Ameerin Aadhi Bhagavan

My review: Ameerin Aadhi Bhagavan

Ameer is known to make movies at a very leisurely pace which is reflected in the fact that "Ameerin Aadhi Bhagavan" is only his fourth film in ten years. This one especially is released after a gap of six years following his previous one "Paruthiveeran" which was both critically as well as commercially acclaimed. Each of his three movies so far are all of different genres none of them resembling the other in any way yet each one of them special in their own way. This time around too, Ameer has tried a new genre totally different from any of his previous ones but whether he has managed to keep the audience hooked to the movie like he did with the past movies of his is a big question mark.

At the outset one gets two big doubts, one why it took almost two years for Ameer to make this movie and how is the tag line "A mafioso action love story " is relevant to this movie especially where is the "love" in the story ?  The gripping screenplay that one is used to with Ameer's movies so far is sadly missing this time. What could have been a power-packed action thriller if only the screenplay was a bit better ends up a boring movie with screenplay almost snail paced and tiring, testing one's patience. Especially the first half is poor with nothing actually happening in the story. The so-called love story that is being portrayed in the first half lacks punch, may be intended that way as the story demands. The spark between the lead pair was never seen onscreen but the answer for that is revealed in the second half. 

Second half is better with introduction of the Bhagavan character and the revelation of the real character of the heroine. Though most of the twists are guessable and there is nothing that surprising as the movie goes, till the end the movie moves along the expected lines. Hence the shock which the audience ought to have experienced is missing whenever the so-called twists are unraveled. Also due the poor writing one can't sympathize or root for the protagonist when he undergoes all those hardships, especially since he himself is not that a innocent or gullible person in the first place rather he is equally as ruthless and mean as his tormentors.     

Heart goes to the poor Jayam Ravi who has spent almost two years with this project (may be with the anticipation of emulating what happened to Suriya, Jiiva and Karthi after they worked with Ameer). It's been almost five years since he has given a hit last one being "Santosh Subramaniam" way back in 2008. Except that he has blindly trusted Ameer's script he has not done anything else wrong. He has given his whole-hearted effort in both the roles he plays, though the Bhagavan character being more flamboyant of the two captures all the eyeballs. He is more restrained and dignified in the character of Aadhi and he has carried it on his shoulder very well. One can only hope his script selection improves and he is back on his winning ways.

Neetu Chandra's role is not the regular damsel in distress or madly in romance kind of a role. She has a substantial part to play and in many places dominates hero's character. As with his previous movies, this time too Ameer has written a strong female character and Neetu does justice to it. Though at certain instances her character is caricaturized with over doing of the smoking and sarcastic dialogues, overall it is a strong character. It is also a huge relief that no justification is given for her role which is usually the norm in Tamil movies (that for a heroine to be negative she  herself must have been a victim previously ). She is as ruthless and mean as the other male character in the movie. Her expertise with martial arts is evident in the climax action sequences which is well choreographed and performed by both Neetu and Ravi.

Since the movie is focused mostly on Ravi and Neetu , others don't have much to do. Babu Antony disappears after initial flourish, Sudha Chandran's role is under-defined, Shaiju Kurup lends adequate support.

Action sequences are well choreographed and shot. They are treat for the action lovers. Movie is technically brilliant with a slick and stylish cinematography by Devraj. Editing plays the spoilsport failing to spruce up the narration, S.P.Ahmed is the editor.

Yuvan Shankar Raja's music this time is a big letdown. Neither the songs nor the background score are good enough. Especially the background score is very lazy. Background score fails to support many  sequences which would have made a better impact with a better score.

"Ameerin Aadhi Bhagavan"  is by far the weakest of all Ameer's movies. Usually he is good with his dialogues  but this time around though it is full of inane and cliched ones. Once again it is proved that however good the acting  or technically superior the movie is, if the narration and the screenplay is not engaging, then it would be hard to sustain the interest of the viewers.

On the whole, one can watch it for the top-class acting from the lead pair, technical wizardry and if you are someone who don't mind getting compromised content wise. Else skip it.

Bottomline: Mindless action.

2.5/5

Silver Linings Playbook

My review: Silver Linings Playbook

People with mental illness like Bipolar affective disorder and Nymphomania also have romantic feelings like the so called "normal" people. How the protagonists unite fighting against the emotionally draining and challenging mental illness they suffer from form the crux of the story of "Silver Linings Playbook". Brilliant writing, neat direction and above all, excellent acting marks "Silver Linings Playbook" which has been nominated in eight categories for the Academy awards including Best film, direction, actor, actress, supporting actor and actress.

