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Delhi 6

Yeh Dilli he meri jaan!

A mandir-masjid dispute arising out of monkeyman menace in the heart of Delhi is as bizarre as a couple of youths gunning down the country’s defence minister only because he ridiculed their dead pilot friend!

Despite its shortcomings, we loved Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra ’s Rang De Basanti for the movie’s sheer novelty and rebelliousness. Delhi 6 is more complex and subtle in its structure, but the very basic premise of the story is so flimsy that the message the director wanted to give (I’ll save that for last) doesn’t come across.

For most of its first half, the movie is Mehra’s personal tribute to Old Delhi – to its narrow gallis bustling with crowds, to its roadside shops, to the Hindu and Muslim communities living cheek by jowl. The story takes off in the first fifteen minutes when the US-bred protagonist Roshan ( Abhishek Bachchan ) accompanies his dadi ( Waheeda Rahman ) from America to her old home in Delhi-6, where she wants to live her last days. Moments after landing at Delhi airport, Roshan sees a news report in which an obviously over-reacting journalist rants about a mysterious monkeyman that attacks and kills people in the dark of night. And Roshan grins at the first impression of the new world he’s about to enter.

Thereon, Mehra takes us on a tour through Chandni Chowk and introduces the colourful characters that inhabit it. The Muslim jalebiwala (Deepak Dobriyal) who’s also a Bajrang Bali bhakt. The neighbours next door – Om Puri and Pawan Malhotra as feuding brothers who live with their families on either side of the wall that divides the household. The charming and friendly Ali Uncle ( Rishi Kapoor ). The slap-smacking cop ( Vijay Raaz ). The dim-witted domestic help Gobar ( Atul Kulkarni ). The spitfire sweeper Jalebi ( Divya Dutta ), the opportunistic Lala ( Prem Chopra ) and most importantly the free-spirited Bittu ( Sonam Kapoor ), who dreams of becoming an Indian Idol and make her own place in the world rather than marry a man handpicked by her imposing, conservative father (Om Puri).

The narrative keeps flitting from one character to the other as Roshan gets to know them and in the process falls in love with Bittu. But this world that seems so friendly and loving erupts into communal hatred when the menacing monkeyman strikes closer home.

Mehra uses Ram Leela as a metaphoric thread throughout the course of the story. And he creates subtle allegories that reveal themselves as the story unfolds. There’s a sequence before the intermission where Abhishek hops like a monkey from one roof to another in pursuit of a kite. Or there’s an incredibly well shot dream sequence in ‘Dil Gira Dafatan’ song where the worlds of Delhi 6 and New York meet at Times Square, and Abhishek, dressed in a monkey suit, holds Sonam in his arms atop a building, a la King Kong. These sequences meet their parallels at the movie’s end.

So, structurally, ‘Delhi 6’ is finely crafted. Cinematography by Binod Pradhan is superb and music by A R Rahman is in a different league altogether. But where Mehra fails, and that too big time, is in providing a plausible twist to the plot. The reason behind the communal feud is so incredulously frivolous that it detaches you from the story.

Thankfully, it’s the story’s myriad characters (and their portrayal by actors) that saves the film. Abhishek Bachchan looks a bit rusty at places but delivers well in a role that has more facial expressions and reactions than dialogues. Sonam Kapoor is gorgeous and shows glimpses of fine acting. But it’s the supporting cast that takes the cake.

Om Puri, Rishi Kapoor, Pawan Malhotra, Vijay Raaz, Waheeda Rahman (an image of grace), Supriya Pathak, Deepak Dobriyal, Divya Dutta (watch out for her outburst against the cop), Prem Chopra (still leering), Atul Kulkarni – it’s an awesome ensemble that gives soul to the story.

Not to be missed in ‘Delhi 6’ is the character of a mad fakir who keeps showing mirror to people on the streets. It’s a character that says a lot in just the tiny screen space it occupies. It encapsulates the message of the film that God, like evil, lies within and not without. So if there’s any monkey that needs to be killed, it’s the one inside.

It’s a message with a heart and mind. And though murky it comes across because of Mehra’s goof up with the plot, it makes ‘Delhi 6’ worth a visit at least.

