Lootera – Totally loots the hearts.

Lootera comes from a guy who did his schooling at Sanjay Leela Bhansali public school and graduated from Anurag Kashyap University. Vikramaditya Motwane’s debut Udaan is based on Anurag Kashyap’s life story.  Udaan’s plot deals with a expelled teenage guy who has no choice in life than to stick with his tyrant father until he takes a giant leap in his life. Each and every one of us could relate to this movie, in some frame, especially the ones stayed in boarding schools and stayed away from home during their teen phase. It was selected to compete in Cannes under Un certain regard category and won a cult status globally. Udaan will leave you spellbound with a triumphant smile and simultaneously with an ecstatic tear and a heavy heart. His Lootera, a poignant period drama, does almost the same but on a different emotional note.

The film opens with a subtle, untold note which one could hum themselves as ‘Once upon a time, long, long ago, there lived a beautiful princess called Pakhi Roy Chaudhuri’. The story and premise of Lootera can be stripped down in two lines. After hearing a story about a prince whose life has been locked up inside a parrot, a diseased Zamindari girl believes that she will die on a day when a last leaf falls from a tree. Motwane juxtaposed a good old Indian mythological short story with O’Henry classic ‘The Last leaf’ and baked a whole delicious, saccharine flavored love story under the Bollywood mainstream grammar. He has proven that one can make a successful, sensible and a soulful story without the mainstream clichés and compromise.

Amit Trivedi has composed, sorry, crowd sourced some of the best tones, orchestra & OST from Hollywood and world music. We definitely owe this guy big for bringing in the best world sounds, Indianize few and sync it perfectly. The main theme of Lootera has  been ripped from One day’s theme by Rachel Portman and you can also hear Hans Zimmer’s Time from Inception in a long run before the Intermission. But apart from few rip-offs he has composed few original scores too. Music will make you to linger around the spectacular aura on-screen, captured flawlessly by Mahendra shetty. It will be a treat, for all those who drool and jaw drop for dim lighting yellow, groovy gray and blusih black frames with gorgeous lightings.

All the characters have justified their roles perfectly. Even the ones with limited screen space won’t make you to forget them. It was a great transformation to see Sonakshi Sinha on-screen after all the brainless, sultry skin show roles that she had done right from Dabangg. She sizzles and sets the screen on fire not with her flesh but with her elegant grace and looks dashingly beautiful in a traditional Bengali Saree. From sex siren, item number dancer to an artistic performer, she made quite a great leap and Ranveer Singh is equally good, matching her charisma, paring up with her and rendering an adorable and heartwarming on-screen romance and chemistry.

Lootera is well crafted, passionately sculptured, aesthetically cam-captured, soulfully acted. Like a fairy tale romance, one can witness the magic of pure love story on-screen after ages. I don’t remember the last time I've seen an Indian romance, period drama which is as genuine and as good as Lootera. Not in the recent years at least.

Motwane elevates and transcends you into a whole different era in the first half, immerses you in an ocean of heart wrenching, melancholic emotions in the second half and finally sweeps you off completely in the climax. Amongst the big family tree domination in Bollywood industry, Motwane stands tall, stiff, solo and firm as a masterpiece ‘Last leaf’ amongst Kashyap’s kitties.  

Opening the frame with a small, glowing, hot fire flame and closing it with sad, sorrowful snow at the end, Motwane casted his magic spell throughout the film. Lootera is an original piece art and Motwane, you’re a magician.

This post of mine has been written for movie movieroundup website. You can find it here. 

Thanks to Haricharan for publishing it.

Singam 2 - The Saint, Savior and Superman of Thoothukudi

Yo! I am back after watching SINGAM 2, Bitch!. *Breaking Bad series Jesse tone*

I am fully charged up with blood boiling intensity, tones of audacity and ground-breaking curiosity… DEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!! Adraaaa, VAAAAADAAA, Thoooku raaaa, Paaaaakrayyyaaaaa daa.. DDAAAAAIIIIIII!!!  Never felt this confident, strong, sound and profound even after watching The Dark knight series or the recent Man of Steel. Yay! Our very own Desi Dirty Harry DURAISINGAM is back with a huge ultra heavy ONDRA TON WEIGHT bang this time.

Usually I do blogpost only when I love a movie from the bottom of my heart or hate it and puke it out. But this time I wanted to do a special mention post and write about this Saint, Savior and Superman of Thoothukodi.

