Chanthupottu (2005) : A Controversy

                            Chanthupottu is a Malayalam movie directed by Lal Jose and released in 2005 . It tells the story of Radhakrishn...

Jan 31, 2014

1983 Malayalam Movie Review by Chandra Mohan

Review by Chandra Mohan

Before getting into the review part, let me just put across something that had a lasting impact from watching the film 1983. The movie ends with the words "Filmed by an avid Sachin Tendulkar fan". Being a hardcore fan of the legend, I was deeply touched by this.

Cricket fans across the length and breadth of this country can't forget the year 1983. Even if one was not lucky enough to witness Kapil's devils lift the coveted World Cup title, the year is so special for an avid cricket fan.

Now Abrid Shine's debut movie titled 1983 begins from the same year when India won the World Cup and narrate the story of a group of youngsters in a remote village who are passionate about the game of cricket.

The film is entertaining as well as refreshing. Refreshing in the sense that the choice of the story and the backdrop around which it is told is something new and fresh.

Not that a cricket story has been narrated for the first time on screen but the way it has been presented and how the treatment has been given to the story by a debutant director deserves praise. The film has some fine moments that will lift your energy.

The plot revolves around the dreams and aspirations of Rameshan and begin from the year when India won the title for the first time. From there, gradually the story narrates the different stages of his life; his school days, his youth, his romance with his class mate, married life etc etc. Cricket is there as the backdrop for the most part and lovers of the game can easily relate emotionally with the movie.

The first half has more energy and pace compared to the latter half where the pace slackens a bit becoming a predictable affair but at no point the focus is lost. The beginning part along with the title credits and the first half hour is something every fan of the game would clap.

Nivin Pauly has done his job as Rameshan and he has taken effort to portray a character that pass through different stages of his life. This is one of the challenging role of his brief career. Nikki as Manjula was ok but something was wrong on dubbing part. Joy Mathew as hero's father was the notable supporting actor along with Saiju Kurup, Srinda Ashab, Jacob Gregory and Joju George. The cricket team from the village, some familiar and some unfamiliar actors were equally good.

Anoop Menon made a brief appearance as a coach and former State player and he did his part to make an impression. Also, credit goes to the child artists who portrayed the characters of Junior Rameshan and Junior Manjula.

Cinematography was well handled while Gopi Sundar's music and BGM was another highlight of the film. Among the songs, it is the melodius number Olanjaali Kuruvi sung by Jaychandran and Vani Jayaram that stood out from the rest.

On the whole, it was a pleasurable movie watching experience and I am sure the film won't disappoint you as a time pass entertainer. And if you are a passionate cricket lover, the level of enjoyment would be more. 3.5 out of 5 is my rating for the movie.

Author Details :

I am Chandra Mohan, a passionate movie buff. Connect with me through my review page

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Jan 30, 2014

2014 Malayalam Movie Awards - Winners List

        This post includes a compiled winners list of all movie awards given in 2014 for the bests in the Malayalam movie industry. The winners list shall be updated as soon as other popular awards are also announced. 'Our Choice' had also been included in most of the categories mentioned below. As Mammootty said in Ujala Asianet Film Awards function that the peculiarity of Asianet is that they will not disappoint anyone who have attended the function. So, many irrelevant categories that are merely meant for commercial purpose has been excluded. You can post the list of winners of your choice in the comments.

AFA - Asianet Film Awards
VFA - Vanitha Film Awards

Best Film

Drishyam (AFA)
Drishyam (VFA)

Our Choice - Drishyam

Best Actor

Mammootty for Kunjanthante Kada and Immanuel (AFA)
Prithviraj for Celluloid and Mumbai Police (VFA)

Our Choice -  Prithviraj

Best Actress

Amala Paul for Oru Indian Pranaya Kada (AFA)
Shobana for Thira (VFA)

Our Choice - Shobana

Best Director

Lijo Jose Pellisery for Amen (AFA)
Jeethu Joseph for Drishyam (VFA)

Our Choice - Roshan Andrews for Mumbai Police

Best Cinematography

Madhu Neelakandan for Annayum Rasoolum (VFA)

Our Choice -

Best Supporting Actor

Siddque for Drishyam (AFA)
Indrajith for Amen (VFA)

Our Choice -

Best Supporting Actress

Asha Sharath for Drishyam (AFA)
Bindu Paniker for Pullipuliyum Aatinkuttiyum (VFA)

Best Comedian

Biju Menon for Romans (AFA)
Shami Thilakan for Sringaravelan and Neram (VFA)

Our Choice - Biju Menon for Romans

Best Villain

Kalabhavan Shajon for Drishyam (VFA)
Kalabhavan Shajon for Drishyam (AFA)

Our Choice - Kalabhavan Shajon for Drishyam

Best Debutant Actor

Dhyan Sreenivasan for Thira (AFA)
Master Sanoop for Philips and Maonkey Pen (VFA)

Best Debutant Actress

Keerthi Suresh for Geethanjali (AFA)
Aparna Gopinath for American Born Confused Desi (VFA)

Best Music Director

Prashanth Pillai for Amen (AFA)
Prashanth Pillai for Amen (VFA)

Popular Film

Amen (VFA)

Popular Actor

Prithviraj (AFA)

