How Old Are You - Malayalam Movie Review - Manju Warrier, Kunchako Boban

How Old Are You - Malayalam Movie Review

Crew

Directed by     Rosshan Andrrews
Produced by     Listin Stephen
Written by     Bobby Sanjay
Starring     Manju Warrier
Kunchako Boban
Music by     Gopi Sunder
Editing by     Mahesh Narayanan
Studio     Magic Frames
Distributed by     Central Pictures
Release dates   17 May 2014 (Kerala)
Country     India
Language     Malayalam

Cast

Manju Warrier as Nirupama Rajeev
Kunchako Boban as Rajeev
Kaniha
Siddhartha Basu
Lalu Alex
Vanitha Krishnachandran
Vinay Forrt
Sreerag Nambiar
Jayaraj Warrier
Muthumani
Sethulakshmi
Amritha Anil as Lekshmi Rajeev

The return of Malayalees favorite heroine of perhaps all time has been in the news since months. Finally the film has hit the screens over coming 'various' odds. Did it satisfy the hype or did PR team over did their job, lets see.

Nirupama Rajeev is a Govt. employee, a loving wife and a caring mother. She is the representative of millions of Indian house wives/working mothers who have kept their ambitions and dreams locked up for their family or their husbands. Thanks to her Male Chauvinistic husband and an 'incident' that happens in her life Nirupama is forced to take some stern decisions which turns her life around. Was its for good or bad - the remaining reels tells us.

The trailer and basic story line gives an impression that the movie is inspired from 'English Vinglish' with a hint of 'Ethir Neechal'. Yes, in a broad sense it can be called. But How Old Are You has multiple layers that makes it a stand out film at the same time stand along with the recent women oriented, much celebrated, films like English Vinglish & Queen. Its difficult for majority of women folks in our country to break the barriers they themselves or the society builds around them post marriage (even though the situation is slowly changing). The films remembers them to break the shackles, chase the dreams, after all Age is just a number.

The 1st half movies largely at leisurely pace with some nice humor (some crass too) thrown in the mix. It was breezy and entertaining. The 2nd half takes some what a serious tone and pace drops a bit. It do goes to preachy/philosophical mode at times. But as a whole the film is inspirational, emotional and entertaining.

HOAY is the perfect come back vehicle for Manju Warrier. She arrests our attention and owns the screen like she used to do in her prime. The gap of 14 years wasn't felt much apart from couple of scenes. The film truly rides on her. Kudos to Kunchako Boban for doing the role of an MCP where the female character has more screen time and opportunities to score. Sethulakshmiamma (who did the role of Indran's father in 'LRL') was excellent. Rest of the cast were okay. Kaniha and the kid who played the daughter were miscasts.

Roshan Andrrews after an average outing is back to his full form in 'HOAY'. He handles the theme neatly and naratesa good family entertainer to the viewers. Bobby-Sanjay's scripting was as always good (the only time the duo mis fired was in 'Casanovva') and their dialogues were impressive. Cinematography was good, Editing could have been better. There's one song during the movie which was good, while the BG score was tad average.

In all its a film every family should watch, every Women must watch.

Rating: 3.5/5

Verdict: Very Good

Last Word: SHE IS BACK !!!!

PS: If the 'Master of Ring' had some questions for you take back some polite answers from the 'Queen' :wink:

Mr. Fraud - Malayalam Movie Review - Mohanlal, Unnikrishnan B

 Mr. Fraud Malayalam Movie Review

Crew

Director: B.Unnikrishnaan
    Producer: A.V Anoop
    Executive Producer: B.Unnikrishnan

Banner : AVA Productions
    Script: B.Unnikrishnan
    Cinematographer: Satheesh Kurup
    Makeup: Pradeep Rangan, Liju Kumar S
    Music: Gopi Sundar
    Playback Singers: Shankar Mahadevan, Shakthisree Gopalan, Sithara & Gopi Sundar
    Editor: Manoj
    Lyrics: Hari Narayanan, Chittoor Gopi & Santhosh Varma
    Costume: S.B Satheesh, Murali
    Art Director: Joseph Nellikal
    Stills: Sinat Savier
    Production Controller: Aroma Mohan

Cast

      Mohanlal as 'Fraud'
    Dev Gill
    Pallavi Purohit
    Mia George as Saraswathi
    Manjari Phadnis
    Vijay Babu
    Vijayakumar
    Siddique
    Sai Kumar
    Suresh Krishna
    Rahul Madhav
    Ashvin Matthew
    Rajeev Parameshwar
    Arjun Nandhakumar
    Balaji
    Sathaar
    Devan
    Gopi Sundar (cameo appearance)
    Amritha Anilkumar

Mohanlal plays a 'Fraud' who has many names and many faces, a non sympathetic cunning hi-tech robber. He gets offered a job with enough money that he can very much retire after this. But its not easy as it seems and is 'one of the most difficult mission' he has come across as the character says. The treasure belongs to an Old Kovilakam and they are going to open the chest for the first time in 41 years with all the relatives, police and top level private security team guarding it. So will he able to do it forms the rest of the story.

Mr Fraud is a heist movie presented in a mass masala packaging, so there's no logic in asking for a unique or different storyline as all of them have universally one theme. The first half is racy and entertaining largely thanks to Mohanlal who was simply free flowing and outstanding making even minutest expressions and simple dialogues clap worthy. The Director being a Lal fan has added elements to please the fans. The packaging and the way everything is setup in the first half is really good. Its in the second half the movie suffers a bit. Totally its an above average 2nd half with an average, rushed up climax. The first half makes us prepared for a better 2nd half which the film couldn't provide, also the unnecessary sentimence ruins the pace. It would have been great if the film had a climax like 'Mankatha' or 'Don' (SRK's).

With the limited budget Malayalam can afford Director was able to show the heist scenes convincingly. May not be a patch on Hollywood counter parts, but still they serve the purpose. Unnikrishnan B is definitely improving every time as a director, and this one is his best Directorial outing. Even though his scripting faltered here and there in the 2nd half, for most of the run time it was engaging. The dialogues as always were good, made look even better by Mohanlal.

