Billu

Controversies are always a part of the cine world irrespective of the language. Sometimes the creators of the films will create such unnecessary things to make the film a talk of the town. In some cases, the theme of the film can be the reason or the name of the film itself can be the basis of the news. This time the last reason has happened in the case of new hindi film ‘Billu’ directed by Priyadarshan. The name of the film which was planned as ‘Billu Barber’ is now changed due to the opposition of the Indian Barbers.

When English people indirectly called the people in slums as slum dogs by giving the title for their film as ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, nobody in our country complained. But on the other side, when an Indian film has got the title ‘Billu Barber’, which does not contain vulgarity, the situation changed…, this was the malayalee director’s immediate comment on the title change.

‘Billu’ has got Sharukh Khan coming in an important character. He comes in the role of an actor himself. But the title role Billu is done by Irfan Khan, who has got a prominent place in the bollywood since last five years. The film tells the hidden relationship between a film star and a lower middle class man. Thus ‘Billu’ is yet another remake for Priyadarshan in the hindi film field. This time he took the story of ‘Kadha Parayumbol’ in malayalam. ‘Kuselan’, the tamil remake of the same story was released almost 6months before. But it didn’t do well. The extra publicity and boost up given for the superstar Rajnikanth along with the over expectation by the audience were the major reasons for its failure. Also they made the things vulgar by adding unnecessary glamour and comedy scenes.

The mistake done by tamil director P.Vasu has not happened in the case of Priyadarshan. He had omitted all unnecessary things here. Only addition by him is a scene as it is from the malayalam movie ‘Azhakia Ravanan’, in which Innocent who did the role of panchayat president failed to say the dialogue “n” number of times while doing the acting scene. Here also the hero’s role is lengthy, it is an adaption from tamil. Shahrukh has got 3-4 songs featuring Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra. Sharukh Khan has given his best in the climax. Irfan Khan, as usual has done the role with ease (without showing much facial expressions). Glamour girl, Lara Dutta who has done the house wife’s role is good. Ompuri in his serious appearance and Rajpal Yadav has created some comic situations. Malayalam actor Jagadish who has done the modern saloon owner role is a wrong choice here.

Priyadarshan, with the help of excellent visuals by Manikantan (cameraman) and Sabu Cyril (art director), has changed south indian place Pollachi into a village in Uthar Pradesh. The mini town ship in which the barber shop and related incidents happening has been created using set designs. Music director Pritam has given some fast numbers.

If you can enjoy ‘Billu’ assuming it as a fresh subject, then it is ok…otherwise it is wastage of time.

Rating : 3.5 / 5

Perumaal

One of my friends, whose ambition is to become an actor, told me last week that only few peoples are extremely lucky to exist in the cine world without much talent or glamour. He told me this, when I asked him to accompany me for a new tamil film called ‘Perumaal’. The hero in the words quoted by my friend was Sundar.C, anyway I opposed him by saying that such words can’t provoke me to take a back foot from watching the movie. I decided to watch the movie since the film is directed by Vincent Selva who gave films like ‘Youth’, ‘Jithan’, ‘Madhuraiveeran’ etc.

Hero (Sundar.C), who is an assistant to a big financier, helps him in recovering the vehicles from the owners who fails to pay the loan. He meets the lady (Namitha) who spends life by doing robberies. This glamorous north Indian girl is introduced through a song and then when he likes the hero; there happens another song shot in abroad. When hero visits Andhra, he came across another girl (Meenakshi) who escaped from the hands of villains. She tells her story and he agrees to protect her. Meanwhile he works for the villain who tries to kidnap the girl. In between hero is being targeted by another guy (Vivek) whose character is created for comedy moments. Anyway in the end the victory is for the hero, which is shown with the help of some fights created by Super Subbarayan and party.

The storyline lacks depth. Almost all the masalas necessary for the film is added here. Still I am confused about the role of Vivek, who comes in two getups. I don’t know whether it is a double role or not. Namitha doesn’t know anything other than exposing her glamour through songs. Kota Sreenivasa Rao has done the villain role. Old hit song ‘Kadhal Vaibhogame’ by Gangai maamran is remixed here by Sreekanth Deva.