Popular Actress

Namitha Pramod (AFA)

Best Playback Male Singer

Vijay Yesudas for Memories (AFA)
Shahbas Amen for Annayum Rasoolum (VFA)

Best Playback Female Singer

Mridula Warrier for Kalimannu (AFA)
Mridula Warrier for Kalimannu (VFA)

Our Choices :

Best Film - Drishyam
Best Actor - Prithviraj for Mumbai Police, Memories and Celluloid
Best Actress - Shobana for Thira
Best Screenplay - Bobby and Sanjay for Mumbai Police
Best Director - Jeethu Joseph for Drishyam and Memories
Best Cinematographer - Gireesh Gangadharan for Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi
Best Supporting Actor - Fahad Faasil for Immanuel
Best Comedian - Biju Menon for Romans
Best Villian - Kalabhavan Shajon for Drishyam
Popular Actor - Fahadh Faasil for Annayum Rasoolum, Amen, Artist, Oru Indian Pranayakadha, North 24 Katham
Popular Actress - Nasriya Nazim for Amen and Swati Reddy for Amen and North 24 Katham

Jan 26, 2014

Jai Ho Box Office Collection Report

        Jai Ho is getting mixed reviews all over the country. Jai Ho is the remake of Chiranjeevi starrer Telugu movie Stalin. The number of releasing centres are not officially disclosed. According to our estimations, Jai Ho is getting released in 4,500 theatres in India alone and in another 650 screens abroad. Jai Ho will have to gross around 130 - 140 crores to be classified as a hit.
          The first day gross of the movie is estimated to be 18 crores. The figure is surprisingly low comparing to other Salman Khan starrers. First day collection is far behind Dhoom 3 and Chennai Express who are respectively the highest first day grossers. The second day collection from the box office is estimated to be around 17 crores. The movie will have to gross in a range of 150-160 crores to be declared as a hit. The 150 crore hit status is based on the released theater count due to the star cast. First week gross of the movie is estimated to be around 86 crores. The republic day holiday has helped Jai Ho to pick up it's collections despite the mixed word of mouth. As the coming week doesn't have big releases, a few more crores will get summed up to this Salman Khan starrer. Since 2010, Jai Ho will be the only Salman Khan starrer to get such low profile reception at the Indian box office.
            Jai Ho which 18 crores in the first day, will have to satisfy with a meager collection of just 3 crores in it's second week friday ie 8th day. A worldwide gross of 220 crores or a domestic 150 crores seems to be an impossible task for Jai Ho.

Salala Mobiles Review by Chandra Mohan

REVIEW :

Salaala Mobiles, the latest Dulqer Salman flick tried to present a wafer thin love story in a complicated way and in the end the result is not that sweet. A romantic comedy scripted and directed by Sharath A Haridaasan, the movie tells the story of Afsal and his love for Shahana.

The saving grace or the highlight for the movie are some fun filled moments for laughter and also songs tuned by Gopi Sundar. The first half was average and lacked pace to steam up things. Half way through we hope something is going to happen or we hope for a better scheme of things to happen but nothing happen to make things exciting for the viewers.

The story is set in Kozhikode where Afsal, a simple and fun loving youth runs a mobile shop named Salaala Mobiles. Shahana is a regular visitor to the shop who comes there to top up her mobile. The plot focus on Afsal's effort to woe his dream girl.

The director on the making side has tried his best to make each frame looked colourful and visually appealing but with a half baked script and story, the romantic angle does not work out in the film's favor.

On the acting side, Dulquer as Afsal was ok but he looked tired and the spark we saw in his earlier films like Usthaad Hotel and ABCD was missing. Nazriya portraying the character of Shahana looked good. Performance wise, she has bettered from her previous works.

Jacob Gregory as Binoy ( Afsal's friend) handled the comedy side well with his one liners and his combination scenes with Dulquer was good to watch. Tamil actor Santhanam appeared as Alakarswamy a techie freak. A brief role for him without much to perform. To be honest, he did his best to irritate the viewers.

Quite a lot of supporting casts form part of the film and among them, Geetha, Tiny Tom, Siddhique and Anwar (Role of Manaf) are the ones who impressed. Kunjan reprised his role from the movie Aye Auto and it was entertaining.

The main highlight of the film are songs and background score by Gopi Sundar. There are four songs, a soft melody, a quawwali song, a rap song and another song that appear towards the fag end of the film. All are good and complimented well by excellent picturing.

Satheeesh Kurup's camera works and Xian's editing were on the positive side.

On the whole, the film is a disappointing product and for some of you it might end up as an average time pass film. I am going with a generous 2.25 / 5

AUTHOR DETAILS :

Chandra Mohan

I watch almost all movies released. So it will be a busy Friday for me every week. I would like to write reviews in a small way and you can connect with me through my page The Cinema Company @ https://www.facebook.com/theci nemacompany2

Jan 25, 2014

Mannar Mathai Speaking 2 Review by Govind Raj

REVIEW by Govind Raj

I wish we had a cinematic version of the "Muttava", the religious police who would punish cinematic blasphemy with intellectual decapitation.

So what is cinematic blasphemy ?

Ramgopal Verma setting on fire, the ever revered classic Sholay as if it were not a classic movie but some files related to the coal-gate scam.

