Ohm Shanti Oshana - True Love is Unshakable

As soon as Nivin Pauly rides with his friend and stops the vehicle for a smoke, the standard disclaimer to not to smoke tries to appear on the screen but with a twist. Nivin Pauly pushes away the disclaimer with his bare hands and tries to smoke but to no avail. Ultimately, the disclaimer wins the zany battle resulting in Nivin Pauly to assert that smoking is injurious to health. It perfectly set the ball rolling for something different and not just yet another run-of-the-mill 120 minute story.

Ohm Shanti Oshana is basically a Nazriya's film. Like the Atlas who shoulders the Earth, she has single-handedly taken up the onerous responsibility to play the hero in this movie even though Nivin Pauly also occupies the screen space. The entire flick is based from a girl's perspective - from the time she is born, how she hopelessly falls in love with her knight in shining armor, his rejection, her dogged determination to win over him and what happens eventually in the end. The movie clearly portrays the different mind sets of a girl's life at different points in her age with love for Giri as the common denominator. That shows her resolute and firmness of purpose and the extreme to which the tomboyish character would have gone for making her dream love a reality.

Despite Nazriya helming the film like a steady and veteran captain with her endearing, buoyant, dreamy and expressive emotions, Nivin Pauly does give in a strong performance as a sober son to his mother by taking up farming as his profession. The rocking BGM as he rides in the Bullet when Nazriya sits and waits in the bus stop is really worth mentioning. The songs were Upbeat like Kaatu Mooliyo and melodies like Mounam Chorum Neram and Sneham cherum neram.

Much like the comic introductory first scene involving the smoking disclaimer, the complete film is sprinkled with lots of laughs, energy, cuteness and love. For instance, when Pooja hears that Giri has gone to China, she imagines him to be a Chinese in the company of a Chinese woman. OMG! Nivin Pauly in the Chinese avatar was simply rollicking. Likewise, it was a rib-tickling scene when Nazriya innocently mistakes and takes the biscuit during the viva when she was posed with a question. Similarly, the film has a fair share of its own charming one-liners which doesn't stick with you in your head as you are busy laughing like anything. 

OSO is that kind of an alluring movie that is delightful, warm, tender and light-hearted which makes you fall in love with the film over and over again.

Jacobinte Swargarajyam - Jacob Family's Heavenly Fortitude Rules to the fore

Jacobinte Swargarajyam kick starts with the hard-core reality that many Malayalees had to leave their beloved families in India for employment opportunities to other countries, what trials and tribulations they face in alien lands and how they face the nasty adversities with courage and determination for supporting and sustaining their families in their motherland. You know it is going to be a no-nonsense film when 'based on true events' appear on the screen. The only question that can bother a logical mind at that point of time is that what might have transpired in Jacob's family that had inspired the director to dedicate the film to his dear friend - a NRI family hailing from Dubai.

As the events start to slowly churn out, we get to know that Jacob is a highly successful businessman living with his wife and children in the dazzling Dubai. The cinematographer earns brownie points here for showcasing Dubai in all its full glory and splendor to the extent that you have the urgent impulse to pack your bags, check out your nearest tourist operator and visit this lovely place right away with your own family. It was indeed a visual treat to transform the beauty of the dynamic Dubai life onto the big screen so spectacularly and strikingly by highlighting all the prominent tourism interests like the towering night skies, Tanura Dance, Belly Dance, Dune Bashing etc. Such is the poetic handling of the lens by the cinematographer who had captured not just the heart and essence of Dubai but also your adventurous explorer hearts as well!

The story actually begins when Jacob is cheated by his trusted colleague and how his reputation takes a big time hit when he tries to settle his debts. Unsuccessful in Dubai to pay his dues, he flies to Liberia to sort out and close a deal to put an end to all his misfortunes. What happens to him in Liberia, how he managed to survive there - we never know. But, what we know is that his wife, Sherly and son, Jerry stitch together the money they can partially pay to the investors by selling their cherished house, treasured Merc etc. in order to avoid being held under custody.   

