beaten up by her father. Roles enacted by untested, and often under-rated artistes, — some from television, others including Shammi Thilakan — are so powerful it gives the film a sense of stark reality, which can be discomforting too.
Priyamvada (Meera Jasmine) and Sajan Joseph Alukka (the name, a clever excuse to bring in one of UAE's prominent Malayali businessmen, Joy Alukkas, on screen; playing himself, Alukkas is self-assured. But is Malayalam cinema finally openly opting for product endorsements what with sales pitches tossed in aplenty?) played by Kunchacko Boban are college-mates. There is no reason why a studious, no-nonsense MA Philosophy student should go on a "Nature Study Tour" with a IBA Economics girl, talkative and loud to boot, but then how else do directors deliver their 'One plus one, two is love' kind of songs?
Priya irritates Sajan on many counts, and also comes to learn that he has a fair share of family burden. As for the audience, unlike Sajan, they would be hardly surprised to discover that the flamboyant Priya supports her studies by working as a domestic help. She has more painful stories back home including an immoral brother-in-law (Shammi Thilakan).
Sajan aspires to be an IAS officer, and Priya funds his 3-month IAS coaching endeavour, a little far-fetched from reality. He triumphs but there is more heart-ache in store.
How will Lohitadas untangle the complicated web he tries to create? That forms the rest of the film, which has explosive moments packed all too closely in the last few reels. Sadly though, they are rather too simplistic to be perfect and heart-touching.
Kunchacko Boban puts in a restrained performance, and he truly impresses in some frames. Meera Jasmine has been given a role of a lifetime on a platter by her mentor Lohitadas. The performance is good on the whole but grating, immature, adequate and brilliant in parts. Shammi Thilakan is terrific. K Leela as his mother is brilliant; she is so real-life.
Kasthoorimaan breaks into a song for no particular reason all to often. Understandable if Lohitadas had a penchant for spectacular picturisation of songs. You could easily walk out off them and you won't miss a thing, which is the kind of situation directors like Priyadarshan have been working for long to avoid.
Venu's camerawork is impressive, especially as he cans the country life. But somehow the magic of the campus is lacking in the first half. The auditorium shots, for example, seem so cloistered they look amateurish.
Kasthoorimaan is viewable, and at times impressive, but definitely not the master-piece of Lohitadas. Youth and its fanfare do not seem to be his turf though the bittersweetness of human relationships most certainly is.

Pulivaal Kalyanam (Malayalam - Video)

2005-10-26T14:46:00.001+04:00

A rush of laughter
Pulivaal Kalyanam
Starring: Jayasoorya, Jagathi Sreekumar, Salim Kumar, Lal, Cochin Haneefa, Kavya Madhavan
Lyrics: Kaithapram
Music: Berny Ignatius
Editing: Hariharaputhran
Camera: P Sukumar
Script: Uday Krishna, Siby K Thomas
Direction: Shafi

WHAT you expect is what you get from Pulivaal Kalyanam. Utterly unpretentious in its comedy and content, the film's big plus is its unrestrained frivolousness. Every scene has been conceived to raise a laugh and fortunately, the antics, crass obviously, work.
Director Shafi has set his priorities right. The 'I-want-to-make-a-good-film' hangover, which marred his earlier venture, One-Man Show has been done with, and he tells a non-story with all the accessories he has at his disposal. These include the ever-dependable Jagathi Sreekumar and Harisree Ashokan, a hilarious Salim Kumar and a reigned-in Cochin Haneefa.
These actors drive the film thanks to their terrific comic timing. Salim Kumar, after a long spell of skin-shows (imagine!) and double entendre, raises laugh with his own mark of comedy so what if some of his dialogues often get drowned in the stylisation. Jagathi gets a well-etched role that doesn't force him to come up with his own "numbers," and Ashokan has an oft-seen but endearing nevertheless role.
If mistaken identities had been the one common component of Malayalam comedies, Pulivaal Kalyanam's tale ticks off with a case of misplaced mobiles. It lands both the protagonists, Harikrishnan (Jayasoorya) and Ganga (Kavya Madhavan), in trouble. Hari has an eventful past. Running away from a cruel step-mother, he found solace in Karunan (Lal), who makes fireworks for a living. Hari's careless deed had cost him heavily but the man was forgiving. Hari, on his part, grows up to be a responsible brother. He also bags a first rank in engineering. Without chasing a job, he starts helping his brother in his business to marry off their sister to the son of a cantankerous neighbour (Jagathi Sreekumar).
Ganga's cell-phone changes his life. They fall in love after a chain of events, some of them funny, but Ganga's dad, a rich Sait (Lalu Alex) has other plans. How Hari goes through the path every hero in similar comedy films have walked — falling from grace of his loved ones, fighting to prove his innocence etc...— form the rest of the film.
Pulivaal Kalyanam is not a love story, and Shafi doesn't try to infuse even a semblance of sincerity into the love affair of Ganga and Hari. The affair is a given. So is its aftermath. But what Shafi does try is to give even otherwise serious scenes a wash of humour. That works.
Jayasoorya is adequate and doesn't go overboard (as he does in his live appearances) and Kavya Madhavan goes through the grind. Nothing spectacular, nothing bad either. The surprise comes from Lal, who is controlled. No loud outbursts, thankfully. Lalu Alex is elegant.
In the final count, the film rests on the comedy actors. Jagathi, Salim Kumar, Harisree Ashokan et al are hilarious. And due credit go to the script-writers Uday Krishna and Siby K Thomas, who prove that CID Moosa was no fluke. They have got a finger on the audience pulse.
Music by Berny Ignatius is ordinary, and the kind expected from a Shafi film. You could have put them in One Man Show or Kalyana Raman, and they would have worked equally fine.
On final count, the film holds together thanks to crisp, racy cuts courtesy Hariharaputhran. He doesn't let the tempo dip, and the film's success is as much his as Shafi's.
If you love to laugh at the drop of the hat, watch Pulivaal Kalyanam. It would suit you fine.

Sahodaran Sahadevan (Malayalam - Video)

2005-10-26T14:46:00.000+04:00

Trouble with double
Sahodaran Sahadevan
Starring: Mukesh, Jagadish, Augustine, Geethu Mohandas
Lyrics: Sudhamshu
Music: MG Anil
Editing: PC Mohanan
Cinematography: Tony
Script: Ambadi Haneefa
Direction: Sunil
Tetco Video

After nearly two-and-a-half hours of Sahodaran Sahadevan, you understand the Sahodaran bit but where on heck did Sahadevan come from? Or did you miss something?
The makers felt they had latched on to a novel plot when they brought in twin-brothers, and promptly killed one of them and left the other to live through amnesia. There is a thread of ingenuity there, no doubt, but how do you explain two newly-married girls not sure who will become widow when the cloud of amnesia lifts? And how can you weave a comedy into such a painful situation and hope others will laugh?
Sahodaran Sahadevan survives on slapstick but that doesn't the film far. The director and script-writer employs every possible trick in the book to raise a few laughs and succeeds only partially.
Mukesh plays a doctor and a finance owner — the two characters, apart from their job profile, do not have strikingly different individualities, which could be a deliberate effort to add on to the ensuing confusion. Whatever, both find their girls of choice and marry only to meet up with an accident.
From now on, the film is in no-man's turf. The script goes haywire and the rush to conclude the proceedings takes upper-hand. A mental sanitarium segment is evidence of the creative bankruptcy working overtime.
Sahodaran Sahadevan does not even have good performances. Mukesh is ill at ease and rarely does the director tap into the actor's comic brilliance. Jagadish is jaded and Machan Varghese makes little impact. The heroines have little to do; Geethu Mohandas happily overacts.
Songs are forgettable, and when they come, it's time to press FF.
Sahodaran Sahadevan might be remembered for only element: It presented Mukesh in a long double-role. But what a waste of talent, double, to boot.

Nandanam (Malayalam Video)

2005-10-26T14:44:00.000+04:00

Fantasy works

Nandanam
Starring: Prithviraj, Aravindan, Sudheesh, Sai Kumar, Siddique, Navya Nair, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Revathi
Lyrics: Girish Puthenchery
Music: Ravindran
Editing: Ranjan Abraham
Cinematography: Azhagappan
Script, direction: Renjith
Rafa Video

They say, it is easiest to write a story in the first person. And the worst crime in film-making, they add, is to resort to monologue and soliloquy to push ahead its narrative. Nandanam does that unpardonable but redeems all its faults in a beautifully scripted second half.
Nandanam transcends genres in popular film-making in that latter half, when fantasy meets reality to conjure up a bewitchingly surreal experience. And it is precisely these moments that make Nandanam not another Ilakkangal.
For the film that brought Malayalam film back to its feet, Nandanam is surprisingly flabby. It has pathetic and out-of-place humour. Its narrative is forced in the first half, and the characters are little more than caricatures.
But the story also has a fairly-tale goodness, and builds that simplistic association you sub-consciously make to the underdog — here, a maid-servant, who is enduring all the suffering of a lifetime.
As in all fairytales, in comes the prince and sweeps her along in a torrent of affection and passion. In Nandanam, it is Manu (Prithviraj), who comes as hope personified into the life of Balamani (Navya Nair).
Manu is visiting his grandmother (Kaviyoor Ponnamma) before going to the US for higher studies and a job. Manu's mother (Revathi) drops a bombshell in his life: Marry a US girl. A deep maternal affection prevents Manu from disclosing his love for Balamani, and he meekly agrees. Balamani too persuades him to forget their romance.
She is shattered though and finds comfort in Unnikrishnan (Aravindan), their neighbour. From here on, only to be later revealed, it is mind-game time for Balamani, and how Renjith crafts the scenes! He finds a perfect actor in Aravindan, who, for a fault, reminds you of Nitish Bhardwaj (Njan Gandarvan).
Nandanam's biggest draw is its music. Ravindran's scores grow on you and give the film a rich feel. Azhagappan's cinematography captures the mood of the film.
Navya Nair does justice to Balamani, and she benefits from a well-etched character. Prithviraj is adequate. Revathi and Kaviyoor Ponnamma live their roles while Jagathi, Kalabhavan Mani and Jagadish are forced additions. Innocent is a natural.
Renjith makes a mark in many counts: His dialogues, especially those portraying the affection Manu and his mother share, are touchingly under-said. He also creates real-life situations — the pre-marriage chaos for one.
Nandanam's failings are pardonable because the end-result, indeed, justify the means. Don't miss this one.

Kal Ho Naa Ho (Hindi)

2005-10-26T14:13:00.000+04:00

Grow up, Johar!

Kal Ho Naa Ho
Starring: Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Jaya Bachchan, Sonali Bendre
Music: Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Dialogues: Niranjan Iyengar
Story and screenplay: Karan Johar
Direction: Nikhil Advani

COULD they, the Indian film critics, be all wrong? Or is entertainment indeed such an individualised sensibility that one's bouquets turn into brickbats in another one's appreciation?
Breezy reviews, an eager wait, a long queue, a further wait in a crowded lobby, cigarette smoke, laughter, sighs, and a dimly-lit theatre with people fumbling about in the dark for their seats, not to forget the Dhs20, is Kal Ho Naa Ho worth the effort, after all?
Though it brings back the issue of "Bollywood for the masses' entertainment" — a jaded excuse, actually, by the creative bankrupt — Kal Ho Naa Ho is exactly the kind of film that has stifled Bollywood to languish in mediocrity. Utterly candy-floss, insensitive, and cliched, the film works the same "let's-opiate-the-masses" trivia celebrated with gusto by Karan Johar in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.
Is style cinema? If so, KHNH, stylishly packaged, makes a statement. A brilliantly shot vertical New York in a cinema-scope format makes for stunning visual imagery. Full marks to Anil Mehta, the cinematographer. Brownie points to Manish Malhotra (costumes), Sharmistha Roy (art) and Farah Khan (choreography) — she even manages to lend that flat Time to Disco song a modicum of viewing pleasure.
Isn't content cinema? A powerful script that does away with clichés, and goes for the jugular with straight-shot effectiveness, isn't that what makes movies? A respect for audience in situations that do not resort to sheer melodrama, contrived sentiments, or a moral high-ground posture, isn't that what makes films powerful tools of expression, entertainment too, if you may?
KHNH falls flat in content. If the story is as old as the hills, the treatment, (which critics have been harping on, makes all the difference) is even less impressive. A linear narration, characters walking in and out of the frames with cliched precision, loud expressionism, corny jokes — what is that about KHNH re-building Bollywood on the base of the refreshing Dil Chahta Hai? Silly.
The whole premise of KHNH rests on one note: The gay abandon of the protagonist, Aman (Shah Rukh Khan, who earns claps galore making a dramatic entry and then brilliantly sketched in the backdrop of a snowy night), a dying man, who is out to bring joy in the lives of his neighbours.
Yes, we have seen him before in many avatars. That's besides the point. Aman isn't even moulded on a contemporary note except in his costumes. He is the jaded self-suffering hero of the 70s transplanted in a different milieu. A superficial make-over is all that Karan Johar, the script-writer, lends to Aman. Otherwise he is just another weeping soul, who in death-bed asks that he be given the hand of the girl he loves, in his after-life. For one who should celebrate today like there's no tomorrow, what is this after-life nonsense?
A heroine that wallows in pity, that's Naina, Preity Zinta. Do spectacles make all the difference? Is such a simple, ubiquitous every-day accessory the difference between a blithe spirit and a responsible girl maturing to womanhood? And is Johar's idea of "living" a few "bottoms-up," stripping one's jacket and dancing at a disco? And why do film-makers still believe that getting a boy is the ultimate goal in any girl's life? Naina, to boot, is just a student.
The third man in the picture, a suave Rohit, Saif Ali Khan. The saving grace of the film. A polished performance, a well-etched role as a happy-go-lucky guy, too unreal though. "Dinner at 8" with a date is his goal, well, a frivolous soul. A nice man, who even keeps his date with someone who he doesn't acknowledge but, but....Aman is dying, Rohit comes to know of it and all he bothers is about his love — fixed by Aman. Well, love makes one selfish, you may say.
And the extras: A loud friend, her maniac sister, a loud grandma, a caring mother, a physically challenged kid, and pertinently, an adopted child. She is the bone of discord in Naina's family. And harmony is restored only when it is learnt that she is indeed family. Why, Johar, why can't she be adopted and the family be just as happy? Insensitive.
Humour. That's said to drive the film. Yes, there are a few genuine laughs. Good one-liners too but they get drowned in the over-dose of digs at ab-"normal" personal bonding. Surely, comedy can be less forced.
Cinema is about performances, for sure. Shah Rukh Khan advises Saif in one of the lighter moments: "Don't over-act." Yes, SR Khan, please, don't overact. With due respect to all who love his ham it up histrionics, it's still too much to see India's top-rated actor performing worse than a high-school amateur.
Three wrinkles on the forehead, a shivering lip, trembling fingers, I-know-it-all-expression, do you need all this to say something as simple as a hello? Shah Rukh is the strength and burden of the film. Strength, his breezy presence. Burden, his laboured performance.
Preity is good, her transformation is convincing; so is Saif Ali Khan, who illustrates that under-acting makes an impression. The supporting cast is a mixed crowd of loud characteristations and cliched performances.
Apart from the slick looks of New York and the cool attitudes of modernity, which drives the first few reels, KHNH fits into the tried and tested genre of pulp dramas — Bollywood style. It works, of course, as the box-office suggests.
And when every KHNH works, Bollywood inches back to its mould of predicable looniness.
Oh yes, the film was directed by Nikhil Advani. If that makes for any difference...
Grow up, guys.

Dubai (Tagalog)

2005-10-25T17:29:00.000+04:00

Bittersweet expatriation
A straight-laced story narrated without pretensions, the Tagalog movie, Dubai, highlights the trials and tribulations and joys and dreams of the expatriate Filipino community in the Gulf

Self-imposed expatriation — especially when made to chase your dreams and source your livelihood — has the same resonance in every human heart. That is the core of Dubai, a Tagalog movie with English subtitles, which made its international premiere in Dubai.
If for a fault, the film succumbed to the accepted stereotypes that one associates with the Filipino community, there was no denying the togetherness it fostered at the local theatre which screened the film. Huge crowds turned in for the special shows, and their reaction to the film was spontaneous, often bathed in unbridled joy. Stars were greeted with thunderous claps, evocative moments with dense silence, jovial takes with roaring laughter and the more intimate scenes with catcalls.
Directed by veteran Rory Quintos, the film accomplishes what many Bollywood productions, which use Dubai as a base for shooting, have seldom tried. Dubai’s thematic core, narrative flow and character sketches are thoroughly ingrained in Dubai, the city. There is no taking out the city from the film or the film from the city — as is possible with virtually every Indian film made in Dubai.
Interestingly, while the film looks at capturing the landmarks of the city, it doesn’t stoop to the level of tourist documentaries either. Through most of its length, Dubai has the right props at the right places. There are a few notable exaggerations though: The relatively luxuriously lifestyle of the film’s protagonists, for one.
Essentially, Dubai is a feel-good film. It is also about the bonding of two brothers. And unlike the peripheral, cosmetic characters that women play in many Southeast Asian films, Dubai’s heroine, Faye (Claudine Barretto) lives through a terrible existential dilemma. She isn’t aware why she is in Dubai, on the first place, and whom or what she is running away from.
Her association with the two male leads — Aga Muhlach and John Lloyd Cruz (described as the next Aga Muhlach) — is constructed convincingly despite the hiccups you expect in a love triangle that involves two brothers.
Orphaned in childhood, Raffy (Aga) and Andrew (John) are in Dubai to accomplish their longtime dream of migrating to Canada. Little does Andrew know when he joins his brother how much the elder’s dreams have shifted, focused now on living the good life in Dubai.
Andrew is offended by the flirtatious and ever-so-helpful-to-strangers attitude of Raffy. And to boot, he hasn’t saved enough to make their move to Canada. The youngster feels that Raffy has trampled on his dreams.
An accidental meeting with Faye, who loves Raffy so dearly but yet can’t get a commitment from him, changes Andrew’s life. They have an intense affair, which puts all the three in a spot. The dilemma has no easy solutions: Raffy must help Andrew realise his dreams and also convince him of his affection; Faye must choose between the father of her child, and the man she truly loves, “the brother of her child’s father.”
While the story might appear wafer-thin, to the credit of script-writers Ricky Lee and Shaira Salvador, the narrative is commendably convincing. The emotional bonding between the two brothers as well as their affections for Faye are brilliantly etched.
But what stays on to you, much after the viewing, are passing observations peppered in the script, often made by supporting characters. Cookie (Pokwang, a former Abu Dhabi resident), Faye's friend, is one who leaves an impression, if not always for the right reasons. Despite being faced by one personal crisis after another, she sums up her philosophy in one line: “Life is beautiful and so are we.”
That effortless take on life characterises the joviality of the Filipino community, which is well captured by the film. The film also pegs on the “dream factor,” the one motivation that propels anyone to leave their homeland. It also celebrates the strong community bonding of Filipinos, and the dignity of labour they uphold. “Wherever you put him, he (a Filipino) is the best,” as Raffy puts it.
Aga Muhlach flits from one emotional moment to another effortlessly. The boyish charm of John Lloyd Cruz is a perfect foil to the serious, introspective self of Aga. Between them, Claudine holds well as a loveable, self-respecting Faye.
If Dubai fails to become a quasi-classic of its time, it is due to its rather contrived ending. The emotional quotient that the film painstakingly built is toppled by a series of clichéd coincidences — the truth about his brother being overheard by Andrew, the accident that eventually brings the two brothers together…
But there are many inspiring moments in the film: Raffy’s speech at his friend’s wedding, notwithstanding its extempore tone, drives home some hard facts: How the expatriates slog in a foreign land to send “electronic appliances” for those back home. And he concludes it on a touching note: “We are here for whom we love.”
That, as bottom lines go, crystallises the pains and joys of expatriates — be they Filipinos or Indians.

