Seethamma Vaakitlo Sirimalle Chettu - Movie Review

After a really long time, tollywood is back to family genre in its movies, with Seethamma Vaakitlo Sirimalle Chettu (SVSC). The hype that the movie created months before even the filming was started was nothing when compared to the hysteria at the theatres on the day of its release. Starring two of the most biggest stars of Tollywood- Venkatesh and Mahesh Babu and having an ensemble cast, the movie lives up to the hype, well, almost.

Shot well in the beautiful locales of Andhra, the movie is a breezy entertainer after a really long time. Some detractors have pointed out the lack of good comedy, action sequences and trademark-tollywood-style glamour, but, the movie has a clean, family element as its USP! As for the comedy, Mahesh Babu has a superb comedy timing and makes up for the likes of Brahmanandam et al.

The plot is wafer and can be guessed easily after the first 30 minutes. Prakash Raj plays a charming, ever-smiling, 'simple' man, settled in a village in the Andhra region (cant recollect the name of this town, though). Jayaprada plays his wife, and mother to our leads- Venky and Mahesh. Lesser known actress, Anjali, plays Sita, Prakash Raj's deceased sisters daughter who is brought up by this all-helping couple and is paired opposite Peddodu (Venky). Seems like a Rajshri productions flick right? :P

Samantha plays Sita's (Anjali) cousin, paired opposite Chinnodu (Mahesh Babu), whose father hates these 'simple' people for their modest way of living. The rest of the film connects the sentiment between the brothers, their sanksaar n blah blah blah! :D Fortunately, there is no melodrama and that is a refreshing changes, especially in a telugu family entertainer, where they turn out to be more-or-less Saas-Bahu sagas.

Prformances are good, Mahesh Babu and Venkatesh steal the show. Praksh Raj and Jayaprada add weight to their roles, and are convincing. Anjali is good as the chirpy, simple Sita while Samantha has little to do except for pose in pretty clothes. Rohini Hattangadi is one character i completely loved, and her camaraderie with Mahesh Babu was the adorable. 

On the whole, quite a good watch, barring the length and a few teeny-weeny boring sequences. Watch it only if you can bear family sentiments and avoid it if you are looking for a pakka mass potboiler. 

MY RATING- 3/5

Yeto Velipoindi Manasu- Movie Review

'Priyatama Nee vachata Kushalama, Nenu ichata kushalame...', thats the song from Kamal Hassan's 'Guna' that was sweetened by Maestro Ilaiyaraaja for Samantha-Nani starrer, 'Yeto Velipoindi Manasu', that drew the crowds to this Gautham Vasudev Menon flick. Coming from the director who gave us two gems through 'Ye Maya Chesave', ie.., a beautiful musical love story and the gorgeous, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, YVM doesnt really lives upto the hype that was created around it.

Simultaneously shot in tamil, telugu and hindi, YVM is the on-and-off love story of Varun (Nani) and Nithya(Samantha). The film traces the love life of teens, then college romance and finally, real love. All between the same couple. Sounds nice? But two-and-a-half hours is too long a duration for such a movie. And thats the biggest spoiler.

The pace is slow and there are way too many sequences which could have been done away with, to make it a crisp yet intense romance. But, having said that, the lead couple, Nani and Samantha look uber cool, super cute and their unconventional pairing works well. Tall, dark and handsome lad and petite, gorgeous belle- AWESOME!!

The music was touted to be the highlight and is really good, thanks to Illaiyaraaja!! But, having a song as frequently as every 10 minutes, makes it quite a pain. The cinematography, the costumes and the dialogues are good! Wish i could say the same about the screenplay! :/

Well, it may not be the best that Gautham Menon has given us in the past, but is definitely worth a watch, ONLY if one loves love stories to death. Hope the hindi version which is due for release, is made shorter and better.
MY RATING- 2/5

Talaash - Movie Review

To sum it up in short- Good, but greatly flawed. Aamir Khan-Rani Mukerji- Kareena Kapoor starrer 'Talaash' is of the same genre that bollywood is turning towards now- thrillers. With the same kind of cinematic treatment that was dished out in the superbly well crafted Vidya Balan starrer, 'Kahaani', Talaash has come out with huge expectations! But for me, it falls short, somehow.

Directed by Reema Kagti (such a refreshing change after the oh-so-boring Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd) and co written by Zoya Akhtar, the film works for its dark and gritty sequences, but falls flat for its pace. There are way too many scenes where the narrative becomes boring. For instance, the sequence where Aamir meets Kareena in a hotel room, and many such situations, where the movie could have been paced up a little.

With fantastic cinematography by Sharmishtha Roy, the similarities between Kahaani and Talaash end with  the realistic picturisation and the basic premise- Avenging a death! Suri Shekhawat (Aamir Khan) is a cop who is investigating the mysterious death of superstar Armaan Malik(TV fellow, Vivaan Bhatena) in an accident. He is also battling an inner turmoil, along with his wife, Roshni (Rani Mukerji), after the loss of their 8 year old son. In the course of his investigation, he meets a lot of shady people and his biggest informer, Rosy(Kareena Kapoor -_-). How he solves the case forms the rest of the story.

