Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Taare Zameen Par (2007) - Hindi Movie Review

Ranking: 4/5

Cast: Aamir Khan, Darsheel Safary
Director: Aamir
Music: Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy

The minute you see this movie you will remember all those years that we went through school in India with the teachers wielding a stick and making our lives miserable...Most people walk out of school with fond memories of hanging out and spending time with friends but many walk out hating teachers in general...

Ya because in our country and our society artistic aspirations are considered useless as they will not help us in our future to make the moolah...I am not arguing with this at all...such practices arise out of necessity and I am not the one to tell that this is wrong...but what is wrong and should change in our country is the mentality of our teachers...they are easily prejudiced and also make judgments as if they are paid to do just that. Half our teachers are not even qualified or reasonably strong in the subject they are trying to teach...they learn by heart what is in the book and come and vomit it in front of student...ok enough of me getting my frustration on teachers in India...

At the crux of the story is a little kid who has dyslexia and as usual our teachers ignore the fact that he is unable to study and get good grades not because he not trying but simply because his brain is not programmed to do that...he is an artist...and he cannot read words...if he was taught verbally he will understand but ask him to take up a book and it will make no sense...The kid goes through a lot of heartache and confusions and gets sent away to a boarding school. Thanks to his lucky stars he meets a teacher who understands his problems and helps him overcome educational issues...

The movie is good and tightly scripted. It is paced smoothly and actually makes the viewer empathize with the life of Ishaan because everyone of us has seen a classmate who has suffered similar to this...

All i can say is this movie is a must watch...holla back if you don't like it.

Kanamootchi Enada (2007) - Tamil Movie Review

Ranking: 2.5/5

Cast: Sandhya, Prithviraj, Sathyaraj, Radhika
Director: Priya


I have seen the earlier movie of this director called Kanda Naal Mudhal...a very sweet romantic story starring Prasanna and Laila and it was a real nice feel good movie. The director I am assuming wanted to recreate a similar magic but failing terribly in the process. This movie is very similar to Meet The Parents-Desi version...

Sandhya is a college student in Singapore where she bumps (literally) into Prithviraj and it is love at first sight for him. He lands up convincing her to give him a chance before rejecting him and they start hanging out together till the day she plans to head back to India to celebrate her parents wedding anniversary or something. They both decide that they like each other and want to get married.

Prithviraj, an orphan raised by his uncle Radha Ravi seeks their blessings but is rejected and asked to marry someone else. Prithviraj tries to polietly convince them but things dont go his way. So he leaves to India anyway with Sandhya to meet her parents and convince them and with the confidence of finding a new job in India only.

Sandhya's parents are played by Sathyaraj and Radhika, a loving Police commissioner-housewife couple who keep doing cute things. Sathyaraj is not able to accept his daughter marrying Prithviraj a Brahmin. He waits for him angrily...

The director now tries to make the plot funny while it is obviously cliched and gets a little boring towards the end and draggy too...how Prithviraj wins the heart of his father-in-law forms the rest of the movie.

The movie lacks in pace and interest and also chemistry. The age difference between Prithviraj and Sandhya is obvious and I wish the director could have chosen an older heroine but I dont think that would have solved this movie's inherent problem-bad direction and screenplay...

No doubt this movie is aimed at being a family entertainer and hence can be seen by people from all age groups but ultimately a bore...so your choice to spend your time watching a bore or see Sivaji-the Boss again ;)

Evano Oruvan (2008) - Tamil Movie Review

Ranking: 3/5


Cast: Madhavan, Sangeetha
Director: Nishikanth Kamat
Music: G.V. Prakash Kumar


I wonder why Madhavan decided to do this movie in Tamil, especially since such movies already exist in thousands thanks to Shankar alone...but anyway it is a very similar plot to many of Shankar's movies other than Boys that work towards a single man taking law into his hands and trying to set the society right.

Frustration leads Sridhar Vasudevan (Madhavan) is an honest and upright citizen who works in a bank. He refuses to take or give bribe. He stands for his principles and is the same even in his house. He refuses to send his son to a pricey school because they are demanding donation over talent. At work his clients nag him to take bribe and at home his wife nags him to give bribe and also a better lifestyle. Day in and day out Sridhar goes through the same frustration. He craves for stability and a better system but things do not go in his way.

One day over a small argument with a retail store owner Sridhar beats the owner with a cricket bat. After which he roams the city beating everyone with the cricket bat who in his eye are doing injustice. In a few hours he has already attacked cops and then starts making national news. He is wanted and the city police are hunting him down trying to make a point. He keeps evading them and stays away from home and with lack of sleep for almost three days.

During one such beating episode an old couple asks him to reflect on what he is doing which changes his perspective and he takes the same train he took everyday from home to work one last time...

The story is definitely not novel but Madhavan has proved himself as an actor other than just being a pretty face with a cute smile (yes...he was this in AP, Run, Minnale...). I only wish that the plot had something new to offer. It is surely a family story and a story that many family can relate to India...not the bribe giving part...but the wife nagging part atleast! The songs are not very memorable but definitely can be seen once...but do not set time apart from doing important things to watch this movie.

Ratings by outbrain