Sometimes, the moment you see a person, you just know somehow that they are bad - not to get mixed up with them in any way. You may be even seeing the person for the first time in your life but your instinctual bell alarms you to get away from them as far as possible!  That is precisely the reaction I experienced when the camera focussed for the first time on Murali Menon. You know he is trouble from the outset. But how much trouble? That's the question. He was really a pain in the ass for the Jacob's family until Murali was also mired with his own reversal of fortunes. Yeah - Karma's a bitch! Hence Proved in Murali's case. Jokes apart. 

Murali's performance as a menacing and threatening investor with a concrete deadline over Jerry's and Sherly's head to settle his invested amount was simply outstanding in this rather predictable story line. You actually start to hate him when he tortures Jacob's family minus Jacob who was in Liberia. He literally gave the creeps. Hats off to him for such an amazing character deliverance with enough natural bad ass substance. Murali simply breathed life and fire into the movie whenever he had the opportunity.

Likewise, you get to know the real Shirly when she flares up like a tiger when a business man smokes in front of her. I was actually clapping my hands out when she said that she would rather walk out of the place than doing business with such a person. Even though they were on the steep edge of a financial precipice, she demonstrated that self-respect, honor and esteem were more important to her than money. In fact, she advised Jerry that it's better to tell the truth than fabricate his way to shame. Her strong willed attitude. Her tenacity in the fire of danger. Her resolute to morals even when the sword was dangling above her head. I was actually in great awe and admiration for Sherly then. 

Commendable performance was also made by Nivin Pauly who played Jerry and had to take up the entire burden on his shoulder which his father had left him before going to Liberia. Though the second half was too long and tried to show the heroism in Nivin Pauly, it was understandable that ultimately at the end of the day, it's a movie where some one had to be the hero who saves the day! 

The heroine comes in and goes out of the screen like a wisp of smoke and Jacob's daughter was no where to be seen once she had left from Dubai to pursue her studies until the last scene in Kerala. The songs were a treat to the ears especially "Thiruvaavaniraavu" which was in loop for the rest of the day. Though not a Malayalee myself, I could still imagine the nostalgic Onam moments that would have been played in every Malayalee's mind when they heard this wonderful rendition.

Jacobinte Swargarajyam is a poignant family movie which is sure to move a person who loves their family. The only problem is with the length of the film specifically the second half. Nevertheless, the movie is a fitting tribute to Jacob's family who had defied all odds amidst their tremendous travails which life had thrown at them, succeeded in seeing through them one by one and had reunited in God's Own Country.

Kali - This love is Faithfully FURIOUS!

What happens when a hot-headed person is asked to handle front-end customers in an institution like bank? To complicate the situation further, how will it be if an irritating co-worker rankles and infuriates an already enraged personality to his extreme by repeatedly slapping him on his back despite his warning signals? It is sure to lead them on a warpath where the obvious outcome is a thunderous slap and several bad mouthings to the annoying person. Does the person deserve it? That's a question for another blog but what is the net effect that the outburst of this maddening anger has on the personal relations is dealt in a lucid and wonderful manner by the director.

The protagonist , Dulquer Salmaan, has essayed with the ease the character of a person who has anger management issues right from his childhood but who had failed to address it. The result is a cacophony in his personal life with his wife - Sai Pallavi. The chemistry between the lead pair is a treat to watch which doesn't cross the border yet still manages to sizzle on the screen with their cuteness. After Premam, Sai Pallavi hogs the limelight by being an extremely caring and loving wife who wants her husband to change for the better. Unfortunately, Siddharth's penchant for getting into trouble due to his rage was causing enough friction in their marriage life to the point of them getting a divorce. The final nail in the coffin was when Siddharth slaps his annoying co-worker in front of everyone during an office party thereby causing deep humiliation and shame to Anjali despite her continuous advice and suggestions for Siddharth to be calm under stressing situations.

