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anirudhdatta
Reviews
Border (1997)
Extremely Jingoistic, Chauvinistic.... but still very convincing
How can a movie which is full of jingoism & Chauvenism categorize as a legendary bollywood movie? Well, honestly speaking, i don't know. But what i do know is that whenever this movie is shown on TV, i still make it a point that i don't miss even one second of it. Thats the real genius of the movie. It has caught the aspirations of many patriotic indians like me and hence, has succeeded in showcasing the same in the best possible way(minus the jingoism). Though, this movie would not appeal much to the International audience (Let alone Pakis), but it has always struck a chord with the millions of Indians who have seen this movie. I was 11 when this movie released. I remember that after i and my friends had watched it in the theater, we used to pretend to be the characters of the movie while playing. The performances are really convincing, including that of Jackie Shroff even though he is hardly seen on the screen. If anyone(especially any Indian) is reading this comment, i suggest that you quickly grab a DVDof this movie).
Anniyan (2005)
Minus the overdone action sequences and this movie deserves an Oscar nomination
This is the greatness of Tamil Movies. They try different things and think out of the box. When a director makes a movie about a person with multiple personality disorder and at the same time gives a socially relevant message then, he is a genius.
Before i proceed further let me first declare that i am not a tamilian. I am aa Telugu speaking person who is in Delhi since last 8 years. Since i have seen Anniyan while i was doing my graduation in Chennai, I can duly say that this movie is one of its kind.
The plot is very unique. The performances are mind blowing, The music is OK(Disgusting lyrics, by the way) and breath taking camera work.
Vikram stands out. All three personalities have been acted with sense of conviction. The viewer would rarely doubt the credibility of Vikram in this movie. The Last scene of the film and the penultimate action sequence in the police lock up are the Higlights of the film.
Sada is really beautiful and charming. She really looked like a traditional brahmin girl. Fullmarks to her even in songs where she does through a makeover.
Prakash raj Is good. Vivek deserves a special mention, as he maintains the tempo of the movie with his usual but painstakingly funny comedy one/two liners.
The area where the film loses is the action sequences. Come on. Are we indians so immature that we crave for such unrealistic action sequences. All Of them except the penultimate one are overdone and failto capture attention of the person watching the movie. A man beating up a whole lotta black belts in 15minutes and without getting hurt. If this was a VIJAYAKANTH movie, one would have understood, but when one comes across such nonsense in Shankar's movies, finds it really Disturbing.
Anyways, the plot is truly mesmerizing with standout performance by Vikram. he is definitely one of the best actors in India today. (Hrithik, AAmir watch out... u have a surprise package in Vikram)
Ghajini (2008)
Good... Worth a Watch... But the movie has its negatives
Before i give my opinion about the movie just want to say that I have seen all the three related movies chronologically, i.e., Memento, Ghajini(Tamil) and Ghajini(Hindi - on 25/12/08).
First doubt which people have in their minds is that whether the movie is an copy of Memento. Well, i have to say that no matter what Taran Adarsh or Aamir Khan say, the movie IS firmly based on Memento just like the Tamil one.
Second doubt is that is whether aamir Khan's version is a total rip off of the Tamil one or not. Well I can emphatically say that the movie is the exact same with the exception of the last 30 mins(thank Aamir for that).
The movie as everyone must be knowing is based on short term memory loss which Sanjay seems to be suffering from. This, after his lover (Kalpana) is killed by a man and brutally attacks Sanjay along with her. to remember what his enemy looks like after the incident, Sanjay tattoos all relevant clues and info on his body(yup, just like Memento). The movie relates to how Sanjay tries to avenge the death of his lover and whether or not he will be successful in the process.
Performance wise, Aamir's stands out. It is way better than what Surya did in the Tamil one(i know comparisons should be avoided but i couldn't here). He is effortless as he carries himself with conviction and successfully convinces audiences in all the things he does in the movie. I'd like to specially mention his skill in the last 30min of the movie. Sheer Brilliance.
Asin is also good, a notch better than her performance in the Tamil one.Her Hindi was also good. She delivers her dialogues very well.
Jiah Khan's role was better than what Namitha's role had to offer in the Tamil movie. Pradeep Rawat is exceptionally good. Very fluent in his performance.
Action sequences were well made. They were not exaggerated to a great extent like what was done in the original but you can't help it when u have a Tamil guy direct a Hindi movie.
A.R. Rehman is very good as usual, there is nothing else than one could say. The songs were extremely melodious. The Guzarish number is my favourite. But, again, 2 songs were placed in such a way that they made no sense with the screenplay.
On the whole Murugadoss did a better job in the Hindi one than the Tamil one( it was because of aamir khan rejecting the last 30mins of the original movie). The Tamil one sucked big time. I know my Tamil friends would not agree with me on this as they are very sentimental when it comes to their heroes and stars. The last 30min of the Tamil movie destroyed it where as the last 30min of the Hindi one made it very intriguing. It was the last 30mins which made me appreciate and like Ghajini(H). Watch it for AAmir Khan's stand out performance!
Ghajini (2005)
Hopeless. An insult to the original
After watching "Memento", the Hollywood original, i was expecting a good remake of the same with an added Indian masala pinch from Ghajini.
The film started off well but lost its touch after fifteen minutes as itloses its way gradually and one can expect only the worse as the movie progresses. The love story plot in the movie Drags a lot. I did not understand the need for such an exaggerated and a gruesome monotonous plot of romance. The director did not even care about the lag as his art of storuy telling sucks. The climax scene was the worst i have seen i my entire life. It had nothing to do with the story. I had gone to see this movie with ten friends and all of them hated the movie to the core. The Performances: 1. Asin did acommendable job and so did the other actress. 2. Surya tries too much and too hard only to fall short of even a decent performance. i would recommend kakka Kakka instead of this movie. 3. Only Pratap Rawat was the saving grace of what can be duly called a FLOP SHOW To conclude i must say -> that this film would be loved only by ardent Surya fans and those who really don't care to bother much about the Movie as Mr. Murgadoss had deviated from the path completely. SO the movie in my opinion is a big NO. Lets see what AAmir Khan would do when he does the remake. so, Mr. Murgadoss, i would suggest that you take up manual for directing movies as your last two ones -Ghajini and Stalin were juz AWFUL.