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.)

Oosaravelli

Oosaravelli
(translation: Chameleon)
2011
3/5 stars

Tony (N. T. Rama Rao Jr.) is a small-time crook who falls in love with Niharika (played by Tamannaah).  She's already engaged, but he is not discouraged, and is certain that if he keeps his way of life a secret, he can win her in the end. In the meantime, Tony becomes involved with a group of low-level gangsters, using his talents to help them rise in the world of crime, thus bringing himself to the negative attention of Ajju Bhai (Prakash Raj), a most dangerous professional villian.

(Vidyut Jammwal and Payal Ghosh also feature.)

The plot of this Telugu language film has some nice twists, but is a bit too convoluted to flow smoothly.  Some of the over-the-top action looked silly instead of impressive, and the songs were just average.  Jr. NTR was, as is typical, natural, energetic, and charismatic. It was fun to see Prakash Raj (one of my favorite Indian actors) as the bad guy; he gave a strong performance, as usual.   Tamannaah, on the other hand, was stiff and not believable at times, and while the supporting cast were good, they were not spectacular.  Oosaravelli  is undeniably entertaining while watching, but is a forgettable movie in the end.

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.

Bodyguard (2012, Telugu)

Bodyguard

2012

4/5 stars 

When his daughter (Keerthi, played by Trisha) is threatened by his enemies, Varadarajula Naidu (Prakash Raj) assigns bodyguard Venkatadri (played by Venkatesh) to protect her at college. Chaffing under Venky's constant presence, Keerthi plans a scheme to distract him: she will begin calling him, pretending to be an infatuated college student, Bangaram. The plan works well, with Venky falling in love with the imaginary Bangaram, but it also has an unforeseen consequence for Keerthi.   

(Saloni Aswani, Venu Madhav, and Ali also feature in this film.)

Bodyguard (a remake of the 2010 Malayalam movie of the same name) is an enjoyable masala movie. While the music was sadly bland, the story is well-plotted and nicely filmed, containing a few surprises. Though Venkatesh is not fully convincing either as a character 20 years younger or as an action hero, he plays his part with such sweetness and charm that it's easy to care for Venky.  Prakash Raj (a firm favorite of mine) doesn't give as strong a performance as usual, but Saloni Aswani and Trisha both do well, and the supporting cast is solid.  On the whole, while I prefer the 2011 Hindi version (my review here), this is a film that is both fun and touching, and certainly worth watching.

Trsiha and Venkatesh

Ramayya Vasthavayya

Ramayya Vasthavayya
(translates as "Rama, you will come")

2013
4/5 stars

In this Telugu romantic/action/comedy thriller, Nandu (N. T. Rama Rao Jr.) falls in love with Akarsha (Samantha Ruth Prabhu) and slowly woos her by making friends with her substitute grandmother, Baby Shalini (Rohini Hattangadi). When Akarsha's sister is to be married, he is invited to attend. Once at the wedding, he learns that her father, Musallapadu Nagabhushanam (Mukesh Rishi), is being threatened and offers to help defend him. The plot then takes an unexpected turn, and follows Nandu on a path to revenge.

(Cast also includes Ajay, Tanikella Bharani, Pragathi, Rao Ramesh, P. Ravi Shankar, Hamsa Nandini in an item number, and an extended cameo by Shruti Haasan.)

The plot seems predictable during the first half, but then springs a great twist.  The second half is also mostly predictable, but still engrossing.  The songs are great, and the incidental and atmospheric music were effective.  Jr. NTR, charismatic and full of vitality as usual, gives a generally believable performance, and shows off his excellent dancing to advantage. Samantha Ruth Prabhu was stiff at times and displayed limited emotion.  Shruti Hassan, though, was natural and convincing.  The supporting cast was strong.  I have seen reviews that comment on the violence as being excessive, but I can only suppose those viewers are unfamiliar with Indian Cinema.  Overall, Ramayya Vasthavayya kept me interested for the entire 159 minutes and, while not perfect, was definitely entertaining.