It can be called a one man show by Mohanlal, after a long time Malayalees gets to see his Mass entertainer side which he did with elan. He carries the movie in his entire 'slanting' shoulder. Siddique, Mia George, Sai Kumar, Ashwin were good. Vijay & Manjari was okay. rest of the cast did their role. Dev Gill's villain character was a disappointment, as it was an underwritten role, the film could have had a better villain character.

Gopi Sunder is back in full form after a long back as both his songs and BG are very good. Back Ground score infact is a great plus for the movie. Cinematography was good, editing was sharp. VFX team have done a great job. Art work was superb. Action choreography was average.

Over all Mr Fraud is a Mass-Heist movie - must watch for fans, one time watch for others

After 150 days of delivering 'Class' to the world, its time to give some MASS with Class, good old Lalettan way, which no one can replicate

Rating 3/5

Verdict: Good

.

Mosayile Kuthira Meenukal - Malayalam Movie Review

Crew

Directed by     Ajith Pillai
Produced by     Niyas Ismail
Screenplay by     Ajith Pillai, Vipin Radhakrishnan
Story by     Ajith Pillai

Music by     Prashant Pillai
Cinematography     Abinandhan Ramanujam
Editing by     Ratheesh Raj
Studio     Frames Inevitable
Distributed by     KNM Pictures
Release dates      May 1, 2014
Running time     131 minutes
Country     India
Language     Malayalam

Cast

    Asif Ali as Alex, son of a farmer.
    Sunny Wayne as Akbar Ali, a fisherman.
    Nedumudi Venu as Kuriachen, Alex's father.
    Janani Iyer as Deena
    Swati Reddy as Isa
    Nishanth Sagar as Hashim
    Jijoy as Sulaiman
    Jojo Mala as Mathew P Mathew
    Chemban Vinod

'Mosa' mean 'Waves' and 'Kuthira Meenukal' are 'Sword Fishes' who fights with themselves for food and survival. The films tells us that Humans rarely do good to others and if they do there will be an ulterior selfish motive behind it. Every character in the film has a selfish motive behind the things they do, which drives the movie plot forward. 

Alex is the son of a rich planter. In the process of multiplying the wealth, without going for a job, in shortcut,  He ends up jail where his relative is the chief. Unable to cop up with Jail he does a prison break days before he was to be released officially on special 'Independence Day' pardon. He breaks out of prison with another inmate Akbar Ali. Now its Alex's job to go back to prison with Akbar in order to get out legally with the help of his Chief. Akbar who is on a important time bound mission to 'Lakshwadeep' is in no mood to listen to Alex. What happens to the characters as their journey together begins, forms the rest of the film.

Like mentioned before the film deals with human nature, friendship & love. The first half is interesting and fast moving with light humor sprinkled through out. In the second half the pace reduces drastically, especially in the Sunny-Swati portions. The dialogues are well researched & well written. There is a nice story to tell, which has been presented with an above average script.

Its Asif Ali who binds the entire film. When ever the film goes down its his character that brings it up. One of the career best roles for him. Sunny Wayne too was good. Swati and Janani were okay. Jijoy was very good in a small role.

Cinematography is top notch, except few steady cam shots. The beauty of Lakshwadeep has been captured in all its glory, so as the sequences in Kochi, Viyoor Jail etc. Background was good in parts, average else where. Aikbareesa song is beautiful and has been used brilliantly in bits and pieces through out the 2nd half, as a back ground score, giving the feel of a cool breeze of a sea shore.Editing could have been better in the second half. Ajith Pillai has made a promising debut as Director too, attempting such a venture as first film, kudos to him.

In all its a different attempt and a nice watch if you have a bit of patience and mind set to be treated with something fresh and new.

Verdict: Between Above Average & Good

Rating: 2.75 - 3 / 5

Law Point - Malayalam Movie Review - Kunchako Boban, Namitha Pramod

Crew

 Director: Lijin Jose Producer: David Kachappally Music: Mejo Joseph Lyrics: Rafeeq Ahmed Cinematography: Neil D.Cuhna Editing: Manoj Art Direction: Jothish Shankar Story/Writer: Devidasan 

Cast

Kunchacko Boban (Satya), Namitha Pramod (Maya), Nedumudi Venu, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Devan, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Joy Mathew, P Balachandran, Riya Saira

 Satya is a tough nut and a cunning, conniving, shifty, sneaky, scheming and down right sly of a lawyer, who goes ato any lengths or do anything to win cases. One day Sathya gets to appear for the accused in a Suicide case. Since the case hasn't been registered, he tries to convince the girl 'Maya' for an out of court settlement. Will he manage to convince her, if yes how, is everything as we see, who is playing whom, forms the rest of the story.

The title and the tag line, 'Law Point - Law gets pointless' could mislead you as there is just one court scene in the movie, that to just to establish the character of Kunchako Boban. Its basically mind games between few individuals, but by the time you get to know it, its too late. The film takes too much time to get into the track. If not for 'Maya' and superb portrayal by Namitha Pramod the first half would  have been damp squib. The second half, about 40 mins long , rushes through proceedings. The film gets exciting only at the final reels where the 'twists' are revealed, and there are quite a few of them, thrown at you one after the other. These multiple twists keep the movie from being said 'predictable' but if the scenes leading to it aren't exciting, the mission is a failure. Also the audience is not given the actual picture itself to call those twists to be jaw dropping or surprising. Still could have worked to an extent, with good direction, recent example being 7th day.

Kunchako Boban looked uncomfortable and unconvincing as the tough nut lawyer and appeared forced in the initial scenes. Namitha Pramod was, as said before, very good, in the portrayal of smart young no-nonsense girl doesn't easily give into Sathya's charms. Krishna Shankar was good and rest of the cast were okay.

Direction could have been better, the script didn't help the case too. Cinematography was good, Editing wasn't bad either. 'Oru mozhi' song has been used very well. Back ground score was okay.

In all, Law Point is Half baked mystery/thriller.

