navenkumarselva Reviews

Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)

Porn - A totally new perspective!

[7/10 · 18 December 2023]

I really loved this film. Technically there is nothing great, however, the film leaves at the end with a really good feeling. What starts out as a basic comedy drama totally shifts to an erotic comedy 20 minutes in.

The decision to do "porn" from Zack and Miri to run errands was not just funny, but it was taking on many societal ills, especially on how the world looks at porn stars. Some porn stars like Zack and Miri had to do it just to earn a living, and that is one of the biggest takeaways from this film. Funny, but thought provoking at the same time.

If you came in expecting some raw sex, you'll be disappointed as it is nothing like the title suggests, you'll end up getting a feel good and cute romantic story with very little nudity.

Maamannan (2023)

The journey of Mannu (dirt) to becoming Maamannan (the great king)!

[7/10 · 30 June 2023]

If I were to tell you about Maamannan in one line, it would be, "What an elder sees sitting; the young can't see standing", the lines of popular French novelist Gustave Flaubert.

Right from the start, we hear the echoes of Vadivelu and the tone is set. With Mari Selvaraj, you know you're in for a minimalistic yet gripping realism which may "haunt" you for a long time. The sad reality of the downtrodden living in the Indian villages of the near past is shown not in a hard-hitting, but rather in a poetic and toned-down manner which increases the impact on the audience.

Cutting to the contemporary period, Vadivelu (Maamannan) is an MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) in a reserved constituency (reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Tamil Nadu). However, Fahad Fassil (Rathnavel) from the dominant community, whose father was the MLA when Maamannan's community was discriminated against, still believes that it is due to the dominant community and his support that Maamannan is the MLA.

While Maamannan treats everyone as an equal and tells everyone to "sit" while talking to him, in front of his "master", Rathnavel, so to speak, he hesitates to sit even when Udhayanidhi (Athiveeran) urges him to sit while confronting Rathnavel, the makes up for one of the best pre-interval sequences I've seen in a long time, this one scene is worth all your penny.

A grounded Athiveeran throughout the film suddenly rages out when injustice is done to his father (although given a seemingly equal treatment by Rathnavel), only because of the caste he belonged to. Udhay was stellar in that sequence, you really feel his anger and it is absolutely justified even if a house had burnt down for that (just an analogy).

A gripping and exhilarating first half slows down after the third act when an election comes into the picture as the audience can easily predict the film's ending. The other drawback for me was that the character Rathnavel played by Fahad Fassil did not have much of a grey shade. He is pretty much an outright villain in the film. I would have loved to see more of his personal relationship as she was also involved in the election and played an important role in curtailing Rathnavel's "rage to kill" in the pre-interval scene. These aspects would probably have made Maamannan one of the greatest in Tamil cinema, it just fell short of it.

Mari Selvaraj is a master when it comes to using animals as metaphors. In this, pigs were used to resemble the downtrodden, as pigs are generally considered the lowest in the animal kingdom due to their habit of rumbling dirt and mud, just like how Maamannan was called Mannu (dirt), Athiveeran loves the pigs as rears them, sets them free and loves them as his own. There is also a scene where he draws a painting of a pig with wings citing that it was his first dream when he was a child, denoting that this pig (Athiveeran) is not a pig sitting in the dirt, but is already flying high above. There is another scene involving dogs where Rathnavel intimidates the other dogs with his gun by killing a few, but the other dogs still run past without fear, denoting that the oppressor is no longer feared nor has power.

AR Rahman has delivered a wild album and all the songs gel well within the context of the film. I loved Raasa Kannu and Vadivelu's voice still stays as the impact of his character is enormous. A perfect album is truly an understatement.

The ending was satisfying, as everyone sits down after Mammannan does. This movie definitely teaches us something, when to sit, where to sit, when to stand and how to stand.

Kantara (2022)

A legend that needed to be told!

[9/10 · 20 January 2023]

A tale of folklore and ancient traditions with a strong social undertone of the Kannada people living in the Tulu region shown in world class manner. The lives of the tribal people was captured in a very authentic manner that makes this truly a special spectacle to witness.

SOCIAL STATUS: The film showcases a very strong social undertone lingering in the community and the manner which upper class(read caste) and the lower class is treated at various instances. The film does not talk loudly about discrimination, neither there are scenes directly showing discrimination. However, the few instances in which 'action speaks louder than words' is when we, the audience realise the harsh reality of the people living in that community. Some of the minute details showcased by the director is nerve wrecking and subtle nature of the screenplay really makes us chill through our spine.

SPIRITUALITY & ANCIENT TRADITIONS: This is one of the only and unfortunately few films from India that showcases an actual culture and the staunch religious belief system of a community. The "Varaha Roopam" was shown in its most authentic and truest form without exaggeration. This made the scenes truly intense with intent to give limelight to the actual ancient traditions of tribal people in that part of India. Rishab Shetty was absolutely unapologetic in doing so, which makes this film stand out against the rest.

CONCLUSION: My big cup of tea, a must watch for all cinema fans and those who wants to learn more about the diverse nature of India.

Emergency Declaration (2021)

A good one-time watch IN THE CINEMA!

