Tag Archives: Tulasi

Pannaiyarum Padminiyum

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Pannaiyarum PadminiyumPannaiyarum Padminiyum is another Tamil film I watched initially because I liked the soundtrack and thought the story sounded interesting. It’s based on an original short film with the central idea extended into a full length feature by writer/ director S.U. Arun Kumar. It’s a sweet story about a village landlord and his pride and joy in a vintage Padmini car that he borrows from a friend. While the film is mostly about the various characters in the village and how the car comes to represent their dreams, there are a number of love stories interwoven into the narrative – including one between the driver Murugesan and a village girl Malar. But the best love story is the one between the landlord and his wife Chellamma, and that’s the one that makes this film well worth a watch.

Pannaiyar (Jayaprakash) and his wife Chellamma (Tulasi) have an open house policy, where anyone in the village who needs anything can come and get their help at any time of day or night. They’re somewhat hindered in their efforts by their hapless servant Peddai (Bala Saravanan) who tends to jinx everything he touches, but really the only blot on their horizon is their daughter Suja (Neelima Rani). Suja visits her parents regularly and always manages to remove something of value from the house despite the best efforts of her mother. Chellamma is incensed by her daughter’s avaricious behaviour and Suja very definitely isn’t the usual ‘good daughter’ featured in rural Tamil dramas. I like this different take on the mother/daughter dynamic, particularly since Chellamma is kind and accommodating to everyone else. It’s only with her daughter that she has a mutually antagonistic relationship although it’s clear that the reason for it is the heartache Suja causes her father.

When Shanmugam (Mahadevan) lends his Padmini car to Pannaiyar, at first he is content to just stand and look at it as it sits in his yard. But then there is a village emergency and the car is needed to drive a young boy to hospital. Luckily for Pannaiyar, local farmer Murugesan (Vijay Sethupathi) knows how to drive a tractor, so he is quickly enlisted to drive the car to the hospital. Murugesan is introduced trying to race against a bicycle, so we know that he has a need for speed – even if his tractor can’t even win a race with a pedestrian let alone a cyclist. For Murugesan the Padmini car is a whole new world and he quickly becomes totally besotted with the car, as are Peddai and Pannaiyar and pretty much all the kids in the village. The joy they have in the simple presence of the car is well captured by the delight each shows in cleaning and looking after the vehicle, and the squabbles that occur as each asserts his right to each task.

Chellamma is the only sensible one who keeps her distance, although she is secretly amused by the men’s absorption with an inanimate object. She knows that the car does not belong to Pannaiyar and she refuses to have anything to do with the car and their obsession.

Chellamma is an interesting character who has very definite ideas about her role in life and how to best manage her ‘family’. This includes Murugesan and Peddai as well as her husband and she keeps everyone in line so subtly that they don’t realise just how they are being looked after. When the car unexpectedly is left to them, Chellamma tells her husband that she will only ride in the vehicle once he has mastered the art of driving. Naturally then Pannaiyar accepts the challenge and determines that he will learn to drive in time to take her to the temple for their wedding anniversary. However this means that Murugesan will have to relinquish control of the wheel, so the lessons go very slowly indeed.

Meanwhile Murugesan falls in love with Malar (Iyshwarya Rajesh) when he ends up transporting a body for a funeral. It’s an interesting situation for a love story to start and Murugesan’s struggle not to approach Malar on such a sad day is charmingly depicted.

Eventually Malar and Murugesan do manage to get together although the romance is kept low-key with Malar very definitely in second place behind the car in Murugesan’s affections. Iyshwarya Rajesh is lovely here and has a lovely dynamic with Vijay Sethupathi. She has a small role but makes an impact every time she appears onscreen, while Vijay Sethupathi avoids appearing as a ‘star’ and is perfectly understated, keeping to the background when required but still impressive when the focus is on Murugesan.

The more developed romance is the one between Pannaiyar and Chellamma which shows a well-established and happy marriage, even after all these years. They have their ups and downs, disagree about their daughter, but despite the occasional argument they have a very strong and loving relationship. Each tries to save the other from unhappiness as much as they can and the love the two have for each other comes across clearly in all the thoughtful things they do for each other. Even with all the sentimentality, the romance never feels too sickly sweet but rather is warm and affectionate. Tulasi is just fantastic here, and has some wonderful facial expressions, particularly behind her husband’s back. Jayaprakash is also excellent, and this song perfectly shows their sweet relationship.

While the story is very simple it’s effective, and the car becomes the symbol of the dreams and desires of the various characters. Murugesan wants to keep driving as it gives him enough prestige to attract Malar, and he is worried that he will lose his job when the landlord learns to drive. Pannaiyar wants to drive to impress his wife on their wedding anniversary, while Chellamma wants her husband to be happy. The boys in the village just want to sit in the car and dream big dreams, with one even collecting 5 rupees to pay Peddai to let him sit in the front seat. It’s all very charmingly told and when the inevitable problems occur they are dealt with sensibly, without resorting to excessive melodrama. The soundtrack from Justin Prabhakaran is also excellent, with each song perfectly fitting the situation and well placed in the narrative to move the story along. I love the lyrics in this, including the references to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and other classic cars – it’s such a happy song too!

