Kandukondain Kandukondain

Kandukondain Kandukondain

translates as "I have seen it, I have seen it"

2000

5/5 stars

Director/screenwriter Rajiv Menon adapted Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility into this lovely Tamil film.  Like the original, it tells the story of two sisters with different outlooks towards life and romance.  Sowmya (played by Tabu), is the more practical of the two and, though she loves the aspiring director Manohar (Ajith Kumar) with her whole heart, she can not abide the thought of dragging him down with her (supposed) ill luck. 

Meenakshi (Aishwarya Rai) is a dreamer, and expects life to treat her with tenderness and romance.  She falls head-over-heels in love with her first sight of the perfect-seeming Srikanth (played by Abbas), but is blind to the steady love shown to her by the older, wounded and retired Major Bala (played by Mammootty).  

The rich Indian culture of Tamil Nadu (South India) lends itself well to the classic story, and, without taking on any Western flavor, Kandukondain Kandukondain stays true to the main plot points of the original -- as well as to its spirit.

While it may not be as flashy and cinematically gorgeous as other Indian movies of that era, this is a moving, gripping, memorable film.  I think Austen fans would love it, and it would make a wonderful introduction to Indian cinema for any viewer.  

(I watched it on Simply South.)

Watching Vasantam and Priyamaana Thozhi Back-to-Back

These two identical films, Vasantam and Priyamaana Thozhi, were written and directed by Vikraman,  They were filmed in separate locations in different languages, but released on the same day in 2003.  I watched them back-to-back and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Plot Summary:

Julie and Ashok have had a deep, platonic friendship since they were children. When Ashok becomes engaged to Nandini, Julie is ready to make any changes needed for the happiness of the marriage. By the same token, when Julie falls in love, Ashok is willing to sacrifice his dreams for the benefit of her future.

Both films feature the exact same plot and dialogue, so that part can be reviewed as one.  It is a charming, sweet story about the beauty and importance of friendship.  Though the feel-good plot isn't always believable, it's still a fun and pleasant experience.

Priyamaana Thozhi

(translates as "lovable female friend")

4/5 stars

In this Tamil-language version,  Madhavan stars as Ashok, Sridevi Vijayakumar as Julie, and Jyothika as Nandini.  The three leads have excellent, believable chemistry together.  Madhavan displays great energy and life, as well as open emotions.  The songs, both music and lyrics, are quite lovely, with some being memorable.  The cinematography is beautiful, with vibrant colors and effective backgrounds.  It may not be a five-star movie, but is worth watching, and definitely entertaining.

(Cast also includes Vineeth, R. Sundarrajan and Manivannan.)

Sridevi Vijaykumar and Jyothika

Vasantam

(translates as "spring")

3/5 stars

This is the Telugu-language version, and stars Venkatesh as Ashok, Kalyani as Julie, and Arti Agarwal as Nandini.  Venkatesh, a good actor in general, is miscast in this role.  The twenty-year age gap between him and both female leads is visibly obvious, and he doesn't project the joie de vivre that Ashok is credited with by the other characters.  Kalyani and Arti Agarwal have good friendship chemistry, but lack any with Venkatesh.  The filming is beautiful, bright and crisp, with effective backgrounds. The music is lovely, but I didn't have subtitles for the songs, so I can't comment on the lyrics.  It's still enjoyable, despite its faults, but of the two, it's not the one I'd recommend.
(Cast also includes Akash, Giri Babu and Tanikella Bharani.) 

Miss You

Miss You

2024

4/5 stars

In this Tamil-language romantic comedy/drama, Vasu (played by Siddharth) has an accident that causes a loss of two-years' worth of memories.   A few months after his recovery, he goes to visit a friend and falls in love with Subbulakshmi (Ashika Ranganath), a young woman in the same apartment complex.  What Vasu doesn't realize is that Subbulakshmi has a strong, valid reason to hate him.  What follows is a charming, moving love story about redemption and second chances.  