[7/10 · 12 September 2022]

After hearing and reading some reviews, I went to the cinema with zero expectations and memories of the previous Korean movie I watched, Parasite. The other draw I had for this movie was that actor Song Kang-ho who gave a splendid performance in Parasite was part of the film. That made me pretty excited to buy the tickets. The movie started pretty slowly as they took a good 30 minutes to build up the characters who were going to board the plane. The makers did a good job of establishing a connection between the audience and the characters which makes you feel for the characters, their motives and grievances. The entire sequence in the plane was very well made and definitely gave chills down the spine when the flight was almost going to crash or be attacked by forces from a neighbouring country. The actors, cast and crew did a splendid job, especially the VFX and cinematography department. Although I was not humming much music due to the intense sequences, the music did serve the purpose of keeping the audience engaged throughout. Now, here are some of the things which I wished director Han Jae-Rim explored further. The villain/terrorist who is responsible for this entire crisis on board does not seem to have a clear motive on why he carried out such activity on board a flight apart from being a mad scientist. The weak motive and narrative of the villain are major drawbacks for me. This movie would have been way better if the director had focused on that part and established a connection with the ongoing crisis the world is facing today. The other major drawback for me was that the ending was something that most audiences expected which made this movie more of an ordinary disaster thriller. A different and more tragic ending would have elevated this film to another level. I would recommend this movie to those who love disaster thriller films.

K.G.F: Chapter 2 (2022)

The Golden Piece We All Deserve!

[9/10 · 28 April 2022]

The golden piece we all deserve!

KGF Chapter 1, released in 2018 was a turning point for the entire Kannada film industry as it is relatively small compared to other major industries in India. KGF Chapter 1 made on a relatively minuscule budget had many heads turning towards the film. It became the highest-grossing movie in the history of the Kannada film industry. Since then, KGF has been a major topic for the fans of Indian cinema and even to factions of world cinema. Part one was an impressive, classy commercial Indian film with aspects of history blended with fiction and over the top action. Although I am not necessarily a fan of commercial Indian cinema, director Prashanth Neel was very clear from the beginning and stuck true to the genre throughout. This made KGF Chapter 1 stand out among many other commercial movies I knew that this was going to be something special.

The release of KGF Chapter 2 was highly anticipated after that cliffhanger in part one. The teasers and trailers of Chapter 2 were literally showing the audience that they were pushing beyond the boundaries of Indian cinema to appeal to world cinema. Prashanth Neel used his technicalities to maximum effect and produced an Indian film like never before, that too from the Kannada film industry! Chapter 2 was a technical marvel and a commercial masterpiece. The film that every Indian cinema fan would have been yearning for many years. It's no doubt that KGF has breached 130 million USD global box office mark in a jiffy as this film is simply stunning to look at from every possible angle. Prashanth Neel trusted one thing, his script, and it did wonders, this is not a review as I clearly loved the film.

Thank you to everyone who spared their brilliance behind the film. Special mentions has to go to Yash, the hero of in movie and the film itself and the Hombale Films for making this film a living reality for the world. A big hat off to all of you. Kolar Gold Fields is the golden piece we all deserve!

Poochandi (2022)

A benchmark for Malaysian Tamil cinema!

[7/10 · 30 March 2022]

I watched the much anticipated Poochandi in cinemas. Honestly, I did not expect much as I was conscious of watching a Malaysian Tamil movie. No offence, for a few valid reasons, the bar is always set very low for my personal liking.

However, Poochandi actually hit the top and brought me to unexpected zones which left me in awe. This is a huge leap in the Malaysian Tamil industry and easily the best Malaysian Tamil film.

I would give it to the whole team simply because of the story and screenplay. Apart from that, the deep research on the history of Kadaram is something very commendable. Director JK Wicky has a great passion for Tamil history, especially the history of Kadaram.

The revelations at the end was something which most are blind of. This movie is technically and aesthetically sound. Despite all the praises, I felt that the ending should have been more elaborate with a proper conclusion. This is my only gripe.

Poochandi is the benchmark for Malaysian Tamil movies! A must watch.

Magamuni (2019)

The great sage by the abode of peace.

[9/10 · 1 March 2020]

Magamuni, the layers of the unexplained and the depth of the soul is measured by director Santha Kumar in a very profound way that leaves us speechless at the end. The heart wrenching drama of Maga and Muni forms the crux of this film. While the characters of Maga and Muni are poles apart, they're a bounded by spirituality with both having a different view on it. This movie successfully showcases how spirituality is deeply connected with the soul which matters less to where and what you are doing for a living. As for acting, Aarya has lived both roles. Muni, as a spiritually and socially inclined person and Maga as politician's gang war pawn, it was truly an amazing performance from Aarya, and it's been a while since we have seen this Aarya who arrived last Bala's Naan Kadavul. All the supporting roles did an exceptional job. A great movie which needs much attention and time, with that, Magamuni will bring you to a whole new dimension of life, The Great Sage is within us,

Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)

What is so good about it?

[6/10 · 14 July 2019]

90% on Rotten Tomatoes! The rating baffles as I cannot digest how an average movie like this can provided with such an extensive rating on a reputed website like Rotten Tomatoes.

The story line is average, the dialogues can be passed by, and the twist was predictable like an ice cream that was going to melt. The CG was great, and you can say the same with almost all Marvel movies.

A real average entertainer, watch it, only you have time to spare!

Villavan: The Vigilante (2018)

The film that the Malaysian film industry should not make!

[1/10 · 24 November 2018]

VILLAVAN: THE VIGILANTE movie review by Navenkumar.

Villavan, a movie released with huge hypes and I went in the cinemas with high expectancy. The beginning of the of the film was different which ridden my expectations to greater heights. As a few suspenseful sequences upheld, I started believing that I am in for a roller coaster ride, until they revealed the crux of the story which was disappointing. The fact that got me even more disappointed was the time it took to reveal this basic washed up storyline (I WILL NOT REVEAL IT).

The core of this movie was further spoiled by the disproportionate screenplay of this film. The people who worked in the screenplay department has done an utterly "horrible" job with the screenplay. The screenplay of this film was slow and felt like it lacked direction in the first half hour. While some promising portions began before the interval, it was further spoiled by the forced introduction of a new character which did not fit the situation in the story.

