Shamitabh Audio Review

Illayaraja is my all-time favourite music director and Dhanush, one of my favourite contemporary heroes! Naturally, Shamitabh, the upcoming Hindi movie, they are working together in, is one of the movies I am eagerly awaiting. Meanwhile, thanks to Facebook, I came to know just today that the audio of Shamitabh was launched almost a week ago! Now, how can I stop myself from not listening to the album?

Grapevine has it that Shamitabh is about young man’s dreams of making it big in filmdom. It is natural that the album opens with the song, “Ishq E Phillum”, rendered well by Suraj Jagan. The lyrics are a clear indicator that the grapevine is indeed right! However, the song is brilliant in only patches! The Illayaraja touch is “visible” only at a few places. Otherwise, the lyrics make the song, describing a young man’s obsession with films, makes it interesting to listen to!

The next song, “Sha Sha Sha Mi Mi Mi”, crooned brilliantly by Caralisa Monteiro, is a chartbuster in the making! You can “see” the Illayaraja touch in this song, though it might slightly remind you of the famous (1980’s) Runa Laila albums!! The violin interludes, especially the second interlude, have the classic Illayaraja stamp on them!! To me, this song is my pick of the album!!

“Pidly Si Baatein”, rendered by Amitabh Bachchan, that follows is another interesting song of the album. A solo violin interlude, lasting 20-odd seconds, makes it worth listening! Only Illayaraja can come up with such brilliant stuff I guess!! And yes, hats off to Amitabh Bachchan for an amazing rendition!!

The next song, “Stereophonic Sannata”, is a remix of Illayaraja’s 1980’s chartbuster, “Aasaiya Kaathule Thoodhu Vittu” (Johnny). Shruti Hassan’s voice spices up this song that has sufficient doses of modern day percussion instruments to keep Gen Y busy on the dance floor!!  

“Thappad”, crooned by Suraj Jagan & Earl D’Souza, again sees an interesting mix of percussion instruments and sounds like a song tailor-made for the dance floor!!

The album signs off with “Lifebuoy”, an interesting song that remixes the original lyrics/tune of the Lifebuoy ad!!

Overall, Illayaraja seems to have attempted to please both his diehard fans as well as Gen Y, for whom a song is something that is meant to dance!! In the process, we only get to hear the classic Illayaraja only in patches!! Thankfully, diehard Illayaraja fans have a huge collection of his songs from the 1970’s to 1990’s to listen any time and this one certainly doesn’t fall into that category!!

I Movie Review

Put yourself in my shoes for a while. Imagine living far away from your hometown for a very longish period of time. Imagine missing your family and friends whenever you celebrate a festival. Imagine things falling in place suddenly and you are about to visit your hometown for Diwali! And then, it pours cats and dogs right from the time you land in your hometown (it’s anyway Northeast monsoon season in Chennai during Diwali)! Thanks to the rains, imagine being forced to stay indoors, not being able to meet all your friends and ending up celebrating Diwali minus the crackers!! This is exactly how I felt watching Shankar’s much awaited “I”!! It has everything you expect out of a Shankar film, wonderfully shot songs, a brisk screenplay, amazing performances, yet, fails to fulfill your craving!

Credit to director Shankar for his screenplay that keeps you engrossed, though the storyline is a simple true-love-always-triumphs. It is pretty easy to guess what’s going to happen next, but he maintains the tempo and manages to keep your attention focused on the screen. As you can expect in a Shankar film, the songs have been shot/choreographed too well. The action sequences have also been shot pretty well, especially the one involving bicycles, shot on a rooftop! This action sequence will be remembered for a long time.

No praise will be too high for the kind of stuff Vikram has come up with!! Be it as a body builder, be it as a star-struck fan of the heroine Amy Jackson or be it as a hunchback extracting revenge, he comes up aces with his performance. To come up with such a brilliant performance with so much of prosthetics (as a hunchback) is no mean achievement. Be ready to see his name being called out at most of the award ceremonies next year!!

