Category Archives: Romance

Drama, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Tamil Movies, Wait for DVD/TV

Endrendrum Punnagai

Endrendrum Punnagai – is a Tamil romantic drama released in 2013. Gautam hates women since his mother left his father and him in his childhood. He and his two close friends since high school take a vow that they would lead a life without getting committed to a woman. However things turn topsy-turvy when his friends decide to get married and settled down in life. Did this bring a change in Gautam is the plot of the movie.

Director I M Ahmed has taken the right plot for the season. He has worked on the characterization of Gautam very well and Jiva has essayed the character as the director has created it. However he hasn’t spent too much time on building out the other characters in the movie. They all seem to be wrong as seen by Gautam and also easily give up even though they get hurt deeply by Gautam’s behavior. The movie might remind you of the I Hate Luv story but this one is on a more serious note and the protagonist is a male chauvinistic person. The screenplay gets weak when the other characters easily give up justifying the actions of Gautam. If there has been more time spent in building out strong characters of his friends and Priya (character essayed by Trisha), the movie might have been an interesting watch. Overall you wouldn’t get bored by watching this movie but it is not more than a forgettable affair.

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Drama, Genre, Hindi Movies, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Wait for DVD/TV

Hasee Toh Phasee

Hasee Toh Phasee – is a Hindi romance drama released in 2014. Nikhil wants to a lead a life with guarantee from his job, to the house and his girlfriend. During the preparation for his wedding he gets in touch with the sister of his fiancee who is a drug addict and chooses to live life spontaneously. Does this change his life is the rest of the plot.

Karan Johar and Anurag Kashyap producing a movie jointly raised some interesting questions if it is going to be a fun fair with song and dance or some serious dark drama. It was more of the former. This is one of the movies which has not been positioned very well. The title and promos had set the expectations for a romantic comedy but it ends up being a bit of satire on Indian wedding, bit of old school romantic drama in the end leaves you a bit confused as are the lead characters in the movie. There are parts of the movie which are interesting including the performance of Parineeti Chopra, the chemistry between the lead pair. But this isn’t sufficient to make it a overall exciting package. You might consider to watch it once when played on TV.

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Comedy, Genre, Malayalam Movies, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews, Romance

Om Shanthi Oshaana

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Om Shanthi Oshaana – is a Malayalam romantic comedy released in 2014. The story revolves around a girl who falls in love with a guy in her teens. The guy doesn’t accept her love as she is still a kid. She waits six long years till she is on her own and completes her degree. Was she able to get the guy of her dreams is the plot of Om Shanthi Oshaana.

The plot is a very old one and has been dealt in numerous movies. Certain plots are like a fresh coffee in the morning… no matter how many years you had been having it, the first sip in the morning always tastes fresh. Only thing to take care is to make the coffee right. Director Jude Anthany Joseph with his fresh screenplay has made a perfect blend. Being his first full length movie he hasn’t compromised on the elements of his plot. Nazriya is cute with her performance and the story sails around her. Nivin Pauly has given a much matured performance and the Neram pair strikes gold again with their onscreen chemistry. All the characters you meet are positive, “there is a cool breeze, general warmth and greenery” (you will understand this phrase once you see the movie) throughout the movie. It is one of the movies where even the sad scenes look beautiful. While people are struggling hard to make something big, innovative and out of the world love stories… this one comes with simple, beautiful and down to earth love story. If you are girl kid of the 90’s you will have more things to relate in the movie. The dialogues are witty and makes you laugh at many places. Overall the movie is right for the season  and it is a feel-good entertainer throughout.

Must Watch – for all rom-com lovers

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

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, Romance, Tamil Movies

Varutha Padatha Valibar Sangam

Varutha Padatha Valibar Sangam – a tamil romantic comedy film released in 2013.  Sivanandi is a village head who is known for his violent nature. Among his priceless possession is the rifle presented to his father by the British. The movie starts with police investigating about Sivanandi’s third daughter who is known to be shot by Sivanandi as she eloped from his house along with her boyfriend. Once the news is confirmed police arrests Sivanandi and the movie travels into flashback of incidents that had led to this. Why did he kill his daughter and under what circumstances is the rest of the plot.

