Movies for you: Movies

Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Mee Sreyobhilashi - Few sobs and some laughs

Banner:	Visu Films Pvt. Ltd.
Cast:	Rajendra Prasad, Naresh, Krishna Bhagwan, Ali, Brahmanandam
Direction:	V.Eeshwar Reddy
Production:	Dr. Y.Sonia Reddy
Music: Producer:	Koti CC Reddy

Release Date: December 28, 2007

It is a theme that has been dealt with earlier. But it does manage to strike a chord with the audience every time, it is dealt with. Pathos somehow draws viewers. Though some times, sad endings may not always work. So, the best way to tackle such heavy subjects is to treat them in a lighter vein. Mee Sreyobhilashi is one such film. The film is a take off from a Japanese film Ikinai, where twelve men in deep debt take a bus trip to a mountain to fall off a cliff and commit suicide leaving insurance money for their families.

In this version closer home, Rajaji (Rajendra Prasad) is an elderly gentleman whose daughter commits suicide after being jilted in love. Heart-broken Rajendra Prasad decides to end his life. As he plans a death trip to Srisailam, he gathers others for a bus trip, so they can all fall off a cliff. However, their suicide pact becomes an open secret and police begin to chase them. Now, will they be successful is for you to figure out.

However, unlike the original, the director fails to establish the motive for others in the journey to commit suicide convincingly. The film loses pace along the way and you wish the director had better control on the way the film progressed. Somehow, there is an effort to make the audience sympathise with the characters, rather than helping them to emphatise with their reasons. But the main strength of the film lies in handling such a serious subject in an entertaining way. At least, the director makes a sincere effort in trying to incorporate some laughs to make it watchable. So it is not weep-weep all the way.

The plot hardly moves in terms of geography and most of it is shot in the bus. Yet, you do understand that it is pertinent to the script not to wander around. However, like all such movies, Eeswar Reddy gets carried away once in a while and tries to prove a few too many points. You wish he could have left the audience to move with the characters along the plot, instead of trying to pinpoint where to look and what to look for.

Koti has not much to contribute. There is one song that is in the promos.But the supporting cast does their bit to make the viewing easy for us. Naresh (senior), Raghu Babu, Ali, all have good roles and they perform rather effortlessly.

However be warned that mass suicide pacts are a common phenomenon in Japan. Be open to watch something you may not relate to entirely in India. From our side, we feel it’s a laudable effort. But it is for you to decide if you would want to watch such

touching subjects. Of course, there is comic relief. Still, if you don’t mind carrying a hanky along, then venture out to watch it.

View Movie Trailer

Monday, October 8, 2007

Athadu (2005) - Telugu Movie

IMDB Rating: 9.0

Hindi Movie: AthaduCast: Mahesh Babu, Trisha, Prakash Raj

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Chandamama (2007) - Telugu Movie Watch Online

Chandamama (2007) - Telugu Movie Watch Online

Rating: 3/5

Telugu Movie: Chandamama

Cast: Navadeep, Siva balaji, Kajal Agarwal, Sindhu Menon, Nagababu, Ahuthi Prasad, Radha Kumari

Chandamama (2007) Part 1

Chandamama (2007) Part 2

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Atithi

Based on Krishna's bolckbuster?

Director Surender Reddy's debut into films was through Athanokkade. At that time, hero Kalyanram was craving and praying for a big hit to boost his career. Surender Reddy's novel style of movie-making and different ideas in direction worked excellently and made Athanokkade a blockbuster. However, Reddy's second film, Ashok, with N.T. Rama Rao, failed to reach the expectations raised by his first victory. In fact, most directors of Telugu film industry find their second films less successful than the first. But again, for many of them, their third films are better and become hits. Let's hope this is true for Surender Reddy, who provides story, screenplay and direction for Atithi, his third project.

Maheshbabu is the hero in Atithi, produced by Rameshbabu under the banner of Krishna Productions. Atithi has Amritha Rao (a Bollywood glamour star), as heroine. Though Prakash Raj was originally the villain, he was reportedly replaced with Murali Sharma of Apaharan fame.
Producer G. Rameshbabu, with Gunasekhar as director, had earlier produced Arjun with Maheshbabu, even spending crores for creating a set of Madurai Meenakshi temple. However, Arjun failed to hit the target and was less than successful, barely breaking even.

