SATYA

Caught this flick by Ramgopal Varma. It reminded me a lot of 'Company', one of my most loved movies in recent times. This one was Hollywood-like stylish, yet maintaining the Mumbaikar element. The Maharashtrian tongue was so sweet to hear after such a long time!


Fresh Choice

This was the first RGV movie to deal with the underworld and it was very powerful. I think Manoj Bajpai was first noticed in this movie and to this date I feel he has been underrated and under-utilized in movies like Veer Zaara or even worse, Zubeidaa. How he is able to accept those roles is beyond my comprehension. I also saw the guy who played the lead role, Chakravarthy for the first time in this movie, actually I haven't seen him since, except perhaps some vague recollection of a song somewhere.

Caught My Eye

-- The characters are all so well etched out. They stay with you even after the movie.
-- The picturization of the Mumbai 'koli', the Mumbai streets, the rain, the girl, her mom, and basically everything was so Mumbai! Being from there, I simply loved recalling those moments.
-- Manoj Bajpai was clearly outstanding. His role as Bikku Mathre, the tough don with a heart, was simply amazing. He was so very lively with his gang members and loved his wife so much and enjoyed pulling her leg at every opportunity. The latter was a sport too and she loved her husband. This little tale was so humane, to show us that even dons have a life. Really well done by Varma, the Speilberg of Bollywood.
-- Urmila, who had already made a name for herself in the industry, enhanced it further by her brilliant performance in a limited role in this movie, which was all about the dons, their gang wars and so on.
-- The South Indian newcomer, Chakravarthy, has done a very good job, but allows himself to be overshadowed by the preceeding two people mentioned.
-- The music by Vishal compliments the movie very well. The romantic song was well picturized in Mumbai and the Kallu Mama song was my personal favorite :-)
-- It is Ram Gopal Varma who wins out and out in every frame of this movie. He makes it a thrilling experience and ends it with a bang of a message in the end! Kudos to this man, who makes you think at the end of a Bollywood movie!

The Last Peanuts

If you have heard about but not seen this movie, you should take a look. But you may find too much similarity to Company, if you have seen that one. Company is also more stylish than this one and though you can't see as much Mumbai in Company. But if you like Manoj Bajpai or Urmila, this is the one to watch! Kollywood viewers, don't shy away from this one, it is not a remake of the Tamil Satya by any stretch of imagination!

The more I see Anniyan, I am liking Prakash Raaj's acting more and more! I think I have to take back what I said earlier in my review below, about his performance fading out towards the end.

Also, the one sequence that keeps me hitting the back arrows on the DVD remote, is the Tiruvvaiyyar sequence. The comedy here is awesome.. everything from the "bus pass renewal" to the first song rehersal "Sa.. aa vinchaney... Manasaaa"... to the occassional interruption of the "TTR!!" through ThiruMAMAmani award.. on to "Manasa Sanchararey" all the way to the bullock carts where the background song: "Nanda Gopalaaa" was captivating!

All these tiny backdrop songs were way better than the actual songs themselves! I cannot stop watching the love letter scene, the Vairamuthu walk, "Iyengaar Veetu" all the way until the Remo intro. The whole sequence is over 30 minutes but it just breezes or rather rolls by in a jiffy!

Anniyan

Finally, the review of Anniyan on MooWe! I am sure you have read countless reviews of this movie; so have I, but I am going to present here, my independent opinion of this movie, not being influenced by any other reviews or others' comments. No, that does not mean its gonna be totally different from what they are all saying!

I believe that all of those who ever cared about Anniyan, would have seen it by now, either in the theater or on the recently released DVD. So, I am going to discuss freely about this movie, not holding back any spoilers, C'mon! it has been well over a month since its release, so chances are that you already heard what it is all about.



What's New?

Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD), is the latest vehicle driven by director Shankar to blow the horn of his message to the Indian public. It must be disheartening to him that despite all these message packed powerful movies, India continues to be corrupt and poor.

'Chiyyan' Vikram for the first time is acting in 3 roles, I don't even remember seeing him in any dumb father-son, twin brother double act! All these roles are really diverse, one as a loser following all the rules, the other as a charming (but irritating) romantic, and the third as a powerful extremist social reformer.

Harris Jeyaraj has replaced A.R.Rahman as Shankar's music director for the first time. He was a severe disappointment and perhaps one of the scars for this movie. In fact Shankar's last movie, Boys was a total disaster, but the music by ARR was simbly superb!

Noticeable

Shankar Patterns: There are a few patterns I noted in Shankar's movies, that have been repeated in this movie. These are harsh truths which have to be nailed down on people's minds and hence I do not blame Shankar for repeating these.

