Directed by : Indra Kumar
Starring : Aamir Khan, Juhi Chawla, Ajay Devgan, Kajol
Genre : Comedy
Monday, February 16, 2009
Konchem Istam Konchem Kastam Movie review
Punchline: suits the title
Genre: Romance/Family Drama
Type: Straight
Banner: Lakshmi Narasimha Productions
Cast: Siddhardh, Tamanna, Prakash Raj, Ramya Krishna, Nassar, Samrat, Karuna, Sudha, Brahmanandam, Venu Madhav, Hema, Surekha
Music: Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Background music: Mani Sharma
Lyrics: Sirivennela, Chandrabose, Ramajogayya Sastri
Cinematography: Vijay C Chakravarthy
Dialogues: Abburi Ravi
Editing: Srikar Prasad
Screenplay: Vikram Siri - Deepak Raj
Story - direction: Kishore Kumar Parthasani
Producer: Nallamalupu Srinivas (Bujji)
Release date: 5 February 2009
Review
Story
kikk Siddhardh is a playful youngster with no emotions. His parents get separated in his childhood and he stays with his mother. He falls in love with Geeta (Tamanna) who comes to Hyderabad from a village. When she introduces him to her father (Nassar) he says the he would give the hand of his daughter to him if Siddhardh unites his parents. The rest of the story is all about how Siddhardh unites his parents (Ramya Krishna and Prakash Raj).
Artists Performance
kikkSiddhardh is lovable in the role of a youngster. His emotions in the drinking scene are nice. His costumes suited him well. Tamanna is good as the girl who is torn between her father and her lover. Prakash Raj got lot of dignity to the role of father character he portrayed. He is excellent. There is a scene in which he acts like Robert Di Nero by saying ‘Aren’t you proud of me?’ three times (There is a famous ‘are you talking to me?’ episode in Taxi Driver film). Nassar is fair. Ramya Krishna is just ok in the role of doting mother with an attitude. Karuna and Samrat are adequate as buddies. Brahmanandam is good in most of the scenes (especially when he listens to ‘yeem’ in phone during Geetanjali spoof episode). Venu Madhav is good though his comedy is of mass type.
Technical departments
kikkStory: Story of the film is nicely divided into two parts. The first half is about two youngsters falling it love and hence it is targeted to the youth. The interval block is about heroine’s father putting a condition. The second half is about the couple uniting the parents of hero which is targeted towards the family crowds. The whole film is based on the point that Prakash Raj and Ramya Krishna are separated. The reasons for the separation are not effectively established in the film. Hence the basic foundation of the entire film appears flimsy.
kikkScreenplay – direction: Screenplay of the film is adequate. Direction of the film is good in parts. The narration is very slow. The director did well in second half while handling emotional scenes. But he could not get it right when it comes to the romance aspect in the first half. He should be commended the way he integrated the songs into the film. The thread of ‘crossing marks on the people you dislike’ (‘flushing the photo in toilet’ from Jab We Met?) is interesting. Vankai curry thread is also good. The characterizations should have been more consistent. Both Siddhardh and Tamanna characters in second half behave little amateurish from the scene when they quarrel about Geeta’s surname.
kikkOther departments: Songs scored by Shankar Ehsaan Loy are excellent and they are picturized well and placement is perfect. Songs are so good that they dominated the story narration in the film. Lyrics by Sirivennela and Chandrabose are good. Mani Sharma’s background score is nice in the second half. Cinematography by Vijay C Chakravarthy is excellent. Dialogues by Abburi Ravi are neat in the second half. There are sentiment-oriented dialogues like ‘Evarikaina problem vaste amma nanna daggaraku veltaru. Amma nanne problem aithe?’ and Trivikramish lines like ‘nenu kaalu tho break veyyaledu, jaalitho break vesa’ (Brahmanandam). Editing by Srikar Prasad is adequate. Producer Nallamalupu Bujji should be commended for trusting his technicians and making this film with high technical standards.
kikkAnalysis: First half of the film is average. Second half has got emotional content. The plus points are excellent songs and emotions in second half. The negative point of the film is slow-paced narration (2:50 hours runtime). The scenes towards climax appear prolonged. On a whole, KIKK is an okay film that is targeted towards family crowds. KIKK is not a film for the morning show crowds. It is more targeted towards second show crowds (family crowds).