'Prince' Maheshbabu, rewrote Telugu film history with his blockbuster Pokiri. Unfortunately, his next, Sainikudu, produced by C. Aswini Dutt under the banner of Vyjayanti Movies, failed to meet public expectations and was not too successful. In the backdrop of Maheshbabu's Sainikudu (soldier) losing the battle of the box-office, the Atithi unit is tight-lipped over the storyline; none of the unit members are revealing the slightest clue.

Earlier, there were rumours that the film is based on the Hollywood movie Man of Fire starring Denzel Washington; there were other reports that the film was inspired by Super Star Krishna's blockbuster, Ramarajyamlo Bheemaraju; finally, Maheshbabu reportedly told some of his close associates that the film is based on a subject inspired by another of his dad Krishna's blockbusters. So what is the true story? Wait and see!

Maheshbabu, to ensure a sure hit, reportedly concentrated hard on Atithi and put in his best efforts. Being produced by his brother G. Rameshbabu, Atithi is Prince's home production. Moreover, Atithi has music by Manisharma; their combination had several musical hits like Rajakumarudu, Vamsi, Murari, Takkari Donga, Okkadu, Athadu and Pokiri. Maheshbabu sports different hairstyles for different scenes; special hairstylists were brought exclusively from Mumbai for Atithi. Even after giving a sleeper like Sainikudu, Maheshbabu's Atithi still carries the highest expectations. Rumours (hopes?) are that Atithi might reach the pinnacles of Pokiri (over 200 days, crossed 200 days in Tamil remake and still going strong).

So will Atithi settle down for a long innings in theatres or will it come and go like an unwelcome Atithi (guest)? Stay tuned to Galatta.com to find out!

Cast: Maheshbabu, Amritha Rao, Muralisharma

Banner : Krishna Productions

Producer: G. Rameshbabu

Story, screenplay and direction: Surender Reddy

Music: Manisharma

Athidi New Trailers

Trailer 1:

Trailer 2: Thumsup New Ad N Audio Function

Trailer 3:

Sivaji

Normally, verdicts for movie reviews are given at the end of the review, but with Sivaji The Boss, one just HAS to be different. In a nutshell, the movie is. SUPERB.

NOT just because of Shankar's screenplay and slick effects - which is all there in skill and abundance...

NOT just because of how fantastic Superstar Rajni and Shriya look - which they do...

NOT just because of how amazing and beautiful the sets in the movie are, especially in the song sequences - which they are...

But because of ALL of the above, and most importantly - Superstar Rajinikanth's super-cool new look, with the same much-loved personality, the hilarious and whistle-worthy humour and punch-dialogues and "semmai" action sequences.

Yes, Sivaji The Boss is a must-watch. Rajinikanth is back with an explosive BOOM with this movie, which is far removed from the quieter Chandramukhi. In Sivaji The Boss, he is everything you want and everything he has hasn't been before - the same super style, but done differently; the same super action, but executed with more super effects; the same good over evil tale, but one that's an "athiraedee"!

The story is quite simple - the struggles of a man who has made his millions the hard way outside India and now wants to use it for the good of his people back home.

Sivaji Arumugam is a poor man's son, who has come up from a very humble life. He has made a fortune in the US and has now returned to his homeland India for good. Here, he wants to put his wealth to good use for the benefit of the common man and bring about change through quality education, medical services and self-employment - by starting his own conglomerate that makes these happen. His budget is Rs. 200 crores and he proceeds to find out the very hard way, the molasses-like sluggish movement of government procedures and obstacles at every turn. He tries his best to do it the right way, but is thwarted everywhere. His constant companion Mama (Vivek) is the one true friend he has in these tough times.

Adiseshaiah (Suman), a man who he thought was a good man, is his most vile and backstabbing enemy. This sauve villain throws every heavy weight, from government servants severely bribed by him to violent goondas, in Sivaji's way, only to find that this seemingly-docile man (dormant tiger?) withstands his assaults splendidly - with a shrug and a smile.