Rabhasa

Rabhasa
(translates as "chaos")
2014
4/5 stars
When Karthik (N. T. Rama Rao Jr.) returns to India after finishing his degree in the US, his mother expresses her desire for him to fulfill a promise she made years ago, and marry Indu (Samantha Ruth Prabhu).  Because of a family split, Indu's father refuses the match, but Karthik is determined to carry out his mother's wish.  He goes to Indu's university with plans to win her, but (not having seen her since she was a child) he mistakenly woos Bhagyam (Pranitha Subhash) instead.  This is just the beginning of the obstacles that Krathik must overcome to accomplish his goal, most of which involve him in mortal danger as he seeks to help those around him.

The plot is quite complex, and effectively reveals pieces of the story slowly in flashback sequences; the various threads of the tale come together nicely as the film progresses.  Jr. NTR's excellent dancing, energy, charisma, and fine acting shine throughout.  His chemistry with the two actresses was good, and they both gave believable performances.  The music, while not outstanding, was good.  The action sequences were well-choreographed, but the CGI additions were not convincing.  Overall, it was an entertaining movie that held my attention throughout.

(On a side note, I would have liked to see a larger part for Praveen, who played a supporting role, as he is an excellent actor himself.)

Shakti

Shakti
2011
4/5 stars

 Aishwarya (Ileana D'Cruz) goes on a road trip with friends, without realizing that she is carrying a magical diamond. A small, throw-back sect of Egyptians is trying to get the diamond and an equally magical trident that goes with it to gain the power these possess.  Shakti (N. T. Rama Rao, Jr.), a tour guide hired by Aishwarya, becomes involved in the protection of both her and the two artifacts.

The plot verged on ridiculous sometimes, with the scenes involving the Egyptians being the weak link of the movie.  The rest of the story, though, had some nice surprises and was entertaining.  Jr. NTR, who radiates energy and charisma, is a good actor and excellent dancer.  D'Cruz was mostly convincing.  The leads had good chemistry together during the music sequences, but not as good during the plot.  The supporting cast was solid.  The fights were nicely choreographed, but the CGI was not always believable.  The songs were great, as were the accompanying choreography, staging, and costumes. Despite the occasional silliness, it was enjoyable and I expect to watch it again.

Brindavanam

Brindavanam
2010
5/5 stars

Indu (Samantha Ruth Prabhu) has a friend who is in a jam.  Bhumi (Kajal Aggarwal) wants to continue her studies in America, but her father, Bhanu (Prakash Raj). wants her to return to their village and marry a relative (whose name is never revealed, played by Ajay), who is, unbeknownst to Bhanu, evil and dangerous.  To avoid it, Bhumi lies to her father saying that she is in love with someone else.  When her father demands to meet him, Indu persuades her own boyfriend, Krish (N. T. Rama Rao Jr.), to play the part.  What should have been a simple, short-term deception involves Krish in a bi-village rivalry, danger to his life, and complications in love.

First off: I loved this action-drama-romance-comedy! The plot is complex in a positive way, rich and layered, and, despite it's length (nearly three hours), fully engrossing.  Jr NTR is a good actor, an excellent dancer, and is loaded with charisma. His chemistry with both actresses was convincing, as were their performances.   The veteran supporting cast was great, as well.  The fight scenes, though unbelievable, were well-choreographed and quite entertaining.  While the music was not spectacular, it was still good, and also well-choreographed.   Costumes, sets, and locations were all beautiful, and the film work was gorgeous.  I certainly found this movie completely enjoyable.

Krishnashtami

Krishnashtami

2016

3/5 stars

In this Telugu film, orphaned Krishna Varaprasad (played by Sunil) was sent to the U.S. as child by his uncle, who strenuously resisted letting Krishna return to India.  As Krishna ages, he wants nothing more than to go home and finally, unbeknownst to his uncle, does so.  His trip is extremely eventful, as he falls in love, finds his life in danger, and works to relieve a family of a decades-old hatred.

(Nikki Galrani and Dimple Chopade also star.)

The plot is a mix of action, drama, romance, and comedy, mostly predictable, but with a few nice twists.  The musical numbers were average.  The fight scenes were not realistic, but still amusing to watch.  Some of the comedy verged on the racy and didn't mesh well with the rest of the film.  The three leads gave good performances, though chemistry was lacking between Sunil and the two actresses.  The veteran supporting cast of familiar faces were generally solid.  Overall, Krishnashtami was entertaining, but not memorable - - a one time watch only.