Take for instance, the case, where Ambi is begging for the mercy of one person to take a dying man to the hospital. This reminds you of Suganya and Indian Thatha begging for the mercy of several people when trying to save their burning daughter, Kasturi. Then there is the policeman in disguise, which we have seen in Mudhalvan, Indian and Gentleman before this one. Of course, there is always a flashback in most Shankar movies, but in this one, the flashback is much shorter than in other movies, or atleast it seemed to. Most of his flashbacks have a tragedy and this one is no different, it most often forms the basis for the movie. Also, Shankar's heroes talk to the public through a powerful medium atleast once in a movie. In this one, the venue is Nehru Stadium and on live television, which reminds you of Indian, quite a bit. The concept of one man can make an immediate difference and that fear is a weapon that good people can use, is borrowed from Indian and Mudhalvan.

The ruthless killing of wrongdoers is also similar to Indian. In this movie though, the decision on what punishments to hand out to criminals, has a basis like none you have ever seen. The Garuda Puranam is a mythical text, used by the God of Death, Yama, to determine how to appropriately punish criminals, when they land at his abode. The punishments range from being left to the mercy of blood sucking leeches to being fried in a cooking pan. These have been portrayed in a stylish fashion with great computer graphics from Tata Elxsi. Everything from the website to the mountains where the bulls kill the first criminal are wonderfully portrayed! The Tiruvayyar festival was wonderfully recreated for this movie, complete with all famous musicians like Kunnakkudi, Bombay Jayasree, Unnikrishnan and Sudha Raghunathan. Even more enjoyable was the train ride to this fesitval. It was all so natural that at times, you feel a part of the whole thing! Kudos to V.T.Vijayan and Sabu Cyril for their big thinking!

The length of this movie beats the record for a Shankar movie. It was not 100% interesting, in fact at some parts, you just wanted things to move on. Nedumudi Venu is another factor common to Indian and this movie, although his performance and role in this one is much reduced.

Ambi: Vikram has given his best in portraying this role! It was an awesome performance and it is difficult to think of a replacement for playing this part. Whether it was on the road, asking people not to cross the 'double yellow' line or when he was begging for the mercy of one vehicle to stop and take a dying man to the hospital. His hesitant approach towards Nandini was very well portrayed. I enjoyed the scene where he acts very proud upon having given a love letter to Nandini's parents in Tiruvayyar festival. The most bearable songs are Ambi's 'Iyengaru veetu azhagey' and 'O sukumari'. The latter was shot during the Amsterdam flower festival, but I have no idea what Vivek and his friends were doing there!

Remo: This is perhaps the least impressive of the three. This is more of a wishful thinking from Ambi on what it takes to woo Nandini. This guy is a 'rose model'. The accent is particularly irritating and Vikram does not seem to have rehearsed this part very well.
There are three songs for this character and it feels a bit too much! 'Kannum Kannum Nokia' was particularly irritating!! So, was the third song, which I can barely remember!

Anniyan: This was a powerful role and was a starking contrast to that of Ambi. Vikram has taken great pains to turn so muscular from the role of Ambi, where he is quite flabby. The contrast is very obvious and makes it much more exciting to watch. The voice is also well modulated by 'Dr. Ebenezerian' throat noise (thondai kara karappu). The ease with which he kills criminals is very thrilling. The fight sequence with the Japanese kung-fu artists was a bit drawn out, yet impressive. Also the de-freezing act during interrogation was incredible. Vikram's acting really makes this role very special. His casual poise while handling his victims and reciting the mantras were a treat to watch! I am sure even my grandma would have said "adi daa... adi sakke" in joy as he kills his victims. The Nehru stadium sequence really makes you think for a long time as to why India is so much behind! This part also brings in some comedy element as Anniyan kills Charlie, threatens Nilu, etc. His foul language will also have brought joy to youngsters!

Vikram (3-in-one): This is one of the best performances I have seen! The scenes where the transition between Ambi, Anniyan and Remo all take place within a minute, during the medical investigation is nothing like you have seen before. The first time transition from Ambi to Anniyan is thrilling. The fight sequence between the Kung-Fu stars and the interrogation and the sequence where Vikram flips back and forth between Anniyan and Remo with Nandini is awesome and very thrilling! This is indeed the highlight of the movie.

Chaari (Vivek): In my opinion, Vivek has done a very good job. It was his best in recent times. His comedy with Ambi was the perfect catalyst to a great movie. The Tiruvayyar comedy as well as the ones with Prakash Raaj were really funny and made the audience erupt with laughter in places. He has also played his serious part as a Crime branch inspector well.

Nandini (Sada): There is not much to write about Sada. She was really 'saada'. She has made an attempt to show off her structure, but no one cares, in a movie like this, where there is so much more to appreciate. I am not sure whether she spoke her own dialogues, but if not, the dubbing artist has done a poor job. The fluency is very inconsistent. She sounds like a 3rd standard kid, when she asks questions to Nassar the doctor about Remo's problem. She was not the beautiful heroine you are looking for. The moment she smiles, you realize that her dental insurance can be much better!

DC (Prakash Raaj) He has done well in parts, but fizzes out towards the end. His performance in his mufti roles were funny, and does very well when his brother gets fried by Anniyan. Also the entire detective ingredient was just in the right amounts. Did anyone notice Prakash Raaj say adiabatic as adaibatic?? Looks like he has re-defined Thermodynamics in that regard.