Along the way, Sivaji encounters Tamilselvi, his dream woman. She's everything he wants - a true Tamil girl, beautiful, resplendent with the culture of the region. it's a tough task to convince her to be his, but he wins.

The rest of the story is about how his struggles continue and yet, he fails in the end. then decides, at a flip of a rupee coin (a very interesting background to this that one MUST see the film for), that he will give back as much as he has been given, that he will pay back the villains in their own coin. A new Sivaji - new look, new attitude and new plan - is born. How he goes about achieving his goals, how he takes his revenge on the bad guys and teaches them a lesson, how he crushes their every negative push under his feet, is what Sivaji The Boss is about.

The look and feel of the film is, needless to say, SLICK. Shankar has made Rajni look fabulous - reminds us of the good ol' Morattu Kaalai, Basha, Padayappa days - whether in his traditional stylish Rajni look or the modern 21st century one.

The humour is STUPENDOUS - Vivek is simply hilarious. Rib-tickling, tongue-in-cheek, off-the-seat-rolling and SUPER STYLISH humour. In fact, he is shoulder-to-shoulder with Rajni throughout the movie and equally important at every step. The way he has his own "punch" dialogues for Sivaji, the way he gets everyone in tears of laughter with just a sentence, makes him worth more than just one watch!

Not only Vivek, but various other characters and scenes in the movie make this a total entertainer - the entry (and exit!) of Kannal Kannan, Sivaji trying out Sivaji Ganesan, MGR and even Kamal Haasan looks in a short montage, the way special appearances from Chinni Jayanth and Mayilsami liven up the screen.

Shriya is gorgeous. She is slim, beautiful and totally graceful. Instead of making Rajni look old, she helps him look younger than ever before! Ok, so she doesn't really have the meatiest role, but this is a RAJNI film and for that fact alone, one should hand it to her, the way she stands out.

Suman makes a good villain. He is truly hateful and a complete megalomaniac baddie. It's good to see him in such a noteworthy role after many years.

The action sequences in Sivaji are totally different from anything Rajni has ever done before - there's tons of new and young moves, great effects, all mixed with Rajni's potent brand of "sty-yle" and tricks. Flips here, rolls there, way up in the air, Matrix-style shots in yet other places.
The special effects are really well done. No, not overdone (like, say, Boys, which was anyway a young, techno-loving movie), but in tune with Sivaji's look and style.

Very, very noteworthy are Thotta Tharani's sets. Fabulous. That sums it up. The most elaborate and beautiful sets for the song "Vaaji Vaaji" and "Suhana", the most beautifully done up Chennai locales like Binny Mills and many more locations around the world!

It's nice to see A.R. Rahman's sty-y-lish new music translated on screen with imagery. It brings so much life into the songs which are already creating new records and the background score is also perfect, in keeping with the mood!

Story-wise, for all the secrecy and hype surrounding the movie, there is nothing unique to write home about. Shankar has become famous for mixing 3-4 concepts from his earlier movies and putting it all in a slick new package and with Sivaji, he stays true to his own tradition. Still, his cleverness lies in understanding that the masses will come to theatres in hordes mainly to see one person – Superstar Rajinikanth; so he has kept the same mix of stories, given a complete makeover for Rajinikanth, added a great plethora of technology to make it all look good and thrown in all the trappings of modern Tamil cinema.

And if you can package the excellent old Rajni-wine in Shankar’s special new bottle, well, all’s good!

Chewing gum tricks, sunglasses flip, the coin throw, "chumma" sooooper punch dialogues - a complete, 3-hour Rajinikanth bonanza, that is Sivaji!

Now for the questions - dual role? Multiple roles? Who is the bald Rajni? Well, you just HAVE to watch the movie to find out!

Verdict: Sivaji, ATHIRAEDEE THAAN!

Cast

Rajnikanth, Shriya , Vivek, Suman, Manivannan, Livingston, Raghuvaran, Kannal Kannan,

Guest Appearances

Shankar, Thotta Tharani, K.V. Anand, AVM CEO Mr. Babu, Chinni Jayanth,

Banner

AVM Productions

Producers

M. Saravanan and M.S. Guhan