http://www.idlebrain.com/movie/archive/mr-kikk.html
Genre: Romance/Family Drama
Type: Straight
Banner: Lakshmi Narasimha Productions
Cast: Siddhardh, Tamanna, Prakash Raj, Ramya Krishna, Nassar, Samrat, Karuna, Sudha, Brahmanandam, Venu Madhav, Hema, Surekha
Music: Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Background music: Mani Sharma
Lyrics: Sirivennela, Chandrabose, Ramajogayya Sastri
Cinematography: Vijay C Chakravarthy
Dialogues: Abburi Ravi
Editing: Srikar Prasad
Screenplay: Vikram Siri - Deepak Raj
Story - direction: Kishore Kumar Parthasani
Producer: Nallamalupu Srinivas (Bujji)
Release date: 5 February 2009
Review
Story
kikk Siddhardh is a playful youngster with no emotions. His parents get separated in his childhood and he stays with his mother. He falls in love with Geeta (Tamanna) who comes to Hyderabad from a village. When she introduces him to her father (Nassar) he says the he would give the hand of his daughter to him if Siddhardh unites his parents. The rest of the story is all about how Siddhardh unites his parents (Ramya Krishna and Prakash Raj).
Artists Performance
kikkSiddhardh is lovable in the role of a youngster. His emotions in the drinking scene are nice. His costumes suited him well. Tamanna is good as the girl who is torn between her father and her lover. Prakash Raj got lot of dignity to the role of father character he portrayed. He is excellent. There is a scene in which he acts like Robert Di Nero by saying ‘Aren’t you proud of me?’ three times (There is a famous ‘are you talking to me?’ episode in Taxi Driver film). Nassar is fair. Ramya Krishna is just ok in the role of doting mother with an attitude. Karuna and Samrat are adequate as buddies. Brahmanandam is good in most of the scenes (especially when he listens to ‘yeem’ in phone during Geetanjali spoof episode). Venu Madhav is good though his comedy is of mass type.
Technical departments
kikkStory: Story of the film is nicely divided into two parts. The first half is about two youngsters falling it love and hence it is targeted to the youth. The interval block is about heroine’s father putting a condition. The second half is about the couple uniting the parents of hero which is targeted towards the family crowds. The whole film is based on the point that Prakash Raj and Ramya Krishna are separated. The reasons for the separation are not effectively established in the film. Hence the basic foundation of the entire film appears flimsy.
kikkScreenplay – direction: Screenplay of the film is adequate. Direction of the film is good in parts. The narration is very slow. The director did well in second half while handling emotional scenes. But he could not get it right when it comes to the romance aspect in the first half. He should be commended the way he integrated the songs into the film. The thread of ‘crossing marks on the people you dislike’ (‘flushing the photo in toilet’ from Jab We Met?) is interesting. Vankai curry thread is also good. The characterizations should have been more consistent. Both Siddhardh and Tamanna characters in second half behave little amateurish from the scene when they quarrel about Geeta’s surname.
kikkOther departments: Songs scored by Shankar Ehsaan Loy are excellent and they are picturized well and placement is perfect. Songs are so good that they dominated the story narration in the film. Lyrics by Sirivennela and Chandrabose are good. Mani Sharma’s background score is nice in the second half. Cinematography by Vijay C Chakravarthy is excellent. Dialogues by Abburi Ravi are neat in the second half. There are sentiment-oriented dialogues like ‘Evarikaina problem vaste amma nanna daggaraku veltaru. Amma nanne problem aithe?’ and Trivikramish lines like ‘nenu kaalu tho break veyyaledu, jaalitho break vesa’ (Brahmanandam). Editing by Srikar Prasad is adequate. Producer Nallamalupu Bujji should be commended for trusting his technicians and making this film with high technical standards.
kikkAnalysis: First half of the film is average. Second half has got emotional content. The plus points are excellent songs and emotions in second half. The negative point of the film is slow-paced narration (2:50 hours runtime). The scenes towards climax appear prolonged. On a whole, KIKK is an okay film that is targeted towards family crowds. KIKK is not a film for the morning show crowds. It is more targeted towards second show crowds (family crowds).
