Queen - Movie Review - Hindi Film

'Queen', the story of Rani from Rajouri Garden, Delhi, has been making waves since its release alongside the lot more publicized 'Gulaab Gang'. But looks like the box office has not been so kind to the women in pink.

After almost a week long deliberation, we decided to celebrate the 'holi'day with Kangana Ranaut and she absolutely made our day!

The film begins with a tribute to its cinematographer Bobby Singh, who, I understand, passed away mid way during the shooting of the film (& Special Chabbis).

Directed by Vikas Bahl, who earlier gave us 'Chillar Party', the film stars, alongside some brilliantly cast character artistes in various supporting roles, Rajkummar Rao and Lisa Haydon.

A bride-to-be, dumped by her fiancee, 2 days before the scheduled wedding decides to go on the already planned honeymoon all by herself and in the process learns to live life on her own terms. Any similarity to last years hit 'English Vinglish' is only coincidental, I guess, as Vikas dishes out well etched scenes one after the other to keep things moving.

The dialogues (co written by Kangana), hilarious at times, are uncluttered and real, for a film that hinges completely on the actors and their interactions, what with most of the film being shot abroad and key characters that do not speak Hindi. Kudos!

Amit Trivedi deserves special mention for the soundtrack and every song fit the bill perfectly. I have raved enough about the songs (London Thumakda and Ranjha-credited to Rupesh Kumar Ram, being my favorites) on my fb page. It was interesting to see the usage of Sitar in the Rock show scene. Another stellar effort post Lootera, where I thought his background score was brilliant.

The screenplay does lose a bit of steam in the second half as some scenes seem repetitive but thankfully it picks up pace again at the right time. The Roxette episode I thought was an unnecessary detour and hardly leaves an impact. Further, the reason for Vijay's (Rao) change of heart could have been established better. Nevertheless, the writing does leave a moist eye at places.

Lisa Haydon is vibrant (in every way!) as Vijayalakshmi ;) ;) Rajkummar Rao as Vijay does his part well. Even the Japanese & Russian room mates in Amsterdam and the Italian chef are perfect choices and throw in nuanced performances. The 'sense of humour' that keeps you smiling though out needs special mention. The french toast, the sex toy shop, the hostel, the non-veg jokes of Santa-Banta, the lizard et al..

But in the middle of it all, is an outrageously heart warming performance from the leading lady

Kangana Ranaut, who does not let you take your eyes off her even for a split second. Whether it is the drunken street dance (to the kick-ass rejig of Anhonee's Hungama Ho Gaya) outside the discotheque in Italy or the pleading at the coffee shop in Delhi, Kangana's Rani is one of the best enacted leading roles I have come across in a recent times. And going by the trailor of her next, 'Revolver Rani', Kangana is certainly setting a few benchmarks for the bollywood leading ladies. Hats off!

My Verdict: Highly recommended. Kangana's Rani will leave a smile on your face as you step out of the movie hall.

Drishyam - Movie Review - No Spoilers

At last, after almost over a month of its release, I managed to watch Drishyam, the movie that is already being billed as the first MalayaLam film to rake in a 50 crore business.

The moment I heard that it is a thriller, I ensured that I didn't read thru any of the reviews floating around, which meant I had no clue of the plot. The only thing I knew was that it was a family drama which turns out to be a thriller. So, if you plan to watch the film, do not go read about it. Even the Wikipedia page has spoilers!

What works in favor of Drishyam is the narrative. Written and directed by Jeetu Joseph, the movie stars Mohanlal, Meena, Asha Sarath, Siddique (of Siddique-Lal fame) & Kalabhavan Shajon among others. The narrative goes back and forth as it unravels answers to every question that pops in your head. Whether it is the jovial and pleasant household scenes in the first half or the unfolding of the events in the second half, except for a few moments during the interrogation sequences, the screenplay pretty much keeps one glued.

The cinematography by Sujith Vaassudev is an asset and aids Jeetu's narrative ably. Some of the shots of the scenic Thodupuzha and its surroundings are indeed a feast. Music composed by Anil Johnson and Vinu Thomas is adequate. The songs are pleasant and do not hamper the flow. The background score though loud at places serves the movie well when it really matters.