Amy Jackson’s role in this film isn’t the routine sing-and-dance-with-the-hero kind of stuff. She fits into the role of a leading model to the T. After a brief period of sounding monotonous, Santhanam tickles the funny bone in this movie. Special mention to PC Sreeram, whose photography was a treat to the eyes, especially the song sequences shot in China. AR Rahman’s background score was a treat, especially in the bicycle action sequence, his re-recording added to the effect.

Coming back to where I started this post, though the plans to celebrate Diwali didn’t go exactly the way you wanted it to be, you’ll anyway be happy for having visited your hometown after a long time. Same is the feeling with “I” too! Though it lacks the all-important Shankar “punch”, it has the complete quota of the Shankar “touch”. It is definitely worth your time and money if you disagree with a famous film critic’s view that “Shankar’s niche is now a cliché”!!

PK

The first movie I saw, featuring an extra-terrestrial in an important role, was the Steven Spielberg classic, ET.  Though I was just 8 years old then, I vividly recall my imagination running wild, wondering what I would be doing if I came across an extra-terrestrial in real life. I almost had a similar feeling whilst walking out of the multiplex after watching Aamir Khan’s PK, which features him in the lead role as an extra-terrestrial. The difference this time was that I was nodding in agreement with the thoughts of the director Rajkumar Hirani, about how an extra-terrestrial will view our (religious) beliefs!

The line between holding up a mirror for you to reflect upon your beliefs and hurting your sentiments is rather thin. The director treads this thin line with exceptional craftsmanship, ensuring that you only end up reflecting on your beliefs and not being hurt! He comes up with some wonderful real life situations, infuses witty dialogues and aided by a wonderful performance from Aamir Khan, who speaks Bhojpuri in this film, dishes out a memorable film! For a change, the heroine is not restricted to running around trees and singing duets with the hero. Anushka Sharma, as Jaggu, working for a television news channel, comes up with an enchanting performance, almost matching Aamir Khan!

It’s not that the movie is entirely flawless. There are times when you feel a particular scene could have been shorter. There are times when you are reminded of another wonderful Hindi film “Oh My God”. Towards the end, you definitely feel that the director could have avoided some “masala” elements in the movie. However, as a package, you will end up loving this film and would generously forgive the director for these minor flaws!

Special mention to Aamir Khan’s performance as an extra-terrestrial, struggling to come to terms with the (religious) ways of us earthlings. His choice of Bhojpuri as the language the extra-terrestrial learns/speaks is interesting and his dialogue delivery with a pan in his mouth (most of the time) makes the viewing more enjoyable. This guy definitely has mastered the art of striking an emotional chord with his audience. The last Aamir Khan movie I saw in a multiplex was “Taare Zameen Par”. It definitely struck a chord with me. It was déjà vu with PK towards the end, knowing fully well that the emotional element was an unnecessary “masala” addition to the film!

Or, may be, I was carried away by the emotions of Jaggu’s father, who is elated at the launch/book reading of his daughter’s novel. May be I was reminded of my father who was as elated when one of my stories was published in “The Hindu” last year!

Whatever, there’s no doubt I liked this film. Go watch it and enjoy! It’s worth your time and money!

Lingaa - Movie Review

It was on the stroke of the tea break of the India vs Australia Adelaide test match today that I left home to watch Lingaa. The match was nicely setup and I thought there was no way India was going to lose this match. I was too excited about Lingaa and didn’t think too much about not being able to watch an exciting final session of the test match.

The first shock came when I entered auditorium of the multiplex. It was just half full (you can also say half empty, but being an eternal optimist, I prefer to call it half full)! Second day of a Rajnikanth film and a half full auditorium was too much to digest. Since Lingaa had 17 shows/day this weekend here in Gurgaon, I convinced myself assuming that the crowd must have been split between the shows. After all, 17 shows/day for a place like Gurgaon is way too much!

The next shock came when the name “Super Star” started to appear on the screen. Except for a couple of folks whistling and screaming on the top of their voice, there wasn’t much to say that I was watching a Rajnikanth film! With just around a hundred people in the auditorium, how can you expect a Chennai-like reception for the Super Star, I again convinced myself!

The movie started minus a brisk pace and the Rajnikanth-esque energy. I just couldn’t believe what I was watching. Suddenly I remembered Adelaide! I checked my phone. There was a text message from a schoolmate informing me that the match was interestingly poised. A colleague sent a message on WhatsApp asking me if I was watching the match! I rued missing the match!! But thanks to technology, I kept myself abreast of the happenings at Adelaide through my smartphone.

Meanwhile, after an agonizing 45-odd minutes, the movie started to become a bit interesting. Though there weren’t any unexpected twists and turns, the flashback was just beginning to make life a bit better. But then, I remembered John Pennycuick, the man who built Mullaperiyar dam! The flashback story was almost like watching a biopic of this great man, except that the protagonist here was an Indian. On the stroke of intermission, a message in one of my WhatsApp groups read, “India loses by 48 runs”. Was this movie also all but “lost”, I wondered!

After a longish flashback, the contemporary Rajnikanth comes back into the story for the climax part, does an unbelievable action sequence and walks away with the heroine. Nobody, I repeat, nobody has anything to do in this movie except Rajnikanth. But credit to him for carrying this movie on his shoulders, just like Virat Kohli played out of his skin at Adelaide! The comparison doesn’t end there. Just as Virat Kohli had nobody supporting him except Murali Vijay, Rajnikanth too doesn’t find support from anybody else except the art direction team and cameraman Rathnavelu! But all said and done, Rajnikanth still rocks with this style!!

As I started my car from the parking lot after watching the movie, the audio system started playing the song, “Nenje Ezhu” (wake up my heart) from “Maryan”. The theme of this song is captured by the words “Kaadhal Azhiyaadhe” (love is indestructible) that repeats many times. I thought, whatever it is, the love for Rajnikanth is definitely indestructible! Watch Lingaa for Rajnikanth and nothing else!!

Anegan - Album Review

Anegan album opens with the song, “Thanga Maari Oodhari”, a peppy number with some catchy lyrics in typical Madras slang (Calling it “Chennai slang” doesn’t give it the desired effect. As they say, Chennai is a city, Madras is an emotion!). The voice and rendition of “Marana Gaana” Viji & the rhythm of the thappattai makes sure that this song will soon be a chart topper!!

“Roja Kadale” that follows has the stamp of Harris Jayaraj written all over. This fast and zippy romantic number crooned by Shankar Mahadevan & Sunidhi Chauhan is the other hit song of this album. However, the very average lyrics penned by Vairamuthu in this song will shock/surprise you!!

To borrow a cricket parlance, Vairamuthu finds some kind “form” in the next song, “Aathadi Aathadi”, rendered by Bhavatharani & Tippu. The way this song sounds (especially the beginning) will definitely remind you of the song “Innum Koncha Neram” (Maryan). Though the overall paths both these songs traverse are similar, this song will differentiate itself for the usage of “Harrish” (pronounced Harry-ish) towards the end of the song!! For the uninitiated, “Harrish” is the set of incomprehensible phrases/words, not part of any language, that you regularly get to hear in Harris Jayaraj songs (remember “O Maha Zeeya” song in “Kakka Kakka”?). I was familiarized about “Harrish” by siger Mahathi in one of the interviews!!

“YOLO (You Only Live Once)” that follows, can at the best be described as a song that reminds you of many jingles (especially Kingfisher beer) with some rap thrown in-between!! Sung by a bunch of youngsters, this song has been penned by CS Amudhan, director of the first Tamil spoof, “Tamizh Padam”. A not-so-impressive song, but it might just catch the imagination of GenX!

