Cinema, Karam, Kapi

Shah Rukh Khan has always been remembered for his emotive scenes from Baazigar to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai to Kal Ho Na Ho. Somewhere down the line, the actor chose to do various experimental roles which may not have been fitting to his status. That’s a professional risk many take. Except that after his last big run at the Box Office, Chennai Express, none of his movies stuck a chord with the audience, even with his hardcore fans spread worldwide. In Pathaan, he is back with his old ways, charming the audience with his emotions, romantic innuendos, action scenes and a rare, one of its kind on-screen camaraderie with his close friend, confidante, contemporary and career brother –Salman Khan. As the movie ends with the title credits, the two are seen sitting and chatting casually, wondering who would be their successors in their missions (read: Bollywood, perhaps). The two make guesstimates without naming the newbies, sarcastic comments about youngsters but do not agree unanimously on any one

Bank heists are a common subject when it comes to international films. Many are based on true stories, some are really well made. Over two decades back, Amitabh Bachchan’s Aankhen was all praise for it’s content and crew’s excellent acting. Thunivu is perhaps the first of its kind in its genre in Tamil cinema. After a bit of it in Billa and Mankatha, Ajith Kumar is back in his badass avatar. Spanning 145 mins, the film sets the ball rolling within the first 15 mins.  Darkdevil aka Chief (Ajith Kumar) and his smart crew are a gang of robbers with various international heists to their credit. They are much sought after, with their impeccable track record, access to the latest technology, weapons and what not. Kanmani (Manju Warrier), Amir, Pavni and Ciby are part of the gang as well.  It is interesting that the protagonist doesn’t have a defined first name all through the film! Yes, Ajith is addressed with various monikers and not really an actual name. At the end of the movie, we see Y

After 10 days since its release, I finally watched Kamal Hassan’s Vikram, well er… should I say, Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Vikram. That’s how it seems to be, going by the screenplay, the audience feedback and of course, the Box Office collections. As I write this piece (after 3 weeks of its release), the film has collected over Rs. 300 Cr at the Box Office in India and wolrd wide. Plus OTT rights, of course.  Kamal Hassan’s Vishwaroopam 1 & 2 were anything patriotic, to say the least. His critics have always said the gentleman lacked clarity of thoughts in his screenplay, and political stance, later on. But that’s for a different article. Staying true to his age and image that he has created for almost 6 decades now, KH has sprung a surprise in Vikram, where he plays a disheartened father who loses his son to the drug mafia – just that his son was not an addict, rather a cop who uncovered the mafia and stashed their prized catch.  The film opens with a drunk+sober Karnan (KH) who seem to

A social message, power packed performance by the protagonist, a small, yet effective cast of actors and no boring, disconnected songs for the heck of it – that’s Vinod’s Valimai for you. His previous outing “Dheeran” feat. Karthi and 2019 Nerkonda Parvai with Ajith were somewhat similar too but with different plots. Ajith carries the entire strength of the movie on his shoulders and doesn’t disappoint. The movie begins in Cambodia (South America) and reels down for a few minutes to set a context about the film’s intentions – drugs, drag racing, small time crimes and a cover-up job – in that sequence and how disconnected they all are and go unnoticed until one fine day. Bankrolled by Boney Kapoor, the film released worldwide on 24 Feb. 2022 with a record number of screens.  Arjun Kumar (Ajith) is a cop in Madurai and dances for the opening song which revolves around a world famous temple event – the Azhagar Utsavam. That the actor is a staunch follower of Lord Ganesha and Lord Vishnu i

Well, I decided to call it “Nayak” myself as the film is all about the Nayak and his Khalnayak. Or the other way around. So it sounded all the way from frame 1 till the climax with a twist. With the way the film ended, I won’t be surprised if the makers end up making a sequel to the movie. Rather, a prequel, up to where Anurag Kashyap and Anil Kapoor argue on a stage where Anurag teases Anil to the hilt and their admonishment of each other not just amuses the live audience, rather shocks them with the turn of things in the first few mins of the film rolling on.  AK vs. AK is supposedly a “real-life movie” starring Director Anurag Kashyap and Bollywood Superstar Anil Kapoor as themselves. Apparently, there’s a former rivalry between the two and things take an ugly turn with Anurag kidnapping none other than Sonam Kapoor who appears as herself in the “movie”. He sets a deadline unto sunrise next morning by when the actor has to search for his daughter all across Mumbai city and it’s subu

Jurassic Park released in 1993 and I remember watching in awe how a digitally mastered Dinosaur fought humans in the epic film when I saw it at one of the biggest screens in the erstwhile Madras at Devi Theatre Complex, Mount Road. Much was spoken about how the film was conceptualized and produced. For reasons unknown to me, I skipped The Lost World as well as the other sequels which released in later years. I decided to make do with it and therefore tuned in the films one after the other on our Smart Tv at home. The film is hosted on the Hungama App and I was asked to subscribe to watch the film. The cost of an annual subscription was Rs. 1,299 for which I get to watch – to begin with all three releases and thereafter, an unlimited dose of films hosted on the platform. The cost was almost the same as a movie outing for four of us or perhaps a Continental Meal at our favorite restaurant in town. We went ahead and watched the films on our 42” Tv and I was again in awe of the concept.

