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Reviews
Barfi! (2012)
Warm gooey fudge!
'Barfi' is a very rare Bollywood film. It needed a very passionate director and an extremely committed cast and scored on both fronts. The script is outstanding and it would be criminal to not say so. The humor and the dialogues are so well fitting and prepares you for the joyride.
'Barfi' is the name of a deaf mute boy living in Darjeeling and also the story of his 'sunny side up' view of life. It chose to primarily treat differently abled people as regular people and weave a beautiful tale with some outstanding moments. Their 'disability' is NOT the story but the story will make you forget their vulnerability and appreciate the characters they are. Its treads very far from the clichéd view of differently abled people.
Ranbir's Charlie Chaplin influenced 'Barfi' is the core of film. He's tugging at the foot of destiny with such a performance that will remind you of Raj Kapoor. The Kapoor clan can be proud. Priyanka Chopra left me bewildered and I still am gripping to terms with her performance. I dare not say its bad, it was way good but maybe it was so different from the PC that we all know and if that's the case, then its full points to her as an actor. Ileana was refreshing and just right; what a debut to have? The cast was outstanding. Each performing just right and Anurag Basu deserves some beautiful bouquets just for that. I'd specially mention the effortless performance of Saurabh Shukhla as the policeman.
When you have your lead being a deaf mute, you tend to heavily rely on music to showcase the story and Pritam has beaten himself to give life to this movie. What really works for 'Barfi' is the excellent background score. I wished it were a tone lighter but it has held the weave and tugs at your heart strings.
Ravi Varman's visuals were very fresh and crisp. You get to see beautiful and stunning views of Darjeeling and also Kolkata. The sets were equally impressive.
There's something about 'Barfi' which leaves you speechless and that seems a small problem when you happened to write a review. Anurag Basu, take a bow!
The King and the Commissioner (2012)
Explosive trash
The Neil Vincent Review of "The King and the Commissioner"
"It's all about the commercial quotient. So why not cash on that? "This was Renji Panicker's statement before the project began. How true! This could be the laziest film of the year with such poor homework done. I don't just mean logical fillers but just BAD scripting. This entire movie is based on the two characters. Its more like the story of Joseph Alex with Bharath Chandran thrown in to assist him.
Mamooty is indeed Joseph Alex, IAS. He's panache and suave with crisp dialogues and prolific dialogue delivery playing the role to perfection as usual. 'Mammuka' looks young and so dashing and yet sophisticated and in control.
Suresh Gopi lost 30 pounds to get into the skin of Bharath Chandran IPS and he's a thorough treat to watch. I don't think he shares great chemistry with 'Mamooty' but every strand of hair on my body stood up and saluted when he said: 'Ormaya undo e mugham?'
I was also thinking in real life if 'Mammuka' and 'Suresh Gopi' could mug all those dialogues they should have applied for and written IAS. The number of trees cut for the paper on which those dialogues were written could easily have been a forest in Palakkad.
Janardanan as Minister GK was so effortless, possibly the only sensibly etched supporting character in the movie. Saikumar brought so much of sense to such a senseless role. I can't stand meaningless demigod super villains whose sole motive is money. And Mohan Aghase was an awesome Prime Minister who did actually make me smile. Jayan Chertala was bad to say the least. He seemed lost and in a hurry to finish his lines. I did not know what was worse, his acting or his makeup. Janardanan, Saikumar and Mohan Aghashe did a job worth my ticket price. Their acting made me realize that there are no small roles, only small actors.
Alas I have finished telling you everything good about this movie. Now if we had a few bullets of that which were fired all across the screen then you could use three for the cinematographers! Bharani K. Dharan, Sharavanan & Shaji Kumar handled the camera and it looks like the whole of what they shot was stuffed onto the screen. The entire movie is not shot straight but from such hard to view angles and they change so fast that your mind cannot even process them. It makes me wonder what did Samjath do while editing this movie. I got lost many times when scenes that had no relation just followed each other.
Murphy's Law is so adept for this movie. Everything that can go wrong will go wrong! Let's begin with the great Shaji Kailas. Since 2001, Shaji Kalias has done 19 movies of which 16 were colossal flops. In that regard this is a huge improvement. Comparatively. Renji Panikar needs lessons in GK, Current Affairs and also technology.
TKATC portrays India as a devolving anarchy. The villains are so typecast with money being the sole criterion for anything they do. That again is the fault of poor scripting with such shallow meaningless characters. Moreso, the film is unnecessarily long at 3 hours and 10 minutes and I'm not a fan of constant senseless killings.
Please watch TKATC with your friends; and before you walk into the theatre for TKATC please carry two dictionaries (English & Malayalam). The amount of dialogues the villains and the heroes speak would require the use of dictionaries; and with your friends around, searching becomes easier.
I felt numb after the movie and so did all those around me. Dear Mr.Shaji Kailas & Mr.Renji Panikar, please treat the 'malayee audience' with respect, don't write out garbage just for the money. Create something worth watching.
Rockstar (2011)
Soulful!