I consider the characterization of Mohanlal as a tribute to 100 years of Indian cinema. A protagonist playing a movie buff and taking real life decisions based on the movies he watches, is a stroke of brilliance from the director and who better to play this than the master actor Mohanlal. There are news' doing the rounds that Kamal Haasan has been signed to do a Tamizh remake of this film (with some changes to suit the Tamizh viewers, ofcourse!). But I will stick my neck out and say, with all due respect to Kamal, Mohanlal's performance can not be matched.

Meena is excellent as the protagonist's wife and Asha Sharath as the stern police officer in the company of the dependable veteran Siddique does a commendable job. Kalabhavan Shajon as Constable Sahadevan, who has a few scores to settle, is very effective as well.

All in all, a fantastic movie watching experience. One cannot stop from applauding the way the thriller unfolds. Kudos to Jeetu Joseph for the script. I really look forward to his future projects.

My Verdict: Must Watch! 

தீ..வாளி.. (ஹைதராபாத் பேருந்து விபத்தில் பலியான உயிர்களுக்கு என் அஞ்சலி)

வாணம் விட போகணுமின்னு

வண்டி ஏறி கண் அசந்தா

வானம் கூட்டிப் போயிருச்சே!

வழிப்பறியா ஆயிருச்சே!

விடுப்பு ரெண்டு எடுத்துக்கிட்டு,

உடுப்பு நாலு வாங்கிக்கிட்டு,

அடிச்சி புடிச்சி கெடச்ச வண்டி

வெடிச்சி வீணாப் போயிருச்சே!

ஆடுற ஆட்டத்துல

ஆனந்தமா தூங்கையில

அர மணி நேரத்துல

ஆட்டமெல்லாம் அடங்கிருச்சே!

ஆம்பளயா பொம்பளயா

அடையாளம் தெரியலயாம்!

அதுலயும் பாதி பேர்

ஆருன்னே புரியலயாம்!

எங்களத் திரியாக்கி

வண்டிய வெடியாக்கிட்டியே,

எமதருமராசா! பட்டாசுன்னா

உனக்கு அம்புட்டு இஷ்டமாய்யா?

என்ன பொலம்பி என்ன செய்ய! 

எங்க போயி நாஞ்சொல்ல!

எண்ண குளியல் போடும் முன்ன

எண்ணயில பொரிச்சிட்டியே!

கஷ்டத்தப் போக்க

நஷ்ட ஈடு தாராங்களாம்!

போன உசுர 'ஜப்பார்' தருவாரா,

அவுங்க அப்பாரு தருவாரா?

வானம் தொட்ட வாலி!

October 29, 1931 - July 18, 2013

நீர் மறைந்த தினத்தில் வானம் அழுததாம்!

கண்ணீரால் உன்னுடல் கழுவிப் பாதம் தொழுததாம்!

உன் கவிதைகளைப் படித்துப் படித்தே கவிஞர் ஆனவர் பலர்.

கவியில்லையென்றாலும் உன் சேவடிக்கு இது நான் சேர்க்கும் மலர்!

என் மானசீக குரு நீ! நான் பார்த்திராத

தமிழ்த் தாத்தா உரு நீ!

நான் இன்று எழுதுவதும் படிப்பதும் 

நீ முன்பு பற்றவைத்த தீ!

வாலியின் முன்னில் பலம் இழந்தவர்கள் உண்டு.

அது த்ரேதா யுகத்தில்.

வாலியின் பண்ணால் பலம் கொண்டவர் மட்டுமே உண்டு.

இந்தக் க(லை)லி யு(ல)கத்தில்.

உனக்கு அலாதி ப்ரியம், ராமச்சந்திரன் பேரில்.

அவர் பவனி பல வந்ததுண்டு உன் கவிதைத் தேரில்.

சில நாள் அரிதார புருஷனாய்!

சில நாள் அவதார புருஷனாய்!

ஒருவன் புரட்சித் தலைவன்

இன்னொருவன் காவியத் தலைவன்.

முன்னவருக்கு கிடைத்ததோ முதல்வர் அரியணை!

பின்னவன் கொடுப்பான் உன் ஆன்மாவுக்குத் தலையணை!

நீ தாய்க்கும் பாடினாய், சேய்க்கும் பாடினாய்.