The lack of ideas and changing of script in between was pretty evident in this film. Therefore the execution was failed. While the acting was predominantly good, the extras and other characters has a lot to improve. Debutante Vinod did a pretty good job overall, except for certain flaws in nuances. The dubbing of this film was evidently flawed as many scenes did not match the linguistic tone.

The great break from this movie was the music of this done by Sha Zovve. The music was good in most places and songs were a great fit in the movie. Despite that, there were some flaws with the BGM which did not match with the situation of the sequences. This was seen as a minor flaw by me. The costumes of this movie were fine to be honest. The vigilant costume was convincing and believable in most parts and the costumes design worked well for other extras as well.

My biggest gripe about this film is that Villavan is the most expensive Malaysian Tamil movie with reports suggesting the budget crossing RM 2 million. In my understanding, that amount is more than enough to deliver a quality product, they have UTTERLY FAILED.

Naachiyaar (2018)

One of Tamil cinema's finest neo-noir crime thriller!

[7/10 · 22 February 2018]

Its easier to call it Naachiya' without the letter "R" as it is the name often used for Jyothika's character in this film. The film opens up with utmost intensity as the first few scenes set up the tone and mood of the film. As it is a Bala film, the tone and mood of the film is very Bala like, dark and gritty. All the characters has is well written and has a story to their existence. The story is simple and straight forward, but the interlink of present scenes and past scenes with some serious portion make this simple story feel like a thriller.

For one thing that is clear, GV Prakash completely transformed himself for this role.The chemistry between him and Ivana was seamless and pretty outstanding. The little romantic portions and comic portions proved to work out well. It showcased great performances as well as acting as a great comic relief in this dark thriller. Hats off to both for pulling off such a brilliant performance and huge credits to GV Prakash as this is the best he has done till date.

As for Jyothika, this is also one of her finest character's that she has played. Her manly attitude in a cop was extremely well executed and never seen before. Many of her scenes created goosebumps as she injected the audience with fear through her spine chilling interrogation scenes.She portrayed many expressions just by looking which is difficult to pull off. Hats off.

Illayaraja has proved to be evergreen with the classic he managed to string in this. The music set the tone from the beginning and Raja has proved it time and again that he is the king in his own genre. The gripping parts had you biting and the emotional part had you weeping towards the end. Amazing.

The technical part of this was excellent from cinematography to editing. Both were great and the editor done a great work putting the scenes together. Bala, the director has not failed to engross his audience is such a simple yet powerful script and to be able to extract such stunning performances from every character on screen is no pin task. This is another great film from Bala!

The Truman Show (1998)

The fantasy that you never thought of!

[8/10 · 14 June 2017]

The Truman Show is a fantasy film that was released back in 1998. The first thing that caught my attention was the concept of this film. The concept of this film was related to the influence of media in everyday life. The Truman Show is about a person called Truman Burbank who lives in a small island called Seahaven near the coast of Florida where nothing really happens. Everything in life almost perfect, but certain events of the past often disturb his feelings towards the life he lives. The sudden turn of events and suspicious happenings around him makes him more curious to discover the world he lives in. Therefore, Truman sets out on his voyage to unlock the mysterious happenings and seeks for the answers to his questions.

The first person to be credited is story writer Andrew Niccol who also co-produced this film. His writing showed futuristic thinking and thought provoking ideas that were quite absent at that time zone. Director Peter Weir should be given a huge congratulation for taking up this story and delivering it in great fashion which entertaining, engaging, thought provoking and heartwarming at the end. The film starts in a slow pace as editing were quite sloppy and elevation of scenes which potentially confuses its viewers. As time went on, the introductory of characters and comic timing of the dialogues really pulled me into whole scenario of weird behaviors of each and every character in the film. The curiosity to know the answers to Truman's questions slowly crept into me and the only reason could be the ever relate-able Truman's character to real life and again, full credits had to go to Peter Weir for creating a great character that could gain our sympathy.

The next thing which I was really impressed with is the dialogues of this film which was co-jointly written by Andrew Niccol and Peter Weir. The dialogues in the film really worked well with every character in the film especially in the comedy department that gave good laughs throughout the film. Coming to the backbone of this film, Jim Carrey who absolutely carried this film as his child. Jim Carrey lived as Truman in this film. The smartness, stupidity and curiosity were shown in his ever expressive face and the ambiance of his expressions could be felt throughout the film which made it a more amazing experience. Jim Carrey was the only actor that could pull off this role with such perfection. Hats off.

Supporting casts in the film like Noah Emmerich and Ed Harris had important roles in the film and played them really well. The more important among them was Ed Harris' character in the film. A sense of seriousness enters the screen every time he shows up just because of his menacing and hard look throughout the film. The cast is roundly superb even if the majority of them are in minor roles. The cinematography of Peter Biziou was great all along, my favorites were the scenes at the sea and aerial shots at night. The editing of this film was good overall despite feeling slightly off place and sloppy at times. The only reason is the inconsistent screenplay of this film especially in the first hour. Some scenes were elevated in a slow pace which made the film a bit lengthy. This is the only drawback in this film

Overall, The Truman Show is a mind boggling futuristic piece of film making that is thought provoking and entertaining at the same time. It might not have won anything at the Academy Awards, but it certainly won hearts of millions watching it. This is one of those movies which is a classified classic, certainly worth watching a few times, hats off to the makers.

Morning Glory (2010)

Not the best, but it worked, fine as well.

