Nava Manmadhudu (Thanga Magan) Movie Review

I have started following Dhanush’s work ever since Ranjhanaa and I pretty much look forward to watching his impressive performances in film after film. So, Nava Manmadhudu (Thanga Magan in Tamil), unofficially dubbed as ‘VIP 2’, starring Dhanush,  Samantha and Amy Jackson is directed by Velraj with music from Anirudh Ravichander, basically the same team that brought the cult hit Raghuvaran Btech (VIP).

Nava Manmadhudu follows a predictable pattern, similar to that of Raghuvaran with the shorter runtime of about two hours being split equally between comedy, romance, verbal face-offs and couple of fights. It makes for a very entertaining first half with clean, refreshing comedy here and there, while the second half makes for a decent engaging watch.

This movie has a simple storyline backed with very strong performances from Dhanush, Samantha and the support cast. And let’s just say Amy Jackson has a very beautiful smile and she is improving with her acting.

For me, the most endearing parts of the film have been the sequences where Dhanush and Samantha were together on the frame. They had remarkable chemistry going for them. Samantha did extremely well in a role that we haven’t seen her before and she carried away the part of a quintessential new bride of a middle class family with ease. She looked elegant in her sarees and put on display new dimensions in her acting that she would seldom have been able to with Tollywood industry.

The USP of this film though, other than Dhanush, has been its music. I have been hooked onto two songs of this film with them being played out in a repeat mode on my playlist. Expectedly I have been listening only to the Tamil versions of these songs, Enna Solla (Emannavo in Telugu) and Oh Oh (Manasa Manasain Telugu) even though I don’t understand the language because somehow I feel the dub songs are never the same. (Link to the Enna Solla Song- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iR5V9sHEtQ) The background score of Anirudh is pretty kick-ass too whenever the scene demands for it and I have to say that he is impressing me more and more as a complete film composer with each outing.

But the point where I felt the film falter was that while the second half is engaging enough, it just lacks the strength in its central plot that we expect it to have. Most of it just feels a bit too routine and the ending too is felt a bit abrupt. It lacked certain x-factor, like a single strong antagonist. But all of it can be over looked and on the whole the movie makes up to be a good enough time pass flick.

Nava Manmadhudu (Thanga Magan in Tamil) isn’t another ‘Raghuvaran Btech (VIP)’ but still makes for a good, one-time entertaining watch.

My Rating: 110/150

Breakdown: What are we seeking as a Society? Fear or Hope?

In the light of the release of the juvenile convict of the 2012 Delhi rape case, we have seen the rise of a lot of angry voices, and rightly so. An individual, a prime accused who is convicted of brutal rape and murder of a girl, has been set free after only 3 years. It understandably enrages many. But the punishment that was served was only a reflection of the course of existing law on juveniles, i.e., Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000.  So there’s no point in blaming the courts for doing their jobs (Read no point in criticizing the Delhi High Court for refusing to give a stay order)

However, many people have been rightly criticizing the sorry state of democracy in the country where no bill has seen the light of the day in the past two sessions in Rajya Sabha. Thanks to the strong political ethics (yes, that’s sarcasm) followed by the top two most parties of India, some much needed bills are biting the dust of the shelves of Rajya Sabha. (The story of Congress vs BJP tug of war in Rajya Sabha is a story for another day)

One of those bills stuck in the Upper House happens to be an amendment to Juvenile Justice Act, introduced by the Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi.

According to the bill that was passed in Lok Sabha, “The new proposed Act provides that in case a heinous crime has been committed by a person in the age group of 16-18 years it will be examined by the Juvenile Justice Board to assess if the crime was committed as a ‘child’ or as an ‘adult’. Since this assessment will take place by the Board which will have psychologists and social experts, it will ensure that the rights of the juvenile are duly protected if he has committed the crime as a child. The trial of the case will accordingly take place as a juvenile or as an adult on the basis of this assessment” (source from: PBI)

It is here that the debate rages, from people from all quarters throwing their arguments and counter arguments.

