“She was very adamant that I should watch this movie as she loves Farhan Akhtar and Deepika. After I said I am going on Tuesday, she got jealous that I am watching this movie without her”

After a ‘Ok’ dinner, we 5 friends barged in to Seasons for Karthik Calling Karthik cracking gay jokes on two of our friends…. Farhan Akhtar as Karthik is a lame construction company employee who is bullied by his boss, peers and even the house owner. A low self esteem and an high self pity even doesn’t allow him to send 1300 odd emails which he had written to his office crush Shonali (Deepika), an architect who doesn’t even know that this guy exists. Everything changes when he gets a call from himself on the morning of his birthday. The voice empowers him, makes his career, gets his girl and changes him for the good. The ruckus starts when he reveals about his voice to Shonali. He loses all what he got as the voice playing havoc in to his life. He takes a blind journey to stop getting calls from the voice. The reason and the ending ends up after a long tedious journey for us.

The biggest problem of KCK is that it is not well defined – a romantic flick, a psycho thriller or romantic thriller? What it is?. You are just as confused as Vijay Lalwani the director. Farhan is awesome. We have seen him flamboyant in his previous movies, here he not even convinces but excels as a loser (in simple terms). Deepika is suave, stylish and sexy too.. (who is the costume designer). The romance in the first of the movie simply takes your heart away. Funny one-liners and interludes bring you smiles.

But when you enter in to the second part of the movie, you are just surprised whether it’s the same director who did the first half. The screen play goes haywire, illogical and the stupid justification which he gives how Karthik is Calling Karthik. Phir bhi Schizophrenia.. Give that psychological disorder a break guys. Shankar-Ehsan-Loy sound great in Hey Ya and Uff Teri Ada. The background score of Medival Punditz and Karsh Kale is perfect for a thriller. The movie seemed to be canned just to prove Farhan as a versatile actor. It proves  but don’t we know it. Farhan make more movies man, you are a better director than those craps running around…

Karthik Calling Karthik – missed call. Give the last half an hour a miss, even then you will understand the movie. 2.5/5

The worst part is after the movie one couple were discussing.

Girl : it’s a chic flick

Guy: nice thriller.

I was like ‘dudes’

PS: If you want a perfect portrayal of schizophrenia, watch a lesser known Tamil movie called Kudaikul Mazhai by Parthiban (if you get a headache, don’t blame me). You can also settle down with a DVD of  A Beautiful Mind

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I don’t remember the last intense romantic movie that I saw in Tamil. I found the fact funny at the start of the review but that’s what the plight of Tamil Movies in the recent past. Get this right, Vinnai Thandi Varuvayava is not a classic but a honest and intense romance which has it’s heart at the right place.

The movie starts with one unanswerable question “of all the girls in the world, why did I fell in love with Jessie?” – a pertinent question asked by all the lead characters in the movie to the protoganist (Any guy in love would have asked this question atleast once in his life time). Karthik (Simbu), a mechanical engineer pass out and an aspiring director falls in love with a Malayali Christian girl Jessie ( Trisha), whose house their family stay as a tenant. A love at first sight, Karthik tries to woo Jessie with encouragement from his cameraman friend Ganesh(Ganesh, co-producer of the movie). Although initially the age factor of one year difference (Karthik is younger than Jessie) comes in to fray, the main reason for Jessie not accepting Karthik is the religion. Jessie’s Father ( Babu Antony) a staunch Christian would never accept for it. Jessie even stops her marriage at the altar as she could not decide about Karthik. She accepts his love as she couldn’t resist it. What happens next is shown in a more realistic way (I would not say different as other reviewers claim it)

The chemistry between Simbu and Trisha equals the chemistry of Sharukh and Kajol in DDLJ. It may be an exaggeration but the chemistry between the lead pair levitates the movie to unimaginable levels. An underplayed performance from Simbu speaks lot about his talent and how he has been wasting it so far in craps. Trisha looks like a poem. Gautham has this style where he makes you eventually fall in love with the heroine of his movies. Trisha’s character resembles Madhu of Sujatha’s Pirivom Sandippom a lot. But Gautham hasn’t dealt with the character deeply enough. It’s always tough to understand a girl’s decision when it comes to marriage and a shallow portrayal remains the biggest flaw of the movie.

Ganesh is a casting coup. A very normal but unmatchable dialogue delivery makes the character admirable. Babu Antony and Kitty have helped the movie to move forward. KSR’s cameo is not wasted. The real heroes of the movie are 3 people who were behind the scenes. AR Rahman – I have always been a critic of his background scores but he has graduated to a new level with Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaya. The violin piece in the intro scene of Trisha and the wise use of Aaromale in apt places bears testimony to the brilliance of Rahman. The non-linear musical experimentation in the songs with Thamarai’s lyrics is well received by the audience. Hosanna, Mannippaya and Kannukul are a rage in theatres.

The next hero is Manoj Paramhasa, the cinematographer. The color tones, right use of natural lighting and interesting angles is unbelievable for a new comer. Antony hasn’t hampered the movie with his fast multi frame cuts. The third hero is ofcourse Gautham Menon for giving a feel good romance after a long time. He knows where and when to touch the right chords of the viewer. Wonderful one liners and a well written climax dialogue explains the talent of the man.

The biggest and the only flaw I saw in the movie was the shallow portrayal of Jessie’s Character. A girl’s decision on marriage and love depends on innumerable reasons and her character craves for a better treatment. The movie takes a leaf out a lot of real life stories and don’t you know Gautham a girl’s heart is more deeper than what you have shown in Jessie.

What could have been the next Mouna Raagam or the next Kadhalukku Mariyathai, just stays as yet another nice movie

Vinnai Thandi Varuvaya – Watch it for the Chemisty, AR Rahman and Gautham – 3.5/5

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What’s the easiest way to do a movie about India? Take a book about India, add scenes from Salaam Bombay, Black Friday, Mani Ratnam’s Bombay, City of God ( exactly in the same order) end it up with SRK type final scene in the railway station . Ahmm, forgot you should go back

I don’t think I should elaborate the plot. It’s discussed in length and breadth in lot of forums. You can see it here in wiki.

Let’s come to the review. The lead actors have done their part well. Anil and Irfan was simply superb. But the best of the lot is the younger Jamal, who steals your heart. I wouldn’t deny that the movie was enjoyable but even all other masala movies of India are enjoyable.

I could not understand why people make analogies with the other classics like City of Gods and Children of Heaven. May be because it took inspiration (copy?) from some shots of these movies. The Mumbai riot scene with the back ground score sounded very similar to Bombay.

I don’t understand the Golden globes and Oscar nominations for this movie. The back ground score was not even up to the standard of what ARR can do. The only award it deserves is the best screenplay award as he has made a believable screen play on a unbelievable story line.

Above all, I have my reservations on the plot. I accept there are in numerous slums, people living in extreme poverty, fighting for their daily life, mafias, terrorists but these make up only one side of the true India. There is another side of the middle class India, which buoys the economy of this country.

Danny Boyle why couldn’t you think of a movie on the 80+ young man, born in a minority community, lived in a big family with no money, became the leading scientist of India and eventually the people’s president.

Why can’t you think of that cheeky eyed, soft spoken young man from the suburbs of Mumbai, who changed the way cricket was played, who is the only uniting force of billions of Indians and still be humble about it.

Why can’t you think of that man who created an empire out of nothing with only dreams to ponder.

Is it because you can’t hype it up to get an Oscar or Golden globe? My earnest request to all those Anglo Indian authors, movie makers,don’t give a one sided portrayal of India to the world. India’s world is so enormous and diversified. Don’t make movies just because you want awards.

I felt so hurt when my friend in a foreign country asked me “is this real India, which they show in these movies?”
I was dumbfounded.

If such a bad movie like Slumdog gets an oscar, I could say only one thing to D: “it’s written”.

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Dasavatharam – One Intelligent Affair with Chaos Theory.

