My weekend with "Kick"

Some of you might Know that I had wanted to watch a telugu movie in hyderabad even before i came to this place. Also i wanted to try out some authentic andhra cuisine before going back to chennai. Yesterday(May 10th) happened to be the last weekend of my stay in Hyderabad and yesterday also happened to be the day when both of the above wishes came true!
I had been making some noises about this for a while and my good friend Sumanoj made a neat plan to make me realise them. Our first stop was the PVR movie theatres in Hyderabad central,PanjaGutta. Suman had booked tickets for the telugu movie "Kick",featuring Ravi Teja and Ileana.I have already had the experience of watching a really horrible movie called "Khatarnak" featuring these two,so i was a bit scared when i heard about the booking.But Sumanoj assured me that the movie was the "most bearable" of the lot which had released during the recent times.
We entered the theatre as the names started rolling after stocking ourselves with liberal amounts of pop-corn and pepsi.So we missed the all important scene of Ileana performing Yoga moves, due to the delay.Now! Dont act so innocent and ask what relevance does it have to the story......Its just that ..It was "Ileana" and she was performing Yoga!!!..Enough said!


I am sure you guys wont be so naive as to ask me what is the story of this movie! One doesnt go to watch "Kick" if he/she wants a story.One settles with one of satyajit ray's movies or one of those movies from the regional language movie feature in DD on sundays,if he wants a story.Better still,One borrows some pirate DVDs of some Korean,Iranian or some other movie from a God forsaken corner of the world,if he wants a story. You might actually not understand any story from the movie ,but you can always talk volumes of how great the movie was and make up any story that comes to your mind! They cant tell the difference.Anyway! Iam digressing!


The movie starts with Actor Shaam coming to Malaysia to meet Ileana.They meet up in a train,as arranged by their parents to have some chat and decide whether they can go ahead with the marital alliance.And thats when Ileana starts narrating her failed love affair.

Thus starts the flash back and in comes Ravi Teja! He is this most freaky,most irresponsible,most crazy guy who goes around doing whatever he wants for the sake of "Kick".The narration starts with him informing the parents of his friends about a probable elopement and then helping them get married at the same time!!Needless to say our hot looking heroine falls in love with this crazy guy!!I mean! Thats expected right?! The good looking smart girls always fall for some crazy guy,eve teaser,mentally imbalanced,"child like"(dumb),violent rowdy etc etc..So the love story flourishes with crazy antics from Ravi Teja and ends when Ileana realises that he has been interested just for the "kicks" and not reallllllly in love with her!!(Duh...what a bulb!)
And thats when Shaam starts his flashback!!No..no!This is not another failed love affair! This is about a criminal who has been outwitting him and has been driving him crazy with his clues and hints!Surprise Surprise!! The audience get to know that the clever criminal is none other than our Ravi Teja!And ...We get to know that he is in Malaysia for some reason.The movie breaks into an intermission!!
If your eyes balls are rolling and your heads are spinning already i will save you from the drudgery of reading about the remaining story(?!).


Ravi Teja fits the role of a idiotic yet intelligent, carefree yet meticulous, crazy yet deep character perfectly! I got to say that he has enough screen presence to make you laugh and smile at his antics! And one couldnt hate him all that much inspite of his non-heroic, non-serious characterisation.


Ileana plays the role of I_am_a_hot_intelligent_girl_but_i _will_fall_for_an_idiot role to perfection!!I guess being a girl helps play it so naturally.(obviously! :-S).Her acting(?!) seems to have improved just a little bit since i saw her in "Khatarnak".She is a just a little more bearable during her exaggerated outbursts.


Shaam occupies a lot of frames in this movie.I have always felt that he has been an unlucky actor and I felt the same in this movie too.He is stylish,manly and all
brisk and serious ,as he moves around with assurance as a police officer all through the movie!I wont be surprised if his female fans base increases some more after this movie.The guy deserves it totally.


The biggest strength of the movie is the light mood that has been maintained all through the movie.There are ample comedy scenes in the movie not just from the lead characters but also from a handful of regular comedy actors whom i have seen in the other telugu movies(Dunno their names :().None of the songs stuck to my mind but they were quite tolerable and are placed fairly aptly,so that they dont kill the flow of the movie.The BGM also seems to complement the movie perfectly.Though i must warn you that the previous two statements of mine could be sheerly motivated due to the brilliant acoustics in PVR cinema
The movie never drags on anywhere during the 2-3 hours.Inspite of the flashbacks and twists and confusions of the storyline the screenplay is quite clear and never allows you to scratch your head or squirm in your seat or look at your watch! That i think is the biggest success of the director.The visuals are quite bright pleasant and colourful!!The actions sequence are apt and well within the mark considering the fact that this is a masala movie.Thank fully there are no gory bloody scenes or cheap romance or lewd comedy!! Full marks to the makers for this.I am sure I would have appreciated a lot more of the comedy if only i had known telugu.Most of the times i smiled cluelessly as people around me laughed for the timing jokes!
Overall it was a time spent with laughs and entertainment and i didnt have to "kick" myself for having had to watch the movie!