Director Ponram comes from the school of Director Rajesh (Boss engira Baskaran and OK OK). The movie has the same flavor of Rajesh’s movie but in a village background. Sathyaraj has a good presence in the movie and has done his character with ease. Siva Karthikeyan and Suri has been successful making audience laugh occasionally. The movie runs with the weight of its title thanks to Vadivel for getting this name in Winner. The plot is very simple and doesn’t warrant a 2.5 hours script. The sequences and situations of village fights, father not approving the love, jobless youth roaming in the village without taking anything seriously are all what you would have seen in previous movies numerous times. The only difference is the climax of the movie. Overall the movie is just an average flair and you cannot take it seriously as its lead characters do not take anything seriously, the movie just remains a forgettable one.

Can Skip it 

Drama, Genre, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Tamil Movies

Raja Rani

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Raja Rani – a Tamil Romance film released in 2013.  John and Regina enter a married life unwillingly for the sake of their family to only make their everyday life a hell. It is later revealed that the reason for their unwillingness and detachment is that they are not able to come out of their past love failure and loss from it. Do they realize that there is life after breakup which could be better is the rest of the plot.

Atlee coming from Shankar’s school has done a very neat job for a debut director. He has tried to recreate the magic Mouna Raagam after 27 years and has been fairly successful in his attempt. Though the story is a old school romantic drama template the screenplay makes it look still fresh. Atlee should be given credit for the using innovative sequences to move the story that has been told many a times. The movie is thoroughly enjoyable.. it will make you laugh and cry as the characters go through the roller coaster of situations in their life. GV Prakash has done a neat job with the background score. Couple of shortfalls –  One, at times they have taken creative liberty to move the story to a desired sequence and other the message of good life existing beyond break ups have been repeated by almost every character which could have been avoided. If you are willing to ignore such minor glitches you will enjoy Raja Rani.

Must Watch – for all those who love Romantic drama!

 

Drama, Genre, Hindi Movies, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews, Romance

The Lunchbox

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The Lunchbox – is a Hindi drama released in 2013. A mistaken delivery of a lunchbox (dabba) by the dabbawala service in Mumbai helps an unhappy house wife Ila and an about to retire government servant and widower Saajan discover love and a soul mate in each other, when they start exchanging letters through the dabba.

The movie is not a fairy tale although the plot might seem like a stereo typical romance tale. The movie is very close to real life and many a times the audience would feel the “bite” of reality in the lunchbox. Irrfan Khan does a brilliant role as an old man about to retire. His body language, habits and everything he does convinces you of his portrayed age. Nimrat Kaur has performed decently. The characters of Nawazuddin Siddiqui, a shameless young man getting trained as a successor for Irrfan, the aunty living in the top floor of Nimrat advising her like an oracle are brilliantly woven into the screenplay to reflect the various emotions the lead characters go through.  The director Ritesh Batra deserves a lot of credit for making a movie that stands out from the usual larger than life bollywood flicks and that captures the glimpse of life as it is. Cinematography by Michael Simmonds and music by Max Ritcher makes you feel that you are in midst of Mumbai witnessing the event… simply brilliant. Overall the lunchbox is served with mixed flavors of happiness and sadness in everyday life and it does not serve you dessert 🙂 The movie would do well with multiplex audience but may not appeal beyond the multiplexes as there are many dialogues in English. If you liked movies like Lost in Translation then this one is a must watch for you….!

Must Watch – for serious movie lovers

Comedy, Genre, Hindi Movies, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Wait for DVD/TV

Shuddh Desi Romance

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Shuddh Desi Romance – is a Hindi romantic comedy film released in 2013. The plot deals with the confusions in the minds of the present day youngsters about marriage and commitment.  Raghu a tourist guide meets Gayatri an open minded independent girl on the previous night of his wedding and likes her. He elopes from the wedding stage just before his wedding ceremony. Later he meets Gayatri and both of them start a live in relationship which eventually leads to wedding. But few minutes before their wedding Gayatri runs away. What happened to Raghu after that, Did Gayatri come back? Were they able to change their perception on wedding is the remaining story.

