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Archive for November 2012

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in , , , , , , , , , ,


English Vinglish - Hitting the Right Notes!



I know this movie is 2 months old and only today I happen to watch the dubbed Tamil version of it online. I feel that I did a wise thing, else I would have missed out on a brilliant movie that was simple, heart warming and yet radiated some pertinent vibes that augurs well with the current domestic setup.

Gauri Shinde directed English Vinglish narrates the story of Sashi (Sridevi) who wages a daily battle in coping up with her ignorance of English language through familial pressures like her daughter looking down upon her and her husband treating her as an innocent and ignorant doll. These pressures become more pronounced and assumes mammoth proportions when she travels to the US to attend her niece’s wedding. Sashi decides to fend them all by attending an English Coaching Class in New York, which allows her to make brisk and confident strides from then on.

In the larger context of the movie, English was used as a tool to convey the day-to-day agony of a demure and conservative Indian housewife for whom family priorities would always top the chart. The movie’s triumph was in capturing the volatile emotions of ‘Sashi’ (Sridevi) with a sweet and simple narration that pulls our heartstrings many a times. Also, the inherent humor in the script has helped the movie reach across to a wider group of audience.

Sridevi - I am not a great fan of her, but this role was made memorable with her dim-witted yet powerful performance that was down-to-earth and charming. She had her emotions at the right place - be it her penchant for making ‘ladoos’ or her suppressed agony of being looked down upon by her husband and her daughter or her quick realization and redemption from falling for someone who woos her even after knowing that she is the mother of two. A good comeback vehicle for the veteran.

The supporting cast including Priya Anand, Mehdi Nebbou, Adil Hussain, Sujata Kumar, Neelu Sodhi and others rendered a natural performance that helped the movie attain its peak at times.

The pupil in the English Coaching Class need a special mention - be it the amorous Pakistani Taxi Driver, the Mexican baby sitter, a Chinese hair stylist, an African gay lad, a French cook and last but not the least, a typically Tamil software engineer - all adding different colors to the humor quotient and tickle our nerves at various junctures.

As an icing on the cake, there was Ajith in a guest appearance for the Tamil version. His stay on screen was brief but effective.


Music and BGM by Amit Trivedi helped in establishing a connect with the audience and also helped in maintaining the tempo in the narrative. Good job.

Editing by the female editor Hemanti Sarkar was brilliant and the viewer was not able to feel any lag or boredom during the course and ended up with the right length

Cinematography by Laxman Utekar was top class - be it the indoors that were well lit or the flamboyant New York streets - the camera was easy and gentle on the eyes.

Though this movie was heavily targeted at the classes, a very pertinent issue has been taken up and addressed in a very affable way that was convincing by a mile.

Verdict: Get your DVD copy as soon as it releases!

Rating: 4/5

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in , , , , , , , , , ,


Poda Podi - Minty Cool!



Simbhu is back with Poda Podi for this Diwali after rumors did some rounds that the movie had been shelved. Directed by debutante Vignesh Shivan, it marks the debut of another star daughter Varalaxmi or Varu, daughter of Sarathkumar.

Poda Podi has been shot in the form of swanky vignettes in the life of Arjun and Nisha who live in London. It further delved into their love life, their conflict of interest, marriage, child, separation and a reunion with a cliched climax.

For me three things stood out in this movie:

1. The scenes between Simbhu and Varu seemed as if it was shot with a candid camera as their chemistry was brought out well.


2. Varalaxmi, though well built with a tinge of masculine features, is a natural performer. Since she had dubbed with her own voice, she was able to bring out the right emotions as that of an NRI London girl. As she has been trained in salsa, it was great to see her make the moves on screen.


3. The intrinsic humor in the script

This movie can be classified as a ‘coming of age’ genre wherein there is a space to discuss things that were considered taboo otherwise like sex and other domestic relationships. Also the place in which the story took place - London - created that ambiance and luxury for the script.

The humor in the script was few and far between but it was well handled by the lead pair of Simbu and Varu while bumping against Simbhu’s favorite ‘VTV’ Ganesh.

Shobhana as the vixen aunt of Varu infused arrogance with her attitude and carried herself elegantly.

Music by Dharan was above average, editing by Anthony was crisp for this story as it was wrapped well under 2 hours and cinematography by Duncan Telford, the foreign cinematographer, was tidy.

The only disappointment was that there were no major twists and turns and the entire movie was minty cool with a cliched climax and could be enjoyed on a late Saturday afternoon with some quality time at our disposal.

Verdict: Coming of Age Rom-Com

Rating: 3/5

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in , , , , , , , , ,


Thuppaki (Gun) - Firing On All Cylinders!





Last Diwali was a fiasco of sorts for director A.R.Murugadoss as his 7am Arivu hardly created any ripple across the TN box office. This Diwali I was keeping my fingers crossed as he had teamed up with none other than the box office king 'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay whose movies had enjoyed a minimum guarantee at the box office till date. But the intriguing part here is that both of them have had a track record of churning out flops when the hype is ripe. After watching Thuppaki, I was taken by surprise as both of them have realized their strengths and have fired on all cylinders. Let's see how...

