Monthly Archives: October 2012

Apoorva Ragam

Posted on by

I must have read about Apoorva Ragam before I bought the DVD but I’d no idea about the story when I finally sat down to watch it. And that’s definitely the way to approach this film.  It relies on unexpected twists to deliver a rather different take on college romance and knowing too much about the story beforehand would take away much of its appeal. It’s genuinely surprising and has a heroine who’s prepared to fight back which is always a plus, but there is a little too much sentimentality for me, especially in the final scenes. It’s still an enjoyable film though, and I loved the myriad twists and turns which made the second half of the film much better than the first.

Apologies for the rather blurry screencaps – the DVD plays much better in a DVD player than on my laptop!

Apoorva Ragam starts just like every other Indian college-based film with a group of guys discussing how to get their friend Roopesh (Nishan) hooked up with the pretty and popular Nancy.  Nancy (Nithya Menon) is bubbly and confident unlike the rather shy and quiet Roopesh but after some plotting by his mates Tommy (Asif Ali) and Feroz (Abhishek Raveendran), Roopesh gets admitted into Nancy’s circle of friends.

A little more contriving and Roopesh finally declares his love to Nancy which unsurprisingly she reciprocates in full.  One inane college song later and the two appear to be a happy couple without a care in the world – so far so very predictable.

Except that there is a cloud on the horizon as a guy on a motorbike turns up looking for Tommy and Roopesh, and he doesn’t look as if he out to give them career advice either.

In another hint that not all may be as it seems, Tommy calls Nancy’s rich father to tell him that his daughter is in a relationship with some loser guy at college.  Although he trusts his daughter and doesn’t put much faith in the anonymous phone call, Melipaire reacts by setting up Nancy’s marriage to his business partner’s son.  In despair Nancy turns to her friends for their advice and after a little more drama Tommy and Narayanan (Vinay Forrt) suggest that Nancy and Roopesh get married and present her father with a fait accompli.  Nancy doesn’t seem too keen on the idea, but like all good movie heroines, she does what the hero expects her to do and in no time at all the wedding goes ahead.

So far, the film is following an entirely predictable path and not even a particularly impressive one at that. But then Melipaire confronts Roopesh and just when I was expecting the big speech full of undying love and unswerving loyalty, the tables turn completely and the film takes off in a totally different and much more interesting direction.

From here on there is twist after twist and the pace of the film picks up considerably.  There are some very clever ideas and some more bizarre moments – like when Roopesh ends up on the runway as a male model! The three guys, Roopesh, Tommy and Narayanan, all interact well and keep the action snappy and focused for the most part.  There are only two songs and this is the better of the two since it features some excellent uncle dancing from the boys as they bond on a road trip.

But while the story becomes interesting there are almost too many plot twists so that by the time it gets to the final climax scene it’s hard to be surprised by anything.  The constant shock revelations make it hard to connect to the characters and in addition the three leads are more caricatures rather than the well-developed individual personalities the earlier scenes seemed to promise.  There is also no back story to explain why Roopesh, Tommy and Narayanan ended up together and became involved in the elaborate schemes which develop.  Santhosh Jogi’s brief appearance as Sethu, the guy chasing after Tommy and Roopesh, is also confusing as it’s never clear exactly how he knew them or how he knew about their plans.  He seems to be used more to showcase the ruthlessness of the three and their tight camaraderie rather than as a way to further develop their story.

Nithya Menon is excellent as Nancy and is particularly good when she asserts her decisive personality.  She makes the most of her role and apart from a little over acting at the end, delivers the best performance in the film. I always like it when a heroine does the sensible thing and runs when faced with a bad situation and Nancy passes the test with flying colours.  In comparison, Nishan is rather wooden as Roopesh and after his first brilliant scene with Melipaire, he seems to rely on just two facial expressions which both make him look as if he has eaten something disagreeable.  Asif Ali is much better as Tommy but once the action moves away from the college campus he is pretty much sidelined while Vinay Forrt has even less to do as Narayanan.  Nancy’s father also seems to be a bit of a wimpy push-over and his over sentimental speeches with his daughter don’t really fit with the rest of the film.

This is the only film I’ve seen by Sibi Malayil although I have more of his films in the pile to watch.  I’ve read that this was a departure from his normal style of film-making which makes me wonder if the under-development of the characters was more of a deliberate experiment and an attempt to create a more edgy atmosphere.  It doesn’t quite work whatever the reason as there isn’t enough meat in the story to allow for the lack depth in the three guys. I still enjoyed watching Apoorva Ragam but it’s not a film that bears up well to a second viewing since once you know what is going to happen the flaws in the characterisations are very apparent.  As a one-time entertainer though it works well, and it does deliver as advertised – “an unusual story about love and…” 3 ½ stars.

