Ravan (Tamil)

FR: I'm speechless

I'd heard at a couple of places that the Tamil version of the latest Mani Ratnam movie, Ravan, is much better than the Hindi version. Blindly assuming that all theaters screening Ravan in Pune would show subtitled copies, I booked tickets at City Pride Kothrud. What happened next is easy to guess. Five minutes into the movie and I realized, crappy doo, there are no subtitles! I'd dragged Mom along for this one and I half expected her to kill me right in the middle. She quite liked it though. And me... The very fact that I've posted the trailer here instead of a standard movie poster should say something about the effect it had on me.

I'd like to admit first off that this review is going to be incomplete since I've no idea about the dialogues. However, I can't stop myself from voicing my thoughts on this movie and hence this post.  When I watched the Hindi and Tamil trailers, I felt it was more believable in Tamil. In Hindi, it just felt adapted. Moving on to the plot, the movie starts off with Ragini(Aishwarya) getting kidnapped by Beera (Vikram). Dev is a police officer and Ragini is his wife. Beera kidnaps Ragini to avenge Dev as he holds him responsible for his sister's wrecked wedding and suicide.

The battle lines are drawn at the beginning. Handsome Ram's beautiful wife Sita has been kidnapped by Ravan. Ram plunges into the forest to search for his beloved wife. Or is his sole aim to capture Beera and win medals? While Sita haplessly tries to screech and plead her way out of the situation, she sees a hitherto unseen side of Ravan. Sita's loyalty to her husband is tested by seeing the gray in each man's character. Ultimately which one will she choose? Between a good partner and a good crime fighter, which one will you choose?

The cinematography is superb and most of the scenes in the first half leave you breathless. While Aishwarya is looking stunning, Prithviraj looks handsome and apt for the role. The scene stealer though is undoubtedly, Vikram. I saw raw power in Beera. A little crazy and very aggressive, Beera scares and amazes at the same time. Perhaps, because I haven't seen Vikram in any other role, Ihis portrayal of Beera seemed even more real to me. I can't wait to see the Hindi version in which he has played the role of Ram. I don't think I'll be able to stomach it, so powerful is his performance of the deliciously mental Ravan.

A special mention of the music which is, again, much more effective in the Tamil version. The reason I use the word effective is because, I somehow associate tribal life with tribal music. The background music and the songs in this movie give it a more rhythmic tribal feeling. I won't praise Rahman because I don't know that much about music. I'll definitely admit though, that the music worked for this movie. The whole package is simply awesome.The reason I loved this movie was because its central theme is, there is no pure good and pure evil. If Ravan can act compassionately, then Ram can be cruel too. Which one will you choose? I still haven't got the answer. Moreover, I simply got carried along like a feather in a storm. This journey through the dense forests of India is likely to be more exciting than any wildlife safari.

Most importantly, I observed that language is a hindrance only when acting is amiss. With superb performances from all 3 protagonists, there was very little I missed, although I'm sure when I see the movie with subtitles, I'll definitely enjoy it more. Ultimately, I'd just like to say that I didn't regret watching this movie in Tamil. In fact, far from it.

Before Sunrise n Before Sunset

Before Sunrise...

On a friend's insistence, I watched this wonderful movie called Before Sunrise, starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. If you haven't seen it yet, I suggest you do so. The sequel, titled Before Sunset, is equally amazing.

Before Sunrise is about 2 strangers, Jessi(Hawke) and Celine(Delpy) meeting on a train in Europe. While Jessi is American, Celine is French. They strike up a conversation and end up spending the whole night together since they enjoy each other's company. Is it love or simply attraction? The romantic teenagers decide to leave it to fate and agree to meet at the same place after 6 months, exchanging no contact information. The movie ends at this point, open to interpretation about whether the 2 meet...

Before Sunset... 

Before Sunset has been produced exactly 9 years after Before Sunrise and the story sticks to that time line. Jessie is now a famous novelist and is on his book promotion tour in Paris. Incidentally, he has written about his night with Celine(Julie) in his best-selling book. Will the 2 meet again? Did they meet after 6 months? Finally, was it just attraction or was it really love? 

These 2 movies once again made me realize that you don't need action, drama, comedy and sex to sell a movie or a story. A simple story about 2 strangers falling in love can be enough to evoke a mountain of emotions from me. And a million other people, since both movies have been received very well. For most part, both protagonists are walking and talking about anything  and everything under the sun. However, not at a single point do either of the movies get boring or banal. The dialogues have been especially well written and the acting is so convincing that it's easy to forget that you're watching a movie. Very few Hollywood movie sequels live up to the first part, but in this case, the sequel surpasses the  original. You've got to see this one to believe its brilliance. I for one, have truly fallen short of words. But believe me, you won't regret it. If you have already seen it, please do share your thoughts.

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Feral distraction

Scene: My maushi's place.
Witnesses: Cat and Dog
Crime: Not listening!

Mom: Listen carefully to what maushi is saying. She is giving suggestions for accommodation in Mumbai. I'll just freshen up.

Maushi (from what I remember): Blah blah blah....

Me: Yes yes.. Sure!

Later in the day..

Mom: So what did Maushi say?