Before coming to acting area, don’t you know that Sundar.C was a director who gave many notable films like ‘Anbe Sivam’, ‘Arunachalam’, ‘Ullathe Allitha’ etc? His first film as an actor is ‘Thalainagarm’ and it was a hit. After that he has left the direction area. In particular intervals, his films are releasing. Though I was against my friend’s opinion about Sundar.C, when we deeply examined some of the dialogue deliveries and body language of the actor in such an amateur performance, I felt in some aspect this tall man is too lucky to do the hero role. His costume designer in the films is his own wife and notable artist Khusboo.

‘Perumaal’, as the name indicates doesn’t give you a holy feel, so no need to visit there.

Rating : 1.5 / 5

Delhi – 6

Rakesh Omprakash Mehra is notable for the film ‘Rang De Basanthi’ by Amir Khan, Sidharth, Madhavan, Atul Kulkarni, Soha Ali Khan etc. The different treatment of the film with an excellent script discussing the two periods helped us to rate the talent of the director. He has also got the support of Ronnie Screwvala (Producer), Binod Pradhan (Camera) and AR Rahman (Music) there. Now the same team has joined again for the new film ‘Delhi – 6’, starring Abhishek Bachan, Sonam Kapoor, Atul Kulkarni, Waheeda Rahman, Ompuri , Prem Chopra etc.

Hero (Abhishek Bachan) is returning to India from US with his grand mother (Waheeda Rahman), who wants to live the rest of her life in this country. With such an intention they reach the capital city. They reside with their close relatives in the middle of a densely populated area. Near to their locality, a carnival is going on. The story of Ramayana is being played there from beginning to end during the 10 days in the form of a dance drama. The story and happenings in the film has got a good connection and relevance with the stage show.

In the middle, the controversial issue of “Kaala Bandhar”, a cruel monkey which has targeting humans, is also shown. The strange thing is that nobody has seen the animal, but it is still in the hot news. The real reflection of the Indian society is shown through some of the scenes featuring strange behavior by political leaders, unstable preaching by bad saints and religious leaders, odd belief and customs followed by humans, irregularity in family relationships, unlawful behavior of policemen etc. are shown straightly through different incidents in a lighter manner.

The heroine (Sonam Kapoor) wants to be a participant of the “Indian Idol” show. But her parents want her to get married soon. The hero gives advice and helps her when she tried to end her life. In the mean time due to some happenings, the two religions in the area gets divided and in the end how such a problem is solved along with the climax of the drama at the carnival is what the ace director has showed here. He has also incorporated an unexpected anti climax which is different and can also make the audience stunned.

Abhishek is simple and has done well. Sonam Kapoor, daughter of Anil Kapoor, who got her debut through ‘Sawariya’ has performed well, silently. Yesteryear actress Waheed Rahman comes in a full length role after a long time. All the artists have given a good performance. The scenes featuring stage show of Ramayana is also shown efficiently. The project also becomes special since the Oscar Award winner musician AR Rahman is the music director and has worked in his usual style.

‘Delhi – 6’ has got the taste of real Indian culture and civilization. Don’t hesitate to experience it.

Rating : 4 / 5

Naan Kadavul

Don’t you know that films like ‘Sethu’ (Vikram), ‘Nandha’ (Soorya) and ‘Pithamahan’ (Vikram & Soorya) were directed by the same person? He is none other than Baala. No need to mention about the caliber of the director, since we all know the nature of the projects he took. He had once associated Balu Mahendra in film making. His films have given fame to Vikram who was then degraded as a third class actor; also don’t forget the fact that the latter has bagged a national award for the best performance through ‘Pithamahan’. Now it is the turn of Aarya to get trained under the ace director and to come up with something different through ‘Naan Kadavul’.