[7/10 · 14 June 2017]

Have you ever wondered how a life of a morning show news reporter would be? This film shows exactly that. Morning Glory is satirical comedy film that revolves around the lives of these reporters. The film revolves around the young Becky Fuller, played by Rachel McAdams, who dreams to work in Today show which is the best morning television in the country. Her dreams are almost shattered when she gets fired from her current job. Deciding the best way is to move on, she gets a new job in a rather messed up company and having a great responsibility to bring matters back on the right track. Then comes in the ever irritating, old and straight Mike Pomeroy, played by the great Harrison Ford who is a popular and great achieving news reporter facing the same fate as Becky after his time being expired. Becky, who is a big fan of Pomeroy somehow tries to convince him on anchoring her show upon less interest from him. A successful pledge forms the rest of the story.

The story looks simple and stays simple throughout, but the heavyhearted concept and the deep messages in the film makes this a fun journey overall. Firstly, I have to thank director Roger Michell for making this film. This film shows all aspects of a news reporter's life in limelight. My respect towards news reporters immensely increased after watching this knowledgeable film. Writer Aline Brosh McKenna also deserves all salutes for writing this story. The story moves in a slow pace and picks up gradually. The introduction of every character was very interesting and the development towards a certain scene builds tension slowly. The comedy element in the film worked at its best at high points due to the involvement of every character in the film. The next plus in film is the heartwarming dialogues. The dialogue exchange between Rachel and Harrison Ford were interesting and heart touching at the same time. Hats off to the dialogue writers.

The chemistry between Rachel and Harrison were awesome throughout the film. These two characters really stood out and director Roger Michell showed many hidden messages through them. The performance of Rachel was simply fantastic. Despite seeing a sense of overacting in some scenes in the beginning, I understood that those nuances were absolutely needed for the character of Becky. Her clumsy and over expressive character was annoying at times but fun overall. Coming to Harrison Ford, he was amazing. His character irritated, annoyed and frustrated everyone watching and he pulled it off with great fashion. The transformation of his character was the major plus point in this film. The other actors in the film had important roles which were mostly done well. Music in Hollywood films usually do not add a stand out value in their filmmaking, in this, David Arnold's music was absolutely a bliss to hear and small song numbers added sentimental values towards the film.

Overall, Morning Glory is feel good film that involves multi-layered messages about life, love, friendship and nature. The small touches like phone calls in unwanted situations show the level of importance of multimedia in modern life. The deft touches made by director Roger Michell was simply amazing. Every character in this film was highly related to life and the transformation of every character was very spirit lifting. This film made me laugh and cry, but more importantly taught me how to respect people in their own perspective. A fulfilling experience made from the heart.

Remo (2016)

Sivakarthikeyan's new avatar is a success story.Thumbs up for dedication!

[7/10 · 7 October 2016]

Remo,a film that was released with huge expectations despite the guessable story from the trailer. The audience knew what to expect from it and did not want to be disappointed. On the lines of Kamal Haasan's great,Avvai Shanmugi,comes another gender transformation by young comic actor Sivakarthikeyan. Despite not reaching the level that Kamal set 20 years back,this is definitely the second best when it comes in that genre. Siva completely transformed himself into the female character that whenever he showed up,we could feel a sense of absence of Siva's character which is a huge development from an actor who has not even completed 10 films in his career. Siva has made one of the best decision's of his career acting in this film and it was surprisingly flawless. Hats off to him just because of his undivided dedication shown towards a character in a film. The second person to this film's success is legendary cinematographer, P.C Sreeram. His camera handling techniques have long contributed to Indian cinema's success over the last 30 years till today. P.C Sreeram accepting this film was a shocker to the Tamil cinema industry and subsequently increased the chance of this being a good and high quality film. His cinematography made a medium budget film look really high budgeted and the camera angles during the action sequences were totally mind blowing. The third person who deserves all praises is music director Anirudh. His combination with Siva in previous movies like Maan Karate and Kaaki Sattai was really on par with Siva's style and mannerism and the same applied in this film. The theme music was a peppy dance number and the songs were good. The background score was good although it could have been better in certain places. The dance choreography following the songs were mostly well executed but should have been better in many places because the pace of the song does not match the pace of the dancers on screen. The sound editing of this film was done by Academy Award winner Resul Pookuty and it was absolutely amazing. The minute and distance sounds were caught in the film with near perfection. The voice modulation of the female character of Siva was well executed due to the brilliant sound editing. The art director also deserves full applauds for making the beautiful sets to make this film colorful and beautiful. Despite the huge positives, the drawback in this film is its core itself,the story line. The story of this film is a straight line that will not bend at any cost. Therefore, the story of the film is predictable leaving the audience to guess it quite well. The second drawback is the non linear screenplay of the film which takes out the icing on the cake of the linear story. To top it, the editing was quite sloppy at places which left the movie a bit draggy at the end. The supporting casts in this film did an excellent job contributing to the comical element in this film in a positive manner. Keerthy Suresh has shown her best performance in this film and played a role equal to Siva's character in the film. The supporting comedians who were Satish,Motta Rajendran and Yogi Babu did excellent jobs as their comic timings and dialogue counters were absolutely seamless and made the audience jump out of their seats in laughter. Finally,we have to praise debut director Bakyaraj Kannan for his outstanding dedication in making this type of a film in his very first attempt. Despite having signs of amateurish scenes in certain portions in the film,nothing can take away his effort of delivering a film that would satisfy all sets of audience and make it a success story,hats off.I would conclude that Remo is not the best film for a newcomer,but it is certainly one of the best comedy films that was released in 2016 and will certainly be remembered by many in the film industry for a long time to come,especially Sivakarthikeyan.

Apoorva Sagodharargal (1989)

Kamal Haasan's great transformation is a real treat.Magnificent!