http://www.idlebrain.com/movie/archive/mr-kikk.html
Nenu Devudni Movie review
Punchline: disturbing, yet powerful
Genre: Drama
Type: Straight
Banner: Vassan's visual ventures
Cast: Arya & Pooja
Music: Ilayaraja
Lyrics: Vanamali & Bharat Acharya
Cinematography: Arthur Wilson
Dialogues: Sri Rama Krishna
Editing: Suresh Urs
Art: Krishna Murthy
Stunts: Kanal Kannan, Super Subbarayan
Story - direction: Bala
Producer: KS Srinivasan
Release date: 6 February 2009
Review
Story
nenu devudni Rudra (Arya) is sent to Varanasi when he was kid since the astrologers told his father that the father and son should not meet each other for 14 years. When the father comes to search his son after 14 years, he finds out that Rudra has become an aghora. Rudra’s guru tells him that he should cut all the relationships to become Kal Bhairav and sends him back home. There is a local beggar’s mafia in Rudra’s village. And rest of the story is about how this mafia crosses the line of Rudra and how he punishes them.
Artists Performance
nenu devudniArya is extraordinary as Rudra in this film. And if you see him in real life and in this film, you will not recognize him. It is a terrific makeover. The dubbing voice given to Arya by Ravi Shankar is excellent. Pooja is excellent as the blind begging girl. Both these actors are sure to bag awards. There are many new faces and physically challenged people cast in this film.
Technical departments
nenu devudniStory - screenplay - direction: The basic concept of the film is based on ‘Aham Brahmasmi’. Rudra character behaves like a God in the end. That is why this movie is titled as ‘Nenu Devudni’. Bala comes up with another authentic and highly disturbing film ‘Nenu Devudni’. The scenes involving physically challenged beggars are brutally disturbing. All the scenes involving Arya are heroic. Though there are a few commercial elements in the film, it is mainly aimed at awards and festival circuit. The following scenes are good
1. Introduction song of Rudra.
2. When the cop comes and says swamy while interrogating, Rudra responds by saying ‘deerghayushman bhava’.
3. The scene showing a small baby crying when Rudra shouts in court.
4. When the cop comes to light the ganja of Rudra, he shouts and cop runs away.
5. The scene in which Rudra drags Malayali baddies into bushes (just like predator taking his prey into woods after killing).
The following scenes need immediate attention
1. The comedy in police station where beggars imitate the old legends of Tamil cinema. This episode has no relevance to Telugu crowds.
2. The dialogues in the final scene by heroine are too lengthy and it makes crowd restless. It should be trimmed to minimum level.
nenu devudniOther departments: Background music by Ilayaraja is extraordinary. One does get goose bumps in certain situations. Cinematography by Arthur Wilson is very good. Fights composed by Kanal Kannan are very effective and highly realistic. Art direction by Krishna Murthy is authentic. The producer should have guts to produce such a movie.
nenu devudniAnalysis: First things first! Nenu Devudni is not for everybody. One should have stomach to absorb such a highly disturbing content. The plus points of the film are director’s conviction of sticking to realism while narrating story, riveting background music by Ilayaraja and performances. All the scenes involving Arya are good and heroic. The huge minus point of the film is disturbing content. Tamil nativity is also a drawback for Telugu crowds. On a whole Nenu Devudni is a treat for movie connoisseurs who doesn’t mind disturbing content. This film will surely have a gala time at international film festivals.
http://www.idlebrain.com/movie/archive/mr-nenudevudni.html
Genre: Drama
Type: Straight
Banner: Vassan's visual ventures
Cast: Arya & Pooja
Music: Ilayaraja
Lyrics: Vanamali & Bharat Acharya
Cinematography: Arthur Wilson
Dialogues: Sri Rama Krishna
Editing: Suresh Urs
Art: Krishna Murthy
Stunts: Kanal Kannan, Super Subbarayan
Story - direction: Bala
Producer: KS Srinivasan
Release date: 6 February 2009
Review
Story
nenu devudni Rudra (Arya) is sent to Varanasi when he was kid since the astrologers told his father that the father and son should not meet each other for 14 years. When the father comes to search his son after 14 years, he finds out that Rudra has become an aghora. Rudra’s guru tells him that he should cut all the relationships to become Kal Bhairav and sends him back home. There is a local beggar’s mafia in Rudra’s village. And rest of the story is about how this mafia crosses the line of Rudra and how he punishes them.
Artists Performance
nenu devudniArya is extraordinary as Rudra in this film. And if you see him in real life and in this film, you will not recognize him. It is a terrific makeover. The dubbing voice given to Arya by Ravi Shankar is excellent. Pooja is excellent as the blind begging girl. Both these actors are sure to bag awards. There are many new faces and physically challenged people cast in this film.