Aarya, the young actor who acted in films like ‘Ullam Ketkume’, ‘Arinthum Ariyamalum’, ‘Vattaram’, ‘Pattiyal’ etc has not got a good break sofar. It was heard that Baala has approached Ajith to do the pivotal role in ‘Naan Kadavul’. But he refused to do it, as the director demanded bulk dates which can be necessary for 2 – 3 projects. The same thing happened in the case of heroine Bhavana also, anyway in the end both were replaced by Aarya and Pooja (‘Thambi’, ‘Panthayakkozhi’ fame).

The story of the film starts in Kaasi when a father reaches there to search their son (Aarya) who left them years before. Anyway he found his son who lives there in a different manner with an unusual getup along with a group of saints. It is a myth that such persons have got an extra power to sort out the good and the bad people; they also attain the power to stop reincarnation of the dead people. As per request, the hero accompanies his family to the village. His attitude and habits shows that he is different. He spends in the den near a local temple most of the time. He came across a group of handicapped beggars consisting of children, ladies and old men, who has been bought and supplied by a local gang. In the end, what happened to the hero and those group who are associated to the temple is what we are shown through in ‘Naan Kadavul’.

By mentioning the story line, I made the complex things lighter. But the director has not done it as simply as you expect. The introduction scene of the hero in the “sheers asana” position (legs up and head down) with a semi devotional song in the background gives us an idea of the character. Aarya, as the hero here is not talking much, only few words, as the scene demands. Pooja, as a blind lady has given her best. Her performance with the different make up in the climax is remarkable. Rajendran, who was an assistant to stunt master Thyagarajan for many years, is coming in the villain character that controls the beggar mafia.

The director might be appreciated for making different characters using real handicapped people and make them perform by showing different emotions according to their mood. It is also true that the scenes showing the detailing of some of the handicapped characters might not be so easy to digest. There is no gimmicks used, but it is a reality which we had to accept. (Some of the dialogues told by the characters are not able to follow).

The main back bone of the film is the excellent background score by Music maestro Ilayaraja. The songs are not commercialized and it is done as per wish of the director to show the tough situations only. Some of the old songs by MS Viswanathan have also been used here. Camera by Arthur Wilson is superb. Super Subbarayan's action scenes has got a real look. Aarya's performance with his excellent body language is different and notable. He can use ‘Naan Kadavul’ on the top while he shows his profile. Baala’s dedication in creating such a film without any big actors and many amateurs needs special mention. Climax is different and suits the story very well.

It is not easy to write a complete review based on a film like ‘Naan Kadavul’, since this is a different film with unusual ingredients. Surely, this film will haunt you for days.

Never go for ‘Naan Kadavul’ expecting it to be a usual entertainer, rather it is a serious experiment on the darker side of humans. (Those who approach films seriously should only watch it)

Rating : 3.5 / 5 (revised)

Red Chillies

Director Shaji Kailas, script writer AK Sajan and producer Ranjith Rajaputhra has joined hands again through ‘Red Chillies’, after their previous hit, ‘Chinthamani Kolacase’. This time their hero is superstar Mohanlal, who plays the role of a business tycoon.

The background of the happenings in the film is an FM radio station named Club Fm, whose owner is a Singapore based rich man OMR (Mohanlal). The radio jockeys plays an important role in the story line. (Seeing those 9 girls, I felt that the team behind has not escaped from the hangover of ‘Chinthamani Kolacase’). In the course, these girls came across a murder and those key suspects escapes from the city as per instruction from their boss OMR. Till first half he controls their voyage and activities through the telephone. Meanwhile the police conduct a detail enquiry and chase the girls. Later the hero, who is the prime accused in the case, reaches the city, he acts against the police and other negative elements. In the end the suspense is revealed and the real villain is caught.

‘Red Chillies’ has got the ultimate heroism of Mohanlal in Shaji Kailas’ style. OMR in the beard look and colorful costumes has got a stylish appearance and a different way of dialogue presentation. Each scene will felt like the introduction scene for the hero. (the shot in which hero's photo is shown in the pooja room is an extreme...)

The contribution of Editor Samjith is brilliant for the visuals taken by the cinematographer Shaji. After Don Max had flied to Chennai, Shaji Kailas has got an editor whose work has got an extra ordinary technique. Some of the shots even look like a big budget film produced in hindi / tamil.