When you go to a Kamal’s movie, you expect two things. One, it will be different from other usual Tamil Masalas and it will make you to think when you come out of the theatre. Dasavatharam did achieve both.

One Man. 10 roles. One mega blockbuster with a insipid message woven. How many of the movies in Tamil have come so far which speaks about the future, scientific theories, extinctions, theism, religions….you can number it easily. This movie speaks everything.

From the anti-christ symbol in the head after his first injury to the skeleton woven hand tied to the big statue in the last scene, the movie is full of symbolisms. Even Robert Langdon will take some time to figure out things. And the names of each character, uff, Kamal has made a scoop of sorts. You can see only the names of Narayana Avatars as the names except for George Bush (a little research would even put him inside the naming convention).

From the initial “Om Namo Narayana” of Rangarajan Nambi to the atheism of Govind, he discusses the length and breadth of religion.

From the simple refraction coming in to play when Chris shoots Yuga in the tub to the complex butterfly effect in the last scene, he has spoken more science than a school teacher. My school physics teacher would be one of the happiest person to see the movie.

The different mannerisms he showed for each character was so admirable. The innocence of Kalifullah, the gait and the eyes of Shingen Narahasi, the lifted shoulders of Poovarahan, the shorter Krishnaveni Paati, the actions of Avatar Singh, the style and accent of Chris Fletcher ( I got reminded of two people, Robert Patrick of Terminator and Ajith in Billa…Dunno why) and above all my favorite Balram Naidu, he was simply superb ( Sir can talk 5 languages in telegu).

The supporting cast was carefully chosen too. You can see why MS Bhaskar is in demand now a days, Dance master Balram as the assistant to Balram naidu, Nagesh and KR Vijaya as the muslim couple, Poet Kabilan as the assistant to Poovaragan was a surprise and the best was Jayaprada. Wow , what a couple they were. It was nostalgia of sorts. ( How can you forget Salangai Oli)….

Now the Negatives

1.Asin, she was a literal irritation in the movie. Her character could have been better. She is shown as naive which was intended to be innocent.

2.Mallika Sherawat, a wasted stuff. May be could have increased the role. Although her personality suits for a vamp, some one like Ramya Krishnan would have been even better.

3.The most hyped make up in some places, Kalifullah and Chris looked similar. A lesser make up like Poovaragan was more appealing than Kalifullah. The hair of Shingen didn’t suit at all.

4.The most hyped CG, there were some hiccups like the frames were easily identifiable during Kalifullah Scenes. If time was the constraint, they could have taken some more months. We would have definitely waited for it. But it was better than lot other flying saucers in Tamil Movies.

5.The music was a big let down. Except for Kallai Mattum and to some extent Oh, Sanam others were not worth mentioning. Do we really need Himesh Reshammaiya for Tamil? And the back ground score was even more pathetic (Devi Sri Prasad). Kamal why not Ilaiyaraja for these kind of movies, he would have given a superb lift to the movie.

6.The Director could have said and explained the places where the incidents are happening in more detailed way. We had to identify and clarify for every place of action. May be he left it for us to find.

My favourite Characters : Chris Fletcher ( because of his attitude, the small 3 year old tiny tot near my home is calling “Patrick Anna” every time she sees him), Balram Naidu (just because of his sheer presence), Shingen Narasi – one of the best enacted characters by Kamal.

My Favourite Dialogue: Chris: Remember Hiroshima?
Shingen: Remember Pearl harbor?

It happens during the final stunt sequence. But only 4 people in the theatre laughed for it.

Rating : 4/5 Stars for Kamal.

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na – Why it happens only in movies?

Will it be possible to make a hindi movie

1. Without popular heroines wearing skimpy black dresses and dancing to repeated tunes?

2. Without a love making scene?

3. Without crap called comedies – Priyadarshan types (one of my favorites becoming one of the worst)?

4. Without Himesh hooting his “ooooo” from his nose and Pritam like music directors copying tunes from International Music?

