Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is from the same actor-director team that gave us Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and though they also gave us the disappointing Mohabbatein, there was some hope that the duo would recapture atleast some of the magic of their first film. That hope remains for the first half of Rab Ne as the film takes an interesting premise and sets up some intriguing possibilities. But the direction it takes in the second half is a huge disappointment and completely dashes those hopes. And then some.

Rab Ne feels like it is confused about its tone. Shah Rukh's unbelievable transformation and Anushka's inability to figure it out place the film in the realm of fantasy and make us settle down for some fluffy entertainment. But the after-effects of the transformation are handled with a seriousness that belies the film's light-hearted start.

The film starts of with two very likeable characters. Suri is a shy, introverted 'Average Joe' who has a lot of love in his heart but has trouble expressing it (this is superbly showcased in the scene where he wants to weigh down a simple note with a long-stemmed rose but then decides again it and goes with a decidedly unromantic bottle). He understands Taani's troubles and is willing to give her the space and time she needs to connect with him. Taani, for her part, has just lost the life of her dreams and is stuck in a marriage thrust upon her. She understands that Suri loves her and takes small steps(like showing up at the party his friends throw for him) to make him happy but is unable to open up her heart and love him the way he loves her - and the way he wants her to. These are characters we can wish will overcome their problems and live happily ever after.

Its amazing that by the time the movie ends, we have come to actively dislike the same two characters. Suri misleads Taani by transforming into Raj and then pretty much turns into a sadist as he pulls her in two different directions and tortures her as she struggles with her feelings. Taani, for her part, never reveals that she is married until the last moment, spends most of her time with Raj and contemplates eloping. So we never see if Suri and Taani are made for each other and never root for them to be together. Suri's friend, played by Vinay Pathak, ends up being the only sensible character as he voices our doubts and questions and just like us, is exasperated when Suri doesn't choose the logical and obvious path.

For a film that equates love with God, Rab Ne treats the subject with utter disdain. It sounds ridiculous when Suri mentally tortures Taani and then reminds us periodically, with short monologues about his love for her, that he is doing it in the name of love and to make her happy. And after all the doubts and misgivings and mental anguish, Taani's moment of enlightenment about the man she loves comes when she opens her eyes at the Golden Temple and sees who is walking toward her. There are a few scenes - like the hilarious one where Suri has 2 dinners or the one where Taani tends to Suri after he is hurt - that illustrate love but these are hidden under too many scenes of chauvinism, sadism and just plain stupidity.

Shah Rukh subdues his usual mannerisms and is wonderful as Suri. But he makes up for that by hamming it up as Raj and is completely irritating. He just seems too old to be playing the boyish, flamboyant character and gets on our nerves instead of being charming. Anushka is rather plain-looking but fits the role well. Dance Pe Chance... is very catchy and a real dance song. Phir Milenge... doesn't really fit into the movie but is gloriously staged and well-written as it pays homage to some actors from the past with lines made up of their movie names. Haule Haule... and Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai... are melodious numbers.

2 Trips

The winter holidays were filled with some memorable trips the last 2 years but with work playing spoilsport this year for both the wife and me, the only traveling we did was between our home and our respective offices. But we did manage to keep the travel tradition alive by squeezing in a day trip (more like a half-day trip since we left only after lunch) to the Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz on Christmas.

We first stopped at the Monarch Butterfly Preserve that is part of the park. The preserve has a short walk and a resting area where the butterflies are supposed to rest during the winter months before heading out with the onset of warmer weather in March/April. The park's brochure raised our hopes with eye-catching photos of colorful butterflies hanging in clusters from the trees. But all we saw were a few butterflies flitting around in the air and we spent the rest of the time squinting at clusters up in the trees and arguing about whether they were butterflies or simply dry leaves. We told ourselves that the rain and the wind had driven away the butterflies but one of the other visitors who seemed like a regular did mention that there had been a poor show the last few years.

Then we walked down to the beach to the Natural Bridges, which are essentially rocks jutting out of the ocean. There were supposedly two of these natural structures originally - hence the 's' in Bridges - but one of them collapsed in 1995, leaving the one that is standing now. With the setting sun, the dark clouds and the ocean forming the backdrop, the 'bridge', with the view of the ocean through its hollow center, looked gorgeous though. But we could enjoy the view for only 10 minutes or so since it started raining again, forcing us to run back to our cars.

Yesterday night, we went to Vasona Park for their famous Fantasy of Lights. The entire park was decorated with lights and several animated displays created out of twinkling lights dotted the landscape. We drove through a designated route with the displays on both sides of - and sometimes across - the road. The dinosaurs, a volcano, a ship and a gloriously lighted-up arch were particularly impressive and the cute displays, like a koala swinging on a candy cane and Santa playing basketball, were big hits too. The drive inside the park takes about 20 minutes with about 15 minutes (I've heard could be longer depending on the time) wait time to reach the park's entrance itself.

Happy Holidays...

If Wishes Were Horses...

Kavya's learning to write longer, more descriptive paragraphs in school now. Before composing the paragraph, she has to first come up with an outline that consists of a 1-line introduction, 3 pairs of double lines where the first line is a new fact and the second line offers more detail about it, and a 1-line closing.

The topic last week was how grown-ups should treat kids and the following is the outline she had written...

How grown ups should treat kids

Let us do anything
Watch TV, play video games all day

Draw on walls
Cover all walls

Give money
$1000 dollars every day

How grown ups should treat kids

Didn't know whether I should be proud of her writing or scared of her wishes :)

Official Endhiran Pics

Looks like a few photos from Endhiran have been officially released. They look to be from the same song sequence of which a couple of pics were leaked earlier. Nice strategy from Shankar here. Considering the leaked pictures, these official pics don't really give us any new scenes from the film. But by releasing them, it looks like he is not maintaining as much secrecy as before and doesn't want the hype to build to ridiculous levels. Thalaivar looks real young and stylish but then again, what's new?!

Endhiran was also in the news a couple of days back as Sun Pictures took over the film from Ayngharan. Seems like a really big film for a fledgling company to acquire. So far Sun Pictures has produced only Kaadhalil Vizhundhen and Thenaavattu, both small movies. So Endhiran's gonna be a real big step for them. With Karunanidhi's family and Maaran's family burying the hatchet, atleast the television telecast rights won't be fought over!

Remixes

Almost every other soundtrack these days seems to have a song that is a remix of an older song. The term remix covers many different kinds though. We have songs that retain the same tune but put in new lyrics(like Billa's My Name is Billa...) and we have songs that play around with the tune but have the same lyrics as the original song(like Yaaradi Nee Mohini's Paalakkaattu...). Then there are songs that retain the old song but introduce pieces of new music(like Pollaadhavan's Engeyum Eppodhum...) and songs that borrow a little bit of an old number and include it in an otherwise new song(like Pattiyal's Namma Kaattula...). I think the first remix number in Tamil cinema was probably Oorai Therinjukkitten... from Samsaaram Adhu Minsaaram, which took the blockbuster number from Padikkaadhavan and gave it new lyrics.

Remixes have both opponents and defenders. While the critics see a remix as outright blasphemy and consider it a pointer to the lack of creativity on the part of the music director, its defenders say that it is simply proof of the original's enduring appeal and argue that it is a homage since it popularizes the original among a new generation of listeners.

I tread the middle path in this argument since my opinion about remixes changes on a song-by-song basis. I do have my own favorite songs but I don't think I have the kind of attachment to any of them that makes me immediately frown upon an attempt to remix it (or maybe its just that there hasn't yet been a remix of a song I really really like!). While something like the Nalandhaanaa... remix from Silambaattam, even if it borrows only a couple of lines from the original, horrifies me and makes me lean against remixes in general, I do enjoy numbers like the Vasantha Mullai... remix from Pokkiri. The argument that a remix points to the composer's lack of creativity doesn't really fly since the music director does compose the other songs in the album. For instance, G.V.Prakash remixed Engeyum Eppodhum... in the Pollaadhavan soundtrack but he also gave us the fantastic MinnalgaL Koothaadum... in the same album.