Jagdish, a soldier from the Indian Army returns home for vacation to join his family in Mumbai and also to find his soul mate. On course he encounters a terrorist plot to rattle Mumbai and he unfolds it with ease. Things get complicated when the terrorist kingpin decides to take on Jagdish and make him pay for what he did. Did Jagdish really pay a price and if so with what? 

Well, it was a formulaic Vijay movie that was targeted at the masses, but was chicly packed and freshly presented on screen despite some notable flaws. 

Vijay looked ravishing and younger. His toned down body and brawn added to his character that was more in line with a 'Dirt Harry' cop attitude and eliminates the baddies cold bloodedly without a second thought. 

Kajal Agarwal had a stereotypical role as that of a bubbly girl, but again here the treatment for her character was different and her chemistry with Vijay worked like a charm. The romantic interludes and duets were in perfect sync. Understandably we might be witnessing her in Vijay's  future projects as well. 

Sathyan as Vijay's sidekick did his bit to advance the proceedings, although there was not much scope for him in the comedy department as it was shared well between Vijay, Jayaram and Kajal. 

Jayaram was a surprise element in the movie and he was used as the comic catalyst in various scenes to bring the house down and his combination with Vijay and Kajal was rib tickling. 

Vidyut Jamwal as the terrorist kingpin had nothing special to offer and had a cold expression throughout and managed some gimmicks during the climax. 

All other characters including the girls who played Vijay's sisters were handpicked to add to the uber-cool urban feel of the movie. 

Music by Harris Jayaraj was average, but the 'Google' song caught the frenzy of the audience. 

Editor Sreekar Prasad had placed his scissors at the right places and made the movie look racy. 

Cinematography by ace cameraman Santhosh Sivan was neat and frames did the talking many a times. 

One more thing I noticed was that the terrorists who were depicted to be from the northern part of India were conversing in Hindi unlike other movies where they converse in Tamil with a camouflaged North Indian accent, except during the climax wherein the antagonist had to mouth an elongated dialog. 

Some notable flaws as mentioned before was the clichéd one man army portrayal of Vijay, dumb terrorists and plans that fall in place like a row of neatly arranged dominos. 

Despite all these minor flaws, the coming together of bigwigs like A.R.Murugadoss, Vijay, Sreekar Prasad, Santosh Sivan, Harris Jayaraj and producer Thanu, after mounting sky high expectations for this movie has ultimately paid off with rich dividends making it the clear winner at the box office by a long distance for this Diwali. 

Another interesting fact - I visited the theater thrice - first time the ticket cost was Rs.500, second time it was Rs.400 and the third time it was Rs.200. I bought it only the third time for Rs.200 and so want to do a small cost justification: 

For A.R.Murugadoss's Direction and Screen Play - Rs.50 
For Vijay's acting and Screen Presence - Rs.50 
For the chemistry between Kajal and Vijay - Rs. 50 
For a Perfect Diwali Treat - Rs.50 

Verdict: Perfect Diwali Treat! 

Rating: 3.5/5 

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in , , , , ,


Ammavin Kaipesi (Mother's Mobile) - Offbeat and Off-track!




Ammavin Kaipesi had been in the making for quite sometime now and finally managed to see the light of the day during Diwali as there were very few takers for it for obvious reasons. The fact that director Thangar Bachchan had taken a goofy risk to pitch his humble creation against a monster like 'Thuppaki' is a testimony for his rebellious attitude that he has been showcasing every now and then both on and off screen. 

Like in all Thangar's previous flicks, this one too talks of the common people in a small town whom we can relate in our day to day lives, showcasing their life, greed, emotions, frustrations, desire, aspiration, betrayal and so on. The film is an adaptation of his novel of the same name.  

Somewhere along the line he has tried to connect the title with a mobile and blended the same with the mother's sentiment that proved to be more of a melodrama than pulling our heart strings. The problem with Thanhgar's script was primarily the pace and more than anything it was the cast (including himself) that let him down with irritating theatrics and pot boiling emotions that failed to create any emotions but instead made us yawn. 

Shantanoo Bhagyaraj was so artificial in his role and the mustache on his face stuck out like a neatly sketched out line. 

Iniya was convincing as the female lead but showed up on screen whenever there was scope for sentiments. 

Thangar had cast himself for yet another comical character role. I can understand that due to budget constraints he would have done that, but he has to stop doing that from now on and should start considering other artists who can emote and look less irritating on screen. 

Meenal as Thangar's wife had a stereotypical role as that of a cribbing housewife. 

The supporting cast should have been from the production unit as there were hardly anyone who exhibited any interest in acting. 

Music by Rohit Kulkarni was pathetic and editing by Kishore was the nail on the coffin as impatience took over during the climax. 

Director Thangar should understand the fact that he should stay calm during catastrophe and these are hard times for him. If he continues to rebel and rebuff with such lifeless scripts, then he would be the one to land up with rotten eggs on his face. It is better to rebut than to rebuff.  

Everything said and done, my heart would still go out to an ethnic and passionate creator who struggles to make a comeback by retaining his identity as that of a purist underlining it from an authentic Tamil title card to the story line,  creating his signature ambiance that is humble and earthy.

Verdict: Better luck next time Thangar! 

Rating: 1.5/5