Category Archives: Romance

Drama, Genre, Romance

O Kadhal Kanmani Review

O Kadhal Kanmani Review – O Kadhal Kanmani is a Tamil romantic drama released in 2015. Aditya and Thara move into a live-in relationship without any commitment to marriage. The plot revolves around their lives.

Director Maniratnam has yet again narrated a light hearted romantic tale in O Kadhal Kanmani. The movie has most of the Mani’s signature style shots like the lead pair cuddling near the door passage on the train, travelling in public bus, short and sweet dialogues. Yet the movie is fresh and sees the world through the eyes of the newer generation. The plot is not new as it has already been explored in Bollywood in movies like Love Aaj Kal and Shuddh Desi Romance. Maniratnam has his signature touch to the plot which makes it very enjoyable watch. If you are deeply looking for a very intense storyline then there is nothing much in this, but the movie is a mere exploration of love in the present era. Cinematographer PC Sreeram and Maniratnam can create magic on the screen. The visuals are stunning. Once the hero, a video game designer and the heroine, an architect are introduced; their first outing Mental Manadhil song is a motorbike ride across Mumbai going through all beautiful architectures across the city and the visuals are like that in a video game.  The treatment is absolutely stunning. The characters of Ganapathy sir and his wife Bhavani played by Prakash raj and Leela Samson adds a much interesting layer to the story. Within the walls of a small apartment in Mumbai, Maniratnam has painted the difference between the love of yesteryear and the love of the present times. The movie slows down a bit post the first half and then gets back on track during the climax. This is a point where the director seems to have struggled pushing the narration which is not based on a strong story line. Choice of Dulquer Salman and Nithya Menen is a good one. This would be a very memorable performance for Nithya as she has carried of the chirpy, bubbly character very well. Her mannerism for smiling for everything is a very intelligent representation of how she takes life casually.

High Points: Maniratnam’s direction, A R Rahman’s music, PC Sreeram’s cinematography, Casting of the characters.

Low Points: The movie does not have a strong plot, the use of disconnected narration to keep the element of surprise might not engage everyone

Overall O Kadhal Kanmani may not be the best of Maniratnam’s movies but still an enjoyable watch for the entertaining narration and stunning visuals.

Watchable

Genre, Romance, Thriller

Anegan Review

Anegan Review – Anegan is a Tamil romantic thriller released in 2015. Madhu has to undergo psychiatrist treatment as she gets the flashes of romantic episode from what she believes are her past life and her love partner is same throughout and they don’t get together for due to ill fate. Will she meet the love of her previous birth again, will it be a ill fate again is the plot of Anegan.

Director K.V Anand has tried to take the classic Nenjam Marapadhillai story and give it a modern twist to it. However he has added more twists in the tale to suit to the taste of modern day audience. The movie definitely works well to keep the audience entertained. Dhanush has performed well in his multi roles and out of all of them his role as Kaali stands out. The movie covers three stories mainly out of the many one in Burma, one in the present Chennai and one in Chennai in the 80s. Out of these the story set in the 80s is best of the lot and as it is kept post the interval block it serves as a great build up to the finish. Amyra Dastur looks cute in her role as Kalyani and the role she had taken up suits her acting abilities.

High Points: The visuals Burma, Character of Kaali and the story of Kali and Kalyani, Visual appeal of the movie, Casting of Karthik after a long time is a plus for the the movie

Low Points: Initial set of disconnected events not all come together as the suspense is broken, Out of ordinary climax looks cliched

Overall Anegan has more stories to tell to the audience with a connect with each other. It may not be an extra-ordinary product from K.V Anand but still manages to keep the audience engaged throughout. If you are able to with stand some cliched masala moments in the movie you will like this one.

Watchable

Can Skip it, Comedy, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Tamil Movies

Kappal Review

Kappal Review – Kappal is a Tamil romantic slapstick comedy released in 2014. Vasu and his friends make a promise to each other that they would not get married as it would distance them. But Vasu is interested in girls and he elopes to Chennai and falls in love with Deepika. When his friends come to know about it they try to separate them.