David Dhawan making the myopic version of the Sai Paranjape classic "Chashme Baddoor" and the people turning a blind eye to this art attack.

Priyadarshan borrowing the venerated Dr. Sunny from Manichitrathazhu and importing him from Machu Pichu, only to make a horrible mishmash of a tragic horror film called "Geethanjali".

And now we have a pretty well intentioned but clueless young director Mamas bringing back Mannar Mathai, 19 years after the ever enjoyable second part of the comedy classic "Ramji Rao Speaking".

It is one thing to bring characters from classics and try to weave a story around them. But it becomes a disaster of epic proportions when one brings caricatures of Malayalam cinema's ever loved characters Mannar Mathai, Gopalakrishnan, Balakrishnan, Garvasis Aashan and co.

Innocent, Mukesh and Sai Kumar are fabulous actors without doubt. But what can they do when there is precious little in the script for them ? Janardhanan and Indrans too suffer the same fate and Shammi Thilakan and Shajon add insult to injury in the form of new ingredients.

But the most offensive insult and injury are reserved for Vijayaraghavan's iconic Ramji Rao who has now become a cartoonish pastor. Aparna Gopinath of ABCD fame comes and goes like a push-pull train on a hartal day. Busy but empty and meaningless.

While trying to establish the characters, the old and some new ones, the first half goes up in smoke thanks to Biju Menon trying to borrow beedi from everyone including the viewers from the front benches.

I have a very faint memory of the second half because I dozed off and was woken up only towards the climax. The most threatening part of the movie was the indication that a possible part-3 with Biju Menon's twin act coming back to haunt us again. More smoke !

Mannar Mathai Speaking - 2 [It should have been 3] is an epic disaster that should never have been made. Seeing Cochin Haneefa on screen again was the only relief. All else is just an extremely loud, sense-less and tasteless buffoonery in the name of comedy.

1.5/5 for the sheer nostalgia attached to the characters and dialogues.

AUTHOR DETAILS :

Name : Govind Raj

Contact via fb : https://www.facebook.com/govindraj70

About me: A Doctor who loves to live, love and laugh with fellow human beings. A chronic Cinema and Cricket addict, blogger, Facebook-maniac and a wannabe writer trying too many things at a time and succeeding to fail in almost everything.

Jan 19, 2014

American Hustle Review

REVIEW : Follow The Cinema Company

American Hustle, the latest film by director David O Russell has that element or rather the X factor in it that makes the viewers interest right from the very beginning till the very end. The two main ingredients making the drama more appealing are performance as well as the storyline. Screenplay plays an all important part in the film's overall perspective making this hustle a pleasant movie watching experience.

Fun and entertainment is guaranteed right from the opening sequence of the movie where Bale shows of his big belly which form part of his physical transformation for this film. The characters have been well written and the screenplay offer many a memorable moments including humour on many occasions, American Hustle is a well made film in every sense making it to the list of must watch category films.

Based on a real sting operation of 1970's, the story revoles around two con-artists, Irving and Sidney who are forced to catch more criminals or else they will have to land up in jail. The two are entrapped into this by FBI agent Richard DeMaso who wants the two to do a sting operation against some criminals and top politicians.

Rest of the story focus on the operation and how this affects the duo's personal life and relationships.

As said before, the story has smartly written characters and David O Russell has carried over what he did from his previous and successful work, Silver Linings Playbook.

The costumes, the set, the looks and the overall backdrop has the late 1970's feel where the story unfoldand credit for that goes to the art department as well as make up and costumes section.

On the acting side, Christian Bale as Irving was the pick among the lot and he has definitely put in hardwork in terms of acting as well as physically to look different. Amy Adams as Sidney supported Bale's character in the film very well.

Bradley Cooper, the FBI agent and Jennifer Lawrence as Rosalyn (Irving's wife) are the other two notable performance stealers. Robert Di Nero appears in a cameo as a fake Arabic and he was a treat to watch in that brief role.

Overall, the comedy drama deserves a watch and it offer more than what we expect. I am giving 3.75 / 5 for American Hustle, a movie that won't disappoint you, so go and grab your tickets now.


AUTHOR DETAILS :
I am Chandra Mohan, a passionate movie buff. Connect with me through my review page
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Jan 18, 2014

Jilla Box Office Collection Report : DAILY Complete Updates

         Evidently Jilla will have the upper handover Ajith's Veeram because of the Multi Star factor. Jilla has garnered mixed response from the critics. Audience especially Vijay fans and Mohanlal fans have whole heartedly accepted the movie. Jilla is another exclusive mass entertainer for Vijay and Mohanlal fans. A huge opening day collection is guaranteed with Jilla releasing in a total of 1000 screen worldwide. Jilla released in around 200 screens in kerala. Jilla is expected to get the highest opening ever for a tamil movie in kerala. Jilla has got released in around 50+ screens in Karanataka. Out of India, Jilla will be releasing in around 300 screens. Jilla will be releasing in 70+ screens in USA, 40+ Screens in UK, 40 screens in Malaysia and 20 screens in Switzerland.

       Outstanding initial buzz created by Jilla has helped to garner huge distributor rights, satellite rights and box office initial.