(On a side note: It was fun to see a favorite villain, Ajay, in the role of a loving family man.)

Dimple Chopade; Sunil; Nikki Galrani

Rowdy Fellow

Rowdy Fellow
2014
4/5 stars

Rana Prathap Jayadev (Nara Rohit) is extremely wealthy, with an insanely big ego.  Because of a perceived slight by a senior policeman (played by Ahuti Prasad), Rana uses his money to gain a  position as a sub-inspector in the same district with the intention of causing trouble for the ACP. A missing-person case leads back to the powerful MP of the district, Asuragana Durga Prasad's (Rao Ramesh), and Rana begins to take his position seriously, seeking justice for the common people by whatever means it takes.

Vishakha Singh plays the love interest; the cast also includes Ajay, Posani Krishna Murali, and Praveen.

Rana is a well-written anti-hero, and Nara Rohit does a great job walking that thin line between good guy and bad. While Vishakha Singh is not always fully convincing, and Ajay overacts at times, both Praveen and Posani Krishna Murali are excellent in their comedic roles.  The songs are catchy, memorable, and appealing, and the film makes good use of incidental music.  Rowdy Fellow is compelling, often amusing, and an overall solidly good and satisfying film that just falls short of five stars.

Singh and Rohit

Dilwale

Khan and Kajol

Dilwale
(translates as "the big-hearted)
2015
4/5 stars

Raj (Shah Rukh Khan) is devoted to his younger brother Veer (Varun Dhawan), but has kept family secrets from him. When Veer falls in love with Ishita (Kriti Sanon), Raj's past romance with Meera (Kajol) comes to light, affecting both couples.

This is an engaging masala film, with generally well-written comedy and drama, and nicely choreographed action sequences.  As always, Khan and Kajol have near perfect chemistry, and their acting is excellent.  Dhawan was natural and a good comedian, but Sanon was stiff and not fully convincing at times.  The songs are mostly good, with one song memorably so, and the incidental music was particularly effective.  The locations were beautiful, and the movie looked superb overall.  Dilwale is thoroughly enjoyable, just barely missing five stars, and one worth rewatching.

(Cast also includes Johnny Lever and Vinod Khanna.)

Wanted

Wanted
2009
4/5 stars

Radhe (Salman Khan), a killer for hire, is recruited by an international don to dispose of the rival gang.  Radhe works up through the ranks as he successfully murders one foe after another.  He meets Jhanvi (Ayesha Takia) and falls in love with her.  She reciprocates his feelings, but tries to change him into a better man.

This masala is a good mix of romance, comedy, action, and drama.  The plot is engaging, and has a nice twist to it.  The music and choreography leave much to be desired, but the action looks great.  There is little chemistry between Khan and Takia, unfortunately, but each give an above average performance.  Overall, this is a typical Bollywood film, fun and exciting, though violent, which is thoroughly enjoyable.

Khan and Takia

Thugs of Hindostan

Thugs of Hindostan

2018
2/5 stars

Set in 1795,  Azaad (Amitabh Bachchan) and his ward Zafira (Fatima Sana Shaikh), lead a group of resistance fighters trying to free an Indian kingdom from the British East India Company's rule. The British commander John Clive (Lloyd Owen) sends a small-time confidence trickster, Firangi Mallah (Aamir Khan), to infiltrate the band and betray them.  (Katrina Kaif also stars, as dancer Suraiyya)

The film has a great premise, and the first thirty minutes were quite good; sadly, the next 134 minutes were not.  Instead of being exciting, funny, and enjoyable as shown in the trailer,  it was mostly deadly dull.  The "surprise" changes of allegiance became increasingly predictable and annoying.  The action scenes are too long, as were the (average and below) musical numbers.  Kaif's first number was embarrassingly ridiculous and not worthy of either her talent or dignity.  Her performance, and that of Shaikh, were stiff and not natural.  Owen made an exceptional villain, however.  Bachchan and Khan gave strong performances, but that was not enough to redeem the entire movie.  I would suggest watching the trailer, as it has all the good parts, and skipping the movie entirely.