The movie’s expectation soared high with Shankar pitching in the last moment to pick up the production. The genre of the movie did not work for me at all. It is a romantic slap stick comedy which I am not a major fan of. It might work for folks who like movies of this genre. The plot is a very decent one and is different from many other movies. Usually friends help the lovers get together but in this they are the ones who oppose it. The production value of the movie is quite good. The songs shot also have a very fresh perspective. The comedy portion works in parts. For me the weak point was in the performance by Vaibhav and Sonam they had expressions between A and B. This kind of made it very monotonous. There is not character arc for the lead characters that take them through a transformation. They tend to remain the same till the end.

There are quite a heavy comedy department including Karunakaran, VTV Ganesh and their friends. They have tried hard to make people laugh which has worked in parts. As I had mentioned the comedy is for a segment of people and may not entice everyone. The length of the movie is also too long for the content it had.

High Points: Comedy, Freshness in the song sequences, Production quality, Plot

Low Points: Grossness in comedy, Romantic slap stick genre which did not work for me, Characterization and performance of the lead pair, length of the movie.

Journey on this Kappal (Ship) left me feeling tired by the end of it.

Can skip it

Drama, Genre, Romance, Trailers

Haiku Nee Short Film Trailer

Haiku Nee Short Film Trailer

I had written review about a short film Unakae Uyiraanaen a few weeks back. It was directed by my friend Surrya M. Narayanan. I am happy to see that he has come out with his next short film Haiku Nee.

The screening of the movie is in AVM Studios, Chennai on 14th February 2015. You can catch the short film when it is screened.

All the best to Surrya and his team for the success of Haiku Nee.

 

Genre, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Tamil Movies, Thriller

I Review

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I Review – I is a Tamil romantic thriller released in 2015. A deformed, ugly looking man kidnaps a top advertising model on her wedding day and keeps her as a hostage in an unknown location. To her surprise he gets her favorite food and favorite clothes. Who is he why has he kidnapped her is the plot of I.

I is a show that is dominated heavily by Vikram’s brilliant performance and Shankar’s imagination. It is not a usual Shankar’s movie you would see. It has a different treatment than rest of his films. The first half in particular is more on the romance side and the second half is a thriller. Vikram has completely transformed himself for the three different phases of the movie. He has given his heart and soul for the movie. Be it the happy go lucky body builder, the remo-ish looking model or the hunch pack character he has fit in the bill of all these with ease and you would enjoy his performance throughout. Amy Jackson looks so beautiful in every frame and of course she has tried acting. The length of the movie is 189 minutes long which is definitely a negative point for the movie. The sequences in China in particular are very dragging and monotonous. Apart from PC Sreeram’s camera capturing the beauty of China there is nothing much to look forward to in this part. Probably this where Shankar might have missed Sujata to a great extent, the duo had created so many entertaining first halves. Around the interval phase the movie picks up momentum and from here on it transforms itself into what we call a Shankar’s movie. You would understand this once you see the movie.

High Points: Vikram’s performance and the struggle he had gone through in shaping himself for the roles is commendable and as he transforms there is a huge applause from the audience, Shankar’s imagination is outstanding the way he has structured the scenes, visuals and emotions are brilliant. He has literally taken a character that everyone would hate for its look and transformed into something the audience would cheer for, Songs are pleasant to watch with Ennodu Nee Irundhaal being the epitome of all of them, Stunt choreography is done very well as with any other Shankar’s movies. A R Rahman’s score fits well for the story.

Low Points: The length of the movie, the drag in the portions shot in China

Overall I may not be a path breaker in Indian Cinema but an effort that would be laudable for the performance, direction and visual effects. If you go with an very open mind you would enjoy it. I is beauty in acting, beauty in direction, beauty in visuals, beauty in music and a beauty in films.

Must Watch –Go for it

 

Genre, Must Watch, Rating, Romance, Short Films

Unakae Uyiraanaen Short Film Review

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Unakae Uyiraanaen Short Film Review – Unakae Uyiraanen is a Tamil Short film directed by Surrya M. Narayanan released in 2014. Krishnan and Diana at their 60 recollect the sweet memories of their deep love.

The film is an emotional essay of true love through the lives of Krishnan and Diana. Love is immortal is a message that had been dealt in movies for many years. The situation, characters and the treatment makes it special. Director Surrya and his team have conveyed this through the memoirs of Krishnan and Diana at their advanced years. Usually old age is considered to be the one where self-actualization occurs. There are many things that might have changed but love remains unchanged.

Delhi Ganesh is a good choice to play the character of Krishnan. It is completely his show as he effortlessly slips into any emotional state and adapt his body language accordingly. Patricia Tanner too fits in the role well.

The high point of the short film is that it is just made with two characters and no others. Symbolizes the fact that for two people emotionally connected by love the world is almost non-existent. It is very effective. There are good punches in certain portions of the dialogues that would connect well with the audience. The cinematography and the background score is a big plus for the film.

If at all I have to pick an area where there is room for improvement is on lengthier dialogues which drags a bit on occasions. Compared to the whole output this is very minor.

Overall Unnakae Uyiraanaen is a refreshing short film that will emotionally connect with you and make you fall in love all over again. My hearty congratulations to Surrya and his team for making a short and sweet episode of love and wish them luck for their future projects.

You could watch the full movie in the video link below.

 

Must Watch – Watch this now

 

 

Can Skip it, Drama, Genre, Malayalam Movies, Rating, Reviews, Romance

London Bridge Review

London Bridge Review – London Bridge is a Malayalam romance drama released in 2014. Vijay is a successful businessman settled down in London. He gets the chance of his life to become the son in law of another famous businessman CS Nambiar. But with a strange turn of events a girl who is the bread winner of a poor family gets hit by his car and her right hand is paralyzed which prevents her from taking up a job. What will Vijay do now is the story of London Bridge.

London bridge did not work for me. Other than the pleasant visuals of London and UK countryside there was nothing enjoyable in this tale of romance. Majority of the movie happens in UK barring a few scenes in India. Through the entire movie the lead pair looks jet lagged. Nandita Raj’s expression is between A and B. Most of the intense emotional sequences fall flat with her single expression face. Prithivraj has tried hard to act but the chemistry between the pair goes missing. The plot of the story is very unique where the conflict is between the romance and morality of self. However it takes a U turn trying when the transition in the hero almost happens very quickly and you would be able to guess the call he would take naturally in the end. The second half of the movie happens to be just a formality to witness the predictable eventuality. If the stress has been made more on the inner conflict of the hero and kept him strong till the end of the movie it would have made a very interesting tale.

Prathap Pothan and Andrea Jeremiah are a big plus for the movie. Although they don’t have much scenes but the sequences they are present are watchable. Another drawback in the movie is its length and pace. The pace is too slow.

Overall this is a forgettable movie for Prithivraj. It had the promises but has failed to deliver on it.

Can Skip it

Related Posts: Om Shanthi Oshaana Review | Thattathin Marayathu Review

Can Skip it, Comedy, Drama, Genre, Hindi Movies, Rating, Reviews, Romance

Khoobsurat

Khoobsurat – is a Hindi romance drama released in 2014. A fun loving and spontaneous physiotherapist is invited into a highly disciplined and a highly formal royal family to treat King’s paralyzed legs.

Disney princess stories no matter how many times it has been told is an evergreen success formula. But Khoobsurat has taken the fairy tale and made a below average Bollywood romance drama.  They had tried to adapt the 1980’s Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s film for this romance drama.  Kirron Kher plays the role of Sonam’s mother, Manju; if you remember Rekha played the character of Manju a young fun loving girl in the 1980 movie. Were they trying bring in  connect back? The platform for a nice princess story had been set very well, choosing Jaipur as a backdrop is an excellent choice but the screenplay gets derailed in the first 20 minutes of the movie and the writers seem to have run out of ideas and they started to adapt sequences from many Hollywood romance dramas to fill the rest of the movie. The characterizations are weak; they seem to run out of breath very quickly. Sonam Kapoor looks cute and pretty but when it comes to acting her expressions are between A and B.

Quickgun Murugan seems to be a much better outing for Shashanka Gosh compared to this one. You can give this one a skip.

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Drama, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Tamil Movies, Worth a Watch

Amara Kaaviyam

Amara Kaaviyam – is a Tamil romance drama released in 2014. A high school student Sathya meets his classmate Karthiga and conveys that his friend Balaji is in love with her, but Karthiga tells him that she is in love with Sathya and not Balaji. They fall in love with each other but when their families come to know about this they try to keep them away from each other.