On one hand, I believe that the very idea or the principle behind law, other than giving justice to the victim, is the concerted belief of the society to drive in a sense of deterrence and a fear of conviction into the society at large from committing a similar crime. In that light, to see a prime accused escaping the cusps of stringent laws just because of the convenience of falling under age by a mere couple of months can indeed act as counter deterrent. So, by that logic, do we allow the breeding of 17 year old murderers, rapists? Of course not. But our laws are indirectly implying, or at least have paved a path for that. So yes, I do believe that there is a need to amend it.

But where do we draw the line? Where does a child end and an adult begin? Can there ever be a generalized acceptance worldwide?

On these lines, the counter argument has been that, amending law for a one off incident is nothing but a knee jerk, highly emotional, reaction. Especially considering that the law pertains to children, and that greater care need to be given to detail in case of any change. They say that a child, anyone less than 18, needs reform and not prison, and deserves a best chance at life by undergoing rehabilitation to ease back into the society.

But my question is that can we categorize a rapist and a murderer as a child anymore? It is tough. It is extremely tough. Sure, large sections of the civil society too gulp down here but are ready to take the bullet for larger interests.

The entire argument is very precarious to say the least, it’s deterrence vs reform, in its essence. What do we choose?

There has been an internal battle within me that is struggling to take sides. But when I sit back and do look at the amendment, there is a semblance of balance in it. It aims to strike a balance between these arguments by leaving it to a team of psychologists and social experts to determine if any accused, in the age group of 16-18, be treated as a child or an adult, based on the crime.

So that way neither all who are between 16-18 would be treated as adults nor all accused rapists would be treated as children.

I think this arrangement is an ideal set up where it should pacify people from both sides of the argument. While the ones from deterrence side are already championing this, the ones from reform are skeptic of the practicality of it.

Will the JJB (Juvenile Justice Board) be fair and free while determining whether an individual should be treated as a child or adult? What if there is case where a 16 year old from lower caste elopes with a girl from higher caste and later is framed for rape? Can the JJB, examining those circumstances, be able to carry a free and fair trial even if it obtains high pressure from the opposite party involved in the case? These are the contentious issues for many. It is here that many compromise for the larger interests by criticizing the amendment.

But this drags the argument into the ifs and buts too. There would be too many ifs and buts behind any law. I think that this amendment is the best bet to curb the rising juvenile crimes as validated factually by the data of National Bureau of Crimes records which indicated at a sharp increase in the number of heinous crimes committed by juvenilles in the last three years. So it becomes that much more important to iron out finer details for smoother implementation of this law and to nullify any contentious clauses.

But any which way I see, I don’t think there is even a remotest of remote possibilities of this law being passed in Rajya Sabha in the next few days to be able to be applied to the Nirbhaya (or Jyothi Singh! As her mother asks us to refer to) case as long as the accused is still in period of appeal. With only last three days to the winter session of parliament, there is no way this could be passed.

And even if it does get passed in the next session, in my own amateur understanding of law, I don’t see this law prosecuting the accused here, as it might directly fly under two clauses of article 20- article 20 (1) which states that a person cannot be persecuted retrospectively (i.e a law cannot be applied in reverse) and article 20 (2) the principle of double jeopardy stating that a person shall not be prosecuted or punished for the same offence more than once. While I do know that, as long as it is within the period of appeal (as it is now), there is a scope of hope for the deterrence arguers and the Supreme court’s stand in this regard would be momentous once again tomorrow. I’m not a student of law, nor have a superior understanding of it otherwise either, but if any of you reading this article have clarity on this last aspect, do drop a comment and let me know! And also do share your opinion of where you stand on this argument. Are you on the deterrence wagon? Or do you believe in hope, change, reform, giving that one greater chance?

May the Justice be within us all! Peace out!