Technical departments
nenu devudniStory - screenplay - direction: The basic concept of the film is based on ‘Aham Brahmasmi’. Rudra character behaves like a God in the end. That is why this movie is titled as ‘Nenu Devudni’. Bala comes up with another authentic and highly disturbing film ‘Nenu Devudni’. The scenes involving physically challenged beggars are brutally disturbing. All the scenes involving Arya are heroic. Though there are a few commercial elements in the film, it is mainly aimed at awards and festival circuit. The following scenes are good
1. Introduction song of Rudra.
2. When the cop comes and says swamy while interrogating, Rudra responds by saying ‘deerghayushman bhava’.
3. The scene showing a small baby crying when Rudra shouts in court.
4. When the cop comes to light the ganja of Rudra, he shouts and cop runs away.
5. The scene in which Rudra drags Malayali baddies into bushes (just like predator taking his prey into woods after killing).
The following scenes need immediate attention
1. The comedy in police station where beggars imitate the old legends of Tamil cinema. This episode has no relevance to Telugu crowds.
2. The dialogues in the final scene by heroine are too lengthy and it makes crowd restless. It should be trimmed to minimum level.
nenu devudniOther departments: Background music by Ilayaraja is extraordinary. One does get goose bumps in certain situations. Cinematography by Arthur Wilson is very good. Fights composed by Kanal Kannan are very effective and highly realistic. Art direction by Krishna Murthy is authentic. The producer should have guts to produce such a movie.
nenu devudniAnalysis: First things first! Nenu Devudni is not for everybody. One should have stomach to absorb such a highly disturbing content. The plus points of the film are director’s conviction of sticking to realism while narrating story, riveting background music by Ilayaraja and performances. All the scenes involving Arya are good and heroic. The huge minus point of the film is disturbing content. Tamil nativity is also a drawback for Telugu crowds. On a whole Nenu Devudni is a treat for movie connoisseurs who doesn’t mind disturbing content. This film will surely have a gala time at international film festivals.
http://www.idlebrain.com/movie/archive/mr-nenudevudni.html
Dev D Movie review
Punchline: Sex, drugs and vodka
Banner: UTV Spot Boy & Bindass
Genre: Romance/Drama
Cast: Abhay Deol, Mahi Gill & Kalki Koechlin
Music: Amit Trivedi
Cinematography: Rajeev Ravi
Editor: Aarti Bajaj
Art: Sukanta Panigrahy
Writer: Anurag Kashyap & Vikramaditya Motwane
Direction: Anurag Kashyap
Producers: Ronnie Screwvala
Release date: 6 February 2009
Review
Story
Dev (Abhay Deol) and Paro (Mahi Gill) are childhood friends. Dev is sent to London and returns after a long gap. Their love is intact. They have a quarrel and Paro is married to another guy. Being a rich and a spoilt brat, a depressed Dev resorts to excessive booze and cocaine. Chanda (Kalki Koechlin) is daughter of a high commissioner in Delhi. Her sex MMS is leaked during school days and it leads to the suicide of her father. She comes out of her house and joins an escorts place where she goes to the school in the morning and works as a sex worker during nights. Dev and Paro find solace in each others miserable past. The rest of the story is about who Dev chooses at last – his eternal love Paro and his new flame Chanda?
Actors:
Abhay Deol has become the master of underplay. He is perfect as Dev – the man who resorts to drugs, sex and vodka. Mahi Gill resembles Tabu a lot in lots of angles. She is exceptionally good. Kalki Koechlin brings innocence as well as oomph with her performance. The guy who did the role of Chunni is good. The kids who did the roles of Dev and Paro are also cute.
Technical departments:
Story: Dev D is a modern adaptation of classic Devdas. To make this a contemporary, the director has stuffed the narrative with drugs, sexual innuendoes and misuse of internet and cell phones (mms, mailing of nude photos, phone sex to name a few). If Devdas drinks to glory for the loss of Paro, Dev D meanders aimlessly among sex, coke and vodka. If Chandramukhi did classical dance to woo the customer in Devdas, Chanda performs role plays and phone sex to excite the customers. If Paro in Devdas is an honest lover, Paro in Dev D is a sexually driven and does not mind sleeping around with others though she loves Devdas. The director also used famous delhi scandals (DPS sexual MMS and Sanjeev Nanda BMW hit and case). There are lots of reference to Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas in terms of posters and videos in this film.