In the current trend of FM radios, the story of radio jockeys is relatively different. But the way in which those girls are shown drinking and dancing in the rain at late night can give wrong information to the audience. (I know this is a film and all characters here are created and fictitious only, but an average malayalee won’t rethink much about this fact!).

The performance of Saba Khan who comes in the chief of Jockey's role is very below average. It is good that the director had not given many dialogues to her or not shown any close-up shots of this north indian lady. The face of girls who acted as RJs other than Ranjini Jose (singer) and Dhanya ('Thalappavu' fame) is not familiar and most of them had nothing big to do. While discussing many things as a part of globalization, here the script writer should be appreciated for placing a real communist leader (Thilakan) also who acts against the irregularities in the modern society.

Background score by Rajamani is fine and dts mixing by Raj Krishnan matches the scenes very well. Songs by M. Jayachandran is fast, but not appealing. After a series of many dull films, here I don’t felt anything much boring. That is an advantage for a film like ‘Red Chillies’. If you can withstand heroic subjects accompanied by suspense, then you will like this film.

(.....for persons who don't like films like 'Red Chillies'..., i can't agree with you..., since you people didn't took initiative to see films like 'Thirakkadha' and 'Pakal Nakshtrangal' and make it at least average hits....you don't like any of these styles...!!! then what is your taste & interest ???!.....please comment...)

On the whole, ‘Red Chillies’ is an entertainer by Mohanlal. Don’t expect anything big, but I am sure that they had not given the bad.

Rating : 3 / 5 (revised)

Hailesa

‘Hailesa’, the name of the new film by Suresh Gopi is different, but it is not pleasing. Directed by Thaha (‘Ee Parakkum Thalika’, ‘Kerala House Udan Vilppanakku’ fame), this film has got a new getup for the hero. After many police / action roles in a row, the actor has finally decided to do a comedy buff!

I should have taken a back foot knowing all such details about the new film; but since these days watching films has become a responsibility also, I walked in.

Is it necessary for me to tell the story? There is no such big thing relevant here. Then why should I? Our hero (Suresh Gopi), who happened to be a guilty in a fighting issue, has decided to escape from the town to a distant place. There he met an old rich man (Lalu Alex), who lives alone. The former began to live there like a servant. In the mean time his friend (Suraaj Venjarammood) also reaches there, who in turn arranges a lady (Muktha) to act as rich man’s daughter. The old man is unable to identify the truth, since he lost her daughter in the childhood. He decided to arrange her marriage. The real bridegroom (Tony) comes, which again is replaced by a dummy person (Bheeman Raghu). In the end after few dramas, the truth is revealed and the real hero-heroine unites.

Almost all the scenes and the dialogues which are deliberately added to create comedy are horrible and intolerable. Among them the funny scenes by the police inspector (Cochin Hanif), who comes in a vulgar make up is painful and irritating. Except the star and the director, we all know that the body language of Suresh Gopi is not well suited to do such a light role. It will be difficult, if the team behind had put a contest by asking a question that, how many caps (hats) does the hero wears in this film. In that sense, there is a chance for this film to grab a world record. (Answer for the above question is very simple, number of hats used by the hero = number of scenes acted by the hero in the film)

Suraaj is there as the second hero, but not contributed much. His combination with the hero is also not inspiring. Muktha as the heroine is not at all impressive. As a surprise, some of the scenes by Bheeman Raghu create small laughter here and there. Songs by Ouseppachan is not rememberable. The placement of song sequence and its picturisation is below average. Background music by Ouseppachan is very poor, thus the mixing engineer Ajith M George job has also become inefficient. The action scenes directed by three stunt masters are also ordinary only.

Hailesa is a word, colloquially used by a group of persons to show the unity and equality. In that sense, if anybody asks about the result of the film ‘Hailesa’, then the only reply will be a silence…

Rating : 1 / 5

Dindukkal Saarathi

Karunas, who is emerged as a comedian is doing a hero role and the malayalee girl Karthika (‘Vellinakshatram’ fame) is the heroine. The film ‘Dindukkal Saarathi’ is different and it can also catch attention since the distributors / promoters of the film are none other than Sun Pictures itself.