Bajirao Mastani Movie Review

I always had tremendous respect towards Sanjay Leela Bhansali as a film maker since Black and Guzaarish. Guzaarish for me remains a beautiful film which I believe is a highly under-rated film in Bollywood. Anyway in Bajirao Mastani, Sanjay Leela Bhansali sets out to tell the love tale of Bajirao and Mastani, with pomp and splendor attached to film-making of yesteryears where huge sets and impressive costumes were norms of the day.

The film’s cinematography has that amazing dark-golden texture that glitters many frames. The lighting and the minimalistic use of CGI by setting up smart camera angles is so brilliant that the movie is simply a visual treat all through. There were many sequences which caught my attention for the way they were shot but the one that impressed me the most was the song “Deewani Mastani”. This was amazing! The set, the costume of Mastani and the grace with which Deepika sways to the tune! She took my breath away for a second there, again (Deepika <3 )

Sanjay Leela Bhansali does a tremendous job bringing the historical characters back to life through Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone, all of whom own their respective roles. If Ranveer Singh had the body language of a rising powerful Peshwa in the beginning, he was equally good to transform into the troubled soul waging a losing emotional war against his own kin.

Priyanka Chopra excels in her portrayal of the role of Kashibai. But Deepika Padukone steals the show anyway. She was stunning in her costumes and I believe Sanjay Leela Bhansali might have showed Deepika in her most charming way. His use of Slow Motion here and there added the edge to the story telling process. He composes the music himself for this film and he does a fairly decent job. Three of the songs are very good and the background score of the film was pretty pumping too, especially for the small battle scenes.

But for me, the most surprising aspect of the film has been the dialogues of this film. They are the kind of dialogues that would make you whistle in an auditorium but with a certain kind of class attached to that whistle. Well, how can whistles and class go together? Well, it’s those kind of dialogues, trust me! There are punch dialogues, cheesy romantic ones, and solitary mass appeal ones here and there! To give an example, lines like these:

“Cheeteh Ki Chaal, Baaz Ki Nazar Aur Baaji Rao Ki Talvar Par Sandeh Nahi Karte, Kabhi Bhi Maat De Sakti Hai”- Bajirao

“Kiski Talvar Par Sir Rakhu Yeh Bata Do Mujhe, Ishq Karna Agar Khata Hai Toh Saza Do Mu”he"- Mastani

The point is that movies can usually be classified into three tiers of commercial, artistic, and artistic-mainstream cinema. These categories can more or less be drawn by the audience based on their entertainment value or artistic value. Very few films have managed to fall right in between commercial and artistic films, making them both a critical and box-office success. Do not get this wrong, this movie is not a war-film. It's a film on love. And it takes time to build itself. It is more like a drama and hence I don’t see this movie catering to most types of audience. This movie at most would be liked by those who are into watching films that are bigger than mere entertainment for 2 and half hours. It for those who seek a lasting impression from a film and I think Bajirao Mastani does leave a lasting impression. It is just a beautiful film.

And it is tough to see this film garnering commercial success through its entertainment value. This movie is more ‘pure’. It is honest, simple and classy. The movie does not have fast paced writing. The screenplay is kept true to the tale that was promised: “Baajirao Ne Mastani Se Mohabbat Ki Hai Aiyashi Nahi”.

I thoroughly liked this film. Bajirao Mastani has magnificent sets, powerful dialogues, splendid costumes and stellar performances. For a period drama on love, this film is artistic film-making at its best. But can this be everyone’s cup of tea? Probably not.

My Rating: 150/150 (Value for buck!)

Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie Review

The peanuts is my second most favorite comic strip that I check out in the newspaper every day (Obviously, Calvin and Hobbes is my most favourite. Btw! Hey! Hollywood, when will we get to see a movie on Calvin and his pet tiger?) Charlie Brown is one of those characters that you would instantly love. That loves comes from the depths of the pity you feel for the poor guy. It’s the kind of love that we have for Tom. We really feel sorry for him because Jerry sometimes gives him such a hard time. Poor Souls.

And The Peanuts comic strip is about more than Charlie Brown anyway. There’s his dog, snoopy, his sister, Lucy, and his little gang of friends Schroeder, Peppermint Patty, “pig-pen”, Linus and of course the evil Lucy.