The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie (DVD)

2005-10-25T17:27:00.000+04:00

Absorbing comedy

The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie
Featuring the voices of Tom Kenny, Alec Baldwin, Jeffrey Tambor, Scarlett Johansson
Special appearance: David Hasselhoff
Cinematography: Jerzy Zielinski
Based on the story and series by Stephen Hillenburg
Music: Gregor Narholz
Direction: Stephen Hillenburg
Video Master

Why should a Nickelodeon series that endeared itself to children work with adults? Why not, proves The Spongebob Squarepants Movie that features the endearing square sponge, Bob, who drives a sandwich, under-water, to retrieve King Neptune's crown from the treacherous Shell City.
It has all the thrills and frills of a road-movie, yes, but more significantly, it is like a feel-good moral science class for adults too. They could happily take a break from gun-trotting heroes or heavy-duty realism and watch this one, at least for the heck of it.
The SpongeBob movie, as with all films based on cartoons, is rooted in a bed of humour. There are imaginative word-plays and sharp, situational wits. But the film's success, obviously, lies in its brilliant animation.
The DVD comes with valuable additions that is way apart from the run-of-the-mill 'Making of...' appendages. Stephen Hillenburg narrates the genesis of SpongeBob, out of his passion for scuba diving and animation both. He then brings in the featured actors who reveal how SpongeBob and its various characters grew on them at a personal level before detailing the sheer effort that goes into creating the storyboard.
And finally, Hillenburg ropes in scuba expert, Jean-Michael Cousteau, whose father Jacques-Yves Cousteau co-founded modern scuba diving gear. Cousteau draws "real-life" parallels to the characters that walk the screen — explaining about sponges, plankton, squids and crabs, and finally underscores the importance of marine conservation.
Essentially, SpongeBob too is about the triumph of good over evil. But Hillenburg adds numerous layers that should appeal not only to children.
Set underwater, SpongBob starts off with Mr Krabs all set to open his second fast-food outlet. Plankton, who runs Chum Bucket, where not even one customer has stepped in, is envious of Krabs' success. Scheming his downfall, Plankton steals the crown of King Neptune, the emperor of all sea creatures.
SpongeBob, though dejected that Mr Krabs did not make him the manager of the new outlet because he is a kid (and would have to be called kid-ager), agrees to take up the mission of saving Krabs from Neptune's wrath. This means taking the rough road to Shell City guarded by evil Cyclop. SpongBob has Patrick Star for company. Together they survive many ordeals with a little help from Mindy, King Neptune's daughter.
Meanwhile, there is trouble back home. Plankton and his computer wife have converted the entire residents into their slaves, and only SpongeBob and Patrick can save them.
With all the elements packed in for a typical good versus evil movie, SpongeBob works because of its goofy humour. The escapades of SpongeBob and Patrick are often laugh-riots that should have the children thoroughly amused.
Finally, SpongeBob is about "believing in yourself" — whether you are a kid or a grownup. That is a easy, take-home quotient, which has the power to delight every viewer.
Whether you are a SpongeBob fan, whether you are familiar with the TV series or not, here is movie that should warm the cockles of your heart.

Chillu (Malayalam VCD)

2005-10-25T17:26:00.000+04:00

Those self-pitying 80s...

Chillu
(Malayalam VCD)
Cast: Venu Nagavally, Ronnie Vincent, Adoor Bhasi, Jagathi Sreekumar, Shanthi Krishna, Jalaja
Lyrics: ONV
Music: MB Sreenivasan
Editing: Ravi
Camera: Vipin Mohan
Script, direction: Lenin Rajendran
Speed Audios (Arm Video in Dubai)

It was a goof-up. Played VCD 2 of Chillu, a film by Lenin Rajendran, released in 1982. Was hooked. In flat 55 minutes, the film was over. Realised there was a CD 1. And found it all superfluous.
Indeed, Rajendran says everything he has to in 55 minutes. So was the first 55 minutes absolute waste? Not really. The build-up to the tale still looked convincing and though there was no further value addition to the story per se, it defined a few characters further.
Chillu is more like reliving a nostalgia. Of the 80s, when our college campuses bred "bujis" and we believed every word that Kalakaumudi wrote. Existential dilemma was a fad; beard and jubba were the order; and beedi was the inevitable flavour of those days.
But it is to the credit of Lenin Rajendran to take what is essentially a simple love story set in the campus and convert it into a statement of the human psyche.
No one wrongs anyone willfully here. The artist, Ananthu (Venu Nagavally) cannot marry his sweetheart (Jalaja) — he is a struggling soul; the cricket-player (Ronnie Vincent) envies his fiancee, Annie's (Shanthi Krishna) affection for Ananthu and flirts with someone he doesn't love; his brother Jose (Nedumudi Venu) finds solace in the house maid...
The poignancy of Chillu is in the bittersweet, love-hate relationship of Annie and her fiancé, and in his self-destruction. It is also in the detached helplessness of Ananthu. Chillu also haunts for that memorable poem of ONV, composed awesomely by MB Sreenivasan, Oru vattom koodiyen...
And what the heck, if you have lived in Thiruvananthapuram, any time in the 80s, you still won't mind falling in love with a girl like Annie.
That, perhaps, says something about the timelessness of this cinema.

Ee Snehatheerathu (Malayalam - Video)

2005-10-25T17:25:00.001+04:00

Tackling paranoia

Ee Snehatheerathu
(Malayalam Video)
Cast: Kunchacko Boban, Lal, Nedumudi Venu, Sudheesh, Jayapradha, Uma Shankari, Suja Karthika
Music: Dr L Subrahmaniam
Direction: Shivaprasad
Tetco Video

From the hopelessness of a job-less generation through the protagonist's denial of romance and his paranoia-driven absolute destruction, Ee Snehatheerathu tackles quite a handful in one go. As alternate cinema, these are subjects that carry the right weight.
But director Shivaprasad follows a now-redundant style of narration, seemingly oblivious of the breakdown of the dichotomy that marked "art" and "commercial" cinema-making.
He has a story; it is a wee bit contrived. He has a script; it is laboured. He has good performers; they fail to become the characters.
The overall impression of Ee Snehatheerathu is that of an intellectually bloated film. Shivaprasad hopelessly clings on that "existential" dilemma, which worked well in the past.
In contemporary setting, an MA graduate, who speaks very good English, blissfully unaware of elementary computers looks anachronistic — well, that is only the tip of the discomfort levels Viswanathan (Kunchacko Boban), the hero of the film, exudes. He is idealistic to a fault, suspicious of an evil-doer but kind-hearted Gounder (Lal). Nathan's father Sasthri (Nedumudi Venu) has been enjoying Gounder's largesse but Nathan refuses to believe that it comes no strings attached. It makes him fiercely protective of his mother (Jayaprada) and sister (Suja Karthika).
Meanwhile, unable to fetch a decent job, Nathan teaches at a "parallel college" (the cliched breeding ground of resentful youngsters) where his student (Uma Shankari) falls for his charm. Nathan resists the move.
Nathan's hatred for Gounder grows manifold with each passing day until it explodes following the death of his father, and Nathan's eventual disintegration into paranoia.
Ee Snehatheerathu takes time to warm-up, is confusingly vague about Nathan's mental trauma vis-a-vis Gounder, and has too many distractions. The amateur feel of the film — in the dance choreography and the camera angles — adds to its clumsiness. But Shivaprasad does score occasionally: The death of Sasthri; the relationship of Nathan and his student — they are all well-etched.
He is letdown by his cast, though. Kunchacko Boban is sincere but clearly, the character's shades are too much for him to handle. Nedumudi Venu, largely controlled, occasionally slips into sheer dramatics while Jagathi is just a caricature. Jayapradha looks cold and distant. Uma Shankari is adequate.
The highlight of the film is Dr L Subrahmaniam's music including some well-crafted songs. If only one could say that about Kavita Krishnamoorthy's pronunciation too.
Ee Snehatheerathu is worth a look only for Shivaprasad's guts to stick to his beliefs in trying to create alternate cinema for the masses.

Blind Date (DVD)

2005-10-25T17:25:00.000+04:00

Just laughter

Blind Date
Cast: Bruce Willis, Kim Basinger, John Larroquette, William Daniels
Music: Henry Mancini
Cinematography: Harry Stradling Jr
Editing: Robert Pregament
Written by Dale Launer
Directed by Blake Edwards
Prime Pictures

Some 18 years since its release, Blind Date looks a trifle too dated, and Bruce Willis somehow looks totally ill at ease in a full-length comedy role that forces him to fall from trees, jump into swimming pools, hide under beds, and try wisecracking even as he drives one ramshackle of a car.
There isn't much of a premise for the film. Kim Basinger as Nadia Gates is Walter Davis' (Willis) blind date he is forced to tag along to a crucial company party. The girl has a problem though. A few drops of beverage and she goes wild. The party turns out to be a disaster; Walter loses his job, and to top it all, there is John Larroquette, the insane former lover of Nadia following him.
The absurd turn of events that night lands Walter in jail, and lo, Larroquette saves him through guile and cunning. His reward: Marry Nadia. Walter tries hard to scuttle the big day, and how he accomplishes it with a little help with beverage-filled chocolates makes the rest of the film.
Blind Date has its share of laughter; and those moments are genuinely funny. Only they are too sparse for comfort.
Die-hard Willis fans are in for a disappointment but they could be consoled by the brilliant comic timing of Larroquette. He is the relief.

Black and White (DVD)

2005-10-25T17:24:00.000+04:00

Inside the melting pot

Black and White
Cast: Oliver 'Power' Grant, Robert Downey Jr, Ben Stiller, Mike Tyson, Elijah Wood, Allan Houston, Brooke Shields, Claudia Schiffer, Sheila King
Music: Erik Schrody, Xzibit
Cinematography: David M. Ferrara
Editing: Myron I. Kerstein
Written and directed by James Toback

Mike Tyson is an aside in Black and White but yes, the film, in which he plays himself, projects the "fallen boxer" as some one who loves a few peaceful moments to himself. And he loves to stay clear of issues even when they try clambering on to him.
The Tyson name should perhaps be the last reason to pick up Black and White. The film is so much more hard-hitting and punchy, when it comes to hard facts, than all of Tyson's fist-hits put together. It treks on raw territory — that of races trying to cross-over. Of young people discovering that "I am not what I am."
Unambiguous in language, style and content, Black and White plays out the issues of a group of "white" youngsters moving into "black" territory — largely through the eyes of a documentary maker (Brooke Shields). No, the documentary maker effect does not feel as drab as it sounds. Shield's Sam Donager is an unwitting loser, losing out eventually to her boyfriend Terry (Robert Downey Jr), who dumps her to chase his true calling in human instincts.
The back-bone of the film is the story of Rich (Oliver Power Grant), who controls the neighborhood, and his friend Dean (Allan Houston), a basketball player. Dean is fixed by a police detective (Ben Stiller) with an agenda, and to survive Rich has no choice but to kill him. He throws in Willie (William Lee Scott) to do the dirty job.
At the core, there are the aspirations of the youngsters, who want to make it big in the hip-hop scene; as others, new to the neighbourhood but not to teenage fancies, step in to watch the action. In doing so, they are rebelling against their parents, hoping they are just following suit — after all, didn't the hippies revolt against theirs?
With many characters — many of them playing themselves — Black and White might look cluttered for individual breathing space. Surprisingly it doesn't. That is to the credit of director James Toback, who does not dilute the individuality of even the fleeting character who walks on screen.
Black and White isn't the average racy thriller; it doesn't preach either. And in walking the middle road, it makes sense.

Johnny Reno (DVD)

2005-10-25T17:23:00.001+04:00

Rough road to justice

Johnny Reno
Cast: Dana Andrews, Jane Russell, Lon Chaney Jr, Tom Drake, John Agar, Lyle Bettger
Written by Andrew Craddock, Steve Fisher
Direction: RG Springsteen
Videomaster

For a fault, every one in Johnny Reno is old. The heroes, the villains and even the heroine looks too tired and haggard to be doing a trigger-happy Western.
But then the film, made in the mid-60s, was more of Paramount's tribute to the Western icons of the early Hollywood era. And as a tribute to them all, the film has a very elementary fun to it: It is loveably unpretentious.
There are no grey shades, no moral dilemmas involved in this film. Good must triumph and Johnny Reno embodies what Western film heroes always stood for: Courage, valour, justice and truth.
The film charts two days in the life of Johnny Reno (Dana Andrews), a US Marshall on his way to Stone Junction, perhaps, to meet his old lover Nona Williams (Jane Russell).
Two "convicts" on the run, the Conners brothers mistake him to be after them and shoot at him. In the gunfight that ensues one of them is killed and Joe Conners (Tom Drake) is took prisoner.
The Conners are wanted both by the townspeople of Stone Junction as well as by the Indians. They had allegedly murdered the Indian chieftain's son.
As a committed Marshall who must uphold justice, Reno is in no mood to comply. He wants to take Conner to Kansas city for a fair trial. But the mayor of Stone Junction is already scheming of ways to snatch Conners from Reno. Sheriff Hodges (Lon Chaney Jr) plays along initially but is convinced by the steely determination of Reno to protect Conners and take him to Kansas City.
The distrust and hatred he faces in the town provokes Reno to probe further and he realises that the Conners could after all be innocent. What follows is a battle of wits and gunfight at the end of which good triumphs over evil and Reno also gets to win back Nona.
The "pistol-packing action" and "gun-blazing showdown" promised by the DVD are all in place but what is lacking is a little of youthfulness. But then, when was country Westerns about ravishing robustness? You need tough men calling the shots and Johnny Reno is no less tough. Only the tough guys are a trifle too old.
At abut 80 minutes, Johnny Reno, however, is not a total letdown. What you get is what you expect: A flick that speaks through the gun's barrels.

Chase (DVD)

2005-10-25T17:23:00.000+04:00

Wrong side of law

Chase
Cast: Jennifer O'Neill, Richard Farnsworth, Michael Parks, Robert S. Woods, Terence Knox, John Philbin, Kathleen York, Michael Sullivan and JE Freeman
Written by David E. Peckinpah
Direction: Rod Holcomb
Videomaster

A television production, Chase (1985) hits the DVD circuit with little star power enhancements other than that of Michael Parks, who was noticed as Earl McGraw in his Kill Bill appearances.
But the lack of Hollywood star power isn't a deterrent when it comes to watching this action-courtroom drama. Starting off with the clumsiness of a television film, Chase, however, gathers momentum and elevates itself to big-screen fun thanks to its breathtaking cinematography and a racy script.
To the writer's credit, Chase manages to steer away from predictability. The film is also multilayered in its character sketches. From old age loneliness to migrant worker woes and unrequited love, Chase latches on to a few raw issues without dwelling upon them for long.
Essentially, it is the tale of big-city lawyer Sandy Albright (Jennifer O'Neill) who has returned to her roots following the death of her father. She had always dreamt of making it big but the return to her country also makes here realise that "without roots one dies."
The peaceful country is no longer what it was in her past. Migrant worker camps irk many residents and the police force too isn't entirely impartial.
Sandy is asked to stay back by her mentor Judge Grand Pettitt (Richard Farnsworth). His murder puts Sandy in a career dilemma — of the sort she would never have encountered in her 50-strong city firm. She must defend Dixon (JE Freeman), the alleged culprit. Her only comfort comes from school senior, and now sheriff, Dean Hartley (Robert S. Woods).
Sure that Dixon would get away, Larry Butler (Michael Parks), a deputy sheriff and his team decide to kill Dixon. Sandy sets out to save him, and soon it is a wild chase with Butler and his gang closing in on them at an alarming pace.
Chase gets its true impetus in this action sequence, which also has an emotional subtext in the bonding of Dixon and Sandy.
However, the film closes on a rather abrupt note, and there is no courtroom drama that follows that will eventually prove Dixon's innocence. The film's tagline, 'The defence never rests' seems to be taken quite literally with Sandy indeed on the run.
Chase has creditable performances from its lead cast though the effortless presence of Richard Farnsworth lingers on. Jennifer O'Neill, in an author-backed role, handles the multi-layered role with ease. Robert S Woods has little to do apart from playing a loveable aside; he gives the space for O'Neill to perform.
Chase is not a show-stopper by any means. But it doesn't tax you either. One to be watched and forgotten.

Bush's Brain (DVD)

2005-10-25T17:22:00.000+04:00

The other side

Bush's Brain
Based on the book by James C. Moore and Wayne Slater
Music: Michelle Shocked, David Friedman
Cinematography: Josheph Mealey
Narration: Jacques Vroom
Direction: Joseph Mealey, Michael Paradies Shoob

Truth always has an other side. Does Bush's Brain chase the truth from both sides? The inference is open to interpretation and to the existential dilemma of the modern world: Truth according to whom.
Treading on the path of Fahrenheit 9/11, Brain's Bush is another "straight look" into American society and politics. On the face of it Bush's Brain has a quirky edge to the title. And the embossing 'How did this happen?' on the cover intrigues you further, almost confirming your prejudice that it is another Bush-basher.
But more than Bush, the film is about Bush's closes advisor, Karl Rove, who is described as "the most powerful political figure America has every heard of." He is (dis)-credited for every move, every word of George Bush and is chided to be the 'Wizard of Oz behind the curtain of today's Presidential politics."
And almost every one who is interviewed on Rove for the film portrays him to be a ruthless climber, who even tagged along "blank cards" for the college debate to beat his opponents. To be fair to the documentary makers, they try to accommodate Rove's counter-arguments to the many criticisms he faces.
Trekking back into Rove's past and moving through his career, the documentary concludes that Rove is the "most powerful non-elected official in American history," and the "first co-president of the US."
Here is one docu-feature that will enthuse virtually every one who watches the drama of US politics. By default that could be anyone because of America's far-reaching influence on the rest of the world.