Directed by David O.Russell, who has also written the screenplay adapted from  Matthew Quick's novel of the same name. The story and screenplay beautifully captures the difficulties and stigma that the people suffering from mental illness like BPAD go through and how the illness create challenges in their performance of daily routine activities. It is an interesting premise where two people united by mental illness but with different outlook towards life, both trying to cope with failed marriages getting involved in a relationship which gets muddled by the impulsivity, impaired judgement and emotional dyscontrol. How their relationship triumphs over these challenges is told in a light-hearted yet impactful manner.

Only thing is that the phenomenology of the symptoms from which the lead pair suffer from could have been a bit more clearly portrayed.

Main attraction of the movie is the power packed acting by the lead actors. Bradley Cooper is a revelation in this  movie. As a partially treated, drug non-compliant  Bipolar patient with periodic breakdowns, he has done his part exceedingly well. A well deserved nomination for him. The effortless manner in which he has shown myriad of emotions with subtlety intact for a even minor tilt in balance would have become contemptible needs appreciation.

Jennifer Lawrence is brilliant. Her portrayal of Tiffany, a recovering Nymphomaniac is astounding for the fact that she successfully manages to bring in streaks of  vulnerability underneath a hard-nosed exterior. The hot and cold relationship she has with Pat is portrayed with conviction. She was very unlucky to miss out on the best actress award couple of years ago for a more power packed performance in "Winter's Bone". If luck is in her side she might walk away with the statue this time around.

Veterans Robert Di Nero and Jacki Weaver, who are also nominated from supporting actor and actress awards respectively have done their job very well. Chrish Tucker and Anupam Kher make up  one of the finest ensemble in recent times.

On the whole, "Silver Linings Playbook" is one of the best feel-good romantic drama in recent times with an underlay of dark-humour throughout. Watch out for the crew in the Academy awards, especially Ms. Jennifer Lawrence.

Bottomline: Triumph of the human mind.

3.5/5     

Attahasa

My review: Attahasa

A.M.R.Ramesh known for his movies based on real life incidents, this time has tried his hands on the biopic of famous forest brigand Veerappan. Extensive research that has gone about in the making of this movie is astounding and the result shows on screen. It is as authentic it can get as a biopic on the brigand. 

Ramesh has chosen not to take sides which has bode well for the movie. It is a third man's perspective of what really happened rather than why it happened, by which he has also steered away from controversy (though he eventually had to compromise with the brigand's wife regarding the portions which portray's her character). Narrative style, though docudramaish, the screenplay is so engaging that it never tires the viewers. 

Second half gather more steam and is replete with action till the end. 

Ramesh has tried to incorporate most of the significant events in the rise and fall of Veerappan. One glaring exception being that movie has totally ignored the work done by Walter Devaram who was one of the heads of the joint STF during the 90's (Ramesh has tried to redeem himself by having a snapshot of him in the end credits). 

It is hard to present a story like this without much dramatization and idolization, but Ramesh has done just that which deserves applause. Luckily the Kannada version has not been butchered as mercilessly as the Tamil version, hence the screenplay and the narrative is lucid. Only drawback is that it is humorous to see all the Tamil characters mouthing flawless Kannada dialogues. Voice-over would have made it more authentic.

Arjun as the dashing (now legendary) chief special task force officer Vijaykumar is brilliant. His body language, demeanor and style is apt for the role. Kishore is excellent as Veerappan. He doesn't have much scope to emote by scores more than sufficiently by his body language and camouflaging himself into the character. Most of Vijaylakshmi's scenes are blurred and hence it is difficult to comment on her contribution to the movie. Suresh Oberai as actor Rajkumar is apt while Ravi Kale, Laxmi Rai, Shika, Sampath Raj and A.M.R.Ramesh have done their parts adequately.

Vijay Milton's cinematography is brilliant. He has captured the beautiful, dangerous terrains of Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border well. His hard work is evident in every frame each of which is flawlessly shot.

Sandeep Chowta's background score is okay. Many places there is too much sound where a more mellow score would have doubled the impact.

On the whole, "Attahasa" is one of the better biopics one has come across in Indian film industry.

Bottomline: Hard work needs appreciation.

3.5/5

Celluloid

My review: Celluloid

Kamal's "Celluloid" is not just a biopic of the Godfather of the Malayalam Cinema J.C.Daniel, at a more higher level it is a social commentary of those dark days of Kerala wrought with casteism and untouchability. Though Kerala is one of the first states in British India to have social reform movement and fight against untouchability it is shocking to watch (and get to know) the plight of the first writer, producer and director  and the first actress in Malayalam cinema on account of casteist ruthlessness. 