Pannaiyarum Padminiyum is a simple story that focuses on the relationships between the central characters and on their naive dreams and aspirations. With such a limited focus the story does end up feeling just a tad too long by the end with some of the diversions adding little to the overall plot. There are one of two moment of mushy sentimentality in the relationship between the landlord and his wife which really weren’t needed as Tulasi and Jayaprakash are at their best when they keep their relationship natural and realistic. Definitely one to watch for the main leads and a sweet story that’s warm and engaging right to the end. 4 stars.

Karthikeya

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Karthikeya is an interesting mix of supernatural suspense and crime thriller with a soupçon of snakey vengeance thrown in for good measure. Chandoo Mondeti’s début has plenty of character development and a good storyline, although it does take a long time to get to the meat of the plot. However it starts well and the second half has plenty going on making Karthikeya a better than average watch.

The film begins with the unexplained death of an endowment officer investigating the closure of a temple in Subramanyapuram, although his inquiry seems to be completely unofficial. Shankar (Raja Ravindra) has time to make a final phone call before his death, but naturally hasn’t actually managed to finish his report detailing what’s behind the mystery of the temple before calling his friend. Doesn’t anyone in these films ever realize that boasting about their achievements before actually completing them is a surefire way to ensure they aren’t going to make it to the end of the movie? Especially when there are eavesdropping snakes to consider!

Having set the scene for a mystery thriller, the film then moves away from the story of the temple to introduce Karthik (Nikhil Siddharth) and his family. Karthik is a medical student who puts his faith in science and has no hesitation in spending the night in a haunted mortuary to prove that there is nothing supernatural going on. However when his superstitious mother (Tulasi) calls to report that his horoscope has him meeting a girl who will bring him luck, despite his skepticism Karthik keeps his eyes peeled and pays attention when he meets Valli (Swati Reddy) on campus. I like Karthik’s combination of respect for his mother’s beliefs with a scientific curiosity that drives him to find an answer to every question. He seems more normal and down to earth than most heroes and his tendency to reach for reason makes him a likeable and possibly a rather more intelligent character, despite his rather inane approach to romance.

As in many Telugu films the romance isn’t well handled, and the heroine has little more to do than apply the usual romance formula.

Step One – reject the guy
Step Two – see him in a better light and reconsider
Step Three – fall for the guy and declare your undying love

Swati does all of that perfectly well, but I was hoping for a little more given that her character is a dental student who should know better. Swati and Nikhil have a sweet camaraderie but no romantic sizzle and appear more like friends than lovers for most of the film. However, given that the focus of the story is the temple mystery this is perhaps for the best since the romance really adds little to the plot and is fairly irrelevant at the end of the day.

The story behind the temple is explained using a series of beautiful drawings that detail the building of the temple and the subsequent miracle that occurred on the full moon night of Karthika month. However the mystery started the previous year when one of the temple trustees collapsed during the annual ceremony and a few days later two lovers were found dead in the temple with snake bites. Rumours then began about strange noises and the death of the chief priest was the final straw resulting in the closure of the temple.

Kathik and his friends are sent to Subramanyapuram for a medical camp and end up staying in the temple trustee’s bungalow – a grand building in the forest with an imposing five headed snake sculpture on the top. The mystery is just the thing to keep Karthik entertained in between working at the medical camp and romancing Valli, despite his mother’s warning that he is in danger from snakes and the whole mystery involves a number of deaths from snake bite Valli is also on the camp since Subramanyapuram is her home village and her father (Tanikella Bharani) is a prominent village elder and astrologer who provides a good counter for Karthik’s scientific beliefs.

There is some amount of suspense as shadowy snakes are seen around the bungalow but unfortunately Chandoo Mondeti never develops any real feeling of menace which would have helped increase tension as Karthik gets closer to the answer. Although the police officer ACP Shankar (Kishore) involved in the case is also killed, his death is over very quickly and isn’t used to increase the suspense either. However the plot itself is more realistic than usual and even the dodgy science has some basis in fact even if it’s not completely believable. Chandoo Mondeti also includes some social issues including female infanticide and the shonky practices of fake spiritual leaders, blending them well into the plot and avoiding too moralistic a stance.

Nikhil is good as Karthik and balances his scientific beliefs with respect for the village traditions well. Satya and Praveen have small roles as his friends and provide most of the comedy which is less slapstick and more successful than usual. The rest of the support cast are also good, including Jogi Naidu as the temple handyman and Rao Ramesh as the Head of the Endowments office. There are no big song and dance numbers, with most of the songs used to show the developing romance between Karthik and Valli, however they fit well into the narrative and are generally enjoyable too.

Overall Karthikeya is a good story that could have done with a little more suspense but still keeps enough tension in the plot to keep it interesting right to the end. A few more snakes and less romance would have helped, but I could say that of most films really, and the CGI works well here to make the snake moments work well. Definitely worth a watch for an interesting mix of supernatural and murder mystery along with some good performances and clever use of science. 4 stars.