After donning roles of a Petty Thief, a Police cop, a Teacher, a Radio Jockey and a happy go lucky homemaker, Jyothika Surya stars as a Lawyer in her most recent outing Ponmagal Vandhal and also has a brief dual role of sorts. Directed by debutant JJ Fredrick and produced by Surya’s 2D Entertainment (as he always does for his beloved), PV is essentially not a Court Drama as one would see in the film’s trailer.   Kamal Hassan’s Mahanadhi was a critically acclaimed film in 1994 when it released which was about child sex-abuse, a topic that was not so popularly discussed in public domain then. But due to 100s of cases which have occurred in India over the years and now that this has become a Living room banter across SEC households, the topic gets mainstream visibility and the Crew have chosen a much appreciable subject that could win hearts.  PV is an emotional drama about Child Rape cases and the ordeals one goes through growing up as a victim. The protagonist argues how t

Two weeks back, we were watching Dharma Durai at home feat.  Superstar Rajinikanth on Raj Tv, a regional Satellite Tv channel that has remained in ”existence” for over 2 decades as a GEC. No matter which channel has innovated or grown, this one remains loyal to its user base telecasting movies of yore from the 70s, 80s and sparingly from the 90s. When Thalaivar appears in the first scene (in a negative film mode, a novel attempt by Director Rajashekar those days and repeated later by Director Suresh Krishna in Baasha!) and fights off the rowdies, I was howling, clapping and all excited in front of the TV screen much to the surprise of my kids – perhaps with almost the same enthusiasm I had when I watched First Day First Show at National Theatre, Tambaram ( a suburb of Chennai) on 14 Jan. 1991.  I was, with all glee sharing the events of that day with my  family when I witnessed lathi charge for the first time as Police was regulating the frenzied “rasigans” outside the theatre wh

I have been unemployed (read Entrepreneur) for the past 5 years. Have tried various tricks in the book and have had my hits and misses in my various attempts, ventures, and so on. All along, my wife has supported me a lot by motivating me and being by side even as I attempt a new escapade now and then apart from funding some of my (mis)adventures. Similar to Actor Surya. This gentleman supports his wife and actress Jyothika so much so that it awes me the kind of love and affection some people have for their loved ones. And Jackpot sums it up like no other.  In yet another attempt from Surya’s home production house 2D Entertainment, Jackpot is an out and out commercial masala film. At least that’s what it’s supposed to be. Jyothika and Revathi along with an extended crew including villain turned comedian Anandraj (in an interesting dual role), Yogi Babu, Manobala, Mansoor Ali Khan and Mottai Rajendran make one test their patience for over 140 mins. And succeed to some extent.

The much expected Sivakarthikeyan’s latest outing Mr. Local released on Friday, 17 th May 2019 amidst much hype and fanfare with 3 songs already being chartbusters over the past month or so. After a slam dunk that was his previous “Seemaraja”, fans and critics alike expected a super hit from the “Small Screen to Satyam” Hero who has had many credits over the past few years including his much acclaimed cross gender role in Mr. Remo. The Vijay Tv Mimicry artist rose to fame with Dhanush’s “3” Movie in 2011 and has seen a steady increase in his popularity, salary and of course Box Office RoI. He was acclaimed for his roles in films like Maan Karaate and Ethir Neechal as well as in comedies like Varuthapadada Vaalibar Sangam. But like with most heroes who hit a peak with 10 films, it’s been the same with SK being no exception who hasn’t been able to choose his roles carefully as he should. Perhaps. It was being rumored that the film crew led by SK wasn’t super impressed with the

Charlie Chaplin 2 released in theatres in February 2019 and on SunNxt OTT App in March 2019. Loosely termed after the prequel starring the same combo of Prabhudeva and Prabhu, CC2 is supposed to be a comedy film with a message. While the second part is somewhat achieved, the former is a joke, really. Most of the scenes are neither comical nor funny; PD perhaps thought he can bring back his humour of the 90s and fails miserably at that. His makeup is shoddy and doesn’t suit his character’s age one bit. Prabhu tries hard to be funny but ends up being funny.   Nikhi Galrani is the glamour doll of the film although carries the film well and sincerely. Adah Sharma appears briefly but has performed her scenes well. Music is a disaster overall, save for the Chinna Machan song sung by Senthil Ganesh and his wife, which were showcased on Tv and YouTube long before the film’s release and went on to become a chartbuster on Radio and Music Apps. I am not going to reveal the story of th

Being a fanboy of Shankar ever since his first film Gentleman in 1993, here are a few snippets I found out from the film 2.0. All the films of Shankar are named on the Hero / Key Character of the film except Jeans  although I wonder why - perhaps it was only his third film, so maybe he tried it differently. All his films have had the name of the protagonist such as Gentleman, Kadhalan, Indian, Mudhalvan, Boys (after all, the film revolved around all the four friends), Anniyan, Sivaji, Enthiran, Nanban, “I” and 2.0.  He seems to be a devout Hindu and references for this could be seen in most of his films. All his key characters have been Hindus and there’s a strong reference to the Almighty in every movie while in Enthiran, he takes to another level where Chitti, The Robot refers his creator Scientist Vaseegaran as the Go who created him. Subtle yet strong message that a Mother is God while for the machine, it is his Scientist. He has worked with AR Rahman in most pf his f

Imaikka Nodigal Frankly, I didn’t read a single review before I went to see the film. All I knew was it was a crime thriller, Nayanthara on the lead and Anurag Kashyap on a negative role. I wasn’t even aware that Vijay Sethupathy played an important role in the film, although I had seen Atharva on promos. The songs were out long back and were peppy but were frankly passable. So, I went with a complete open mind to watch the movie.  Boy, I wasn’t disappointed.  From the first frame till the climax, it was an edge-of the seat (ok, not so much) thriller. The Director conned me at every stage when I predicted a certain outcome which was a great welcome that it wasn’t yet another crime thriller. The very motive of the serial killer Rudra is kept a secret till almost the film ends – I wouldn’t even call it a climax because the film ends suddenly even as you keep thinking the next twist set by the Director. The only predictable scene was when I thought Anurag would get shot and he did