Maattrraan

Posted on by

I’m a big fan and I expect a lot from K.V. Anand and his writing team of Subha but sadly Maattrraan fails to deliver despite the presence of two Suriya’s, the hint of a good story and the best efforts of all the cast.  I was expecting the worst when I read about that the plot involved conjoined twins since anything even vaguely medical in Indian cinema is always replete with the totally impossible and that’s exactly the case here.  As if the ridiculous medical themes weren’t enough to deal with, the second half also has plot holes and inconsistencies big enough to swallow a small asteroid while it treads a well-worn path without any real excitement or tension. Just to cap it all off, Maattrraan also has one of the most ridiculous and unsatisfactory endings I’ve ever seen in a Tamil film!

It’s not all bad though.  The first half is generally entertaining and the interaction between the twins is engaging, but when the best chemistry in the whole film is between Suriya and himself then you know things aren’t looking good.

Suriya plays conjoined twins Akilan and Vimalan, who are almost separate, but can’t actually be separated because they only have one heart between them – which is only the start of the questionable medical statements.  Vimalan is intelligent, quiet and studious and completely different from his drinking, smoking and music-loving brother. They tend to overlook the fact that only having one heart means they share the same blood supply so if one twin was blind drunk, the other one would be intoxicated too, but logic never really intrudes on their relationship.  The differences between the two would have worked well for two fifteen years olds but seemed a little out of place in two grown men, especially since Akilan seems to be channeling late seventies Rod Stewart most of the time.

But the relationship between the brothers is the best part of the film and Suriya convincingly plays the part of the conjoined twins making them seem real rather than the product of a special effects team.  The twins are the offspring of Ramachandran (Sachin Khedekar), a genetic scientist who was forced out of Russia by the end of the cold war.  After some financial difficulties he set up the increasingly successful business of Energion, an energy drink for kids which consistently outsells and out performs all its competitors.  Add in a suspected Russian spy who is actually a journalist reporting on the connection between Energion and a health supplement which had serious side effects in a group of young Russian athletes and the scene is set for some dodgy chemistry and dubious genetic manipulation.

The film tries to ramp up into an action thriller, but since we know the villain is the rather mild-mannered Ramachandran along with his faithful side-kick Dinesh (Ravi Prakash) there aren’t many thrills to be had.  The fight scenes, especially one at the end of the first half between the twins and an assortment of thugs in an amusement park, seem to drag on forever. Perhaps it’s the challenge of the conjoined twins but even in the later fights, Peter Hein’s choreography isn’t as effective as usual.

There doesn’t seem to be any real reason for Akilan and Vimalan to be conjoined twins other than a gimmick to grab our attention.  It’s difficult to tell without understanding the dialogue, but there wasn’t enough in their relationship to fully explain why most of the budget had to be spent on creating the duplicate Suriya effect.  Especially since the rest of the film seems to have suffered as a result.  K. V. Anand films usually have great explosions, thrilling chase scenes and innovative fight sequences, but here the best of them are muted and the helicopter crash in particular is a rather damp squib.  Two brothers would have worked just as well, and although I get the nod to the fact that their father was a genetic scientist and the sequences with Akilan missing Vimalan in the second half were good, it wasn’t enough for me to justify the conjoined aspect.

Kajol Agarwal plays the role of Anjali, who starts off interested in Vimalan but then seems to change her allegiance to Akilan without too much distress in the second half.  Rather more believably, Anjali is a Russian interpreter which at least allows her to feature occasionally in the action and Kajol is fine in her role. Since the other female protagonist is the rather stilted and uncomfortable-looking Russian journalist, Kajol is also the better dancer which gives you a clue that the dance sequences aren’t anything too great either.  Even Suriya appears awkward for most of the choreography and the best thing about the songs are Kajol’s beautiful saris and skirts.  One song appears to have been shot in the Fjords in Norway and the scenery is absolutely stunning but also totally overshadows any hint of romance between Suriya and Kajol.

The basic story could have worked well, but it’s buried underneath all the CGI and far too many irrelevant trimmings that work against building excitement or tension as the plot unfolds.  Suriya is excellent and worth watching but that’s not enough to hold Maattrraan together. If you can watch with a willingness to completely suspend disbelief and don’t mind the constant clichés then this is probably a film that you will enjoy.  Otherwise wait for the DVD where judicious use of the FF button will likely make Maattrraan more watchable.