So does the movie do justice to all these characters? Does it have the core essence of the comic strip? Yes and yes.

The movie felt just like an extension of the comic strip. It had all the things that you love the most from Peanuts. It had Snoopy’s big dreams- the World War fighter! Fighting his arch nemesis The Big Red Baron who abduct’s Snoopy’s love- and it also delightfully showed everyday struggles of Charlie Brown. He leads a life against such odds! Damn!

The movie also had the arrogant Lucy making life tougher for Charlie. And yes The Little Red Haired girl too- The female lead of the film! The only thing that I missed was some scene with Linus’s blanket. I just love whenever Linus and his blanket show up in the strip. But yes, all of it can’t be there in the movie.

The animation of this movie is a bit different than the conventional animation (I have got to read more about why and how they do it) and it was very good. It fit into the narrative. Once again, my complaint is on the 3D. I did not see why this movie had to be in 3D. A non-3D version would have been equally good. I just don’t understand why Hollywood does this.

The movie was very simple, cute and absolutely fun. It has what is expected of it.  Me and my friend, both of us being Peanuts fans, enjoyed the film. We were laughing out loud at many moments because it was just so relatable. The movie just has those brilliant feel good moments. I go to movies for those moments. These movies capture that "feeling" so well. There are lessons to be learnt for not just kids but for us too. Somehow, movies always inspired me. And even movies as simple as these too work their magic. The underlying current of not giving up, to fight it out, to go that extra mile for something that you want, these are gold!

But at the same time this movie does not have a great story that will pull audience who aren’t familiar with the comic strip. The screenplay could have been tighter, but given the story line that they chose to go ahead with, I thought it was decent enough though. If there was more of an “adventure” kind of story line I guess this movie could and would do much better with other audiences too enjoying it. But surely, the ones who made the film must have had their reasons.

So, can the movie have the ability to create a new fan base? Probably not, but it does strengthen the stranglehold over its comic strip fans. I think the makers were trying to be as true to the original and they made a commendable film for their fan base.

So, if you are familiar with Peanuts and like it, you would most certainly enjoy this. But if you aren’t, pass this one.

My Rating: 110/150

Tamasha Movie Review:

(Disclaimer: Minor Spoilers ahead)

With a combination that boasts of AR rahman, Imtiaz Ali, Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor, four of my most favourite artists in Bollywood from music, direction and acting respectively, I was expecting to get blown away. But well, not so much.

The warning signs were there. The trailers and promo were mediocre, which promised a been-there-seen-that story line and in fact they were even guilty of revealing too much.

There are two surprising things about this film, one is that Imtiaz chooses to reveal his entire story line of the film in the trailer and second, the entire story is done, chewed up, by the interval scene.

As I came out of the theater at the intermission, I was wondering. So if that was basically the entire trailer, a.k.a the entire story, that panned out in an hour and 15 minutes then what was left? Other than the very obvious ending?

It was just an hour and a quarter into the film. So, what was Imtiaz going to do with the film for second half? For another hour and a quarter?

Well, Imtiaz must have wondered so too. Because, it’s ridiculous! This movie has a climax that stretches the entire second half. Even if this was a very melodramatic Hollywood, it would have hardly survived for another 20 minutes. But no, Imtiaz drags it for 75 minutes! 75! Are you kidding me, Imtiaz? Gosh! An entire Sherlock episode is done in that time!

The drag coefficient of this movie was so high that the thrust provided by Ranbir, Deepika, AR Rahman is rendered irrelevant as the movie nose dives into the ground after the intermission.

The film is about a regular guy, an average bloke finding true love, finding himself, finding his calling. It’s a simple enough concept. Except that Imtiaz digs so much into the past of his protagonist that he shades his darkest character yet, beating his own lead character from Rockstar. In fact, if you thought Ranbir screamed a lot in Rockstar, then fasten your seat belts for more of it.