La Bamba (DVD)

2005-10-25T17:21:00.000+04:00

Like a flash of brilliance...

La Bamba
Cast: Lou Diamond Philips, Esai Morales, Rosanna DeSoto, Elizabeth Pena and Danielle von Zerneck
Original music: Miles Goodman, Carlos Santana
Cinematography: Adam Greenberg
Editing: Don Brochu, Sheldon Kahn
Written and directed by Luis Valdez
Prime Pictures

Ritchie Valens embodied the American dream. The singing sensation gave to the world three rock n' roll classics — Donna, Come on, let's go and La Bamba — in just eight months. He was only 17 years old then, and he didn't live to be wished another birthday. Like a flash of brilliance, he came and went to leave behind his musical legacy that hasn't aged since 1959.
Ritchie's life makes an evocative film experience in La Bamba. You might have heard Ritchie's songs, you might have known about his short life, or you might be simply ignorant of it all. With whatever limited knowledge on Ritchie you approach La Bamba, the film doesn't disappoint because its bottomline is tremendously inspiring: It is the story of the triumph of the underdog. Death, however, hard and soon it was couldn't snatch away the glory of Ritchie's success.
Starting with his early struggle as a farmworker, La Bamba is also a representation of marginalised communities who get carried away by the American dream, are gung-ho about their new-found liberty and identity, and work towards accomplishing their goals and eventually become national heroes. Ritchie does exactly that.
It is also about familial ties, about mother-son bonding, about brothers rediscovering their love for each other. La Bamba is also about innocent love, the feel-good romance that prompts a boy to write a classic love song like Donna.
The twists and turns of Ritchie's life have been captured for the film with an astounding sense of dignity. After all, he was a young boy who simply wanted to be star. Together with other star-aspirants, he eventually gets to where stars are: Up in the sky.
There are poignant moments in the film's narration of Ritchie's life: His first band and the petty rivalries; his first performance and recording; his first romance; the disturbing animosity of his brother Sam towards his live-in girlfriend, Rosa; and above all, the recurring dream of the on-air flight collision.
Ritchie recalls with terror how his childhood friend was killed in a plane disaster and how he himself was saved because he was attending his grandfather's funeral. The fear for death runs through his life. He beats his fear for flying, eventually, but death comes to him exactly the way he visioned: Mid-air.
Lou Diamond Philips gives a star-performance as Ritchie. The vulnerability of the teenager, his fear and aspirations, and his eventual triumph are all brought out with astounding sincerity by Philips. Playing the perfect foil, as his co-brother Sam, is Esai Morales. They are brilliantly supported by Rosanna DeSoto (as Connie, Ritchie's mother), Elizabeth Pena (Rosa) and Danielle von Zerneck (Donna).
La Bamba touches your heart. A must see for all rock n' roll fans.

The End of the Affair (DVD)

2005-10-25T17:20:00.000+04:00

Art in jealousy

The End of the Affair
(Based on a novel by Graham Greene)
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Stephen Rea, Julienne Moore, Heather-Jay Jones, Ian Hart
Cinematography: Roger Pratt
Editing: Tony Lawson
Screenplay, direction: Neil Jordan
Prime Pictures

"This is a diary of hate," opens the film version of Graham Greene's acclaimed 1951-novel, The End of the Affair. It isn't. It is a diary of love — closely guarded, jealous love — that almost verges on hate. And yet again, it isn't a mushy, romantic affair. It is about faith, prayer, and love that blossoms no questions asked, no conditions sought.
Give The End of the Affair, directed by Oscar- and Golden Palm-nominated director Neil Jordan (The Company of Wolves, The Crying Game, Mona Lisa), amble warm-up time. Don't rush into conclusions either, and what you get is a poignant collection of human emotions stripped bare to the core.
The beauty of the film lies not in the authentic recreation of war-time England, brilliantly captured in mood-based shades and close-up shots by cinematographer Roger Pratt. This is one film to be listened to; Graham Greene's lines are intelligently meshed into the script to give the film an inspiring "literary" ambience.
Director Jordan has tackled the challenge of travelling into the heart of the novel via a filmy adventure. The diary serves as a good prop but he outsmarts the predictable plot with a brilliant script that flits in and out of incidents panning back and forth in time.
There is no moral ambiguity in the protagonist Maurice Bendrix (Ralph Fiennes), a successful writer, who chances into the life of Sarah Miles (Julienne Moore). Her husband Henry Miles (Stephen Rea) has little time for her; he knows where she leaves her shoes but not what her heart yearns for. And that is a little bit of attention and care readily available in Bendrix.
Their affair grows through war, and then they part — seemingly for no reason — its leaves Bendrix hurt and miserable. When he meets Henry some two years later, the husband is an anguished man. He has come to believe that Sarah is seeing out someone, which ignites intense jealousy in Bendrix. He hires an agency to snoop on Sarah but their revelations indeed turn the flow of events.
From the turf of love, dejection and hatred, the film enters a realm of spirituality, of die-hard faith vis-a-vis rationalism, and peppered with Graham Greene's observations, it becomes a touching drama of human emotions. The end of the illicit affair thus marks the beginning of a greater bonding, one that touches the lives of not just the three protagonists but others whom Sarah cared for too. That particular aspect is vintage Greene; after all isn't The End of the Affair considered as the perfect culmination of his thoroughly spiritual tetralogy?
Performance-driven, The End of the Affair showcases the acting prowess of Julienne Moore. She whips up different moods and feelings in you — from an initial mistrust to empathy and eventual sympathy. She won an Oscar nomination for best actress for the film.
In Stephen Rea is a perfect foil to her confused existence; he looks every inch a man under control who slowly realises the floor slipping away from under his feet. It is a fine performance from the actor of Crying Game and Citizen X. Finally, the film rests on Ralph Fiennes, who delivers a controlled performance as Maurice Bendrix.
The End of the Affair is an intimate drama; a compelling fare that holds good even a neat five decades after the story was written. The only trouble with the film is in its long warm-up time. But then, a wait is mandatory for all good things to come.

Manu Poloru Penkutty (Malayalam - Video)

2005-10-25T17:19:00.000+04:00

A tale derailed

Manju Poloru Penkutty
(Malayalam)
Cast: Amritha Prakash, Bhanupriya, Jayakrishnan, Lalu Alex, Suresh Krishna
Music: Alphonse Joseph
Story, script and dialogues: Kalavoor Ravikumar
Cinematography: P Sukumar
Direction: Kamal
Tetco Video

The burning issue of child molestation gets an amateurish treatment in Manju Poloru Penkutty (more weakly translated as A Snowy Girl). That comes as a disappointment, more so, because the film is directed by Kamal.
The film starts on a very promising note. To convey the crux of the issue without frills, Kamal resorts to the protagonist talking to the camera. Nidhi (Amrita Prakash — a spontaneous actress) takes viewers through her life, her family and then pauses before she spills out the biggest trauma in her life: A step-father (Suresh Krishna) who torments her.
Kalavoor Ravikumar and Kamal draw out the characters well, and also try to load interesting layers to protagonists like Manuel (Lalu Alex). But in what should have been the defining moments of the film, they falter.
Nidhi resorts to a very simplistic solution to her problem — kill her step-father. That is the instant feeler she gets from her friend Sandeep (Jayakrishnan). The film dips further when the two join hands with Manuel, a loafer who is seemingly pampering away on his US expatriate wife's money. They conjure up all sorts of childish strategies that put college plays to shame.
With the emotional core burst by the utter frivolous nature of the narration, the film falls and never recovers. The eventual outburst of Nidhi, therefore, comes flat.
Amritha is at ease as Nidhi. She has wide, expressive eyes, good sartorial sense and is easy with her acting. Jayakrishnan is more of a Vineeth-clone but looks confident. Bhanupriya is reduced to an on-looker.
It is Lalu Alex who steals the show. He has an author-backed role, built so well to earn audience empathy and sympathy. Well, he has won the state's supporting actor award.
An interesting asset of the film is Alphonse Joseph's array of songs. Though badly choreographed on-screen, they are easy on ears.
As bottom lines go, Manju Poloru Penkutty is watchable, alright, but has a plot derailed in an effort to look smart. You don't do that with volatile issues, not definitely with child molestation.

Chanthuppottu (Malayalam)

2005-10-25T17:18:00.000+04:00

Fresh and breezy

Film Review
Chanthuppottu
Cast: Dileep, Biju Menon, Indrajith, Lal, Salim Kumar, Gopika, Bhavana, Sukumari
Lyrics: Vayalar Sarathchandra Varma
Music: Vidyasagar
Story, script and dialogues: Benny P. Nayarambalam
Cinematography: Azhagappan
Direction: Lal Jose
Showing at theatres in the UAE

Dileep has come one full circle with Chanthuppottu. And how! The upcoming actor who endeared himself to the masses with his effeminate act in Thenakashi Pattanam, does the role full and clean in his latest film.
Chanthuppottu is not different because Dileep does a 'Manikandan' act. It is because he does not make it caricature-like, the way most mimicry artists do. His Radha alias Radhakrishnan is a brilliantly etched character by Benny Nayaramblam, and portrayed awe-inspiringly by the actor. Hats off, Dileep.
Adapted from a successful play by Benny (in which he also acted as Radha), Chanthupottu is strictly character-driven. That could be one reason why Benny dilutes the thematic content of the film.
Story-wise, Chanthuppottu is no different from the revenge tales of yore, where the good-for-nothing hero returns post-interval to wreak havoc on all who made his life miserable.
However, the film's beauty is that there is no overnight change; there is no transformation of the effeminate Radha into a masculine Radhakrishnan. Dileep retains his mannerisms to the last reel, to the last shot, and what a sea change he makes from the super-dapper heroes that rule Malayalam cinema today.
Benny crafts the evolution of Radhakrishnan into Radha with methodical precision. You do not question the yearning of a grandmother (Sukumari) to wish for a granddaughter.
Lal Jose captures the nuances of the maternal love brilliantly in the sequences leading to the old woman accepting Radhakrishnan. And who else can you trust but S Janaki to sing that situational lullaby? The overall effect is gripping.
Dressed up as a girl through his childhood, Radhakrishnan unwittingly becomes Radha, utterly feminine in his gestures and thought-process too. His father (Lal) is in jail and there is none to mould him as a tough fisherman.
The film's rather weak link is in the sudden lust that is forced into Radha's relationship with childhood friend Malu (Gopika). Kumaran's (Indrajith) craving for the girl doesn't seem like a sufficient trigger. But then so are the ways of the human mind. It can trek into unwarranted territories without reason.
Radha's banishment from his village and his eventual "transformation" under Freddie (Biju Menon), who rescues him from the high seas, too might appear abrupt. The film also falls into predictable grooves, post-interval. There are unnecessary stunts and unwarranted twists to the tale. But Dileep saves the proceedings with his surefire brand of comedy.
Finally there is the untapped Arthungal and Andakaranazhi seashore belt offering sheer visual splendour to the film. Cinematographer Azhagappan, never once, lets go of the coastal ambience.
Chanthuppottu has good performances from the cast. Lal is utterly convincing as a down and out fisherman; Gopika exudes rustic charm; and Biju Menon and Indrajith are confident. Salim Kumar and Mala Aravindan are adequate while Kootikkal Jayachandran gets a meaty role as Radhakrishnan's friend.
Vidyasagar's songs pep up the proceedings. The song Omanappuzha stays in your mind for long.
Chanthuppottu makes you smile, it makes you laugh, and it touches you too. It is one rollicking ride that is steered by Dileep. And he never lets you down. Not one moment. If you like to be entertained, no questions asked, don't miss this one.

Bharathchandran IPS (Malayalam)

2005-10-25T17:12:00.000+04:00

Return of the firebrand

Bharathchandran IPS
(Malayalam)
Cast: Suresh Gopi, Vijayaraghavan, Sai Kumar, Lalu Alex, Shreya Reddy, Urmila Unni
Script, direction: Renji Panicker
Showing at theatres in the UAE

Guns, man, smoking guns. Shots, man, all point-blank. And words, man, loud, empty ones. They mark the return of Suresh Gopi in this sequel to the 90s hit, Commissioner.
Gopi, who was languishing in a non-happening career after promising not to take up guns on-screen, has returned with a vengeance, alright. And fans who had to endure his laboured performances in no-frills films like Ullam are flooding theatre halls making actor-producer Lal a happy man. After all, he had trusted his instincts and bought over the film's distribution rights.
In such a hunky-dory scene, where every one associated with the film is proud and beaming, a dissenting voice hardly matters. After all, isn't it a winning horse — so what if the race is against mules and donkeys?
Not panning for the heck of it, Bharatchandran IPS, frankly, marks the stagnation of a scriptwriter turned director who fails to grow. Renji Panicker for all practical purposes hasn't budged an inch forward from his Commissioner days in its sequel.
While the thematic stagnation could be attributed to the basic premise of the politician-underworld nexus, there is no excuse for the film's structural and narrative inadequacies.
Resting squarely on hero worship and long-winding dialogues that reach nowhere, the film is a potpourri of jaded shots. Bombs that don't hurt the hero and bullet shots that conveniently evade him are the sort you might enjoy in a 1980s Jayan flick. And if the Hindustani classicist villain isn't a cliché, what is?
All those are pardonable if you consider the filthy expletives in Hindi that some of the characters mouth on-screen. How did these scenes escape the censor — in India and in the UAE?
Worse still is the complacence Panicker shows in portraying spine-chilling violence. It is true that Kerala has witnessed instances of teachers being butchered in front of students, and women (including lady reporters) being manhandled in public. But the insensitive portrayal of such brutal realities in a mainstream cinema tends to trivilaise the issues and deprive these incidents of their true shock-value.
Panicker proves once again that he likes to show off his language skills. So it is back to that laughable gimmick of heroes mouthing English lines and then immediately translating them in Malayalam for the audience.
The closest parallel Bharatchandran has in Malayalam cinema is with Inspector Balram, actor Mammootty's sequel to Aavanazhi. Gopi lacks the raw rage that marked Mammootty's Balram, and Bharatchandran is not a patch on the intensity that scriptwriter Damadoran managed to sustain in the second outing.
The trouble with Panicker is that his agenda is too visible. His social takes are contrived and one-sided, reducing social figures into convenient caricatures. So it is with Haider Ali (Sai Kumar), a former minister in the government who cooks up communal clashes to attain his dream of a private port; and Thomas Chacko (Vijayaraghavan), the chief minister, who plays along with Haider.
Obviously, the players in the other side are holier than angels. Bharatchandran (Suresh Gopi) is walking, talking anger but integrity is his forte. Habib (Lalu Alex), a high-ranking official, too is sincere. So is Hema (Shreya Reddy), who obviously must also look smitten by Bharat's anger.
Good fights bad with the bad gaining occasional brownie points but Panicker's good ones don't know a better way to get out of the mess they create other than by resorting to bullets. Bharatchandran scores his victory with the gun, and his trigger-happy ways are endorsed by the claps that erupt in the audience. Hail Panicker!
In a celebration of Suresh Gopi, one actor still manages to make an impact in the film thanks to his author-backed role. That is Lalu Alex, who goes through the proceedings with his trademark ease.
Give Gopi the gun and ask him to dish out long dialogues, but please, don't make him a bystander and force him to act. A scene where Habib explains to Hema the sad past of Bharatchandran will go down in recent history as the worst case of overacting by a leading hero. Vijayaraghavan is easy; so is Sai Kumar but somewhere along the line, their performances stoop to being utterly theatrical.
Bharatchandran IPS satisfies Suresh Gopi fans; tickles some action lovers, but as bottom lines go, here is a film and a filmmaker that fail to grow. "Peter Pan"-icker, anyone?