Hero is running a printing press; he lives with his mother and sister. He is search of a bride. After a desperate search, this black short man gets a beautiful lady as his wife. From the day of the marriage itself, his inferiority complex works, he is over conscious about his wife’s beauty and security, he is always worried of the fact that his wife him leave him some day and pretend that she will leave him someday when she meet a better personality. This made him the situation to take precaution and later such tensions caused him mental disorder. What all things the hero did to caught the attention of his wife and what all blunders he did during his complex life is the story of ‘Dindukkal Saarathi’ directed by Sakthi Paramesh.

If you had seriously gone through the above story, then you might be able to realize that this story is same as the malayalam film ‘Vadakkunokki Yanthram’ by Sreenivasan. Yes, ‘Dindukkal Saarathi’ is a remake. No need to compare this film with a malayalam classic which released almost 20years before. Though it is not possible, I tried my level best to watch this film without any comparison. When the language is changed, they had incorporated 3-4 folk dance songs. A few additional scenes are also added to create comedy, but that also didn’t work out well. Sreenivasan simply did the magic by mentioning the name of actor Mohanlal one or two times only. But here they have taken tamil star Ajith’s name to many scenes which felt unnecessary.

Karunaas, who has not done any big roles, will be the happy man here. Karthika has got her second remake film in tamil (previously being 'Namnaadu' with Sarathkumar, the tamil version of Dileep's 'Lion') As the malayalam version heroine did, here also she did the same thing only. She has to dance in an additional song sequence here, but her body language is not suitable for such a fast dance.

Those who have not seen ‘Vadakkunokki Yanthram’, should at least watch ‘Dindukkal Saarathi’.

Rating : 3 / 5

Colors

Months before the release, even at the time of announcement of the project itself, we feel that some films are not going to do well and be a hit. There are many factors which can establish such a thing like directors, actors, script writers, themes etc. The same thing happened to me in the case of the film ‘Colors’. Here the producer of the film is M.Mani who got an experience of 50+ films, director Raj Babu has given films like ‘Chess’ and ‘Kangaroo’ before, Hero of the film is Dileep (this is his 2nd release with in a gap of 30-35days), heroines being Roma and Bhama. With all such names in the list, one can’t predict the outcome of a project. But when I came to know that the script writer of this film is V.C.Ashok, who gave average and below average films before, I smell a bad outcome. Not creating suspense, my guess was cent percent correct.

The story of 'Colors' revolves around the family of a military colonel who lives with her daughters, uncle and a servant. Sharanya, who acted in films like ‘Nayakan’ and ‘Artham’ is in the military lady's role. One of her daughters, Roma is (over)smart, she is doing comedy teaser program in TV channel, another one is a silent lady, she is a school teacher; mother is worried about her future since she is having some problems in the horoscope. Till first half, Roma is creating some funny moments (?) for her program. She is also doing some cheap and old numbers to make her uncle (Innocent) act according to her wish. Her colleague (Vinu Mohan), who is fond of her, also accompanies her most of the time. You can also see some wasted creativity by Indrans who comes in the servant role.

In the interval time, hero (Dileep, who is a navy officer) appears. He knows the smart lady and her family before. In the beginning, both of them not being in a good company, plays their own games to keep their counterparts, silent. In the end, the hatred turns to love. But the family is having some other plans; they want to marry their elder daughter with our hero. Her sister now steps back, plays some other game to make the hero convincing and get prepared for the marriage. In the middle, the villain who wants to take revenge on the colonel is also destroyed.

There is not a single element or a single shot which will make you laugh or pleasant while watching ‘Colors’. The comedy scenes created here has not even got the standard of masala films released in the 70’s or 80’s. The casting of Harisree Ashokan and Cochin Haneefa in such a role is intolerable and comedy created by them is horrible. Bhama doesn’t have anything here to perform; her appearance with specks is done to create a maturity, but she looks like a doll with pimples in her face. The make up of Sharanya in the old age and at the period when her daughters are very young is same. The team behind should realize that this is the not the black and white period of films. The humor and witty dialogues created in the films are of very low standard only and the creator of such things, V.C.Ashok himself has acted in the role of a humorous sardarji (!) in a small scene.

