GOA is "PURE FUN"

GOA... The name itself is colorful. Venkat Prabhu can truly be proud of himself now. GOA is "PURE FUN". We underestimate what our own filmmakers are capable of, keep criticizing and thereby kill the intention of directors to try something different. Also, rarely does the film's certification matter to any moviegoer before he steps into the cinema hall. If a movie is certified for mature audiences, it is meant to be so. Cinema is inspired by true happenings in life today. It's either told in a sugar-coated fashion or straight in the face. Beginning the review on this note, Goa is different, be it in the story, screenplay or characterization and is for mature audiences. This Venkat Prabhu holiday is going to be loved by his fans and at the same time, will get mixed reviews from critics.

Venkat Prabhu has managed to keep his reputation intact. Venkat Prabhu has established himself as filmmaker who can make meaningful films without any big stars. His "Chennai 6000028" featured a host of newcomers and was a hit. It was followed by another hit "Saroja", a travelogue. This movie revolves around three young men who sets out on a trip to Goa only with a mission to fall in love with a white woman. They also plan to marry 'a foreign women' and settle down abroad. They head for Goa where many foreigners are seen and the rest of the story is all about their experiences there. Three young men from a rustic village going to GOA to satisfy and fulfill their dreams and the happenings around there forms the rest of the story. I must say GOA is a true amalgamation of fun,love and laughter. It is truly a 2.5 hrs fun filled romantic story and a roller-coaster ride that keeps you entertaining. It is a perfectly-planned holiday for all those who seek pure entertainment on the silver screen! Making his third directorial venture, Venkat must have surely enjoyed it like we do while watching it. Goa speaks on relationships and the love life of the protagonists in a lovable and a thoroughly engaging way!

I must say the technical crew of GOA has done exceptionally well. The camera angles were so refreshing that it was able to capture and portray the real GOA. Yuvan Shankar Raja is back. The songs in this movie are really foot tapping as well as enjoyable. The BGM was excellent. Coming to the acting performances, Premji ( Swami) was nothing but spectacular. His mannerisms and gimmicks aroused a lot of laughter among the audience. Jai proved that he has real acting skills he deserves a seat in Tamil film industry. The foreign girl that played opposite to Premji and Vaibhav (Ramarajan) deserves a special mention.


Venkat Prabhu has again created a successful commercial entertainer, but differs from the other directors by experimenting with a simple script, then making it interesting and entertaining by playing around with the screenplay and execution. A thriller with lot of drama and comedy, a must watch movie. If you want to unwind yourself, forget all logic's and enjoy, then the destination is 'GOA'.


My Verdict : 3.9/5

Namukku Paarkan Munthirithoppukal: A timeless classic!

Padmarajan sir is my favorite director of all time and 'Namukku paarkan munthirithoppukal' is my favorite Indian movie till date. Pappetan is surely a legend and he deserves more than respect from us. And no doubt, Mohanlal is my favorite actor in any language. In fact, I have seen this film for more than 20 times and always wonder how pappetan convinced such a character called 'Solomon'. This is the most influential film of its era and and still is called the greatest love story ever told in Malayalam film history.

'Nammuku paarkan Munthirithoppukal' is a sensitive portrayal of a mature love story which is lyrical and poetic as the music of the film. This film is based on a K sudhakaran novel and a great adaptation of the english translation which mean "Vineyards for us to Dwell". It transverses a path that exists but but is not mentioned in the book. That is the beauty of Padmarajan sir's work. The film is a beautiful and well told love story of a guy who falls in love with the newly moved neighbor girl. But the girls situation was worst than he thought when he finds that the man who was told to be her father was her stepfather. This film is noted for its inherent simplicity with a rich and expressive screenplay. The screenplay is the king just like all of pappetan's other concepts and this is the best of his work closely followed by 'Thoovanathumbikal". The entire screenplay is worked around Solomon's songs from the bible and it keeps referring to the vineyards of Solomon. The dialogues are crisp and powerful.