While there were no outstanding performances, the leads were convincing, especially with their emotions. The music, fight scenes, and choreography were just average, but the evocative incidental music and all around solid cinematography added much to the film. The storytelling was excellent, with the viewer learning only as much as Vasu knew, so that the plot unfolded slowly and compellingly, making it a film that I enjoyed tremendously.

Raavanan

Raavanan 

2010

5/5 stars

Dev Prakash  (Prithviraj Sukumaran), a ruthlessly determined police officer, is transferred to a province to capture Veera (played by Vikram), a local hero that has waged a bloody campaign against the area police.  Veera kidnaps Dev's wife, Ragini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), beginning a violent and bloody fourteen day chase that ends in a showdown between the two men.

(Karthik and Priyamani also feature.)

The acting is superb, natural, and believable, from the leads to the supporting artists.  Vikram is especially convincing as he treads the line between sane and unhinged, but Bachchan is equally impressive in her extremely emotional role. The camera work is stunning -- angles, colors, points-of-view -- and the entire film has a gritty, striking beauty.  The music (songs and incidental both) is often haunting and always highly effective.  As for the suspenseful story, it is chilling, well-plotted, nicely paced, and wholly engrossing.  Overall, it's simply a fantastic film, and while the violence and subject make it not universally suitable, I still highly recommend it.

(This film was shot in Hindi and Tamil simultaneously, with slightly differing casts.  My equally glowing review of the Hindi version can be found here.)

Bhaskar Oru Rascal

 

Bhaskar Oru Rascal

"Bhaskar is a Rascal"

2018

4/5 stars

In this Tamil language film, Aakash (Master Raghavan)  lives with his father and grandfather.  His father, Bhaskar (Arvind Swamy), is a tough and unpolished man with questionable business practices, and Aakash is ashamed of him.  Aakash's best friend, Shivani (Baby Nainika), lives with her widowed mother, Anu (Amala Paul), and desperately wishes for a father figure.  To give Aakash a gentle mother and herself a protective father, Shivani is determined to bring the two together, despite Anu's distaste for Bhaskhar's rough ways.  When danger from Anu's past threatens, however, the two adults find themselves drawing closer.

The engaging plot has a nice twist, isn't always predictable, and is sometimes moving.  While the music is average, the action scenes look good, and the cinematography is lovely.  Swamy has a sort of bashful charm and a surprising amount of charisma, and is convincing throughout. Paul is credible, though not outstanding, and the supporting cast is generally solid.  The child actors, however, are fantastic -- believable and natural and super cute.  Overall Bhaskar Oru Rascal is an entertaining, if typical, example of Indian Cinema.  

Arvind Swamy, Baby Nainika, Amala Paul, Master Raghavan

Iru Mugan

Iru Mugan
(translates as "two face")

2016

3/5 stars

A mystery performance-enhancing drug is believed to be behind an attack on the Indian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  Indian Intelligence thinks that the once-presumed-dead criminal scientist, Love (played by Vikram) is behind it all.  Akhilan (also played by Vikram), a former RAW agent who has a personal vendetta against Love, is re-recruited to investigate the situation alongside junior RAW agent Aayushi (Nithya Menon). (Meera, Akhilan's wife, is played by Nayanthara, with Thambi Ramaiah as Muthaiah, a Malaysian police officer.)   

This action movie was not particularly interesting. All the fight scenes take place under the influence of a performance-enhancing drug, which makes the aspect that should be exciting into boring scenes, and the weak plot adds to the dullness.  The bright point of the film is Vikram, who is excellent, and fully believable as two completely different people.  Nithya Menon is also convincing as the fresh-faced novice, but Nayanthara  gives a cardboard performance and there is zero chemistry between her and Vikram.  The cinematography is good, but not spectacular, and the music is average.  Really, the only appeal of Iru Mugan is that of Vikram's double role, which makes it worth watching once, but overall it's not memorable or even fully entertaining. 