Mangal Pandey

2005-10-25T17:10:00.001+04:00

A Pandey for big bucks

Mangal Pandey
Cast: Aamir Khan, Toby Stephens, Rani Mukherji, Amisha Patel, Kiron Kher
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Music: AR Rahman
Cinematography: Himman Dhamija
Editing: Sreekar Prasad
Art direction: Nitin Desai
Written by: Farrukh Dhondy
Direction: Ketan Mehta
Showing at theatres in the UAE

There is an inherent falsehood in a film that chooses to be selectively fictional. It becomes a bother in the context of The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey (the English/Hindi version) because director Ketan Mehta (whose repertoire includes the outstanding Mirch Masala) brings in too many real-life situations and people in contact with purely fictitious characters for utterly filmy reasons.
It is not clear why the great oral tradition of Indian story telling did not work with Mangal Pandey. Why didn’t any of his fellow sepoys spread the tale of this gutsy Indian solider who foresaw a democratic India (as Mehta wants us to believe)? Why, if he was a leader of the masses, didn’t folk theatre pick up his life for inspiration instead of leaving it to the British to put on record that Pandey shot at the East India Company officers under the influence of opium (as Mehta craftily concedes)?
But more than it all, Rising does not rise above the expected boundaries of Bollywood for the simple reason that Mehta fails to elevate the film from the trappings of all those “coincidences” that propel its narrative.
Strangers eavesdropping on significant secrets that give a detour to the tale is a beaten-to-death storytelling technique. In Rising, all crucial moments are unconvincing coincidences: Pandey comes to learn of those dubious cartridges that employ animal fat from a street-cleaner (one of the last in the line of untouchables in ancient casteist India – and Pandey, Mehta wants us to believe, practised untouchability); this man again is the sole witness to the entire Rangoon Regiment marching into the river-ghat (but what an imposing sight, it makes!) and also understands the implications of it all on the “nation-wide” mutiny that Pandey has organised; the closely guarded secret of the Indian sepoys is leaked by an Indian woman who feeds a white woman’s infant “out of love for the kid” and the conversation is overheard by a top-ranking officer of East India Company; Pandey’s own transition from obedient sepoy to revolutionary activist is goaded by a streetwalker (whom he watches being auctioned off and eventually saves her in distress for a later duet) who points that the sepoys have sold their soul to the British; Pandey’s public execution (which was a hushed affair, according to the very British records Mehta says he referred) that was unknown even to his fellow sepoys, let alone ignite the passion of violent masses; and so on, it goes.
For the moment, let us forget Mehta’s daring interventions into the course of Indian history (let historians wrangle; as revolutions go, it could even be claimed that the “first war of independence” was triggered by a group of locals in Attingal, down Kerala, massacring 140 Company officials on April 15, 1721, and none has still made a film of it) but shouldn’t he have been at least true to his milieu?
He fails to convince why the sepoys are not confined to their barracks but are let loose in neighbouring villages, it seems, only to lap up rumours; even so, why don’t the villages near Barrakpore (in Bengal, where Pandey is stationed) exude the state’s Bengali flavour – indeed, there are too many “whys” that taunt.
But Mangal Pandey fails from being the classic Indian film it could have been for the simple reason that its digressions take away its patriotic quotient. The many romances, alliances and dalliances give it a false romantic quotient (and a sleaze dimension too) that is good for Bollywood but bad for good cinema.
If all that Mehta wanted was a Bollywood production on Mangal Pandey, yes, he gets it right, bang on. There are songs popping out at the exact moment to give audiences a welcome relief (the Holi one, for example). There are dances thrust in for the single reason of appeasing mass audiences (the mujjra, and Rasiya, choreographed to look like an Indipop club-dance with scantily clad female bodies rubbing against each other voluptuously). There are the long drawn-out emotional dramas, the patriotic appeals, “touching” depictions of the suffering of the Indians, utterly “black” portraits of the British masters (William Gordon, Pandey’s friend, is Scottish), and even Rani Mukherji, (as the streetwalker), finally galloping on a horse killing Company officials as part of the public uprising…
Mehta’s Mangal Pandey, essentially, is a celebration of Aamir Khan. His Mangal Pandey puts friendship first, takes bullets readily, and epitomizes muted anger, as Bollywood-ish as he can. He exudes the rage and anguish, yet remains a caricature – these are exactly the ways in which Bollywood’s Mangal Pandey can behave – his character is straight-laced with hardly any surprising complexities to it (exceptions include Pandey’s assertion to Gordon on the colour difference; the hospital sequence where Pandey simply shakes his head to tell Gordon ‘you don’t understand’ when asked to apologise for stirring up unrest). Toby Stephens, as William Gordon, is convincing. His dilemma, of being caught between duty and justice is striking. Mukherji and Amisha Patel (as the Sati, rescued by Gordon) aren’t great women sketches for a period film that almost reduces women to mere storytelling props.
The visual power captured by Himman Dhamija, the deft editing by Sreekar Prasad, the rousing music score by AR Rahman all, are fringes when it comes to the core you seek in Mangal Pandey: A powerful portrait of a soldier, who, we must be convinced, did spark the first flames of revolt against the East India Company.
Mehta’s Mangal Pandey doesn’t do that. Made on a lavish budget, it seeks to appease all – good for business, nothing great for cinema.

CSI: Grave Danger

2005-10-25T14:51:00.000+04:00

Vintage Tarantino fare

CSI: Grave Danger
Cast: William Petersen, George Eads, Marg Helgenberger, Paul Guilfoyle, Jorja Fox
Guest stars: Aimee Graham, Tony Curtis
Written by Naren Shankar, Anthony E. Zuiker, Carol Mendelsohn
Direction: Quentin Tarantino
On Showtime's TV Land on Oct. 28

Television isn't new turf for Quentin Tarantino. He guest-acted in Alias, directed an episode of ER, and now, gets his trademark Dukes of Hazzard board game, coffins and even faint echoes of Pulp Fiction to the finale of CSI: Crime Series Investigation, Grave Danger.
And what he delivers is almost cutting-edge Tarantino fare, crippled slightly by the screenplay (that is not his). The writers leave a few glaring gaps and holes in the narrative that need more than a digger of sand (that comes conveniently handy in the episode's climax) to fill it up.
But trust the Kill Bill director to make even the most routine of scenes into visual spectacles. He elevates mundane situations into high-brow cinema through imaginative camera and racy cuts that occasionally jolt and shock the viewers.
Tarantino is a self-confessed fan of the series, and when he takes up the task to do its finale, one looks out for the unexpected. That comes — in the form of the CSI team looking far more vulnerable than ever, and one of its key members spending virtually the entire length of the series in a glass coffin.
Nick Stokes (George Eads) has been kidnapped from a cooked-up scene of crime, and is shoved into a coffin and buried underground. Gil Grissom (William Petersen), who leads the CSI team, pools together all resources to trace Nick.
The kidnapper is "kind enough" to keep Nick's status clear to the CSI through a live web cam. When Gil eventually confronts the kidnapper with the $1 million ransom, the man, who is out to take revenge on the CSI, blows himself up leaving Nick's fate at peril. The CSI operative must battle a short supply of air, scrawling ants, and explosives that are hidden underneath his coffin.
The story is wafer-thin and as much as you try, it isn't easy to slide yourself into what Coleridge described as a "willing suspension of disbelief." But the underlying sense of humour which accompanies the gore makes Grave Danger a sort of wickedly wacky film experience. Nick's vision of his own body being autopsied is classic Tarantino turf. Despite its garishness, you smirk and smile along with Nick as his heart is plucked out and presented to his dad.
There are the gentle shocks too: The abrupt capture of Nick, the blowing up of the kidnapper (John Saxon), the mental agony of Nick as watched by his buddies — those moments linger on. But finally, the take-home quotient of the film is its tautness — the slickness that is the inimitable stamp of Tarantino.

Caption: "Grave Danger"-Director Quentin Tarantino behind the scenes of CSI CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION
Photo: Robert Voets/CBS
©2005 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved

Naran (Malayalam)

2005-10-25T14:48:00.000+04:00

Mystifying the thug

Naran
(Malayalam)
Cast: Mohanlal, Madhu, Innocent, Siddique, Jagathi Sreekumar, Salim Kumar, Devayani, Bhavana, Bindu Panicker, Sona Nair
Music: Deepak Dev
Lyrics: Kaithapram
Camera: Shaji
Story, screenplay and dialogues: Ranjan Pramod
Direction: Joshiy
Showing at theatres in the UAE

Script-writer Ranjan Pramod made an impressionable innings with his Meesha Madhavan, which was a celebration of the life of a small-time thief. He works almost on the same premise but shifts the glory of rowdyism on to a petty thug in Naran.
Indeed, that is an interesting premise: To give life and blood to a person, who is essentially a goon, one whose name is taken for mothers to feed their children. But the trick lies in weaving it into a convincing, full-length feature film. That is where Ranjan Pramod falters.
What he happens to muster are the left-overs or blatant emulation of the personality traits of Mohanlal's own super-human heroes in Devasuram, Narasimham and Aaram Thamupuran.
He also borrows heavily from his own Manassinakkare, especially in the emotional bonding of some of the film's key protagonists.
No one cares for morals in films but yet it would be unpardonable to allow Joshiy, Pramod and Mohanlal to get away with the regressive message Naran conveys. Muscle power, they reassert, is the only way to peace.
Like the IV Sasi flicks of yesteryears, Naran comes with characters galore. And sadly, apart from being predictable, they are also too two-dimensional, either black or white.
But then, critics and reviews be damned: Naran is the super-hit of the season, and whatever be the reason, audiences are flocking in to watch Mullankolli Velayudhan, Mohanlal's latest "super man" avatar.
The actor, naturally, gives his best shot, but sir, haven't we seen this all before? The drunker stupor, the "chumma" gestures, the put-on humility before the elders, the menacing looks to tackle the villains, say Lal, what's new?
Then again, after a point in time, Lal becomes Velayudhan, and you empathise with this orphan who is also the protector of the village, the do-gooder Robin Hood. That, indeed, is the success of the actor, and a trait that makes Lal, the super-star.
Naran is tailor-made for Mohanlal fans. With little by way of a story, and hardly any narrative substance, the film flits from one heroic episode of the actor to the other. This time, though much of his escapades are based under water. After all, wasn't Velayudhan given birth and washed ashore in torrential floodwaters?
Naran is the test of villainy between Velayudhan and Gopi (Siddique, a fine villain and perhaps the only one around, currently, to stand up to Lal with dignity), the son-in-law of his mentor (Madhu). Giving the tale its twists is the hero's association with Kelappan (Innocent) and his daughter (Bhavana). Laughs come from the scheming panchayat member (Jagathi Sreekumar), and emotional drama from Velayudhan's childhood sweetheart (Devayani), now married.
And as is expected of all Joshiy films, there are the mandatory fights, molestation attempts, suicides and murders. Deepak Dev's music is hummable and Shaji lends brilliant camera support.
Naran, ultimately, is a hocus-pocus, a pot-pourri blended for the festive season. Watch it and forget it — for Lal's sake.

White Chicks

2005-10-22T23:28:00.000+04:00

Crude humour

White Chicks
DVD Review
Starring: Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Jaime King, Terry Crews, Jennifer Carpenter, Jessica Cauffiel and Faune Chambers
Written by Keenen Ivory Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Andy McElfresh, Michael Anthony Snowden and Xavier Cook
Story: Keenen Ivory, Shawn and Marlon Wayans
Cinematography: Steven Bernstein
Editor: Jeffrey Stephen Gourson and Stuart Pappe
Direction: Keenen Ivory Wayans
DVD Courtesy: Prime Pictures Dubai

Two Scary Movies later, director Keenen Ivory Wayans teams up with his brothers Shawn and Marlon on the lowbrow comic caper, White Chicks, which pushes the lowest denominators of the ridiculous in cinema, deep down.
In a zombie-like cross-dressing get-up, the two brothers are neither desirable white females nor goofy black FBI agents — the colour reference is intentional because the film makes no apology of such overtures.
In a departure from the norm, however, the heroes do not "mis-use" their new identity even as the hang out with bimbos of unmistakably low IQ. The men even give the girls a sympathetic ear, and take home some lessons that serve one of the brothers in reconciling with his forever doubtful wife. That is perhaps the only redemption the film offers.
Kevin and Marcus Copeland are FBI agents who goof up on every assignment. They need one win to save their career, and that demands disguising themselves as the haughty Wilson sisters, who are the target of kidnappers. The brothers land up at the Hamptons Hotel, bang in the middle of the mega-rich, and they pass off as the Wilsons — just like that.
They try every girl's routine — never failing to over-step the lines of decency. Sadly, even child artistes are roped in to be part of the crude antics. They really ought to be in school.
The Copelands have to endure sheer agony in their new identity — one's wife almost walks out on him, and the other is love-smitten. In a climax that mocks fashion critics (somehow, rightly so), gun-battle and the works, the film ends on that predictable "all-is-well" note.
Convincing audiences isn't the director's issue here: He targets cheap laughter, and the sheer crudity he puts the entire cast through for a few laughs can be thoroughly disgusting.
Performances aren't the key in White Chicks. The make-ups should have been, and the plastic look of the agents in their female garb is a total give-away. Wonder how the crew convinced themselves to can the 110 minutes of gross-out comedy.

Chakram (Malayalam)

2005-10-22T23:25:00.000+04:00

Clichéd ride

Chakram
Starring: Prithviraj, Vijeesh, Meghanath, Meera Jasmine, Chandra Lakshman
Lyrics: Girish Puthenchery
Music: Ravindran
Editing: Raja Mohammed
Cinematography: Rajiv Ravi
Script, direction: Lohitadas
Tetco Video

Chakram falls short of impressing you because its history towers over its merits. The moment you recall that the film ought to have figured Mohanlal and Dileep, who have been replaced by Prithviraj and Vijeesh, you realise how Lohitadas lost out on a dream star-cast and we missed a dynamic team, who would have elevated the film out of its burden of stereotype.
The drawback about Chakram is that we have seen it all — many times, and once, in fact, from the very Lohitadas himself. Consider Thazhvaram and Kanmadam — both featuring Mohanlal — and place them next to Chakram — this one is more like a poor country-cousin. Apart from the problem of thematic similarities, Lohitadas’ latest offering also lacks the outstanding screen presence of the protagonist, a must for revenge tales of this sort.
Chandran (Prithviraj), a lorry driver has lost all because of the vice that on the first hand made his fortune — gambling. Apart from seven lorries and his transport business, he also lost his wife — all to a scheming Giri, who is utterly slimy a character. Chandran’s associate is Prem (Vijeesh), who is the vintage kili, who does all the odd tasks for the driver. Chandran is on the road again seeking out Giri to take revenge for cheating him at a gambling den run by Gopal (Meghanath).
Nothing much indeed happens through a large part of the film apart from portraying the antics of Prem and describing how Chandran has a heart of gold. It is only when he meets with an accident involving Madhuri (Chandra Lakshman) that Lohitadas finds the right excuse to slip into flash back mode in which we see Chandran marrying Indrani (Meera Jasmine) and finds himself isolated from his family. But he is duped by Giri and loses everything. In this rather jaded non-tale, there is only one way out: Make the hero and villain meet. It happens in the least convincing of manners and then there is the inevitable stunts and tears.
Prithviraj gives his heart and soul to be Chandran, and he succeeds in it to a great extent, when, either you are reminded of Mohanlal, or the fact that Prithviraj is too young for a role that demands greater maturity — in performance and stature. Vijeesh is adequate while Meera Jasmine has little to do.
Rajiv Ravi, who canned Chandni Bar, finds himself repeating his efforts but he gets the grim mood of the film perfectly.
Music composer Ravindran and lyricist Girish Puthenchery had a tough time creating songs to suit the scenes much like a dubbing job because of copyright tussles involving the film’s original songs.
Chakram is a drive that went off tangent, and that is Lohitadas’ personal bear bug: He had zeroed in on a tale much told and failed to whip up fresh moments.

Perumazhakaalam (Malayalam)

2005-10-22T23:22:00.000+04:00

Gleaming on tears

Film Review
Perumazhakaalam
Starring: Meera Jasmine, Kavya Madhavan, Mamukoya, Salim Kumar, Biju Menon, Mala Aravindan, Saddique, Yadhu Krishnan, and in special appearances, Dileep and Vineeth
Music: M Jayachandran
Cinematography: P Sukumar
Script: TA Razack
Direction: Kamal
Showing at theatres in the UAE

Tragedy is an imitation, not of men, but of an action of life: That is a take on that absolute element of drama by the masters. Perumazhakaalam, for a fault, is a celebration of tragedy, much like what most of our televisions channels do. The film imitates “actions of life,” no doubt, but then its "men" waver by steering into clichéd waters and thus Kamal loses another opportunity to walk that extra step and create truly compelling fare.
For the committed filmmaker that he is, committed in a rather sincere sort of way, Kamal ought to find his priorities right. Perumazhakaalam is a classic example of how commercial interests get into the way of proper story-telling and the resulting potpourri finds itself lost between the two worlds of cinema, which, let’s face it, exist. Cinema is not simply good or bad; it is more than that – it is about experiences that communicate at sublime levels.
The pitfalls in the film are not merely in the song, dance and dream retinue, Kamal is forced to embark on; it is also in sketching characters in shades of absolute black and white. Apart from the protagonists, every one else in the film fits into totally predictable patterns — right from the children who rush into the opening scene to the extra artistes who assemble in a crucial climactic moment. If only scriptwriter TA Razack could have overcome that… The film, however, has an essential “goodness” in spirit and much to the credit of Kamal, it doesn’t resort to utter melodrama, despite the theme’s tear-jerker potential.
Perumazhakaalam is one film NRIs in the Gulf can easily identify with. The core of the film is the fate of an expatriate worker, Akbar (Dileep) who is in prison for murdering his colleague (Vineeth). It was accidental but in a fit of repentance Akbar had consented to the crime and is awaiting execution. He can live if the widow of the deceased pardons him and that is a mission left to his traumatised wife (Meera Jasmine) and her father (Mamukoya). Together they trek down to meet Ganga (Kavya Madhavan), who belongs to an orthodox Brahmin community. This is a race against time and Akbar’s friend John (Biju Menon) is waiting to take the signed documents back to the Gulf country.
The thread has an inherent power, and the situations Razack creates have an inner strength, which Kamal seamlessly fits into the dominant rain theme; indeed the rain forms a constant backdrop for the film, its platter ranging from comforting to thoroughly distressing. Kamal uses nature in that sublime way Padmarajan had employed in Thoovanathumbikal, where rain plays much more than a metaphorical role.
For such an intense film, the strength indeed should come from the performances of the protagonists, and Meera Jasmine and Kavya Madhavan are brilliant, though Kavya steals the thunder, sort of, from Meera, occasionally. However, it is the little surprises that make the film noteworthy: Mamukoya gets a career-best role and his role will stay on in your mind. His reactions to the scenes, even as he stays in the background, bear the mark of a true performer. So does Mala Aravindan; and Biju Menon too, who after a long gap, makes an endearing “friend.” Salim Kumar cannot overcome his buffoonery instinct, and it often saddens to see him go overboard. Dileep and Vineeth have little to do.
Songs by Jayachandran are good though his resort to “classic Bollywood” for inspiration no doubt comes as a letdown. Oh yes, you can explain that on the intricacies of the ragas. Sukumar, the cinematographer, creates the perfect ambience for the film.
Perumazhakaalam stops short of a modern classic because of the clichés and some over-dramatics — the do-gooder relative (Saddique) turning rogue; Ganga’s relatives behaving in typical mob fashion; the intrusion of Akbar’s relatives into the pain of his wife; the pitiless television reporters; and more.
Yet the film works as one of the finer productions in Malayalam in recent times, and credit for that goes to Kamal. If only he hadn’t fallen prey to compromise…

Wimbledon

2005-10-22T23:19:00.000+04:00

Underdog triumph

Film Review
Wimbledon
Starring: Paul Bettany, Kirsten Dunst, Eleanor Bron, Jon Favreau, Bernard Hill, James McAvoy, Sam Neill
Cinematography: Darius Khondji
Script: Adam Brooks, Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin
Director: Richard Loncraine
(Showing at theatres in the UAE)