There are few things connoisseurs of good classic cinema will notice in this movie. The film is not about love, it is about the depth of love. The story is the hero and Solomon & Sofia are mere instruments to portray that tale. It's a simple tale but exceptional story telling makes it extra ordinary. The lines from Bible impart a touch of eternity to the selfless love portrayed in the film. Solomon proposes Sofia using lines from The song of songs, Bible. What a poetic way to propose to a girl ? The eternal romanticist Padmarajan professes through this scene a love that is perennial and profound. And the climax scene... Padmarajan's hero, Solomon accepts Sofia, who was raped, and takes her to his vineyards. It must also be noted that she wears white,  It implies a love that is pure, real, unconditional, deep and everlasting. It's no coincidence that she wears white, the symbol of purity. Also, when she gets into the truck, she doesn't even have to bent her legs. Everything is so subtle and implied.

Last but not the least, the movie has an excellent performance by Mohanlal. The background score by Johnson is so touching and surreal. It is one of those films that had always stayed with me in my dreams and fantasies ever since I saw it on my teen age. I am short of words to describe this cinematic awesomeness.

For those of you who grew up on a diet of great movies by Padmarajan sir, Bharatan etc, this is a way to get back. For the present generation of lovers of Malayalam Cinema, its a way to acquaint themselves with the glory days of Malayalam cinema. Hats off Padmarajan sir. I can safely recommend this movie to anyone who believe in good contentful cinema and if you are missing it, your education in films has not begun.

3 Idiots ------ Aal izz well ( Best film of the year)

You go in to see 3 idiots expecting the dream combination of Rajkumar Hilani and Aamir Khan to weave magic on screen. But despite the mental conditioning, the impact of the film is so overwhelming that it leaves you spellbound for hours it had ended. '3 idiots' is not a film. In fact it's a roller coaster ride that guarantees to tons and tons of class and rollicking laughter. This film is like a kid that never tires of entertaining you. The creators of Munnabhai series have just raised their own standards several notches higher with 3 idiots.

Based on a Chetan bhagat novel "Five point someone" , 3 idiots is a story of three friends studying in an engineering college, Rancho(Aamir Khan), Farhan(Madhavan) and Raju(Sherman Joshi). The story is about the search of a lost friend who simply goes away after the convocation at the engineering college leaving his best buddies and lover at bay. The buddies owe of a lot of what they have in their life for their friend who is the main protagonist of this movie. The story is mostly told in the flashback about the college life and events during that time. The film follows a Non-Linear narration and who could handle with consummate ease other than the master director 'Rajkumar Hirani'?? There is an interesting comradeship and love between the friends in this movie that make you feel it is real. It may relate to your college life, with the story unfolding at a simple manner with instances that are sure to bring a smile to your lips.

Three idiots is simply amazing and a must watch movie. No one can stop himself relating to the situations developed in the plot.As expected Aamir khan has done it again. Nothing stops 44 yr old Aamir khan acting as a cheerful college lad. He ensures every moves he takes is like a sweet college boy and plays the magic at each shot. The inspired story from Chetan Bhagat's novel is re-written well to hold the viewers with loads of fun & emotional surprises. There are no moments where movie looses the track so big thumbs up to the direction. Though the jokes used are old ones but beautifully presented to make you laugh. I don't see a better way to convey the message to bring change in the education system here. All characters has played their roles with full scores and special appreciation to Sharman Joshi's role who has fit in as a natural student. Even the love story part betweeen Aamri & kareena is handled gracefully without diverting the core theme of the movie. The cute AAmir looks cutest in this one who is always ready with sharp and shrewd replies to anyone who questions him. He has naturally acted as a confident & bright student who doesn't study to top the college.The movie sends a very clear message regarding the loopholes of the teaching and the scoring marks in the semester examinations. It has also highlighted the mental pressure a student goes through because of parents's expectation and peer competition which leads to suicidal attempts. Hope this message is reached to the parents who always decides thier children's fate as engineers/doctors. Hope the new generation gets the liberty to choose theirr own career where they can flourish better than a forced engineer..