[8/10 · 8 September 2016]

Kamal Haasan,the person who I regard as the best actor in Indian cinema ever,added another great to his list.The story is a cliché that we all know,but the screenplay and execution is simply seamless and mind boggling.The first thing I had all my praises on was the cinematography by PC Sriram,simply eye catching and beautiful.The use of color and tone is unbelievable considering the year of release of which was 1989.The camera angles made the movie look very grand and high budgeted.Hats off to him.The second thing that pulled me in was the timeless music of maestro Illayaraja.The music in the film was not everywhere,but it was present in the important scenes.The use of music in the suspense and the comedy scenes were the best.The songs in this film were amazing and the sets of the were really realistic which was a big bonus for the film.The use of modern music at the time was fully utilized by Illayaraja and turned out to be an impressive piece of work at the end.The other two people that full credits has to given is B Lenin and VT Vijayan.Their editing for this film was absolutely amazing and matching the screenplay of the film.Coming to the cut and throat of this film,the Universal Hero,Kamal Haasan.His performance in this was excellent.He played three characters in this film,and the probably the toughest he has done by far is the dwarf character who is Appu.A century has changed,yet nobody can find out the secret of the making of this character.It is no doubt that a any character can be created by CGI with today's technology,but this character that was formed in that time frame was a shock to whole cinema industry in India.The making of this character is well kept secret till today by the makers of the film.Putting aside the concerns of the making,Kamal Haasan completely transformed himself into the character,I could feel this character's emotions,feeling and sentiments throughout this film.The other two characters was the normal Kamal Haasan that we can see,but he shows a variation of the Tamil dialects used by three different characters in the film which is a huge task to pull off.Other than Kamal Haasan,Nagesh did well in a unusual character despite given a less screen space.The other standout performer was Janagaraj in another unusual character for him.His comical timing in this film made the film more fun and enjoyable within the serious tone of this film.This had to go down to the dialogue writer Crazy Mohan.He really understood the screenplay of the film and set dialogues with good timing and counters.Hats off.The screenplay which was also written by Kamal Haasan shows why he is regarded as one the best actors ever.The screenplay of the movie was smooth as an unpolluted river and the structure of a scene is so well set that the movement of the scenes were not felt by the audience.No review of a good movie is complete without complimenting the efforts of the off screen hero,the director.Singeetam Srinivasa Rao did an excellent job narrating Kamal Haasan's story in a interesting way.Overall,this film would be a great treat for movie lovers just because of its amazing narration.This is definitely not Kamal Haasan's best,but still one of the best Indian movie's ever created.Magnificent!

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)

A mind blowing spirited masterpiece by Ashutosh and Aamir!

[9/10 · 5 September 2016]

Lagaan is film that I watched without any expectation and it absolutely blew my mind.The film revolves around three characters Bhuvan played by Aamir Khan,Gauri played by Gracy Singh and Elizabeth played by Rachel Shelley.The film's central character is Bhuvan,who is a spirited and outstanding young man who firmly stands for the rights of the villagers who are oppressed by their British dictators.Lagaan was a tax that was a compulsory payment at the time of British rule.The price of tax increased at the will of the British and people couldn't afford to pay their taxes.Village people had to starve to pay their taxes.Therefore,the young and brave Bhuvan made a deal that the British would waive the tax of villagers on the fate of cricket match.This is the main plot of the story and the rest of the parts make up the movie. The first frame of the movie explains the meaning of Lagaan and setting the tone of the 19th century in India.The first few frames of the film showed the beautiful Indian villages in the late 19th century and immediately setting the tone for the audience to pull them into the ancient Indian world.The film took its time to introduce its characters to the audience to firmly understand the sentiments of the Indians during that time.The important characters who were Bhuvan and Gauri were introduced first in the opening scenes while the character of Elizabeth was introduced later on.Along with these three main characters,there were more than ten characters which had important dialogues throughout the film. The first positive that I noticed from the beginning is the lush cinematography of the film.The man behind the camera deserves all my salutes for really raising the bars in the level of making films.The camera angles in the day time and the aerial shots of the village were excellent.The use of color and the tone of cinematography really brought me back to that time zone.The second positive was the art design the of the film.The art director deserves all credits for creating sets that looked and felt real.The sets of the villages and the palaces were really beautiful and made me feel that I was in that period.Coming the curtain raiser,the performances of the cast.The life of the this film,actor and producer Aamir Khan.Aamir Khan absolutely lived his character as Bhuvan throughout this film.He has outclassed himself in this film.The film showcased his full acting potential and great credit has to go to the director for pulling this off.His eyes in this film were razor sharp absolutely piercing through the lenses directly into the hearts of the audience.The dialogue delivery by him was simply hard hitting an sitting in the hearts of those watching.Hats off.The other actors Gracy and Rachel did an outstanding job in portraying the characters.Other smaller characters really made a standout performance throughout the film as well.The people in the village and the British actors completely gave life to and done justice to the roles given by the director.They acted their hearts out. A.R Rahman the two time Academy award winner in 2008,yet again proved why the Oscar's needed him in 2002 itself.The background score of this film was absolutely a bliss to hear and in a class on its own.This was one of the very few Indian films where I enjoyed every single song because of its inspiring and spirit lifting lyrics,my personal favorite in "Mitwa".Some songs made me laugh and some made me cry.The only reason has to be the hearty composition of a man who had his full dedication,hats off for this gem. Finally,a man who I really needed to salute,director Ashutosh Gowariker.He has revolutionized Indian cinema with his creation.It was no surprise that this is the only Indian movie till date that has been nominated in an Academy award and a deserving special mention in that award.It might not have won the award,but it certainly won everybody's hearts and the person to stand behind is Ashutosh Gowariker.Hats off to you. Lagaan is about hope, courage, fighting against injustice, the human spirit and about Indians.This is one the very few movies that I can call a masterpiece just because of its magnanimous spirit lifting story line.Lagaan is a film that teaches Indian films where I enjoyed every single song because of its inspiring and spirit lifting lyrics,my personal favorite is "Mitwa".Some songs made me laugh and some made me cry.The only reason has to be the hearty composition of a man who had his full dedication,hats off for this gem. Finally,a man who I really needed to salute,director Ashutosh Gowariker.He has revolutionized Indian cinema with his creation.It was no surprise that this is the only Indian movie till date that has been nominated in an Academy award and a deserving special mention in that award.It might not have won the award,but it certainly won everybody's hearts and the person to stand behind is Ashutosh Gowariker.Hats off to you. Lagaan is about hope, courage, fighting against injustice, the human spirit and about Indians.This is one the very few movies that I can call a masterpiece just because of its magnanimous spirit lifting story line.Lagaan is a film that teaches unity and harmony to all,thank you Ashutosh,for this master touch.