     The distribution rights where sold as follows :

Kerala - Vijay has huge fan following in kerala, moreover Jilla has The Prince Of Kerala, Mohanlal himself. The distribution rights were sold to Mohanlal for 4 crores.

Karnataka - Jilla has fetched 2 crores for the distribution rights in Karnataka.

       The distribution rights from the remaining states including Telugu is estimated to be around 5 crores.

SATELLITE RIGHTS - Sun TV has acquired the satellite rights of Jilla for an amount of 16 crores. Jilla will be broadcasted through Sun TV and malayalam counterpart SURYA TV.

MUSIC RIGHTS - Music rights has fetched about 1 crore for Jilla. Music rights were acquired by Star musics.

BOX OFFICE UPDATES:

        First day worldwide box office collection of Jilla is estimated to be around 16.50 crores. The movie is said to have collected around 8 crores from Tamil Nadu. If so, this will be the highest ever for a Vijay starrer from Tamil Nadu. From Kerala, the first day collection is calculated to be 2.60 crores. Highest ever for a tamil movie in the cinema business history in Kerala.
          The finalised weekend collection from Kerala is estimated to be around 5.60 crores. And the first week gross collection from kerala alone is around 7.40 crores. Jilla is expected to finish around 10 crores in Kerala. 20 Crores was what Jilla grossed  from Tamil Nadu alone in the weekend. From remaining centres a total of 5 crores was made in the weekend.
         

Jan 17, 2014

Carrie Review

REVIEW : Follow The Cinema Company


Carrie is a psychological and horror thriller directed by Kimberly Pierce. Adapted from Stephen King's novel with the same title , Carrie does not fall under the category of a horror film but it is more of a thriller and revenge drama though by the looks it gives an impression of a hardcore horror movie.

The film is all about a teenaged girl named Carrie who has supernatural powers but unknown to her and she is born to a religious mother Margaret. As a result of her upbringing, she is a peculiar character among her peers, too reserved who does not mingle freely in the company of other girls of the same age.

She is at the receiving end of all the bullying and teasing of others. Situation reach a stage where the bullying crosses the limit a girl of her age can tolerate. Carrie realise the supernatural powers she possessed and unleash terror during the proms function making it a horrifying event of blood bath.

On the acting side, Grace Moretz as Carrie is very convincing while Juliane Moore as Margaret and Carrie's religious mother was satisfactory. These two are the notable performance winners while rest of the supporting casts did their part quite well.

Overall, Carrie is good for a one time watch and I am giving 3 / 5.

AUTHOR DETAILS :
I am Chandra Mohan, a passionate movie buff. Connect with me through my review page
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Jan 15, 2014

Best Hollywood movies of 2013

          The movies are listed in alphabetical order :

Before Midnight

       This can be a risk choice for many viewers as this movie may not please all set of audience.

Captain Phillips

      Tom Hanks are among the rare actors whose movies could be given a shot without even watching the trailer. Tom Hanks is back with one of the finest performances in the recent times as Captain Phillips. Captain Phillips is a thrilling true story based on the hijacking by pirates.

DESPICABLE ME 2

     Despicable Me 2 is among the few animation series' in which the sequel is better than the original. This will be an all time memorable movie which will make you laugh quite often. A fun filled movie suggested for kids as well as a adults.

Gravity

        If you want me to pick the best of 2013 from this list, it would be Gravity. We can state that 3D IMAX was completely worth it for the first time. Most visually captivating movie ever produced. A great miss for those who haven't watched it from the cinemas.

The Great Gatsby

        The Great Gatsby is highly entertaining movie with a huge star cast including  Leonardo DiCaprio, Joel Edgerton, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Amitabh Bachan. This movie will be liked by everyone especially those who  haven't seen the earlier version or those who haven't read the literary work.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 

        Hobbit series may never reach the standards set by The Lord of the Rings series in near future and this mayn't be the best in the hobbit series itself but this is one of the best releases last year.

Now You See Me

        Did you like 'The Prestige' and 'Ocean's Eleven'? 'Now You See Me' is what we get as an output when mix those two movies.

Pacific Rim

         An amazing action adventure movie. The CGI graphic effects are terrific and literally out of the world. If you liked Transformers, you will love Pacific Rim!

Prisoners

        This maybe Hugh Jackman's finest performance in his entire career. A suspenseful thought provoking masterpiece. Watch and experience this movie.

Rush

        Rush is based on Formula one racing which tells the rivalry between rivals James Hunt and Niki Lauda set back in 1970s. A great directional attempt and beautiful cast performance is all about Rush. Rush and watch this movie, you won't be disappointed.

The Conjuring

        The Conjuring maybe the most overrated movie of last year but the movie is a decent horror movie for everyone. This movie is well crafted movie with moments which will leave you at the edge of the seat. The movie has already made to the Imdb list of Top 250 and is ranked at #48.