Rating: 2.5/5

Verdict: Average

Naan Sigappu Manithan - Tamil Movie Review from Kerala

Crew

 Written, Directed by     Thiru
Produced by     Vishal, Ronnie Screwvala, Siddharth Roy Kapoor
Music by     G. V. Prakash Kumar
Cinematography     Richard M. Nathan
Editing by     Anthony L. Ruben
Studio     UTV Motion Pictures, Vishal Film Factory
Distributed by     E4 Entertainment (Kerala)
Release dates     April 13, 2014 (Kerala)
Running time     149 minutes
Country     India
Language     Tamil

CastVishal as Indran
    Lakshmi Menon as Meera
    Iniya as Kavitha
    Saranya Ponvannan as Indran's Mother
    Jayaprakashas as Meera's Father
    Sunder Ramu
    Jagan as Sathish
    Pyramid Natarajan
    V. I. S. Jayapalan
    Madhan

'Indran' is suffering from a rare kind of sleeping disorder called 'Narcolepsy'. Any sudden outburst of emotion will put him to immediate sleep.But even during his sleep all the conversations happening around will be recorded in his brain which he can recollect while waking up. Due to such an incurable disease he faces lots of difficulties, in every step of his life. So he has made himself a bucket list, which he gets to complete on by one with the help of Meera. Their Acquaintance slowly develops into love. One night gang of 4 goons ambush the car they were traveling & rape Meera in front of Indran, who falls asleep in the sudden shock, and leave her to death. Meera is in coma and Indran sets out to revenge with the vague clues he gets and the sounds that got stored in his memory while he was asleep. What happens next forms the rest of the story. 

Thiru has worked with Vishal twice in the past, both the times failed to give us a satisfying film. Samar even though had a great plot, failed to develop into a great film. Looks like its 3rd time luck for the duo as NSM is a good revenge drama with suspense, twists, action, sentimence etc. Thiru managed to package the films nicely and present it in an entertaining manner. 

The film begins as a drama, explaining Indran's condition, the difficulties he face, shifts gear to the usual meet girl, fall in love track. Its slow, but nice and breezy till it shifts gears toward intermission. In the second half its more of a thriller which has been conceived intelligently ye entertainingly by Thiru. He managed to complete the story without hurting our sensibilites and using brain more instead of brawn. Plus the Narcolepsy feature also doesn't disappear unlike in most mass films, instead the way he comes out of it or beats it each time is shown is smart work, something rare in Mass movies.

The twists in the 2nd half have worked out well. But the 'reason' feels kinda far fetched. The songs are average and prove major hindrance to the proceedings. Also they could have used a better actor as the main antagonist.

Vishal performed exceedingly well as the Narcoleptic suffering Indran. Got almost all his expressions and emotions in check. There were rumors that Mohanlal was supposed to do the project first, and the script was tweaked later when Vishal entered the scene. Without naming the star Vishal himself said he is scared to do the role as acting legend was supposed to do. Any way he has made this completely his film now and can relax. Laksmi Menon did an okay job. Iniya was good in the cameo role.

Thiru's direction and writing have improved a lot. Cinematography was good. Editing was efficient. Songs were average, BG was okay. 

In all NSM is a good revenge, drama, thriller that you might wanna check out this summer.

Rating 3.25/5

Verdict: Good

Last Word: You  Won't be Narcoleptic while watching the movie, except may be during the songs, that's a guarantee !!!

Cuckoo - Tamil movie Review from Kerala

Directed by     Raju Murugan
Music by     Santhosh Narayanan
Cinematography     P. K. Varma
Editing by     Shanmugam Velusamy
Studio     Fox Star Studios, The Next Big Film Productions
Release dates    March 28, 2014

Distributor Fox Star Studios via E4 Entertainment
Country     India
Language     Tamil

Cast

Dinesh as Thamizh

Malavika Nair as Sudhanthirakodi

Aadukalam Murugadoss

Somasundaram

Elango

Nandhini

'Cuckoo' tells the heart warming story of two lovers, Thamizh & Sudhanthirakodi, who are visually challenged. How these two meet, their relationship flourish into friendship and later to love, their romance etc forms the crest of 'Cuckoo'. At an important juncture certain events happen in their lives and they gets separated. Will they reunite, what future has in store for them forms the rest of the story.


We have had films that deals with physically/mentally challenged characters in the past, but 'Cuckoo' is not another entry into those list, as it instead of focusing on the troubles, issues and complaints of blind people, making it a sympathy evoking social drama exercise, it shows the lives of a bunch of people who understand their shortcomings and still lives the life like everybody else, or may be even better. They don't complain or cringe, or blame others for what ever has happened or is happening to them.

'Cuckoo' is a film that evokes multiple emotions, it brims one with happiness, make one cry,  and  boost once self confidence. It tell us what they need is not sympathy but our love and care & If they can make it happen we definitely can and should.

The biggest plus is of 'Cuckoo' is the acting department. Dinesh has done a Very Good job as Tamizh, Malavika Nair too was good. Their chemistry sparkled and makes us care for the characters. But in fact its the 2 who acted as their close friends who spring a surprise with their knock out act. The fact that they didn't opt for a tragic climax, a usual practice in similar themed Tamil films, and decided to end on a positive note is a great sigh of relief.

Rajmurugan's Direction was also good, an impressive debut. The Songs are impressive, but its the background score that steals the thunder. Cinematography by P. K. Varma was top class while editing could have been much better.

But the film is not a perfect one either, in fact its far from it. The film is filled with lots of unnecessary scenes, especially in the first half. The scenes added for comic relief didn't work out, in fact stands out like sore thumb. The film should have been shorted by at least 20 mins, as 163 mins is a bit far stretch for such a film with already slow pace. The scripting is inconsistent as it hooks out interest some time while make you check the time at others. Dialogues could have been better, as the film doesn't provide much that remains even after leaving the cinema halls. The songs even though good (except one) could have used as bit songs or as part of proceedings as it drags the pace of the movie even more. The climax is bit far fetched and the acting goes a tad over the top.

In all 'Cuckoo' is a must watch film, for the honest intentions and the warmth, and positivity it spreads - plus it entertains too, even though a tad longer.

Rating: 3.5/5

Verdict: Good

Praise the Lord - Malayalam Movie Review - Mammootty, Reenu Mathews

 Praise the Lord - Malayalam Movie Review - Mammootty, Reenu Mathews

Crew

 Direction: Shibu Gangadharan 

Produced by Milan Jaleel

Based on Paul Zacharia's 'Praise The Lord'

Screenplay, Dialogues T.P Devarajan

Banner Galaxy Films

Music Shaan Rahman

Background Score Bijibal

 Lyrics: Rafeeq Ahmed  
Cinematography: Pradeep Nair  
Editing: Sreekanth  
Art Direction: Sujith Raghav

Costume Design: Sameera Sanish

Cast

Mammootty - Joy

Reenu Mathews - Ancy

Akanksha Puri - Annie

Ahmed Sidhique - Samkutty

Mukesh

Kalabhavan Shajon

Suresh Krishna

Indrans

Joy Mathew
Kailash

'Praise the Lord' is the cinematic adaptation of Paul Zacharia's novel 'Praise The Lord'.