There was an era in the early 80’s in Tamil Cinema when there were movies based on teenage love story. Movies like Alaigal Oivathillai, Paneer Pushpangal, Kilinjalgal became block buster hit. Director Jeeva Shankar has tried to reproduce the magic of that era in Amara Kaaviyam. He had used the 80’s period to convey the movie as well. The first half of the movie seemed like modern version of Paneer Pushpangal for me. However the second half turns into an emotional melodrama ultimately leading to the climax which is much different from those movies. The first half of the movie is very engaging but the second half falters a bit with a sudden shift in the behavior of the lead character. I felt like his role having shades of the lead protagonist from the director’s previous outing Naan.

The new comer Sathya has acted well in parts of the movie. The credit goes to the director. Jeeva Shankar’s cinematography and Ghibran’s music are great plus for the movie. Each shot is like a painting on a canvas. The pace of the movie is a big drawback for the movie. As the movie is headed to its climax you would be able to predict what is going to happen next. A little bit of increased pace in the screenplay and maintaining the suspense a bit tighter would have made this one a very compelling watch.

If you had liked the teen love stories like the ones I had mentioned before then you might enjoy watching this or else you would be waiting for the movie to get over.

Watchable – for all those who love 80’s movies based on love at adolescence

Drama, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Tamil Movies, Wait for DVD/TV

Un Samayal Arayil

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Un Samayal Arayil – is a Tamil romance drama released in 2014. This is a remake of Malayalam hit movie Salt N’ Pepper. Kalidasan is a food lover and an archaeologist. He is still unmarried in his early 40s. An accidental phone conversation brings him and Gowri a dubbing artist together and they find a soul mate in each other through their common interest in food. But they are hesitant to meet each other in personal with a fear of being rejected.

The movie is unique that it uses the love for food bringing about love between two persons. The first half of the movie is very engaging and you tend to fall in love with its lead characters. However a major part of the second half the movie is distracted by focusing more on the second set of characters and with two songs for them is a drag. The movie again gets on track when it starts focusing on the main characters and food. Ilayaraja’s music, performances of Prakashraj and Sneha and tasty food is a big plus for the movie. Drag in the second half screenplay and non-related locations to relate to audiences across states are few things which would make you bored. Overall this dish is good for Take Out.

Wait for TV/DVD

Drama, Genre, Malayalam Movies, Must Watch, Rating, Reviews, Romance

Thattathin Marayathu

Thattathin Marayathu – is a Malayalam romance drama released in 2012. A Hindu boy living in Kerala falls in love with a Muslim girl. Were they able to get together in life is the plot of Thattathin Marayathu.

Thattathin Marayathu means “behind the veil”. A very apt title for the movie as it is related to the beauty of the lady behind the veil. A very well-known plot of an Indian romance movie, yet the movie is enjoyable for the way it has been presented, the characters are sketched and the sequences are tied together. The nativity of Malabar area is captured well and people from that area would be able to relate to the movie and its location better. Nivin Pauly and Aju Varghese have delivered a very convincing performance for director Vineeth Srinivasan. One of the big positives for the movie is that the scenes are very realistic and sketched with a feel good factor in it. If you are a fan of feel good romantic entertainers this one is a must watch for you.

Must Watch

Can Skip it, Comedy, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Tamil Movies

Idhu Kathirvelan Kadhal

Idhu Kathirvelan Kadhal – is a Tamil romantic comedy released in 2014. Kathir is a staunch devotee of Hanuman and believes in bachelorhood. However things take a turn when he meets Pavithra. He goes head over heels for her only to find that Pavithra already likes someone else. What happens next is the plot of Idhu Kathirvelan Kadhal.

A very old formula which has been beaten to death in many movies is used here. The only way you could make it work is by bringing in fresh frames, unique situations and different narration style. Rather than concentrating on this director S.R Prabhakaran has tried sticking to the elements that worked for Udhaynidhi in his previous outing OK OK. Santhanam’s comedy also works only in parts which makes the script more dragging and less enjoyable. Instead if he had concentrated on building the characters and situations as he did with Sundarapandian it might have worked better. Overall the movie is a forgettable one.

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