Though mired in thematic and structural clichés, Wimbledon’s end result is a wave of feel-goodness simply because it is another of those tales where the underdog takes all the beatings and beats them all to emerge the winner. It could have been any game; that the film centres on tennis and one of the most prized of all its crowns, the Wimbledon, is a bonus.
However, from the makers of Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral, the film bears their burden of churning out another romantic comedy; they resort to over-simplification, especially when the film is at cross-roads, with a vengeance. There are too many coincidences, and too much theatrics that the game’s own spirit somehow gets diluted.
Thus we have the brash US player, who shows just a little remorse in smashing the tennis ball at 140 kilometres per hour at the “ball boy;” indeed, the finalists even have a personal score to settle – involving who else but the female lead, here, Kirsten Dunst as the upcoming US star in the women’s circuit, Lizzie Bradbury.
Despite the uneasiness one might take with the thematic liberties, the film holds together and even drags you into its heart, thanks to the brilliant presence of Paul Bettany, playing Peter Colt, now ranked 119, who gains a wild card entry to Wimbledon. He is retiring from professional tennis but then who cares, says the press, as they scamper around Jake Hammond (Austin Nichols), the new “kid.”
Colt bumps into Lizzie at an unlikely place and he is smitten. The two hit it off and much to Colt’s luck, he starts winning and the next thing you know he has cruised into the quarter-finals, on the course, beating his own buddy, German player Dieter Proll (Coster-Waldau).
Lizzie’s over-protective father (Sam Neill) isn’t amused. He tries to keep Lizzie away from Colt; only he doesn’t suspect the manipulative agent, Ron Roth (John Favreau) who facilitates clandestine meetings of the love-struck gamers.
But when all looks rosy, Lizzie loses at a vital game and she walks out of Colt’s life — for being the “distraction” in her life. Colt now gets to the final, a torn-man, happy that tennis has brought together his own parents and the family too; but pouring out his mind on television that he had wronged Lizzie.
There isn’t too much by way of a suspenseful build-up but the director, Richard Loncraine, and the cinematographer, Darius Khondji, develop nail-biting moments in the climax through sheer technological brilliance. The swish of the balls, its flight, the fast cuts to Colt’s visage, his body language, the roar of the crowd, the silence, the takes on Colt’s supporters, the emotional build-up — and above all, the thoroughly British grace that Bettany exudes on-screen — seamlessly integrate to create winning moments that elevate the film from utterly mundane to a could-see.
If the film fails to be must-see, blame it, once again, on the cinematic clichés. The makers try to pack in too much in too little space — right from the caustic remarks of the commentators (and we have John McEnroe and Chris Evert playing the roles out) to the repulsive ways of the tabloid press to ambitious tennis players and even digs at the personal lives of some of the game’s evergreen stars.
Kirsten Dunst has the brash confidence required of an aspiring US tennis star but somehow the athletic ease you associate with one is missing, out here. Though, in the all’s well that ends well climax, there are references to her winning the US Open twice, from the bubbly teenager enthusiasm she exudes as Lizzie that looks a very distant reality. Bettany towers — in stature and performance — over her.
Brownie points come from some remarkably witty dialogues, the character build up of the supporting actors (your heart goes out to Coster-Waldau) not to forget John Favreau, who is an absolute delight.
For the tennis faithful, the film takes on some real on- and off-court anecdotes including the much publicised but short-lived romance between Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert.
The good part, however, is that you don’t really have to know tennis to appreciate the film because at the end of it, Wimbledon is just another tale of the triumphing underdog.

Ah... Aah (Audio - Tamil)

2005-10-22T16:21:00.000+04:00

Rahman back in his element

Ah… Aah
(Tamil)
Lyrics: Vali
Music: AR Rahman
Film directed by SJ Suryah
Vanilla Music

This is one Rahman who was missing in action. While ARR took the world by storm, his contribution to Indian cinema was largely being confined to patriotic beats, some of them panned by critics, and most failing to make it to the hit-charts.
In an industry, where plagiarism rules, Rahman, “the last original composer,” if you may, was increasingly feeling the pressure to simply be his “original” self — the kind of breezy music that he generated for earlier flicks like Kaadalan and Gentleman.
Rahman comes back to his populist style for SJ Suryah, who is currently making headlines with the ordered re-censoring of his last flick, New. That film too had vintage AR Rahman sounds.
Suryah’s brief to Rahman for Ah… Aah seems to be pretty straight-laced. Generate instant-appeal songs. He does that from the word go with the melody-rich Mayilazhage sung by Madhusree and Naresh Iyer. Relatively slow, by Rahman standards, the song grows on you steadily with Iyer’s soprano-take giving it a unique tempo.
Move on to Thigu, thigu by Shadana Sargam and Blaaze, and you get a whiff of the Antha Arabikadaloram hang-up with its sensuous sounds. You can only imagine how Suryah would get carried away while visualising the song. And don’t forget to rock to Rahman’s brilliant tabla rhythm.
It is foot-tapping time with Shankar Mahadevan, Vasundhara Das, Blaaze and Shalini in Maram Kothiye. Rahman is indeed in his inimitable turf — one for the dancefloors. But the winner in Ah… Aah is Anbae anbae, sung by Rahman himself. By the second hearing, you won’t be able to resist singing with ARR, En anbae, aar uyire. The song is infectious. Rahman magic is back at work.
And when AR Rahman does the works, can Hariharan be far behind? He strikes with Varugiraai, a number that derives strength from the sheer vocal prowess of Hariharan and Chitra. The final track is left to, last but not the least, SP Balasubrahmaniyam, and Shreya Ghoshal who sing Thazhuvidu. The song, somehow, seems composed to a sensuous groove tailor-made for Suryah. Not mind-blowing.
Ah…Aah marks the return of Rahman to his vintage sounds – populist compositions that rock dancefloors and parties, while offering the solace of melody too.

Water Down the Ganges (Fusion Music)

2005-10-22T16:20:00.000+04:00

Magic of Ganges, and on mystical sounds

Water Down the Ganges by Prem Joshua and Manish Vyas
Yatri by Prem Joshua
Vanilla Music

Eric Newby writes in his epic travelogue, Slowly Down the Ganges: “Like the black sheep of the family sent to Australia, the Ganges is always trying to straighten itself out. It sets its current strongly against one bank, undercutting it and leaving sluggish water on the other shore on which new deposits are made, until it finally breaks through and begins the whole process afresh.”
The music equivalent of such a wonderful reading presents itself in the instrumental Water Down the Ganges rendered by Prem Joshua and Manish Vyas. It is a journey into the heart of Ganges, the revered river in India; it is also a musical trip into the very essence of Indian music — traditional yet evolving; classical yet modern.
What else would explain the teaming up of Vyas and Joshua, on the first hand? What else would explain the many collaborations of musical legends like Ravi Shankar to upstarts like Shankar Mahadevan with world masters in a turf of “one music?”
For the uninitiated, composer Prem Joshua marks his territory in World Music, synthesising the sounds of East and West to create haunting melodies that blend the sitar with bamboo flutes and soprano sax with tabla rhythms.
Declared as the ‘Guru of Fashion’ by Indian dailies, Joshua has “crossed over” to the MTV generation, if you may, too. He was invited by the channel for its Mumbai show.
Comfortable on stage in Mumbai, as in New York, Joshua, born in Germany, started learning flute at the age of five. He went on to perform in rock, jazz and fusion bands as flautist and saxophone player before he was drawn into the Sanskrit-Sufi charm offered by Indian music. After a brush with Osho discovering the beauty of silence, he started playing music and learning too.
Water Down the Ganges is a collaboration of two talented individuals who are accomplished multi-instrumentalists. From aptly labelled segments including Moon Song, Ferryman’s Tale and Ganga Pooja, the album is meditative while being evocative. It opens you to the sounds of nature — and silence too, while it takes you an inward journey of serene contemplation.
Yatri, on the other hand, is Joshua’s tribute to India. He takes you through the many-grooved music tradition of India in this musical pilgrimage.
If you like Indian music, as good as it could get, tune into the wistful notes created by Joshua, and Vyas. You will sail along in sheer delight.

Coach Carter

2005-10-22T16:19:00.000+04:00

Be inspired

Coach Carter
(DVD Review)
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Rob Brown, Robert Ri’chard, Rick Gonzalez, Nana Gbewonyo, Antwon Tanner, Ashanti
Written by Mark Schwahn and John Gatins
Cinematography: Sharone Meir
Editing: Peter Berger
Music: Trevor Rabin
Direction: Thomas Carter
Video Master

Underdogs on the game court need not triumph at all matches. They could learn from their failures and go on to become winners in the turf that really matters: Life.
That is the feel-good message of Coach Carter, inspired from the real life of Ken Carter, a coach who defies established codes of practices to shape his students as not just basketball professionals — but truly successful men.
Basketball is the bedrock of the film, but frankly, it could have been any game. While the game gives an air of vibrancy to the overall proceedings, it is the bottom line of Carter’s philosophy that makes the film an endearing view.
Carter has only one point to make: If basketball players are allowed to get away from violating a simple rule at school, how are they going to become fine individuals later in life? How are they going to respect the public? How do you prevent them from landing in jail – wasting their life in the shadow of fame, peddling drugs and fighting on the streets?
The larger picture is clear: Coach Carter is a wake-up call to the young generation and it does the moral pitch without pretensions. Carter is straight about his goals, and so is the film.
Coach Carter has a tough mission in his new assignment. Make Richmond win games. It isn’t easy. The boys are good but unwieldy. They have their ways, no decorum and absolutely unconcerned about academics.
Carter insists that every student on the team get a minimum 2.3 grade point average at exams, and that they wear neckties on game day. He makes his line clear from the day go but loses two of his best players.
That doesn’t deter him, nor does he allow that to dispirit his students. Those who stay are put on punishing practice schedules and while every team member has his share of emotional baggage, Coach Carter helps them overcome it all — on court and off.
Richmond gets to win a series of matches but that isn’t enough for Carter. When he learns that his students are not performing at studies, he closes down the court. It irks parents, who now dream of greater glory for their sons. A taxing media glare and the highhandedness of the school board don’t rattle Carter, and his students stand by him.
Carter’s mission for his students is straight-laced: Win games but also win in life, and that is what most of them have achieved in real life too (almost all characters are picked from life; they come to share their thoughts on Carter in the DVD’s special features).
The film has a throbbing intensity — at an emotional level as well as at a physical level. While there are the school boy diversions (mandatory in such a film), there is no dilution in the core of the narrative: Basketball and life. Add to it a smattering of hip-hop, teenage angst and the works, and you get a slice of the new US reality from the youth perspective.
In a tailor-made role, Samuel L Jackson simply shines as Coach Carter. He lends a sort of personal conviction to the role that is straight from the gut. The students (played by Rob Brown, Robert Ri'chard, Rick Gonzalez, Nana Gbewonyo, Antwon Tanner, Channing Tatum and the sensuous-yet-homely Ashanti) too look their part. Vulnerable and disoriented initially but moving on to become focused individuals, these bunch of youngsters elevate the film from being just another routine school-kid drama despite a rather predictable plot.
Coach Carter taunts his wayward student with a question: “What is your greatest fear?” That could be the one-question anyone could ask oneself and then get on to overcome it. Director Thomas Carter (not related to the coach) has a winner in Coach Carter.

Udayon (Malayalam)

2005-10-22T16:18:00.000+04:00

A test of audience endurance

Film Review
Udayon
(Malayalam)
Cast: Mohanlal, Jagathi Sreekumar, Innocent, Kalabhavan Mani, Manoj K. Jayan, Laya, Sukanya, Bindu Panicker
Music: Ouseppachan
Camera: Ramachandra Babu
Editing: Ranjan Abraham
Script, direction: Bhadran
(Showing at theatres in the UAE)

Does an actor who needs no more laurels to prove his versatility deserve these catcalls? Must Mohanlal, the talent powerhouse of an actor, be booed at even as he breaks down in uncontrollable sadness on-screen? Why should he suffer the ignominy of an audience shouting aloud for a ticket-refund when Udayon is a mess created by its director Bhadran?
It was saddening to watch the instantaneous and unkind audience reaction to Udayon in a packed Dubai theatre hall. Surely, in his dual role outing, Mohanlal deserved better. And look, what he gets! With a make-up far more superior than his old but untamed Neelakandan in Ravanaprabhu and an unblemished portrayal of the 70-plus protagonist, why does Mohanlal’s Udayon leave you feeling cheated?
For one, Bhadran passes on his confusion to the viewers. Udayon does not have a narrator’s perspective; after three hours as a layman audience, you simply don’t know which side to take. If that was Bhadran’s idea of pushing the frontiers of storytelling, surely, he needed a different raw material on the first hand. You can’t break the mould and yet be inside it, as the pervading Sphadikam-hangover in Udayon shows.
It must be appreciated that — in the bigger picture — there are no thoroughly black or white characters in Udayon. Every one is a victim of circumstances but that overall greyness still needs one basic premise of a story, not hollow-sounding dialogues. That is what Udayon is all about: Empty dialogues, which Bhadran tries to pepper with a central Travancore twist. To his credit, there are some finely gleamed rustic usages but they get drowned in the overall cacophony: When bombs aren’t exploding the people are — with bombastic dialogues.
The tale of a patriarch of the soil, Shooranadu Kunju (Mohanlal), who wants his three sons (Innocent, a watch mechanic; Idavela Babu, a politician and Mohanlal, a bus-owner) to follow his footsteps, has the right emotional edge for a moral science lesson.
But even before you stop to admire the man, the 70-year-old who is all out prove that is sons are a bunch of lazy good-for-nothing losers, Bhadran stabs at the character’s personality. It turns out that he has cheated his only sister (Bindu Panicker) of their ancestral property.
That lady has three equally inept and constantly bickering sons (Jagathi Sreekumar, who in an Aadu Thoma get-up makes a living by stealing coffins; Manoj K. Jayan, a mentally disadvantaged who blasts rocks to dig wells; and Kalabhavan Mani, who has a serious case of fits, having watched his father take his own life).
To Bhadran’s credit, he does not show the second generation of the family as totally at loggerheads. If only for a comedy track, Pappoyi (Mohanlal, the second) has a friendly association with Thoma (Jagathi).
Trouble erupts with an illegal quarrying near Kunju’s property, which is stage-managed to irk him by Mathan (Mani) and his co-brother (Salim Gouse). At home, too Kunju is isolated as Pappoyi struggles to make money for his sister’s (Sukanya) marriage.
Nearly three hours of near-total confusion continue, in which there is also an utterly disgusting Sphadikam-style inebriated song-dance featuring Mohanlal and Laya. Bhadran eventually resorts to one of the last surviving clichés to wrap up the film. Taxing.
While minor blemishes can be overlooked, what is unpardonable about Udayon is the sheer contempt Bhadran displays towards the physically handicapped (played by Kalpana). Even for absurd comedy, how insensitive can directors get! And there is a temple-dance scene picturised to demonstrate Pappoyi’s musical inclinations, which is unbelievably nonsensical.
In a narrative peppered with stumbling blocks, the film’s glory should have been Mohanlal’s. Sadly, despite a seasoned performance, he is robbed of his share of awe because at the end, Udayon is pitiably shallow. There is little to right home about the other characters, except Bindu Panicker and Manoj K. Jayan, who both stand up to Kunju’s aura. The rest are sidelined.
As for the songs – from Ente Mohangal Poovaninju, Bhadran has always been a stickler for good compositions – Ouseppachan lets down the director (or was it the other way round?) with a thud. How do you endure such cacophony?
Ultimately, the film’s bad show is another pointer to Mohanlal: Don’t get carried away with the glib talk of directors. Read the script. At this age, you can afford to do it.

Dus (Hindi)

2005-10-22T16:17:00.000+04:00

All style

Dus
(Hindi)
Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Suneil Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan, Zayed Khan, Pankaj Kapoor, Shilpa Shetty, Esha Deol, Raima Sen
Music: Vishal- Shekhar
Background score: Ranjit Barot
Dialogues and direction: Anubhav Sinha
T Series (QRC)

Dus was to have been made many years back by late director Mukul Anand; it even had a chart-buster song composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. It too was about terrorism and had featured Sanjay Dutt. Some eight years after Anand's death, Anubhav Sinha (the writer-director of Tum Bin) returns with Dus, a thriller that banks heavily on style.
Black is the ruling colour in Dus. And the swanky gleam of flashy cars. In those vehicles ride, India’s anti-terrorism officers (Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Zayed Khan and Shilpa Shetty). They might soon be out of work if some scheming politicians have their way but Sanjay Dutt, the boss, is determined that within seven days they must prove to the world their mettle. This means scuttling the effort of an international terrorist who has planned something very evil on May 10 (and thus Dus).
It is not a job to be done in India and having got a whiff of what is happening, Sanjay Dutt (the character names are irrelevant, we see the stars and they behave like the stars — indeed, Dus is just star-celebration) dispatches his deputies (Bachchan and Khan) to Canada.
They constantly bicker but then give Khan his due — he can spot a bomb miles away. They land in Canada and wreck the country’s traffic system with a mad dash before the bomb planted on their vehicle explodes and they jump into a lake.
Pushing the ridiculous to new extremes, they also manage to nab who they believe is the terrorist’s (Gulshan Grover) accomplice (Pankaj Kapoor) from under the nose of the Canadian police (the entire force represented by Suneil Shetty).
It is a cat and mouse game that ensues; much blood is spilt in India and Canada and there are the usual mistaken identities, car chases and what not. Finally, all isn’t well that ends well because one of the heroes has died a legendary death.
But Dus isn’t about the story-line; it isn’t about convincing you anything. It is about packing style a la Hollywood. Whether it succeeds is purely a subjective issue. But where it fails is in its lack of overall slickness, in the clumsy old Bollywood-style frames where people are crammed in, and in the song-and-dance routine that is squeezed in not to forget the emotional baggage thrust upon viewers.
Dus should appeal, however, to those who look for sheer time-pass and oodles of attitude in their favourite heroes. No thinking caps needed, just blind hero worship is the need of the hour and you will find Bachchan, Pankaj Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, and even Shilpa Shetty, impressive in their roles.
But if you look at Bollywood, as a redefined entity, post-My Brother Nikhil, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi and Black, Dus, let us say, is all gas.