Mullathazhathe Joy, a farmer, has been leading a peaceful, happy life with his wife Annie and their 2 kids. In to their lives one day enter an eloped couple, Samkutty & Annie. Even though Joy welcomed them wholeheartedly to their house, the couple slowly begins to affect his peaceful life and relationship with Annie. What happens to the two couples, how everything gets sorted forms the rest of the story.

Praise The Lord is a decent family entertainer sans any double meaning jokes or dialogues. The writer have tried his maximum to do justice to the novel, but the novel was not a typical movie material, which translated into the big screen adaptation as well. The first half where the basic plot is set up is fairly entertaining, even though its a bit on the slower side. The scenes between Joy-Annie & Joy Ancy where light hearted and executed well. In the later half the mood turns serious and it drags. Adding to the woes is the rushed and weak climax.

Mammootty is the best when comes to 'achayan' oles, which he proved once again. He is the lifeline of PTL. Looked more engetic, involved and interested in the procedding unlike his many previous attempts. Reenu Mathews was good as Ancy. Akanksha Puri looked glamorous and did okay job. Ahmed was okay. Rest of the cast also did what they where supposed to do neatly.

Shibu Gangadharan has an average outing in his directorial debut, someone like Lal Jose could have done wonders here. The scripting was also uneven, but did deliver a decent entertainer from the non-film friendly source material. Dialogues were good. Shaan Rahman disappointed in the songs department, but Bijibal was good with the Background score. Cinematography was good. Editing could have been better, it drags even with a run time of 130 mins.

So in all 'Praise The Lord' is a decent family entertainer, nothing unique or special, but still watchable, largely thanks to Mammukka. Due to exam season, T20 World Cup, election fever summer releases will be hitting screens only from April 2nd week, so a safe run is guaranteed till then. Rest depends on Word of Mouth.

Rating 2.75/5

Verdict: Above Average

Happy Journey - Malayalam Movie Review

Happy Journey - Malayalam Movie Review

Crew

Directed by     Boban Samuel
Produced by     Ashiq Usman
Written by     Arunlal
Music by     Gopi Sunder
Cinematography     Mahesh Raj
Editing by     Lijo Paul
Studio     Milestone Cinemas
Distributed by     Central Pictures
Release dates    February 21, 2014
Country     India
Language     Malayalam

Cast

    Jayasurya as Aaron
    Aparna Gopinath as Sia
    Lal as Gopikrishnan
    Lalu Alex
    Balu as Freddy
    Indian Pallassery as Pranchi
    Lena
    Edavela Babu
    Sunil Sugatha
    Seema G Nair
    Srinda Ashab

'Happy Journey' tells the story of  Aaron who was die hard cricket fanatic from small age & his aim in life was to play in the Indian colors. An accident, when he was a kid, costs him his eye sight, but with the help of his Mother, her tries to get into the Indian cricket team for blinds. But that too receive a set back when his Mother passes away, after which Aaron decides to lock up all his dreams and work in a tea stall. His dreams gets a new lease of life, thanks to a coach who is also yet to achieve in a big way. So will Aaron finally manage to make his dream to reality, forms the rest of the story.

Boban Samuel after blockbuster 'Romans', Jayasurya with 2 back 2 back super hits, beautiful trailer - expectations were quite high on 'Happy Journey'. The trailer indicated a light hearted film with good emotions and a nice message. But the film sadly fails to meet the expectations. 

The first half of the movie is comparatively light hearted and interesting. In the second half the script looses focus and goes to a bit preachy mode. Even though just above 2hours long, it lags considerably, especially in the later half. Those who came to watch  light hearted entertainer will feel dejected. 

The film do convey an important message. IT shows how unfriendly our people & infrastructure are for/towards people with disabilities. The film also explains why such people are called 'differently abled' and not 'handicapped' any more as with conviction, hard work and bit of help from society they can do anything a normal person can do. But like Arun Lal's last attempt 'Thank You' it ends up in half baked script. A good message doesn't ean a good film and after all people are there to get entertained and not schooled.

Jayasurya one again delivers an outstanding perfrormance, once again pushing his boundaries. Lena, Lal, Balu, Srindaa have also done good job. Music and BG were pleasing and apt for the movie. Camera work was okay, editing could have been crisp. Boban Samuel could have conceived the film in a better way, would have looked better on screen.

In all 'Happy Journey' evokes mixed emotions

Rating: 2.75/5

Verdict: Above Average

Last Word: Not that Happy a Journey,  but not bad either

Salman Khan's Jai HO - Exclusive Movie Review

 Jai HO - Exclusive Movie Review

 Thursday, January 23, 2014

JAI HO : Exclusive Movie Review
                                        



Produced by Sohail Khan / Sunil Lulla
Directed by Sohail Khan
Written by A R Murugadoss
Screenplay by Dilip Shukla
Music by Sajid-Wajid/Devi Sri Prasad/Amal Malik   
Stars: Salman Khan, Tabu, Danny Denzongpa, Daisy Shah, Pulkit Samrat, Ashmit Patel & Mahesh Manjrekar

Movie Review by Sree Prasad Nair
Theater – Al Wahda Cinemas, Abu Dhabi, UAE
23/01/2014 – 9.30pm

Jai Ho is one of the most anticipated film of 2014, Thanks to Salman Khan's absence on screen last year. Infact 2013 is the only year without no Salman Khan film in his 25+years career.The actor's last film Dabangg2 released on December 21, 2013. Eventhough the film was striclty average, still it collected a huge 150+cr at the box office. Well that's the impact of the star. He is undoubtedly going through the best phase of his career. All of his last 5 films were 130cr+ plus blockbusters at the box office. Salman will be aiming for his 6th blockbuster in a row with Jai Ho.

