Ayaalum Njanum Thammil - Delightful Frames

Theatre - Innovative Multiplex
Show - 2:15 PM, 20-10-2012
Status - Almost a full house

Both Jawan of Vellimala and Ayaalum Njanum Thammil deals with the core theme of redemption. While JOV wilts, ANT soars high as a quality product thanks to all round brilliance in every field.

Direction is absolutely top notch. Probably the best effort from Lal Jose. That includes Meesha Madhavan and Chandu Pottu. He is in ultimate control over the film. Glad to see him in full form this year with DN and ANT after a series of forgettable flicks. The deft touches, beautiful shots, great narration etc propels LJ back to being the best director that we currently have. I hope LJ reaps the awards for the best director next year instead of the regular Ranjith buttering that we see these days.

Jomon.T.John has done a splendid job. Amazing visuals. The lighting is impeccable throughout. I loved the way he lit up Dr.Samuel's den and captured the misty hills of Munnar.

Bobby-Sanjay has done a very good job with the script. Non-linear narration does not cause any hindrance to the viewer. The movie feels like reading a novel chunked into chapters. They could have expanded the story a little bit or taken some chance to tweak it further to create a masterpiece. As it stands, some characters are not fleshed out enough to create an impact, Remya Nambeeshan's character is an obvious one as well Dr.Samuel's son. That said, they have created a very good script, if not a tad predictable.

Prithviraj roars back into the space he had left a few years back. A worthy successor to the Big Ms. He has done an outstanding job as Dr.Ravi Tharagan. His best performance and probably a performance worth its salt after Vasthavam. There are several scenes in the film accentuated by Prithviraj's brilliant acting. The scene where he comes out of the surgery for the first time, his confrontations with Mani, angst before the Azhalinte Aazhangalil song. Its a complete Prithviraj show. He will do well if he follows ANT with good movies.

Prathap Pothen as Dr.Samuel is excellent. He carries the role in such a way that we cannot imagine any other actor stepping into his shoes. I hope we get more from him. Naren has a short role, pretty good though. Rima, Samvrutha, and Remya fit into their characters. Remya's character should have been improved further though. Salim Kumar has a short role which provides some much needed comic relief. Mani is outstanding in a pivotal scene. I hope the our film makers exploit him a lot more.

On the technical side, the film is top notch. Great BGM, slick editing, good sound. Fabulous songs add an extra mileage to the film. Good job by Sarath Vayalar and Ouseppachan.

Ensure that you reach the theatre in time to watch the film from the beginning. You may feel disconnected if you don't do that. Non-linear narration may spoil your fun.

TL;DR: Ayaalum Njanum Thammil is must watch for any film lover. You are in for a treat in all respects.

Rating: Very Good

Indian Rupee - Bang for the Buck

Cross-posting my review in FK.

Show: 10 PM, 7-Oct
Theatre: Innovative Multiplex, Bangalore
Status: Housefull (Houseful note was put up by the time we reached at 9:40. Great to see a full house despite poor reservation earlier in the day)

Hats off to Ranjith. Brilliant movie. For the third time in a row he has managed to pull off a great movie. Its often easy to be a victim of your own success but Ranjith has managed to stay true to his work. Armed with a good script, his direction has made this movie a delight for the viewer. Apart from poor picturisation of an awesome song (what were you smoking?), you could hardly find any glaring (or otherwise) fault. Terrific dialogues. The little verbal spars and one liners are really enjoyable.

Not getting into the story details. Better to see it unfold in the screen. Movie basically discusses the urge of today's generation to make a quick buck with little regard to everything else.

Prithviraj did well. Possibly his best performance since Vasthavam. No signs of stiffness that had crept into his acting in the recent flicks. His performance as JP would be remembered. A very good performance throughout barring the scene where he runs away from home during his sister's pennukaanal. He was able to portray the emotions of JP to perfection. You could easily accept JP as a "9th pass". A little smattering of humour works really well for the character. He should try doing more of these rather than trying a hand at slapstick which does not suit him at this stage.

