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MOVIE - KANTHASWAMY ( TAMIL , 2009 )

Director : Susi Ganeshan

Cast : Vikram , Shriya Saran , Prabhu

Now , the amount of hype that this movie generated , was way beyond reasonable limits. The grandiose Audio launch function , the innovative trailer concept etc , made people think that this movie was gonna be interesting , to say the least. But sadly , as things turn out , it is anything but interesting.

Kanthaswamy tells the story ( ? ) of a CBI Officer , played by Vikram , who tries to do a modern-day Robin hood , the guy who steals from the wealthy , and passes on the money to the poor and the needy. The movie is based around a Temple of the Lord Muruga ( Kanthaswamy ) , on whose premises , there is a tree upon which people tie a piece of paper , with their wishes. Now , these wishes are mostly requests for money to help their families and the like. The people of the village think these wishes are granted by the Lord Himslef , but in reality Kanthaswamy and his bunch of dedicated Officers , try to solve all the people's problems.

The story has the least bit of novelty , as this is a tried and tested concept. The Director tries his best to do something different , with the protagonist in the guise of a Superhero. But this attempt falls flat on its face , BIG TIME.

I admit I did not harbor much expectations from this movie , going by the promos . But , I am sure it was not unfair on my part to expect atleast a decent movie , if not a life changing one , like the promos hyped it up.

Absolutely , nothing positive about the movie. It is nothing but a lengthy ordeal , inflicted upon innocent viewers. And the love angle between Shriya and Vikram , gosh , such a terrible waste of time to be honest.

The movie tries to outdo its capacity , and the Director assumes an overdose of creative liberty , and sadly the viewers are at the receiving end. It is one of those movies , which appear to be path-breaking , but after 3 hours and a few odd minutes , it was my head that was broken into pieces. It almost gave me a headache , especially the songs.

All that talk about this being an unique movie , is nothing but bull crap. Absolutely nothing new in it , in any aspect. The Director seems to be trapped in his own world of juvenile Superhero stuff , crossed with over the top romantic interludes , and as is the case with most Tamil movies , helluva fights , and mindless songs thrown at the audience when least expected.

The Screenplay is nothing much to write home about. It takes it's own sweet time to unravel a seemingly simple concept , which eventually ends up being a pile of senseless scenes all mixed up together to offer a lethal combo , which leaves the viewers pissed , to say the least. God knows why Susi Ganeshan tries to introduce characters which do not add any value to the proceedings whatsoever.

The cinematography and art design might be one of the very few good things about the movie . It is very colorfully filmed , especially the songs. But then , the songs themselves are nothing short of sheer torture. Not only because they are thrown like rocket missiles at the audience , but the highly mediocre nature of the music. Songs like "Meow Meow Poonai " seriously need to be blanked out , and I advise anyone reading this blog , to carry a pair of Cotton buds which you can happily use when the songs play. Devi Sri Prasad , was all ecstatic at the audio launch about the songs , but , boy , such a horrible mess in the name of music. And the background music sounds like it was composed by some lunatic , and does not blend at all with the scenes.

Chiyaan Vikram's acting is nothing great to be honest. No doubt one of India's best actors , this role just did not work out for him. Shriya does what she is best at .. exposing , and nothing else. Her expressions are nauseating especially in some horrendous scenes like the one in which she tears apart ger dress and accuses vikram of raping her. Scenes like these were met with wild laughter from the audience . Prabhu tries his best to portray a Police Officer who tries to solve the case , but appears to be caught in his world of deadpan expressions.

I don't want to waste any more time talking about this movie. I will go with 1.5 out of 5 , for this sorry excuse of a movie . Stay away. Even if you have nothing else to do , please do not watch this.

Verdict : 1.5 / 5 ( Poor )

Movie -- Kaminey ( Hindi , 2009 )

Director : Vishal Bharadwaj

Cast : Shahid Kapur , Priyanka Chopra

Hiya all.. It's been quite a looong time since my last post.. No particular reason , sometimes I did not have the mood to write a review , or else I was busy ... Call it Writer's block if u insist , lol :)

I have seen quite a few movies over the elapsed time , but never really had the mood to write a detailed review.. God knows why... Well... There is one movie , which has rekindled the desire to blog about movies all over again.... Minutes after watching this movie , after leaving the theater , I could not wait to start typing away and praise this movie like I have never praised a movie before... Ladies and Gentlemen , here's Kaminey !!!!!

Easily one of the finest Hindi movies ever made , Kaminey tells the tale of two identical twins , Charlie and Guddu , both played by Shahid Kapur. Guddu is a calm , socially conscious person , which is established very early in the movie in a Street-theatre dance sequence for AIDS awareness. On the other hand , Charlie is a ruthless rowdy element . Both characters have their own unique speech deficiencies .. Guddu stutters and stammers , while Charlie simply cannot pronounce the letter "s" , and uses "f" instead. both twins do not have contact with each other , following an incident which the director reveals towards the fag end of the movie.

Guddu is all set to marry Sweetie ( Priyanka Chopra ) , who happens to be the sister of a Maratha fanatic politician , who cannot digest the thought that his sister is getting married to a non-Maratha , Guddu .

