Even though I anticipated much for its release I was able to see "Dashavatharam" only after 70 days of its thearrical release. It is a sort of an ego trip of a narcisst Kamal Hassan. No doubt that too much hardwork had gone into its concpetion and execution, but somewhere the story falls flat beacuse of its wafer thin plot. Believe me, I didn't read any of its reviews till date as I felt that I might be biased towards or against of it. Balaram Naidu is loveable but most of the roles out of 10 were inconsequential and created to fill that number 10. Seems Kamal Hassan had worked backwards after finalising the title. Asin sparkles in few moments but had nothing to do except screeching "ஐய்யோ......" and "என் பெருமாளை என் கிட்டே குடுத்திடுங்கோ...". Technically speaking too much efforts had gone into the visuals and it shows... That's it the problem - IT SHOWS. The VFX are very easily identifiable, so it feels like watching a row resolution movie on a computer monitor. Great idea but not so great finesse... in terms of content as well as technique.

{oshits} visits....

Thanks Anis... I happened to see this amazinggggggggggggg movie "Kadhaparayumpol" through your DVD only. Even though this was lying with me for past 10 days, I was stubborn of seeing it today before the release of "Kuselan". Every time when malayalam cinema is in ICU, Sreenivasan infuses some fresh blood to keep the hopes alive. This time he literally resurrecated the malayalam cinema's dying image single handedly. "Kadhaparayumpol" is a touching tale of friendship between a broken barber and a reigning superstar. Even with a pirated poor printed DVD, I couldn't stop the tears rolling over my cheeks during the climax of the movie, then think how effective it would have been in theatre. Stellar performances by Sreenivasan, Meena, Innocent, Jagadheesh and a powerful cameo by Mamooty. A powerful movie with all the emotions in a subtle but heart tugging manner. Along with the happy tears, some more tears followed when I thought how it would have got raped by P. Vasu and Rajinikant team. Kadhaparayumpol is crisp, sweet and definitely strikes a chord... Don't miss this original version even if you had seen "Kuselan". A MUST WATCH!!!!!!{oshits} reads

கோவை வந்தாலே காரணம் தேவைப்படாமல் மனது குதூகலிப்பது எனக்கு வாடிக்கை தான். இம்முறையும் அதற்கு விதிவிலக்கு அல்ல. கோயம்புத்தூரில் படம் பார்த்தே 5+ வருடங்கள் ஆகிவிட்டது. இந்த முறை கர்னாடிக் தியேட்டரில் படம் பார்க்க முடிவு செய்தேன். முதன் முறையாக மீரா ஜாஸ்மினை பெரிய திரையில் பார்த்ததும் இங்கே தான் (படம் - மலையாள கஸ்தூரிமான்). அது போல முதன் முறையாக வித்யா பாலனை இதே தியேட்டரில் வெள்ளித்திரையில் பார்க்க முடிவு செய்தேன். படம் - கிஸ்மத் கனெக்‌ஷன். வித்யா பாலனுக்காக மட்டுமல்லாமல் இயக்குநர் அஜீஸ் மிர்ஸா, கூட நடிக்கும் ஷாகித் கபூர் என பல துணை காரணங்கள். அஜீஸ் மிர்ஸாவின் படங்கள் எப்போதும் மிக இயல்பாக இருக்கும். மேலும் பல வருடங்களுக்கு பிறகு அவர் படம் இயக்க வந்திருக்கிறார். நல்ல வேலையாக அஜீஸ், வித்யா, ஷாகித் என யாருமே ஏமாற்றவில்லை. இந்த படம் தான் என்ன?