So my criteria for liking a remix are simple - it respects the original and it fits the situation it is used in (ofcourse, it should also be picturized well but that goes for any song). By those criteria, my favorite remix so far is PonmagaL VandhaaL... from Azhagiya Thamizh Magan. Apart from being really catchy(I absolutely love the way the muthukkaL... line plays out in different tunes), its lyrics perfectly reflect Vijay's frame of mind since he is going to marry the very rich Shriya. Another remix I like is Aahaa Vandhiduchu... from Vallavan. There too, the remix's situation of a disguised Simbhu wooing Nayanthara mimicked the original song's situation of a buck-toothed Kamal wooing Sridevi and so it fit in perfectly. Another favorite would be the Ennammaa Kannu... remix from ThiruviLaiyaadal Aarambam since it was put in to describe the clash of wits between Dhanush and Prakashraj, in quite the same way that the original described the clash between Rajni and Satyaraj.

Its clear that only a few remixes so far have been used appropriately. The remaining were born out of the composer's wish to piggyback on the popularity of an old song or simply follow the trend of remixing. Its clear that remixes are here to stay, atleast for the near future and there are quite a few in the pipeline(BadrakaLi's Kettele Ange... and Rajadhi Raja's Engitta Modhadhe... for example). Hope the makers realize what makes remixes work and use them the right way.

Showtime

Its nice that our Tamil heroes are looking fit, paying attention to their bodies and all that. But do they have to flaunt their physique in every movie? With all our heroes going topless these days, the stills from our movies are starting to look like male versions of those infamous Malayalam movie posters that showed the buxom actresses in skimpy clothes and various stages of undress.Oh well... I guess this is one way to turn even action movies like Ayan and Thoranai into chick flicks :)

Twenty:20

Making a film with more than 1 big star, let alone all of them, is no easy task. While the story must provide the actors with roles commensurate with their stature and fan following, it must be strong enough to hold our interest on its own. By that yardstick, Twenty:20 is a fantastic achievement. Featuring most actors of the Malayalam industry, it manages to give them - atleast the most important among them - meaty roles and spin an interesting yarn too.

Indrajit plays a college youth charged with murdering a fellow student. Suresh Gopi, playing a cop, arrests Indrajit but Mammootty, who plays a lawyer, gets him released. Within a couple of days, Indrajit is murdered and Suresh Gopi arrests Mohanlal, who was caught with knife in hand. Mohanlal pleads innocence and Mammootty, convinced by him and his mother and sister, appears in court on his behalf and gets him released too. But that turns out to be a mistake.

Twenty:20 starts off as a whodunnit but soon turns into a revenge saga. Similar stories have been seen in Malayalam before and so the story doesn't feel completely fresh. The twists and turns are a little predictable and once we get past the one big surprise right after Mohanlal gets out of jail, there are no real surprises in the way the story unfolds or the manner in which connections are established between the key characters. But it does hold our interest for the most part with a good pace and a fast screenplay. The climax feels overly long and messy and there's the feeling that its because of a need to give all actors their due.

But the movie's key attraction is ofcourse the chance to see all the actors share the screen. The big three - Mammootty, Mohanlal and Suresh Gopi - have been given roles that perfectly suit their images. Mammootty and Mohanlal are ofcourse the biggest stars and whenever they clash, like the meeting between them just before the intermission or the fight - and the following conversation - between them in the highrise, sparks fly. Suresh Gopi gets to mouth some strong dialogs with his usual intensity too and go up against both of them. Dileep steals the scenes he is in with his awesome comic talent while Jayaram gets to play a more serious role. Among the actresses, Kavya Madhavan goes against type in an enjoyable way, Nayanthara shows up for a song and Bhavana pairs up with Dileep. From what I could see, Nedumudi Venu was the only famous actor who didn't show up in the movie.

Just Miss (World)

India narrowly missed having another of its women crowned Miss World as Parvathy Omanakuttan was first runner-up at Miss World 2008. Seeing her photos, I wouldn't have guessed Parvathy to be from Kerala since she doesn't exhibit those uniquely Malayali looks we see in Nayanthara, Meera Jasmine, Navya Nair, Bhavana or any of the other actresses from 'God's Own Country'. Turns out she was born in Kottayam but was brought up in - and lives in -Mumbai. Guess we have the heroine for Shah Rukh Khan's next film!

Rajadhi Raja

Rajadhi Raja is the quintessial Rajni film. Light-hearted, clean, non-violent and yet entertaining, it is packed with all the elements - good clean comedy, great songs, fights and light sentiments - that people have come to expect from a Rajni movie. It was Rajni's 125th film and at the time it was released, the term 'Rajni movie' was already a bonafide genre and the release of a Rajni movie was an event. But it was also a simpler time when the hype didn't threaten to overwhelm the movie itself and the expectations about the movie were not impossibly high. Those expectations it met fully, becoming a big hit.

Raja(Rajnikanth) has just returned from the US and finds his father dead, apparently from a fall after drinking too much. Suspecting his dad's second wife(Y.Vijaya) and her brother(Radharavi) of murdering his dad, Raja asks his friend Sethu(Janakaraj) to impersonate Raja while he himself enters the household as a worker. But the villains, who uncover the truth, kill Sethu also and place the blame on Raja. Raja goes on the run and runs into Chinnarasu(Rajnikanth), who resembles him. Chinnarasu is looking for some money to wed his uncle's daughter(Nadhiya) and Raja requests him to take his place in jail while he unmasks the villains.

Rajadhi Raja is a film where everything, barring Rajni and Ilaiyaraja's music, has aged or was silly to begin with. Its story is simplistic (an age-old revenge tale solved by the simple act of recording the villains' confessions), its screenplay is amateurish and completely devoid of logic(the movie's climax has Rajni crashing into the hanging room in a jail!), the villains are caricatures(comedians one moment, bad guys the next) and technical aspects are shoddy(in the climactic car chase, you can not only see the stuntman but you can actually see him wearing a helmet in the car that is supposedly being driven by a helmet-less Rajni!). But inspite of all this, if the movie works great as a full-length entertainer, it is only because of Rajni. Rajadhi Raja is truly a one-man show and its entertainment value and blockbuster status simply reinforce Rajni's screen presence, charisma and unequaled ability to single-handedly carry a movie on his shoulders.

Ever since Thambikku Endha Ooru, the movie that gave him the template for his roles that he has followed to this day and perfected to an art, Rajni has incorporated both action and comedy into his character. Every film(barring a rare entry like Baasha) has seen him clown around either with or without a comedian in one scene, before delivering punch lines and pummelling the villains in the next. Rajadhi Raja splits up the two parts of his comedy/action persona into two separate characters. So we have Raja, to deal with the villains and Chinnarasu, to make us laugh. This gives us more of Rajni and helps avoid the compartmentalized feeling that dogs those other characters - and movies - where Rajni plays both action hero and comedian.

The film is intended as a showcase for Rajni and little more. The story is real simple and there are no surprises or shocks. Since we - and Rajni - know who the villains are, there is no real suspense or tension either. The characters of the magician and 'Vaalpaarai' Varadhan are simply more chances for Rajni to play dress-up.

In recent times, the role of Chinnarasu is probably the closest Rajni has come to a full-fledged comedy role and his performance showcases his flair for comedy. The innocence and naievete of the character are endearing and he has us in splits whenever he is onscreen. The scene where he requests a landowner for a job and the one where he has to handle both Radha and Nadiya when they come to see him in jail are a couple of the standouts. If Chinnarasu is there to make us laugh, Raja is there to make us clap and cheer. It is the more traditional Rajni role with fights and whistle-eliciting lines like the classic Oru mottai.... Needless to say, he carries it off with elan. Radha, in some particularly weird dresses in the song sequences, and Nadiya, in her last role as heroine before her marriage, are along for the ride. Radha has pretty much nothing to do other than saying a few lines that serve as lead-ins to songs while Nadiya shows some fire when confronting her dad or Anandraj. Radharavi mixes villainy and comedy in his usual style.