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Billion dollars in the pocket for Marvel...

[8/10 · 30 April 2016]

Civil war...hold onto your seats people,because this movie is mind blowing.I personally do not watch many super-hero movies.I have a few names to mention when it comes to it,The Dark Knight trilogy still remains the best super-hero series for me.Now,I know I seriously should not be comparing DC Comic and Marvel universe,but this is exactly the case here.This movie has totally lived up to its expectation.The release of the teasers and trailers did not reveal much of a plot,but it was really well edited and subsequently became a back bone to the success of the film.The story of the film is simple and it stays simple to the very end.There are less elements of suspense throughout the movie which isn't necessarily a bad thing.For this movie,an expectation is panned out in every scene,but the director has given much more than we expect.The director has completely won in every department to capture the audience attention.The highlights of this film is the action scenes.There are three major action scenes in this film.My particular best is the fight scene at the beginning of the movie.Scarlett Johansen has rocked in some action sequences more than the others.The screenplay of the film is brilliant,I honestly did not feel time passing by while watching this 150 minute long film,in fact quite puzzled on short it was.The compelling scenes in the film makes it more interesting along the way.The music was magnificent.Kudos to the music director for understanding the script and composing great epic music.All technical aspects were well handled.Amazing cinematography and perfect VFX made this a greater level of visual experience.Final say,I watched a DC Comic movie this year,and I was totally unimpressed,now I have watched this,and it has become one of the best super-hero movies of all time,in my books.Don't go for a war,go home and watch Civil War...

Irudhi Suttru (2016)

Stay on your feet...it's knock out time!!!

[8/10 · 9 March 2016]

Chak De,India!,Lagaan,Mary Kom,some of the best sports based movies ever created.All of these movies are from north India,now,believe me when I tell this south Indian movie has joined that league of great movies.Heavy thumbs up has to be shown to director Sudha Kongara for the will and determination shown by her to showcase this piece art on the silver screen appealing to all sections of the society.Her story shows many elements which covers problems faced by poor and corruption in government agencies in India.One needs guts and courage to showcase loopholes in government based organizationals and it takes a huge task to avoid controversy amid showing them,therefore hats off.R.Madhavan has worked hard to make this movie a success.He has taken this role really seriously and done a complete makeover in his looks and his body shape.His three years of hard work is evidently paid off on screen.His body language and buff shape has made him transform from a youth romantic hero to believable boxing coach.He has totally lived his character as a boxing coach.I was totally awestruck.Hats off.Now coming to the super star of this film,Ritika Singh.I have literally lost words to describe her performance in this film.I am sorry to say that all the words created are not enough to describe she and her impeccable acting.She blew the audience away with her performance.A debut that can never be imagined by another actress in the industry.Her character as a Chennai fisher woman at the beginning portions of the film should be some of the most memorable moments in her career.The boxer role she played is simply irreplaceable by even the best of the of the best in the industry.Thanks,Ritika Singh for creating a positive impact in the new age of the Indian film industry.We have to wish her all the best for the future with all the blessings of God.Music by Santosh Narayanan will definitely be honey pouring in your ears and give pain in the heart of the audience.Cinematography by Sivakumar Vijayan was really classy and a bliss to watch on the big screen.Overall,this film is a rare gem in the Indian film industry created purely from heart to reach the hearts of millions.It will end up to please the mass as it shows women empowerment.An emotional roller-coaster that will drive your spirits sky high.KNOCK OUT!!!

Visaaranai (2015)

The hurting truth for the best way of film making.Magnanimous!!!

[9/10 · 6 March 2016]

This movie shows the harsh reality faced by some in some parts of the world.I can call this a masterpiece in reality film making.I have not known much about Vetrimaaran,after watching this,I feel like knowing more about him.This is a very sensitive topic to see upon.Therefore,I have give my huge applause to director Vetrimaaran for the courage and braveness shown by him that many other director's have struggled to show over the years,be it in Indian cinema or abroad.Hats off.The sufferings of the innocent minds in reality were finally paid off through this film with the blessings of the Almighty.Performances by Samuthirakani and Dinesh Ravi has totally done justice to the characters they played.Supporting casts did excellent jobs as well.Everyone has lived their character in this film in a totally convincing manner.I hope they will deserve all their awards in the coming award ceremony regardless of the one they already have.The highlight of the film was the interrogation scenes between the police and the victims.The cruelty of the police officers towards these helpless people were shown without any distinction.The innocence shown by the actors were unseen and amazingly painful to watch.The beating shown on screen will definitely be felt by all experiencing this film.Some may even end up in tears.I would also give a huge thumbs up the make up artists of this film for giving such real wounds and bruises for the actors.Music was done well and really intense.There are many moments that will make you scared and shiver through your spine.Finally,I wish the whole team and producer Dhanush my heartfelt well wishes for presenting this magnanimously informative piece of art that has become an eye opener for many worldwide.Hands down,again.God bless those who were affected in real life.A better life is awaiting you.Thank you,for this painful and hard hitting piece of brilliance.