Akale (Malayalam)

2005-10-22T16:16:00.000+04:00

Journey to catharsis

Akale
(Malayalam)
Cast: Prithviraj, Sheela, Geethu Mohandas, Tom George
Based on Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie
Cinematography: S Kumar
Direction: Shyamaprasad
Tetco Video

Akale is a fiercely loyal adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ classic autobiographical play, The Glass Menagerie. The motifs and symbols that Williams employs to accomplish his take on truth, as disguised illusion, are all in place in Akale too.
So are plucked-straight-out dialogues and situations that are transplanted from 1937, post-depression America, to the gloomy, hippie-70s Indian milieu by director Shyamaprasad.
And to his credit, the film works. The tale of an anguished writer who is haunted by the memories of his socially reclusive sister fits perfectly in the new context — as it should in any social milieu.
Shyamaprasad sticks to the well-accepted dictum, the unwritten rule, when it comes to adaptations: Don’t tamper with the original. He seldom strays from the essential raw material apart from the occasional liberties to shape the tale in an Indian context. That the protagonists in Akale happen to be a marginalised Anglo-Indian family couldn't be coincidental; Williams’ play is cut out to suit the setting.
Perhaps, in any other Indian context, the film wouldn’t have worked this well, which also raises the question: Wouldn’t it have been a far more creative exercise by Shyamaprasad had he tried out a more Indian backdrop for the film? But then, the imageries he borrows from Williams might not work. Not the ‘Blue Rose,’ not the ‘you babbling old witch,’ not even the glass figurines.
That is not to take away the creative flourish Shyamaprasad lends to the film. He retains Williams’ strategy of narrating the tale through Tom (Neil, in the film), so that the audience sees the characters as filtered through Neil’s memory.
Shyamaprasad also adds an extra sub-text to his male lead. It is payback time for the man, who had run away from his family chasing his own dreams. He is a successful writer but life is coming one full circle upon him. His wife is deserting him as did their child. (That haunting pain, however, doesn’t reflect on Prithviraj’s Neil). Neil, right now, is too preoccupied with wiping out the memory of his sister Rose; he must write about her and he is experiencing a writer’s block.
It is through Neil’s quest to purge himself of his sins – through writing — that Shyamaprasad introduces us to his mother — but of course, Margaret — (Sheela), a lady who nit-picks on Neil. She hates his laid-back attitude to life; she is repelled by his late-night cinema adventures, at the way he eats with his fingers, at his reading DH Lawrence. She wants him to find a fine groom for his sister Rose (Geethu Mohandas), slightly crippled but bogged down more by a severe inferiority complex that finds her taking refuge in her glass figurines.
Neil invites his co-worker Freddie (Tom George, the film’s producer), who was Rose’s senior at school. They walk down memory lane, and Freddie even tries to embolden Rose but she is devastated when it is learnt that Freddie is already engaged. Maggie feels cheated and lashes out at Neil for being so utterly selfish. He walks out devastating Rose.
Many moons later, Neil chances upon Freddie, invites him to his home to dine with Maggie and then, and then alone, does he manage to exorcise himself of Rose. But that, Neil insists, was never about feeling guilty about Rose. He was only pained, and between pain and guilt there is a sea of difference.
With just four characters and all of them mostly cloistered inside Maggie’s crumpling home, Shyamaprasad lends Akale a brilliant cinematic vibrancy. He gives the play a fine cinematic make-over, helped in no mean measure by cinematographer S Kumar. The emotional turmoil that simmers in the household is passed on to the viewer effortlessly – and that is the biggest achievement of Shyamaprasad. He is assisted effectively by Kuku Parameshwaran (costumes) and Raj Unnithan (art direction).
The film, obviously, is performance driven. Sheela gives Maggie the right dose of exuberance, self-pity and humour while Geethu Mohandas, initially too methodical as a frightened kitten, evolves as a powerful performer. Prithviraj’s Neil has the brooding air of a budding intellectual but looks awkward in his beard as the successful writer. His made-up look cannot camouflage the essential boyishness in his eyes. Tom George impresses as Freddie (incidentally, local RJ and actor Mithun Ramesh has dubbed for him).
Akale evolves through the strains of Jim Reeves and Nat King Cole, which give the film the period flavour and the right emotional quotient. The film has numerous sub-texts, all powerful takes on human existential dilemma, but what is perhaps lacking is the mind-numbing intensity of Williams’ play. It is natural: Williams writes from his own life. Shyamaprasad simply adapts it.

Salaam Namaste (Audio - Hindi)

2005-10-22T16:13:00.001+04:00

Salaam Namaste
Lyrics: Jaideep Sahni
Music: Vishal and Shekhar
Film directed by Siddharth Raj Anand
Vanilla Music

Now, here is an (another) instant winner from Yash Raj Films. Salaam Namaste, the Saif Ali Khan - Preity Zinta starrer, is keenly anticipated with the title song already on its way to become a chart-buster. A feel-good compilation that exudes the winning charm of Kal Ho Naa Ho and Hum Tum, Salaam Namaste's audio has all it takes to fetch a phenomenal opening for the film.
The opening track Salaam Namaste by Kunal Gangawala and Vasundhara Das connects instantly. It is one of those breezy songs with Ganjawala's rendition strongly evocative of Saif Ali Khan. Das has a hat-trick of sorts in this winner after Kal Ho Naa Ho and Main Hoon Na.
Post-Dil Chahta Hai, songs that appeal to the young, yuppie crowd have helped many an album hit it bigtime in the audio circuit. Salaam Namaste's contemporary take is the romantic My dil goes mmm sung by Shaan and Gayatri Iyer. It is amazing how Shaan and Ganjawala show justice to the "audio appeal" expected of Saif Ali Khan. Here is another number that instantly wins you over with easy lyrics, unpretentious music and an eminently hummable choral track.
The magic continues with What's going on by Ganjawala and Sunidhi Chauhan. Kudos to Ganjawala; if he enjoys the fame of being in the top league, he has every reason to be there. Should wait and see if a la Abhijeet and Shah Rukh Khan, he is going to the playback must for Saif Ali Khan. Sunidhi Chauhan isn't taxed by the song, another foot-tapper.
The peppiness of the album dips in the flip side's Tu Jahaan by Sonu Nigam and Mahalaxmi Iyer. A pathos that does not push new frontier; perhaps this situational number might catch up after the film's release.
Other tracks include DJ Aqeel's remix of My dil goes mmm; Nikhil Chinnappa and Naved's take on Salaam Namaste as a dholi mix and a brilliant instrumental mix by Salim and Sulaiman on My dil goes mmm.
Mmmm, here's an album destined for the top charts. Don't miss the fun.

Barsaat (Audio - Hindi)

2005-10-22T16:13:00.000+04:00

Barsaat
Lyrics: Sameer
Music: Nadeem - Shravan
Film directed by Suneel Darshan
Vanilla Music

The Nadeem -Shravan brand of music still has its takers, which was proved recently by the success of albums like Bewafaa. Their songs confine to a mould and strangely enough, they work pretty well virtually always.
Barsaat fits perfectly with the musical groove of Nadeem-Shravan. Their stamp is written all over the album starting with Barsaat ke din aaye, sung by (who else) Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik. A typical NS number with the ascending violin notes and evenly played out drums, the song will appeal to NS lovers; others any way wouldn't bother.
Abhijeet and Alka Yagnik sing Mushkil, a romantic melody that can also be employed on the dance-floor what with NS employing all tricks of their trade on to the track. A number that could grow on you, Mushkil is a old NS music in "new" Sameer lines.
One fails to understand why three to four male voices must do the playback for a solo hero film. In Barsaat, Kumar Saanu, Abhijeet, Sonu Nigam and Udit Narayan sing for Bobby Deol. All have their individual style and sadly, none of them matches Bobby's. The closest you get is from Sonu Nigam who sings a likeable duet with Alka Yagnik, Pyaar Aaya. It is vintage Bollywood music of the mushy kind — soft and sufficiently heartwarming.
Alisha Chinoy has indeed made a commendable come-back to mainstream Bollywood and she asserts that her turf is still safe from Sunidhi Chauhan in Nakhre, a foot-tapping number, ideal for the club scene, with the Punjabi folk-breeziness thrown in for good measure.
Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik make a fine team as they do in Chori chori ladi akhiyaan, sung along with Sapna, Awasthi and Indi. A foot-taping number that catches up with the listener. Could make it to the hit charts.
Alka Yagnik, a clear NS favourite these days, sings two solos, Aaja aaja and Maine tumse pyaar bahut kiya — both ordinary compositions that need repeated hearing to leave even a minimal impact.
She teams up with Kailesh Kher and Priyanka Chopra on Saajan, saajan, which is hardly a patch on the all-time NS hit for the Sanjay Dutt-Salman Khan starrer, Saajan. In fact, this song is on a different level (not necessarily higher) altogether with Kher lending his inimitable identity to it but only minimally. Chopra's contribution is nothing but raunchy-sounding interruptions that hardly elevate the overall mood of the film. And the Saajan, saajan-take by Yagnik sounds bland and uninspired.
Overall, the success of Barsat as an audio would depend much on the box-office appeal of the film, which now plays at theatres in the UAE.

Police (Audio - Malayalam)

2005-10-22T16:12:00.000+04:00

Police
(Malayalam)
Lyrics: Joffy Tharakan
Music: Ouseppachan
Film directed by VK Prakash
Vanilla Music

VK Prakash got a clutch of winning compositions from composer Ouseppachan for his earlier films, Freaky Chakra and Mullavalliyum Thenmavum, both of which had interlocking audio tracks.
In Police, Prakash is burdened to deliver a stylish thriller, and the laboured effort has rubbed off on Ouseppachan too. The musician, who has some soulful melodies to his credit, is, perhaps, forced to churn out "contemporary" songs — which has now come to mean hoarse voices, scratched sounds and rap beats.
Ample reasons why Police, as an audio, is a letdown. Oru manvilakku, the opening track, tries to accomplish too much in one go with a rustic, folky bit blended with racy Western beats for a fusion sound that stands out like oil and water. And whoever gave that nasal twist to the word Manvillakku has committed a grave offence to the language. Be stylish but retain the soul.
Ninnin nizhalayi is a solo by Chitra; its melodic appeal often gets drowned in the instrumental loudness but yet, the song manages to appeal though it lacks Ouseppachan's earlier killer instincts. The song is repeated on the flip side by Anoop Shanker.
The much-heard song of Police is Kaana kannin sung by Chitra and Balu. It fits into the Indipop groove and yes, as soulfulness goes, it works. Balu is a gifted singer, even reminiscent of Karthik and Srinivas, but please do a favour: Refrain from Anglicising Malayalam words.
Police also has the mandatory violin track by Ouseppachan; it should appeal to his fans.
On the flip side, there are bonus tracks by Hariharan and SP Balasubrahmaniam. If you want to hear how one of India's most established singers tramples upon Malayalam, hear Hariharan sing En Manam. Forget the lack of the song's lyrical quality, it is torture to hear Hariharan mis-spell the word "ariyan."

Pandippada (Malayalam)

2005-10-22T16:11:00.000+04:00

Clone of clones

Film Review

Pandippada
Cast: Dileep, Prakash Raj, Rajan P. Dev, Salim Kumar, Harisree Ashokan, Navya Nair
Music: Suresh Peters
Script, direction: Rafi Mecartin
Showing at theatres in the UAE

Rafi and Mecartin salute once again their most obvious inspiration — the Tom and Jerry cartoons — to make another comic caper set in “cucumber-town.” How many more of these we should endure before they come up with anything remotely convincing is anybody’s guess. But Dileep, beware. At the risk of sounding like the "man who saw tomorrow," Dileep, two more such duds, and you can give Jayaram company.
An actor getting into utterly predictable grooves is the single biggest mistake in their career. Entertaining the masses is one thing, producing films to make money is part of the same game, but believing that films like Pandippada must necessarily be endorsed by everyone is putting self-interest a bit too far. No Dileep, don’t get it wrong, there is no lobby working against you. People who made you the star — the masses, obviously — are just trying to send across to you a message.
There are always some little extras that you expect from Dileep’s comedy. You know that this guy is the perennial underdog who must make money for his family (but only through devious and stupid means); that he must love the next female who dances around in groups; that he must tag along Salim Kumar and Harisree Ashokan for some absurd comedy; that he must get caught between warring villains conceived in shades of black; and that his destiny must be shaped at a marriage that forms the climax of the film.
Pandippada has it all. But give us more. It raises some laughter, courtesy, the ‘Oh-I-am-so-stupid’ antics of Dileep and the inimitable self-assured buffoonery of Salim Kumar, and the two actors’ instant chemistry with Harisree Ashokan. But how much can you stretch a few little jokes? How do you scatter them for some two and a half hours, evenly, without letting audience interest drop?
Rafi-Mecartin achieved it quite well in Punjabi House and adequately in Thenkashi Pattanam. But in Pandippada they simply run of their gags, especially, post-interval. To their credit, they align the characters well. You might warm up to Bhuvanachandran (Dileep), despite having seen him in many such avatars; you may understand the dilemma of the two warring landlords (Prakash Raj and Rajan P. Dev) who want to hold on to a strip of land that alone has access to irrigation water. Bhuvanan has bought it to resell the land, make some profit and rid off his debts.
You surely know that Harisree Ashokan and Salim Kumar, the partners of Bhuvanan, are destined to take many beatings and bullets. And the moment Navya Nair comes on-screen singing Thalangal, you know that she is destined to love Dileep and irk Prakash Raj.
Perfect setting for an absurd comedy. One laughs through the initial proceedings and then Rafi-Mecartin gets stuck. How do they conclude the film in a way that will appeal to all? The film thus gets into that very predictable Tom and Jerry chase with “Tom” even repenting to “poor Jerry” for all his evils.
Pandippada shouldn’t fail the prime target of Rafi, Mecartin and Dileep: Bunches of five-year-olds who force their parents along to the theatres. But shouldn’t actors and directors too grow? That looks like a remote possibility. Pandippada’s makers, Dileep and his brother Anoop, however have discovered an easier way to attract diehard film buffs to the theatre halls: “Watch it with Dileep.” How exciting, isn’t it, to imagine that you are in a huge cinema hall with Dileep somewhere there for company! Gimmicks, gimmicks, there could be more on their way...
Dileep is effective as Bhuvanan, but of course. He has perfected the role playing it many times over. Ditto for Rajan P. Dev, Prakash Raj, Salim Kumar, Harisree Ashokan, Navya Nair et al. Suresh Peters recycles his tunes once more; haven’t we heard the Thalangal beat in Thenkashi Pattanam and One-Man Show?
With very little novelty value, Pandippada will go down as a clone of the many clones of Dileep flicks. Hope the actor springs back to the big league with Chanthu Pottu, his next release; the role of the effeminate Radhakrishnan couldn’t be bad.

Sarkar (Hindi)

2005-10-22T16:10:00.000+04:00

Power games

Sarkar
(Video)
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Kay Kay Menon, Supriya Pathak, Katrina Kaif, Rukshar
Music: Amar Mohile
Cinematography: Amit Roy
Editing: Nipun Gupta, Amit Parmar
Art direction: Sunil Nigvekar
Written by Manish Gupta
Direction: Ram Gopal Varma
T Series (QRC)

It is Ram Gopal Varma's 20-years-in-the-making film epic, now materialised, rightly timed to showcase the dream teaming of Big B and Junior B. Sarkar is also RGV's take on Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather.
RGV is an honest filmmaker. He is brave and radical (who else would have thought of a title, RGV's Sholay, his next venture, a retelling of the all-time classic?) He has proven his originality. And he has years of experience to his credit.
Why then doesn't Sarkar become the most compelling tale of underworld muscle power ever told in Indian cinema? Why, despite being one of his most visual, doesn't Sarkar exude that raw intensity, and command a burning streak of audience empathy, which, say, Shiva ó Varma's debut ó or Sathya did?
Simply put, RGV is at best being himself, once again, in Sarkar, hardly moving away from the turf he has walked on earlier. While he closets Sarkar with the elements that are vintage RGV — tight close-ups, and emotional understatement through the brooding, forlorn and deadpan looks of his protagonists ó he doesn't break free of his Godfather hangover.
What RGV however does is fully realise the awesome screen presence of Amitabh Bachchan. The man, seemingly, has little to do. But the raw power that exudes even from his innocuous gestures — a movement of his hand, lifting an eyebrow — is magical, and makes him a total Sarkar, who like all "godfathers" stand for the underdogs.
But RGV goes one step ahead with Bachchan. Realising that he has lost his first son, Vishnu (Kay Kay Menon), the man lies on his bed, looking vulnerable for all his "Sarkar" airs. And then tears run down his eyes.
That is a defining moment in the film, and underscores the ability of Varma to bring out the essential human frailty of the powerlords. It is very unlike the loud, garbled, and heartrending cry Kamal Haasan gave out in Naayakan (India's first respectable take on the Godfather) in a similar situation.
Perhaps it is moments like these that make Sarkar, a film with an otherwise predictable tale, noteworthy. Varma simply packages that old story of power struggles ó both inside and outside a family — through the eyes of three protagonists: Sarkar and his sons. And a la Godfather, it is the son who is least inclined to take up his mantle who will be "Sarkar."
Abhishek Bachchan as Shankar, who must fight for his father, is a natural choice. RGV, however, doesn't chart out a role that offers the Junior to go much beyond putting up deadpan looks or stare menacingly. And he impresses precisely because of it: Bollywood isn't used to underacting; it celebrates hamming.
Big B however meets his real match in Kay Kay Menon. This actor is amazing. After portraying the rebellious student who becomes a committed activist fighting the Emergency in the recent Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, he effortlessly becomes Vishnu. It is a slightly wayward character ñ he is aligned to upcoming movie stars and vengeful on his own might. He eventually plans his own father's death. Kay Kay's portrayal of the breakdown of Vishnu following the botched murder attempt of Sarkar is the mark of a fine actor.
RGV demonstrates once again that when it comes to dark films as these, the women folk better be props. Here he reduces every one of them to caricatures, including Katrina Kaif, who will walk out of Shankar's life when she realises he is a gangster's son.
Sarkar does not offer one single moment of relief. The background score by Amar Mohile does have a life of its own but it is too relentless to be termed effective. Why did RGV forget the effectiveness of silence?
Sarkar, however, is good filmmaking, and wears an impressive, dark mood. But in retelling a tale, much told, it simply falls into a predictable groove. That is one task RGV failed to overcome.