I think the film was Ilaiyaraja's home production and he delivers a stellar soundtrack with all hits and no misses. Malayaala Karaiyoram... is a soft, melodious number that takes the place of the now-familiar introduction numbers. Meenamma Meenamma... and Vaa Vaa... are soft numbers also. Mama Un PoNNa Kodu... is a fun number with some spirited steps from Rajni while Enkitta Modhaadhe... could well be an anthem for Rajni fans considering how well it sings his praises.

Rajadhi Raja is a film that shows us that Rajni is truly Tamil cinema's rajadhi raja!

Happy Birthday Rajnikanth!

Happy Birthday to Rajnikanth, Tamil cinema's one and only Superstar...

The mood of Rajni fans on this birthday can't be as good as their mood last year. Last December, we were still basking in the glory of Sivaji's success and celebrating thalaivar's State award for Best Actor for Chandramukhi. But 2008 has been a rather disappointing year with Rajni's lone release Kuselan turning out to be a flop and Rajni himself getting enmeshed in a couple of controversies. But with the first-of-a-kind animation film Sultan just around the corner and Shankar's big-budget, sci-fi extravaganza Endhiran waiting in the wings, good things are not too far ahead for us fans.

There's not enough time to do this blog's tradition of a list to celebrate thalaivar's bday. But I do plan to review one of his films to mark the day. The film, apart from being a quintessential Rajni film and one of my favorites, also has a name that accurately reflects Rajni's position in Tamil cinema.

5 New Reviews

Reviews for Poi Solla Porom, Sakkarakkatti, Aegan, Seval and Vaaranam Aayiram are now online @ bbreviews.

California Academy of Sciences

The renovated, expanded California Academy of Sciences is one of the new attractions in San Francisco and we visited the place on Sunday. Located in the beautiful Golden Gate Park, it includes a museum, an aquarium and a planetarium.

The centerpiece of the museum was the new Rainforest exhibit. It was constructed as a 3-story exhibit inside a glass dome with the 3 levels reflecting the 3 levels in the rainforests. The tall trees, the foliage on all sides and the pool in the middle created a nice setting as we walked around and stressed again how important presentation is. Several birds and butterflies were flitting around in the open while some frogs were hidden in the plants. Past this open space, there were some very exotic animals(colorful chameleons, a huge toad, some unusual snakes, etc.) in cages.

From the 3rd level, a glass elevator took us to the aquarium in the basement of the exhibit. A tunnel with the fish swimming on both sides and above our heads was a pretty cool start to the walk through the aquarium. The exhibits were what one usually finds in most aquariums(like the Monterey Bay aquarium) with fish in all shapes and colors showcased in pretty, well-decorated cases.

Other attractions in the building included an albino alligator in a small swamp; an African center with stuffed animals displayed in very realistic settings; a penguin exhibit where we were just in time to watch the cute waddlers being fed; a couple of joystick-controlled games for the kids; and several colorful and well-arranged displays.

We learned later that passes were always handed out for the planetarium earlier in the day and that they were given out first come first served. Since it was a really busy day, the passes were sold out by the time we went there. So we missed seeing the planetarium and had to be satisfied with a couple of science exhibits(like a huge pendulum that was used to prove the earth's rotation) that were outside the planetarium dome. Our last stop was the roof of the building, which had been turned into a huge garden.

With something for everyone, the Academy of Sciences made for an interesting and informative day. Its well worth a visit but if you're going, just make sure you go early enough to grab those passes for the Planetarium.

A few photos from the visit can be seen here.

The 3 Stages

I now believe there are 3 stages in a marriage.

Stage 1: The husband is blamed when he does something wrong
Stage 2: The husband is blamed when he does nothing wrong
Stage 3: The husband is blamed when the wife does something wrong

And as of yesterday, I believe my wife and I have successfully entered Stage 3 in our marriage. As Exhibit A, I present this exchange that took place between us Saturday morning.

Wife: Get aluminum foil when you go to the store.
Me: OK
(I go to the store but forget to buy aluminum foil)
Wife (on the phone): Did you get the aluminum foil?
Me: No
Wife: Isn't that what you went to the store for? Go back and buy aluminum foil.
Me: OK
(I get home. Wife sees what I bought)
Wife (angrily): You bought aluminum foil?! You were supposed to buy an aluminum tray.
Me: ?!
Wife: How could you be so dumb? The next time I ask you to buy eggs, are you going to buy eggs?
Me: ??!!

So all those guys who are p*ssed off about being blamed even when they did nothing... you ain't seen nothing yet :)

Heartbreak Kids

Around the time Alaipayuthey released, I wrote a piece on actors who became heartthrobs in Tamil cinema. Starting off quite late(the 90s), I picked Karthik(in/after Mouna Raagam), Arvind Swamy and Abbas as the members of the short list. Since its been awhile since Alaipayuthey and Maddy arrived, I thought the piece could use an update but it wasn't that straightforward.

I don't think any of the actors since Maddy have created the kind of rage that those actors did on their debuts. Sure there were a few actors who generated some buzz before their movies released and a few others who were launched quietly but got noticed after their movies came out. There was Shaam, who got to act with the two leading ladies of the time in his very first movie 12B. There was Arya, who stole the limelight with his casual performance in Arindhum Ariyaamalum. There was Sidharth who was sincere as he stole Genelia's heart in Boys. There was Vishal who was introduced as the next big thing in Chellamey. There was Karthi who surprised us with his mature performance in Paruthi Veeran. There was Vinay who director Jeeva promised, would be the next heartthrob after Unnaale Unnaale. And most recently, there was Nakul, who underwent a drastic transition to play a disturbed hero in Kaadhalil Vizhundhen.

There are atleast 2 things common to the heroes who became heartthrobs. They appeared in films in an urban setting and they played cute, playful and decent characters. Some of the aforementioned actors didn't ascend to heartthrob status because they didn't follow these 2 rules. Karthi appeared in a rustic role while Sidharth lost out because of the shades of perversion in his character. Nakul's role, on the other hand, was simply too dark and tragic. Shaam and Arya(the former much more than the latter) had only their choice of films to blame as they starred in critical and commercial duds. Vishal is no longer even in contention, what with his focus on becoming the next action hero while Vinay hasn't generated much enthusiasm though both movies so far have been hits.

One trend in Tamil movies so far is that the overnight heartthrobs fade out soon after their 15 minutes of fame (this is different from Bollywood where actors like SRK, Aamir and Salman debuted as heartthrobs and are still reigning stars there). Actors like Arvind Swamy and Abbas are posterboys for this. But other actors with comparatively lower-profile debuts go on to become heartthrobs and have a much longer run. Like, for instance, Ajith. He debuted with Amaravathy but it wasn't until movies like Kaadhal Mannan, Vaali and Kaadhal Koattai that he became a heartthrob. Same is the case of the actor who, I think, carries the title of heartthrob today - Surya. Overshadowed by Vijay in his debut film Nerukku Ner and being known as a low-profile hero with weak dancing skills in his next few movies, he has been making girls go ga-ga over him in his last few movies. And the loud cheers and screams from the fairer sex during Vaaranam Aayiram - and closer to home, the oohs and aahs from the wife and her cousin during an interview telecast on Vijay TV - confirmed that he is Tamil cinema's latest heartbreaker. Let's see how long he holds on to that crown...

India Trip

Got back Saturday from a 3-week trip to India. Here are a few highlights...