Anbe Sivam (2003)

Learn to live,learn to love,Love is God.

[10/10 · 14 February 2016]

This is not a movie,its an experience of a lifetime,an experience for Kamal,Madhavan,Nasser and even a dog.This movie takes you on a journey that may change your lives forever.The story is simple,two people meeting each other under certain circumstances that takes them on an unusual journey across India from Bhubaneshwar to Chennai.Madhavan who plays Anbarasu AKA Ars a modern day youth.Kamal who plays Nallasivam a matured experienced man with a rather disfigured character and has gone through a lot in his life.What happens when these two meet each other? The rest of the story unfolds on how these two get along with each other.The highlight in this movie is the chemistry between the characters played by Kamal and Madhavan ,how do they change along this Topsy-tourney journey.Madhavan learns a lot from the well experienced Kamal.Kamal is a person who understands the part and puzzle of life and takes every incident,even the worst in the best way possible,he sees love in and God in love.How did he get this maturity?The story moves to a flashback,where Kamal is communist who does not believe in God,loves a capitalist's(Nasser) daughter.He goes against Nasser regarding less salary as a worker.As her father is against their relationship,they plan to elope to Kerala,the bus meets in an accident which was cause by a dog but she was not in,Kamal was injured and subsequently became the incident that made his body disfigured.Nasser meets him and speaks in a rude manner that hurt him even badly.Kamal sees God in the nurses(sister) that helped him through his recovery and many other people who show love.After his recovery,he went to meet Nasser for meeting his daughter,Nasser states that his daughter is married to a foreign groom and Kamal walks away in disappointment.Then the story returns to present time,where a train derails on the way and a boy is on the verge of dying who is in the same blood group as Madhavan,Madhavan donates blood to the boy,eventually the boy dies,Madhavan starts crying and scolding God on this situation,Madhavan asks Kamal''You don't believe in God,don't you?''.Kamal replies''I do believe in God''.''Which God?''Madhavan asks.''You,a person who is crying for someone you do not know,that is God''Kamal replies.This shows the maturity of Kamal along the development of his character in this movie.When Madhavan asks if Kamal has a child,he says yes,then he finds out the child is actually a dog,the dog that caused the accident that Kamal was disfigured.There are many scenes in this movie that will touch your heart,amazing dialogs that come along with it.Cinematography is awesome.The music by Vidyasagar is purely brilliant.The title soundtrack ''Anbe Sivam'' will certainly gave me goosebumps all the way.I am nobody to rate this movie because I've learnt a lot from this movie,to give respect even if you are not given so.Final say,a person who wants to learn the part and puzzle of life must definitely watch this movie.Learn to live,learn to love,Love is God.

Inception (2010)

Am I still dreaming...No way!!!

[9/10 · 13 February 2016]

Yes,I'm still dreaming,dreaming the dream that director Christopher Nolan was dreaming all the way through.After watching this gem of a movie,I was still wondering how would a person ever come up with a concept like this,first of all,I'm a huge Christopher Nolan fan,movies like The Prestige,The Dark Knight Trilogy,Memento and Interstellar are listed as some of the best movies for me.It took some time for me watch this movie,but after watching this,I have no doubts that Nolan is the best director in Hollywood if not in the whole world at least in making these types of movies.My words can't say enough to describe some of the masterpieces that he created,and its not usual a good director makes almost all his movies really good and unique,for him this is the case.Many people would have taken time to understand this film,including me,but once you are into it,you can never get out of it.The story is really intriguing and engaging from the very first scene.Its really a complex story as every other Nolan movie,do not take your eyes off the screen every second counts.The base of the story is simple,but the amount of layers and is at the height of unimaginable circumstances and events.Every character in the movie has a heavy task,but all of them did impressively well.Leonardo DiCaprio,again and again he proves that the Academy awards has missed someone,and in this movie,he makes sure that they are really missing him.Some of the emotional scenes look and feel real.Nolan has weaved and weighed every character in perfect balance.The action scenes in this movie was really well done and no elements of exaggeration anywhere.Hans Zimmer has done a fantastic job with the BGM and the re-recording,his music really helped to carry the movie forward in the best way.Anyways,I was awestruck after watching this MASTERPIECE of a movie.I'm still baffled as I'm typing this review,baffled on how a person can create this imagination of a dream that has become reality.Wait,its Christopher Nolan right?Then all my doubts should be cleared,watch this movie you will not sleep,but dream,am I still dreaming...no way!!!

Swades (2004)

A glimpse of true rural India.

[9/10 · 10 February 2016]

I watched this movie after hearing that SRK is the only actor to act in a real NASA camp.What was the movie?Swades,we the people.The movie starts in the USA where a young Indian scientist working in NASA,longing to get back to his motherland to bring back the person who brought him up since young.From there,the movie takes you in an adventurous journey in rural India showing the differences between a city life and rural life in the 21st century India.This movie shows the natural beauty of India in a splendid manner.Be it the journey of SRK from the city to the village,or even from the village to a even more rural area,it was shot so beautifully,you would have never seen India this way.This movie touches on every possible social problem in India,which really provided me a lot of knowledge about India as I'm not an Indian national.The cinematography was merely brilliant capturing the feel of the village in the camera.A.R Rahman,what else can you expect from him,his music and songs were great though captivating all the way through.The songs in this movie was really meaningful,some may even allow tears passing through.Ashutosh Gowariker has probably become one of the best Indian director's of all time.Movies like Lagaan and Jodha Akbar is one of the best Indian movie's of all time.He has brought Indian cinema to great heights.SRK has proved that he is a good actor to all that thinks otherwise,this movie also shows that SRK is a responsible actor for the Indian society.Hats off to Ashutosh Gowariker,SRK and A.R Rahman for creating this masterpiece.We the people love it.A glimpse of true rural India.