Screenplay – direction: Direction by Anurag Kashyap is good. He interpreted the old film well and written to the Dev D to represent the latest world of immoral youth who drown themselves in drugs and sex. The non-linear screenplay in the first half is very good. The way he has shown the two girls sitting on the train and the flashback narrative of Dev D reaching Chandra’s room is interesting. However, the second half drags with repetitive content. The screenplay in the second half should have been better.
Other technical departments: Music of the film is very good with emosanal atyachar being the highlight. Cinematography deserves great applause. The biggest highlight of the film is superb cinematography that brought out exuberant and vibrant colors. Art direction is futuristic. Dialogues are crisp and efficient. Editing is fine.
Analysis: Initial part of the film is excellent and first half is good. The second half is slow and repetitive. Climax of the film is interesting. Dev D is a brave film with bold content. If you are emotionally attached with Devdas classic, Dev D’s sexual overtone, drug abuse and dark life might offend you. Otherwise, Dev D is worth a watch (not to be seen with kids or parents) for multiplex crowds.
http://www.idlebrain.com/mumbai/reviews/devd.html
Banner: UTV Spot Boy & Bindass
Genre: Romance/Drama
Cast: Abhay Deol, Mahi Gill & Kalki Koechlin
Music: Amit Trivedi
Cinematography: Rajeev Ravi
Editor: Aarti Bajaj
Art: Sukanta Panigrahy
Writer: Anurag Kashyap & Vikramaditya Motwane
Direction: Anurag Kashyap
Producers: Ronnie Screwvala
Release date: 6 February 2009
Review
Story
Dev (Abhay Deol) and Paro (Mahi Gill) are childhood friends. Dev is sent to London and returns after a long gap. Their love is intact. They have a quarrel and Paro is married to another guy. Being a rich and a spoilt brat, a depressed Dev resorts to excessive booze and cocaine. Chanda (Kalki Koechlin) is daughter of a high commissioner in Delhi. Her sex MMS is leaked during school days and it leads to the suicide of her father. She comes out of her house and joins an escorts place where she goes to the school in the morning and works as a sex worker during nights. Dev and Paro find solace in each others miserable past. The rest of the story is about who Dev chooses at last – his eternal love Paro and his new flame Chanda?
Actors:
Abhay Deol has become the master of underplay. He is perfect as Dev – the man who resorts to drugs, sex and vodka. Mahi Gill resembles Tabu a lot in lots of angles. She is exceptionally good. Kalki Koechlin brings innocence as well as oomph with her performance. The guy who did the role of Chunni is good. The kids who did the roles of Dev and Paro are also cute.
Technical departments:
Story: Dev D is a modern adaptation of classic Devdas. To make this a contemporary, the director has stuffed the narrative with drugs, sexual innuendoes and misuse of internet and cell phones (mms, mailing of nude photos, phone sex to name a few). If Devdas drinks to glory for the loss of Paro, Dev D meanders aimlessly among sex, coke and vodka. If Chandramukhi did classical dance to woo the customer in Devdas, Chanda performs role plays and phone sex to excite the customers. If Paro in Devdas is an honest lover, Paro in Dev D is a sexually driven and does not mind sleeping around with others though she loves Devdas. The director also used famous delhi scandals (DPS sexual MMS and Sanjeev Nanda BMW hit and case). There are lots of reference to Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas in terms of posters and videos in this film.
Screenplay – direction: Direction by Anurag Kashyap is good. He interpreted the old film well and written to the Dev D to represent the latest world of immoral youth who drown themselves in drugs and sex. The non-linear screenplay in the first half is very good. The way he has shown the two girls sitting on the train and the flashback narrative of Dev D reaching Chandra’s room is interesting. However, the second half drags with repetitive content. The screenplay in the second half should have been better.
Other technical departments: Music of the film is very good with emosanal atyachar being the highlight. Cinematography deserves great applause. The biggest highlight of the film is superb cinematography that brought out exuberant and vibrant colors. Art direction is futuristic. Dialogues are crisp and efficient. Editing is fine.