What happens after that is a simple yet interesting story by neatly tying up the very first scene of the movie ,where a person is being kicked out from his shop by a ruthless ruffian, with the second half of the film by entwining with Siddharth's and Anjali's life. 

The entire cast has done a fantastic job in this uncomplicated storyline especially the truck driver, Chakkara with his villainous and devious intentions for Anjali. At the end, when the sailing gets smooth between Siddharth and Anjali, Karma catches up with Chakkara. Siddharth finally realizes the negative effects of his anger and wants to forgive him but it was Anjali's turn to be furious with Chakkara for making her blood boil with his outrageously unrestrained and sickening behavior towards her.

Kail's a must watch just for Dulquer and Sai Pallavi and how anger can cause destruction in a person's life if left unchecked.

The Krishna Key - India's Own Dan Brown Unlocked

Dan Brown - What's the first thing that comes into your mind when you hear his name? The Da Vinci Code? Angels & Demons? Robert Langdon?  Tom Hanks ? Controversies? You will be having your own perspective on him regardless of the 'n' and 'n+1' number of controversies that always surrounds him whenever his new book is published. However, no one can deny the indubitable fact that all his works are based on extensive research to give that perfect combination of fact and fiction to his fans. Be it the mind-numbing techno thriller Digital Fortress or the scientific thriller Deception Point to the fast and furiously paced Angels & Demons or the chock-full of controversy loaded The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown ensured that his novels had a solid foundation of exhaustive ground work and exploration on the core theme of his books before it is written.   

Much like Dan Brown, Ashwin Sanghi had also made enormous study and thorough investigation of facts for his latest novel - The Krishna Key. Anagrams, numerous places from Dwarka to Himalayas, treasure hunt sort of expeditions,  a murder in the beginning and a historian to decode the clues left behind, The Krishna Key revealed and reminded of Dan Brown's style of works instead of the author's unique style. However, the level of detail which Ashwin Sanghi had covered in the book will surely make everyone to be proud of our ancient Indian culture and our forefathers - the knowledge they possessed in their arsenal and the science behind their actions to prove that they did not do things randomly without observations and justifications. Unfortunately, as you are already familiar with Dan Brown, The Krishna Key was more like a encyclopaedic bombardment of information from his study on various books rather than a work of fiction. In fact, there are 2 parallel stories that runs throughout the novel - Mahabharata written in his own words and the present day cat and mouse story where the hunter becomes hunted and the hunted becomes the hunter.

The characters walk , ride , run , climb, swim , get buried etc. However, you do not get to be under the character's skin to feel their emotions. It's like "yeah..they are doing...so, what". You don't actually empathise with any of the character including the person who falsely thinks himself to be the next Kalki Avatar or the historian Ravi Saini making trips to most of the corners of India. 

The climax was very predictable but the only saving grace was that it did not drag for a long time. The epilogue was very much reminiscent of Deception Point's final conclusion. 

Bottomline: The Krishna Key is a very honest and straight forward herculean attempt to showcase India's advanced scientific contribution of the ancient days with a touch of fiction. But since, you are conversant with Dan Brown's works, the Krishna Key seemed more like finding new facts about our ancestors and temples rather than the storyline or the style of writing

New Yorker - Yummy Yummier Yummiest

As I was travelling on the KNK road for my personal reasons, my stomach began to rumble and growl like a distant thunder and suddenly I felt that rats were skipping, jogging and running in my tummy. A swift nonchalant glance at my Fast track watch displayed the time to be close to 12. Then, I remembered that I did not have my breakfast either. KNK road has no dearth for restaurants. But, the problem which posed me at that critical juncture was to choose which restaurant to satiate the grumbling rats in my belly. Like an expert soldier on the Indo-Pak border, I quickly scanned the place for a good place to sink my teeth in. It was then New Yorker caught my attention which was just diagonally opposite to CCD square and next to Amadora. As ever, let's-just-walk-in and see how-the-food-is attitude made  me to park my vehicle outside to venture into New Yorker.