Khamosh (1985) - the movie that kept intriguing me for a long time ever since I learnt that it was Vidhu Vinod Chopra's debut movie. After seeing the movie, you can understand why Vidhu Vinod Chopra is one of the most reverred & hated film maker in Bollywood. I always loved his passion towards the good cinema, eccentricity that sometimes snubbs film folks and a dare to break steroetypes. "Khamosh" is an edge of the seat thriller, straight from Aghata Christie type of novels, with no commercial distractions or thrusted item numbers even though the movie offers plenty of scope for such elements. The not so great technical finesse gives the film a raw texture that enhances the stark performances of all talented powerhouses - Naseeruddin Shah, Amol Palelkar, Shabana Azmi, Pankaj Kapoor, Ajit Vachcani and others. I could suggest that "Khamosh" is a must watch if you are a stickler for quality thriller. What keeps "Khamosh" ahead of other murder mysteries?

Moserbaer's maiden production "Shaurya (Courage)", though a blatant rip off from American movie "A Few Good Men", is engrossing at parts. It is about the court martial of Javed Khan, an young Muslim military officer, whose defense lawyer Siddhant is not so intrested about the case initially. Enter a journalist Kavya Sashtri, who ridicules Siddhant for his ignorance that Siddhant sinks into the case really to find out some intresting communal aspects and fake encounters. Shaurya can best be a movie remembered for its arresting performances by Kay Kay Menon, Amrita Rao as conscience of killed military officer and voice over by Sharukh Khan towards the end. Minisha Lambha grates your nerves, a romantic angle uncalled for and a slow pace proves fatal for Shaurya but with a breath taking cinematography, details of military etiquette, Shaurya can be a nice experience for those who hadn't watched the original. Still it is not a losing proposition costwise (Rs. 50/- in Moserbaer Home DVD). Give Shaurya a try in DVD or in a TV premier.

{moshits left} people had liked to read about and watch Shaurya.

I liked this all girls album by MM Keeravani when I happened to hear it a couple of years ago. Then I looked for the movie reviews and found the plot intresting. Since then I wanted to see this movie but couldn't due to nonavailability of VCD. Lately I came to know that AOR had been remade in Hindi as "Sunday". I avoided all the reviews and interviews about "Sunday" as I feared it might give away the basic plot and I wanted to see the Telugu version ONLY first. Atlast I happened to see the movie a couple of weeks ago and the wait was worth. I enjoyed the movie thoroughly even though I couldn't follow the dialogues completely. It was so different from a regular Telugu potboiler - experimental, daring and (cliched to say) refreshing. Also I became the fan of Charmee Kaur after seeing this movie.

Post K. Vishwanath, there is a huge vaccum in Telugu cinema to create some natural characters, situations and melodious music on screen. To certain extent that gap is filled by Shekar Kamnula. First I saw his 'Anand' and when I recently catched up with his 'Happy Days', it reaffirmed that some good movies are going to come in Tollywood, through Shekar's way. Happy Days is stylish, sensitive, rollicking, soothing and above all so natural that we all college goers might have faced with whatever the lead protagonists - Chandu, Madhu, Tyson, Shravanmthi, Shankar, Sangeeta, Rajesh and Aparna undergo in the movie. Shekar succeeds in making an autobiography sort of movie covering the day one to final day of Engineering college students, their trials, escapades, smiles, tears and emotions, in a commercial format. The movie is beautifully shot by DOP Radhakrishna, characters wear trendy / normal clothes thanks to Pantaloons and a soothing score by debutante Mickey Meyer. Madhu (Thamanna) and Chandu (Varun) stands apart from the crowd, followed by Tyson (Sandesh), Rajesh (Nikhil). Kamalinee Mukherjee breezes in a lovely cameo. A lovely movie that made me gasp - "Wish my college life was bit more like this..."

Cm'on guys... don't be so critical... Mulla is not that bad as the critics make out through the reviews. Admitted Mulla is not in the league of Lal Jose's earlier ventures "Arabhikadha" or "Achan Urangatha Veedu", but definitely it is good within the commercial parameters of an entertainer. Lal Jose had tried to be different and the effort shows at most of the parts. Call it co-incidence, when I went to Trivandrum last time I saw Lal Jose - Dileep - Vidyasagar team's blockbuster "Meeshamadhavan" and this second time I happened to see the same team's "Mulla" in Anjali theatre. I went to the theatre well aware of the negative criticisms through the internet. But Lal Jose had kept me thoroughly entertained for the 2 1/2 hours even though the movie comes no where near the same team's "Meesha Madhavan".