Jai Ho is directed by Salman's brother Sohail Khan. Salman Khan resurrect his brother Arbaaz Khan's career with Dabangg2 and he's repeating the same for his younger brother with Jai Ho. Jai Ho stars  Salman Khan, Tabu, Danny Denzongpa, Daisy Shah, Pulkit Samrat, Ashmit Patel & Mahesh Manjrekar with Genelia D'Souza and Suniel Shetty playing cameos in the film. Jai Ho is a remake of 2006 Hit Telugu film, Stalin.

STORY

The only mission in Jai's (Salman Khan's) life is to help others and make the world a better place. It turns out that Jai served as a Major in the Indian Army. Although a war hero, he had quit the army when he disobeys his boss during a terrorist operation. His family includes mother as well as his sister (Tabu), who is not on talking terms with their mother since she got married against her mother's wishes.
Jai helps a physically challenged girl (Genelia) to write her Intermediate examination. One day there is no one to write on her behalf and she commits suicide. Her suicide disturbs him. Then he plans a chain system. The theme works on a principle that everyone should help others and in return they should not seek a mere gratitude but tell those who get the help to help three more, with a condition that those who get help from them should also demand the same. Jai thinks that this chain will develop helping attitude among the people. But, to his dismay, Jai finds that the chain did not work.
On one occasion, Jai bashes a rich boy, who injured a beggar. This goes in chain reaction and the rich boy employs some goons to attack Jai. As Jai disappears from the scene, the goons take away Jai's sister and her friend(played by Daisy Shah). Jai reaches the spot and hacks the hand of one goon. That goon happens to be the henchman of an MLA (Mukul Dev) who is also the son-in-law of Home Minister (Danny  Denzongpa). The Home Minister takes it as a prestige issue and tries to eliminate Jai but loses his son in the process.

When the Chief Minister intervenes to bring in a negotiation, the Home Minister plans to kill him and implicate Jai in the murder. Finally the truth prevails and the Chief Minister returns to the hospital to visit Jai, that the help three people concept was his brainchild, which saved him from death in the form of a school girl. Jai comes to know that his "help three people" concept worked well and the same theme saved his life in the form of auto driver (Mahesh Manjrekar).

Positives

Jai Ho is a Total Salmania All The Way! Infact way better than his Bodyguard, Ek Tha Tiger & Dabangg2 avatars. Reviewing a Salman Khan is no use as the star is critic proof and darling of bollywood box office. Salman Khan as Jai is his most powerful role after the Radhe Mohan of Tere Naam & Chulbul Pandey of Dabangg. Jai Ho belongs to him, who scorches and roars on the screen every time he displays the manic anger. The introduction of Salman Khan is spell-binding, followed by superb choreographed 'Baaki First Class' song. The last 20minutes just before the interval was rocking. Salman Khan once again proved that he is unbeatable when it comes to action. The whole second half is an example. A PAISA VASOOL 

PERFORMANCE!
Another positive of the film is Tabu and she was very convincing as Salman's sister. The young kid, Master Naman Jain is outstanding as Salman's Nephew. He contributes enormously to some of the best moments of the film, just like his role in Chillar Party. His one liners are first rate.Danny Denzongpa is good. Pulkit Samrat is confident and proficient.
Debutant Daisy Shah is stricly ok. Salman Khan real life friends Ashmit Patel, Mahesh Manjrekar, Aditya Pancholi, Mohnish Bahl are good. Raj Babbar's wife Nadira Babbar as Salman's mother is funny and lovable.
Baaki Sab First Class Hai song is already a chartuster, with superb choreography. Dialogues are very good and action sequences were brilliantly executed especially during the introduction scene of salman Khan.

Negatives

The music is a huge let down. Salman Khan films are always famous for hit songs. But this time pretty average songs. First 3 songs were poorly filmed and placed at the wrong time.Few action sequences are over the top especially at the climax without any logic.
Unfortunately Salman's  chemistry with Daisy Shah is simply not working. No scope for romantic angle between them. Daisy Shah's introduction scene/dance/song was unnecessary. Her performance was quite bad in the first half with terrible expressions.
Talented stars like Genelia D'souza and Suniel Shetty were wasted in poor cameos. Also for Sana Khan. The first half of the film was boring (except the last 20mins). Direction by Sohail Khan is as expected very bad.
But like I mentioned earlier "Salman Khan is bigger than any script or critic or star rating. His name is enough to rake in big money at the box office.
On the whole, Jai Ho is a DHAMAAL entertainer with SALMANIA all the way. Film is all releasing on huge 5000 screens which means 100crore will be crossed within 3-4 days. An opening day number of 26-30 crore is easily on the cards. For me Jai Ho will easily become Salman Khan's biggest blockbcuter till date and easily cross the 200crore mark. Just like Salman's roar in the film, A ROARING BLOCKBUSTER!

                                      P:S: Direction Kharaab Hai, Salman Khan First Class Hai!!!!

                                         Verdict - 2014's First 200 crore Blockbuster is here...

Rating - 3/5  A ROARING BLOCKBUSTER!!!

This Reviewer can be contacted on Twitter : @i_spn : https://twitter.com/i_spn

Salala Mobiles - Exclusive Malayalam Movie Review

  

Salala Mobiles - Exclusive Malayalam Movie Review

Crew

 Directed by     Sharath A. Haridaasan
Produced by     Anto Joseph

Banner Anto Joseph Film Company

 Written by     Sharath A. Haridaasan
Music by     Gopi Sunder
Cinematography     Satheesh M Kurup
Distributed by  Aan Mega Media  
Release dates   23 January 2014
Country     India
Language     Malayalam

Cast

    Dulquer Salmaan as Afsal
    Nazriya Nazim as Shahana
    Santhanam as Alakarsami
    Jacob Gregory as Benoy
    Siddique
    Geetha
    Narayanankutty
    Janardanan
    Mamukkoya
    Jose
    Tini Tom
    Raveendran

Salala Mobiles tells the love story of Afsal & Sahaana coming from families who are at the extreme ends, economically. Afsal runs a mobile shop named 'Salala Mobiles' setup with the help of his uncle & Shahana visits the shop regularly to recharge her mobile. At the very first sight of Shahana, Afsal fell head over heels in Love . The story gets a small twist with the entry of Alakarsamy, a tech freak who develops a special kind of app which change the course of their lives.