Polis Evo (2015)

2 hours of action,crime,drugs,comedy and pure entertainment.

[7/10 · 1 February 2016]

This is probably the best Malaysian film I've seen.Lets break it down into a few parts.The positives of this film are the performances of the cast,stunt choreography,cinematography and many more in the list.Performances by Sam and Zizan should be the most appreciated,they develop a significant relationship as the film goes on.I'm talking about character development,which I have not seen in many Malay movies before.They play their roles so convincingly that you'll believe they are buddies in real life.Secondly,the cinematography is stunning, given the budget is only $500,000.He(The cameraman) made this movie look really badass and high budgeted.The choice of music was good.There were a few stunts like car stunt sequences and other action scenes were very well shot and executed,most importantly not over the top.The only negative that I have with this movie is the clichéd story.We have seen this like 100 million times if you know what I mean,but considering using the same story and plot line,it was still well executed.It's not the best movie ever created,but certainly a good entertainment to watch for 2 hours.Don't get me wrong that I'm giving a rating of 7/10,I'm not downgrading this film,it's just that I'm comparing it with Hollywood and Indian cinema ,that's all.Anyway,please do watch this movie.AWESTRUCK...

Baahubali: The Beginning (2015)

Keep the doors wide open for Indian cinema.

[9/10 · 31 January 2016]

This movie is an example of how the movie industry has evolved in India. Baahubali:The Beginning a story about a lost prince who unexpectedly returns to his kingdom under certain circumstances.The story is this simple but screenplay and execution was merely new and never seen before.Lets break it down into a few parts.Firstly,director SS Rajamouli has proved that he is one of the most creative director's in Indian cinema if not in the whole world.His previous movies like Eega and Maghadheera might be low on budget,but new in the creative world and top notch in execution and production value.Again,in this movie he proves that he can use big money to big and great effect.I have to admit that the VFX in this was not perfect,in some parts like the snow scene and the bull scene the green screen is clearly seen,but other than that the VFX is just so brilliant that one would not believe that they are watching an animated live action movie,simply magnificent,especially with a budget of $18 million,thinking about movies that has budgets like $100-200 million and still fail to do good VFX.The sceneries in this film is beautifully shown,especially the scenes with the waterfall at the beginning.Now coming to the war sequences,it was really amazing.I just found out that this is the highest rated war feature film ever on IMDb ever.It thoroughly deserves it.While watching the 40 minute war sequence was so interesting that it felt like it happened in a few minutes.I have to give a big thumbs up for the entire Baahubali team and director SS Rajamouli for creating this state of the art war scene that has been never witnessed before in any cinema.One could never imagine the hard work put in by the entire crew and adding every small detail in this masterpiece of a scene.For the amount that they spent,this is far a better execution that anyone expected.Bringing in more than 5,000 people for this war scene is not a joke,and showing it this convincing for the first time in the taking is never a downhill task,it was purely amazing and great,hats off SS Rajamouli for this alone.Now lets look at the performances of the cast.I never knew anything about Prabhas in the past,but after this I feel like looking at his previous movies.He just blew us away with his mind blowing performance as a son,king,lover and many more.His performance shows how much dedication and hard work has been put in by him just to do these roles successfully.SS Rajamouli has sketched his character perfectly and Prabhas has don his role superbly well that nobody could have ever done it like this.Supporting casts like Rana,Anushka and Tammana did extremely well.Rana was awesome as a brother and villain for Baahubali.Special mentions has to go down to Ramya Radhakrisnan and Satyaraj,both these actors added the extra flair to the movie and subsequently made the movie look brilliant in many parts.For me Satyaraj and Ramya Rdhakrishnan should win the most awards after Prabhas in this film.They were great.Coming to the music,the movie had a great back ground score and songs all the way.Some of the song numbers gave me goose bumps big time.The cinematography of this film is simply breathtaking,kudos to the cameraman. I have written so much and there is still so much more to say about this film and I know I can't fit it all in one review.All I know is that this movie is magnificent piece of art which showcases Indian cinema in the best way possible.Every Indian should and I think will watch this movie.Final say,keep the doors wide open for Indian cinema,we are coming soon.

Jai Ho (2014)

Headache,whoever created this insults cinema and Bollywood.

[1/10 · 31 January 2016]

This movie is nothing but a big ''B'' and a ''S'' all the way.B...s..t all the way.Bad direction and acting all the way.The reason there is 1 star is because of the message and a bit Salman's acting,say 50/50 and 9 stars has to go down for crap.Tabu and supporting characters were crap over acting everywhere.Salman should be more responsible and make good movies that would be looked up by the world,cut this crap,please,I thought we have moved on from the past.It's a really painful watch especially being a huge cinema fan,got bad headaches all the way through.Story wise,it was not bad,execution was utter terrible,music was bad.This movie is an insult to Bollywood and Indian cinema on the whole.

Aambala (2015)

Why all the hate,it's a complete laugh riot.

[7/10 · 31 January 2016]

This movie's rating is 4/10,I can't believe this.This movie is one of the funniest Tamil movie's released in recent times.The story is not new but differently told,we cannot know what to expect from the start.This is one of the few movies which I was laughing the whole movie even till the last song number.Vishal and Santhanam's combination was perfect enough to just give us some of the funniest moments ever seen in Tamil cinema.Supporting characters including the villain did tremendous jobs that made us add to the laughter.The action scenes are well choreographed and suited the genre of this film,really fun.Overall this movie is just a really good summer entertainer for your,not the best,but certainly never seen this funny before.Watch it,see if you believe me,you'll know.