 

Drishyam Box Office Collection Report Updates

            Drishyam is set to make a dream in Kerala box office with a highly encouraging word of mouth all over the state. The movie got released in around 80+ theaters. In the current circumstance, Drishyam has gained the upper hand over all other Christmas releases in terms of audience opinion. Within 3 days of it's release, the remake rights to Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada has got sold for 1.60 crores.
                   The first day gross of the movie is estimated to be around 75 lakhs. As the word of mouth is spreading, the movie is in top gear and will be the clear winner of this Christmas race. A great relief for Mohanlal and his fans. The first three days gross of the movie is roughly calculated to be around 2.25 Crores. The first 5 days collection update is here - The figures are at a whooping 3.50 crores. The current trends shows that the movie will surely be the biggest grosser of 2013. The first week gross of the movie is estimated to be around 6 crores.
                    The current trend obviously shows Drishyam will be the highest grosser of 2014. The movie has maintained it's box office gross at an above average level throughout it's run, thanks to the excellent word of mouth. This magnificent crowd puller has managed to gross around 11.75 Crores in it's two week run. Drishyam has crossed 10 crores within a week. Now, Will the movie be able to enter the 20 crore club?
         The movie has made it to be the top grosser of 2014 within three weeks run. Drishyam has completed around 8500 theatrical shows worldwide. The reception Drishyam is receiving from different cities out of kerala in India, Gulf countries, UK etc is terrific. Three week gross of the movie is estimated to be around 17 crores.
          Though release of Jilla and Veeram might have affected the collection from theatres, Drishyam can be stated as one among the all time blockbusters. The gross collection of the movie from 28 days is estimated to be around 21.40 crores. Drishyam has completed 12k worldwide theatrical number of shows.
             Drishyam has made a total gross of 25 crores in it's 35 days box office run. The total number of theatrical shows to touch an amazing 12,000 in kerala alone.

Drishyam is the highest grosser in  the history of Malayalam Cinema

Jan 11, 2014

Veeram Tamil Movie Review

REVIEW : Follow The Cinema Company

 Veeram directed by Siva is a typical Tamil mass masala movie we have seen many times and on numerous occasions with different heroes as the protagonist with larger than life image. A family drama with doses of action, comedy and romance, the movie is an average one time watch that is definitely going to satisfy the followers of Ajith. Director for a change has given new looks to the actor in terms of getup. From an urban look, our hero has transformed into a village hero with white shirt and dhoti. Of course, he has retained his bald hair and beard that has become his signature style of late.

What makes the film watchable is the screen presence of Ajith in an otherwise outdated and predictable film that has nothing new to offer. Being a festive season, the film will go well with the masses looking for such a genre of film.

The story revolves around Vinayakam and his four brothers. The brothers have their love interests but they can't share this with their big brother who is totally against the institution of marriage. So the four of them hatch a plan to get their big brother himself into an affair. And for the hero to show his macho image, there are villains too.

Siva has narrated the plot in a traditional way without trying anything new and in the process what the viewers get is a repeated feel of similar films from the past.

On screen, it is an Ajith show all the way. With a new look and his familiar acting style he makes us sit through. The four brothers are just ok while Santhanam handle the humour side quite well. Tamaannah looked comfortable as the lady love of the hero while Nassar, Pradeep Rawat and Atul Kulkarni played the supporting part in the film.

Songs were reasonably good and with the visuals, they were good to watch. One area that deserve a special mention here is action choreography that have been done quite remarkably.

Overall, Veeram is an average fare good for a one time watch for the masses and if you are an Ajith fan you would definitely love him in his new getup. My rating is 2.5 / 5
  
AUTHOR DETAILS :

I am Chandra Mohan, a passionate movie buff. Connect with me through my review page
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Dedh Ishqiya Hindi Movie Review

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 Babban and Khalujan the delightful and funny con men are back through the sequel of 2010 film Ishqiya. Abhishek Chaubey delivers a perfect winner in the sequel Dedh Ishqiya, the highlights being Vishal Bharadwaj's superb urdu mixed dialogues, humorous situations to tickle your funny bone and of course some delightful and memorable performances from the lead actors.

The movie uses heavy urdu dialogues and quite rightly the makers have added subtitles throughout the length of the film without which it would have been difficult to follow the happenings.

The plot revolves around the two uncle nephew con men Khaluj and Babban who arrive in Mehmudabad. Khaluj is attracted to the local heiress Begum Paro while Babban falls for Begum's domestic aide Muniya.

Here Begum is conducting a Shayari competition to choose her Nawab and the plot thicken from hereon with some witty and humorous dialogues and situations. Its the way each scene has been executed without making the viewers disinterested making Dedh Ishqiya a sweet and delicious treat.

The acting side did their best to come out with flying colours. Nasseruddin Shah as Khalujan is convincing in his role while Arshad Warsi was quite brilliant as the nephew. Its Madhuri Dixit who steal the show from the above two with a restrained and controlled acting well supported by the ever reliable Huma Quershi as Muniya.

The other notable performances are from Vijay Razz in a comical avatar with shades of badness.

Music and editing department deserves special mention that added to the film's positives.

I am going with 4 / 5 and a big thumbs up to Abhishek Dubey for coming out successful in the sequel. With right doses of romance, comedy, humorous dialogues and a few twists in the latter half, making Dedh Ishqiya a must watch movie.
  
AUTHOR DETAILS :

I am Chandra Mohan, a passionate movie buff. Connect with me through my review page
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Jilla Tamil Movie Review and Box Office Collection Report

               Jilla is a mass masala tamil movie which brings in a rare combination of Illayathalapathy Vijay with Mohanlal.