The movie's most evocative visual (there are couple more but this one is the most disturbing) is the one where the P.K.Rosy, the lower caste actress being chased away from the cinema hall by the higher caste bigots, running away with unfulfilled desire of catching a glimpse of her onscreen for the first time. Chandini who is excellent in her role of P.K.Rosy has done a marvelous job in that scene (her eyes are haunting still..!) coupled with the haunting background score that is one scene which would disturb one's mind long after the movie is over. 

Not only that movie also talk about how public as well the government fail to recognize the pioneers in various fields when there are alive, allowing them to suffer and die in penury. Also the bureaucratic red-tapism is beautifully captured when Chelangatt Gopalakrishnan's efforts at getting the work of J.C.Daniel recognized is faced with utter disregard and disdain from the government officials. 

Movie is not all dark and pathos. The making of the first movie in Malayalam is told in a entertaining manner. How actors (most of them coming from theatre background) were finding it difficult to adjust to acting in front of camera without need to mouth the dialogues (at that time it was silent movie) and watering down their histrionics and body language to the new medium. The caste hierarchy which was strictly followed even among those who were working in the cinema making is captured nicely. 

Movie's heroine comes to work carrying her own gruel for lunch, washes the dishes after lunch and was working as a daily wage labourer. When she is asked to wear the costumes which is supposed to represent a higher caste Nair woman, the trepidation at the same time joy of wearing things that she can only dream of and the dilemma between the two is portrayed excellently by newcomer Chandini. Among all the actors she stays in the viewers mind hauntingly. (what happened to the real Rosy is still not known after she was chased away from her village by the high caste people for acting as a Nair woman) 

Prithviraj has done a good job as J.C.Daniel. He comes three different get-ups and has shown difference in voice modulation and body language well for all the three. This is by far the best effort from this promising youngster. Mamtha Mohandas lends adequate support. Srinivasan is steadfast as usual. All others in the support cast have done their parts appropriately without much cause to complain.

Venu's cinematography is top-class. The yellowish tinge that has been used throughout the movie except for the present day timeline helps in instilling the period effect. May be he could have shown a slight change in the colour tone between the 1920's and 1960's. 

The production team have done a stupendous job in recreating the Travancore of 1920's and South Tamil Nadu of 1960's.       

Music is by M.Jayachandran. "Katte katte" is already a chartbuster. "Enundodee" is another nice melody. His background score tugs the heartstrings at many places.

Kamal, who has written the screenplay, dialogues and directed the movie based on the novel "Nastha naayika" by Vinu Abhraham, has made a movie which would make the country proud. It is a precious product which needs all the accolades and awards, above all patronage from the cinema loving public.

Bottomline: World class.

4/5

Natholi Oru Cheriya Meenalla

My review: Natholi Oru Cheriya Meenalla

"Natholi Oru Cheriya Meenalla" (NOCM) is a movie with a novel plot and narration, makes up for a riveting viewing. Movie follows the narrative style of story within the story. The concept of the conflict between the conscious vengeance and the unconscious drives and wishes which might get entangled in a writer's work is the basic theme of the movie on which an interesting plot is woven with ingredients for an enjoyable watch.

 Shankar Ramakrishnan has written the story, screenplay and the dialogues. He has written an unconventional script in a comprehensible manner. He explores how pent-up anger might rear it's head in a writer's plot and how he might start manipulating his characters to settle his scores. But it won't be easy as the unconscious drives  try to interfere and a battle ensues. The writer and his character which is his manifest-unconscious try to pull the story away from one another according to their satisfaction, in the end who wins the battle needs to be seen in the big screen.

Movie also throws light at when one start viewing people through the prism of preconceived judgement of the one who introduces them, then human mind would find it hard to look beyond the subjectively opinionated point of view. And when a writer starts writing a story based on those characters  this subjectivity would strongly bias the way the characters are written. One should guard against it and not judge people by hearsay.

From what i have mentioned in the previous two paragraphs the readers might think that the movie is abstract and philosophical, but the truth is Shankar along with the director V.K.Prakash have presented the movie in a lucid and tangible manner at the same time not watering down the narrative richness.

Fahad Fazil, who has made it a habit of choosing interesting and meaningful scripts has done it again this time too. Not only he has chosen the right script, he has done a brilliant job in portraying the two characters he plays in this movie. He shows nice contrast between the characters, one a demure, earthy "small fish" Preman aka Natholi and the other suave, greyish and audacious Narendran. Fahad is fast turning out to be the most talented young actor of Malayalam cinema at present. Kamalini Mukherjee lends good support though at certain points she irritates with her anger outbursts (may be intended to be like that). Rima Kallingal has a very brief role.

Bijibal's background score is good, supports the narration well. Abhijit Shylanath's songs are melodious and good. Arun James is the cinematographer who has not given any scope to complain his work. Movie boasts of slick technical values.