5. Without the Heroes uttering one liners as if they are James Bond and Ethan Hunt?

The answer can be yes only when producers like Aamir and script writers like Abbas Tyrewala join hands.

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na is not as innovative as Taare Zameen Par nor it is rule breaking like Chak De India even it is not as extravagant as Om Shanti Om but the beauty lies in the simplicity of the movie. Its a very simple love story between true friends who don’t seem to understand that they are made for each other while everybody around them thinks they are.

But why it is brilliant if it’s so simple? All big things come in small packages. ( Even i am a small guy in height). The whole packaging is so good that you definitely relate to any one of the characters in the movie.

The story starts like this a group of friends with a new date of one of their friends are en-route to Airport to receive two of their close friends. The new girl is weary about the group because they are naughty, playful and never serious. But they start off to tell a story to her with a condition if its boring she will stop. And hence starts the story of Jai (Rats) and Aditi (Cats). Two close friends, so close that their parents think that they are going to marry. But Jai and Aditi don’t think so. They both start the pursuit of finding pairs for each other. Jai finds Meghna ( I have seen her in a Tamil movie, have I?), who doesn’t want to come to reality because she finds reality more harsh because of her parents. Aditi gets engaged to “High end fashionable dude” Shushant. Jai at last realizes that  his love resides in Aditi and not Meghna. The movie ends in a dramatic airport sequence.

It may seem simple but the whole beauty of the movie lies in the supporting cast and not the lead characters. The lovable parents of Aditi, Boms and Rotlu, who initially are in love with Jai and Aditi fall for each other ( Cute..), matured Shaleen and the joker “ Jiggy”. Jai’s mom character enacted by Ratna Pathak Shah is just wonderful. The cameos by Arbaaz and Sohail as Jai’s cousins is funny and fantastic. Meghna makes you to think about the fighting parents. These characters make the movie more lively, engaging and entertaining.

After a long time i like Rahman’s compositions, Jaane Tu Yu Jaane Na in his voice has a 70’s western feel and Kabhi Kabhi just goes in to your soul like a cupid’s arrow. Jaane do of both Aditi and Jai haunts you. I found from internet that the lyrics are written by Abbas himself and it shows why. You have to hear the songs with the picturisation, you will just fall in love with them.

Imran is a wonderful find. I think he should try something different from his uncle to reduce his influence. But he is more better than the recent dynasty launches. He will be rated along the sides of Neil Nitin Mukesh…

Genelia is in her own tailor made role. I think she will slowly get in to the groove of portraying similar roles and she will became the same like what she acts. ( Or is she like that in reality too..). But it will be different for the bollywood fans, who are bored watching skimpy heroines, who can’t act.

What i didn’t like in the movie?

1. The unwanted episode of Paresh Rawal, although it helps for the final scene.

2. The repeated episodes of dream, don’t we need only a few to establish his Rathore Parampara.

3. The BGM score of Rahman, he had some of his old tunes as the BGMs in the final scenes ( A few traces), he is not as soulful as his songs in his BGM. I am yet to see a masterpiece BGM from him ( Something on the lines of Mouna Ragam Nayagan for Ilai).

Now my favorite characters: Two people. One Naseerudin Shah – Jai’s Father ( he steals the show even if he is in a portrait), you should watch the movie and you will end up surprised like me. The second one aditi’s brother ( Amit?), he is interesting, the way he says that he didn’t leave her but she  left him alone was just moving.

My Favourite Scene(s): The two kissing scenes, one when Aditi realizes that she is not able to take when Meghna kisses Jai, the other one when Jai realizes his possessiveness as Shushant kisses  Aditi.

Will it be possible for anyone to see his or her loved one being kissed by another person? Thats painful.

Rating: 4/5 just because it made me to sing Jaane Tu ya Jaane Naa along with Jai in the final scene.

P.S. why the title, it definitely happens only in movies. We always wait for Mr.Gordot ( a person who will not come for ever, google it for more info.), and we never realize the right one sitting beside us. When we realize, its already too late.

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