Salala Mobiles is your usual rich girl poor boy Rom-Com + Family drama. But had it sticked to that genre the film would have atleast been passed as a breezy time pass entertainer. Instead the writer (who is also the director) added plots and sub plots which are not only confusing but irritating at many parts. Even though promoted as Rom-Com the film has very few of both, or at least the viewer feels that way thanks to the inconsistent writing and shoddy narration.

The first half is comparatively watchable, the second half completely goes down the barrel and the movie ends suddenly with an unconvincing climax.

Dulquer Salmaan was okay as Afsal but we have seen quite a few of similar roles from the actor and it is high time that he chose something different, these kind of roles have become sort of cake walk for him. Imagine the horror of heroine getting sidelined in a ROm-Com, thats the fate of Nazriya in Salala. Even in the few scenes got, she just had to look good. Being a Santhanam fan, really felt this houldn't have been his debut film/role in Mollywood, even though he was good. Gregory provided the comic relief, writer tried to cash in on the ABCD duo and it worked, one of the quite few reliefs the film offered. Rest of the 'too many' cast did what they just had to do, nothing significant.

Sharath's debut as a director could gave us only a half baked product, thanks to the script written by himself (His previous script was Jayaraj's 'Rain Rain Come Again', which ended up a disaster)

Except the title song other tracks didn't quite live upto the expectations, Gopi Sundar disappointed in that aspect but did okay job with background score. Cinematography was good, specially the songs. Editing was decent.

Salala Mobiles offers nothing much, except may be for the die hard fans. The combo of Dulquer-Nazriya will help the film to take a huge opening but after that matters looks tough for the film.

Rating: A very generous 2.5/5

Verdict: 'Average'

Last Word: This Number won't be reachable for long, so fans better rush to theaters before it goes out of coverage area.

Legendary Tamil Director K. Balachandar about Mohanlal's Drishyam

Legendary Tamil Director K. Balachandar on Mohanlal's Drishyam

The letter was shared by Director Jeethu Joseph & Mohanlal via their Facebook pages

To TEAM DHRISHYAM...

“DHRISHYAM”....................................... ............MAMA UDDISHYAM

Perspective… ….My Feelings….

"Cleverness is Instinctive...Intelligence more Deep Rooted."

The cleverness of DHRISHYAM is in the inspiration...the intelligence is in the astonishing adaptation...

The cleverness is in the understanding of the potential of purer cinema..the intelligence is in not underestimating the intelligence of the viewer...

The cleverness is in using flash cuts and forwards to narrate...the intelligence is in the complex simplicity behind the screenplay....

The cleverness is in using layer upon layer of credible situations to sustain the Interest...the intelligence is in allowing the story to unravel at its own pace...never hurrying...never compromising...

The cleverness is in subtly taking sides with the protagonist...the intelligence is in making the affected police officer as strong and as credible...

The cleverness is in using film clips to influence the hero, and benefit the cause adding value and credibility; saving precious narration time...the intelligence is setting the film in a rural ambiance even as it uses the genetic simplicity and geographic naivety to establish character credibility...

The cleverness is using the same speed for flashback narration as in the linear...the intelligence is in letting the intelligence of the DGP unravel the cleverness of the plot and not by using it as a gimmick to glorify the hero…

Ram rod straight... ...her voice low, her eyes hard, she guesses the scam...and with a teeth bittenbitterness- spits out -...DHRISHYAM...just a word...but it emphatically conveyed her fear, of her confidence slowly wilting...no change in frame speed, no underlined attention…
yet that MOMENT stayed...a perfect DHRISHYAM MOMENT...

MOHANLAL.... my salaam.........my salute.......

His show of apprehension is transient -a mere hint of a frown...anxiety has a deeper identity...in the darkness beneath the eyes...

His awareness is based on the danger of reality…it is conveyed by just a deeper breath or a small shifting of the eye...but his assurance based on hope...is conveyed by a hug...drawing courage as well as giving it...

"I PROMISE YOU THAT YOU WONT GO TO JAIL."
not shouted...just whispered...not as information…but as a conviction...just one sentence...said in one particular way...and the hero seems ten feet tall...
No six packs...no designer suits…no low angles...no trumpets or roll of drums...one sentence...and a thrilling heroism established…
Purpose in the set of his jaw...in the tilt of his chin, protection provided in the unhurried push of the shoulder to shield...are nuances that you will find in no acting manual, or in any film archive…they are the mannerisms that distinguish George Kutty-that simple Christian soul who only wishes to guard his adored family...
Strange-he bears an uncanny resemblance to that swash buckling Malayalam super star Mohanlal...just a resemblance...this of course, is a simple village man…
Even a sigh is not completed...in case it is a giveaway...it is just thought about...no looking over the shoulder...no unnecessary hang dog expressions...no sadness except a sort of tired weariness...this too justcontemplated…
the wife speaks out of turn…the cop pounces...the hero in a blink casually saves the day...the cops leave...she holds him...contrite…I DID WRONG ?
his eyes are far away...his brain is ticking...his mind is busy...
YES...he says…YOU DID WRONG...his eyes still far away…
the voice agrees with her mistake...
the TONE of the voice assures...ITS OK, DONT WORRY...
Brilliance inhistrionics is sometimes just an inflection and a gentle pause before speaking...

