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.

Raavan

Raavan
2010
5/5 stars

Dev Pratap Sharna (played by Vikram), a ruthlessly determined police officer, is transferred to a province to capture the dangerous tribal leader/villain Beera (Abhishek Bachchan).  Beera 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.

( Nikhil Dwivedi and Ravi Kishan also feature, with extended cameos by Priyamani and Govinda)

First off, let me say that a thriller of this sort is not my usual kind of movie.  I started it out of curiosity, merely wanting to see how well the married Bachchans acted together, only intending to watch a few minutes.  I finished it two hours and sixteen minutes later because they are great together (at times electric), because Abhishek is so convincing he scared the heck out of me, and because Vikram lives up to his glowing reputation.  Aishwarya is impressive in this extremely emotional role. Both the supporting cast and the cameo actors give solid, believable performances,  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.  As I said, not my typical film, but it was fully worth five stars.

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

3 Idiots

3 Idiots

2009

4/5 stars

Farhan (R. Madhavan), Raju (Sharman Joshi) and Rancho (Aamir Khan) meet as freshmen at the Imperial College of Engineering.  While Farhan and Raju are in college with the sole purpose of a degree for a job, Rancho wants to learn for sake of learning and has a nontraditional approach to education.  This causes him trouble with the Dean (Boman Irani), despite his obvious intellect and ability. Rancho's unusual view of life causes upheaval in the lives of Farhan and Raju, in both negative and positive ways, creating a deep bond of friendship. Rancho dropped out of their lives immediately after graduation, however, and hearing a rumor of where he is from a fellow classmate (played by Omi Vaidya), they set out on a road trip to find him. (Kareena Kapoor plays the love interest.)  

The well-written plot of this comedy-drama is charming, funny (though not ridiculous or over-the-top as the title might indicate), moving, and thoroughly enjoyable. .  The chemistry between the three leads is excellent; they are completely convincing as tight-knit friends.  Khan is outstanding, with Madhavan (a favorite of mine from Tamil films) and Joshi also giving strong performances. I usually find Kapoor to be stiff and not fully believable, but this somewhat small role was a good one for her, and she shone.  This multiple award winning film deserves it's accolades, and if the music had been better than average, would be a full five-star movie.

Madhavan, Khan, Joshi

Taking a Break

I'm on a British mystery kick right now, watching series on BritBox and taking a break from Indian Cinema. 

Thalsamayam Oru Penkutty

Thalsamayam Oru Penkutty

(translates as "a girl on live")

2012

3/5 stars

A naïve village girl, Manjula (Nithya Menon), is chosen for a reality show planned by Zareena (Shweta Menon) of Real TV.  The point of the show is to follow Manju from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, watching as she deals with real life situations.  Manju and Zareena share a flat during the shooting, and become close, with Zareena acting as a mentor to Manju as she navigates the consequences, good and bad, of the show.  Manju meets Suryan (Unni Mukundan) and romance seems to be in sight, but things take an unexpected turn, and Zareena must make drastic decisions about the show.

(Cast also includes Maniyanpilla Raju, Siddique, and Baburaj.) 

This Malayalam language flim started off extremely good.  It is immediately engaging, with a compelling plot, both humorous and touching, and realistic characters. Manju is extremely likable, and was played excellently by Nithya Menon.  The chemistry between her and Unni Mukundan was perfectly played, and the relationship between the two women equally good.  Nithya Menon, Unni Mukundan, and Shweta Menon were all natural and convincing; the secondary cast also gave strong performances.  The music, while not prominent, was generally lovely.  The movie looked good as well, nicely filmed and realistic.

Why, then, the three stars?

In the last thirty-seven minutes, Thalsamayam Oru Penkutty fell into a complicated mess culminating in a dissatisfying and underwhelming conclusion.  I felt cheated and terribly disappointed.  

I would still recommend Thalsamayam Oru Penkutty on the strength of Nithya Menon's performance and the plot of the first two and a quarter hours, but with viewer warned in advance about the inadequate ending.

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.