Although 3 idiots is close to three hours long, these hours will definitely be worth spend as you shall come out with many a memorable moments and an amazing inspiration that the film gives. Rajkumar Hirani deserves a special applause for creating such a movie which is a must watch for all connoisseurs of good and commercial cinema. with a good grip on emotions and entertainment, 3 idiots will be the biggest hit in the history of Indian cinema for sure. Take it from me.

Verdict : Four point someone/5 (lol)

'Ividam Swargamanu' - ENCHANTINGLY BLISSFUL

A simple story, great performances, well fleshed out characters, play of emotions and technical finesse. Roshan Andrews bounces back with flare in his new film 'Ividam Swargamanu' which is indeed a worthy watch for all connoisseurs of good, contentful cinema. Roshan Andrews with his few films have earned a very special place in Malayalam movie scenario and his last two films got widely appreciated for the same. This movie had created a certain amount of buzz even before its release due to the dream combination of actors like Mohanlal, Thilakan, Sreenivasan and Jagathy Sreekumar. Expectations were obviously sky high and the question is whether it has liven up to that....??? And the Big answer is 'Yes'.

Mohanlal plays a farmer, while Thilakan plays Jeremias, his father. Mathews is trying to realize his fathers dream of setting up a huge farmhouse with cattle, vegetable and the like on the banks of river Periyar. But things go from bad to worse as a rich man by the name 'Aluva Chandy'(Lalu Alex) comes along. Chandy wants to buy his land but Mathews is not ready for the deal. The film narrates how Mathews resists Chandy's wily moves. This movie deals with the social scenario of the state where each of the Keralites are hell bound to settle every scores on ownership of land in legal battles with little acknowledgement on the emotional bonding of people with their lands. The movie is rich with with superb humor with a slight tinge of social criticism. Roshan Andrews as a director was able to get into the nuances of human behavior while doing comedy sequences and that deserves a special mention.

Mohanlal, Thilakan, Jagathy Sreekumar and Sreenivasan are actors who give great performances every time. Mohanlal and Thilakan had been the best father-son duo to have ever come up on screen. They were exemplary pair who made superhits like Kireedom, Spadikam, Chenkol and Narasimham. Thlakan, as usual was good. Mohanlal delivered an exceptional performance. He delivered mannerisms, smile, and nuances as a 'common man' with consummate ease and proved why he is called the best actor in India..! Lalu Alex as Aluva chandy was nothing but spectacular. This is arguably the best ever role played by Lalu Alex in his whole career. He lived as 'Aluva Chandy'. Jagathy Sreekumar illustrated what 'methord acting' is all about. His mannerisms, looks, gestures etc was quite supreme and he proved his versatility. Sreenivasan proved full justice to the role assigned to him and his 'one liners' was accepted and appreciated by the audience. 'Ividam swargamanu' has three heroines in Priyanka Nair, Lakshmi Rai and Lakshmi Gopalaswamy. This is the first big role in a commercial movie for Priyanka Nair, who won the Kerala state film award for the best female actor last year. She plays Betsy, a TV reporter who supports Mathews for his love for land. she did a commendable job. Lakshmi Rai disapponited me with her poor acting skills and that is the only negative i felt about the movie. Kaviyoor ponnamma and Sukumari also did justice to their jobs.

Now Coming to the technical aspects of the movie. Diwakar handled the camera work and he did it brilliantly. His cinematography was rich and expressive and he created frames of class and cult. James Albert the script writer of movies like Classmates and Cycle is the scenarist and believe me his script was just awesome. For me he is one of the most sensible script writers left in malayalam film industry today. BGM by Gopi Sundar was good. Roshan Andrews used his directorial skills to the maximum to make this movie a huge success.