Tashan

Tashan
(translates as "style")
2008
4/5 stars

Jimmy (Saif Ali Khan) is hired by Pooja (Kareena Kapoor) to teach English to her disreputable looking boss, Bhaiyyaji (Anil Kapoor).  Jimmy falls in love with Pooja, who persuades him to help her steal money from Bhaiyyaji.  When Bhaiyyaji finds out, he sends a small-town thug, Bachchan (Akshay Kumar), to find them.

This over-the-top action flick is surprisingly enjoyable. The plot, while ridiculous at times, is engaging and fast-paced, with good dialog.  It seems apparent that director Vijay Krishna Acharya  was strongly influenced by Tarantino, and there are what look like obvious nods to some of his films.

Khan and Kareen Kapoor give solid performances, but Anil Kapoor and Kumar are extraordinarily good in their roles.  The action, though often unbelievable, looks great and is well choreographed.  The musical numbers are average but the background and incidental music are well-above.  This certainly isn't a family movie, due to the violence, but it is a thoroughly fun ride nonetheless.

This movie is available with Amazon Prime.

Khan, Anil Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Kumar

Dhoom

Dhoom
(translates as "Blast")
2004
3/5 stars

After a series of clever, successful robberies by a motorcycle gang, Assistant Commissioner of Police Jai Dixit (Abhishek Bachchan) takes the case personal, and with the help of a minor crook Ali (Uday Chopra) attempts to catch them in the act. John Abraham plays Kabir, the mastermind behind the thefts, with Esha Deol as Sheena, Ali's love interest, and Rimi Sen portraying Sweety, Jai's wife.

This action/adventure film is not an outstanding one.  There is no surprise to the plot, it drags in spots (the last ten minutes felt like it lasted three times as long), and is, at times, rather inane.  The music and choreography were unremarkable.  As there was no depth to the plot, the actors only presented average performances. Despite all that, this popular film was rather fun, and I would consider watching the other two in the series.

This movie is available on Amazon Prime.

Race 3

Race 3
2018
2/5 stars


Shamsher Singh (Anil Kapoor), arms dealer, has three children: twins Sanjana (Daisy Shah) and Suraj (Saqib Saleem) , and step-son Sikander (Salman Khan).  The twins begrudge Sikander his share of their mother's fortune, as well as their father's partiality and set out to kill him.

Bobby Deol plays Sikander's friend Yash, and Jacqueline Fernandez plays Jessica, the love interest.

I was set to love this film, based on the great trailer.  Sadly, I was immensely disappointed.  The plot is so convoluted with twists and allegiance changes that it ceases making sense and becomes farcical.  The conversation is stilted and banal.  The music is simply terrible--bad enough that I fast-forwarded through the songs.  Ferdandez and Shah are dressed in the most trashy of clothing.  I'm giving the movie two stars because the film work, action scenes, and special effects were quite good.  Other than that, this movie is one to avoid.  Frankly, I suggest watching the trailer instead; you won't miss a thing.

P.S. This comes from a devoted Salman Khan fan.

Damn the Defiant!

Damn the Defiant!
(originally released as HMS Defiant)
1962
4/5 stars

Captain Crawford (Alec Guinness) of HMS Defiant takes on a new Lieutenant, Scott-Padget (Dirk Bogarde), who becomes hated by the crew and is the eventual cause of their mutiny under the leadership of seaman Vizard (Anthony Quayle).

Guinness is, naturally, fantastic as the well-respected Captain.  His emotions are obvious, giving a depth to the character.  Bogarde and Quayle are credible in their roles, displaying fine acting as well.  The plot is easy to follow, often exciting, and always interesting.  The viewer is left guessing as to what the ending will be.  Costumes and sets looked good, especially the Defiant.  My only problem with this film is the inexplicable weakness of Crawford in a few parts; he reacted in a way that no Captain of that era would have.  Otherwise, it's a good movie with lots of action and excellent acting.

Guinness and Bogarde

This movie is available to rent on Amazon.