Parthasarathy (Nedumudi Venu) I have to mention him separately just for his fame in Indian. He does not quite live upto that in this movie. His role is not too much but he does an okay job as Ambi's father, who has lost a girl due to corruption and negligence from the authorities, who did not do their job very well.

The Others (Nassar, the other victims, etc) Nassar seems to have sleep-walked through this role. He was very hesitant while explaining the confusing field of MPD. The little girl has played a good part in the one scene she appeared in.

Verdict

This is another powerful movie from Shankar, that stays with you, but not quite the same as Indian or Mudhalvan. This one is somewhat more diluted. However, here are things you will start thinking about inevitably:

--- Would you have stopped, if you were called out to help carry a dying man, when you were driving back home in your new BMW car that you had just taken delivery of??
--- Would you have avoided any options available to you to pay lower Property Tax?
--- Would you have stopped watching free Cable TV or Wireless Internet, if you were getting it by accident, without having ordered a service?

These are serious things to ponder about, folks and unless one of us decides to make the difference, the others will not. So, it is good to do our bit so that we do not feel increasingly guilty after coming out of every one of Shankar's 'message' movies! By the way, "DONT MISS THE AWESOME ENDING!!!"

It is still a must watch! For Vikram, For Shankar, For the superior Technical skills and the Big Thinking from the movie makers to bring this to us! Kudos to all their efforts!

Photo Courtesy: www.anniyan.com, do not log me into one of those complaints for stealing their pics onto my blog! ;-)

Padosan

Noticed the name of this movie, when I was reading the tributes to Sunil Dutt, who expired recently. So, decided to check it out, since I do not remember seeing a lot of his flicks, except Munnabhai M.B.B.S and Yeh Aag Kab Bhujegi.

What's New?

This movie was the first from the production house of Mehmood. It is an out and out comedy movie, which you will find silly or really hilarious, depending on your mood, going into it. If you leave your brains behind, it is enjoyable. This must have been the inspiration to Dhawan's Kader Khan - Govinda comedy movies.

Noticeable

Mehmood and Kishore Kumar have done a wonderful job in this movie. Their pair performance makes this movie worth its while for the entire duration. It will summarize in 157 minutes on how 1968 humor was and you can spend several minutes after that to contrast it to the vulgar comedy being brought forth these days.

Sunil Dutt was really in his youth at this movie and has done a very decent job. It is perhaps not his best performance, but he has done his bit quite well. His comic timing was really good and supports the Kishore-Mehmood duo very well.

Saira Banu looks old (and fat) even then! She is in the same 'avvai' category as the Farida Jalals and the Rakhee Gulzaars. They never had a youth!

The Music of this movie was really a BIG factor to its success! Songs like "Mere Samne Wali", "Ek Chatur Naar", "Mere Bhole Balam" are all nothing short of legends from R.D. These tunes are oft repeated in movies and casual conversations.

Verdict

This movie qualifies as a 'classic' and is worth watching, when you are in the mood for a few laughs. The soft humor of the 1960s is a pleasant breeze to the present day ADULTrated comedy! MooWe recommends this movie!!

Kati Patang

Grabbed this old flick from the library for two reasons. I am getting increasingly inquisitive as to why Rajesh Khanna is so revered in the industry as well as that I don't remember having seen any Asha Parekh movie.

What's New?

Like many of the good old flicks I have watched recently, this movie gets off to a blast! The viewer is kept interested all the way! It is hard to see a complicated plot these days, dealt with so easily and with such elegance. There are four different relationships and stories strung together to fly this kite.

Noticeable

It is keeping in tradition with the idealistic old movies, where the in-laws are very kind and respected. This seems a little too idealistic.

Asha Parekh has performed very well in this movie in the role of a disguised mother, a guilt filled girl, a disguised daughter in law, yet a young girl, who has a lot of passion to live and love. Great portrayal of this tough role was crucial to the success of this movie and she does not disappoint. She looks ravishing and you really feel sorry that she has to act like a widow for a girl of her charm!

Rajesh Khanna has done his role with wonderful subtlety. People should really learn from him on how not to overact. This is the second film I am seeing in recent times, after Aradhana, in which he has carved a position for himself, in a plot that is centered around the female lead star.

That the detective aspects of insurance claims were dealt with so well, over 25 years ago, should really make current movie makers feel ashamed! They are really not all that effective, given the fact that crime rate has really catapaulted in recent times due to these issues.

R.D.Burman has composed some memorable tunes in this movie and it is difficult to single out any one song. Pyaar Deewana and Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai are my favorites. Na Koi Umang Hai is a good singing performance from Lataji.

Verdict

This movie is a classic of its own right. A very complicated plot that has been dealt with beautifully. Just for the songs and the performances, this movie is worth watching once and for the other aspects, you can watch it over and over again!