REVIEW :

             Director Neason has made Jilla with the essential mass masala factors like actions, songs and comedy. Every bit of worldly logic must be neglected while watching this movie. The movie lacks substance and deserves better trimming as well as direction. But Jilla is what every Vijay and Mohanlal fan was wishing for.

Performance -

Vijay has returned to his mass masala entertaining image with all sort of thrilling action and good comedy scenes. Vijay looks very young and pleases his fans very well. Mohanlal has made such an outstanding performance as Shiva. The best part of the movie is the combination scenes of Vijay and Mohanlal. The introduction scenes are shot fabulously which will give you goosebumps. Kajal Agarwal should try a better make up artist since All in All Azhagu Raja.

Technical Aspects -

BGM is terrific and appropriate for such an entertainer. Songs by D Imman is very impressive. Kandaangi Kandaangi and Paatu Onnu is the best among them.
Cinematography by Ganesh Rajavelu is good. Choreography work done by Rajusundaram is excellent.
Don Max has done the editing of the movie and the movie deserves better trimming. Around 15-20 minutes should be edited out.
Action sequences by Selva is breathtaking but some being too lengthy too.

Story, Screenplay and Direction -

Since Jilla is an entertainer, the story is not given much importance to but the movie has certain unexpected plot twists. Movie brings in sentimental scenes along with the commercial elements. Direction by Neason is hardly average as he dissappoionted as a director. But thanks to Neason for the the packaging a mass entertainer with Vijay and Mohanlal together.


Positives - 
1. Cast
2. Vijay and Mohanlal combination scenes
3. Introduction
4. BGM
5. Climax


Negatives - 
1. Direction
2. Story
3. Editing
4. 3 hour duration
5. Lag in second half

Rating - 2.75 out of 5

Verdict - A mass entertainer for one time watch and a must watch for both fans.

BOX OFFICE :

        Jilla is getting mixed responses from the audience as Jilla is not satisfying all sets of the audience. Now, at the box office Jilla has Veeram as well as the word of mouth to fight against. A huge opening day collection is guaranteed with Jilla releasing in a total of 1000 screen worldwide. Jilla released in around 200 screens in kerala. Jilla is expected to get the highest opening ever for a tamil movie in kerala. Follow the box office updates here

Jan 10, 2014

Best Malayalam Movies of 2013

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Its that time of the year where we analyse the top movies of the year and I have compiled my list from the films released in 2013. Its really hard to trim down the list to ten since I can't leave out some good films from the list, so it is literally a top 13. These are just my thoughts and I want your feedback, also let me know if you felt any movies should have made the cut into my top 10.

Mumbai Police : A bold thriller presented by Roshan Andrews with a difference and a notable performance from Prithviraj made it a well made movie.

Memories : Jeethu Joseph and Prithviraj hogged the limelight in this thriller that had an excellent script as its backbone.

Drishyam : A visual treat for the viewers, once again Jeethu Joseph proved he is the best director of the year with back to back hits. A comeback of sorts for Mohanlal, the film stood out for a flawless script and classic acting from one of the powerhouse of Mollywood, Lalettan.

Kunjananthantay
Kada : Salim Ahmed presented this film in a convincing and simple way and exploited the vast talent of Mammooty in the film.

Nadan : Kamal presented this film that portrayed the problems faced by theatre artistes and groups in running the show in the present world. The highlight of the film is Jayaram, an underrated actor whose potential is still to be exploited by directors.

101 Chodyangal : A simple movie by debutant Sidhartha Siva, the film touches our heart and quite rightly went on to win accolades at the National Level as well as various film festivals.

Philips and the Monkey Pen : Rojin and Shanil, two young directors crafted this film and narrates the story of a child Ryan Philip. Put our legs in a child's shoe and watch this film, a film for all ages.

Celluloid : A biopic on J C Daniel, Celluloid earned critical acclaim and also got noticed for Prithviraj's performance as the protagonist.

Neelaakaasham Pacha Kadal Chuvanna Bhoomi : A road movie, probably the first of its kind in Malayalam by Sameer Thahir, NPCB stood out for its narrative style and excellent cinematography.

Shutter : Joy Mathew should be proud of this movie that entertained the viewers in a different way.

Ezhamathay Varavu : Harihahran and MT joined together to recreate this film that was made in the 70's but never got released. Many of you might disagree with my choice here but somehow I was really impressed with the film as well as Indrajith's performance.

Left Right Left : Arun Kumar Aravind and Murli Gopi team produced a gem that was well appreciated by everyone who saw the film. Unfortunately due to reasons unknown, it was sidelined at the box office and had a very limited run.

Amen : Lijo Jose can take credit for entertaining us to the maximum through his movie Amen and it was a different sort of experience we get after watching.

Two other movies that impressed me but could not make it to the list are North 24 Kaadam and Annayum Resoolum. If a list of 15 is selected then both these films would have made the cut.

Jan 6, 2014

Tamil Movies January Preview - Clash of the titans and release of Vishwaroopam 2


             Tamil film industry is keenly looking forward for this month as a number of major releases are scheduled to release soon as pongal is approaching. Tamil Nadu will be celebrating pongal on 10th of January and Pongal this year will witness fiercest battle in the recent times - Ajith's Veeram against Vijay's Jilla which has Mohanlal as added advantage. Another milestone, Kochadaiyaan was also scheduled for the same date but got postponed due to technical problems.
          Other big releases scheduled for a January release include Dhanush's Anegam, Kamal Haasa's Vishwaroopam 2 and Vijay Sethupathi's Rummy.