Gangster Number One

2005-10-22T16:08:00.000+04:00

Intense drama

Gangster Number One
DVD Review
Cast: Malcolm McDowell, David Thewlis, Paul Bettany, Jamie Foreman, Saffron Burrows
Cinematography: Peter Sova
Editing: Andrew Hulme
Script: Johnny Ferguson
Directed by Paul McGuigan

Gangster Number One is raw, intense and unpredictable. Just as its protagonist Gangster Number One (Paul Bettany, Malcolm McDowell) is. He envies, he terrorises, he maims and he kills to get what he wants. Surely, not an easy film for a relaxed weekend.
Tales of hoodlums are twisted enough; here is a tale of a psychologically twisted hoodlum, who will stop at nothing, and more dangerously, doesn't know what he wants out of his own life. The man who butchers anyone standing in his way in the most gruesome fashion possible, however, later breaks down: "I too deserve love."
And, despite his evils all, the gangster, more precisely, Malcolm McDowell makes you feel he is right. Well, a little right. The man indeed needed love. His breakdown isn't about being remorseful. No, the man, picked young and raw (Paul Bettany) from the streets to do the dirty jobs for Freddie May (David Thewlis) has always had but one goal: The seat of power, Freddie's chair. He envies Freddie to the hilt; he cherishes his tie-pin, his hand-made leather shoes, his silk socks, his style, his sophistication. All he gets from the boss, willingly, is the tie-pin. The rest, the power including, he robs through absolute cunning.
McGuigan narrates the story in flashback mode but the ingenuity he imparts to this browbeaten story-telling technique is mind-blowing. And the smooth transition, to and fro, of the protagonist from McDowell to Bettany and McDowell is utterly seamless it is hard to believe these are two individuals playing out the same role.
And in his breathtaking award-winning debut, Bettany intimidates with his steely stares. He provokes people to just look into his eyes, and it isn't easy for everyone. McDowell, despite calling to mind the deadly chill of Hannibal Lecter, performs with eerie flourish.
As one-liners go, Gangster has all the routine elements: The evolution of a smalltime hoodlum into the gangster backstabbing his boss, petty revenges, the girl angle, the intimidation tactics, the gore, the works. But Gangster outgrows such predictable props chiefly because it becomes the tale of psychic anguish of the young hoodlum.
Having been plotting the downfall of Freddie, Young Gangster (who narrates his tale with ruthless honesty) is a happy witness to the rival leader Lennie Taylor (Jamie Foreman) brutally assaulting Freddie and his fiancÈe Karen (Saffron Burrows). And off he goes to brutally murder Taylor; Freddie and Karen survive but Freddie is implicated in the murder of Taylor and is shut away in prison for 30 years.
Meanwhile, Gangster grows phenomenally. But the fact that Freddie is out of prison unsettles him. He is even more hurt when he realises that Freddie and Karen are getting married. He narrates the whole truth to Freddie, who isn't surprised; neither is he provoked to even scores. The dilemma of a wasted life is now entirely Gangster's.
One good thing about the film is that it doesn't trivialise the killings. And unlike the trigger-happy gangster flicks, this won't make viewers feel even an iota of empathy with the ways of gangsters. McGuigan does not take a moral high ground to achieve this; he simply presents the story as it is, without frills. And that is disturbing.
Gangster Number One's failure, however, is in its laboured, even contrived, climax. To have Gangster, shout on the rooftop, "I'm Gangster No 1," looks too filmy for all the brilliantly conceived sequences (the reaction of Young Gangster to Karen spitting on his face; the murder of Taylor; the final confrontation with Freddie). But then, McGuigan has no easy way out of the psychic maze he has created for Gangster.
Gangster Number One beats many cliches through its narrative techniques; that is reason enough to watch it.

Raappakal (Film - Malayalam)

2005-10-22T16:05:00.000+04:00

Do good, feel good

Raappakal
(Malayalam)
Cast: Mammootty, Balachandramenon, Salim Kumar, Janaradhanan, Suresh, Vijayaraghavan, Sharada, Nayanthara, Geethu Mohandas
Lyrics: Kaithapram
Music: Mohan Sithara
Editing: Rajagopal
Cinematography: Sukumar
Script: TA Razack
Direction: Kamal
Showing at theatres in the UAE

Let's be honest: Raappakal, the hat-trick hit of Mammootty this year, doesn't push the boundaries of Malayalam cinema. It is simply another addition to the feel-gooder groove that Mammootty has perfected from his Valsalyam days.
As feel good family dramas go, Raappakal is a watered-down version of Manassinakkare, the 2003 super-hit by Sathyan Anthikkadu. While the emotional quotient of the Jayaram-starrer worked in many levels, Raappakal is almost unilateral in its situational build-up.
Which isn't a surprise because script-writer TA Razack largely adopts a one-sided approach to his characters: They are either black or white. There are no grey shades in between. They even talk to themselves aloud, far more than necessary, which is an outdated strategy in story-telling.
For Raappakal, Razack once again pieces together characters and situations from numerous Malayalam films, gives them a twist, adds his quota of melodrama and leaves the rest to director Kamal.
And that is precisely where the film takes its life. Raappakal is an out-and-out triumph of Kamal. He takes a predictable plot set in predictable situations enacted by predictable characters and gives them all an air of refreshing authenticity, forcing you to believe that you are watching them unfold for the first time.
Razack speaks of "pattanam (city)" as if it is some strange land of monsters; every character who is not a resident of Easwaramangalam, therefore, comes with the baggage of having to prove that they either miss the goodness of the countryside or are simply obsessed with the city.
In his enthusiasm to paint the city versus village clash as inevitably bad versus good, Razack seems to forget that there are hardly a few villages left in Kerala. The state is already one monolith of a consumerist society. Parents cut off from children is as much an issue in the city as in whichever remaining villages.
But then again, Kamal tides over such seemingly anachronistic tendencies of the film through his command over the medium. He puts the right props — and nothing more — in the right places.
And he is helped tremendously by the screen-presence of Mammootty, who succeeds (though not always) in overcoming his star-charisma to become the "servant" of the household. That is an unexpected from the star, which perhaps explains the success of the film too. He doesn't confine himself to larger than life roles, and his Krishnan is as unassuming a man you can ever find.
As an orphan who finds his way to the family several moons back, Krishnan is more like a son to the matriarch (Sharada). Krishnan's love for her is unconditional, as is his affection for the cows, the elephant, the fishes, indeed, the whole of the land and its inhabitants around. He is so utterly good, he doesn't even want to kill his arch-enemy, a rat, but simply wants it to evacuate the palatial home.
Krishnan is overjoyed when he learns that all the family members (now out in the big, bad cities) are coming down to spend their vacation at Easwaramangalam. Of course, they have an agenda: Partition the property and take away their share. As is usual, it becomes a matter of discord between the good (Balachandra Menon, Geethu Mohandas and Balachandran Chullikkadu) and the bad (Suresh, Vijayaraghavan). It isn't clear why the good ones should simply surrender to the whims of the bad ones; of course, they can stand by the old lady, and preserve the home.
Krishnan is shattered when he comes to know of it all, and his only solace is the maid-servant Gauri (Nayanthara, guess she was called so in Manassinakkare too), who has her share of problems. He tries to stop the family members from breaking up the family, occasionally correcting the "bad" city boys and men with a slap or two, and warming up to the "good" ones. Of course, he should fail, and what else would he want and get but the mother, in person. Isn't that true wealth?
Raappakal has a few diversions; one of the more understated ones (and that is its beauty) is the relationship between Malavika (Geethu Mohandas) — a character fashioned after Kamala Surrayya (Madhavikutty) — a writer and Krishnan. The others include not so impressive comedy tracks.
Razack uses the metaphor of a "tree of love" to describe Krishnan. It is a beautiful one that connects with the audiences. He also gets bang on target with some heart touching dialogues.
In the supporting cast, impressive performances come from Sharada, Balachandramenon and Geethu Mohandas. Nayanthara, Janardhanan and Salim Kumar are adequate while Balachandran Chullikkadu seems ill at ease.
Mohan Sithara's songs are a retro celebration of the 80s; they work well, and Kamal has picturised the Katha katha kilipennu brilliantly. Sukumar finds a perfect camera rhythm for the song.
Eventually, yes, Raappakal is feel-good. It works because of Kamal and Mammootty but above all because of the large majority of mankind's belief in unconditional love. And for the fact that Malayalam doesn't make too many good movies of late.

Eve's Bayou

2005-10-22T16:00:00.001+04:00

Genre-cutting experience

Eve's Bayou
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Lynn Whitfield, Debbie Morgan, Jurnee Smollett, Meagen Good
Cinematography: Amy Vincent
Editing: Terilyn A. Shropshire
Written and directed by Kasi Lemmons
Prime Pictures

The Academy Awards totally ignored Eve's Bayou in 1997. It was the Titanic year and even Good Will Hunting and As Good As It Gets struggled to win over the voters. Eve by comparison was a small-time production that had few big names and was a quirky tale of a ten-year-old girl.
It was a shame. Eve's Bayou is such a soul-stirring movie, brilliantly executed and boasting a credible performance by a child artiste that can stand up to Jodie Foster's in Taxi Driver. Eve deserved much more than the Best Film, Director and Actor awards it fetched at the Acapulco Black Film Festival and the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Child Performance given to Jurnee Smollett.
But then, good films live on to tell their tale. And so it does in the DVD version.
They say that Ian McEwan's Enduring Love has one of the most compelling "first chapters" in modern literature. Eve's Bayou indeed has a compelling opening line: A mature Eve looking back on the 1960s declaring that "memory is a selection of images, some elusive, others printed indelibly on the brain. The summer I killed my father, I was ten years old."
It isn't the intrigue of the killing that draws you into the film's heart. It is the construction of the past, which Eve will eventually discover is nothing a "tapestry" of truth threads, which changes its "colour depending on the colour of light, " and "can be clearer today than yesterday."
Eve is an enigmatic protagonist, a vulnerable little girl, who loses her innocence that night of the party when she sees her father Louis Batiste (Samuel L. Jackson) in a compromising situation with Matty Mareaux (Lisa Nicole Carson). It is a painful moment of truth, and she will never see her father, a popular doctor, in the same light again. The little girl confides in her sister, 14-year-old Cisely (Meagan Good), who adores Louis.
Eve's days revolve around her aunt Mozelle (Debbie Morgan), a psychic, traumatised by the three tragedies that follow her. Very soon, Eve's days become a sort of secret pact with Mozelle, who lets her hear her counselling sessions with clients.
Slowly, however Louis' flirtations wreck the Batiste family. The worst sufferers are the three children, most of all, Cisely, now a mature girl, who is drawn towards her father in one earth-shattering moment that borders on incest. Cisely becomes a recluse and she only lets in Eve anywhere near the truth. Eve hates her father, who will eventually pay for his sins.
Eve's Bayou is a genre-cutting tale and it never loses its perspective. From the trials and tribulations of Eve and the discord in the Batiste family, it effortlessly glides into Mozelle's psychic zone as well as the mental framework of the children.
The film becomes a clear winner for its lead cast. Samuel Jackson has that slightly menacing edge which makes him a perfect Louis, a doting father who cannot overcomes his weaknesses. Lynn Whitfield is the weak mother, who fears for the life of her children. And Debbie Morgan is brilliant as Mozelle.
The best honours are however reserved for Jurnee Smollett and Meagan Good. Both deliver such effortless performances, that they seem born to live the roles. Sadly, Smollett is more seen today in television than cinema.
A visual feast, Eve's Bayou is a must-see for lovers of good cinema.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

2005-10-22T16:00:00.000+04:00

Existential dilemma

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
Cast: Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, Richard Dreyfuss, Iain Glen
Cinematography: Peter Biziou
Editing: Nicolas Gaster
Written and directed by Tom Stoppard
Prime Pictures

Tom Stoppard had "nothing to prove" and "nothing to lose" when the playwright decided to make Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, his successful play, into a film. Shot on a modest budget, mostly in Yugoslavia, the film came some three decades after the play, and the cracks were showing.
On independent viewing, they are still felt in this Golden Lion Award winner at the Venice International Film Festival. (But at least let us thank the DVDs that 15-year-old films do make it to your living room.)
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is recommended to lovers of serious cinema, not as an entertainment vehicle, but as a brilliant study material on the integration of theatre and cinema as two diverse media, and the pitfalls therein.
The theatre hangover pervades the screen version, and it wouldn't have been a bad thing, after all, if the set-piece constructions haven't been so out of favour with audiences today. What Rosencrantz and Guildenstern lacks is the spontaneity, which you might forgive in theatre but not in cinema.
Fishing out two peripheral characters in Shakespeare's Hamlet and narrating the tale we are familiar with, including some of the bard's lines, from the perspective of the two, is an intelligent story-telling technique. It worked for Stoppard in theatre. It works to a certain extent in cinema too, especially, when Rosencrantz (Gary Oldman) and Guildenstern (Tim Roth) play their game of words.
Indeed, much of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is a play of words and despite the risk of its getting repetitive, Stoppard brings out the existential dilemma of two unknowns who don't know what they are set out to do, or even who they are.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern confuse their own identities and cannot recall why they have been brought to Denmark. They don't know if Hamlet is their friend, they don't know what they can do to help the man in distress. And yet, like every bit-character, they believe they are somehow crucial in the overall scheme of things.
Stoppard's brings out the disorientation of the two minds well, but after a point, it really doesn't matter because we, unlike the heroes, know fully well their fate.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead works chiefly for its underlying sense of humour. And despite its theatre-heavy compositions, some of the frames impress like magic. Be it be cinema or theatre, visual media can indeed transcend boundaries and even become one.
That perhaps is the singular beauty of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Sadly, Stoppard doesn't get it all the way through.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

2005-10-22T15:59:00.000+04:00

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Synopsis
Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp) is a township's enigma and his chocolates every child's delight. Charlie (Freddie Highmore), whose family of four grandparents, out-of-work father and cabbage-cooking mother, is fed on stories of Wonka's employee-less chocolate factory by Grandpa Joe (David Kelly).
Wonka decides to allow into his factory five children who discover a Golden Ticket concealed in Wonka chocolate bars. An obese kid; one spoilt-rich nut of a girl; an over-ambitious teen-lady; and a video game-crazy boy are the first four winners. Charlie is the fifth. Apart from truckloads of chocolates for all his guests, Wonka has promised one of them a surprise gift.
The factory is an amazing world of chocolate waterfalls, nut-sorting squirrels and cocoa-worshipping Oompa-Loompas who do the manual work. And there is Willy Wonka — cranky and vulnerable as he falls into flashbacks that cut to a repressive childhood under a dentist father who had denied him chocolates.
It isn't a sugary-sweet factory tour that awaits the kids. Their vices catch up with the first four until Charlie and Grandpa Joe remain to take the final lap of the tour.
Wonka hands over the grand prize to Charlie — the chocolate factory. Charlie refuses to accept it because Wonka insists that the boy can't take along his family. The boy leads Wonka to his own father, who has been keeping close track of his son's success. In that moment of reconciliation, everything falls in place for Wonka.

Review
A heartfelt streak of delirious fun has followed director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp ever since their first outing together in 1990's Edward Scissorhands.
In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Burton and Depp are up against Roald Dahl's brilliantly written text, entrenched in many a mind, as well as the cultural realities of a post-Jacko world where five kids venturing into a queer Willy Wonka-world don't exactly fit well with the ground rules laid out by Dahl.
Burton overcomes it — and way past the literal adaptation by Mel Stuart in the 1970-flick Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory — with the wicked charm of a dreamweaver. He complements the gross exaggeration in the character sketches — a poor boy with a golden heart, an obese chocolate-munching kid, a spoilt-brat, a gum-chewing overachiever, a game-crazy boy, all winners of the Golden Ticket to tour the chocolate factory of the wacky Willy Wanko — with riotous sets that make for the chocolate factory.
Everything in Wanko-land has a dreamy edge: Waterfalls that mix chocolate, candy boats, squirrels that sort nuts, chewing gums that have all the flavours of a three-course meal, tele-porting and the cocoa-worshipping Oompa-Lampas (all played by a single actor, Deep Roy) who are Wanko's loyal serfs. Surreal yes, but disturbingly singular.
As cinema, do they make feel-good vehicles for children? Not necessarily. Burton, who first paints a picture of harmony in the self-automated factory as the titles roll and then cuts to the grim, dark township where poor boy Charlie (Freddie Highmore, who was Depp's muse in Finding Neverland) lives, employs all the visual cunning of a master craftsman as he takes the viewers through the hallucinatory trip down the factory.
There's nothing sugary-sweet here. The chocolate pool almost kills the greedy Augustus Gloop (Philip Wiegratz) while enormously spoilt Veruca Salt (Julia Winter) "goes down the garbage chute," gum-chomping Violet (Annasophia Robb) turns all blue and the sadistic video-game addict Mike TeaVee (Jordon Fry) shrinks to size.
Kids can't complain though: Weren't they, the bad kids, collecting their comeuppance? Essentially, it was Dahl's classic formula of a good versus evil story. Good boy Charlie triumphs. It works on text; it works in the movie.
You adore Highmore, as natural a Charlie as one could get; he should endear the film to children. And you love Irish actor David Kelly's Grandpa Joe.
And Depp..., he redeems Wanko from being down-sized to a caricature. From Neverland to a Jacko-clone (isn't the Neverland connection a queer coincidence?) he bypasses the limitations of a sociopathic character through a rare edge of vulnerability that makes you empathise with the man. Well, almost. And that is when Wanko would match steps with the Oompa-Loompas who sing and dance as each bad child gets his or her due.
But then, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has also been about the poor little Willy, who perennially hid behind huge braces imposed upon him by his dentist father (Christopher Lee). He was denied chocolates as a child, and so he steps out into the world and creates his own factory.
He lets the five children tour his choco-land only because he must find a kid who loves chocolates and will continue the legacy of Wanko chocolates. It also becomes a journey of self-realisation for the man, who will see familial ties and the sheer joy of human togetherness in a different light. That sweet note of reconciliation is perhaps sweeter than all the chocolate rivers that run through Factory.