All in all, this movie is a must watch for all who love that good middle stream movies propagated in the eighties and early nineties by Satyan Anthikad, Priyadarshan- sreenivasan, Siby - Lohitdas Combination. And i am sure the plight of no other movie protagonists could have haunted you like this in recent times. Hats off Roshan Andrews and James Albert for this beautiful, touching effort.

My Verdict : 4.5/5

"Palery Manikyam-Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Kadha" IS IMPRESSIVE

In the early seventies and eighties, Malayalam cinema turned into the desi literature to convert inspiring pieces of literature into movies. And that resulted in the creation of some landmark movies in the history of Malayalam cinema. But for quite some time, Mollywood seems to forget that Malayalam literature is such a huge evergreen source where they could search for any kind of movies in any genre. Anyhow Director Ranjith had made such an attempt on his new movie "Palery Manikyam-Oru Pathira kolapathakathinte Katha".

This movie is based on a novel written by T.P Rajeevan. The film is about the investigation into the death of 'Manikyam', who was murdered mysteriously 11 days after her marriage in 50's. The protagonist of the movie is Haridas(mammooty)a private detective who is back from Delhi to investigate the murder mystery of a lady called 'Manikyam', which affected his life one way or the other.The whole incident happened fifty years ago.The Investigation into the murder was suspended at the time, due to unconvincing evidences and due to interferences from influential persons in power. so the case was closed as the police could not nail the culprits. Fifty two years later the case is reopened and that forms the rest of the story.This novel was earlier serialized in a malayalam weekly which is based on a true incident that happened shortly before the first ministry of kerala was sworn in. An interesting aspect of the movie is that Mammootty is doing three roles as that of a detective Haridas who comes to re-investigate the case in 2009, a feudal muslim landlord who lived in the 50's and is linked to the crime, and the third role is a mystery which will unfold while you travel through the course of the story. It is through the eyes of Haridas that the truth behind the incidents that led to the shocking murder of Manikyam unfolds at a brisk pace. The movie is trying to use a particular slang which was common in Malabar five decades ago. In order to achieve perfection, Professional stage artists from Malabar were given roles in the film. The movie is trying to establish a part of life style of early 1950's and Ranjith sir did it exceptionally well.

Mammootty is an actor who gives good performances in author backed roles and his portrayal of Ahamed Haji was nothing but spectacular. This was the best out of the three characters played by Mammootty in the movie. The film had a bunch of fresh faces, selected carefully from theatre field . These artists were given a two week conditioning camp before they were assigned the characters to be played before camera. Debutant Mythili plays the title role and she did justice to her job. Also in the cast are Sreenivasan, Siddique, and Swetha Menon who delivered good performances. Gowri Mumjal did the role of a crime analysist and she disappointed me with her poor acting skills. The technical team did a good job. Manoj Pillai did an awesome camera work. The title song of the movie was awesome but the background score was just a mediocre effort.

Ranjith deserves good appreciation taking such a good movie. This film is an exceptionally well portrayed slice of Malabar life in the early 50's. The details of each characters relationships to one another unfold slowly and are revealed in meaningful glances. I can safely recommend this movie to anyone who can savor and that bittersweet joy that can be had by watching a good movie.

My Verdict : 8/10

NEELATHAMARA - A poetic Reincarnation

The recreation of romantic memories of olden times is not so easy. But Laljose and crew was very optimistic about their new venture 'Neelathamara'. The movie featuring fresh faces is a brilliant adaptation of romantic film of 1979 with the same name itself. The older movie was penned by the literary face of malayalam, M T vasudevan Nair and directed by Yusafali Kecheri. Once again he has recreated the magic with his script. The expectations were sky high as it is the first remaking attempt in malayalam. So its almost a nostalgia that malayalees across the world share when it come to know about the remaking of neelathamara.