The DGP resigns...she has lost the battle, as well as the war...
she is destroyed...personally and professionally...
yet she is still ram rod straight, even without the identity of her uniform...or the authority of her position…for she is yet the tough cop...for as she says “we have had training you know “ and that shows…
hersaree perfectly creased…her pallu clipped...her hair in place...her face carved in stone...the cop...
but the mother’s eyes carry the pain...reluctantly...deep…that she does not want to show…
the husband pleads on behalf of them both...they turn...they stop...they listen to their deepest fears...they just walk away...sad...
the hero does too…somehow it seems as if he is more sad...
scenes like these cannot be written, rehearsed or taught...
-they are cinematic miracles...they have to be felt…and they just happen...
-there is not a single frame or dialogue where one is informed that the hero is right...or even that he is doing wrong...
when the crime is unavoidable...guilt is debatable..
yet one gets to comprehend that responsibility to protect family makes the sin lesser...
one family wins...the other does not win...
to convey this with such uncomplicated finesse, unassuming clarity and a signature narrative style, you need a self-belief...as well as a confidence...in everything that you do...
that is DHRISHYAM...
The hero walks in to join his family to eat…on the way he switches off an unnecessarily light...no word...just a DHRISHYAM MOMENT...and the prudence of the man is established .
No caricatures only characters…no romance only love...no comedy just humour...no enemies just adversaries...no egos just pride...no music heard just felt...no punishment just justice…no doubts just trust...no betrayals just loyalties...no cosmetics just substance...no puerile glamour just perfect cinema grammar…
...every knot is woven seamlessly in the screenplay...and as the film unfolds…each gripping mystery unravels and the viewer is so engrossed that a tension grips the mind…interpretation of a character is possible only if the personality is perfectly defined right from his walk...clothes...diction...body language...gestures...mannerisms...Drishyam is an example of how wonderfully the artistes and the director are in tune...personally...and in sync professionally...
Mr.Joseph…your versatile coat has many magnificent colours...
Third degree...the police officer in her orders it...the mother in her is unforgivably unkind... but the woman in her- for just an instant-winces... or so it seems…or so she should…a sub-conscious DHRISHYAM MOMENT
She has to be in control…it is her nature…or maybe it is her training...she sees it slipping...she is seething...no words...no grimace...not even a frown…yet it is felt…the despondency is silently visual...a precocious DHRISHYAM moment...AAHA ASHA!

Suave and sophisticated...sensible yet sensitive...unobtrusiveyet prominent...SIDDIQUE is simply superb as if he has saved his scoring for the final overs...a whiff of perfume that compliments the fragrance of DHRISHYAM...
SABASH SIDDIQUE...

The opening shots roll back...the hero is safe...he has kept his word to his loved ones…no expression of satisfaction…no relieved gesture…cut to present...a new officer challenges...the trauma is still not over…
the hero does not react…he answers softly, firmly, politely even humbly...
some questions and knots are unanswered...intercuts...to hero’s face…
flash backs...the mystery slowly unravels...there is a huge sigh of relief…from the audience…nothing from the character...but it is there...suspended suppressed... on the edge of his consciousness...
The hero walks towards camera...just that dead pan face...no hint of a smile even...no swagger...no hype...he is just a simple man...trying to lead a simple life...
HE WILL DO ANYTHING TO PROTECT HIS FAMILY…
Or so the scenes seems to shout... but in silence...another vociferous DHRISHYAM MOMENT...
It is such moments, such speaking silences, such wise visuals, such engulfing emotions, such humble heroism, such pregnant thunder, such taut tenderness, such exceptional performances, such captivating lighting resolutions...such clever intelligence- that makes DHRISHYAM one of the most gripping and compelling motion pictures I have ever seen...
He is just a simple man...trying to lead a simple life...the film fades...the credits happen...there is thunderous applause...and then -…SABASH...I heara cry...
surprised...or maybe not…that it is from ME...
triumph can be very personal...victory is more general...
DHRISHYAM is a personal triumph for Mohanlal...there cannot be too many actors of his calibre in world cinema today...
DHRISHYAM is a universal victory, not merely for Malayalam cinema...but indeed for Indian cinema...
Sometimes success has no formula...has no precedent.

It is instinctive - sometimes just a gut feeling...

OF TEAM DHRISHYAM... WHAT GUTS!!!!!!!

God bless you all.

Jai Hind.

K.BALACHANDAR

Veeram - Movie Review

 

Veeram - Exclusive Movie Review

Directed by     Siva
Produced by     Bharathi Reddy
Written by     Bharathan (dialogues)
Story by     Bhoopati Raja
Music by     Devi Sri Prasad
Cinematography     Vetri
Editing by     Kasi Viswanathan
Studio     Vijaya Productions
Release dates   January 10, 2014
Running time     161 minutes
Country     India
Language     Tamil

   

Cast

    Ajith Kumar as Vinayagam
    Tamannaah as Kopperundevi
    Vidharth as Shanmugam
    Bala
    Munish as Siva
    Suhail Chandhok as Kumaran
    Nassar
    Pradeep Rawat
    Santhanam as Pichai Muniyandi
    Ramesh Khanna
    Avinash
    Appukutty
    Thambi Ramaiya
    Abhinaya
    Manochitra
    Vidyullekha Raman
    Suza Kumar
    Ilavarasu
    Mayilsamy
    Devadarshini
    R. N. R. Manohar
    Paruthiveeran Sujatha
    Amit Kumar Tiwari
    Kalairani

Ajith in a 'Vetti Chattai' doing a village based mass role after a long time was the main USP of Veeram and Siva delivered a perfect entertainer meeting the expectations.

Veeram is the story of Vinayagam, a one man army with heart of gold, darling of masses, his brothers and his love interest Goppurendevi (Gopu). The first half deals with the brothers with the help of Santhanam trying to make Gopu & Vinayagan fall in love, so that they themselves can introduce their love interests before their brother and marry them. While the second half story shifts to Gopu's house and native village where Vinayagan not only has to earn the love & respect of her family members but also deal with another enemy who is trying to eliminate Gopu's family

Story is nothing new or unique but its the Presence of Thala as the towering personality and Siva's smart packaging that makes it work. Its an out an out Ajith show, he oozes charisma even while simply standing. The screen presence he had in Veeram is impeccable which was sort of missing in his last 2 films.

Siva packaged an average script with perfection. The dialogues were very powerful and had punch, especially the one liners mouthed by Ajith. Camera, Editing jobs are well done. The locations are apt and beautiful and even @ 160+ mins it doesn't drag much. Santhanam's comedy in 1st half worked out very well.
The Interval action bloack in train was good, but nothing like it was hyped thanks to shoddy VFX. BG was terrific.

The biggest negative is the age old script and uneven script. The 1st & 2nd half are like 2 different movies. Tamannaah got a comparatively meatier role, but a holy mess of it, especially in emotional scenes. Her chemistry with Ajith didn't work out and their romantic duet songs were plain bad. Even though DSP scored in BG score the songs were average, so was its choreography. Action choreography apart from interval block was average. Santhanam's character got lost some where in the second half. The 4 brothers apart from Vidarth did average job only.The movie also lacks a powerful villain.

Siva using the image of Thala Ajith perfectly, mixing all the right ingredients in the perfect combination has given a good entertainer. Even though its no where near to being perfect, watch it for Thala, if for nothing else.