  • Jilla
       Vijay and Mohanlal in the lead and will be a crowd puller in Tamil Nadu as well as Kerala. The prince of Kerala together with Vijay who has pretty good fan base following in Kerala will be warmly welcomed in Kerala box office. The movie is scheduled to be released on 10th of January. Jilla teaser on youtube crossed 1 million views within 2 days and is nearing 2 million views. Jilla is directed and written by RT Neason. Kajal agarwal will be pairing opposite Vijay after super hit Thuppakki.

  • Veeram
        Veeram is also scheduled for a release on January 10th. Unless it is Thala Ajith in the lead, how come any producer dare to release their movie against massive movie Jilla. Though Veeram has lesser screens all over India than Jilla, Veeram will give tough competition at the box office. Proving all speculations to be wrong, the director has made it clear that Veeram is not the remake of Malayalam movie Valyettan.
  • Vishwaroopam 2
        Vishwaroopam created quite a lot of controversies upon it's release in 2013 still ended as the highest grosser of 2013. In 2014, Kamal Haasan is aiming much more bigger at the box office with Vishwaroopam 2. Vishwaroopam 2 is scheduled for a release on January 25th. Vishwaroopam 2 will be released simultaneously in Hindi in the name Vishwaroop 2

  • Rummy
      
    Vijay Sethupathi has clean sheet so far and Rummy is expected to be another hit in his credit. The movie is directed and co-produced by debutant Balakrishnan. An interesting fact about the movie is that the story is told in the backdrops of 1980s. It is said that Vijay Sethupathi was excited by the script and agreed for this project. The movie is scheduled to be released be on 24th.

Jan 5, 2014

Bollywood January Preview - Jai Ho to shatter box office records



              The month of January is all about Jai Ho for Bollywood. 2013 has ended with a Dhoom in terms of Dhoom 3's box office performance where most of the records set by Chennai Express has been shattered. Other main releases expected to be released in January includes One By Two, Dedh Ishqiya, Total Siyapaa.

  • Jai Ho

    Jai Ho is scheduled to release on January 24th. Salman Khan starrer - most hyped movie among the bollywood lovers in the recent times. Jai Ho, as a Salman Khan movie doesn't even require any sort of paid promotions as a huge initial box office collection is guaranteed. Jai Ho trailer/teaser crossed 10k likes within 16 hours of it's upload and becomes the fastest Salman khan video to achieve that. As Dhoom 3 has stormed the bollywood box office with oustanding performance all over, trade analysts are eager to see whether Jai Ho can break the new records set by Dhoom 3.

  • One By Two

    Abhay Deol is the lead actor in One by Two and starring opposite him is Preeti Desai. The movie scheduled to be released on January 31. This rom-com is directed by Devika Baghat.
  • Dedh Ishqiya

    Dedh Ishqiya is the sequel to the 2010 release Ishqiya. Dedh Ishqiya is scheduled to release on January 10th. It is a comedy thriller directed by Abishek chaubey. The screenplay is jointly written by Abishek chaubey, Gulzar and Vishal baradwaj.

  • Total SiyapaaTotal Siyapaa is scheduled for a late release on January 31. The movie has youth hotties Ali Zafar and Yami Gautam.

Jan 4, 2014

47 Ronin Review

REVIEW : Follow The Cinema Company

 47 Ronin is an action film with elements of fantasy, fiction and ancient beliefs followed in Japan in the backdrop. Set in the 18th century ancient Japan, the movie narrate a revenge story of a real life samurai group comprising 47 samurai warriors who avenge the death of their master who was cheated by an evil shogun. As a result, the master had to commit a ritual suicide as part of the custom followed by them.

Though action and revenge hold prominence, the way it is executed gives us a snail paced effect thereby missing the key components of a regular action flick. So people expecting a regular dose of action and fights in movies of such genre would be a disappointed lot.

Lord Kira with the help of a witch trick Lord Asano in attacking another person using sorcery and in the process, the very next day Asano had to give up his life to honor the name of his family. The 47 samurai warriors without a leader now take revenge for this and also to save Asano's beautiful daughter from Lord Kira. This is the basic plot and at the same a parallel track where the romance between the half breed warrior Kai (played by Keanu Reeves) and Asano's daughter Mika takes shape.

The movie in 3D has no or little scope for three dimension and in 2D, the film would have been more enjoyable. There are couple of scenes where huge creatures and monsters are shown where technology has definitely helped but for rest of the scenes, 3D was a waste.

Keanu Reeves as the half-breed warrior Kai has little to talk in terms of dialogues but mostly his expressions do the talking. Rest of the supporting casts were apt for the roles and among them, the actor who played the character of Asano's most loyal warriot Oishi deserves special mention.

On the whole, 47 Ronin is not a bad action movie well attempted and deserve a one time watch but a fast paced narration would have been much more enjoyable. I am going with 3 / 5.
  