The songs by Suresh Peters are not so good. Saloo George has handled the camera. I don’t know why Raj Babu and Dileep have agreed to do this project hearing such a story. But the producer M.Mani should have been more conscious. Dileep has nothing to do here. With the scope of showing various emotions from laughing to the crying, Roma is the hero here, but most of the time in such a subject she is out of control.

Usually, seeing colors can make you pleasant, but watching the film ‘Colors’ can cause paralysis; so this is not an advisable one.

Rating : 1.5 / 5

Padikkathavan

Dhanush, son-in-law of superstar Rajnikanth is popular among malayalees through his superhit film, ‘Kathalkonden’. He has got a memorable last year, since he got 2 of his projects like ‘Pollathavan’ & ‘Yaradi Nee Mohini’ were hits. His latest project caught attention since the title of the film (‘Padikkathavan’) is adapted from a well-known film of Rajnikanth in the 80’s. But there are no similarities in both these stories.

Thamanna, who is emerging as a big star these days is the heroine here. Don’t you know her? She is the same innocent girl (with extra white complexion) who acted in films like ‘Happy Days’ and ‘Kalloori’. The director of the film Suraaj, has given hit films like ‘Thalainagaram’ starring Sundar.C and ‘Maruthamalai’ starring Arjun. The big banner Sun Pictures is in the role of distributors.

As the name of the film suggests the hero hails from an upper middle class family. He is not well educated. The father (Prathap Pothen) is scolding him most of the time for his misbehaviors. Thus the hero, who is not fond of studies, takes a shortcut route to keep his name in the society. He plans to marry a degree holder. He finds the heroine; though she doesn’t like him in the beginning, later they fell in love each other. In the course, villain and some other gang who planned to take revenge on the hero for some happenings in the past is also seen. Anyway, whether the hero gets success over them is what the climax of ‘Padikkathavan’ tells.

We can’t see anything special in such a storyline. But the difference is in the treatment of the film by the script writer –director, Suraaj who was once associate to Sundar C (director of ‘Arunachalam’, ‘Anbe Sivam’, ‘Ullathe Allithaa’ etc). Here there is lot of twists and turns in the path to make it unpredictable. In addition to it, you have got a humorous second half with Vivek at his best. Also the climax doesn’t have usual melodrama; though it is cinematic, it is straight.

Don’t expect much from a masala mix like ‘Padikkathavan’. Dont forget that such an entertainer should target the front benchers also. Here you will be having gang members of villains like Suman and Atul Kulkarni using guns as if like toys for their survival. In between, you can see songs with good dance movements. Manisharma has given some fast numbers like “Rani Rankamma…” and “Vela Vetrivela…” A.Venkitesh has created the fast mood with his camera work. Dhanush has performed in his usual style. With couple of big projects also in her hand, I feel the charming girl, Thamanna will be emerging as a big heroine in the south soon.

‘Padikkathavan’ is a real masala entertainer. If you need a time pass, you can watch it once.

Rating : 3 / 5

Raaz 2

Director Mohit Suri, who took films like ‘Kalyug’, Zeher’, ‘Awarapan’ etc is coming with his new film ‘Raaz’ under the same banner of Mukesh Bhatt and Mahesh Bhatt productions. Though they put the name as ‘Raaz – the mystery continues’, this film is not a sequel for ‘Raaz’ by Dino Morea and Bipasha Basu directed by Mahesh Bhatt some years back. The film is distributed by Sony Pictures.

Imran Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut, Adhyayan Suman etc. are the main stars in this film. As the name suggests, this film also belong to the genre of psycho thriller films. The story of such a film always feels like a mystery to an average viewer. In the end, there will be an answer for all our doubts and equations happening throughout the journey.