{mosimage}Raj Kumar Santhoshi was back to a hard hitting drama with 'Halla Bol' (Raise your voice). This flick deserved to be a hit even though the box office verdict didn't go with the critical acclaim. Made on the lines of Jessica Lal's murder case, 'Halla Bol' creates an awareness about the individual's social responsibility in ensuring justice to the victims. Dubbed as a 80's styled revenge drama, "Halla Bol" didn't garner a favourable verdict with the audiences. Pankaj Kapur is terrific with an amazing screen presence, Vidya Balan makes her presence felt even with a miniscule role as conscience of lead protagonist Samir Khan, played by intensive Ajay Devgan. Raj Kumar Santhoshi strongly condemns the middle class' apathy towards society, media's hysteria in sensationalising the news rather than being truthful. My only concern is that the failure of 'Hall Bol' shouldn't demoralise Santhoshi in making such powerful movies in future. Let his next movie – a love story is just a temporary detour. 'Halla Bol' doesn't deserve your indifference, so please watch it atleast in MoserBaer DVD for Rs. 49/-

Et tu Blessy? Despite being a highly prolific film maker of recent Malayalam cinema, he flunks this time by a huge margin. Albeit having a terrific start, Blessy's dilemma in moving 'Calcutta News' forward as a thriller or a love story is clearly evident. The movie talks about human trafficking, the young village girls being lured into marriages for flesh trade exploring the murky underbelly of Calcutta. Barring some rivetting visuals in the climax (especially the kid with the mobile phone), the movie just sucks big time, thanks to the romantic track bewteen Meera and Dileep. The second half is yawn inducing. How come a Dileep movie is devoid of comedy? His dialogue delivery and 'introductory' scenes like making a documentry on cellphone just makes up for it. The lead peformances leave you desiring for more. Meera Jasmine had perfected the portrayal of a dasmel in distress, Dileep unintentionally evokes laughter by playing a metroite, Vimala Raman being wasted completely. Debjyoti Mishra's music, S. Kumar's cinematography and locations are the saving graces. Looks like Blessy got lost in Kolkatta crowd.

எனக்கு மிக மிக மிக பிடித்த பாடல்களில் ஒன்று இசைஞானி இளையராஜா இசையில், எஸ். ஜானகியம்மா "காதல் ஓவியம்" படத்துக்காக பாடிய 'நாதம் என் ஜீவனே...' பாடல். ஏனோ அந்த படத்தை இதுவரை நான் பார்க்க முயற்சித்ததில்லை & மற்ற சில பாடல்களை மாத்திரமே பார்த்திருக்கிறேன். இந்த வாரம் வாங்கிய DVD-யில் 'காதல் ஓவியம்' படத்தின் எல்லா பாடல்களும் இருந்தது. இந்த சனி, ஞாயிறுக்குள்ளே 'நாதம் என் ஜீவனே..' பாடலை கிட்டத்தட்ட 20-25 முறை பார்த்திருப்பேன். இந்த பாடலில் இசையை தவிர என்னை கவர்ந்திழுத்த இன்னொரு அம்சம் - ராதா. நான் ராதா நடித்த கடைசிகால படங்களை மட்டுமே பார்த்திருக்கிறேன். 1 இஞ்சுக்கு சாயம் பூசிக்கொண்டு சற்று முத்தலாக இருந்த ப்ளாஸ்டிக் ராதா தான் எனக்கு தெரிந்தது. ஆனால் அம்மணி வந்த புதிதில் தான் மிக அழகாக இருந்திருக்கிறார் என்பது என் இப்போதைய அபிப்பிராயம். மிக அழகான முகவெட்டு, கூர்மையான நாசி, மனதை அள்ளும் புன்னகை, நடையில், பாவனையில் நளினம்.. என பட்டியலிட்டுக் கொண்டே போகலாம்.