Thilakan has shown how we miss him as an actor. A dialogue from Prithviraj, "Ningalithu evide aayirunnu ithrem naal!", sums it up. Brilliant performance. The best in the movie by far.

I thought Reema did quite well. She was charming and did well as the supporting yet strong romantic interest. The chemistry between Reema and Prithvi worked really well for me.

Jagathy as usual was terrific. Played the character to perfection. Tini Tom has played a good role. The movie should do him a lot of good. All the others were also aptly selected and did a good job. Special note to the girl who played JPs sister. Fantastic brother-sister chemistry. A welcome relief from the usual cliched kunjupengal.

Technical side was quite adequate. Good frames. Terrific BGM. Shahbaz Aman is seriously good. Ee puzhayum song was brilliant barring the terrible picturisation.

Its great to see that Malayalam cinema has marched ahead this year with some good movies. Indian Rupee certainly ranks high in my list among the best movies this year.

TL;DR: Indian Rupee is a delightful movie that handles a good theme backed by good performances in front and behind the camera.

Rating: Excellent!

City of God - Gritty and Daring

Cross-posting FK review. For further analysis and comments go to the FK.

Theatre: Rex, Bangalore
Show: 9:55 PM, April 30, 2011
Status: 20(+unknown in 1st class)

I liked Lijo's previous movie Nayakan as a fresh attempt. Even though the movie had several "inspirations" and deeply flawed, it showed the glimpses of a promising young director. I had expectations from City of God, and Lijo delivered. City of God is a true Director's movie. Refreshing to see the actors rather than the stars.

The story revolves around 2 separate sets of people at different spectra of the society. The narrative is non-linear, but the non-linearity can throw off the audience at the start of the movie. Have patience, watch on without judgement and you will get into the mood.

The movie could have benefited from a better screenplay. Screenplay is decent to good, but better writing could have elevated a lot of issues like pacing, the need of incisive dialogues, and black humour would have been effective. Lijo as a Director deserves kudos for doing a brilliant job. Continuity is of prime importance in a multi-narrative and I couldn't pick out any issues. Camera movements may look jolted, but it provides the gritty feel this movie requires. Lighting is brilliant and the effort is evident from the numerous night shots. By far, one of the best cinematography in recent times.

All the actors have done a great job. Indrajith was perfect as the Tamil migrant and Prithviraj was apt as the thug. I guess Om Prakash (Muthoot case) was the inspiration for Prithvi's character and he fits really well. Contrary to popular opinion, I though Rima was a good fit. She played a character, who simply goes through the motions and is defeated by fate. Too much emoting would have hampered the character. The guy who played the rich business man was also good.

The biggest letdown for me was the Tamil song. Crass cacophony to the ears! The other two songs were decent and fits the mood.

Its really hard to see such a movie fail. You can feel the amount of effort put into the movie by the writer and the director. The passion that elevates the film altogether. At the end of the day, you have to applaud the sheer audacity to do such a movie when only the nonsense prevails.

If you do not watch City of God, you should be ashamed when you start to bitch about the lack of innovation in Malayalam cinema.

TL;DR: City of God is a gritty take on the often hidden face of a city complemented by brilliant direction and an excellent cast.

Rating: Excellent!

Urumi: A magnificent epic

Cross-posting my FK review. Visit FK for reactions and more discussions on Urumi.
Date: 1st April 2011
Theatre: Innovative Multiplex, Bangalore
Status: Houseful

First of all, I would like to say cheers to Prithviraj and Santhosh Sivan for their belief in Urumi. A huge risk when you consider the reach of Malayalam cinema and its two-faced audience.

Visually, Urumi is stunning. Leaves you breathless at certain instances. I could feel the water running down my face, the grass crunching under my feet, and the fury of battle in my nerves. Santhosh Sivan as a camera man has exceeded himself here. Probably the best visuals I have ever seen from him. I cannot recall better visuals in an Indian movie from whatever limited viewing experience that I have.