Travel
- Made a 4 day Bangalore-Mysore trip a few days after we landed. Started off with a woefully short pitstop at Bangalore to meet a couple of friends. Spent the next day in Mysore where we visited the Tibetan Monastery and the Palace. The former, with its tall, shiny statues and the Tibetan monks, was a rather unique place. The highlight of the trip though was the visit to Kabini Resort, which is about 75 kms from Mysore. We did the 1-day package which included lunch, tea, an open jeep jungle safari and dinner on Day 1 and another safari, a parisal ride and brunch on Day 2. The resort itself was beautiful with nice views of the Kabini River, a few short hikes and some tree houses. It was really serene and peaceful and a good break from the hustle and bustle of city life. The accommodations were very comfortable and the food was sumptuous. The safaris were fantastic experiences as the jeep bounced and rattled along narrow, unpaved tracks - with greenery all around us - in the middle of the forest as we looked for wildlife. We saw monkeys, peacocks, elephants, deer, Gaur(supposedly the largest cattle in the world) and wild dogs but the most exciting was a brief look at a leopard as it walked off into the forest. The safari included an elephant ride, which thrilled the kids.

- The only other trip was a day trip to Vellore to see the new Golden Temple. It was more a tourist attraction than a temple, though. The gardens around the temple were well-maintained and the long walkway to the temple was bright and colorful. The temple itself, with its golden surface, looked rich and shiny.

Food
- Several restaurants have mushroomed in Chennai. Rather than just put food on the table, many new restaurants seem to be trying to make the food just one part of the whole experience. And it works. We tried out a few restaurants and my top pick was Mocha. Here we got to smoke Hookahs on some comfortable seats outdoors and then move indoors to a tastefully decorated room to have some very delicious snacks. Also enjoyed the ambience and the food at Rainforest, a tiny restaurant nestled into the basement of an apartment complex. The place was decorated to look like a forest with stuffed animals and forest sounds adding to the atmosphere.

Movies
- As the quick review indicated, saw Vaaranam Aayiram on the opening day itself at Abirami Mega Mall. Had cast my net far and wide to get tickets for the first day and finally managed to get them via my cousin's friend. The crowd was expectedly quite boisterous but they were there to actually watch the movie, as indicated by their silence during the serious scenes and their applause for Surya's performance at many places(in contrast, at any Tamil movie in the US, you will find quite a few who appear to have come just to make loud comments at inopportune moments).

- Also saw the Malayalam multi-starrer Twenty-20 at Sathyam. The theater was awesome with very comfortable seats though the sound was a bit too loud for my ears. The movie was pretty good with equal, well-tailored roles for all the major stars and an interesting story with a few good surprises. Got a little confusing and stretched towards the end though. The major attraction was ofcourse Mammootty and Mohanlal sharing the screen and the couple of scenes where they clashed was worth the price of admission. Suresh Gopi looked bloated but earned some claps with his trademark intense dialog delivery while Dileep stole the few scenes he was in with his comic timing. Nayan, along with Prithviraj, appeared for a single song sequence.

Rain
- Was trapped indoors by the non-stop rain the last few days of the trip. Streets turned into rivers and driveways turned into beaches as the rain came down in torrents without a break. Had to make a trip to the in-laws' house(in Mambalam, traditionally one of the worst-hit areas during rains) the day we were leaving. And even as we were bemoaning the lack of proper drainage and infrastructure, it was definitely an exciting and unforgettable experience to walk in the pouring rain, go on the bike on the flooded streets and wade through thigh-high water to reach their house.

The rain let up by the end of the week to allow us to get to the airport without any hassles. As always, boarded the flight muttering to ourselves that 3 weeks was just too short for an India trip...

A few photos from the trip can be seen here.

Vaaranam Aayiram

Behind every successful man is a woman... so goes the famous saying. Vaaranam Aayiram, a self-confessed tribute from director Gautham Vasudev Menon(the middle name was added to his name after his father passed away) to his dad, showcases a man whose life could be used as an example to alter the aforementioned proverb to say 'Behind every successful man is his father'. Gautham's familiar style dilutes the movie's emotional impact somewhat but it is an honest, heartfelt story that would've probably made his father happy.

Krishnan(Surya), who married his college sweetheart Malini(Simran), is now the proud father of a son Surya(Surya) and a daughter. Surya, while in college, realizes that it is high time he repays all that his father has done for him and finds himself a nice job. During the same time he meets Meghna(Sameera Reddy), who is all set to pursue higher studies in the US and vows that he would wed her. With his dad's backing, he travels to San Francisco to get the woman of his dreams. His life from then takes several unexpected turns but his dad is always there to guide him through them.

The film is an ode to the Dad and in that goal it is similar to Thavamaai Thavamirundhu. But while Cheran's film had the dad as the central figure, Vaaranam Aayiram illustrates a father's importance by keeping him in the background. Though the film begins and ends with Surya, the father, it is Surya, the son, who is at the forefront of the film and it's the twists and turns in his life that we are witnesses to. But we get to see the pivotal role his father plays in all stages of his life. It's his dad who inspires him to choose his career; its his dad who pushes him to grow his romance; its his dad who helps him recover from a big personal tragedy; and its his dad who supports him when he finally realizes his life's goals. By choosing this approach, Gautham manages to convey a message but avert the problem of the film turning into a documentary.

The film's other key relationships are also portayed well. Surya and Simran, inspite of not having a lot of screen time, create a screen couple whose love for each other has only grown over the years. Surya's dogged pursuit of Sameera paves the way for a romance that is both cute and convincing and Surya's reaction to its end is one of the genuinely touching moments in the movie. The Surya-Divya romance doesn't quite have the same impact but that is as much due to the inevitable comparison with the Sameera track as it is due to the widely different circumstances. There is some nice symmetry(like the way Surya and Divya travel far to woo their respective beaus) between the two romances but Gautham does well to not overstress it.

The film works well at the macro level. It is engaging, emotional and effective and succeeds in creating an interesting protagonist and charting an interesting course for his life. But the facade starts to crack if we dig just a little bit deeper. The finer details - whether its in the supporting characters or the period sets or the story transitions itself - are a little flimsy. Like, for instance, the segment that is set in the 60s. The film posters and the wig(for Simran) and the costumes are in place but the whole thing looks and feels like it was done on a set, without much effort going into recreating that time period. The feeling is greater since it wasn't too long ago that we saw Subramanyapuram, which pretty much transported us to the 80s. The character of Surya's sister is another sign of the lack of importance to the smaller details. Starting off as an important character as she helps Surya support his family, she is pushed to the sidelines and turned into a mute spectator (about whom we learn precious little) as he goes through all his crises and crusades.

The film is built on relationships, sentiments and emotions and so the detours into action seem like speedbreakers. These segments - like the kid's rescue and the army mission - are brought in quite cleverly and do constitute an important part in Surya's growth. But inspite of that, they feel cinematic due to their very nature and so they feel alien to the movie.

Gautham really needs to delegate the script-writing to someone who is more in tune with the characters in his movie. Considering that its Gautham who shaped those characters, that may sound a little strange but the problem is that he employs dialogs that he is familiar with and probably uses but they don't fit the characters or settings. While its the characters saying all those things on the screen, its Gautham we hear talking. So it sounds rather incongruent when we hear a middle-class man in the 70s address his son as "kiddo" or the same man's wife speak spontaneously in English when her husband has just coughed up blood in the bathroom. This was a problem in Gautham's older movies too but its more pronounced here since the story is more emotional. There are some genuinely effective lines that are heartfelt(like a father's desire to mend his son's fate), funny(like Surya's question to Sameera about her confidence in taking the next step in her career) and natural(like Divya revealing her feelings to Surya) but these are the exceptions rather than the rules.