Soon after the movie I had lunch in "Chutneys" and savoured the hot south Indian thali with Gongura chutney,famed avakkai,paruppu podi et all…..
Thank You Suman for a memorable outing :)


PS:Iam wearing the famed Orange shirt today again . I had already terrorized a sleepy security guard as he had a glimpse of me while I swiped in.Reports indicate that he wont be able to sleep for the next 10 days. I am hoping to employ the time tested technique of hiding in the corners and looking down at the floor whenever people look at me as if I have just escaped from the circus. I hope I can get through the day this way.Wish me luck :)

Delhi - 6 short and crisp music review

Maula:
Rahman never fails to stamp his mark on sufi numbers!! This one is another feather on his cap!! The voice and music beautifully creates the mood in this one...

Delhi hai meri yaar
Iam sure this will be lapped up BIG time by generation X,Y etc etc.And this song will be running in the background when there is a report on Delhi shown onTV.Rahman has presented a "Madras-a sutthi paaka poraen" for Delhi which will serve the great city for years to come.

Dil gira kahi par,dafatan
Its one of those songs which silences everything else when you start listening to it.when you walk in the streets with this song on your headphones,you will feel as if you are an observer and the world around is functioning in a different plane/dimension.The song has an incredible calming effect on my mind.Sounds a bit like i have listened to it somewhere ,probably as a BGM in some japanese or chinese movie,but very soon i stop investigating and surrender to the mesmerising tune.

Genda phool
A beautiful folk number which nicely builds up starting with a traditional and non-chalant voice.I have never been short of amazement on Rahman's ability to churn out traditional folk numbers without the rustiness of an outsider.It always sounds like as if he has been born and brought up with the sounds of those music.Be it sufi,punjabi or carnatic and even pettai rap.A beautiful piece of music that gives a very neat introduction to any outsider about Rajasthani folk.

Kaala Bundher
A foot tapping number easily gets into your mind and gets you dancing even as the simple rap coupled with techno beats makes you forget about the world around you.This will be another one of those songs which be an instant favourite among the younger generation.

Masakkali
Very light and informal sounding song.One that you can expect people to sing with zeal after having their round of dharu.A jolly and upbeat one that your lips will murmur while on higher spirits.

Rehna Tu
This is one of those unique Rahman numbers which might sound slow and uninteresting in the begining and might require some time to set in.But a perfect number to listen when you are alone ,be it working in the kitchen or cleaning the living room or just lying back with your eyes closed .One of those songs,which you will never forget after it manages to break in.

Aarti Tumre Bhavan Mein
More like a bhajan.Not as extensive as "Man mohana" from Jodha Akbar or "Oh paavan hare" from lagaan.This seems to be a smaller piece ,more like a BGM.Soothing.

Bhor bhaye
An out and out hindustani piece.The female voice is really sweet and very enjoyable for melody fans like me.I am sure this will be a real treat to all classical music lovers.

Zarrae zarrae.
More like a recital from Amitabh.Such an enchanting voice he has,but this aint any song..so..dunno what else to write..  :)

Hindi Ghajini,what i felt- beware of spoilers

Watched Gajini (Hindi) with some blogger(external) friends yesterday.
There are various categories of movies.There are movies that are intelligently and meticulously made and calmly pulls the viewer into the movie with story telling(Forrest gump,Shawshank redemption,Crash,Anjadhey,RDB,Lage raho types).And there are the ones,masala movies that makes all the noise and pomp and shouts out "Iam entertaining you” all through the movie.Interestingly,such movies rarely gives me any entertainment.I know its solely a taste related thingie and there is nothing right or wrong about it.Its just me...

Needless to say Gajini is of the second type.Having seen the tamil version when it was released,the suspense factor which this movie heavily banks on, fails to work with me.
Iam sure the first time watcher will be glued to the seat by the various twists and turns that is offered by the script of this movie that will make it an interesting watch,as it did with me,when i watched it the first time.

Having known the story,there was I was just duration waiting for the movie to finish. All the noise and action left me with a headache which I usually get after watching such "entertainers". The last time i got such a headache was when i watched "Shivaji",though the latest was a lot lesser in intensity. The "Shivaji" record is a tough one to beat.
Here are some of the thoughts in my mind about the movie...