Sketch

Sketch
(2018)
4/5 stars

Sketch (played by Vikram) works as a repo-man, and excels at his job. He meets Amuthavalli (played by Tamannaah), a college student, when taking her friend's scooter and eventually falls in love with her. When she sees past the rough exterior to the kind man inside, she begins to care for him, too, despite her parents' objections. Later, to settle an old grievance for his boss, Settu (Hareesh Peradi), Sketch works out a plan to take the classic Fiat of a local gangster, "Royapuram" Kumar (played by Baburaj), an action that sets off a tragic chain of events for Sketch and his friends. 

               
The main story, that of Sketch doing his job, fighting bad guys, and caring for his friends, is entertaining and even occasionally moving.  The romance part of the plot is the weak link; there is little chemistry between Tamannaah and Vikram, and though she gives a good performance in general, there is no zing in their scenes together.  In the other aspects of the film, however, Vikram is fully convincing as Sketch.  The songs and background music are only average, but the cinematography is nicely done and the action scenes are fun. There is a most surprising twist, and the movie is worth watching if only for that.

Vikram and Tamannaah

Kadaram Kondan

Kadaram Kondan

(translates as "Conqueror of Kadaram")

2019

4/5 stars

A medical intern, Vasu (Abi Hassan) has an unknown patient (KK, played by Vikram) in his ward; as the patient was involved in an accident, the police are interested in discovering who he is. Later, Vasu is knocked unconcious at home, and his heavily-pregnant young wife, Aatirah (Akshara Haasan) is kidnapped. Vasu is informed that she will be returned when the unnamed patient is smuggled out of the hospital.  Vasu attempts to do so, but instead finds himself on the run with KK, in a desperate race to save his wife.

Let's face it -- this movie is nothing more than an over-the-top vehicle to show off Vikram and his badassery.  That being said, it's a lot of fun.  Vikram plays his taciturn tough guy perfectly.  Akshara Haasan and Abi Hassan (in his debut) have nice chemistry and are convincing in their emotional roles.  Other than one song, the music is below average and not used effectively.  The action scenes look good, as did the cinematography in general.  The plot, though unbelievable, is still engaging and enjoyable.  Overall, if you aren't looking for a deep story, this action-packed film will certainly provide two hours of thorough entertainment.

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.

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.

Dumm Dumm Dumm

Dumm Dumm Dumm
(literally: the sound of wedding drums)
2001

5/5 stars

Ganga (played by Jyothika), having scored second in her state in school board exams, wants to go to Chennai to study engineering. Adhi (Madhavan), from the same village, is currently in Chennai studying law, and enjoying his freedom from home. His father and her father greatly esteem each other, and arrange a match between Ganga and Adhi. The young people are in agreement that they do not wish to marry, and secretly work together to stop it. Their attempts fail, and they have just decided that perhaps marriage isn't such a bad fate when a terrible misunderstanding occurs between the two fathers and the wedding is called off. Ganga goes to Chennai to study, and Adhi runs into her there. To their surprise, they fall in love, but the enmity between their fathers is too great.

This movie is a delightful mix of drama, romance, and comedy. All the acting is solid, and Jyothika and Madhavan have excellent chemistry together. With one exception, the music is enjoyable, and there are two particularly nice dance scenes. The plot, though mostly predictable, is engrossing and entertaining. Overall, this is a charming film, and one that I will certainly watch again.

Un Samayal Arayil

Un Samayal Arayil
(translates as "in your kitchen")
2014
5/5 stars

Kalidasa (Prakash Raj), a gourmand, is still single in his 40s. A miss-dialed phone call introduces him to Gowri (Sneha), also single in her 30s. They begin a phone friendship based on cooking, which becomes deep enough that they want to meet in person. When the time comes, though, Kalidasa becomes nervous due to insecurities and fears, and so sends his nephew Naveen (Tejus) to scout out the situation first. Unbeknownst to Kalidasa, Gowri, for the same reasons, also sends her young friend Meghana (Samyukta Hornad). This sets up all four for heartbreak.

Un Samayal Arayil is a gentle movie with a compelling plot and believable characters. All four principle actors do a wonderful job, especially Raj, who displays emotions so well. In this film, music does not play as important a part as usual in Indian Cinema, but it is still lovely.  This is a beautiful movie that I can recommend universally.

Prakash Raj and Sneha