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ajitkalathoor
Reviews
Padosan (1968)
Legendary !!
If "Sholay" is legendary in the action genre than "Padosan" is legendary in the comedy genre. Growing up I must have watched this movie at least a dozen times. I must say this movie has aged very well, still generating laughter. The dialogues of this movie still get quoted and characters imitated in today's movies and tv shows. The ensemble cast complemented each other very well with their comic timing. You can't imagine another set of actors doing this movie, as each one carried their weight admirably. Sunil Dutt known for his serious roles took a risk to do this out and out comic, albeit innocent bumkin role. This would also go on to be Kishore kumar's most memorable role of his career He ended up stealing the show from Mehmood. Om Prakash is another notable mention. Saira Banu playing the heroine with an attitude was endearing. Coincidentally, she also appears to be the only surviving actor today amongst the main leads of the movie. The songs too were melodious, still being hummed today. This movie proved to be a sleeper success of that era. Definitely watch it !!!
Swanthamevide Bandhamevide (1984)
Predictable plot
Just your run of the mill family drama or melodrama. If I were watching this in the 80s or 90s I might have related to this movie but in this century it seems outdated. If the next scene can be easily predicted, the interest in the movie keeps dropping. As for Mohanlal, it was still early days for him so the acting genius wasn't developed as yet. As for the cast except for the patriach, the rest were there just for the ambiance, so there were no memorable contributions. Most movies from 80s get a high 7+ ratings, but this movie is in the low 6 that should give you a clue. So, If you missed watching this movie, you wouldn't be missing much.
Palunku (2006)
Below par movie !!
The main gripe I have with this movie is that you don't relate or empathize with Mammotty's character. He is loud, gullible and easily manipulated in whichever direction. One of the irritants is how he is keeps wailing all the time. Too unlike Mammotty. The ending too is abrupt as if the producers ran out of funds and wanted to finish it asap. So, there was no closure to the story. The change from of a naive villager to an urban dweller seem real quick and artificial. In one scene Mammotty struggles to understand the basics of English and a little while later his pronunciation is pretty good. A simpleton in one scene and real quickly he involves himself in shady activities. In one scene he is a loving husband & doting father and in the next little while he is involved with women of ill repute. All this is too sudden to absorb. So, eventually you don't sympathize with the Protagonist for whatever befell him. This is not one of Mammotty's better movie. If you are bored and want to kill time you can take a gander at this movie.
Khatta Meetha (2010)
Half decent !!
Overacting does not constitute comedy. Akshay puts on an overly quirky act which gets tiresome real quickly. I found the malyalam version way better than the hindi version coz the acting was realistic by Mohanlal and Shobana and scenes weren't overly dramatic. The dialogues weren't witty either, so though the movie is purported as a comedy film there weren't much humor in it to keep the audience entertained. Supporting cast were decent with Rajpal Yadav and Johnny Lever standing out. The songs were ok so all in all if you run out of entertaining options this could be a fall back movie just don't expect too much of it.
Napoleon (2023)
Meh !!!
Joaqim Phoenix was a miscast was evident from frame one of the movie. He did not look or embody Napolean in any way. Joaqim might have done well playing a fictitious, eccentric and borderline insane character of the Joker but playing a real person he failed miserably. He looked too old and haggard for the role and his one expression for all scenes did not help either. I watched the movie as I am a fan of Ridley Scott's movies. But this was a far cry from his previous achievements. I have seen documentaries with more zip in it. There wasn't any emotion or passion in any of the scenes, just sterile display of historical facts. The film editing was horrible with a sole goal of cutting down the film to 2 1/2 hour. This sacrificed the required buildup to the story. As per history books Napolean abandoned his troops in battle in Egypt, Russia and against Britain so he is not getting any admiration from war buffs. His relation with his wife Josephine would be the next focal point, but Ridley made a hash of it. So audience do no relate with any of the characters at all. Half hour into the movie, if your phone seems more appealing it does not bode well for the movie.