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!