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Twenty 20 (2008)

 

                           Cast

  Mammootty ... Adv. Ramesh Nambiar
  Mohanlal ... Devaraja 'Devan' Prathapa Varma
  Suresh Gopi ... Antony Punnekadan IPS
  Jayaram ... Dr. Vinod Bhaskar
  Dilip ... Karthik Varma
  Babu Antony
  Harisree Asokan
  Idavela Babu
  Bhavana ... Ashwathy Nambiar
  Bijukuttan
  Gopika ... Ramesh Nambiar's wife
  Cochin Hanifa
  Indrajith ... Arun Kumar
  Indrans
  Innocent
  Jagadish
  Manoj K. Jayan
  Jayasurya
  Kalpana
  Karthika ... Alice
  Salim Kumar ... 'Kapeesh' Induchoodan
  Lal
  Kavya Madhavan ... Devan's sister
  Madhu ... Viswanatha Menon
  Mammukoya ... Khader
  Kalabhavan Mani ... Karinkal Pappachan
  Biju Menon
  Mukesh
  Nayantara ... Club dancer
  Biju Pappan
  Manian Pillai Raju
  Kaviyoor Ponnamma ... Viswanathan Menon's Wife
  Prithviraj
  Radhika
  Sadiq ... Harish
  Siddique
  Jagathi Sreekumar
  Sreenivasan ... Police Constable
  Sukumari ... Devan's mother
  Shammi Thilakan

 


20 out of 20!!

                 Imagine casting all the important stars in a language for a single film and giving equal importance to all the superstars!! It is indeed a mammoth task which has been carried out very well by the makers of Twenty:20. The huge effort taken by all the cast and crew in the Malayalam film industry has resulted in a racy, thrilling and amazingly well-made film. The first round of applause should be given to the writers who have taken script-writing to a new level by providing us a 3 hour film without a single dull moment. In fact, all the areas of film-making in Twenty:20 excel with superb action, songs and suspense.

The plot, interestingly, comes in layers. There are stories inside the story and it seems there is a twist in every scene. The suspense slowly builds up, ending in an explosive climax which will leave the audience in ecstasy.

It is Vishu and like every nostalgic Malayalee, Retired Justice Viswanathan Menon (Madhu) returns home with his wife ( Kaviyoor Ponnamma) to his splendid ancestral home in Kerala to celebrate the event with his children (Siddique and Vijayaraghavan). In the beginning itself, there is rib-tickling comedy involving Innocent, who acts as the caretaker of the house and some thieves (played by Cochin Haneefa, Harisri Asokan, Kochu Preman and Kalpana) who break into the house creating mayhem.

The joyful atmosphere soon turns gloomy as Viswanathan's son Arun (Indrajith), a medical student in Bangalore, is taken into police custody by the cunning Police Commissioner Antony Punnakkadan (Suresh Gopi). His alleged crime? Murdering a fellow student! A brilliant lawyer Ramesan Nambiar (Mammootty) arrives on the scene to rescue him out. Vinod Bhaskar (Jayaram), professor of the medical college, who wants to testify in Arun's favour, is kidnapped by a thug Karinkal Pappachan (Kalabhavan Mani); adding to the misery, mayhem and mystery, Arun too gets killed. Antony Punnakkadan arrests Devan (Mohanlal) in connection with Arun's murder, but Devan turns out to be a poor trader whose presence at the murder spot was a mere coincidence.

Devan's sister (Kavya Madhavan) and mother (Sukumari) arrive and declare that Devan is innocent and that he is being framed by Punnakkadan. They urge Ramesan Nambiar to take up Devan's case. Ramesan, heeding his dear wife's advice, argues in court for Devan, eventually setting him free. Now comes the real twist. Devan is actually an underworld don Devaraja Pratap Varma, who is after Ramesan to extract his revenge for the death of his brother Karthi (Dileep). The film goes into flashback mode, becoming the backbone of the story, and revealing some startling truths. All this winds up in the big climax with all the hullabaloo ending in a shootout.

Mammootty and Mohanlal fans can finally relax; the film gives equal importance to both of them and they are superb as usual. Other movies in which Mammootty played a lawyer have proved that it is the most suitable role for him; in Twenty:20, his excellent performance confirms this. Mohanlal as Devan is outstanding with the right mannerisms and style. Suresh Gopi is amazing in his typical police role. This actor is born to play a policeman!! Dileep appearing in a short role has an impeccable sense of timing. The comedy band led by Innocent and Jagathy are at their wittiest here. Director Joshy and script writers Sibi K. Thomas and Udayakrishnan have done the impossible and created history, not to mention the crew, which consists of all the brilliant brains in the Malayalam film industry. Like Prithviraj, some of the actors have miniscule roles; Jayasurya appears only in a song with Nayantara. The three songs composed by Suresh Peters are peppy.

Twenty:20 is a tribute to Malayalam cinema for its years of creating excellent films and the money it raises will be spent on a good cause. So, the last word is: Twenty:20 is awesome and those who miss it miss the chance to watch the entire Malayalam film industry coming together on a single platform to provide the most wholesome entertainment it has ever produced.

