Monthly Archives: November 2013

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

2 Comments

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!

 

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

Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara (Idhaaba)

4 Comments

Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara (Idhaaba) – is a Tamil Comedy movie released in 2013.  One day in a wine shop three incidents happen. A Roadside Romeo who has been stalking a girl in the neighborhood is being interrogated and warned by a local goon. A young sales representative stressed out balancing the demands of his boss and his girlfriend’s expectations, is drinking with his friends. Two contract killers stab a man to death. The paths of all these stories cross and what happens is the rest.

The movie starts in a lighter note and travels with the three story lines in parallel and convincingly ends with a much needed social message. Director Gokul has done a good job in engaging the audience to a greater extent compared to his earlier outing with Rowthiram. The screenplay is brilliant and keeps the interest going on. The cast, music and the locations all fit in apt with the story line.

What you would like: Comedy, Social message, Engaging Screenplay

What you would dislike: Too much of wine shop

Overall the movie is definitely a good watch.

Watchable

Must Watch, Rating, Short Films

Speechless – Short film

Speechless – is a short film made for the 48hfp (48 hour film project – www.48hourfilm.com) in 2013. A young woman who is challenged with speech and hearing receives a Smart Phone as a gift on her Birthday… the 5 minute script exposes the reason behind the gift. Although the movie was made in 48 hours the constraints are not visible due to the story it conveys and holds your attention throughout. The movie is made by Team Postmasters and directed by Srikant Kekare. The film bagged 5 different awards in the event. Watch the movie here. Its a must watch for its short and sweet concept.

Friday Fundas

Epistolary Movies

4 Comments

Epistolary Movies – The term is based epistolary novels. This refers to a particular style of writing the screenplay. In this style the story is narrated as a series of letters or diary entries. In the modern day this could be a series of text, audio or video blogs.

Writers used this technique mainly to avoid a third person narrative in their scripts. This gives the opportunity for the writer to narrate the story in first person. Many popular movies have employed this technique either completely or in parts to make an effective screenplay. The recent movie The Lunchbox is an epistolary movie script where the main plot moves through the exchange of letters between the lead characters. James Cameron had used this in Avatar for narrating the incidents on the Pandora Island through the protagonist’s video blog. Ghajini is an example of epistolary script which is through a list of diary entries. In comparison to a character narrating it to the audience or another character this gives a more realistic and effective timeline jumps as it covers only highlights which are inherent nature of letters or diary entries.

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

Arrambam

4 Comments

Arrambam – is a Tamil Action Thriller released in 2013. The movie is an adaptation of the English movie Swordfish.  Ashok (Ajith) employs a skillful hacker Arjun (Arya) against his will to hack into highly secured networks. Arjun learns Ashok is behind the bomb blast in the city and also witnesses him killing multiple people. He tips off the police to get Ashok arrested… Was Arjun able to escape from Ashok? Why is Ashok killing people, planting bombs and hacking systems? – is the rest of the plot.

The entire script sails on the mass value of Ajith. The movie starts promisingly and definitely engages audience to a larger extent. However the flash back has been made into an emotional drama to justify the actions of the protagonist.  In an effort to make the movie a commercial pot boiler Director Vishnuvardhan misses to tie the loop holes in the screenplay. He seemed to have been desperate in connecting strongly with the audience and has employed the ploy which had been used successfully in many movies. The elaborate climax fight scene defies the logic of an average movie goer.

What you would like: Ajith’s screen presence, star cast, action sequences and the social message.

What you would hate: Drag in the screenplay, unwanted melodrama to justify the actions and overuse logic defying sequences.

Overall the movie has been made for the Diwali audience who are generally more forgiving than usual. This is a movie where you should not think too much and might make a decent watch when aired on TV.

Wait for TV/DVD – for the star cast