I was greeted in by a quick fun fact on New Yorker about their history when I was climbing the stairs to the first floor. The ambience was nifty and spacious with lots of sunshine streaming into the place where I was seated. The service was more than prompt. They were very courteous and pleasant. Now, it was time for the food to impress me.

Sliding through the items one by one with a rapid browsing on all the pages of the A la carte revealed that New Yorker offered Lebanese, Italian, Mexican and Indian cuisines and the fact that it was a ONLY vegetarian was an additional bonus to me as I need not have to be overly cautious to not to order a non-vegetarian dish by mix up and mistake! So, I went ahead and ordered the Chef's special - Manhattan French Fries as starter and an Orange Fizzy drink to start my course. For main course, I went ahead with Mexican Beans Tacos as I was unsure how much French fries they would be serving me.

A Nataraj pencil was placed before me and I couldn't resist to solve the puzzles in front of me till the time they brought in the ordered items. By the time I was solving the puzzles in 10 minutes time, French fries and Orange Fizzy drink were served. OMG! The French Fries were out of the world. It was so god damn good that I completely indulged myself without even realizing that Tacos were placed on my table. It was simply amazing with the nachos cheese sauce. I was feeling giddy after diving into the fries and poking every stick by dipping them into the sauce and placing it in my mouth. I was literally relishing the delicious experience. After I felt that the French fries itself had silenced the rats in my tum, I still proceeded with the Tacos so as not to waste it. The tacos were wonderfully presented with lettuce and cabbage. But, as I was completely reeling under the heaviness of the Chef's special, I couldn't get myself engaged with the tacos as much as I had enjoyed my time with the fries. Nonetheless, the tacos were good and the Orange Fizzy drink ensured that it provided the right proportion of zing and tanginess to my taste buds.

Overall, New Yorker is a place which I would love to visit once again to indulge in their rich and scrumptious dishes. Oh! One more important thing. You need to forget the price column when you are choosing and selecting your desired cuisine.

Premam - Cuteness overloaded with lots of extra love

MAAVA..MAAVA...LOLMAXXXXXXXXXXXXXX......Henceforth,whenever someone mentions JAVA to me or to anyone else in front of me, my immediate and spontaneous reaction will be to burst out laughing internally with a big grin on my face outside and nod to their explanation on whatever they were telling prior to mentioning JAVA. 

So, is it the only hilarious scene in the movie? NOOOOO (Screaming literally!). When George tells his friends that Malar is going to teach them how to dance for the cultural fest, they simply nod and look at her to see whether what he said was true. But, when Malar was still immersing herself to the tune of the music and showed no sign to dance, their face clearly showed that Malar had made a fool out of George. Later, when she takes a couple of steps forward and puts in her quick and complicated steps to the beats, they were not just taken aback with surprise by her dance movements but also were rendered speechless with George breaking the monotony of silence by asking her to teach them only simple steps. However, it is that priceless moment of flabbergasted expressions etched upon their faces that simply made me to freeze the screen and watch the scene over and over again just like how I used to sit in awe and watch again and again without getting bored whenever Sachin strikes a full-blooded straight drive. 

Are these the only scenes that are hilarious? NOOOOOOOOOOOOO (Screaming loudly and clearly now!). The entire movie is simply and purely laced and laden with lots of funny moments and these 2 scenes are just at the top for me.

Review for Premam: I have no idea now where to start and what to say but it has already started with the fact the the film is downright and unadulteratedly humorous that it will tickle your ribs to the extent that your ribs start aching so painfully that you need to visit the doctor after the movie! Scenes involving Mary and her dad, JAVA teacher and Malar, George's sheepish grins when he sees his love at different points in time and not to mention the dialogues added the extra spice to the whole ingredient.