 

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My Little Bride

Cast

  Rae-won Kim ... Park Sang-min

Geun-yeong Mun ... Seo Bo-eun
  Sun-yeong Ahn ... Teacher Kim
  Bo-kyeong Kim ... Ji-su
  In-mun Kim ... Bo-eun's grandfather
  Ki-yoon Song ... Bo-eun's father
  Eun-Sook Sunwoo ... Bo-eun's mother
  Jin-hie Han ... Sang-min's father
  Hye-ok Kim ... Sang-min's mother
  Chang Yun ... Yong-joo (as Chan Yoon)

Exceptional movie!

It was this movie which introduced to Korean cinema, but it was My Sassy Girl (reviewed earlier ) which really made me a fan of Koran cinema. The story is something unique (though not in modern times) about how two highly contrasted relatives are forced to marry each other owing to their ailing grandparents' commitment to marry them. The girl plays a school girl while the guy has just passed his honours and goes on to take training that too in her school!! The story moves in a very funny manner while portrayin the story at the same time. Both the actors hav played a commendable job and anyone who watches this movie is definite to fall in love with korean cinema, if not their gals atleast!!. This movie is definitely an award winner which I think u should be watchin should / shouldn't u be given a chance. So go to ur nearest dvd retailer now!!

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Wall - E (2008)

Cast

  Ben Burtt ... WALL•E / M-O (voice)
  Elissa Knight ... EVE (voice)
  Jeff Garlin ... Captain (voice)
  Fred Willard ... Shelby Forthright - BnL CEO
  MacInTalk ... AUTO (voice)
  John Ratzenberger ... John (voice)
  Kathy Najimy ... Mary (voice)
  Sigourney Weaver ... Ship's Computer (voice)
  Kim Kopf ... Hoverchair Mother (voice)

 


"An Adventure Beyond the Ordinar-E"!!

I had a chance to see Wall-E again last week..Really this is one hell of a movie. Pixar really lives upto its reputation. It tells the tale of a robot named Wall-e who falls in love with another robot EVE. Wall- E was a robot left by the humans to clean up planet earth after it had been contaminated to dangerous levels forcing humans to go on an endless journey in a spaceship. Eve arrives to check for life which she later does which meant it was time for the humans to return back. i dont wanna tell the story here cuz it would spoil ur experience. Overall, this movie simply roxx cuz a) its very humourous b) the animation is top class wherein u forget its animation c) Its has a underlying moral of careless human action behind it d) It is fit for all ages (family film)!
In short, if you are planning to go to a cinema, around this time, you better dont miss wall-e!!

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Rang De Basanti

Being an Aamir Khan fan, I downloaded Rang De Basanti, hoping it would live up to his standards and fame and I am glad it did..In fact it was even better..The story shows how on earth one can bring out history in the context of modern cinema..The story links the story of Bhagath Sing with the acts of Aamir and team symbolising a revolution to better India...On the whole, I would say this film definitely deserves a jury mention (lol) ...Except for the acting in some parts and a hell lot of unnecessary songs, this film has the words "Watch it, u'll love it!", written on it!

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Kung Fu Panda

Cast:

Jack Black ... Po (voice)
Dustin Hoffman ... Shifu (voice)
Angelina Jolie ... Tigress (voice)
Ian McShane ... Tai Lung (voice)
Jackie Chan ... Monkey (voice)
Seth Rogen ... Mantis (voice)
Lucy Liu ... Viper (voice)
David Cross ... Crane (voice)
Randall Duk Kim ... Oogway (voice)
James Hong ... Mr. Ping (voice)
Dan Fogler ... Zeng (voice)
Michael Clarke Duncan ... Commander Vachir (voice)
Wayne Knight ... Gang Boss (voice)
Kyle Gass ... KG Shaw (voice)
JR Reed ... JR Shaw (voice)

Directors:Mark Osborne
John Stevenson

Writers:Jonathan Aibel (screenplay) &
Glenn Berger (screenplay) ...

Genre:Animation | Action | Comedy | Family
Tagline:Prepare for awesomeness.
Plot:Po the Panda is the laziest animals in all of the Valley of Peace, but unwittingly becomes the chosen one when enemies threaten their way of life.

I cant wait to tell you abt Kung Fu panda...its one of the best movies (though its animation), I have watched in a long time..Its got the perfect mix : STory + Humour + Style..The story is abt a lazy panda who defies all odds to become the greatest kung fu warrior..The story moves fast in a hillarous way with Kung Fu Panda's moves the funniest of them all.. The dialogues dont clog the story and fit in nicely..the animation suits best...i thought it was a pixar movie..it is a dreamworks product instead..kudos to all the team who have done a great job fine tuning all the details of the great KUNG FU PANDA!!! In short, this is a must watch regardless of the fact tht u maybe a BIG guy shy to watch KIDS stuff!  

 

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