Just over two hours, movie is crisp and entertaining. Yet another must watch Fahad Fazil's movie.

Bottomline: Oru cheriya filmalla...!!

3.5/5

David

My review : David

Bejoy Nambiar had a scintillating debut with "Shaitan", an engrossing thriller. Naturally the expectation were high for his second feature film which is a bilingual "David". Movie has an ensemble cast consisting of Vikram, Jiiva, Nasser, Tabu, Lara Dutta, Saurabh Shukla, Isha Sharvani and Rohini Hattangadi.

Movie has an interesting plot of how stories of two persons with the same name from different time periods converge at a point. The problem with the movie is the screenplay especially the Goan story. Goan story with Vikram in the lead is plagued by poorly defined characters, lackadaisical screenplay and silliness in the name of humor. The Mumbai story with Jiiva as the protagonist is better in terms of screenplay and acting.

Vikram is let down once again by poor characterization. Bejoy was an assistant director in "Raavan" and must have seen from close quarters how such a precious talent like Vikram was used shoddily. But unfortunately he has not learned from the mistake of his guru. Vikram's character is poorly etched, only thing that defines his character is that he is under the influence of alcohol almost throughout. Tabu's character is also equally confusing and irritating. Without knowing what is in Isha's mind she and Vikram plotting for the marriage to stop is ridiculous thinking on the part of the writers. And directors idea of humor only irritates the viewers. Isha Sharvani is a doll, both figuratively and literally.

Jiiva has once again put in his sincere effort in a lost course. Faced with series of box-office duds, Jiiva needs to buck up. However no complaints regarding his work in this movie. Nasser and Sheetal Menon lend good support. Character of Lara Dutta is also poorly etched and superficial. Atleast this segment is bearable and keeps the morale going for the viewers.

Two redeeming factors of the movie are music and cinematography. "Oh manamey" & "Iravil ulavava" by Prashant Pillai, and "Kanave kanave" by Anirudh are very good songs. The background score is also good. Rathnavelu, who has filmed the Goa portions and P.S.Vinod, the Mumbai portions have done brilliant work. Cinematography is very good. Each frame stays in the mind for long. If only the support from the writing department was better, movie would have been a fitting follow-up for "Shaitan".

On the whole, Bejoy Nambiar misses the mark by a long way, ends up giving a lazily written, and equally badly made "David" after raising the expectations of the purists with his debut.

Bottomline: Lackadaisical fare.

2/5 

Kadal

My review : Kadal

Mani Ratnam's  "Kadal" is a feeble attempt at depicting the lifestyle of fisher-folk of coastal Tamil Nadu. It terms of authenticity and ingenuity "Kadal" is not even half as close to "Neerparavai" in depicting the lifestyle,  mores, and demographics of fishermen well. The purpose here is different, story is more abstract, almost metaphysical with sea-side and fishermen hamlet serving only as a picturesque backdrop for the narrative. 

The spoilsport this time is screenplay which is sketchy and woolly with scenes and characters popping out at the convenience of the scriptwriter. Hence it is difficult to sustain interest in the long course of two and half hours. Mani Ratnam and Jeyamohan have collaborated on the screenplay. Also movie has meager entertainment value with contents which are intended for entertainment failing to live up to it, songs picturization is a case in point. One of the best albums so far this year ruined by very ordinary picturization, especially much acclaimed "Nenjukulle" limited to the background is sad to see. 

What makes the movie click is the acting by the lead trio, Arjun, Arvind Swamy and Gautham Karthik. Veterans Arjun and Arvind have done their parts splendidly but it is the young Gautham who steals the show holding his end admirably in between the two seniors. Various shades of emotions are portrayed effortlessly by him. He seems to be at ease in emoting even in challenging portions. Thulasi is earnest but her effort gets spoilt by poor and confusing characterization. At times she looks intellectually disabled while at certain other parts not. The justification for the same is not that effectively told. 

 

Another reason why one should watch this movie is splendid cinematography by Rajeev Menon. Landscape and locations chosen has enhanced the visuals and made Rajeev's work easier. However at certain points there seem to be some glitches in the frames, wonder why.

A.R.Rahman's songs are already chartbusters but the picturization of the same leaves a lot to be desired. "Nenjukulle", and "Moongil Thottam" are my picks. But the background score is weak. It is one of the poorer background score from Rahman.

Story and dialogues are by Jayamohan. This time around Mani gets the dialects right unlike "Raavan".

On the whole, "Kadal" is a okayish movie for those who watch it with a open mind disregarding the fact that legendary maker like Mani Ratnam is the writer-director of the movie. Mani seems to have regained some lost ground from the disastrous "Raavan" yet he is far from his best.

Bottomline: One time watch.

3/5