Surya carries the movie on his shoulders and shows himself to be fully capable of that difficult task. He is able to slip easily into all the stages of both the characters and gets the body language and the expressions just right for all of them. Simran looks old, especially when she tries to pass off as a college girl, but proves to be the perfect foil for Surya once they grow old. Sameera Reddy grows on us by virtue of her character while Divya doesn't show much variety from her previous roles. Harris Jayaraj once again comes up with a fantastic album that offers a lot of variety. Adiye Kolludhe... is the pick of the numbers with some light but energetic choreography and wonderful locales. Mundhinam Paarthene... is a great number but its modern sound is also one of the reasons for the 60s segment not being too convincing. Ethi Ethi... features superb lyrics and some uninhibited by Surya.

Ilamai Oonjalaadugiradhu

A slightly delayed tribute to Director Sridhar...


Whenever we think of director Sridhar, the images we conjure up are usually those from old, black & white films with previous-generation actors like Sivaji Ganesan, Muthuraman and Devika. Ilamai Oonjalaadugiradhu is proof that he was just as adept at directing a movie with young actors whose careers were just taking off. And as always, his trademarks of strong characters and a great soundtrack are present here too, making the film an interesting, engrossing drama that has aged very well indeed.

The remarkable thing about the film is how fast-paced it is. It has only a handful of characters but with a mature story that packs in so many basic, human emotions like love, friendship, trust and betrayal, it keeps things moving with the kind of pace that would make a thriller proud. The screenplay is lean and Sridhar, who created one of Tamil cinema's most enduring comedy tracks with Thangavelu in Kalyaana Parisu, doesn't even have to resort to one here. The songs could be considered unnecessary but with numbers like Ore Naal... and Ennadi Meenatchi... from Ilaiyaraja, one can't really complain.

The film works because of its characters. The four key characters are fully fleshed-out, complex individuals with their own positives and negatives. They all have their weak moments and they all make mistakes that they have to deal with. Its these mistakes and their repercussions that drive the movie. Jayachitra, in particular, plays a very interesting character - a woman whose openness about her repressed sexual urges might get her painted as radical even today (though she could have toned down being so vocal about it, especially when using it as a reason with her manager when asking for a vacation!). Sridhar establishes the characters early and well and guides the story along based solely on the dynamics and relationships between them.

As the relationships between the four central characters change, the movie creates some interesting knots and generates suspense about how they will be untangled. But the unravelling of the knots is a little disappointing. After springing a big surprise - and the biggest complication - with the result of the liaison between Kamal and Jayachitra, the movie resolves it with a deus ex machina plot development that paves the way for a clean resolution. Once this happens, the rest of the story is a little predictable and there are no surprises.

This is one of those movies whose impact is increased because of how things are now. With the positions Rajni and Kamal have attained, it is fun seeing these two icons clash even if it was a long time ago. The traits we've become so familiar with - Kamal's romantic playfulness and natural intensity, Rajni's style and unique dialog delivery - are firmly in place even at that time and that makes their encounters, like the climactic one where Rajni demands to know a secret and Kamal steadfastly refuses to divulge it, close to explosive. Sripriya has the most dignified role in the movie and lends her role the required seriousness. Jayachitra hams it up a little bit as usual and makes her character a wee bit more cinematic than required.

Multi-starrers

That's the first official poster for Twenty 20, a Malayalam film that brings together all the big stars of the Malayalam film industry - Mammootty, Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Dilip, Jayaram and Prithviraj, to name a few. The film is being made for AMMA, the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, and all the actors have acted without taking any salaries. Directed by Joshi, who has delivered some memorable hits, including another Mammootty-Mohanlal starrer No. 20 Madras Mail, this one is also supposed to be a murder mystery.

Multi-starrers allow more than one character to gain importance in the movie. They greatly expand the director's choice of stories and pave the way for more character-driven movies. Not to mention the excitement for us viewers in seeing two or more popular heroes compete on screen. But true multi-starrers have been few and far between in Tamil cinema as all our heroes, after just a few movies, refuse the share the screen with other actors, blaming everything from the directors not allotting equal roles for the actors to their fans' insistence to see only their idol on screen. And when there happens to be a story that features more than one interesting character, our actors will simply end up playing all those roles!

Suyamvaram, the guinness record-setting film was touted to be a multi-starrer but it didn't have any of the really popular actors(Rajni and Kamal only appeared in the opening credits that was filmed during the film's launch and actors like Vijayakanth, Vijay and Ajith did not appear in the film). Though they had only two popular actors, films like Pithaamagan and Pattiyal are probably better examples of multi-starrers in the true sense of the word. And even if the actors involved had varying levels of popularity, films like Kurudhippunal, Thalapathy, Vaanathai Pola and Kandukonden Kandukonden could be called multi-starrers too.

The Tamil cinema fan that I am, the Twenty 20 poster had me dreaming about a similar poster with Rajni and Kamal in the middle, flanked by Vijay and Ajith on one side and Vikram and Surya on the other. When any movie starring just one of these actors triggers so much excitement, can we even start to imagine the excitement and hype a film starring all of them would generate? But then I read about Mammootty and Mohanlal fans clashing about the placement of their heroes on the poster as Mohanlal fans were unhappy about their hero not appearing in the center of the poster, on par with Mammootty. If this is the case in Kerala, which is supposed to have a high percentage of literate moviegoers and whose movie stars have fans and not fanatics, then what chance do we stand?! I'm guessing not a single poster will be left untouched and not a single movie screen will be left unharmed. And every single slight, imagined or true, on any of the heroes as they appear in the film will result in clashes between their fans. I'm not sure any director would dare direct such a film for fear that the fans' ire will be directed at him if he is viewed as not being fair to their hero.

So, while actors in Hindi and Malayalam film industries put aside their egos to appear together, I guess we have to be satisfied with hero-centric films where everyone surrounding the omnipotent hero is turned into a cardboard figure present solely to sing praises about him. Sigh...

Aegan

The don in Billa, the young man seeing his dreams come crashing down in Kireedam, the man on a mission in Aazhwaar... all these movies saw Ajith play some variation of a serious, brooding protagonist with enough reasons to stay that way. It never looked like the actor was having fun appearing in those movies. Aegan, which borrows liberally from Shah Rukh Khan's Main Hoon Naa, rights this and gives him a role he is perfectly suited for. But while his role is crafted well, one can't say the same about the movie. Debutant director Raju Sundaram is able to keep intact - even if not completely - the entertainment value in the portions he borrows from Main Hoon Naa but his inexperience shows in the rest of the film.

Ramprasad(Devan) is a man on the run, wanted by both the police and the bad guys. While Chinnappa(Suman), a bad guy with his hands in everything, is after Ramprasad because he was in his gang but has now turned approver, the police hope to catch Ramprasad and through him, get Chellappa. The police, believing that Ramprasad will contact his daughter Pooja(Pia) who is a student at a school in Ooty, send Shiva(Ajith), a no-nonsense cop, to the school as a student, hoping that he can befriend Pia and nab Ramprasad when he shows up. But the school environment catches up with Shiva too as he romances the Chemistry teacher Mallika(Nayanthara) and befriends the students led by Naren(Navdeep), Pooja's best friend.

Aegan takes the central concept - an older undercover agent attending a school - of Main Hoon Naa but wraps a much simpler story around it. While one can appreciate the fact that Raju Sundaram has not ripped off the entire film, the sad fact is that it is only the parts lifted from Main Hoon Naa - Ajith caught in the fish-out-of-water scenario and the romance - that actually work while the original parts - like the villain in pursuit of an ex-gang member and the track with the principal as a wannabe-private detective - are silly and amateurish.

With Ajith not averse to poking a little fun at his age and physique(or lack thereof), his time at school is quite entertaining. His encounters with Nayanthara elicit chuckles and his bonding with the other students is built up gradually. He also shares some nice sequences with his assistant(Haneefa) and the school principal(Jayaram). While the comedy in those scenes is natural, situational and works well, the same cannot be said of the more overt attempts at it. Jayaram generates some laughs initially as he, in the tradition of school and college principals in Tamil cinema, makes a fool of himself by trying to 'help' Ajith. But things get repetitive and tiresome soon. Giving Suman a funny sidekick in the form of Sriman doesn't work either and his jokes fall flat, apart from diluting Suman's villainy.