With a host of good actors, Talaash stands out as one of the really well made films this year. Kareena as Rosy is good as usual, and looks beautiful in her role. Rani Mukerji shows why she deserves to be the rani of acting skills by playing with restrain and emoting naturally. Aamir steals the show, with not just maximum footage, but with his serious act as a tough cop and a shattered father.

But.... Not such a smooth sail. There are various questions that arise after the film. Like, why did the 'murderer' take three years to kill them, why not directly? And Kareena's character needed more definition. May be making it a little more pacy could have add more thrills and shrills. Being a art-house pro, the director got stuck with similar pace i guess. Overall, a good watch, but nothing great.
MY RATING-3.5/5. (Am i being too generous :P)

English Vinglish - Movie Review

Looks like meaningful cinema has finally made its inroads into Bollywood. After Barfi!, we have a small and simple film, English Vinglish carrying the baton. Directed by R. Balki's wife, Debutante director, Gauri Shinde, English Vinglish is the perfect comeback vehicle that any actress could ask for.

Unlike Madhuri Dixit, who chose a movie based on dance(something which she is known for since her hay-days), Sridevi returns to the big screen with a fantastic film where she plays her age, is real and most importantly, totally adorable! She gives a stunning performance and its hard to believe that she has been away from the arc lights for 15-odd years. Barring her voice, hindi accent and her botox face, she still has the same potential and lightens up the screen with her charisma!

Set in India and 'The United states of Amrika', the movie traces the journey of Shashi (Sridevi) as she tries to learn speaking in English, primarily to get her some respect from her family. To be frank, i thought the movie might turn out to be a film version of  the TV show, 'angrezi mein kehte hai', but its so much more than that. Its got such small yet brilliant moments, which make one realize how we take women for granted.

Its sheer brilliance lies in its story- nothing new, nothing unpredictable, but has such poignancy in it! Ones heart goes out to Shashi, when she feels guilty of embarrassing her daughter at her school PTA. One can feel her pain when she runs out of a coffee shop, all humiliated or in any of the scenes where her husband and children make fun of her.And, One can relate to her when she acts like a perfect mom! (I could see my mom in so many of the scenes, and i realized how much i take her for granted!! SORRY MOM :*) And thus, the heart and soul of the film is SRIDEVI! She is absolutely brilliant and looks real in almost a no-makeup n sari clad role. What a wonderful film to make her comeback!

And along with Sridevi, Laddoos make a comeback too! Haha! Supporting her is Priya Anand, as her niece. The rest of the cast is fantastic too, but as i said, Sridevi's aura is unmatchable. Technically, it has a very good screenplay and the direction is A-Grade. Gauri Shinde, take a bow! Final word, its a wonderful film thats definitely a must watch!!
MY RATING- 4/5.

Barfi! - Movie Review

After a really long time, saw a really good film! Barfi, directed by Anurag Basu (mera naam-bandhu), is a fantastic attempt that stays with you even after you come out of the theatre. Breaking the stereotypical caricatures that our Bollywood films often build around mentally challenged or physically disabled people, Barfi is a heartwarming take on the love story between a deaf and mute boy, Murphy (barfi is what he calls himself, payed brilliantly by Ranbeer Kapoor) and an autistic girl, Jhilmil (Priyanka Chopra in yet another terrific role).

Before i forget, the movie is incomplete without the mention of its second protagonist, Shruthi, played by mana tollywood ammayi, Ileana. She plays Barfi's love interest, the film's narrator and a strong bolt that binds the film together. A perfect debut in Hindi films, i guess! The film is based in Darjeeling and kolkatta and the camerawork as well as the cinematography is just awesome! every frame looks amazingly beautiful, and the film, set in 1970's looks every bit authentic.

Though a lot of the scenes seem to be influenced or inspired from some of the finest foreign movies, like the ones starring Charlie Chaplin and Mr. Bean, Ranbeer competely takes your mind off that and makes you fall in love with his character. Offering him stiff competition is Priyanka Chopra, who plays an autistic girl with such conviction, that she outshines SRK's autistic act in MNIK. They are brilliant! Ileana, looks beautiful, and every bit a bengali but has a relatively less challenging role. But, she emotes beautifully through her eyes. Well, that again proves that our heroines are wasted in Tollywood, and their potential is wasted.

Coming to the technicalities, the music, lyrics, cinematography are absolutely A grade! But, the story and the screenplay take the cake! Mixing a love story with other tracks, and executing it without even a single dialogue for its lead pair, is most certainly a great achievement. Kudos to Anurag Basu for this.

On the whole, though it might seem a little dragging in some parts, the second half is amazing. A perfect film after a perfectly long time. MY RATING: 4/5