Yash Raj Films comes out with yet another bold concept of live in relationship that is not often talked about widely in Indian families. Director Maneesh Sharma has used Baraat and Wedding planner backdrop which worked for him in Band Baaja Baarat to convey the story. It is not just a romantic comedy film but has a strong take on the confused mind of present day youngsters regarding commitment. Maneesh should be praised for taking up such a concept. However once the lead characters get into live-in relationship the movie slows down and he has used intimate scenes as the mode to move the story which makes it sluggish.  Shushant Singh Rajput and Parineeti Chopra has played their part well. Many of the audience might find Shuddh Desi Romance to be “adult”-e-“rated” because of the concept it deals with.  Overall the movie is different for the new plot and the actual problem that is bothering the current younger generation, however due to the lack of substance in the screenplay you might find it slow. It might make a good watch in TV or DVD.

Wait for TV/DVD – for the plot

Comedy, Genre, Hindi Movies, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Wait for DVD/TV

Nautanki Saala

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Nautanki Saala – is a romantic comedy film released in 2013. The story is based on a French movie Après Vous. Ram is a talented theater artist who has the nature of carrying his theatrical skills into real life to help people. One night he comes across Mandar who is trying to commit suicide. He saves him and takes up the responsibility to rebuild his life. They become friends and the movie is about how their friendship builds, the problem they run into and how they solve it.

I am a fan of Rohan Sippy’s movies like Bluff master, Dum Maaro Dum. Nautanki Saala has many of the ingredients of a Rohan Sippy movie. It has got wonderful sets, great songs and a new canvas for the plot. The concept of the movie is absolutely brilliant where the real life incidents relate to the scenes in the theatrical play of Ramayan. The characters bring real life to reel life and reel life to real life to solve their problems. However the movie misses the usual punch. With cast like Ayushman Khuranna and Kunaal Roy Kapoor coming from Vicky Donor and Delhi Belly respectively you expect a ROFL comedy. However the movie is able to do this only in parts and it slows down during the build up phase. Ayushman’s acting is bit flat as there is no much variation as the characters go through the emotional turmoil. Kunaal Roy Kapoor is a treat to watch he has a done a great job, the scenes involving him are hilarious. The adaptation to Indian scenario could have been done a little bit better with respect to the sets they look a tad bit foreign. Overall this movie definitely has something in it and deserves a one time watch. It is coming up on TV this weekend watch it if you are in a mood for a light romantic comedy.

Wait for DVD/TV – for its Novelty

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

Maryan

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Maryan – is a tamil thriller movie featuring Dhanush and directed by Bharatbala. The movie is a dramatized version of a real incident where in a man from a fisherman colony owing to financial pressure goes to Sudan to work on a 2 year contract in construction industry. At the end of the tenure he is looking forward to meet the love of his life whom he had to leave when he left for Sudan. In a strange turn of events he is abducted by terrorists in Sudan desert. The rest of the movie is about his attempt to get out of the situation and return home.

This is the first commercial outing for Bharatbala who is known for creating some amazing patriotic videos including the famous Vande mataram with AR Rahman. He has done a decent job by not falling too much into the commercial elements just for the sake of it and let the story travel on its own weight. Dhanush and Parvathi menon should be lauded for their performances and they have tried to stay up to the demands of their characters. A R Rahman’s background score and cinematography by Marc Koninckx has been the highlight of the movie and will stay in your mind even after you leave the hall. The hallucination scene involving cheetah in the desert and the underwater sequences are brilliant visualizations! 20 years back Maniratnam did an adaptation of the mythological story “Satyavan – Savitri” in Roja, he painted the story in the canvas of terrorism in Kashmir. Now Bharatbala has done the same in Maryan and the canvas he has chosen is terrorists in Sudan desert . Overall the attempt is a successful one. The way of story telling might appear to be disconnected as the director doesn’t spend time in stating the obvious and moves on. The other area where he could have done better is during the characterization build up of the lead characters and other supporting cast. Leaving too many things to assumptions might have people disengaged… Overall you can’t skip Maryan for it has lots to offer than its few limitations…!

Watchable – for a different story, brilliant cinematography and apt music!