Darling

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Darling

My motivation for watching Darling was less in the expectation of experiencing an enthralling story (although I always live in hope) and much more based on being a Prabhas fan – which in hindsight was the right attitude to take.  Although the underlying themes of friendship and father-son relationships are reasonably well dealt with, the romance between the two leads follows a fairly dull and predictable path despite the attempt at a twist at the interval.  However Prabhas and Kajal are both entertaining to watch in spite of the inevitability of the storyline and for a romantic comedy, what it lacks in passion it more than makes up for in the humour.  Especially since for a change, the comedy is part and parcel of the story rather than a separate unfunny and irrelevant track.  Best of all, there is not even a sniff of Ali or Brahmi anywhere in the proceedings. There is plenty of Prabhas instead and really, that’s enough right there to make this a film worth watching!

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Prabhas is Prabha (why not just stick with Prabhas I wonder?), who is the devoted son of a loving father Hanumanthu (Prabhu).  The film opens with the last day of Hanumanthu’s time at college and the pledge of all the friends to meet up every 5 or 10 years to renew their friendship.  This opening section is all shot in black and white and the lack of colour ensures this section features some of the most conservative and tasteful outfits the men wear for the entire film, despite the fact that it’s set in the eighties.

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These reunions give the various families a chance to get to know each other too, and a young Prabha is smitten by Vishwanath’s daughter, Nandini.  However before love gets a chance to bloom, Nandini and her family move to Switzerland while Prabha grows up to celebrate his own last day at college with a similarly dedicated group of friends.  Although rather than vowing to meet up every few years, Prabha’s friends seem to be permanently welded to his side since they all come along for Hanumanthu’s latest big college reunion.  They all also play in a band together and seem to share Prabha’s (lack of) fashion sense (the manband!), although perhaps there is a rule that states if you are performing in a band scarves are obligatory.  The first half involves a side trip to Switzerland where amazingly everyone seems to speak Telugu, although given Dharmavarapu Subramanyam’s pronouncements that may not be quite so surprising.

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Prabha is hopeful that a meeting with Nandini will be enough to restart their love story, but there is a minor complication in the form of Nisha (Shradha Das in a very brief cameo) who is in love with Prabha.  Her father (Mukesh Rishi) is a local don and he is determined to ensure that his daughter gets whatever she wants even if that means forcing Prabha at gunpoint to marry his daughter.  Despite his threatening persona, Mukesh Rishi mainly plays his character for laughs and it’s fun to see him in this type of role blending mayhem with merriment and revealing a surprisingly sensitive soul.

While the main feature of the film is the romance between Prabha and Nandini, the relationships between the various older men are actually more interesting and appear more genuine.  Sure they’re cheesy, over-simplified and even a little too dramatic at times, but these moments give the film some much needed warmth.

DarlingDarling Stalwarts including Aahuthi Prasad, Chandra Mohan, Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam and M. S. Narayana all work together naturally, so that they really do all seem to be old friends catching up over a few glasses of whiskey and a cricket match.  The relationship between Prabha and his father is also nicely portrayed and both Prabhas and Prabhu bring a realistic camaraderie to their interactions.  In fact throughout Prabhas is effortlessly charming despite the succession of ridiculously baggy and shapeless t-shirts he wears.  Nothing seems to fit and he’s much too tall to look anything but scruffy in wide-necked and voluminous shirts – plus the dual layered hats, inexplicable scarves and worn-off-one-shoulder bespangled jacket.

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Prabhas seems to have been lumbered with a stylist that hates him, and in a complete reversal of normal, Kajal is the one who gets to wear much more reasonable outfits.  There are a few misses, after all this is Tollywood where apparently giving someone fairy wings means they are wearing a ‘holy dress’, but overall Kajal looks fantastic.  She also puts in a convincing performance although it would perhaps have made the story a little more interesting if there had been a difference in character between the dream Nadini of the first half, and the real Nandini in the second half.   Kajal throws herself into the dancing, and apart from one bizarre attempt at what I think was supposed to be Bharatanatyam (what were they thinking!!) the choreographer has stuck to her strengths and put her enthusiasm to good use.  There is plenty of hip shaking and arm waving but less actual dancing, so she looks more co-ordinated than usual.  The choreography is a little less successful for Prabhas, but then again I may just have been distracted by those hideous outfits.  This is a beautifully shot song that features the scenery of Switzerland morphing into Hyderabad and also some beautiful CGI scenes of snow, along with some of the better outfits worn by Prabhas.

Added in to the mix is an attempted suicide by Nisha which infuriated me (completely unnecessary), a side story involving Hanumanthu’s adopted father and brother and a rival for Nandini’s affections in the form of Appala Naidu’s son Rishi (Santosh).  There are a limited number of fight scenes but with Peter Hein choreographing, they all look good and generally fit into the flow of the film.  The music by G. V. Prakash is unremarkable but Andrew’s cinematography makes the most of the settings in Switzerland – if only the costumes had matched.

Overall Darling is a film that’s not too taxing to watch and is certainly less gory and more family friendly than the recent Rebel.  Director A. Karunakaran ensures good performances from all but a sharper story would have made for a better film.  Worth it for Prabhas, Kajal and the gang of older actors who looked to be having a great time. 3 stars.