The character of Ved (Ranbir) almost turns sadistic and sociopathic at few moments in the film and in spite of the director’s best efforts to justify through the flashbacks, I just could not buy it. I believe the movie, without Ved going bat-crap-crazy, would still have panned out exactly the same way as it does (and even better perhaps with the shorter run time). Sometimes, there is a concept, there is a story attached to it. Yes we get it. But the execution of which might be very difficult and this here was such a concept. Sure, we understand, the reason for Ved acting the way he does, but do we buy it on screen on reel time? Nope. This is the lowest point in the film for me. There might be film fanatics elsewhere who might like this movie for these moments, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

The first half of the movie though is an altogether different story. It has some good music, great direction and acting that will keep you smiling and enjoying. It has all the Imtiaz Ali flavor that is synonymous with movie-goers. It keeps fans of his, like myself, content. The dialogues were witty and chemistry between the lead couple is electric.

And Ravi Varman (cinematographer of Barfi) weaves his magic throughout the film. The cinematography is top notch. Corsica is captured beautifully and so are the nights of Delhi. It’s just art and I couldn’t help but appreciate it every frame. He has seriously got to be one of the best doing the rounds in India.

AR Rahman does what he always does. There might be folks complaining, ‘this music doesn’t feel like ARR’ but once one watches it in the theater, one would get that ARR scores for the film, the plot. The kind of music that eases itself into the written screenplay giving a particular scene that much more of an impact. Simply put, its music made for the film. Perfect.

Now speaking about my favorite aspect of the film, the acting! Wow! Deepika and Ranbir rock it all the way. Ranbir especially shows us why he is arguably the best in Bollywood right now. And Deepika, my love :p what can I say about her? She is absolutely stunning! Breath Taking! My god! (Wait, I am a huge Deepika Padukone fan, so I wouldn’t even understand even if she performed otherwise, so your call, here) She would rivet anyone’s eyes while she’s on screen. There is no way I was going to watch this film again, but just for Deepika, I might watch it on Blu-Ray sometime later.

Coming to the direction, well, I have to concede I was expecting a bit more from Imtiaz. Sure where do you go with such a concept? About finding oneself? But Imtiaz over does a lot of elements- the melodrama, the dwelling on the past, the obsession on the idea that all the stories are the same, the poetic analogies within the film, the dark side of Ved, the obsession of Tara (Deepika) on Ved- to name a few.

But saying all this, I think there would be some people who might connect to the second half and like the entire film, but for me, nope! Sorry. The second half was a bit too philosophical and sadistic for my liking that downs the entire film.

So I would not suggest you to skip this film as there is Deepika in it, but sure, watch it if you must!

My Rating: 50/150

The Walk Movie Review

The last time I came out of a theatre and said, “Wow, the 3-D for that film was something!” was probably after I had watched Avatar on the world’s biggest screen (Prasads IMAX) in IMAX 3D in 2009. And now after watching The Walk, I revisit the good olden days where 3-D films were exciting and rare! (And mind you, I loved the 3-D experience in spite of it not being an IMAX experience, as we Hyderabadis do not have an IMAX theater anymore)

The Walk comes out as a film that you would least expect to score highly in 3-D experience category, as it is not basically an action or adventure or a fantasy film but rather a simple true story of an incredible man’s unbelievable act of walking on a high wire between the World Trade Centers back in 1974.

The director, Robert Zemeckis, who directed some of my all time favorites like Back to the Future Trilogy, Polar Express, Forrest Gump and Cast Away, brings not only this act to the big screen in the most glorious way but also the heist like planning that went behind in pulling off this stunt back in the 70s in New York. The movie adopts a different narrative style where Philippe Petit (played by Joseph Gordon Levitt) addresses the audience directly here and there. That might not be something that everybody would enjoy but I most certainly did. In fact whenever the narrative was on, I felt that the movie almost had a poetic aura to it.

The movie beautifully transcends from the ‘poetic phase’ to the old fashioned heist phase of a movie and then again back to the poetic phase of the final act. The movie had layers to it in terms of story telling and the movie portrayed the layers of emotions running high behind the man, Philippe, brilliantly. 

