CHILDREN OF HEAVEN

Children of heaven is a 1997 Iranian movie directed by majid majidi.It was nominated in 1998 for the academy awards ( best foreign film).

THE PLOT - Its a touching story about a brother and sister. The drama begins when the sister's shoes are lost and their family cannot afford a new one. From then on, its about how they manage their shortcoming, and how they get themselves out of trouble.

PERFORMANCES - Amir Farrokh plays the brother to whom Bahare Seddiqi plays the younger sister. Both of them are extremely cute and have delivered very powerful performance within the limited scope available in the plot.Amir( resembling a "little aravindswamy") shows varied emotions which even reputed actors find difficult to emote. The director majid majidi has to been given his due, for a wonderful screenplay with such a small story and for sticking to the plot and not deviating off it.The fact that the story begins straightaway (at the grocer's shop) is a testimony to it.
                                                                     Interesting scenes like the scene where the shoe goes in gutter, different camera angles to break the monotony of repeated scenes ( of shoe exchanges) really set the movie up. The climax scene where Amir runs, has been picturised beautifully ,with only heavy breaths and dialogues in backdrop( for most parts)and no pompous music really shows the class of this movie.



YAWNS - I cannot criticize this movie just to fill in this column. honestly i didnt yawn  at any point of time in this movie .
                                                         A cute little story, told in a beautiful manner with subtle comedy, brilliant messages in between, with tehran as backdrop - made my day. Do watch it, it will make your day too !

MAGADHEERA

It was a magadheera evening today at the academy, hyped by my telugu friends, i went in at 5.30 and occupied my usual seat. After brief chiranjeevi and rajini videos, the movie started...

HOT AND SOUR CHICKEN SOUP - Opening scene where the heroine ( kajal agarwal) after her last words to the hero(ram charan), jumps of the cliff and the hero falls after her - a real good starter for any legendary love story

PULUSU -  The opening sequences, the song ( exagerrated but a very valuable ingredient)

RICE - THE STORY 1. The regular one - with typical romantic interludes, well timed comedy by brahmanand 2. The special rice ( RAYALSEEMA CHICKEN BIRIYANI) - With the backdrop of  "middle earth" inspired land, good music, 'fairy tale" like unfolding screenplay.

PAPPU - The director (rajamouli) - having prepared almost 2 different scripts and linking them almost made his job a lot easier as he has packed in both stories with adequete action,romance, sense of adventure and fantasy. Screenplay in first half was very clever, as the romantic scenes were brought in and a substantial chemistry was already built between the lead pair before the "fantasy" sequences arrived.

NELLORE FISH CURRY - The lead pair. They had tremendous chemistry and both have put in decent enough performances. kajal however is the better of the two - she really is beautiful, her performances in both the stories are quite distinct, she clearly behaves like a princess in one story and simple college girl in the other (unlike the hero and villain).

GONGURA - The villain (Dev gill) and "Sher khan" (sri hari) stereotype characters but essential for the story to move on

TELENGANA SAKINALU (dessert) - Music, especially during the fantasy scenes

 MESS CHAPPATI - The run of mill scenes which most of the audience predicted well in advance, item number before climax, over dose of action.

Overall, MAGADHEERA was a typical spicy andhra full meals, and it was fun enough to enjoy it on a sunday evening.

HARISHCHANDRACHI FACTORY

 Harishchandrachi Factory was played today at the academy. It is a 2009 marathi film directed by paresh mokashi (shwaas fame), it was also selected as India's official entry into oscars that year.

ONE LINER - Its about Dadasaheb phalke, his passion for movies and how he ended up creating the biggest film industry in the world.

PERFORMANCES -  In the present scenario,making a main stream cinema out of such a monumental event in a country's history requires a huge investment, big names behind the screens,superstars and more superstars in front of the screen- but this movie defies all such logics. It barely has 4-5 principal characters ( actors who play actors in the excluded)  but all of them are so lively and bonded to each other that you really start wondering if they are real family. Nandhu madhav, who plays phalke aka prof. kelpha ( !!!) has given a wonderful performance worth all the awards.He gives passionate,"dominant" yet subtle performance which is
an extreme rarity in today's cinema.Vibharwi deshpande, who plays phalke's wife has impressed me the most with her " early 1900s indianishque" portrayal - not only for her attire but also for a brilliant performance.Her character is a real 'prototype' of an understanding Indian housewife ! Phalke's kids' emotions are very well thought out and interestingly brought out by the director.
The real "dadasaheb" of the movie is the art director, for bringing out the India of 1913 - Be it the trams, the old fashioned movie equipments, specs, theatres, it does leave behind a lasting impression in us. Also nationalist spirit and pun against British is very cleverly brought out by the director.

YAWNS - As much as there is a good dose of healthy humour in the movie, it also has its share of "dry" jokes, The music though extremely pleasing and relating to its times, does get monotonous after a point.
     
                                                                       Harishchandrachi factory , dadasaheb phalke's inspirational story, stamps the theme " follow your heart/chase your dreams' in a hilarious manner - which is a very difficult thing to do , given the inspirational and monumental nature of the plot. Full credit to the team to have made such a wonderful movie on a such a wonderful theme and to have presented it with such interesting ingredients.Time to take a bow, for the man who made Indian cinema.

10 REASONS - WHY I LIKE DELHI BELLY

       10. There is no "rahul" running around trees in switzerland
         9. There is no "prem" removing his shirt off even for comedy scenes
         8. There is no angry young man - vijay who takes on the baddies in the society
         7. No priyadarshan, akshay kumar and paresh rawal
         6.There is no crappy flashback and there are no unnecessary characters - ailing mothers,drunkard fathers etc
         5. It isnt the same bollywood story of the heroine getting engaged to an american groom and then finally  the hero getting to marry her
         4. delhi belly is short and sweet
         3. delhi belly is contemporary
         2. First of its kind in mainstream indian cinema
         1. D.K.BOSE

  

KAAKHA KAAKHA - THE POLICE

                                   8 years ago, i remember watching kaakha kaakha first day morning show in kamala theatre, vadapalani and after the movie, i  felt completely overwhelmed by awesomeness.Now, after 8 years , after so many changes in my life, i saw it at the academy and felt exactly the same - overwhelmed by its awesomeness.

PLOT -  Kaakha kaakha , directed by gautam vasudev menon , starring surya , jyotika and others , is about a tough cop anbuselvan, his love for his job - police service and his love for his lady - maya., and about how his first love- the job hinders in , into his "second" love, his girlfriend/wife and how he puts an end to this cat and mouse game is told in a riveting manner with decent pace, dialogues and music which will make u fall in love with.

PERFORMANCES - gautam menon has indeed given a complete feast for all movie goers - the front benchers, elite viewers, critics and masala lovers like me and for those who loved minnale and thought romance couldnt get better, gautam has other thoughts.He has woven a brilliant plot and brought in the right artists to suit the plot- unlike the regular "scripts for heroes" formula in tamil cinema. The pondicherry woodhouse, climax fight with a long shot in black and blue, the first kiss between surya and jyotika are all hallmark gautam menon.
                                        This is also the movie after which surya started stamping his mark at the box office. surya's performance, though novice compared to his recent performances like vaaranam aayiram,ghajini is still commendable, with immaculate body language and powerful dialogue delivery. Jyotika as always has proved her versatility in this movie - she gracefully romances, smiles,cries and ends up making our hearts heavy at the end of the movie. Thank god, the couple married in real life, after completing this movie.

THE YAWNS - Honestly speaking,there werent much let downs in the movie. But a few glitches like showing jeevan (the villian) to be too powerful to escape all bullets, "thoodhu varuma" song hampering the movie's pace, could have been done away with.Also daniel balaji's character could have been more clearly defined.
                                  Gautam menon's kaakha kaakha ,is not only a landmark in his , surya's and jyotika's career, it is indeed a landmark film in modern tamil cinema , which is why it has been remade into 3 languages and i promise,that i'l again watch this movie after 8 years, with my wife and still feel overwhelmed by its awesomeness.

P.S - If u liked this movie, then i suggest u to watch VETTAIYADU VILAYADU ,another cop movie, which has the same director,music director, camera man and heroine with kamal hasan in lead. and trust my words, kamal's performance in VV will make surya's in kaakha kaakha dwindle !

RASHOMON

RASHOMON :
86th FC movie club is barely a week old and rashomon was the second movie that was screened. out of all, rashomon was plucked out of the galaxy just because it was recommended by one of our guest speakers at the academy(much to the dismay of the masala movie  lovers ), even though i'v seen the movie earlier i wanted to watch the movie once again - atleast to show off that i was indeed a movie buff. i occupied the the first row, with my friends and the movie started..

About the movie - Rashomon -  released in 1950 , directed by akira kurosawa is considered by critics as one of the greatest masterpieces ever to be produced, for simple reasons - it brought about the distinct narrative style which we are used to seeing in recent movies like vantage point,virumandi etc. The movie again set the trend among whodunnit movies. From maniratnam's yuva to the pathetic "game" made by abinay deo the "rashomon" effect is evident through out, across several movies

The plot - the story has 3 narrators and 3 main "in plot " characters - it is indeed difficult to manage a movie with so little characters (ask sooraj bharjatya and vikraman !) but still kurosawa shows his masterfulness in the way he has managed the characters and juggled around with them brilliantly. Each of the 3 main characters has a distinctive body language - the villain who makes the funny laugh , the heroine with her typical scream and the hero with his "stare" - today's cinema , which is dominated by CGs and "punch dialogues" has a lot to inspire from this movie. location changes are too less but quite apt. the comic climax fight(brought out in final version) and the beautiful message given at the end are the high points of the movie.

The "yawns" - to  put up with a movie released  in 50s means no fast cuts/edits,no breathtaking visuals ,no  CG s ,no groundbreaking music and rashomon is no exception. some scenes like the one where the woodcutter goes to the forest- goes, goes and goes , like our trek in LBSNAA.Such scenes do test our patience.

Overall , rashomon is a must watch film for any serious movie buff.If you go in questioning the credentials of the director and the movie,By the time you come out of the hall you know why they have such high billings !

P.S - if you liked the movie, do try 'andhanaal" by sivajiganesan - its narrative style is roughly inspired by rashomon but has a different plot slighltly and it is a masterpiece in tamil cinema.

INTRO

INDIA - a country with vast cultural heritage, geographic grandeurs, exotic flora and fauna, diverse religions, mosaic of castes, biogenetic variabilty of tribes..                                                                                               INDIA - a country marred with burdens of population, unemployment, poverty and is in a scenario where the very existence of the state is being questioned..  Such great differences, such huge challenges, so many people and so many problem.. Inspite of all this we Indians stand united for 2 things - CINEMA and CRICKET ! those two are our 4 th and 5th meals of the day and me being a "typical" indian, thought of putting up a blog to share my experiences with the movies that i'v watched..

LETS GET STARTED - LIGHTS ON, CAMERA !