English Babu Desi Mem

English Babu Desi Mem
(translates as "English sir, Indian madam")
1996
3/5 stars

English businessman Vikram Mayur ( Shah Rukh Khan) learns that his deceased brother left a son, eight-year-old Nandu (Sunny Singh).  Nandu has been raised in India by his young aunt, Bijuriya (Sonali Bendre), who supports them both by dancing in a club.  Vikram goes to India to bring Nandu back with him, an event which leads to many emotional complications.

This movie was declared a flop at release, but it's really not bad.  The plot is predictable, but at times quite moving.  The acting from the leads was solid, but the child actors were fantastic.  Young Sunny Singh gave a compelling performance and the actress who played the child Bijuriya was a natural.  (Unfortunately, I've been unable to find who this child was for certain, but it may have been Baba Brahmbhatt.)  Bijuriya's near-vulgar dance routines are particularly unappealing, however, giving the film a sleazy feel not compatable with the innocence of the rest of the movie. While English Babu Desi Mem is not a stand-out movie, it's mostly enjoyable, and the child actors make it worth watching once.

Anbe Anbe

Anbe Anbe
(translates as "my dear, my dear")
2003
3/5 stars

Cheenu (played by Shaam) is part of a tight-knit, loving extended family. The only thing marring this is the unfriendly rivalry between Cheenu and his cousin Shiva (Yugendran). When Cheenu and Shiva fall in love with the same girl (Vishali, played by Sharmelee), Cheenu must decide between his love for Vishali, and his desire to see his family happy.

The predictable plot is is generally enjoyable, but is hampered by a detracting side-plot.  The music is average, with two not-very-appealing item numbers.  The acting by the supporting cast was quite good, but Shaam and Vishali were not fully convincing. Yugendran, on the other hand,  gave a good performance, and was a much more interesting character (either due to acting or written part) than the other two leads.  On the whole, this isn't a bad movie, but it's certainly not memorable.

ABCD

ABCD
2005
4/5 stars

This romantic drama follows an honest, upstanding young man, Anand (played by Shaam), as he meets three lovely young women, who are in three very different life situations: Bharathi (Nandana Kumar), Chandra (Sneha), and Divya (Aparna).  He forms a friendship with each individually, and due to his goodness and kindness, each falls in love with him - - a situation which can only lead to heartbreak.

ABCD has an engrossing plot, with believable characters trying to make the best of difficult circumstances.  The acting was excellent from all four leads.  The music was generally good, despite the surreal and rather disturbing video accompanying one song.  The humorous breaks didn't fully fit in with the movie, and detracted somewhat.  Overall, this film is absorbing and moving, just falling short of five stars.

Jay Jay

Pooja, Madhavan, and Amogha

Jay Jay
2003
3/5 stars

Jagan (played by Madhavan) falls in love with Jumuna (Amogha), without knowing her name or address.  She is a strong believer in fate, and so writes her details on a 100rs bill, and tells Jagan that if it reaches him within a year, she will marry him.  After spending six months searching for her, Jagan -- through no fault of his own -- becomes engaged to Seema (Pooja), the sister of two dangerous politicians.  Meanwhile, Jumuna realizes that she cares for Jagan and begins to search for him as well.  The two continue to miss crossing paths, while the date for Jagan's marriage draws ever nearer.

The plot of this romantic drama is predictable, and not well-written enough to be convincing.  The music is mostly enjoyable, but the Amazon streaming version of this film does not have subtitles for the songs, so it's impossible to comment on the lyrics.

Madhavan delivers a good performance, and Pooja does equally well.  Amogha, however, has one main facial expression throughout the movie: dimwitted.  She flounders throughout giving the impression of a clueless airhead. 

Overall, Jay Jay is an average film, not terrible, but definitely not memorable.  I can't see myself rewatching it, or recommending it to others.

Ramji Londonwaley

Ramji Londonwaley
(Ramji, the man from London)
2005
3/5 stars

Ramji (played by Madhavan), an excellent cook from an Indian village, takes a job in London to pay his sister's dowry.  When he reaches London, disaster strikes and he finds himself with no identification and no job. He finds help from new friends, and forges an unexpected relationship with a London girl, Samira (Samita Bangargi,) who is his opposite in every way.

This is a cute, feel-good movie somewhat based on Hollywood's 1990 movie Green Card.  Madhavan is a good actor and his portrayal of the sweet, naive, and honorable Ramji is well done.  Samita Bangargi is not as convincing, and their chemistry was unexceptional.  The songs were just average, but incidental music was effective.  Overall, while it's not particularly memorable, Ramji Londonwaley is entertaining, and at times moving, mainly due to Madhavan's strong performance.

Saathiya

Saathiya
("companion")
2002
3/5 stars

Aditya (Vivek Oberoi) falls in love with Suhani (Rani Mukerji) and, after some time, wins her.  Both of their fathers are against the match, but they choose to marry anyway, sure that love will overcome all problems.  Instead, they discover that marriage is a difficult game of give and take, and they struggle to keep faith with each other.

This romantic drama is a remake of the 2000 Tamil film, Alaipayuthey (my review here), which gives a realistic view of marriage.  Oberoi and Mukerji have generally good chemistry, and make an attractive couple.  Mukerji gives a convincing performance throughout, but Oberoi's emotions are not convincing in the end scenes.  Shah Rukh Khan and Tabu give an extended cameo appearance, but their chemistry is decided lacking, and what should have been some of the most moving scenes fell rather flat.  However, Tanuja, who plays Suhani's difficult mother, gave an excellent performance. The songs were mostly beautiful, with the incidental music being used quite effectively.  Overall, I found the movie to be entertaining, but with an ending too abrupt to be fully satisfying.

Alaipayuthey

Alaipayuthey
(translates as "waves are moving")
2000
3/5 stars

In this romantic drama, Karthik (played by Madhavan) falls in love with Shakti (Shalini), woos her for some time, and eventually wins her. They marry, against the wishes of their fathers, and find that marriage is much more difficult than romance.

The realistic portrayal of marriage is excellently done and the plot is well written.  However, it was hard to sympathize with Shakti, whether it was the character or Shalini's acting; Shakti was too sharp and smug, especially when compared to Karthik's openness and innocence (or Madhavan's generally good, award winning performance).  The music was mostly good, with one song particularly memorable.  I expected to fully enjoy this movie, based on reviews, but the difficulty with Shakti and a lack of convincing emotional buildup kept me from completely connecting with the film.