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Cinema Reviews -- Entertainment
Daag —The Fire (Hindi)
AJANTHA
Our Sanju Baba continues his running routine from where he left it in Daud; the only difference is he doesn’t have a girlfriend in tow this time.
Ravi Verma (Chandrachur Singh) is a highly successful lawyer. He fights all the cases of a sedate creep, Singhal (Raj Babbar) and three other petrified crooks. This cool Lawyer loves courting trouble, for he knows how to wriggle out of it and leave all the good guys sulking.
The stylish Ravi works with clinical precision. He lives life dangerously, relishing the Idea of sealing people’s fate with his devilish skill.
Yet this fanatically pragmatic man has just one weakness his wife Kajal (Mamta Choudhury), the daughter of Singhal. He adores her.
In his pursuit of riches, he implicates an upright government officer. Satyaprakash (Shivaji Netam), in a false corruption case. Satyaprakash pays the price for trying to pursue cases against Singhal.
Satyaprakash is done to death in jail and the case is passed off as suicide. His son, Capt Karan (Sanjay Dutt) vows to get even with Ravi Verma.
When he sees Ravi he fires several rounds, but Kajal covers her husband. She succumbs while Ravi is rendered a vegetable. because of a bullet which grazes his head.
While Ravi recovers at a rehabilitation centre, the fugitive Karan tells the doctor that he’ll return to kill Ravi the day he comes hack to normal. Ravi has lost his memory. but the only thing he remembers is his dead wife’s name. With Ravi in this state, Singhal and gang feel highly insecure. They soon find a Kajal lookalike, Kajri (Mahima in a double role), a vivacious dancer, to double up as Kajal to help Ravi recuperate.
With Kajri around, Ravi gets well soon. But, he is now a far cry from his tainted past. He decides to turn the tables on Singhal and company, and establish the innocence of Karan’s father.
If such a cleansing was possible. every penitent soul would stick his head out for some stray bullet to graze by.
Sanjay Dutt runs along the fringes of the storyline, making occasional incursions of zero impact. Chandrachur. with his flair and self-assured air puts Sanjay’s laboured outbursts to shame. A few spirited songs by Rajesh Roshan add some spice.
Mukhtar Anjoom
Thullada manamum thullum (Tamil)
Lakshmy
This film is not particularly well directed, neither is the quality of its music, story or acting exceptional. But the experience of seeing Thullada manamum thullum is simply thrilling. This comes undeniably for the most part from the way the people (and at Lakshmy Talkies, you really get a sense of what is meant by the term ‘the people’!) react to it.
And the rest of the thrill comes from the naivete, the simplicity. the absolute lack of sophistication, and from the delightful hero. Vijay.
He has charm; unselfconscious. easy charm, and the kind of charisma that Rajnikanth has. Vijay, incidentally, is called Ilaya Dalapathy?
The story is simple — the hero, Kutty. whose only relative is his mother in the village, is a singer in Madras Looking for a break. The heroine, Rukku (Simran), has no parents, only a grandmother. She hears Kutty sing, is fascinated and keeps trying to meet ‘him. She sees him a number of times. but always in situations which make him appear uncouth, rough, rowdy-Like (and she calls him porukki rascal). Accidentally he causes the loss of her eyesight. Then they meet, and through a series of cause and effects, she and her grandmother come to live with him. His mother dies, leaving her eyes to Rukku, he donates a kidney to pay for Rukku’s eye transplant and has to go to Bombay for that, (after making the payments for the eye operation). Waiting for the train back to Madras, he is asked to keep an eye on someone’s suitcase, which turns out to be full of explosives, and he is jailed for seven years. At the end of his term in jail he’s returning to Madras. ‘
This is where the film begins, and Kutty (Vijay) is recounting the story to a group of students returning to Madras after a study tour.
What will happen when Kutty returns to his house, what will Rukku do when she sees his face? The face that caused the loss of her eyesight?
The students also follow Kutty to see the end of the story.