Don’t expect a fast paced, out and out entertainer, as the first half takes it time to establish the character. But the build-up, the back story, the simple but witty dialogues, the cinematography that captures 70s of Paris and New York, everything, carries the feel good factor throughout the film and culminates in an epic thirty minute final act that was visually breathtaking. Trust me when I say this, that entire sequence on the high wire couldn’t have been any better. It is immersive cinematic experience at its best with direction, acting, visual effects, and editing peaking in tandem.  

Joseph Gordon Levitt as the French guy trying to bend into a New Yorker with an American accent is convincing and that is also a source of intentional comedy. Ben Kingsley in his small but prominent role is a delight to watch as usual. And all the actors chipped in with pretty decent performances themselves.

In short, the movie might be on the slower side in the first half (even though I didn’t feel so) but the last thirty minutes of the movie more than makes up for it as it is truly stunning and the entire film carries the feel good factor. It is inspiring and it most certainly needs to be experienced in 3-D.

My Rating: 150/150 (Worth every buck!)  

The Martian Movie Review

“Yay! Space science fiction again FTW!”

I was excited for Gravity. I was ready to jump off a cliff for Interstellar. Strangely for The Martian, even though I looked forward to it, I wasn’t as excited as I should have been, considering my love for science fiction and space adventure. Was it because of the simple Premise?

Will he or won’t he? (Make it back to the Earth) That was it. That was it about the movie. That much was definitely made clear from the trailer. So, a Cast Away on Mars? Meh.

But let me tell you this much with certainty, when I walked out of the theatre I knew that this was arguably the best space adventure movie. This movie is a testament to what great writing in terms of the screenplay could do to any film (You! Young aspiring film-makers out there- don’t miss this one for this specific reason folks. Screenplay is everything!). You can be on mars, you can be on earth, you can be in a different galaxy, you can be on Everest, you can be on a sinking ship in the Atlantic, you can be racing around in cars, or you can be in a haunted house, but all that matters at the end of the day is the writing and execution. And The Martian truly, truly shows how it’s done in spite of a paper thin premise.

The movie is about a guy who is all alone on a planet fighting for his survival. Has to be depressing right? No! It isn’t depressing at all. It is absolutely a fun ride! There’s a lot of humor. There’s a lot of tension. I was literally on the edge of my seat for quite a few moments, because they were so gripping. Even at 144 minutes, the movie just kept up its brisk pace all through. The screen time shifted wonderfully well, from Mark on Mars, to NASA back here, to his crew members aboard Hermes making their journey back to earth. I will say this again, I have rarely been this impressed with a Screenplay of a film. Delightfully tight!

Ridley Scott the director, man behind films like Alien, Gladiator and Black hawk down, executed this movie phenomenally well. There is so much ‘science’ in this movie (not the Interstellarish science, not to worry!) and it is made sure they are all explained extremely well and the movie definitely does not make the audience feel dumb (Trust me that’s a lot of effort :P ). The movie has amazing cinematography. Earth felt like Earth. Mars felt like Mars, I mean, based on all the pics that I ever saw of Mars, that’s always how I imagined it would be and that’s how it is. Red, desolated, dusty with rocky terrain.

The casting of the film! Phew! Great actors all of them. So obviously, they delivered liked they always do and Matt Damon does what Matt Damon does. Knocks you out with his performance. I am a sucker for performance driven movies. This movie has plenty of that. In fact I am a sucker for thrillers and comedy too and this movie ticks those boxes too.

The Martian is one of the best that I watched this year. This film was not just about the exquisite art in terms of the acting, direction or writing, it was about what a film offers to the audience, and this film has that to its credit. It has got everything to offer. The movie was thoroughly enjoyable. And I would probably end up watching this movie, at least, two more times with my friends. And hence, the rating:

Rating: 450/150. Simply Spectacular!

Do check out the trailer for this film, if you haven’t: