| ||||||||||
| Akku is an experimental thriller in Tamil which is only 90 minutes and features newcomers and has no songs, comedy, or fights- still it works! It has many good twists and turns that will keep you interested and on the edge of your seat. "Akku" is a vowel used to denote pronunciation not natural to Tamil usage, a more popular usage is "Ayudha Ezhuthu", but Mani Ratnam has already made a film with the same title! The debutant director Maamani has been influenced by situational thrillers like "Speed" and "Phone Booth" and he reworks it to suit a big city like Chennai milieu perfectly. If Speed told the story of a cop (Keanu Reeves) who must save the passengers of LA city bus that has a bomb set to explode if the bus goes below 50 MPH, Phone Booth narrates the story of a man trapped in a city public phone booth who picks up a ringing receiver and is told is that if he hangs up, he'll be killed by a sniper bullet! Both these films worked big time with the audiences because they were edge of the seat thrillers for all of their adrenaline-pumping 90 minutes. Maamani has tried something similar with Akku, not anywhere near the tension created by the original Hollywood thrillers but at the same time a bold and daring film for a Tamil viewer. Siva (Ajay) is an IT professional and an orphan who falls in love with Bhanu (Sriji) a chirpy girl whose brother a long haired bearded guy (Rakshai) is a big time terrorist (!!) who is planning to bomb Chennai city! One day Siva and Bhanu elope, but are caught by terrorist big brother. The guy a bomb maker things of a unique way of taking revenge on Siva and also putting his plans to bomb the city. He plants a shoe bomb on Siva and dumps him in the city center and asks him to start running and if he slows down it will explode killing all the people near him! Siva starts running through Chennai city and soon the police led by Asst. Commissioner (Riyaz Khan), bomb squad officer Anu (Anu Hassan) are behind him trying their best to defuse the bomb and save him and the city. How the bomb is defused after a lot of twists and turns is what the rest of the film is about. It is not a great film by any yardstick as the story and screenplay are riddled with anomalies. How come such an efficient force like the Chennai Police had no knowledge of a smart and intelligent terrorist living in the city? The thing about a shoe bomb that will explode if the runner decreases his speed is a bit exaggerated. Does that mean the hero is constantly clocking the same speed throughout his nearly 24 hour run is hard to digest? Still Akku is an attempt at a different type of thriller not seen in Tamil film genre which has human emotions and cinematic heroism to keep the audiences engrossed. Maamani and his cameraman Chittibabu has been able to craft a thriller that will provide maximum tension for the viewers nervously waiting for the final outcome. Verdict- Racy | ||||||||||
AKKU
COLLEGE KUMARAN
| ||||||||||||||
| Straight off the bat, College Kumaran has redeemed Mohanlal’s sagging image to a large extent. All ingredients that go into the superstar’s larger-than-life characterisation has been mixed well and blended with the story to churn out a 165-minute fairly engrossing entertainer. Mohanlal had rocked in college campus stories during the mid 80’s in Sukhamo Devi & Sarvakalasala. The vexing question -- After so many years, how will Mohanlal fit into a college campus milieu? -- has been answered by writer Suresh Poduval and Thulasidas through the film. Mohanlal’s character is made believable by making him Captain Sreekumar, who after completing his short service is back running the canteen at Mahatma College, which at one time was run by his dad who along with his sister perished in mysterious fire, years back. For the students at Mahatma College, he is their beloved Kumarettan, who is in forefront of all campus activities. He is like a big brother to the students and a man who gets things done (a Management Guru?) for the College management consisting of the principal Narendranath (Janardhanan) and manager Shivaraman Nair (Nedumudi Venu) who turns to him, whenever they are in trouble. Meanwhile Madhavi (Vimala Raman), the English professor, thinks he is too big for his boots and resents his popularity among the students. But her hate soon turns to love towards the end when she comes to know who the real Kumarettan is and the sacrifices he has undergone for the students. The villain is Siddharthan (Siddique), an ex-student, a slimy politician and now the Education Minister, who wants his party students to take over the college union, so that he could ultimately take over the management of the college! He successfully frames Kumaran in a police case making him responsible for the death of seven students in a road accident while they were coming back from a study tour. Now Kumaran the former army man turns angry and takes on the corrupt system. Thulasidas has packaged the film as a masala entertainer on the lines of 70’s commercial films of Sasikumar or A B Raj. The comedy scenes (Mohanlal, Harisri Asokhan, Sooraj Venjaranmoodu and assorted other comedians), have more slapstick than any real humour. Vimala Raman and Balachandra Menon, who plays a journalist, have no meaty roles. Old family sentiments with a weepy climax song seen last in Prem Nazir-K P Kottarakara type films abound, along with a lot of action scenes mixed with current campus political issues. The film has three songs written by Shibu Chakravarthy and composed by Ouseappachan with Kanakuyilin…. being the pick of the lot, though Snehathin Koodonnu… is also peppy. And finally Thulasidas, Poduval, the producer and people who buy the ticket for the film, knows that such an outdated story that moves at snail pace, at times torturous, will work only if the one-man entertainment troupe called Mohanlal plays the College Kumaran. The film is worth a look only for this most solid of actors, with his impeccable comic timing. Verdict: Time Pass | ||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||
SOUND OF BOOT
| ||||||||||
| One thing is amply clear by now- the Suresh Gopi- Shaji Kailas team has run out of steam. They have made a film with an idiotic title Sound of Boot(SOB), without a script! It has a hangover of so many of their earlier films, and the suspense element is so predictable, that by interval the story is actually over. The basic problem with SOB is that though Rajesh Jayaraman has been credited with the story and screenplay, it's a stale, far-fetched, loose-end script that irritates the viewers. It lacks the passion, punchlines and twists seen in the earlier films of Suresh and Shaji. And technically for a Shaji Kailas film, SOB is a shoddy work with most of the time with poor lighting. It begins as a bleak dark film set somewhere in the High Ranges of Idukki district and ends that way. Three IG's in Kerala Police- Rowther (Riza Bava), Nambiar (Rajan.P.Dev), Sebastin (Bheeman Reghu) retire on the same day. The same night Rowther is murdered, Nambiar's daughter Meera Nambiar (Honey) a college girl goes missing! SP of Police Siddharth Mahadevan (Suresh Gopi) is asked to investigate. Soon Meera is knocked off allegedly by her lover Rahul (Balu) and her dead body is found in a desolate holiday home run by a suspicious looking Shankaranarayanan (Murali), while her dad is murdered at home. Now Shaji Kailas decides to become Manoj Night Shyamalan by making the audiences see three different versions of what took place through the eyes of Rahul, Shankaranarayanan and the real truth through Siddharth Mahadevan. It turns out that Shankaranarayanan was a fearless journalist who ran a paper many years back during the emergency period that did investigative stories on police brutality in the high ranges. The officers involved were Rowther, Nambiar and Sebastin who brutally raped and killed the crusading journalists' daughter and made his wife lose her senses, his son Rahul grew up in an orphanage. So the father and son are on a revenge spree and their final target is to get Sebastin. Can Siddharth stop the killing? Shaji and Rajesh wanted to say a message that there are so many similar people who lost out their dear ones during the emergency period and no justice or compensation has been paid by the government and those responsible for the emergency excess are still roaming around free. But what the director fails to understand is that "emergency excess" is old hat and it does not strike a chord with today's audiences. Added to that there are no nuances, twists or turns, and no drama in this non-thriller, with only Suresh Gopi bringing some cheer to otherwise a film that will put you into a deep slumber! | ||||||||||
CYCLE
| ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| By Moviebuzz | ||||||||||||||
| Eureka! Malayalam commercial cinema has atlast found a new Cycle to ride with a set of talented and fresh youngsters. Three cheers to director Johnny Antony, script writer James Albert, and the youth brigade of Vineeth Sreenivasan, Vinu Mohan, Bhama and Sandhya, for riding a winner! Cycle has the right ingredients that go to making it a joy ride- brand new youthful actors with freshness who can carry a show on their tender shoulders, a story and screenplay which is refreshing and racy, peppy music, situational comedy, all this packaged as a family entertainer that will appeal to all ages. All the action takes place in a upmarket shopping mall 'City Centre' in Kochi. Our lead actors are all working in shops in this mall. Meet Roy (Vineeth Sreenivasan), a young man coming from a poor family working 'Kausthubhan Financiers' run by 'Blade' Kausthubhan (Jagathy Sreekumar). His best friend is Sanju (Vinu Mohan) a taxi-driver's son who is bitter about life as he a aspiring fast bowler was denied a place in the Kerala Ranji cricket team and works in a electronic shop in the mall. Marvel Travels is another establishment which functions in the same complex, opposite Kausthubhan Financiers where Johnny's dream girl Annie (Bhama) works. Roy has developed a liking for Annie. Meenakshi (Sandhya), who is the daughter of Kausthubhan, is a frequent visitor to the mall who is mad about Sanju, who has no time for her! On a New Year eve, life takes a new twist for the buddies as they are forced to loot from Kausthubhan Financiers to save Annie's brother. They loot nearly Rs 2 crore and have Kausthubhan and his brothers-in-law (Sai Kumar, Cochin Haneefa, Sadique) hot on their heels, as they cannot go to the police as the entire amount is black. The chase begins leading to more twists, and finally natural justice prevails. The director brings about the message part of the film by highlighting the importance of team spirit, ethics and sacrifice to the core, which is the films emotional core that works with the audiences. The writer and director have been able to conceive a slickly packaged comedy caper with a bit of suspense. Mercifully the film keeps to its track and does not aspire to be anything more than a fluffy entertainer. Vineeth Sreenivasan is a scream and holds the film together. He is super energetic and has good comedy timing. His body language, dialogue delivery and style are a xerox of his father Sreenivasan. Singing his own songs, with gleeful, no holds barred abandon, he hops, skips and jumps his way into the audience's heart. Vinu with his smashing good looks, impressive dialogue delivery is equal foil to Vineeth and their on-screen chemistry makes the film work Bhama is coy and just ok, while Sandhya in the limited role given to her is sparkling and bubbly. All the others in the supporting cast like Jagathy, Murali, Sai Kumar, Haneefa, Shammi Thilakan are adequate for the roles assigned to them. The camera of Shaji and his takings are first class giving the film a racy feel to it. Another highlight is Majo's music with the Singapore picturised song among the three being the pick of the lot. On the whole everything has blended well to make a neat 2 hours 15 minutes racy entertainer, that will keep you engrossed. | ||||||||||||||
SHOWBIZ
| ||||||||||||||
| Sonia Chopra | ||||||||||||||
| A film about the corruption in the media is relevant in today’s times. It’s also true that in an age where completion between media houses is so strife that grabbing eye-balls becomes inevitable to survive, the media has pushed the boundaries and is challenging it every day. How many times have you seen an angry celebrity desperately lounge at a photographer who is intruding their privacy in a delicate moment? Whether it’s their wedding, a death in the family, or a split with a loved one, it’s all a big circus fed to a shamelessly voyeuristic audience that has tasted blood. This has been told in Showbiz, albeit in an overtly simplistic manner. Rohan Arya (Tushar Jalota) is a singing talent contest winner who is backed by music house Showbiz and he becomes their in-house star. Romance brews between Rohan and the company’s creative director Shikha (Mrinalini Sharma). Trouble arrives in the form of Sharad Rajput (Sushant Singh, a fantastic actor who deserves better), an ambitious and corrupt journalist who thinks nothing of using his power as a media person to exploit celebrities. His mantra is living off the lives of celebrities and their controversies, even creating them if none exist. He approaches Rohan and asks him to exploit his romance for publicity, circus tabhi acha lagta hai jab tak naya naya tamasha ho; nahin to public bore ho jati hai. Rohan being the upright guy, refuses and invites the ire of Rajput. Meanwhile, Rajput is offered a tidy sum of money to create news about Rohan and milk his stardom for channel TRPs. Showbiz does have some gritty moments that make you cringe with disgust: for example, when a blood-soaked woman is battling for life at an accident site, Rajput wants to pull her zip down before filming the accident and fleeing. The film that starts off fairly well transforms into a melodramatic tirade with only black or white characters, a drug-addict sister, and a gruesome accident. Technically, the film is below par. Choreographer-turned- director Raju Khan, to add, more drama to the proceedings, even adds computer generated lightening off and on. Khan’s storytelling, though interesting at places, is yet to acquire the finesse of other debutant directors that have made a mark this year. Mrinalini Sharma is an extremely pretty face and her performance is about average. Tushar Jalota has the droopy eyes, ruffled hair and shirtless-look body, but not the screen presence required to carry an entire film on his shoulders. In fact, it’s the supporting cast that saves the film: Sushant Singh, Saurabh Shukla, Gulshan Grover, Sachin Khedekar and Ehsaan Khan. Music (by Lalit of the Jatin-Lalit duo) is definitely a plus: Shukriya is a nice danceable number and the other songs are easy on the ears as well. The film would have been a decent watch if only the filmmaker had stuck to keeping it real. With stiff competition from last week’s releases Welcome and Taare Zameen Par, it’s unlikely that Showbiz will have a chance. | ||||||||||||||
MY NAME IS ANTHONY GONSALVES
| ||||||||||||||
| Sonia Chopra | ||||||||||||||
| There are some films you like for the cheer they bring and the way they entertain you while keeping your mind and emotions engaged. My Name is Anthony Gonsalves is one such… at least in parts. Enter Anthony Gonsalves (Nikhil Dwivedi), your Bandra nukkad goofy lad who dreams of making it as a hero, and has it in him to keep a captive audience. An orphan, Anthony was picked up by kind-hearted gangster Sikander (Pawan Malhotra), who, instead of admitting him into the world of crime, preferred to put him in the hands of an avuncular priest (Mithun Chakraborty) instead. As Anthony grows into a young boy, working as a waiter at a pub, his respect and admiration for Sikander bhai remains undiminished. But when Anthony mistakenly stumbles upon a dirty cover-up job of Sikander and his men, every one has a tough decision to take. The dilemma of the characters is often shown to have a parallel with Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, with Sikander as Caesar, his two cronies as Brutus and Cassius, and, of course, Anthony as Anthony. An interesting take, but half fulfilled. MNIAG belongs to the genre of last year’s Manorama Six Feet Under and Johnny Gaddar. Slick in its format and an absorbing story, the film is an edge-of-seat thriller and an emotional drama all at once. Problem is, it can’t sustain itself. Throughout the film unnecessary interruptions (Hrishita Bhatt’s item number, a comedy track with Saurabh Shukla) hamper the film’s pace. The last half-hour is the most disappointing with the serene priest turning into a karate champ and a fight sequence straight out of a Bollywood potboiler. Still, the film has it moments. Debutant Nikhil Dwivedi’s performance is honest and absorbing; his confidence in his very first film is impressive. His character reminds one of Shah Rukh Khan’s lovable Sunil in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na. Amrita Rao does well as the assistant director of a film who later falls for Anthony. Pawan Malhotra is excellent as the gangster who loves Anthony like his little brother. Anupam Kher as Murtaza the gang lord is good—an unconventional casting choice. In fact, the entire cast: Javed Sheikh as inspector Khan, Mukesh Tiwari as gang member Maqsood, Daya Shankar Pandey as gang member Riyaaz and D Santosh as the always-drunk Michael are superlative and jointly carry the film. The music by Pritam is just about average. Editing is effective, though lax at times. The cinematography (Prakash Kutty), which required the camera to be as mobile as the actors, is fantastic and a treat to watch. Director E Niwas (Shool, Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega) makes a good comeback after four years, and perhaps at the right time, as the audience is receptive to such films that tell stories out of the ordinary. | ||||||||||||||
ANURANAN
| ||||||||||||
| Sonia Chopra | ||||||||||||
| The film begins with a car driving along a scenic view with, what sounds like, a Bengali folk song playing. How many times have you seen this kind of a beginning? Annoying for its lack of imagination, the start elicits a yawn already. We trail the life of Rahul (Rahul Bose), a successful architect based in London who gets the chance of going back home to Kolkata following a job transfer. His wife Nandita (Rituparna Sengupta) is also thrilled at the prospect. Rahul’s colleague Amit (Rajat Kapoor) with his wife Preeti (Raima Sen) is also joining them there and the two couples develop a friendship. The film goes on to suggest an attraction between the two couples, though these suggestions remain half-fulfilled. While these mild flirtations continue, you wonder what one is to make out of it, as the story just doesn’t move forward from these hints. Rahul Bose exudes warmth and gives a heartfelt performance. Rituparna too gives a good performance, but is severely let down by the Hindi dubbing. Rajat Kapoor and Raima Sen give able renditions despite the cardboard one-dimensional characters. While Rajat’s Amit reads pink papers, watches TV only for sensex information and claims his favourite colour is that of money, Raima’s ignored bespectacled housewife Preeti is confusing to say the least. In fact all the characters seem completely subtracted of reality. For example, Nandita and Preeti are young, educated and live in London, yet wear traditional sarees looking ten years older and are both housewives. Once when out on a trip to the countryside, Nandita actually begins to sing loudly, very much like in our Hindi films. Also, when Nandita wishes to get rid of her loneliness sitting at home, she joins a nearby play school as teacher – another tired cliché. Rahul is a caring husband but ODs on the saccharine. So while Amit flirts with Nandita complimenting on her beauty, Preeti follows Rahul to the Himalayas where he is posted for a work project. What follows is a twist in the tale, one that should have ideally been introduced several sequences back. It’s different to lead on the viewer by dropping hints and leaving it at that, so the viewer tries to interpret the story in their own way. But it’s a feat not all films can carry off. While it is entertaining to see the story unfold and wonder `will they, won’t they’ when the flirtations between the couples are cemented again and again, it’s annoying to see that’s all there is to the film for the first two hours or so. The dialogue is interesting and the characters speak some beautiful philosophical lines quoting Tagore; but this could be a put-off for those not familiar with Bengali literature. The pace of Anuranan is slow, and the dubbing is atrocious, a factor that will work strongly against the film. While it is a great initiative to dub the film in Hindi to reach the multiplex audience, the dubbing should have been done superlatively. While the tension between the two couples is does have its moments, and the performances are worth watching, the self-indulgent pace and disappointing ending may prevent the film from connecting with the mainstream viewer. | ||||||||||||