Analysis: Initial part of the film is excellent and first half is good. The second half is slow and repetitive. Climax of the film is interesting. Dev D is a brave film with bold content. If you are emotionally attached with Devdas classic, Dev D’s sexual overtone, drug abuse and dark life might offend you. Otherwise, Dev D is worth a watch (not to be seen with kids or parents) for multiplex crowds.
http://www.idlebrain.com/mumbai/reviews/devd.html
Siddham Movie review
Punchline: cop story
Genre: Drama
Type: Remake (Ab Tak Chappan)
Banner: Shreya Productions
Cast: Jagapati Babu, Sindhu Menon, Kota Prasad, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Subbaraju, Narsing Yadav, Siva Prasad, Malladi Raghava
Music: Amar Mohale
Cinematography: Bharani K Dharan
Editing: Bhanodaya
Screenplay - stunts - direction: JD Chakri
Producer: Kiran Kumar Koneru
Release date: 12 February 2009
Review
Story
siddham Daya (Jagapati Babu) is a sincere cop and an encounter specialist. He handles his job professionally and does not hold anything personal. Salim (Kota Prasad) is his assistant who is greedy about increasing the encounters count so that he could get more publicity from the media. The city commissioner (Kota) is retired and a new commissioner takes the charge. The new commissioner has his own agenda and he discourages Daya from performing his duty in fair manner. The rest of the story is all about how Daya takes law into his hands and cleans up the mafia gang in his own indomitable style.
Artists Performance
siddhamJagapati Babu: Though this character is donned by Nana Patekar in Hindi, Jagapati Babu made sure that he interprets the character well enough to give it his own shape with subtle yet strong body language. You will see a new Jagapati Babu in this film and these kinds of characters give actors immense job satisfaction.
siddhamOthers: Kota Prasad (son of Kota Sreenivasa Rao) did a fine role in this film and he has it in him to become a fine actor if he chooses the roles well. His work in this film is very good. Sindhu Menon is adequate as the housewife. Kota Srinivasa Rao is perfect as a retired commissioner who supports hero. It is a different role for Narsing Yadav. The guy who did the role of Akhil is competent. Subbaraju did a small yet significant role. Mukul Dev did the role of Dubai based mafia don.
Technical departments
siddhamStory - screenplay - direction: This film is a remake of Hindi film 'Ab Tak Chappan'. Hence the story and screenplay is adapted from the original. Most of shot compositions are also similar. But it is very difficult to create a soul in such a serious film without any commercial padding. As a director JD Chakri succeeded in narrating the film in an interesting way. He created a constant tone to the film and did not miss it throughout the film. Though he handled the film efficiently, we could see the tempo of the film going down for 15 minutes before the climax and 15 minutes before the interval. He did not show the scene of hero being captured by cops in a proper way towards climax.
siddhamOther departments: Background music is nice and it is mostly taken from the tracks of Ab Tak Chappan background music. Cinematography by Bharani K Dharan is good. However, the director has used some footage from Ab Tak Chappan film for Mumbai dock episode. Dialogues of the film are realistic. But you need to carefully follow the dialogues because the there is no cinematic dramatization in the modulation and delivery of dialogues. Like in Hindi mafia flicks, this film too has many curse words. Editing is adequate. Producer Kiran should be appreciated for making such a serious film sans any commercial elements.
siddhamAnalysis: Siddham is a remake of Hindi film Ab Tak Chappan. The commercial elements in this film are subtle. It is like the story of Ankusam film told in a much realistic way. If Ankusam film had intense histrionics and compelling cinematic drama, Siddham film has subtlety and finesse to it. These kinds of films were never made in Telugu. Hence the common movie lovers of AP are not used to such kind of films. It is a decent effort by JD Chakravarthy and Jagapati Babu to make a film like Siddham. We have to wait and see how the regular movie lovers take this film
Genre: Drama
Type: Remake (Ab Tak Chappan)
Banner: Shreya Productions
Cast: Jagapati Babu, Sindhu Menon, Kota Prasad, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Subbaraju, Narsing Yadav, Siva Prasad, Malladi Raghava
Music: Amar Mohale
Cinematography: Bharani K Dharan
Editing: Bhanodaya
Screenplay - stunts - direction: JD Chakri
Producer: Kiran Kumar Koneru
Release date: 12 February 2009
Review
Story
siddham Daya (Jagapati Babu) is a sincere cop and an encounter specialist. He handles his job professionally and does not hold anything personal. Salim (Kota Prasad) is his assistant who is greedy about increasing the encounters count so that he could get more publicity from the media. The city commissioner (Kota) is retired and a new commissioner takes the charge. The new commissioner has his own agenda and he discourages Daya from performing his duty in fair manner. The rest of the story is all about how Daya takes law into his hands and cleans up the mafia gang in his own indomitable style.