Me: Errr... I don't remember.. I was too busy pulling out all the chairs to find out which one the cat was hiding under. When I pulled out the right chair, the cat jumped off and started running around the kitchen. The dog got excited and started following the cat. With great difficulty I caught the cat and picked it up to play with it. The dog then got jealous and started trying to bite off the cat's tail.. Amidst so much of drama, do you really expect me to pay attention to what maushi was saying?

Mom: X-(

Success - a ladder

1.... 2..... 3.... breathe! 

1.... 2.... 3.... breathe!! 

Yeah this blog is not all that dead..

Doctor's diagnosis: A simple case of writer's block. 

First off, updates. All the newspaper reading finally paid off. On 3rd June, I got an admit from Xavier Institute of Communications in Mumbai! Needless to say I'm on cloud 9. Most importantly though, I realized, this is just a step towards what I really want.

While I was waiting with baited breath for the results to come through, my entire focus was on getting an admit from the college of my dreams. I kept thinking, once I get this, I'll be happy. What I didn't realize was that it was just a small part of the larger picture. This became evident when, along with my admission letter, I was given a list of suitable accommodation. Now I'm thinking, once I get a decent accommodation with good roommates, I'll be happy. I'm sure once I join college, there'll be another 'once I do xxxx, I'll be happy'. It never ends.

I guess this is how life works. You conquer one Everest, and there is another one right around the corner. Most importantly, only those who don't keep gloating on the first Everest ever become really successful in life. However, life cannot be a dreary trek of climbing one Everest after the other. Some celebration is surely due for all the small and big victories achieved. What I've learned though is, when the next Everest comes, face it with a big smile instead of a "Sigh! Not again!" ;D

DID - Dhona India Dhona

Dance India Dance is back! This time with precocious little kids who are encouraged to behave even more precociously. Before I start my all-out b***ing, I will admit one thing. Those kids can surely shake a leg. Right, now that being nice is out of the way, I'll go back to being me. 

First and foremost, it is disgusting to see some of the kids gyrating their hips to raunchy item numbers. I don't understand how their parents allow it. Worse, the parents are backstage praying to God that their kid gets selected. Second, offer to give kisses in return for selection. I guess I get scandalized easily but it is supremely irritating to see kids begging to be allowed to participate in DID. Either they plead to be taken in, or offer "kisses" in return. I mean, who teaches them such things! Third, and the worst, the incessant flood of tears. From kids, to parents to the judges themselves! Throw in a devout granny and you have the best soap opera in the world. I suggest DID should tie up with Nirma to sponsor the phrase Rona-dhona.

The previous para is a bit back dated as it applies to auditions. Now the competition has begun and there is thankfully less rona dhona. I just had to get that out of my system though. Most of the antics on stage do elicit a laugh I am wary to admit. I just wish the kids learn to enjoy the competition instead of constantly feeling pressurized to not get eliminated.

Which one are you?

Some claw their way towards perceived happiness,

Others perceive happiness within their confines..

Which one are you?

Badmaash Company - movie review

FR: Too long! 

I don't know if this movie was poorly edited or I'm just used to short song-less English films. Either ways, like I told Manna, it was more of an educational film than an entertaining one, at least for me. I learnt that in 1994, Manmohan Singh reduced import duty on imported goods from 120% to 20%. And sundry such small interesting details. Moving on to the plot..

Karan (Shahid Kapoor), Bulbul (Anushka Sharma), Chang and Vir Das (Damn I don't remember their screen names :P) are thrilled to go to Bangkok for an all-expense paid trip. In return, they have to buy foreign goods for their mentor Archibhai. The movie is set in 1994 when the Indian Government was still levying heavy taxes on imported goods. Archibhai has moles in the customs department which allow him to bring in imported goods and evade import duty. Karan loves the luxurious life of easy money and soon hatches a scheme which will get the "Friends and Company" greater profits.

When the import duty is reduced from 120% to 20%, Karan and his friends find that they are unable to go on using evasion on import duty as a lucrative option. Soon, Karan uses his ingenuity to hatch another money-making scheme which just borders on being illegal. As happens with every hero doing anything slightly wrong, Karan too has to face the music for what he has done. Kya Karan apni bhool ko sudhar payega? Ya apne saare paise jue mein haar jayega? Interesting questions all. But it takes too long to answer them.

Vir Das turned out to be a nice little surprise package with his puppy dog looks and superb acting. Shahid was predictably decent and I felt his mean act was so good that this movie should have been called Kamine (Notice the missing y ;)). Anushka Sharma cuts ice with her tough girl act, but doesn't have much to do in the second half. Chang was disappointing. The only time he evokes any reaction is when he is the butt of a joke (Bewde Chini :D). One dose of acting classes here please. The cinematography is excellent and I would say Bangkok is looking more appealing than the US.

Although the movie seems a bit too long, I won't say that it ever gets dull. The camaraderie between the lead actors is good and their dialogues and costumes evoke laughter. The climax is super lame and the audience unanimously burst out into laughter when Karan announces his ultimately-for-the-ultimate-good-scheme. The feeling I got from this movie is, it has been made by an innocent child. Too many things have been assumed and that's what always makes me go "they had to prove that it is a BOLLYWOOD film". Nevertheless, definitely worth a watch once for A-Y-A-S-H-I on the Bangkok beaches ;)

Image source: http://www.songgy.net/