Charlie on the other hand , is a bookie at the horse races and is involved in a race-fixing mafia , and also the usual hitman variety too. Now Charlie , by sheer accident gets his hands on a drug package worth 10 Crores , and being the quintessential "f(s)hortkut" taker , wants to make the best use of it , but gets mixed up in the deal unknowingly , and has to deal with a drug mafia.

What happens when both their lives collide , one fateful night and its aftermath is what Kaminey is all about... Oh , just in case you feel that this sounds like your usual Bollywood " Bhaiya / Brother " bull crap , you are mistaken.... VERY badly mistaken....

This is nowhere close to Bollywood mainstream cinema .. In fact , I do not think it would be far fetched to say that if the songs were removed , and the love sequences between Guddu and Sweetie were to be toned down a little bit , this is as good as any top notch Hollywood or European Crime thriller.

Beautifully executed , this takes Hindi cinema to the next level... one in which "Crime" does not necessarily mean Big-Bad guys with AK-47's , with pretty young girls as arm-candy , the quintessential irritating sidekick and other cliches... This is completely different...

Kaminey is a non-linear movie , and where most non-linear movies fail , is the sheer stupidity in which the story is sequenced on-screen , with scenes placed as if the Director had just selected them randomly. However , in Kaminey's case , this is its biggest achievement. Each sequence never seems out of place , even though sometimes they appear out-of-context to the current scene , but later on you realize the motive behind this sequencing.

The movie might appear to be a wee bit slow moving towards the middle portion of the first half , but I felt that this was a beautiful ploy executed deliberately by Vishal Bharadwaj. He builds up the story a bit slowly , and by the time the interval occurs , you are left in a state of sheer excitement . Sheer genius I must say !! The second half boasts of one of the fastest screenplays I have ever come across in Indian movies. It just blows you away.

Acting is one aspect in which things can go really horribly wrong , especially if such a strong script is not supported adequately by the players... but again Kaminey scores here as well.. Priyanka Chopra is really good in her role as Sweetie , the girl who dares to defy her Goonda/Politician/Marathi fanatic brother , played with aplomb by Amole Gupte . The supporting cast too has come up with a commendable effort . Even characters which might not really be strong as far as their value to the movie is concerned , have been enacted beautifully . The Bengali gangster duo , the Marathi's sidekick , the corrupt Narcotics Branch Cops and other such characters all have been portrayed in the most efficient manner by the supporting cast. Of particular mention , is Charlie's partner-in-crime , Mikhail . I really dunno the name of the actor , but , boy , he was ace ...

Now.. Shahid Kapur.. What a brilliant performance by this young actor.. For all those who thought Shahid was only good at chocolate faced - lover boy stuff , you can eat your own words after watching Kaminey .. A scorcher of a performance , in every sense of the word. As Guddu , the calm , timid guy , Shahid plays the character with remarkable ease . However , it is his portrayal of the ruthless Charlie which stands out..

The best scene in the movie has to be that short sequence in which the Marathi Neta and Mikhail meet , and Mikhail converses in a drunken stupor , and the neta plays along.. Beautiful !!

Pankaj Kapur , one of India's finest yet under-rated actors , had starred in Vishal Bharadwaj's movies , Maqbool , The Blue Umbrella and a short film , Blood Brothers . He must be a proud father now , watching Shahid shine like never before , under the same Director.

Music by Vishal Bharadwaj is extremely good. I never got an opportunity to listen to Kaminey's music before entering the theatre.. But the background score and the music are terrific. " Dhan Te Nan " blew me away , watching it on the best screen in Chennai ( Sathyam RDX ).. This song just vibrates with so much energy , you simply cannot resist humming it to yourself after getting back home.

Technically this movie is top notch and like I said , on par with any Hollywood / European brand of Thrillers.

Vishal Bharadwaj has never denied the fact that Quentin Tarantino's movies have an influence on his ideology. This is evident in Kaminey , in the camera angles , the sequencing of scenes , the type of background music etc. Any Tarantino devotee like me will easily spot the similarity . However , with all due respect , Tarantino IS Tarantino... Vishal Bharadwaj is no less , but not quite the same league.

Shahid Kapur's performance is the best thing about the movie . He has proved his worth in Kaminey. However , I feel his next release " Dil Bole Hadippa " might be burdened with too many expectations after people are stunned by Kaminey.. " Dil Bole Hadippa " , I personally feel is not an ideal follow up from Shahid's side , to Kaminey. This is what I judge from the promos , the usual Yash-Raj fare , but am hoping it turns out to be good . At least for Shahid's sake.

Kaminey is a definite must watch for any Indian fan of Tarantino's movies . For those expecting juvenile stuff , the likes of " Singh is King " , "Partner" , "Welcome" etc , please stay away. This is not for you , sorry amigo ...

Overall , Kaminey is an absolute scorcher . A small request .. Please do watch it in the Theatres .. Sensible , top notch movies like these need to be encouraged . If not for anything , please do visit the Theatre and watch it just for the "Dhan Te Nan" song.. The experience.. WOW...

I will go with 4.5 out of 5 for Kaminey , India's best Action/thriller I have seen so far. vishal Bharadwaj , take a bow !!! You rock ... May his tribe increase :)

Verdict : 4.5 / 5 - Simply Uber... oops.. Fimply Uber !!!