Nevertheless, be it George, Mary, Malar, George Friends, JAVA teacher or even George's father who comes only for a scene but literally steals the show by lambasting the principal, every character in the movie is so well-chosen and handpicked that it did not feel like I was watching a movie at all. All their performances including the kid Celine were so natural and genuine that it evoked in me a strong sense of sincere warmth towards the complete cast. 

If I am saying that it is only the cast and humor that are the highlights of Premam, then I am committing a cardinal sin for which even Jesus would turn his face away from me. Songs especially the soul-stirring Malare was simply outstanding. I was transported and lost myself in an elysian world of time and space in my own emotions and feelings when I was listening to this beautiful rendition. The BGM particularly in the second act when George comes with his full grown beard in college was peppy and high on energy that it was a dynamic dynamite of a background score by the composer.   

Though the basic premise of Premam is somewhat similar to the Tamil movie 'Autograph' by Cheran, the handling of the subject is totally 180 degree contrast to the storyline of Autograph. Likewise, the director had also ensured that no stones were left unturned. Just when I was wondering what exactly happened to the conversation between the school George and kid Celine, another scene pops up (humor is of course there also) in the end credits thus neatly tying up all the loose ends to give a wonderful and power-packed entertainment that will definitely guarantee a big smile on everyone's face when they finish watching the film.

PS:

I am so so so so so so so sadddddddddddd that I had missed out on this really good feel-good and zippy film all this while and that I had to write the review only today after watching it.   

The Hateful Eight - Tarantino's BLOODy Best!!

Tarantino has always been never afraid to show the blood and gore splattered and dancing in his frames right from the famous or rather infamous scene in Reservoir Dogs where an ear is simply severed with a razor. In fact, just like Reservoir Dogs in which 8 men planned a heist, The Hateful Eight has also 8 notorious people who had taken refuge from the blinding blizzard in Minnie's Haberdashery. 

The film is set just after the American Civil War and is divided into chapters. I am not going to go in detail on the storyline to spoil the fun and suspense for you. Do head ahead to the nearest theatre and enjoy every 180 minute of QT's 8th film in all its splendour.

In the first half of the movie, QT rolls the dice and assembles his ensemble cast with some rib-tickling and intelligent dialogues and actions in Minnie's Haberdashery. As the tension in the first half slowly builds up, you get that ominous feel that some one is going to die for sure but who? I was scratching my head for that million dollar question and got the mind-boggling answer just moments before the interval served to the audience in a chilling way. Samuel L Jackson as Warren was simply unbeatable with his powerful dialogue delivery matching and syncing up equally with his sinister and maniacal laughs. But, there was one person who gave SLJ a run for his money - Daisy Domergue. Jennifer Jason Leigh as Daisy was the cynosure of this entire movie with her breath-taking mannerisms and expressions. Even in the most serious of scenes where you want to feel for her, she makes you roar with laughter through her witty dialogues and countenance. 

The second half can be best described as barbaric and brutal for which QT is well-known in all his 8 films. Just like water is sprayed from a water sprayer, the bullets were showered from the pistols with ease thus soaking everyone in their own blood. This is where QT ensured that he not only handled the aestheticization of violence with his traditional Tarantino-esque style and flamboyance but also kept the element of mystery close to the heart of the movie itself by revealing Daisy's secret in a rather humorous way. Kudos to him for imagining such a heavy scene in that fashion.

The other 2 strong pillars of the movie, apart from QT and the cast, are Ennio Morricone's eerie and mysterious background score and the cinematography by Robert Richardson who had captured the spectacular landscapes in a beautiful way. 

The Hateful Eight - a typical Tarantino movie but quite long - 3 hours film - that will definitely make you admire when you walk out of the theatre on QT's ingenuity to handle yet another Spaghetti Western confined to only a single room filled with 8 vermins who are left to their gruesome fates.