One of the things that is brought over from the original but doesn't work because of the way it is handled is the part about Ajith's past. The whole segment - which, by the way, was always lurking in the background of Main Hoon Naa and gave the movie its emotional anchor - looks like it was added as an afterthought. It damages the film's final parts and gives it a rushed, incomplete feel. Since the movie would've worked perfectly well without it, one is not sure why Raju Sundaram felt compelled to include it in such a sloppy manner. An even bigger question is why Suhasini agreed to appear in the role she is given.

Ajith's weight seems to go through the same wild swings his career goes through. After losing a lot of weight for movies like Paramasivan and Tirupathi, he once again looks a bit heavyset here. But he finally gets the chance to turn on the charm that made him so endearing in movies like Vaali and enjoys it. Nayanthara looks great as always though the way she wears her sarees, learning would be the last thing on her students' minds. Navdeep and Pia ham it up a little bit. Suman doesn't add much to the stereotyped villain's role. Yuvan's background score works well during Ajith's introduction and a few other scenes but the songs themselves are disappointing. Hey Saala... and Odum Varaiyil... are choreographed well and Ajith executes some surprisingly fast steps. The jazzy Hey Baby... has a few interesting touches in the way it is picturized.

Happy Diwali!

Got together with relatives, met friends, had delicious food, enjoyed fireworks with the kids, watched a Diwali release on the big screen... it almost felt like home :)

Wish you all a very happy Diwali...

Coming Soon - Aegan

It's gonna be a Thala Deepavali this time! Ajith's Aegan is confirmed as a Diwali release and with Vaaranam Aayiram backing out, is getting pretty much a solo release, something rare for a Diwali release. With Ajith fresh from Billa's success, Nayanthara, the reigning queen of Tamil cinema and based on a Hindi blockbuster, the film has quite a few things going for it.

Aegan is Raju Sundaram's first film as director. He's found success as a dance director and not so much as an actor but neither of those can help us predict his performance as a director. He is following in the footsteps of his brother Prabhu Deva, who also went into direction with Pokkiri and he must be hoping that he tastes the same kind of success with this Ajith-starrer as his brother did with the Vijay-starrer. Raju Sundaram says that the film is "inspired by" Main Hoon Naa and another Chinese film. But we all know what that means. The films title(Aegan means protector and that's exactly what the hero of Main Hoon Naa was - he protected his country, his brother, his general's daughter, etc), the roles(the brother, the teacher, etc.), the trailer(Ajith is told that he is joining as a student) and the stills(Ajith and a bunch of students dancing in the school playground) all point to the movie being Main Hoon Naa's remake. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

On paper, the story of Main Hoon Naa seems regressive(boy ignores tomboyish girl; boy falls in love as soon as she becomes 'Indian'), sentimental(Shah Rukh bonding with mom and brother), over-the-top(the cycle rickshaw chase sequence), crude(one character spits when talking) and jingoistic(the India-Pakistan bhai bhai project). But Farah Khan managed to put these elements together and craft a film that was slick, fun and marvelously entertaining. It was one of those movies where everything worked - the performances were pitch-perfect, the romance was sweet, the sentiments were enjoyable, the action was energetic and the songs sequences were mounted well. The film was never too serious but at the same time, it never became so silly or comical that it descended into camp because Farah Khan walked the tightrope beautifully. It is this nebulous aspect that Raju Sundaram has to capture perfectly if he wants to make Aegan work. For a first-time director, thats a pretty tall order but then again, Main Hoon Naa was Farah Khan's first film too.

I think Aegan's the perfect vehicle for Ajith. The actor played the sweet, charming lover boy in several movies initially in his career but after Dheena happened, he turned into a masala hero with action getting the main focus. He seems to have given up on those movies but while the movies he has selected since then have been better, they haven't brought back the Ajith of old. The don in Billa, the young man seeing his dreams come crashing down in Kireedam, the man on a mission in Aazhwaar... all these movies saw him play some variation of a serious, brooding protagonist with enough reasons to stay that way. I can't remember the last time he looked like he was having fun appearing in a movie. The hero's role in Main Hoon Naa offers a good chance for him to enjoy himself again and at the same time, satisfy his fans. Hope it works out. Nayanthara teams up with him again after Billa and will get to romance him this time. Playing a teacher, she looks gorgeous in the stills and the trailer and make us wish we were back in school! Navdeep, who was in Arindhum Ariyaamalum and a couple of other movies, plays Ajith's brother. From the stills and trailer, it looks like Nasser plays a policeman and Haneefa plays one of the school teachers. Suhasini is listed in the credits and I guess she'll be playing Ajith's mom.

Ajith's career has had some wild swings so far. With Billa turning out to be the biggest hit in his career, I guess its on the upswing again. Let's hope Aegan becomes a hit and helps him continue his upward ride.

Karz

Karz, a remake of the Rishi Kapoor reincarnation drama of the same name (the film that also inspired Kamal's Enakkul Oruvan), is the latest remake of an old Hindi film. Here, Dino Morea plays the rich man who is killed by his wife Urmila and is then reborn as a singer(played by Himesh Reshammiya). Haunted by visions of his past life, Himesh tries to find answers to his questions. I don't remember much about the original Karz but I do remember Enakkul Oruvan and the story is here not exactly the same since even the bad guy is different. But inspite of that, the director makes the curious decision to reveal the reasons and the culprit behind Dino Morea's death right at the beginning. So there's no suspense about who exactly Himesh is a reincarnation of. Urmila's culpability and Himesh's lack of knowledge about it takes the movie in an interesting direction but it ends in a rather lame way. The villain would rank among the silliest villains in a film that isn't trying to be a comedy. The film is packed with songs but barring Ek Hasina Thi... and the background score it provides, both of which are borrowed from the original film, the songs sound similar to one another.

RIP - Director Sridhar

Director Sridhar passed away today in Chennai. A fantastic storyteller and true trendsetter, he has earned a permanent place in Tamil cinema history.

Among the films of Sridhar that I've seen are Kalyana Parisu, the story of two sisters in love with the same man, and Nenjil Or Aalayam, a superb, character-based story of a man in the unique situation of having to save his ex-lover's husband. The latter also featured one of my all-time favorite songs, Engirundhaalum Vaazhga.... Nenjirukkum Varai, a love triangle where all performers appeared sans make-up, and Nenjam Marappadhillai, a re-incarnation tale, were two more of his famous films. It is hard to believe that the man who made all those tearjerkers was also behing a laugh-riot like Kaadhalikka Neramillai, a superb ensemble comedy. Movies like the romance Thaen Nilavu(the first Tamil film to be shot in locales in Kashmir), the light-hearted Ooty Varai Uravu and the hero-centric, MGR vehicle Urimai Kural(supposedly a film done by MGR to help out Sridhar, who had fallen into dire straits financially) are further proof of his versatility behind the camera. In those movies, he introduced several actors to Tamil cinema including Muthuraman, Devika and Jayalalitha. Sridhar made a smooth transition to the next generation of Tamil cinema with films like the bold Ilamai Oonjalaadugiradhu, perfectly casting the two fastest rising stars of the day. And he proved that even if had grown old, his heart was still young with the superhit Thendrale Ennai Thodu as late as 1985.

Strong characters, subtle but strong emotions, restrained humor, great songs - all these were trademarks of Sridhar's films. He may have left us but his legacy will be around for a long time to come. May his soul rest in peace...

Happy Birthday Jo!

Birthday wishes to Tamil cinema's most loveable heroine!

Last known 'sight'ing - At Sibi's wedding in September...