English Vinglish

Posted on by

Finally Sridevi returns to films! A low key and female centric family drama, English Vinglish allows ample opportunity to show off her great range and perfect timing. Gauri Shinde has written a nice story with a whiff of “Shirley Valentine” about it, and directs with assurance.

Shashi (Sridevi) is a wife and mother, taken for granted by her family – husband Satish (Adil Hussain), bitchy teenage daughter Sapna (a very convincing Navika Kotia) and son Sagar (the endearingly cheeky Shivansh Kotia). She is a good cook and keeps a lovely home as well as running a business making and selling ladoos, barely having a moment to herself. Shashi is accomplished and loving, but that is what is expected of her so she gets no credit for that. The family mock her for her lack of polish and poor English. The cheap shots are also a way of father and daughter bonding and excluding Shashi. Shashi is gracious and rarely retaliates, instead letting her beautifully expressive eyes show the pain.

When Shashi’s New York based niece Meera is about to be married, Shashi is sent ahead of her family to help with the preparations. Nervous at leaving her kids and husband, she is forced to go where she can be useful. Again, her feelings are ignored for the sake of convenience.

Shashi stays with her sister and niece Radha (the sparky Priya Anand) and spends her days missing her family at home. Daunted by America and feeling left out, Shashi secretly enrols in a dodgy “Learn English in 4 Weeks” class.

 

This is where the film detours into “Mind Your Language” territory. Taught by David (played by one of the worst actors I have ever seen, and I am including Mimoh in that list) and along with her fellow students, Shashi begins to come out of her shell. One of the students keen to get her right out of her shell is the dishy French chef, Laurent (Mehdi Nebbou). The tentative stirrings of romance between Laurent and Shashi are very well played even if his lines are cheesy.

The rest of the class start off as a collection of broad stereotypes, but the actors develop their characters really nicely. Sumeet Vyas, Rajeev Ravindranathan and Maria Romano are particularly good fun. I also liked the way food played a role in communication and relationships.

The story isn’t really about learning English as a road to happiness, but it is about getting your mojo back and gaining the respect of your loved ones. There is a theme of English language undermining Hindi and excluding people in their own country, but really she could have taken a pottery class or something else.

 

Much as I cheered when Shashi managed to navigate her way into the city or order a coffee, and I loved seeing her grow in self esteem and happiness, I have a slight problem with the character. She was so passive aggressive, even considering of her lack of confidence. Why make Radha cover for her so she could sneak to class? Why not just ask her sister to keep it quiet as a surprise for the family or at least not ask Radha to be an accomplice. Telling Laurent about her family in Hindi seemed at least partly a lie by omission rather than purely an outpouring of the heart given their level of conversational skills. Her final speech was two-thirds guilt-trip inducing perfect filmi Ma (and the opposite of the real situation) and finally one-third honesty about what she believed was needed for happiness. It made me like her less than I wanted to and I felt heavily manipulated at times as she is clearly meant to be the morally good person in the frame.

 

Shashi lost me at times, but Sridevi never did. Her performance was beautifully nuanced. As her self-confidence grew, Shashi’s expressions became less guarded and her eyes lit up. When Sridevi smiled she was radiant. I really wanted Shashi to be happy, despite my reservations. I think this was more about Sridevi than Shashi though – I am so happy to see her working in films again.

The music by Amit Trivedi mostly ranges from bland to twee. I’ve never been a big fan of his and the tweedly emo guitar thing is not my style. The songs are mostly in the background or used in montages of Shashi looking sad. It was all appropriate to the tone of the film but I won’t be listening to the soundtrack anytime soon.

Whether it was Gauri Shinde or former co-star Sridevi who won him over, Amitabh Bachchan makes a fun appearance. He plays a rambunctious man of the world and gave Shashi some much needed confidence and sensible advice. Priya Anand is a standout. I liked her sassy style in her debut (Leader) and she was very natural as the lively college student Radha. Adil Hussain is also excellent as the thoughtless Satish, and the children are perfect for their roles. Maybe too perfect – that girl is a right little cow. The random extras at the wedding were energetic and got into the dances.

The visual design is excellent. Shashi’s house in Pune looked lived in and real, even if her saris were a bit too fabulous. I drooled over some of her outfits; all of them in fact, except the dark pink one (I don’t like pink) and the mauve (it was a bit too shiny). The NRIs lived in a very American suburban house with Indian touches in the decor. It was a nice representation of their life abroad and the connection to home.

I saw this with four friends and at least three of them cried several times during the movie and we all laughed a lot. It’s a film I would have loved to see with my mother and then go out with her for coffee. It’s a well crafted film, with a good story and some fine performances. Despite some issues, I highly recommend it. Welcome back Sridevi!