While its kudos to the Santhosh Sivan, the camera man; pebbles to Santhosh Sivan, the director. The direction is sub-par, especially in the beginning and many scenes feels too rushed without enough character development. The modern-ancient integration didn't work out properly as well as Vidya Balan's appearance in the ancient era. Not sure if its an issue with the script or direction, but I guess its a combination of the too.

Script is pretty good with some excellent dialogues, especially the ones with sexual innuendo. Some more punch dialogues would have helped raise the audience pulse, but whatever is present now seems adequate to me. Hats off to Shankar Ramakrishnan for a good work.

Prithviraj did well. The role was physically demanding and he delivered. He didn't have much to portray his acting skills. Script should have given more space for his character development. For me, Vasthavam and Vargam remains Prithvi's best works to date. Genelia was an excellent choice. She excelled in a demanding role and was exceptional in the action scenes. Lip sync was an issue and Director should have reduced close-up shots or found different ways to convey the effect of such shots. Prabhudeva was also good and played the sidekick role to perfection. Refreshing to see a full length role from him after a long time. Nithya Menon was good, but her modern role didn't make any sense at all. The script totally let down the sync between the modern and ancient roles. Jagathy was awesome throughout. One of the most amazing performances in recent times. Amol Palekar was also terrific.

Music was good and probably the best songs in Malayalam for quite some time. BGM at places where excellent. Sound design was also pretty good. Editing was slick and visual effects didn't feel artificial. Urumi should be sweeping the technical awards for this year.

I am very curious about the trimmed down international version of the movie. I suspect it would be better without all the songs and some fluff.

Rating: 8.5/10
TL;DR: Urumi is a visual spectacle with an awesome cast and excellent dialgoues. Must watch!

Edit: Personally, I liked Urumi more than Pazhassi Raja!

Anwar: Slooow Poison!

Cross-posting from the review I wrote in ForumKeralam.

Theatre: Athulya, Trivandrum, 6 PM show
Status: Full. I was sitting in the box above the balcony.

Amal Neerad has shown once again that he is a one trick pony. Stylish shots with no substance. The problem with Anwar is that the stylish shots does not manage to hold the viewer's attention. Most of the time the movie just meanders along the way in ultra slow motions with nothing much happening. Even if things happen, you just stare at the screen sans emotions. The only time I got excited was the starting of the last sequence were Anwar takes on the bad guys. All the other stunts does not provide much value. Its often left to the viewer's imagination. They should "know" and "feel" the power of Anwar, rather than "see" them on the screen.

Story is threadbare and its difficult to divulge anything without breaking the suspense. The story was something on the lines that I had expected and it was no big surprise at all. Ditto for the 3 who watched the movie with me, one of whom is barely 14 without the burden of having watched countless hollywood flicks. Story is sometimes overrated as Amal once said in an interview. But in those cases, you need a strong script to back you up and great dialogues. Script is absent in Anwar, but dialogues at places are good.

Prithviraj's performance is the only salvageable aspect from the movie apart from the songs. He has matured as an actor with a very controlled performance required from the character. His role did bring back the memory of Stop Violence, where is brooding look worked and not his sound. But in Anwar he has come a full circle where his looks and expressions were great along with perfect sound modulation. Comparison could be because of them the fact that I watched Stop Violence first day in the same place!

Mamtha had nothing much to do. Lal was good as usual. Prakash Raj was good, but didn't have the meaty role the man deserves.

Some people would call the movie technically brilliant. I would disagree and call it rubbish. Using the latest techniques won't make a movie any good. Ultra slo-mos should complement story telling, not take over the entire movie.

Crowd reaction. Cheers for Prithviraj. Majority booing for Mammootty. Lots of boos in some sequences and the loudest boos were reserved after the movie when the outro song ends. Even I booed!
Loudest cheers were for this dialogue.
: Ivinentha kuzhappam? Nalla payyanalle? Pinne kure ahankaram undu.

Prithvi should be careful at this juncture of his career. Couple of bombs could set him back a lot. I am afraid Anwar is one of those.

Rating: 4/10 (I am being very generous here, a brownie point exclusively for Prithvi for improving as an actor.)