Vijay as Kutty is good, but he looks so young that someone like Simran looks much older.
Simran seems a little confused about whether she should adopt the Tabu look or the Rambha look, finally adopting both. Manivannan is Manivannan.
The film is directed by S Ezhil,. who’s also done the screenplay and story. The dialouges are b Prasanna Kumar, the lyrics b’ Vairumuthu and Vijay, the awful music by S A Raj Kumar.
A word of advice for those whose evolved sensibilities are easily offended -—- remember.
‘suspension of disbelief’!!
Deshiyageetham (Tamil)
LAVANYA
As the title indicates, this film with Vijaya Kumar, Nagesh, Murali and Rambha. is a sort of song for the country. It begins with the national flag being hoisted by an old man, a freedom fighter. There is nobody to watch or to say either Jai Hind or Vande Mataram.
The old man’s daughter calls out to people around, saying that her grandfather will pay 50 rupees to whoever stands near the flag. Then of course, they cry both Jai Hind and Vande Mataram.
The film is basically about the coming together of the older, freedom-fighter-generation and the young generation, which, out of despair, has come to the conclusion that peace simply doesn’t work.
The young, and needless to say, unemployed youth and two freedom fighters plan to kidnap the CM and his family and being them to the village to live one month among them, so that they know what it means to live the life of a poor person minus every comfort: no water, electricity, medicines, proper food or transport.
The CM and family experience all the discomforts of being poor from being bitten by mosquitoes all night in the sultry heat, to waiting endlessly in a government hospital for a doctor who simply doesn’t appear, to queuing up for ration and not being able to buy enough vegetables.
But the turning point is a communal (caste) riot, during which one of the two old men (Nagesh) is set aflame when be tries to save V the CM's daughter
(Rambha) from a group of rioters. The CM, played by Nazer, goes back in the end, his head full of a ‘new’ country, where everybody’s rights are recognised. However, we knew that such things may never work fully, as is indicated by the violence which breaks out right there, during which the young men are killed. There is also, through the movie, the madman, maddened by the knowledge of what is happening to his country.
One song is quite nice, it plays on the words mannan (king) mannannai (kerosene) and arson and arasi. Other songs are dull.
It’s nice to see Rambha minus the orange props. There are also some interesting new faces.
This film has a message, which is meant for all of us, “Before the last Indian goes mad, let’s do something.”
Kala Krishnan-Ramesh
Snehitulu (Telugu)
MENAKA, POORNIMA
Friendship and fidelity are two themes that have been beaten to pulp by Telugu filmmakers. But unlike other streotyped. mushy romances and action flicks, Snehitulu, which has its anchor in human relationships, emerges a winner, for it is shot imaginatively.
Writer Posani Krishnamurali has come up 65 with a novel subject and with Muthyala Subbaiah as the director, the package is neat and worth watching.
The story goes thus: Murali (Naveen), a college student who comes to a village to attend his friend Vijay’s (Anand) wedding, happens to see Mahalaxmi (Raasi). He sends a love letter to her through a small girl. But unfortunately it lands him in hot water, for the girl to whom he sends the letter turns out to he the bride. While his friends are pounded, he is chased by the bride’s relatives.
After marriage. Vijay and Mahalaxmi move to the city, but life proves difficult for her as he begins to suspect tier fidelity.
Meanwhile, in college. Murali falls in love with a hep girl, Sirisha (Sakshi Sivanand). Her father is a dreaded factional leader, so Murali lands in a mess yet again. In the ensuing hide-and-seek, he enters a house and accidentally happens to enter Vijay’s residence. When Vijay sees Murali running away from his bedroom, suspicion increases. Mahalakshmi, who is tired of harrowing scenes with her husband, attempts to commit suicide. However. Murali saves her, brings her back and tells Vijay that everything was accidental, not deliberate. But Vijay continues to torture her. When Murali tries to protect her from her husband, Sirisha doubts his love, To know what happens next, watch the movie.