Here Kangana plays a top class model. Some of the shots in which she walks through the ramp, resembles her own role in Madhur Bhandharkar’s latest film ‘Fashion’. She is in love with a guy who is well-known in the TV world. New face, Adhyayan Suman has done the role. As days pass, some changes happen to the behavior of the heroine. She came across a painter (Imran Hashmi), who has not seen her before, but almost all his works has got the impression of her face. She tries her maximum to avoid him, but the circumstances demanded her to know about his motive. When she is mentally affected, he came for her help. In the end his mission is successful with her help. He finds the actual culprit and takes revenge.

Those who have seen films like ‘Murder’, ‘Jurm’, ‘Raaz’, ‘Kalyug’, ‘Zeher’, Jannat’, ‘Gangster’ etc. will be able to understand the style of films produced under the supervision of Bhatt family. Here in ‘Raaz 2’, the treatment is same. The first half deals with the mythological aspect and it’s after effects is shown through some of the character’s behavior. Some of the scenes are dreadful and it is lagging also. This can anyway create a curiosity among the audience to know the reason for the happenings and to wait till climax. The second half is fast moving. In the climax the real villain is projected and the ghost himself reached there for the help of human to take revenge. (It is not funny as it is simply written here; they have treated it in a realistic way).

The songs coming in the hindi films these days are not easy to remember, though they goes well with the film’s mood, we can’t recollect them to make them popular. Background music by Raju Singh matches the frames very well. Ravi Walia’s camera creates a dark mood as the script demanded.

Those who are interested in mysterious horror stories can try ‘Raaz 2’.

Rating : 3 / 5

Slum Dog Millionaire

More than 25years back, in the beginning of 1980’s, an English film with an Indian theme, produced by the English, were in the news. It was none other than ‘Gandhi’ directed by Richard Attenborough. The film caught attention not because of the fact that it has got great awards and honors but due to the importance of theme it handled. It was a celluloid biography of the father of our nation.

Now in this period another English film is in the news. The name of the film is ‘Slum Dog Millionaire’ directed by Danny Boyle. But, this time the situation is different. The film became popular after it has got many Oscar nominations. Among these, A.R.Rahman (Music) and Russel Pookkutty (Sound Mixing) who got nominations, belong to South India.

The prominent show handled by Amitabh Bachan in Star TV, “Kaun Banega Crorepati” is the main theme behind ‘Slum Dog Millionaire’. Here the hero, who hails from a slum area in the rural Mumbai, reaches the final of the show. Though not well educated, he answers all the questions through his experience. The quiz master (Anil Kapoor) got doubted, he complaints, hero is being taken into police custody. So just before the final day, he tells his story to the investigation officer (Irfan Khan). How the hero got answers for all the questions were shown in an excellent way through his real life story which happened in the slums with the beggars, pick pockets, underworld gangs, bpo centers etc.

The director has treated the film without keeping the audience boring. The challenge faced by the hero in his real life and the questions faced by him in the Crorepati game is shown in parallel. The real picture of the Mumbai slums is captured through different stages in the life of hero (Dev Patel), his brother, heroine (Freida Pinto) and their friends. A love story underneath also happens there.

Anyway already controversies aroused over the fact that the film has got nomination in Oscar only after exploiting the poverty of the Indians. But I can’t agree with that. It is ours liberty to claim that our country is not poor and critical as it is shown in this film, but on the other side you should notice that the makers of this movie has got the liberty on their creativity also. The same story should have occurred on the mind of an Indian director also, but it didn’t happen.

Anthony Dod Mantle’s camera and Chris Dickens’ editing are notable. All the members in the technical wing have done their job well. A.R.Rahman’s background score is good. The film’s story is based on novel written by an Indian, Vikas Swarup. Danny Boyle’s direction is extra ordinary.

I have got a personal disagreement on the Oscar nomination regarding “Jay ho…” song for A.R.Rahman. It is good to see an Indian name written along with Oscar; in that aspect I will keep silent. But …it is not the best.

‘Slum Dog Millionaire’, an Indian film by the English, is a cross-section of the certain area of the Indian society. The team behind has told us how such people can achieve great position through their life experience.

Rating : 4 / 5