Artists Performance
siddhamJagapati Babu: Though this character is donned by Nana Patekar in Hindi, Jagapati Babu made sure that he interprets the character well enough to give it his own shape with subtle yet strong body language. You will see a new Jagapati Babu in this film and these kinds of characters give actors immense job satisfaction.
siddhamOthers: Kota Prasad (son of Kota Sreenivasa Rao) did a fine role in this film and he has it in him to become a fine actor if he chooses the roles well. His work in this film is very good. Sindhu Menon is adequate as the housewife. Kota Srinivasa Rao is perfect as a retired commissioner who supports hero. It is a different role for Narsing Yadav. The guy who did the role of Akhil is competent. Subbaraju did a small yet significant role. Mukul Dev did the role of Dubai based mafia don.
Technical departments
siddhamStory - screenplay - direction: This film is a remake of Hindi film 'Ab Tak Chappan'. Hence the story and screenplay is adapted from the original. Most of shot compositions are also similar. But it is very difficult to create a soul in such a serious film without any commercial padding. As a director JD Chakri succeeded in narrating the film in an interesting way. He created a constant tone to the film and did not miss it throughout the film. Though he handled the film efficiently, we could see the tempo of the film going down for 15 minutes before the climax and 15 minutes before the interval. He did not show the scene of hero being captured by cops in a proper way towards climax.
siddhamOther departments: Background music is nice and it is mostly taken from the tracks of Ab Tak Chappan background music. Cinematography by Bharani K Dharan is good. However, the director has used some footage from Ab Tak Chappan film for Mumbai dock episode. Dialogues of the film are realistic. But you need to carefully follow the dialogues because the there is no cinematic dramatization in the modulation and delivery of dialogues. Like in Hindi mafia flicks, this film too has many curse words. Editing is adequate. Producer Kiran should be appreciated for making such a serious film sans any commercial elements.
siddhamAnalysis: Siddham is a remake of Hindi film Ab Tak Chappan. The commercial elements in this film are subtle. It is like the story of Ankusam film told in a much realistic way. If Ankusam film had intense histrionics and compelling cinematic drama, Siddham film has subtlety and finesse to it. These kinds of films were never made in Telugu. Hence the common movie lovers of AP are not used to such kind of films. It is a decent effort by JD Chakravarthy and Jagapati Babu to make a film like Siddham. We have to wait and see how the regular movie lovers take this film
Billu Barber Movie review
Punchline: superstar meets humble barber
Banner: Red Chillies Entertainment
Genre: Drama
Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Irfan Khan & Lara Dutta
Music: Pritam
Background music: Sandeep Chowta
Cinematography: V Manikanandan
Editor: Arun Kumar
Dialogues: Manisha Korde
Screenplay: Priyadarshan & Mushtaq Sheikh
Direction: Priyadarshan
Producers: Gauri Khan
Release date: 13 Feb 2009
Review
Story
Billu (Irfan Khan) is a humble barber from a remote village in Northern India. Sahir Khan (Shahrukh Khan) is a bollywood superstar. The unit of Sahir Khan's latest film visits the village of Billu for a long schedule. The village men find out that Sahir Khan is the childhood friend of Billu and go to Billu to take them to meet Sahir. Being a shy and honest guy, Billu fears that Sahir might have become materialistic and forgot all the good times they had together as youth. The rest of the story is all about whether Sahir remembers Billu or not.
Actors:
Irfan Khan is excellent as Billu – an honest human being. Shahrukh Khan plays a role that is close to his real life and he brings in much desired glamour. Lara Dutta is adequate as poor housewife. However, her sophisticated looks do dominate the simplicity and naivety needed for such a role. Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone did item songs in this film. Deepika Padukone is absolutely hot. The regulars of Priyadarshan movies – Rajpal Yadav, Asrani, Om Puri, Manoj Joshi are also present.