The cast includes Sudhakar, Ahuti Prasad. Narra. Chalapathi Rao, Satyaprakash. Ranganath, Venu Madhav, Tirupathi Prakash, Ganesh and Kallu Chidambaram. Anand appears in the same role which he had played in Srikaram. Raasi is quite good at dramatic emoting. The climax is rather unconventional, yet told in a complacent way. The character of Mahalakshmi reminds you of Nora in Ibsen’s The Doll’s House. Koti has scored the music and the choreography is quite good. The movie has already completed hundred days in AP.
Sitaramaraju (Telugu)
KAPALI
Even before it could hit the turnstiles, the trumpets for Sitaramaraju blew loud and clear. For the first time Harikrishna and Nagarjuna teamed up on the silver screen. And for the first time Nagarjuna lent his voice for a song. The movie is being released at a time when Harikrishna is creating ripples in the political waters of the state.
While Posani Krisbnamurali has woven a script that brims with revenge and retribution, lacing it also with a few drops of sentiment, director Y V S Choudhary succeeds in balancing the star images of both Nagarjuna and Harikrishna. The storyline revolves around ‘brother sentiment’ and is set in the backdrop of village feuds.
Harikrishna plays an upright village headman and Nagarjuna is his doting brother. Sittiah (Harikrishna) is a man with a heart but gets ruthless when he confronts his arch rivals, Basavaraju (Kota) and his brother Chanti Satyaprakash). Behind his bland expression lies a mixed-up mind.
The reason is revealed in a flashback. His brother Ramaraju (Nagarjuna) has two weaknesses — one, his loving brother and the other his chirpy cousin and fiancee, Satya (Sakshi). But circumstances force him to him to marry an innocent village lass, Gown (Sanghvi.) Meanwhile, Basavaraj, who craves to avenge his son’s death, decides to finish off the brothers. The climax, which is full of twists and turns, has the brothers pitted against the baddies.
The cast includes Ravi Teja, Brahmaji, Kalpana. Nirmalamma, Bannerjee and Shivaji Raja. The movie depends on the fire power of the stars rather than on the chararterisation. Harikrishna’s acting prowess is a treat. Nagarjuna looks better in the emotional confrontations with his brother, than in those frothy, romantic scenes. Satyaprakash, who pops up now and then, spitting malice, is irritating when ii comes to histrionics. However, Nirmalamma, who appears in a different mould, has some surprises in store.
The first half of the film moves at a considerable pace only to drag interminably at points, till the story reaches its climax. The musical score by M M Keeravani is quite good. The Rangoli song is a finger-snapping number. The lyrics of chang re chang re rings with brotherly love. The number ecstasy, privacy ekado is a steamy sizzler.
Songs have been picturised in the exotic locales of Sri Lanka. Needless to say, the background music is good and adds to the scenes. Watchable snuff, but don’t go in with high expectations.
Rakesh P
Nakshatra taaratu (MaIayalam)
LIDO, 11.15 a.m
The theme: Adoption with a big A. Not about taking in and showering love or unloved children, but about adopting parents, who loved their children once, but have now been dumped after use.
The Plot: When a couple — both orphans - moves into a closely knit locality, the pressure is on the pair to quickly find a mom and dad and earn respectability. Well, with old-age homes mushrooming everywhere, the hunt is not very difficult, though not easy. Which old couple would like to burn its fingers twice?
The adopted parents come and start to get settled into the routine, when the prodigal son lands up with an apology and a plea that they return. Is love or blood thicker?
The Cast: Shalini and Boban Kunjacko as the young ones look pretty ‘and carry their roles as a computer-age couple well. There are pillow fights and shared kitchen responsibilities too.
But it is the adopted parents, Tilakan and Bharati Vishnuvardhan, who steal the show. Tilakan especially The movie is directed by Shankar.
The Verdict: Good time-pass. Makes one wonder why there is no clamour for adoption at old-age homes. Scents like a sound proposition.
Jayalakshmi K
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