Credits
Director: Tim Burton
Story: Roald Dahl
Screenplay: John August
Cast: Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore, David Kelly, Christopher Lee
Original music: Gardner DeAguiar, Danny Elfman, Manuel Ignacio, Jesse Shternick, RaVani Flood
Cinematography: Philippe Rousselot
Editing: Chris Lebenzon
Production design: Alex McDowell
Costume design: Gabriella Pescucci

Johnny Reno

2005-10-22T15:57:00.000+04:00

Chase

2005-10-22T15:56:00.000+04:00

Wrong side of law

Chase
(DVD)
Cast: Jennifer O'Neill, Richard Farnsworth, Michael Parks, Robert S. Woods, Terence Knox, John Philbin, Kathleen York, Michael Sullivan and JE Freeman
Written by David E. Peckinpah
Direction: Rod Holcomb
Videomaster

A television production, Chase (1985) hits the DVD circuit with little star power enhancements other than that of Michael Parks, who was noticed as Earl McGraw in his Kill Bill appearances.
But the lack of Hollywood star power isn't a deterrent when it comes to watching this action-courtroom drama. Starting off with the clumsiness of a television film, Chase, however, gathers momentum and elevates itself to big-screen fun thanks to its breathtaking cinematography and a racy script.
To the writer's credit, Chase manages to steer away from predictability. The film is also multilayered in its character sketches. From old age loneliness to migrant worker woes and unrequited love, Chase latches on to a few raw issues without dwelling upon them for long.
Essentially, it is the tale of big-city lawyer Sandy Albright (Jennifer O'Neill) who has returned to her roots following the death of her father. She had always dreamt of making it big but the return to her country also makes here realise that "without roots one dies."
The peaceful country is no longer what it was in her past. Migrant worker camps irk many residents and the police force too isn't entirely impartial.
Sandy is asked to stay back by her mentor Judge Grand Pettitt (Richard Farnsworth). His murder puts Sandy in a career dilemma — of the sort she would never have encountered in her 50-strong city firm. She must defend Dixon (JE Freeman), the alleged culprit. Her only comfort comes from school senior, and now sheriff, Dean Hartley (Robert S. Woods).
Sure that Dixon would get away, Larry Butler (Michael Parks), a deputy sheriff and his team decide to kill Dixon. Sandy sets out to save him, and soon it is a wild chase with Butler and his gang closing in on them at an alarming pace.
Chase gets its true impetus in this action sequence, which also has an emotional subtext in the bonding of Dixon and Sandy.
However, the film closes on a rather abrupt note, and there is no courtroom drama that follows that will eventually prove Dixon's innocence. The film's tagline, 'The defence never rests' seems to be taken quite literally with Sandy indeed on the run.
Chase has creditable performances from its lead cast though the effortless presence of Richard Farnsworth lingers on. Jennifer O'Neill, in an author-backed role, handles the multi-layered role with ease. Robert S Woods has little to do apart from playing a loveable aside; he gives the space for O'Neill to perform.
Chase is not a show-stopper by any means. But it doesn't tax you either. One to be watched and forgotten.

Aasma - The Infinite (Audio - Indipop)

2005-10-22T15:53:00.000+04:00

Aasma: The Infinite
Lyrics: Rahul B. Seth, Abbas Tyrewala, Rakesh Nirala, Amir Rizvi, Saajan Agarwal,
Music: Aadesh Shrivastav, Salim & Sulaiman, Jayanta Pathak, Pritam, Sangeet HaldipurVanilla Music

Indian television continues manufacturing star singers and bands at a break-neck speed. While their talent is certainly above suspicion, what really matters is their sustainability and staying power. The much celebrated all-girl band Viva is as good as history now. Aasma continues to kindle their creative fire with albums, the most recent one being The Infinite.
The foursome - Sangeet Haldipur, Jimmy Felix, Vasudha Sharma and Neeti Mohan - were selected from some 15,000 star hopefuls over 117 days at Channel V's talent hunt across seven cities in India.
Since their debut as Aasma, they have been trying to reach out to the stars, doing an opening act for the Bryan Adams show in Mumbai and New Delhi, and selling over 165,000 copies of their first album.
They are regulars in the concert circuit and surrounding the hype of their first album comes The Infinite, which engages at least three top guns in Bollywood music industry today: Aadesh Shrivastav, Salim & Sulaiman and Pritam.
What you expect is what you get from The Infinite - nothing more, nothing less. They are expected to deliver foot-tapping, breezy, boy or girl-band like crowd pleasers. That reflects in lines like 'Na koyi tension lena' which is heard in the song Remix, the title track.
If you though you have heard of the last of remixes, hear this number, which is an open endorsement of the remix culture though the song itself is an original composition by Pritam. As is to be expected from Pritam, the song is utterly peppy and contemporary.
The opening track Punjaban Soni Lagdi, again, is representative of its composer Shrivastav's Punjabi preferences. The song is an instant winner despite the deja vu it evokes. Salim and Sulaiman create Mera Salim, Mera Salma, another playful, fun number that captures the fancies of the hip crowd.
The youthful exuberance continues through the flip side though the 'we are so hip' attitude tends to start wearing you down. Part of the blame rests on the overt dependence on Bollywood musicians for the album.
Unlike the Rock Machine of yore, the songs by Aasma, eventually, sound no different from any average film song. Which takes us to the question: Why vote for a bunch of newcomers who have nothing new to offer?

Koi Aap Sa (Audio - Hindi)

2005-10-22T15:52:00.000+04:00

Koi Aap Sa
Lyrics: Sameer
Music: Himesh Reshammiya
Film directed by Partho Mitra
T Series (Qasim Recording Company)

The prolific Himesh Reshammiya composes a mixed bag of songs — some heartwarming, the others ordinary — for Ekta Kapoor's latest film venture, Koi Aap Sa. Is Reshammiya going the Nadeem -Shravan way — on a sort of recycling spree? The Tere Naam hangover hasn't worn out from the composer and surfaces once again in the opening track, Seene Mein Dil sung by Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik. The two singers share a wonderful chemistry and the song is rich in melody but the killer element that once used to characterise Reshammiya's music is lacking. The song has a soapy feel-goodness that is now a cliche.
For a change perhaps, Koi Aap Sa's album features the remix version of a song first, and dumps the original to the flip side. And as is vogue with remixes, the song opens with the DJ's vocal excesses and frantic tempo that fail to connect with the rest of the song, Aaadat Ho Chuki by Shaan and Sunidhi Chauhaan. The song, on its own, however, has a winning appeal — strictly from the dancefloor crowd. The same applies to Baandh Mere Pairon Mein by Nigam, Chauhan and Jayesh Gandhi.
Sonu Nigam gets soulful with Aap Jo Paas Aayi, a duet with Alka Yagnik that overcomes its predicable grooves thanks to an impressive orchestration. A loveable, hummable melody, this one. As title tracks go, this song should do the film good.
Nigam is in his element in Tere Dil Ka Rishta, a melody that should find its way up the hit charts. The opening alaap by Nigam marks his impressive control over his vocal chords. The downside: The song is an obvious extension of the Seene Mein Dil number which takes away the glory of originality.
The only other original composition is Kabhi Na Sukhoon Aaaya sung by Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik, a run-of-the-mill love song.

Garam Masala (Audio - Hindi)

2005-10-22T15:51:00.000+04:00

Garam Masala
Lyrics: Sameer
Music: Pritam
Film directed by Priyadarshan
Vanilla Music

As long as the dancefloors come alive to Bollywood beats, here is one music composer who can be assured of a safe berth at its music consoles: Pritam. The man who rocked India with his Dhoom sounds, and also went on to pick the first Global Indian Film Award for best music, right here in Dubai, does what he knows best in his latest film, Garam Masala.
Indeed, racy beats are the flavour of this collection that stars on a rocking note replete with rap and hip hop flavours in Ada sung by Sonu Nigam. However, Nigam sounds a trifle too mellow to sing what is a racy number that is playful right down to the last stanza. The song thus gets lost between two worlds: An over the top orchestration and an almost wistfully romantic rendition by Nigam. As is the trend now, on the flip side is the song's remix version by DJ Suketu.
On Chori Chori sung by Hema Sardesai and Sukhwinder Singh, the album finds its true vocal energy. Another one for the dancefloors, the song is peppy, thanks to its overt bhangra flavour. Punjabi MC works on the song on the flip side with little value enhancements other than strengthening the bhangra mood.
The inimitable Adnan Sami strikes with Kiss Me Baby. A fast paced composition, the song is too many things in one go: Sami's vocal power, a strong rap segment and even an interlude that is strongly suggestive of a Dhoom hangover. Whatever, the song works.
Sonu Nigam and Mayur Puri sing Falak Dekhun, a typical Bollywood composition, to which Pritam adds his signature loudness and variations. Nigam is at home with the song's romantic flavour. For no reason, other than situational perhaps, the song is repeated on the flip side by Udit Narayan and Mayur Puri. If it is a competition to test the vocal prowess of Bollywood's two leading singers, the vote, arguably, goes for Narayan.
KK and Sunidhi Chauhan, the energy duo of Bollywood, play a winning dancefloor note with Dil Samandar. It has a foot-tapping "dilruba" interlude that should work well with the young crowd.
Garam Masala has vintage potboiler music — the hear it, forget it kind. It also reinforces Pritam's image as a dancefloor music composer. Not a great strategy for the long run.

Waterhole # 3

2005-10-22T15:50:00.001+04:00

The code of the West

Waterhole # 3
Cast: James Coburn, Carroll O'Connor, Margaret Blye, Harry Davis, Joan Blondell, Timothy Carey, Claude Akins
Written by Joseph T. Steck and RR Young
Music: Dave Grusin
Cinematography: Robert Burks
Editing: Warren Low
Direction: William Graham
Videomaster

James Coburn, the quick shooting Britt of The Magnificent Seven, is not exactly one who is expected to breeze through a raunchy comedy, no matter its Wild West garb. That precisely is the flip side of Waterhole #3, which shocked purists when it was released in 1967 for its double entendre, and easy-go-attitude towards women harassment.
In fact, Waterhole lightens up every single hideous act: From robbery to murder and molestation, and often gets away with it thanks to its often hilarious, 'code of the West' theme.
This intelligent musical prop, while not communicating anything that isn't seen on-screen, lightens the mood considerably. So when the film starts with the warning, 'do unto others before they do unto you,' you prepare yourself for a fair share of formula-bending and the absurd.
Thus, Waterhole # 3 comes across as a Wild Western, which has its mandatory share of sharp shooters and long drawn shoot-outs but also gets self-consciously funny. Which explains James Coburn's concluding observation: "Maybe we take gold seriously..."
In fact, gold, the lust for it and the lust therein, forms the crux of the film. Some 100 pounds of gold belonging to the US army is robbed by renegade soldier Henry Foggers (Claude Akins) with the help of Doc Quinlen (Roy Jenson) and Hilb (Timothy Carey). Quinlen buries the gold in the desert but in a skirmish at a local joint, he is killed by Lewton Cole (James Coburn). Cole discovers a map that leads to the gold from Quinlen, but his journey isn't easy when he is identified as a wanted criminal by Sheriff Copperud (Carroll O'Connor).
Cole outsmarts the sheriff, molests his daughter and gets away with Copperud's favourite horse. He discovers the buried gold but the sheriff catches up with him, but not long before they are both outwitted by Foggers and Hilb.
What follows is a cat and mouse game to win back the gold with the sheriff's daughter Billee (Margaret Blye) too playing a key role in propelling the narrative.
Just as the story seems to dip into predictability, Dave Grusin's music reminds you to take it easy with lyrics including: "What is lovingly given will come back to you," "You don't leave for tomorrow what you can do it today," and "Heed the word of your sisters, make a left turn from sin..."
Waterhole # 3 gets caught between two genres — gaining the strengths of neither. But then, taking a cue from Cole, "May be we take films too seriously..."

It Started in Naples (English)

2005-10-22T15:50:00.000+04:00

Romance and a newfound nephew

It Started in Naples
Cast: Clark Gable, Sophia Loren, Vittorio De Sica, Marietto
Music: Alessandro Cicognini and Carlo Savina
Cinematography: Robert Surtees
Editing: Frank Bracht
Story: Michael Pertwee and Jack Davies
Direction: Melville Shavelson
Videomaster

An actor at the fag end of his career, an actress on a roll — when Clark Gable and Sophia Loren paired up on It Started in Naples, the 1960 film had a clear lead structure to offer: Gable had to be the quintessential American lawyer, stuffy, confident and pensive; Loren had to be free-spirited, jovial and giving in to love.
Naturally, the film doesn't have too much of a twist to its tale. It doesn't take much movie sense to realise that Gable and Loren are destined to be in love. And for a romantic comedy, the film is quite straight-laced with whatever little quirkiness coming in from the eight-year-old Marietto, and a hilarious quota of self-deprecatory lawyer jokes by Vittorio De Sica.
Perhaps the true splendour of the film lies in the picturesque island of Capri, where the film is set. For Loren, who infamously sneaked into Naples to shoot the film, it must have been true homecoming — she had grown up in the slums outside Naples.
However, there is a simplistic feel-good quotient about the film that makes it breezy, easy and still enjoyable some 45 years after its release.
Hear what Michael Hamilton (Gable) has to say to his nephew Nando (Marietto): "Treat the whole world as a hamburger and approach it with assurance."
And again in a moment of self-realisation, he mutters to himself: "Nothing is true in this cock-eyed world. So hold on to what you have got."
The warmth in the bonding of Hamilton and Nando has a timeless quality. Nando is a surprise entry into Hamilton's family. Hamilton is in Naples to wrap up the estate of his deceased brother, when he learns about his brother's son, Nando.
The cigarette-smoking, rebellious boy is under the care of his aunt Lucia (Loren), who hopes to make it big in the marquee but for now must be contented dancing at the nightclub. Hamilton is concerned about Lucia's wild ways and how it would affect Nando, who spends late nights promoting the nightclub show of his aunt among foreign tourists. A custodial battle follows but only after Lucia and Hamilton are drawn together in love.
Gable, who would act in just one more film, clearly hands out the film to Loren and Marietto. As Hamilton, he looks detached, as if bracing to face the inevitable romance with Loren. He lowers his guard only in the nightclub scenes, where Loren is the cynosure with her dare and bare attitude.
Marietto, despite (and because of) his tantrums, is adorable, and his concern for his aunt touches you. The laughs, however, come from Vittorio De Sica, as the goofy lawyer, Mario Vitale, who plays matchmaker to avert a courtroom showdown between Lucia and Hamilton. His "old style" lawyer act in the courtroom is knock-out.
It Started in Naples is no Roman Holiday but its breezy fun is sure to make you smile. However, also be ready to watch a film that runs out of its story in the first fifteen minutes.

Sivakasi (Audio - Tamil)

2005-10-22T15:49:00.000+04:00

Sivakasi
(Tamil)
Music: Srikanth Deva
Direction: Perarasu
Melodious Video

After the epoch-making yesteryear clashes of Kamal Haasan and Rajnikanth films, these days Tamil Nadu braces for simultaneous releases of films by Vijay and Vikram. This Deepavali sees both actors hitting the marquee with prestigious releases. Vijay’s Sivakasi is in the news as the young actor’s first role as a police officer, while Vikram tries his hand at comedy with Maja, a remake of the Malayalam Thommanum Makkalum. At the audio circuit, both films have fetched good openings despite neither having any path breaking numbers.
Sivakasi’s music by Srikanth Deva is exactly what you expect of a Vijay film. The compositions are made for the dance floor and have vintage dappankoothu beats. The opening track, Kodambakkam Area by Tippu and Shobha Chandrasekhar, and the next Ada Enaththa by Udit Narayana and Anuradha Sriram could have been twins separated at birth. They could also have belonged to any of Vijay’s earlier films — simply to be danced along.
Srikanth Deva tries his hand at melody with Ithu Enna sung by Harish Ragavendra and Uma Ramanan, and then spoils the fun by loud, out of place orchestration. The inane lyrics too do not help.
KK and Vasundara Das sing Deepavali that has a strong Ilayaraja flavour, strongly reminiscent of yesteryear Kamal Haasan film dance numbers. KK and Das could well have been singing a Hindi song and you wouldn’t notice the difference with their put on accent. The highlight of the album is Shankar Mahadevan’s Vaada Vaada, which reportedly “presents” Vijay in the film. A fast track meant to dance a la Lawrence or Prabhu Deva. The final track by Mukesh, En Theivathukey, is situational pathos, which does not break new ground.
Sivakasi has a collection of typical dance songs that fit any Vijay film. And if the film is a hit, soon you might have Tamil Nadu singing Vaada Vaada.

Ponniyin Selvan (Tamil)

2005-10-22T15:47:00.000+04:00

A touching tale

Ponniyin Selvan
(Video – Tamil)
Cast: Ravi Krishna, Prakash Raj, Gopika, Revathy
Music: Vidyasagar
Dialogues: Viji
Cinematography: Srinivas
Editing: Kasi Viswanathan
Story, script and direction: Radha Mohan
Melodious Video

Director Radha Mohan, who made the memorable Azhagiya Theeye starring Prassanna and Navya Nair, demonstrates his command over the craft of cinema, once again, with Ponniyin Selvan. While integrating all elements that fit a commercial potboiler, Radha Mohan does not dilute the core of his film: An honest story presented without ambiguity.
In fact, Ponniyin Selvan’s re-asserts the essential goodness of humanity. Here is a hero who must fight one of the toughest battles — against himself — and emerges triumphant through a realisation of his true worth.
Ravi Krishna, the young hero, has to be credited for taking the guts to portray a full-length role with a disfigured face. For all his (otherwise) chocolate hero looks and self-consciousness, Ravi sure fits the role of Venu perfectly with his vulnerable looks.
The film is also about the bonding of Venu at various levels with various people: His mother Ponni (Revathi), his school drop-out neighbour Kanni (Gopika), his mentor Guru (Prakash Raj), and even the wayside beggar and his unemployed friends. Every character on-screen has a role to play in nurturing the script, which itself is refreshing.
A kindhearted man, Venu surrenders to a biting inferiority complex and decides to perform a plastic surgery. To make the required money, he slogs day and night, and becomes increasingly miserly and uncaring towards his friends and family. Very soon, he becomes a mental wreck. Only true love and understanding would then show him the way.
While the script seems to drag halfway through, dialogues by Viji manage to pep it up through witty and often remarkably wise observations. One such has Kanni advising Venu not to let “complexes trap you.” There are societal digs, a clutch of those jokes regularly forwarded on e-mails, and even spontaneous situational humour.
Despite the occasional limping, the film derives its strength in the closing reels, when Ravi Krishna too puts in his best performance to date. He emotes effortlessly, despite being pitched against the more seasoned Prakash Raj and Revathi.
Radha Mohan also signals the power of silence with scenes that indeed touch a chord. One such is in a hospital sequence, where Ponni simply holds the hand of her embittered and broken son, and gently runs her fingers through his facial scar. Not a word is spoken; not a music note is played. The moment however is captured with evocative strength.
Revathi, who has indeed aged gracefully, makes a fine Ponni. She gets the nuances of her character effortlessly. Prakash Raj seemed to have enjoyed his own acting – too self-confident, but then Guru, his character, is so. Gopika improves with each passing film and it is hard to believe that it is the same unsure girl who debuted in Malayalam.
Radha Mohan takes some excesses with the narration. An item number, a far-fetched stunt and some off-the-track comedy are dampers. But strip those flab elements, and he has created a simple film, well told, well-crafted and well meant.
—Archie Nair