Technical departments:
Story: Billu Barber is a remake of Malayalam blockbuster which was remade into Telugu (Kathanayakudu) and Tamil (Kuselan). The story is based on the relationship of Lord Srikrishna and his poor friend Kuchela. Direction of the film is just average. Screenplay should have been better. The moment Billoo communicates with Sahir, the movie would be over. The entire film is woven using a screenplay that avoids the meeting of these two people till climax. The events used for that purpose should have been more gripping. Another disturbing thing about the film is the unnecessary scenes and songs involving Shahrukh Khan. Priyadarshan criticized the screenplay of Kuselan saying that too much of importance is given to Rajnikant in Telugu/Tamil versions. But Priyadardhan too didn't do any better in Hindi version. The trademark Priyadarshan comedy is missing in this film. The only honest moment I saw in this movie was Irfan Khan's reaction when his wife doubts him if he knows the superstar.
Other technical departments: Music by Pritam is mediocre with heard-before tunes. Dialogues are adequate. Photography of the film is excellent. The locations used for this film are extraordinary with water falls, hills and lots of greenery. Art direction is very good. Dialogues are neat. Editing should have been crisper.
Analysis: This movie belongs to Irfan Khan. Being a star and the producer Shahrukh Khan, he took more footage than necessary in the film. All the scenes involving Irfan Khan look natural and scenes of Shahrukh Khan are artificial. The climax of the film is heart-touching as it deals with humanity and friendship. It is becoming routine to have 3-4 heroines to come and dance in Sharukh Khan movies (Om Shanti Om, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Billu Barber). On a whole, Billu Barber disappoints as it is neither a commercial film nor an art film.
http://www.idlebrain.com/mumbai/reviews/billubarber.html
Banner: Red Chillies Entertainment
Genre: Drama
Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Irfan Khan & Lara Dutta
Music: Pritam
Background music: Sandeep Chowta
Cinematography: V Manikanandan
Editor: Arun Kumar
Dialogues: Manisha Korde
Screenplay: Priyadarshan & Mushtaq Sheikh
Direction: Priyadarshan
Producers: Gauri Khan
Release date: 13 Feb 2009
Review
Story
Billu (Irfan Khan) is a humble barber from a remote village in Northern India. Sahir Khan (Shahrukh Khan) is a bollywood superstar. The unit of Sahir Khan's latest film visits the village of Billu for a long schedule. The village men find out that Sahir Khan is the childhood friend of Billu and go to Billu to take them to meet Sahir. Being a shy and honest guy, Billu fears that Sahir might have become materialistic and forgot all the good times they had together as youth. The rest of the story is all about whether Sahir remembers Billu or not.
Actors:
Irfan Khan is excellent as Billu – an honest human being. Shahrukh Khan plays a role that is close to his real life and he brings in much desired glamour. Lara Dutta is adequate as poor housewife. However, her sophisticated looks do dominate the simplicity and naivety needed for such a role. Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone did item songs in this film. Deepika Padukone is absolutely hot. The regulars of Priyadarshan movies – Rajpal Yadav, Asrani, Om Puri, Manoj Joshi are also present.
Technical departments:
Story: Billu Barber is a remake of Malayalam blockbuster which was remade into Telugu (Kathanayakudu) and Tamil (Kuselan). The story is based on the relationship of Lord Srikrishna and his poor friend Kuchela. Direction of the film is just average. Screenplay should have been better. The moment Billoo communicates with Sahir, the movie would be over. The entire film is woven using a screenplay that avoids the meeting of these two people till climax. The events used for that purpose should have been more gripping. Another disturbing thing about the film is the unnecessary scenes and songs involving Shahrukh Khan. Priyadarshan criticized the screenplay of Kuselan saying that too much of importance is given to Rajnikant in Telugu/Tamil versions. But Priyadardhan too didn't do any better in Hindi version. The trademark Priyadarshan comedy is missing in this film. The only honest moment I saw in this movie was Irfan Khan's reaction when his wife doubts him if he knows the superstar.
Other technical departments: Music by Pritam is mediocre with heard-before tunes. Dialogues are adequate. Photography of the film is excellent. The locations used for this film are extraordinary with water falls, hills and lots of greenery. Art direction is very good. Dialogues are neat. Editing should have been crisper.
Analysis: This movie belongs to Irfan Khan. Being a star and the producer Shahrukh Khan, he took more footage than necessary in the film. All the scenes involving Irfan Khan look natural and scenes of Shahrukh Khan are artificial. The climax of the film is heart-touching as it deals with humanity and friendship. It is becoming routine to have 3-4 heroines to come and dance in Sharukh Khan movies (Om Shanti Om, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Billu Barber). On a whole, Billu Barber disappoints as it is neither a commercial film nor an art film.
http://www.idlebrain.com/mumbai/reviews/billubarber.html
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