The movie follows a Non-Linear narration and M T sir handled it with consummate ease. The original movie revolved round the happenings of six months. But for the remake the film begins in 2009, turns to the happenings of 1979 before coming back to the present for an epilogue. That’s why i mentioned about a Non-Linear narration which is not so common. The title role of 'Kunjimalu' who is the protagonist in this film is portrayed by the fresh face Archana Kavi, a well known VJ. She portrayed the role brilliantly and promises to be a future prospect. Also the male roles are enacted by new comers. Kailash does the role of Haridas, earlier enacted by ravikumar while Ambika's brother suresh is essaying the role of Appukuttan, earlier played by Sathar. Also Rima kallingal and Samvritha Suresh did justice to thier roles too. The main attraction of the movie is the script itself. Another master touch from M T's pazhashi Raja is creating waves in kerala theatres. Before its waves are set down, another script from the master writer is creating an impact among serious film lovers. Its a women centric subject and the three female characters in 'Neelathamara' offer an excellent study in contrast. Kailash played a hot blooded, flirtatious youngster of the 70's and he did well too.

Now coming to the technical aspects of the movie, a big round of applause for Lal jose. He brilliantly adapted this age old story to the new screen, efficiently trimming off the frayed ends, and working up a brilliant visualization which makes him a master director that he is. 'Neelathamara' is an absolute symbol of faith in the film that blooms when Kunjimaalu(Archana) prays before the thevar, signifies more than just an optimism of the house maid and only M T sir could come up with such an idea, Hats off. Vijay ulaganath has successfully created moving frames with an authentic look. His cinematography was rich and expressive. Music director, Vidyasagar deserves a special mention too. The song 'Anuraga.....' tuned by him got received well and malayalees ringing back the same song as thier ring tones.

This film is noted for its inherent innocence and goodness more than its technical aspects. The movie was restructured to suit the tastes of present day audience with a fresh bunch of cast. But i was actually surprised to see comments and ‘boos’ for a movie like this. These people dont deserve good movies. The movie doest drag, its simple, poetic and good. Undoubtedly one of the best movies of the year and it proves to be a worthwhile experiment from Laljose and crew, that too with a specially handpicked fresh team. This film is a must watch for all connoisseurs of films.

VERDICT : 8/10

SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION

"The Shawshank Redemption" is a movie about fortitude and believing that you will make through even the harshest of times.Rarely will you ever see a movie so powerful and so deep.So here i am, out of my blue moon to express my views on the same.Ironically this movie was released in 1994,when Hollywood was operating at its peak and the movie was thoroughly overshadowed by the media favorites Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction.Directed by master director Frank Darabont and riveting performances from the whole crew,this film was nominated for seven academy awards including best picture and it got humiliated on each of the nominated category.

Shawshank Redemption, based on a novel written by "Stephen King",is a well written,well directed tale about a banker,Andy Dufresne,played by Tim Robbins, who is convicted for murdering his wife and her lover and sentenced to two consequetive life terms in prison.The story is narrated and told primarily,from the perspective of his fellow prison inmate,Ellis Boyd Redding alias Red( because he is Irish),played by Morgan Freeman. The story chronicles Red and Andy's stay in prison,and hope.Hope that Andy never gives up on.Hope that Red gave up long ago,but,ultimately finds again.The story carries you along and keeps you hanging on every moment,then suddenly springs open like jack in the box,revealing parts that you never know existed,but where right in front of you the whole time.No matter how many times i see it or how well i know every detail, the story,the dialogues,eloquent casting of characters etc manages to enthrall me every time.Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins are great actors who give great performances.They are joined by the Colorful cast of supporting actors,each of which has thier own story and each of which grows over the course of the story.The dialogues, especially between Andy and Red is both natural and memorable.



It is difficult to give this film a high praise it deserves and not sound like the rambling of an enamored school girl savoring her first crush,so I'll stop here by saying that,to understand the greatness of this film,you must simply experience it for yourself and it is an experience I strongly recommend.