Udhiri Pookkal

Its not easy watching a movie universally regarded as a classic and fondly remembered by everyone who has seen it. The superlatives contained in any description of the movie create sky-high expectations that are difficult to meet and any negative opinions we feel while watching it are accompanied by doubts as to whether we are missing something that the others saw. There are no such problems with Mahendran's Udhiri Pookkal though. It deserves all the accolades it gets. For the most part.

Udhiri Pookkal is completely realistic and for that reason, stands out among the melodrama-laden films of the time. From the atmosphere of the village to the characters inhabiting it to their behavior and interactions with one another, it feels real. So the characters' emotions feel real too. There is no drama even in sequences(like the one where Vijayan visits Charuhasan to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage) that seem to demand it and that makes what the characters say or do, more powerful.

The biggest reason for this realism is ofcourse the characterization. These are real, vivid characters and the emotions they evoke, whether its sympathy or hatred, are real. Even the supporting characters(like the barber, whose repeated requests to shave the boy's head are met in an unexpected way) feel fleshed out and are given their 15 minutes to shine. As a result, we are always absorbed in the proceedings and the movie never feels slow. And Mahendran ensures that affairs of the heart always take centerstage. He even cuts away during scenes of overt, physical violence.

The realism does take a brief hit during the third act of the film. As Ashwini's sister sings a sarcastic but cinematic song after Vijayan's marriage, the movie resorts to a cliche - something it had studiously avoided until then. Vijayan's subsequent act is also so blatant and brazen that it doesn't seem to suit his character. His acts so far, while still heartless, were things he could - and did try to - rationalize to the other villagers. But this act is nothing like that and so seems like a plot point brought in solely to set up the climax.

But the powerful and memorable climax does make us forgive those missteps. It makes us - even if only briefly - question our own feelings towards the characters as Vijayan seems more human than he has been so far while the villagers seem to be the heartless ones. Just as in Mullum Malarum, the build-up is long but effective and Ilaiyaraja's score heightens the impact. The final shot - that gives the title its meaning - shows us who the real victims are through all this.

This is one movie where the characters and the actors who play them are so intertwined so that its difficult to think of one separate from the other. Ashwini, with those sad eyes, tugs at our heartstrings and manages to convey so much (like the thought of how things would have been if she had married Sarathbabu or the split-second of courage as she imagines telling Vijayan what's really on her mind) with those eyes. Even when she smiles, she somehow manages to convey that its just a facade to hide all the sadness inside. Vijayan earns our revulsion as someone completely ruthless and ready to do whatever is needed to attain what he wants. Charuhasan and the actor who plays the barber are just perfect in their roles.

Aegan Trailer

Main Hoon Naa was a good mix of action, romance and comedy and Aegan's trailer conveys the same(though the emphasis seems to be on action). The action sequences look good and slick and the background score serves the trailer well, especially at the beginning. Ajith has a couple of punch dialogs but they seem rather tame. Villain(is it Suman?) seems to be wearing the same wig Rajni wore in the Style... song in Sivaji. The final silhoutte shot looks awesome.

The Happening

After a hat-trick of hits with The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs, Night Shyamalan's films have seen a precipitous decline in quality. While The Village can be condoned as just the law of averages catching up with the filmmaker and The Lady in the Water can be forgiven as a misguided excursion into a genre he was unsuited for, there's no way to look at The Happening as anything but a desperate attempt by him to find box-office success. It hasn't worked. Unintentionally funny and campy, it is B-grade horror schlock parading as a serious horror movie.

From the premise to the execution to the resolution, everything in The Happening is silly. There is some intrigue initially as the characters - and we, the viewers - don't understand what is happening but once we learn what is behind the occurrences, the suspense is replaced by incredulity at what unfolds on screen. And even if we do buy into the silly premise, Shyamalan doesn't follow his own rules thereafter and seems to be making them up as he goes.

The film has a couple of creepy scenes(like a man's encounter with a lawnmower) and a couple of surprises(neither the timing nor the mode of elimination of a couple of characters is expected) but barring those, is completely devoid of chills or thrills. Its not easy to evoke a sense of dread from shots of trees shaking in the wind and the poor acting and the bad lines of dialog don't help. The film was advertised as Shyamalan's first R-rated film but the scenes pushing the film into 'R' territory feel forced and artificial. He was able to evoke atmosphere with a lot less in movies like The Sixth Sense and The Village.

I can't imagine a worse pair of lead performances in a major motion picture than the one given by Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel here. Wahlberg was good playing the casual, laidback guy in movies like The Italian Job but seems completely miscast here. There are times when we don't know if he is joking or being serious and its laughable when he cries or expresses his feelings to Zooey. She, for her part, looks dazed most of the time and her face rarely registers any other expressions.

3 New Reviews

Reviews for Pandhayam, Kaadhalil Vizhundhen and Raman Thediya Seethai are now online @ bbreviews.

Kids Will Be Kids

Yesterday, when I was giving directions to a friend...

Me: Go straight on Dial, you'll hit Rainbow, take a left, ...
Karthik: Why is aunty going to hit the rainbow, appa?
Me: :)

Bye Bye Comedy Tracks?

Its quite a coincidence but from around the time that I wrote the post comparing Tamil and Hindi cinema, there's been a marked improvement in the quality of Tamil films (increasing the coincidence is the fact that I haven't seen many good Hindi films during the same time period). It's not that there's been a string of masterpieces or classics but most of the movies since then have been 'watchable' - not a term you could use to describe a large percentage of the films released in the first 9 months of the year.

The films certainly have had variety. They have spanned many genres, have been helmed by both new and experienced directors and have featured fresh as well as familiar faces. So I've been trying to see if there's any one factor common to these recent movies that made them better than their predecessors and I came up with one - the lack of a separate comedy track. Among the last 10 movies or so that I've seen, only one (Kee. Mu.) featured a comedy track with Vadivelu. That's a remarkable track record considering our history of separate comedy tracks. We've had thrillers(Saroja, Alibaba), action movies(Dhaam Dhoom), youthful romances(Kaadhalil Vizhundhen), mature romances(Raman Thediya Seethai) and masala movies(Sathyam) but none of them saw the need to resort to a comedian trying to earn laughs in a track with no connection to the main track. Even the presence of a comedian(Vivek in Jayam Kondaan) did not automatically indicate a comedy track. And movies like Dhanam and Pandhayam, the worst among the recent bunch of movies, were bad for a number of reasons but a disconnected, episodic comedy track wasn't one of them.

Comedy tracks have been part of Tamil cinema for ages now. N.S.Krishnan, Nagesh, Koundamani-Senthil, Vivek and Vadivelu are some of the comedians whose independent comedy tracks have rescued many a movie. The comedy tracks in movies like Udhaya Geetham, Karagaattakkaaran, Winner, Run and Parthiban Kanavu are not likely to be forgotten any time soon and the movies were certainly the better for them.

The comedy tracks in the aforementioned movies gave an illusion of being part of the movie. By making Koundamani and Senthil part of the dance troupe in Karagaattakkaaran and by making Vivek look for Madhavan in Run and by making Vivek a counterpoint for Srikanth's mental image of a perfect marriage in Parthiban Kanavu, the directors made them a part of the story. We knew that they were there for comedy but they blended into the movie. But somewhere along the line comedy tracks began to be inserted forcefully simply for the sake of having a comedy track. Factors like the track's connection to the main storyline, it's effect on the overall tone of the movie and it's impact on the pace of the movie were disregarded, leading to silly comedy tracks in otherwise solid movies like Kannum Kannum. And slapstick and even violence began to be passed off as comedy as comedians got hit and kicked and punched. Naturally, the quality of the tracks suffered and they simply stopped being funny. I can't remember the last time that I really enjoyed a comedy track in a Tamil film.

In the Hindi Cinema vs Tamil Cinema post, I mentioned three things that have helped Hindi cinema race ahead of Tamil cinema in terms of quality - lack of image among heroes, elimination of the separate comedy track and elimination of unbelievable stunts. If the recent movies are any indication, we might be ready to adopt atleast one of those three things. If this is a permanent feature rather than just a temporary trend, its definitely a step in the right direction.