Another mediocre song, “Thodu Vaanam” makes you wonder why such great talents like Vairamuthu, Hariharan and Shaktishree Gopalan were wasted. The only good portion of this song is the electric guitar interlude midway through the song.

The album’s last song, “Deivangal Ingae”, rendered by Sriram Parthasarathi is another forgettable song. From the feel of it, looks like it will only be used as a background score somewhere in the movie.

The first thing that came to my mind when I came to know that the audio of “Anegan” had been released was the song “Adiye Kolluthe”. Sometime last week, as I started my car in the morning to drive to work, the audio system started playing “Adiye Kolluthe” (Vaaranam Aayiram). It was such a pleasure listening to that song early in the morning, with the nip in the autumn air adding to the effect. The whole experience of listening to that song that day had such an indelible impact in my mind! “Anegan” comes nowhere near making such an impact. Except for a couple of songs, this album is disappointing! How I wish Harris Jayaraj was also an “Anegan”, many men (skills) inside one man!!

(Originally published in Facebook on 11th November 2014)

Kaththi

A popular beverage company, that also owns a popular snack brand, has been running a campaign the past few days, urging people to go home (visit their hometowns) and celebrate Diwali with their loved ones. Having celebrated the last couple of Diwalis with my entire family in Gurgaon, and missing them this year, I’ll be lying if I said this campaign didn’t affect me. Though I didn’t visit Chennai exactly this Diwali, watching Kaththi at a multiplex in Gurgaon, gave me a feeling of having visited Chennai!! Never before have I seen such whistles & claps for any Tamil hero, even Rajnikanth, in Gurgaon! Forget the hero; the response from the crowd was amazing when the name of the music director, Anirudh, appeared on the screen!! The heroine Samantha and the director, AR Murugadoss (who appears in a single scene) were also given rousing receptions by the audience!! Overall, the full house audiences in the multiplex made me feel as if I was watching the movie in Chennai!!

The movie’s storyline is about the much clichéd Doppelgangers (one a crook and another, a good Samaritan) swapping places. The movie opens with an interesting chase, and then just meanders along aimlessly, before getting you interested a good 15-20 minutes later. The movie’s plot will definitely remind you of the Vikram-starrer “Dhool”. Though the screenplay is reasonably brisk, it lacks sufficient twists and turns to stop you from comparing this film with “Dhool”. It is here that you feel a bit let down by the director Murugadoss! But, credit to him for having picturized the songs quite well, though they look completely out of place and hinder the pace of the movie! It looks as if a couple of brilliant music videos have been forcibly incorporated into the movie at inappropriate scenes!!

The heroine Samantha doesn’t have much work to do, except to dance with Vijay in the songs. Even the villain, played by Neil Nitin Mukesh, hasn’t been characterized strongly, like say, Vidyut Jamwal’s role in “Thuppaki”.

Special mention to an action sequence involving coins!!  has been conceived and executed brilliantly!!  Vijay fans are going to lap it up!!

Coming back to “Thuppaki”, it was a completely Murugadoss film that had Vijay in the lead role. But “Kaththi” is a Vijay film directed by Murugadoss!! Don’t miss if you are a Vijay fan. Else, you can wait for the television premiere!!

(Originially published in Facebook on 24th October 2014)

Kadal

Curiously, as I started my car from the parking lot of the multiplex after watching the movie, the audio system started playing "Pachai Nirame" song, as if reminding us that its the same man who has directed Alaipaayuthe & Kadal!! Just can't believe it!! Clearly Mani Ratnam seems to have lost his "Midas" touch!! Rajiv Menon's camera makes the visuals stunning!! What a comeback for Arvindswamy!! Gautam Kartik can dance, fight and emote well!! Thulasi Nair will have to wait for a couple of years, shed those extra kilos and the childish look on her face before signing the next movie!! Overall, Mani Ratnam's poor form seems to be continuing, which isn't a good news!!

- Originally posted on Facebook on 3rd February 2013