Yearly Archives: 2013

Comedy, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Tamil Movies, Worth a Watch

Kalyana Samayal Saadham

Kalyana Samayal Saadham – is a Tamil romantic comedy film released in 2013. The film revolves around the various situations that occur in planning and organizing an Indian wedding. The story is narrated through the various events that occur during the arranged wedding of Raghu and Meera. When the wedding is finalized everything seems to be breezy until they face a problem that could potentially call off the wedding just couple of months ahead of the actual wedding. Added to this everyone in the family thinks they own the wedding and orchestrate the events much to the dislike of the to-be wedded couples. Were they able to resolve the issue, did they find a soul mate in each other remains the rest of the plot.

Director RS Prasanna has not only captured the essence of an arranged Indian wedding but also has subtly covered many problems that occur in organizing one. The problem that the couples face would be new for the audience to see it on screen. This kind of keeps the story engaging and not let it fall apart as a usual wedding drama which we have seen in many movies.  Actor Prasanna has essayed his part very well and Lekha Washington just fills in sufficiently. She has a limitation on the number of expressions she could bring out on screen.

What you would like: Very fresh screen play, comic portion of the movie, typical wedding time drama elements that most of us would have experienced

What you would not like: Certain shots look disconnected without an establishing shot. Lack of  strong drama element due to too many positive characters might bore you in parts

Overall the movie as a complete package is definitely watchable despite its few short comings.

Watchable

Friday Fundas

Over the shoulder shot

Over the shoulder shot is a filming technique in which a shot is taken in an angle that is gazing onto the character from over a shoulder of a different person with whom the subject is talking to. The back of the person, shoulder and the head is used as a frame the image of the scene. Although this sounds simple a lot of planning needs to go before this shot is taken like which side of the frame should the shoulder occupy and how much it should occupy so that the relevant emotions of the character in focus is shown.

This shot is very useful when you need to have the character not focusing into the camera and delivering a dialogue. Having the shoulder of the other person in the frame also intensifies the interaction between the two characters. Maniratnam had used this technique to a great extent in the movie Thalapathy for the interactions between Mamooty and Rajnikanth. It places equal importance between the two characters and also exemplifies a high degree of emotion.

Thalapathy
The scenes of interaction between Mamooty and Rajinikanth were mostly taken as over the shoulder shot

Maniratnam had also used this in Nayagan to show Kamal Hassan’s reaction for his grandson’s question “Neenga Nallavara Kettavara” (Are you a good person or a bad person) over the shoulder of the kid. K Balachandar had used this in many of his movies to highlight the emotions in the face of the main character and also to intensify the scene. The following still from Ninaithale Innikum is an example of it.

Jayaprada
Over the shoulder shot to intensify the interaction between two people.

It could simply be used to change the point of perception or to focus the attention on the main character in the scene. The following scene in the movie God Father is an example of this where over the shoulder shot is used to reinforce the presence of other people in the room and also focus is given more on Don who watches out of the window. The object of focus is in the center of the frame avoiding distractions from the right half enhances the focus on the action of the character.

God Father
Over the shoulder shot used in God Father to change the point of perception and avoid distractions

This can also be used for hiding the identity of the character like an unknown person not relevant to the plot talking to the main character or a mysterious person talking whose identity may be revealed later.

A simple and ordinary scene can be made interesting through the angle of the shot. The skill of the director and the cinematographer is involved in choosing one from a varied set of options for the camera angle. Over the shoulder shot is definitely a powerful one which has been used very aptly by many great film makers. Next time you watch a movie watch out for the camera angle in which a shot is taken.

Trailers

Mahabharat

An animation movie featuring voices of Amitabh Bachchan as Bhishma, Anupam Kher as Saguni, Manoj Bajpai as Yudhistra, Sunny Deol as Bheem, Ajay Devgan as Arjun, Anil Kapoor as Karna and Vidya Balan as Draupadi

Action, Genre, Hindi Movies, Rating, Reviews, Thriller, Wait for DVD/TV

Bullett Raja

Bullett Raja – is an action thriller movie in Hindi released in 2013. Somewhere in Uttar Pradesh (UP) a gangster is shot in an encounter, he recounts his past. He was an unemployed youth and becomes a close friend of a courier delivery man at a wedding party.  Thugs attack the house that night, the two friends fight against them and save the family. This fight leads them to a gangster life as they are being targeted by other gangsters and the only way out is for them to stand against them which eventually make them into a Gangster.  They become terrifying duo in the locality with some political backup. What circumstances lead to the encounter is the rest of the plot.

Tigmanshu Dhulia has come up with a very intriguing gangster plot where the gangs are formed for friendship, love and honor and not for money. The casting of the movie has been done well and is very convincing. The sequences leading the duo to a gangster life, some harsh take on rogue politicians and the action sequences are made very well. The movie falters in its length. It could have been a very enjoyable one if it had been short in length without the romance portions as it slows down the pace to a great extent in the mid parts. It seems the makers were not convinced themselves in many occasions as certain scenes look disconnected. The movie however does leave a promising plot to create a sequel and there is a chance for the director to revive this brand eliminating the short comings of the current version.

What you would like: The gangster plot, action sequences, cast and dialogues

What you would dislike: Unfitting romance for the story line, disconnected sequences, length of the movie

Overall the movie is definitely enjoyable in parts, if you are a fan of action flicks and gangster stories then go for it. If not you can wait for the movie to be played on TV.

Wait for DVD /TV – unless you are a fan of gangster movies

Friday Fundas

Inspiration of Rajni’s Famous Cigarette Scene from Ninaithale Innikum

In Ninaithale Innikum there is a comedy sequence of Rajni getting into a bet with a rich man.

Rajini Throwing Cigarette
Rajini Throwing Cigarette

The bet is as follows he has to throw the cigarette into the air and hold it by his mouth 10 consecutive times. If he does that he would win the Toyota car of the rich man, if not he would have to part away with his little finger. The scene is so gripping at the same time so hilarious, backed by some brilliant performances. Factually the scene is inspired from the short story Man from the South written by Roald Dahl. The only difference being in the short story the bet is about lighting a cigarette lighter continuously for 10 times with just one click. Alfred Hitchcock included this as an episode in his TV Series “Alfred Hitchcock presents“. Later this was re-made into the opening episode of Dahl’s show “Tales of the Unexpected” in 1979 and again re-made in 1985 for “Alfred Hitchcock presents” series in color.

So many people had shot this sequence with different actors, the value of suspense and holding the audience or reader to the seat with a very simple plot is a brilliant piece of work by Roald Dahl.

Can Skip it, Fantasy, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Tamil Movies

Irandaam Ulagam

Irandaam Ulagam – is a Romance and Fantasy Tamil movie released in 2013.  The story happens in parallel across two planets Earth and an unknown planet. The unknown planet is inhabited by people who are like humans and still ruled by Kings. There is greed, fear, slavery and war spread over the race and there is absence of Love. The divine mother in the race believes a true love would bring in peace and build culture to the race. Meanwhile in Earth a medical student and a mathematician fall in love. At one point of time the two worlds connect and there is an opportunity to establish true love to the extra-terrestrial race. Was true love established, did it bring in order to their world is the rest of the plot.

Have you ever woken from a dream and thought how strange it was? That is the feeling you would get after watching Irandaam Ulagam. It is a never seen story line and canvas for Tamil Cinema. Selvaraghavan should be lauded for thinking of such a story line and putting in efforts to bring it on screen. Where the movie falters is in the screenplay and dialogues. You talk about true, divine love and hear dialogues of what you would hear in movies like 7G Rainbow Colony, Kadhal Kondaen it kind of creates a clichéd product output. He could have completely avoided that for this movie as it did not fit the bill. The movie doesn’t let you engage with it for long as too many things are happening on screen that is ethereal in nature. It is hard to make films of such demanding visual effects and still make it commercially viable for Tamil Cinema. Unfortunately that is harsh reality and our film makers are caught in this dilemma currently. To make this work, pre-production as a discipline should get well established in the industry to pre-plan and prototype good enough output that is convincing to the audience. This movie has done that to a good extent but they have missed out big time on casting, make up and detailing. Till this is got right there will be a disconnect. Overall the movie has taken the same route as what Baba took, its struggle to tell a compelling message to the audience vs trying to force in commercial elements into it. If you are willing to keep the distractions away and able to see the actual message that has been told and appreciate the efforts of a film maker to bring his dream on to the screen then you should definitely watch this once if not you can skip it.

Note: Please read the review completely before taking a call

Can Skip it – unless you are willing look beyond the on screen performances for the deep message in the movie.

 

Classic, Genre, Musical, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Tamil Movies

Ninaithale Inikkum

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Ninaithale Inikkum – a romance drama and musical in Tamil released in 1979. Chandru is a lead singer in a music troop. They fly to Singapore for a program where he meets Sona a girl whom he falls in love with. But Sona behaves unpredictably, sometimes she reaches out to Chandru and at times she ignores him. What is the mystery behind her behavior? Was Chandru able to win her heart? is the rest of the plot.

Kamal Haasan, Rajnikanth and Jayaprada in the lead roles, K. Balachander directing the film, MS Viswanathan and Kannadasan combo for the music and lyrics, Sujatha penning the story and screenplay, today it sounds like a dream combination and it would create a huge expectation among the audience. Such was the magic of Ninaithale Inikkum although released 34 years ago. The movie was different in many ways and got a cult status of its own. Kamal Haasan and Jayaprada had a lot of scope for acting, Rajnikanth known for his style and action, filled in for the full length comedy track and support role. The movie was a musical treat with some ever green foot tapping numbers. It stayed true to its claim of being a musical by having the only action fight sequence in the movie also been played as a song. The movie had a theatrical re-release recently. Overall the movie is a must watch for having such a star studded team and still staying up to the expectation.

Must Watch

Some of the memorable moments from the movie that still makes it evergreen and stand out

Rajni Kamal
Kamal Hassan and Rajnikanth Sharing the screen space for the last time.

 

KB Kamal & Rajini
K. Balachander again proving to be the master who apart from his movies has given two great stars in Kamal and Rajni to Tamil Cinema
Jayaprada
Kamal and Jayaprada’s onscreen chemistry and Jayaprada’s changing hair dos in the movie adding to the mystery.
Rajini On Guitar
Rajni on Guitar – Only after seeing Santana recently I believed someone could actually play the guitar that way 🙂
Kamal
The evergreen songs that was soul to the movie.
Rajini Throwing Cigarette
Rajni’s comedy sequences
(1) Rajni having a bet for throwing the cigarette in the air and holding it in his mouth for ten consecutive times.
(2) Rajni trying to decode the address from the garbled message in the tape recorder.

Wish someone is able to recreate the such a magic again… Till then this movie would be a sweet memory (Ninaithale Innikum)!

Can Skip it, Comedy, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Tamil Movies

Sutta Kadhai

Sutta Kadhai – is a Tamil Slap stick comedy released in 2013.  In a fictitious tribal region Kora Malai the tribal head Ottagam is shot and killed when he is out hunting for birds. The daughter of Ottagam, two new recruits in the police are out to solve the mystery. Were they able to find the killer? is the plot of the movie.

Although the makers have tried to call it a dark comedy it is far from being dark and I would consider this as a slap stick comedy for the review. Director Subbu has struck upon a good concept, backdrop, characters and shots for the movie and where he has failed doing a good job is stitching the sequences together. It does however make you laugh occasionally. The casting for the movie is done well; you see experienced actors and newbies from Chennai Theatre group. The movie starts very well and demands a high degree of attention but after 30 mins into the movie it starts dragging as there are repeated and elaborate sequences. Before the knots are tied for the audience to keep guessing how it would be untied the story starts untying it. What they claimed to be a complex knot proves to be a very weak one.

What you would like: Concept and Characters, Absurdness in the script, Sambasivam comics

What you would dislike: Dragging and repeated sequences, Not so complicated problem, disconnected flow in the screenplay

Overall the movie is a forgettable affair.

Can skip it

Action, English Movies, Fantasy, Rating, Reviews, Superhero, Worth a Watch

Thor: The Dark World

Thor: The Dark World – is a Marvel Superhero movie released in 2013. Eons back Bor, grandfather of Thor defeats the dark elves and safeguards their deadly weapon Aether which has the potential to destroy the universe in a stone column. In the present time the dark elves lead by Malekith awaken with the accidental release of the weapon Aether. They now launch their assault on Asgard and are out to destroy the universe as the event of convergence of the Nine worlds nears. Thor has to save Asgard, the earth and the entire universe. Was Thor able to do it… ? is the plot of this sequel to the Thor movie.

When the dark evil forces arise and threatens to destroy the world, a superhero comes to save the world. This is a template of any superhero movie and the creators do not have much levy to change this. What they could creatively play around with is the sequence of events that would lead through the story. If they are not able to engage the audience with interesting sequences then the movie becomes a boring one. This movie is on the borderline. Parts of the movie, particularly the portions involving Loki are very engaging. Tom Hiddleston has done a very good job of playing the role of Loki and lifts the tempo of the movie. Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman have done what the script has asked for. Like any of the modern day super hero flicks there is mass destruction, makes one feel gone are those days when super heroes saved innocent people from great perils while the modern day super heroes are more concerned about their loved ones. Overall the movie deserves a one time watch if you are a Thor fan. And don’t miss, there are 2 post credit sequences at the end.

What you may like: Loki’s characterization, visual effects, post credit teasers

What you may not like: Usual superhero plot, slow paced first half, Not as racy as its prequel

Watchable – for the characterization of Loki

Comedy, Genre, Must Watch, Rating, Short Films

Rejected – Short film

Rejected – is a short film made for 48hfp (48 hour film project www.48hourfilm.com) Delhi in 2013. The film is about a girl who is rejected a UK visa and the life threatening measure she takes after that. The movie is of comedy genre and is a very light watch. It also has a very satirist take on the addiction many of us have in the present day.

The movie is made by Petromax Films and directed by Arko Provo Bose. It has won 6 awards including best picture in the Delhi 48hfp. The story is very simple and would make you laugh. What I liked most about the film was its editing by Raja Gurpal Singh and Sound Design from  Shuaieb Alam Babar. It really gave the film a very professional finish. Good work by the entire team. It is a must watch!