Rockstar is a beautiful painting on a canvas. It's a journey through the soul of a musician; mellow and bitter sweet. It's not a feel good movie or even an actual tale. It has gaps as glaring as a 30 foot wide goal post but Rockstar has a soul and that keep you fixed to the screen long after the goal!
I liked Rockstar for three reasons; AR Rahman, the visuals and Ranbir Kapoor. A R Rahman has weaved magic and the music would be stuck in your head long after the movie; 'Saddha Haq'is raw and full of energy and will gets your fists pumping in the air. The visuals are simply scintillating; there would definitely be more Indians holidaying in Prague and Kashmir now. Anil Mehta deserves the kudos for the cinematography; Kashmir will take your breath away but the lapses quickly bring it back. Rockstar has great humor!
It's refreshing to see Bollywood have well written clean and neat humor. It's funny and does leave you in splits! The ideology that only pain begets music is a little retarded though! The movie progresses at its own pace with the music and visuals. Rockstar is not a statement or even the tale of most rock stars; it just is.
AR Rahman music is alone worth going to the film; soulful and very Sufi in nature. The 14 tracks in the movie are simply a testament to the genius he is. The rawness of the music has an addictive aura to it and will mesmerize you.
Ranbir Kapoor, I must say has matured into a fine young actor; with élan and crisp he blends the several layers of his character seamlessly into one. He's not acting, he's living it! Imitaz Ali has definitely grown as a director since Jab we met & Love Aaj Kal. Rockstar is loosely based on a friend of his, but he manages to pen it right. This is definitely not his best work but it pulls through.
What you will find hard to digest is the logic used that leaves you numb. Aarti Bajaj could have edited Rockstar better to make it edgy but you would not want to change that because you would risk hurting the soul of Rockstar.
Nagris Fakri is the new Katrina Kaif and has done an outstanding job considering that this is her debut. Shammi Kapoor spoke with his eyes and what a tribute it was to him.
Rockstar is no 'Dabaang' or 'Singham'; not a movie for the masses but it appeals to you. RB has the charm to keep you stuck to the screen. Frankly, Rockstar could be the perfect cure for the Ra One hangover. It's not a great movie, but it will suffice to rid of the week! It's a half baked chocolate cake. Who cares; it's chocolate anyway! Baked or half baked!
Ra.One (2011)
Tata Nano sold as a Ferrari
At the end of Ra.One I was left wondering how King Khan had a Tata Nano and sold it as a Ferrari! The beauty of the graphics and the density of the screenplay can be compared to the best of the Hollywood movies but Ra.One lacks character.
The story begins on a bad note and quickly drops from there to nothingness. SRK is Shekar, a video game designer from Chennai at London; a stereotype South Indian, who speaks bad Tamil and looks hardly the part. Bad acting has ripped this movie in tatters. The first half is a test SRK has prepared for your nerves with such mind numbing comedy. The lines were obvious and scripted lacked any surprise or energy.
Kareena manages to look gorgeous but hardly looks like the mother of Armaan Verma who by the way has done a great job.The 'wow' factor of the movie is Arjun Rampal who manages to pull you with his suave and angelic Powers. 'Chamak Challo'; that my friends, is the high light of the entire movie! And everything else is mental rape of common sense for you. SRK is a fantastic producer lavishing on the sets and props but made a disaster of a movie. The King is severely stressed and appears like a half baked cake throughout the movie.
My dear SRK; you cannot be Rajnikanth not only because you are not Rajnikant but also because you are King Khan! This movie can be a great marketing case study on how excessive marketing of a damp product can actually set the box office on fire (Arindam Chaudari hope you are listening!) SRK's media prowess is obvious with people calling this the movie of a lifetime. YUCK!! In short Ra.One is a boring science lecture on Artificial Intelligence and also the 150 crore ego boost of a bad actor. If you decide to watch this movie; please leave your brains in the fridge!
Velayudham (2011)
Flashy but makes it; barely
Velayudham is an out and out Vijay movie. I'm thinking Vijay will join politics soon and the movie's a vehicle of political propaganda. Hansika did a nice job but Genelia: you had just 4 expressions across the entire movie!
As much as I realize that this was the best of the Diwali releases, it was humiliating to watch Vijay rip-off stunts, costume and character from Ubisofts's Assassins Creed Series. The costumes were such a let down. And the saddening part were the senseless villains; their characters are so poorly written. Why does every villain need be powerful, rich and corrupt?
I now understand the adage that in all Vijay movies, the plot is the same but heroines, locales and the costumes change! Small town boy-comes to Chennai for family- Accidentally fights bad guys-then willingly fights bad guys- All bad guys dead- Tells people to rise up- Gets the girl!!
The good part of the movie would indeed be Vijay who barely but surely carried the movie. I still don't understand the man's obsession with trains and catching them!! (Since "Kuruvi" he's been chasing trains successfully) And Santhanam has also done a decent job, though you'd weep at what he's done at the climax.
This movie would have reduced my IQ by a point or two. But for all you Vijay fans: its time for Thalapathy! And yes go on and watch it; who knows it may be just the cracker you wanted for this Diwali!