Odd & Ends

- Here's Aish talking about Rajni after the first schedule of Endhiran shooting. Nothing new since what she says about Rajni is pretty much what everybody says about him - humble, simple, etc. But still, solradhu ulaga azhagiyaache...! Looks like she's definitely improved at giving interviews. I still remember her giggling unprofessionally through her interview with David Letterman but she looks classy and in control here and I liked many of the phrases she used.

- Security's been breached again on the sets of Endhiran, this time in Goa. A few stills of thalaivar and Aish relaxing between shots have made it out. The French beard suits thalaivar real well.

- After those first few photos of a bearded Ajith, we finally get some new photos from his upcoming Aegan. Its now quite certain that the film is a remake of Shah Rukh's Main Hoon Na but the photos themselves are rather generic and don't really hint at any of the plot points. No photos, for instance, of Ajith or Nayan at the school or Ajith facing off against an armyman. But Ajith looks smart, Nayan as always looks great and they make a nice pair. Hope Raju Sundaram makes as successful a debut as his brother did with Pokkiri.

- On a very different, somber note... we've been reading about the global financial crisis; about the credit crisis; about the bad mortgages; about banks shutting down; about the stock market slump; about the job market slowdown. But somehow, it all seemed far away. But then you read something like this [via Hawkeye] and WHAM!, it really hits home how easily things can go out of control. Real sad...

Kaadhalil Vizhundhen

Romances in Tamil cinema mostly fell into the candyfloss category earlier but we've recently had more directors take chances within the genre, leading to movies that are more surprising and less predictabe. Kaadhalil Vizhundhen is one more addition to the list. Though it starts off on a familiar note, it soon takes a turn into darker territory and never looks back. With a strong lead character and a good screenplay, it keeps us interested though a few missteps prevent it from having the emotional impact it aims for.

Sabapathy(Nakul), on the run with his lover Meera(Sunaina), boards a train and ends up narrating his story to a sympathetic TTE(Livingston). He tells the TTE about Meera taking care of him while he was recuperating from an accident that was her fault; his love for her, that he kept silent about for fear of losing her friendship; and her eventual reciprocation after learning about his true feelings. But as he tells the TTE about the circumstances that have forced them to go on the run, the TTE realizes that things are more serious than what he initially thought.

Recently we have had several movies follow the narrative structure where things start off with something interesting and the film then rewinds to show us what led to that. While some movies, like Kee. Mu. misuse this technique by revealing their cards and lessening the suspense, others, like Alibaba, use the start to set our expectations and then proceed to break them. Kaadhalil Vizhundhen, thankfully, falls in the latter category. The familiar lovers-on-the-run start reveals itself to be something very different once Nakul finishes his story and we are as surprised as Livingston at the turn of events.

The entire movie rests on the shoulders of the character played by Nakul. How much we like the movie depends on how much we buy into the transformation of his character and his subsequent actions. The director lays the groundwork quite well for this. There is a strong, valid foundation for his feelings for Sunaina and both the depth of his love and his fierce way of expressing it are well-etched out. So we feel for him. There are still a couple of scenes(like the one where he cuts her nails) where things get a bit weird but for the most part, he earns our sympathy with his situation. His character is also the reason why the violence, though bloody and gory, doesn't feel gratuitous or exploitative.

Tamil directors are usually guilty of oversimplifying things. Everything is spelt out and there is little that is left to our imagination or understanding. The director here goes the other way and leaves too many things for us to figure out. Some of these, like why Sunaina takes so long to respond to Nakul and what exactly happens during that time, raise some anticipation about an upcoming explanation or surprise, which never comes. Others, like what exactly led to the key plot point that drives the entire movie, are even more damaging since are trying to figure out what happened instead of being pulled along by the movie. It is possible to piece together what happened from the dialogs and actions of the people involved but some kind of explanation would have generated sympathy for one of the key characters and increased our involvement in the events that transpire.

Nakul, the chubby kid from Boys, has undergone an impressive transformation to play hero here. He seems a bit rough around the edges initially but comes into his own as his character gets some new shades. Sunaina is pretty in a simple way but doesn't have much to do. Naakku Mukka... became a rage when the audio was released and brought with it the kind of publicity that no amount of marketing could have generated. Those who enjoyed its fast beats and fun lyrics won't be disappointed in the way it's been picturized. It is real energetic and features some fast dancing from Nakul. The song's second appearance, probably added owing to its popularity, isn't as impressive though. The rest of the soundtrack isn't too bad either. Thozhiyaa... has a catchy tune and some apt lyrics too while Unakkena Naan... has Vijay Anthony's unique stamp over it.

4 New Reviews

Reviews for Dhanam, Kee. Mu., Alibaba and Saroja are now online @ bbreviews.

Alibaba

What Dhaam Dhoom tried to do, Alibaba does but with a lot more success. It has the same basic theme of an innocent man being framed and trying to clear his name but wrapped around it is a screenplay that is smart, well-paced and most of all, consistently surprising. With a new cast and director, Alibaba arrived in theaters unheralded, especially compared to another thriller, Venkat Prabhu's Saroja. But inspite of the weaker technical aspects and a less accomplished cast, it ends up as the better thriller between the two on the strength of its story and screenplay.

Velu(Krishna) is a petty thief and a key member of a small, closely-knit gang. A couple of misunderstandings make a bank employee Janani(Janani) think Velu is a do-gooder and she falls for him and her attitude makes Velu rethink his profession too. Meanwhile, young girls are being murdered in the city and the case is being handled by the Commissioner(Biju Menon).

The movie's biggest asset is the element of surprise. The director is able to consistently lull us into expecting something familiar and then surprise us by pulling an unexpected plot development out of his hat. This happens right from the first scene, which starts off in familiar fashion with Prakashraj berating his irresponsible son and his friend but then reveals something totally unexpected. And things only get better from there with the plot point that gets Krishna into big trouble being a whopper of a surprise. Red herrings, when employed, are used judiciously so that they actually work and mislead us. The director is able to keep up this combination of misdirection and surprise right upto the end and so even the most jaded cinema viewer is likely to be surprised atleast a couple of times during the movie.

The director hasn't thrown logic out the window in his quest to surprise us. He keeps a tight rein on the screenplay and develops things logically. Almost every scene(like the one where Velu breaks into a house without knowing that it's Janani's friend's house) and character(like the bank manager) has its place in the proceedings and its especially nice when something brought up in a different context(like the concept of the 'third man' or the 'fall guy') ends up gaining importance in a completely unexpected way. The technique where a particular scene leads us to infer something before other happenings shed a completely different light on it, is used here too to good effect. There are a few holes in logic and a couple of unexplained loose ends(it isn't clear how Janani finds the villain based on an old photograph) but there are covered up for the most part by the fast-paced screenplay.

A good thriller usually contains an interesting protagonist, a suspenseful story with some well-timed surprises and a fast-paced screenplay. Alibaba scores on all three points. Unfortunately, it also has the usual Tamil cinema staples like unwanted heroism(complete with an introduction song), an item number and unrealistic stunt sequences. But since these are only momentary interruptions(compared to, say, a comedy track that pops up at regular intervals), they only end up being minor irritants rather than show-stoppers or big speed-breakers.

Krishna, director Vishnuvardhan's younger brother, reminds us of S.J.Suryah in some places but we can't hold that against him. He has a dour expression most of the time but dances and fights well. Janani doesn't stand out. Prakashraj is solid as usual while Biju Menon is more impressive than usual since he doesn't attempt to play the standard bad guy. Thilakan and Radharavi play familiar characters. Neenda Mounam... is a nice melody in usual Vidyasagar style while Harey Harey Sambo... benefits from the different picturization (even if the situation reminds one of a similar situation in Subramanyapuram).