Songs:
I really really loved "Suttum vizhi sudarae" and "Oru maalai ila veyil neram" .They were PERFECT for the movie and the picturisation/editing were top class.For someone who listens and appreciates the lyrics of a song,those two songs were a real treat.For example there will be a line in the song "Suttum vizhi sudarae"

"கருப்பு வெள்ளை பூக்கள் உண்டா
உன் கண்ணில் நான் கண்டேன் ,உன் கண்கள்
வண்டை உன்னும் பூக்கள் என்பேன்
உன் கண்கள்
வண்டை உன்னும் பூக்கள் என்பேன் "
karuppu vellai,pookkal unda
Un kannil naan kandaen,un kangal
Vandai unnum pookkal enbaen,
Un kangal , vandai unnum pookkal enbaen.

Means
Are there any black and white flowers?
I have seen them in your eyes,
And these flowers tame the bees(rather than bees being the master)

(really crude translation by yours truly!)
I so loved this line that I said “aaha” with my arms extended,forgetting that iam in movie theater with my team mates all around.
Comparatively the ones in hindi don’t make much of an impact(I was humming “Guzarish” late into the night though).I got to admit that most of the songs from Rahman don’t make much of an impact into me when I hear it for the first time but when it doesn’t stick onto you while watching the movie,its purpose is lost from a movie point of you.
They have changed the “Rangola” song with some slow moving song which fits the plot a lot better.Another song I really hated in the tamil version was “X machi”.It was downright unbearable.Thankfully there is some other bearable one in hindi version

 Actors:
I personally liked Surya more than Aamir in this role.I think Aamir concentrated more on the menacing look part but Surya’s performance was well rounded. He wins hands down in the romantic interlude.While aamir looks more matured and sauve,Surya had looked more confused in “short term memory loss” stages,which suited the role perfectly.I think this lack of mature look worked well for surya in the romantic stint too,in this movie. I think age plays the spoilsport here.Aamir’s mature mannerism was perfect for his roles in TZP,RDB etc but not for this one.

Asin looks pretty as ever.I felt she looked just a little leaner(you might note that in the double decker bus seen) but a tad older(obviously..).Her playful antics about how Sanjay fell in love with her were a little irritating for my taste(may be more so because I was watching it for the second time).I generally don’t like such goofy girl characters(Bommarilu Genelia character for instance).Otherwise she plays her part aptly as per the script. The characterization is perfect and I am sure people will feel bad when she dies, which is exactly what the director wants.

Another guy who gets carried over from the tamil version is the villain.I personally liked his screen presence in the tamil version and he performs the role of the mean villain character quite well. The stature decreases a little when he is seen hiding from Gajini in the climax(that is not there in the tamil version).There is just one villain instead of the twins characterization in the tamil version.
Nayanthara’s character is done by more suitable cast. In tamil version Nayanthara was unseeable.She was too fat and was made to run all over the place ,come rain or shine.In hindi version,when Jiah khan runs,its perfectly normal(which is a major major relief).And there are no comedy scenes like the entire factory chasing her or stuff like that.
The role does not take far too much of attention and fits the script a lot more succinctly. The girl is pretty neat too and reminded me of Tamanna.

The climax:
The climax is a lot more complete than the tamil version.In the tamil Gajini,when the movie ends I was like…”ok…so…??? I mean..what the…”.But in the hindi version the director has tried to give a logical end to the story with a mushy twist,which doesn’t appeal to me much.
Personally I would have liked it if Gajini had died in the end.His purpose is done and he is gone..that would have been poetic..any takers??
He does not have any love interest too,so what the hell is he doing anyway?? :P

Direction and technical team
The biggest plus of this movie is the technical team. Murugadoss does a really neat job with the script.I really loved the way he has maintained the thrill when Asin is hunted to be killed. That’s the highest point in the movie according to me and the mood is perfectly brought out.The story  does not slack too much anywhere and for a first time viewer the various twists and turns are sure to keep him hooked to the seat.
The camera needs special mention too.There were a quite a few scenes when I really wanted to appreciate the camera man Ravi. K .Chandran. The sequence when Aamir kills his first enemy in the movie and how the lapse of time is shown beautifully without changing the shot. And in the end when Aamir walks through the narrow lanes,beating up the baddies,he is seen to be catching hold of a guy’s neck before hitting him down.That scene is shown with the victim’s point of view and has been done beautifully.There are many other moments like that.The camera was quite dynamic all through the movie(meaning:many handheld shots J) and was really rich in the songs. The location for “Guzarish” was breathtaking.
Needless to say Anthony (editing)was super cool and all the camera work wouldn’t count to much if it weren’t for his editing.I think tamil movies followers wouldn’t be too surprised as they are well aware of his abilities.. J

Conclusion:
Surely a must watch if you haven’t seen tamil Ghajini. If you had already watched tamil Ghajini, and if you are the one with similar tastes as mine and who is choosy about watching his/her movies,then you wont mind missing this one all that much…

PS : Already the article is too big,so lemme stop here J