காமத்தையும் பாடினாய், ராம நாமத்தையும் பாடினாய்.

உனக்கு தத்துவமும் அத்துப்படி

'குத்து'வமும் அத்துப்படி!

காலனொடு 'முக்காபுலா' போடும் காலத்திலும்

'சுவாசம் ரொம்ப மோசம்' என்று எதுகை மோனை!

விடுவானா காலன்! கேட்டதும் அள்ளிக் கொண்டு போய் விட்டான்

எங்கள் தெள்ளுதமிழ்த் தேனை!

அள்ள அள்ளக் குறையாத 

நீயோ அட்சயப் பானை.

உன் வெண்தாடி விழுதில் ஏறி விளையாடும்

நாங்கள் வெறும் வானர சேனை.

சேட்டை மட்டுமே நாங்கள் அறிவோம்.

ஏட்டைக் காட்டி பாட்டைக் கேட்டல்

கோட்டையில் அமர வைக்கும் - ராஜ

பாட்டை உன்னால் மட்டுமே சாத்தியம்!

திருவரங்கத்துக் கவியரங்கமே!

தெவிட்டாத தமிழ்ச்சுரங்கமே!

நீ விட்டுப்போன சிம்மாசனம்

இனி நிரந்தரமாய் காலி.

நீ தொட்டுப் போன உயரங்கள்

என்றென்றும் சொல்லும் - வாலி! வாலி! வாலி!

வணக்கத்துடன்,

ப்ரவீன்.

Lootera - Movie Review

Vikramaditya Motwane's second coming (after the coming of age debut in 'Udaan') 'Lootera' is out on the big screen and is garnering quite a bit of positive reviews and critical acclaim.

Starring Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha in the lead, the first half of the film is set in the 1950's West Bengal, in the backdrop of the implementation of the Zamindari Abolitions Act.

Pakhi (Sonakshi) is the adored and protected daughter of the Zamindar of Manekpur (Barun Chanda). Pakhi collides (literally) with a government appointed archaeologist on a mission, Varun (Ranveer), who ends up being a guest, subsequently at the Zamindari haveli. Slowly but surely, the two fall for each other, even as the effects of the new legislation takes a toll on the Zamindar's assets, who resorts to Varun's help to trade some of his prized possessions. On the verge of getting married, circumstances force Varun to leave Pakhi and Manekpur only to meet her under completely different circumstances in the second half, set in Dalhousie.

I will refrain from giving away any spoilers, as the travel from Manekpur to Dalhousie is itself worth the money you spend.

The backdrop of Manekpur is beautifully etched with lot of attention to detail on the period props and fashion. The script is brilliant, aided by some first rate performances, especially by Barun Chanda and Vikram Massey, playing Varun's friend.

Its only when the scene shifts to Dalhousie, the writing starts gradually deteriorating and unfortunately hits rock bottom towards the end. The Writer-director in search of the (inspired) poetic ending, loses control of the lead characters, their emotions and lets the screenplay meander to a tame end, which reflects in the performances as well. Pakhi's portrayal when she meets Varun again and her emotions and reactions seem unconvincing and confused, after one point in time. I could sense the same with the fellow audience as well, which could pretty much be the movie's undoing.

(The disappointment in my case could also be because I knew the twist in the tale much before it presented itself, thanks to Mr.William Sydney Porter, and was waiting for it to arrive! If you have no clue of what I am talking about, you may enjoy the second half better).

Ranveer and Sonakshi play their parts well and are effective as Varun and Pakhi. Adil Hussain as the cop is adequate and Divya Dutta's role hardly warrants a mention.

Mahendra.J.Shetty's cinematography is easy on the eyes and apt.

Amit Trivedi

Amit Trivedi, who calls the music of Lootera, his tribute to Pancham da, delivers a brilliant performance with the songs and the background score. You will remember 'Sawaar Loon', 'Monta Re' (my personal favorite based on the traditional baul music) and 'Zinda Hoon Yaar' long after you are finished with the movie.  Barring a few instances where it is a little dominant on the dialogs, the background score (particularly the portion leading to the intermission) is one of the better scores I have heard in recent times.

My Verdict: Watch it if you like soft romantic dramas with fine performances and for the brilliant first half. The 'Lootera' ends up a couple of notches below what could have swept you off your feet.