Rating: 3/5

The Mighty 'Head' Rules !!!

Jilla - Exclusive Movie Review

 

 

Jilla - Exclusive Movie Review by Sree Prasad Nair from UAE (AUX)

  Directed by     R.T.Neason
Produced by     R. B. Choudary
Written by     R.T.Neason
Music by     D. Imman
Cinematography     Ganesh Rajavelu
Editing by     Don Max
Studio     Super Good Films
Release dates January 10, 2014

   

Cast 

    Mohanlal as Shiva
    Vijay as Shakthi
    Kajal Aggarwal
    Mahat Raghavendra
    Niveda Thomas as Mahalakshmi
    Soori
    Sampath Raj
    Pradeep Rawat

    Brahmanandam
    R. K
    Thambi Ramaiah
    Poornima Bhagyaraj
    Vidyullekha Raman
    Ravi Mariya
    Gautam Kurup
    Jangiri Madhumitha
    Vinodhini
    Jiiva(Special appearance)

    Prakash Raj(Guest appearance)    

Scarlett Mellish Wilson (Special appearance)

'Jilla' the much hyped film has finally hit the screens. The film deals with the story of Shiva & Shakthi the father son duo who rules Madurai city. What the characters go through and the changes that it bring about in the relationships is what Jilla is all about.

The movie starts of with Mohanlal and he dominates single handedly till Vijay's intro. From there on its an out an out Mohanlal-Vijay show. The intro song was a treat to watch in theaters with good dance moves. The first half was super entertaining with eual amount of songs, action, dialogues, humor etc., it also ends with a twist. 1st half there is  Equal screen space for both Mohanlal and Vijay! It was Great to see Mohanlal acting in role of his own comfort zone after a long time.

Vijay leads the proceedings in the 2nd half, with Kajal also getting little screen time other than songs. The romantic-comedy portions worked out well between them. There is a bit of suspense maintained through out. And all of this leads to a satisfying climax.

Positives = Mohanlal + Vijay combo, funny one liners from Siri, terrific songs & BG score, above all smart direction by Nesan.

Negatives - not much scope for Kajal Agarwal. Few unwanted songs in the 2nd half. Vijay presence less in 1st half & Mohanlal in 2nd half.

Overall Jilla is a Perfect mass masala movie wth great acting from The Complete Actor Mohanlal & Ilayathalapathy Vijay.

SURE SHOT WINNER

Rating= 3.25/5

"Sivanum Sakthiyum Sernidal MASS-IVE BLOCKBUSTER THAANADA!"


The reviewer can be contacted here: twitter.com/i_spn

 

Biriyani - Tamil Movie Review - A Half Cooked Venkat Prabhu Diet

Biriyani - Tamil Movie Review

 

 Directed by     Venkat Prabhu

Produced by     K. E. Gnanavel Raja

Written by     Venkat Prabhu

Music by     Yuvan Shankar Raja

Cinematography     Sakthi Saravanan

Editing by     Praveen K. L, B. Srikanth

Studio     Studio Green

Release dates   20 December 2013

Running time     149 minutes

Country     India

Language     Tamil

 Cast

    Karthi as Sugan
    Hansika Motwani as Priyanka Sharma
    Premgi Amaren as Parasuram
    Ramki as Ramakrishnan
    Mandy Takhar as Maya
    Nassar as Varadharajan
    Prem as Vikram
    Jayaprakash as AC Sampath
    Madhumitha
    Nithin Sathya
    Subbu Panchu
    Uma Riyaz Khan
    Sampath Raj as Riwaz Khan
    Shanmugasundaram as Kasi Vishwanathan
    Vijayalakshmi
    Tharika
    Sangeetha Gopal
    Leena Maria Paul
    Badava Gopi

 

 'Biriyani' is the story of buddies Sugan & Prasuram, whose life goes for a toss after a visit to a hotel to have 'Biriyani'. They get trapped in a situation and its a run to to save themselves with a race against time.

Each Venkat Prabhu movie will be waited with beated breaths, same was the case with 'Biriyani'. when the film was pushed from Diwali to accomodate Azhagu Raja many were disappointed. After a long wait, and a long gap since Mankatha, finally the Venkat Prabhu got released.

First things first, Biriyani is Venkat Prabhu's weakest work till date. It is a multi genre film starts as usual Karthi film, family, job, lover, comedy, turns naughtier and then enters thriller mode. The actual story begins only towards the interval, once they enter the 'Biriyani' shop & Mandy Thakar's character enter. Till then nobody had a clue what the hell was going on. Felt like lots of irrelevant, uninteresting scenes sewn together to reach the pre-interval portion. Even the twists and turns in the second half are very much predictable and the movie ends in a lame climax (followed by a twist and then the real climax, which was also ZZzzz). It would be better if you keep your brain locked up in the house before going to watch Biriyani as many scenes don't have any explanations.

 Karthi tried hard to shed the boy next door image/looks to get into the Casanova avatar, and succeeded to a large extent. He was good in the sister kidnap scene, other than that it was blant, nothing special. Premgi Amaren unlike Mankatha got a throughout role and raised few laughs. Actor Riaz Khan's wife Uma who played a conract killer was impressive. Nassar's Premgi act was howlarious. Among the ladies in the film its Mandy Thakkar who gets noticed, who fit he bill perfectly. Hansika's character just comes and goes, nothing special. Rest of the cast were okay, nothing worthy of mentioning.

Its Venkat Prabhu's half cooked recipe (script) that spoiled this 'Biriyani'. As a director he still showed his caliber, but as a writer he failed. Camera work was very good, tried to make it appear rich and peppy. Editing was crisp, prevented fast cuts and no lag helped prevent further embarrassment for makers. 

Songs & BG were the 2 major points of Mankatha( apart from the outstanding act by Thala). Except 'Na naanah' were disappointment when saw in the film, acting like speed breakers. Was disappointed with the way 'Na naah' was shot & choreographed. BG wasn't that exciting either.

So in all 'Biriyani' is a half cooked diet, spoiled by too many cooks (genres)

Rating: A generous 2.5/5

Verdict: Average

Last Word: Statuatory Warning :- "Half  cooked 'food items' are not good for your health !!!! "

PS:  There is a sequence in the film where popular stars from previous VP movies are seen doing a flash mob to Mankatha title song celebrating Thala B'day