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I am Chandra Mohan, a passionate movie buff. Connect with me through my review page
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Sholay 3D Review

REVIEW : Follow The Cinema Company

 Sholay is back on to the silver screen in a rejuvenated and refreshed format after a long thirty eight years after its release. A cult classic and one of the biggest blockbuster of Indian Cinema directed by Ramesh Sippy and scripted by Salim-Javed, the film has been re-released in 3D format along with redesigned sound effects.

Released in stereoscopic sound in 70mm screen 38 years back, Sholay was such a hit back then and now in a new avatar, people especially the current generation who haven't seen the movie yet or who did not get a chance to watch in theatres then are getting a golden opportunity to watch the magnum opus on big screen.

Dont you guys want to hear Gabbar Singh saying "Kitney Aadmi thai" to his sidekick Saambha again and that too in a better and bigger ambience? Who would not want to see Helen hip dancing to the famous tune Mehbooba Oh Mehbooba which I would call the BAAP of all item numbers!

So my advice is you don't waste such a chance and grab it with both hands the chance to see Jai, Veeru, Baldev Singh Thakur, Basanti, Radha and Gabbar Singh, the characters immortalised by Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, Jaya Bhaduri and Amjad Khan respectively. I had seen the film on numerous occasions on television and enjoyed it completely then also now in the new version.

The film at this point does not require a detailed review as such and I am recommending it to all to go and see it in theatres. Whether it is 3D or 2D, my rating for this evergreen hit will always be 5 / 5.
  
AUTHOR DETAILS :

I am Chandra Mohan, a passionate movie buff. Connect with me through my review page
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Jan 3, 2014

The Wolf Of Wall Street Review

REVIEW : Follow The Cinema Company

 Well directed and top notch acting from Lionardo Dicaprio and rest of the acting crew, the biopic on Jordan Belfort (a stock broker), the drama film by master filmmaker Martin Scorsese scores high and engages you for the most part.

In The Wolf of Wall Street scripted by Terance Winter, Dicaprio enact the role of young wall street stock broker Jordan Belfort and the dramatic tale narrate the rise and fall of Belfort. Along with his professional life, the film touch upon his personal life where he is involved in crime and corruption that ultimately leads to his downfall. It is too difficult to pen down the basic crux of the story in three or four sentences and hence I am not touching on that aspect.

The story gives a glorified description of Belfort and in the process, the other characters in the film looses the attention they deserve.

To talk so much of Belfort and to provide every detail of his life, be it women, sex, drugs, trading in illegal financial deals forming part of his professional life, the script has elaborated on things and in the process the film runs close to three hours making it a touch too long.

Yet if the editing department (being one of the weak link in an otherwise technically sound film) could have taken care to trim the film a bit more, removing few unwanted scenes it would have benefited better in making this black comedy drama a bit more crispier. Also the climax is very extended and could have been finished a long time back.

Martin Scorsese in the direction department though totally different from his earlier works and Dicaprio in probably one of his best role of his career along with good background score form the noteworthy aspect of the movie and I should say among these its Dicaprio's charming screen presence that keeps the film at a reasonably high energy level. The film had everything in it to make it a rather dull drama but the actor makes the proceedings more livelier.

Supporting cast also do their act quite convincingly and among them, Jonah Hill as Donnie, Margot Robbie as Naomi, Mathew Mccnaughey who taught Belfort the tricks of stock trading, Christine Ebbersole and Rob Reiner as Belfort Sr are the notable ones. Its basically a long list of supporting casts and as said before everyone has contributed too good making it a pleasurable movie watching experience for the audiences. But giving a glorified sketch to the character of Belfort and too much focus on him makes rest of the characters fade away though the actors doing total justice to their respective roles.

A thoroughly engaging drama and watchable for two persons namely Leonardo Dicaprio in the acting department and for Martin Scorsese in direction i am going with 3.75 / 5. Engaging as well as a bit tiring, be prepared for that.
  
AUTHOR DETAILS :

I am Chandra Mohan, a passionate movie buff. Connect with me through my review page
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Jan 2, 2014

Happy New Year - New Goals, New Resolutions, New Innovations

         Wishing you all happy new year on behalf of Indian Movie Database team. This is our third year in the Indian Movie Database's journey providing you with reviews and box office collection updates. In the past years, we have been concentrating more on the Malayalam film industry though we are named Indian Movie Database. We have got many enquiries regarding the name also. As per the suggestions of our viewers, we have decided to expand our area of interest to Tamil film industry, Telugu film industry and also Bollywood. We will be including news and gossips apart from reviews and box office collection updates from Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi film industries. As usual we will serve you with extra interesting posts about movies from different part of the globe. 
            Another new innovations we are planning to bring to this site is a voice for our viewers. We will be soon updating our site so that we can allow our viewers to post their own reviews and interesting posts about movies thus building up their own fan base using our platform. Expecting to release the updates on 'Guest Posting' in the near future. 
           Expecting and Wishing for a colorful year with lots and lots of entertaining, thrilling and enthralling movies. Thanks for your undiminishing support :)   



Update :
    We are here with our new introduction to Indian Movie Database - Guest Post. Now nyone of you can write for us. We are providing you an option to utilize our platform to publish your creativity, views about actors, reviews about any movies and much more. Get responses from the vast viewership we have got. Thank You.