Autograph (2004) User Reviews

Pleasantly surprised

[lavy-jo · 9/10 · 19 July 2004]

I'm not a huge fan of Indian movies in general, but I let myself be talked into watching this one, expecting nothing more than an afternoon of fun with friends making fun of some cheesy dialogue. About 10 minutes into it, I was completely captivated by the touchingly sweet portrayal of a high school boy's first love. The movie begins with the viewer being told that a man who's about to be married shortly, is on his way to invite people to his wedding. So from the moment you meet his first love, you're drawn deep into the story, wanting to know more about what happened to each person he meets and most importantly who the woman is that he finally marries.

The rest of the movie is a series of vignettes on the years of his life leading up to the present. Every human emotion is treated so honestly with no melodrama (not to mention acted out superbly on screen), that you feel like you're making that journey with him. Rejoicing in his happiness and hurting with him in his sorrows.

There are very few movies (Indian or otherwise) that portray the ups and downs of growing up quite as well. This is definitely one of those.

a kind of one last look ...

[reva-8 · 9/10 · 18 May 2005]

With the help of a superb cast Cheran (Senthil) looks back over his teenage and youth. With its various puppy loves and real loves, and the humor and pathos that they bring, this gaze is bittersweet. In these desensitized days, this is an achievement. Mallika is a natural actress, though I am sure she will be relegated to sister roles because in the venerable Indian movie tradition she would not be considered flashy enough to be a lead--though the Tamil film industry has resisted this trend somewhat successfully. In any case, it may not be a bad thing in the end for Mallika to play supporting roles, for the female leads in Indian films have rarely to do any real acting. Mallika's character in the movie is well conceived and true to real life. Gopika is also good and she carries off the character's transformation through the movie well. Kanika as the bride at her wedding reception is super. Very expressive face. (I cannot say anything about anyone's dialog delivery because most actors in Tamil films nowadays dub their lines in post production or have them dubbed by others who make a living out of this profession. Which is why sometimes, Jyothika and Nmaitha (and any number of others) sound alike.) But why the 9?: Though Sneha is passably good and her lines are very well written, it is the character I have a quarrel with. So aggressively self-righteously idealistic and so insufferable: I guess we are still reeling in the backlash from the portrayals of meek women in Indian cinema of the earlier decades.

Captivating, Meaningful and Sincere

[nz man · 7/10 · 17 July 2004]

I put this film on late at night, telling my wife "This is a long film and we are very tired so let's just watch a bit to see if we want to watch all of it tomorrow." Within the first section we were captivated and watched all of it, staying up much later than normal.

The comments by Manu-13, below are correct. It is a beautiful film, smooth and appealing. Of course this is not the usual Hollywood flick, but anyone going to Film Festivals or who have an interest with life in India will find Autograph a delight. There is a definite sense of reality, especially with the village scenes which were obviously the real thing and not film sets. Seeing how the people live was colourful and fascinating.

My Tamil (a state/region in southern India) friends laughed when they told me Autograph is not actually a Bollywood film but a Tollywood film (T for Tamil, not B for Bombay). Well, it is the first Tamil film I have seen and compared to the usual Hindi movie, Autograph is different. For example, there is an absence of the singing dancers that appear all too frequently in Hindi films. By the way, Tamil is a separate language so most people from India would have to read subtitles to understand Autograph. For this reason, I was told that Autograph would not be distributed widely in India, probably not out of the Tamil region.

What captivates is the 'mystery' style, in the sense that from the start the viewer is engaged in guessing what is actually going to happen. Who is he going to marry? What happened to him/her to cause them to live they way they do? What is the relationship between those two?

The ending is done very sensitively. There is a scene where a photographer asks a person to smile, and he cannot quite manage the big smile required for the social setting; so much meaning can be seen on his face, in this one instance. Without creating a spoiler, I'll just say that there are very few films that treat human relationships with as much meaning and sensitivity as Autograph. This film is a real gem, far from the big Hollywood blockbusters but refreshingly so.

Beautiful & meaningful

[kidilancochan · 10/10 · 23 February 2005]

Autograph was a rare movie in that it is artsy but not boring like the other art films. It can be enjoyed by both commercial movie lovers and parallel cinema lovers. I truly enjoyed this movie. I can say that I loved the second part and the 4 th (last) part of the movie. 1st part and 3rd parts were OK. 3rd part was a little overdone. But yes, definitely worth watching. The music was very pleasant to hear. The song picturizations were definitely a plus.

Special mention about Gopika. She has a fresh face and acted pretty well considering that she is a new comer. The director and the lead guy Cheran also wins my appreciation.

Congrats with this movie and expecting more of such movies from him..

P.S - Kerala is depicted so beautifully. I must appreciate the camera work.

quite touching

[sridharisreddy · 23 October 2004]

I don't watch much Tamil cinema (mostly because I'm not familiar with it), but when I was last in India I heard many people talking about this film. They were saying it was moving and touching, something which i generally equated to overwrought melodrama.

Almost eight months later, I came across the DVD for "Autograph" by accident, and decided to give it a try. I was shocked.

This was an excellent picture, done with care and a lot of heart. Sure there are a few (and only a rare few) overly melodramatic moments, but overall it really touched me. Anyone (especially men) who have gone through the turmoils of relationships broken or incomplete will feel a joyfully sorrow connection to this film. I was moved by its honesty and quite frank look at relationships, and it brought a smile to my face when the film reveled in the exuberance and innocence of childhood crushes and young infatuation.

I rarely recommend modern commercial Indian cinema (because most of it is unfortunately subpar), but this is a lovely little film, definitely an engaging romantic drama. Kudos to the director/ writer Cheran for doing excellent work with visuals and performances, and I hope he continues to make such honest films in the future. 8/10

Cheran is a director turned actor.

[cricket_rox · 10/10 · 8 August 2004]

Actually guys Cheran is a director turned actor. He's directed quite a lot of rural-India based movies and most of them captivating. Just to clarify I would like to say that the song sequences where Senthil and his gf dance is actually based on song sequences in tamil movies from about 30 years ago. The costumes, the way they dance and everything was made to look like those sequences were made in 1970 Kollywood. Also its kollywood not tollywood. There's a place called Kodambakkam in Chennai (4th largest city in India) which mirrors Hollywood in the sense that most of the tamil actors live there. So Kollywood obviously comes from the Ko in Kodambakkam.

ps: Wonderful Movie :)

Gorgeous Movie

[uncle_g1234 · 9/10 · 24 June 2005]

This ranks in my top 10 movies of allied. Just everything about it gives me a warm glow. I have to admit the courtship of Lathika by Senthil is the nut of the movie, but his scenes with Mallika, Divya, and his bride are just as nice. I could watch this an infinite number of times. Its my own personal taste, but I find it just a wonderful movie. This movie also make Gopika one of the actresses I follow. Can't quite explain what it is about her, but she warms my soul.

I think the best scene in the entire movie is when Senthil brings a present to Lathika when she is in her classical dance class. She doesn't realize at all what effect she is having on him, and the look on her face is so sweet and subtle. And another great scene is when they are trying to converse and neither really understands the other's language. But she is saying to him "until you disturb my dreams I cannot accept your love".

Anyway, if you're romantic, see this movie. I think it will give you a warm soft glow.

Excellent movie

[jpraveen · 10/10 · 30 December 2004]

Cheran leads us through different phases of his life, from a teenager in school to an advertising company executive. Cheran's village, Kerala backwaters form excellent locales for the movie. Cinematography, particularly the Kerala scenes are pretty good. The cast is very apt and Cheran gives them ample acting space (unlike typical hero-centric movies). Among the new faces, Mallika is natural, while Gopika leaves a very good impression as the cute Malayali girl.

A refreshing change in the wake of run-of-the-mill violent and vulgar movies. My only minor comment is that there could have been some more editing of scenes involving Cheran where he acts emotional or drunk.

Overall this movie should definitely appeal to (so called) classes and masses, and people in all age groups. Definitely a must see !

9.5/10

Unusual Tamil movie

[manoj-srinivasan · 7/10 · 10 November 2007]

This movie won the (Indian National) Golden Lotus Award for "Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment".

The movie is mostly told in long flashbacks. Senthil, the protagonist, is getting married soon. The movie follows Senthil as he revisits his past, as goes on a trip to the villages, towns, and cities he's lived in, and as he recalls and visits his past loves and crushes.

The film is notable for bypassing the usual Tamil movie clichés and formulaic story lines, while still being very commercially successful. The movie has a lot of quite charming moments, especially in the first half. I appreciated the slow pace of the movie, except when it occasionally became too slow.

The movie unfortunately eventually succumbs to considerable melodrama. I wish they had attempted a "life is beautiful", cutting out the melodrama entirely. In summary, I think the movie is good and unusual as Tamil movies go, but I would not call it a classic.

Best

[nahyeemkm · 10/10 · 27 August 2019]

I watched this movie when I was 7 and I am from kerala. Still remember the imbact of this movie. This is an awesome movie. And I feel premam is similar to this movie

Unusual and differently captivating..Cheran's best movie

[stylegamer · 8/10 · 23 January 2016]

I watched this show recently a decade later at its time of release

Autograph spotlights on the romantic escapades of a boy growing into a man. The story is told by the protagonist using the flashback method as he is on a trip down the memory lane inviting people whom he has come across in is life for his wedding. Be ready to plunge yourself in nostalgia even if u did not grew up in the time period shown in the movie. The events shown in the movie happens in every other person;s life regardless of the any time period. The presentation is refreshingly different for Tamil cinema and never done before on such a scale .

The film started off with a slow village scenario and gets interesting in the middle in the Cheran_Gopika episode. The other amazing aspect of the film is the debut performance of The Malayalee actress Gopika. Shecarries out her role with extreme ease like a seasoned actress it is hard not to get mesmerized by her natural beauty and natural performance.

The locales of Kerala, a treat for the eyes. The 'Hippi' hairstyles, 'Bell Bottom' Pants and 'Big Flap Collared' shirts should have been omitted and some unnecessary out of place commercial songs.

The background score is well done and addictive. This is Cheran's best film to date Overall a refreshing movie to watch with the family

A beautiful movie and sensationally touched the hearts of every human being who fell in love

[indiankamal7 · 10/10 · 18 July 2008]

Its a movie which created the Waves of thoughts about the earlier days of every human being as this movie reflects mind set of every common man and thats why everyone felt like somebody pictured their own life..!! Am not sure how many times seen this movie... Particularly for the performance of Cheran and the oceans of beauty Gopika... Its touching that we could feel sneha as our own, lovable friend through this movie.

definitely this is the master piece from Cheran and the world cinema needs directors like cheran... Cheran can emerge even as kamal haasan in terms of writer and using technical advancements if he tries continuously like this..

warm wishes to cheran and his team... a must to see movie to everyone who fell in love..