Hari is the man with the best local plan. He won’t showcase the use of Macbook pro, Hi-tech devices, flashy gadgets and all in his films rather he makes his SINGAM to use Windows XP, MS-office tools, Google Earth, SMS, Black market pistol, IMEI tracing, Google Maps, Phone signal Jammer, Whatsapp etc.. This man has a particular style, spice, flavor and signature in almost all his movies like Saamy, Arul, Vengai, Aiyaa, Vel, Thamirabarani etc.. No one would've know their roots, people, hometown, railway platforms, bus stand, Flight timings, pump set switch, one way road route, train Tatkal fare, Hotel & Lodge bookings like the way Hari does. I am damn sure about it.

If Kubrick and Spielberg were praised for their attention to detail, our man Hari too deserves the credit, No?. Whatay attention to detail, Man. (Don’t take eggs and tomatoes) If Tarantino has some signature scenes (violence and bloody massacre) and stereotyped shots like his very famous Trunk shot, our Hari has his own shots like Mass murder in marriage hall, 144 notice bandhobasth sequence, gang riots, caste clashes, Top angle crane shot and Helicopter cam, Aerial view, Hunt down in Harbor, Flight landing close-ups, Bus & car bombing,  lorry flying, Planting drug and arresting, property round fight with Kovil mani and Kuthu vilaku, sketch pottu thukradhu, Retta paalathu kita vetradhu, otrai sandhukulla odradhu, Murugan textiles pink and blue costumes, Small town girl’s adamant love etc.. 

I felt so many goosebumps, lightening, thundering instances and jumping-from-seats Jhapak moments while watching SINGAM 2. In one scene where Surya utters a continuous English dialogue and slams his desk yelling ‘Power of Indian police’, I almost spilled my Soda on an Aaya sitting in front row. The only saving face of Singam 2 is that it’s not as horrendous or crappy as SalmOn Khan's Dabbang franchise or Ajay DevBUM's Himmatwala remake or PAAn Kalyan’s Gabbar Singh. No, I ain’t a linguistic or a demographic or a cultural racist. Even we Tamil folks have our very own Korathi's Siruthai and Hoax Pandiyan, VishOl's Vedi, Sathyam and all, I agree. 

I wish Singam 3 is made starring not 2 but 3 glamorous malgova Heroines with Surya getting transferred to Hong Kong police department, taking help of Malyasian special squad, beating the hell outta Mexican drug lord and outsmarting Scotland yard, NYPD & LAPD. INDIAN POLICE DA. Paaaaakrya daa. Bet katryaaa da. Paaru Da. Weight pannu da.

Do some 100 push ups, run/ jog few kms, stuff your ears with sponge, wear a tight T-shirt and Boot, Take a dumbbell and march to a nearby heavily crowded local theater with sweat, shit and piss stained aroma and watch SINGAM 2. You’ll definitely like it. I did the same and quite liked and enjoyed it actually, though I needed an Aspirin later on.

First half tests your acoustic decibel level, second half tests your patience, tolerance level and Climax was like GTA Vice city Miami or Malibu episode. With league of extra-ordinary gentleman cast, safe-face Santhanam, a black villain like GTA's Lance Vance, Thoothukodi cashew macroon shaped Hansika in School costume; SINGAM 2 is the TRANSFORMERS OF THOOTHUKODI with SUPERMAN DURAISINGAM SURYA as the OPTIMUS PRIME carrying the supreme energy of the Spark cube in his rugged game face. 

And yeah, there is some fundamental Vastu and Feng-shui problem if you shoot a climax in ship, no?. Thuppaki, Sura .. ain't tat Vijayish.  Oh wait, even Mani Ratnam's Kadal dealing the same problem in climax, Right?. *Scratches head*. Also that Singam dance reminded me of the climax of Madagascar movie where the real singam Alex & friends dances for 'I like to move it move it!' song. 

Yo! Hater pellows, Going to a Hari movie and complaining that it’s too loud, noisy and racy and all is like going to Saravana stores and asking for a Giovani suit or Tommy Hilfiger accessories and ordering Kotthu Parota and Kepan koozhu with Urugai in Hilton hotel, No?. Post the movie, I speeded up my bike to 127.5 kmph and drove home, personally booked a fitness trainer, extended my gym annual membership and placed an order for Ray Ban Black Aviator sunglasses in eBay.

Looks like the dubbed English version of SINGAM 2 i.e. Pacific Rim is releasing next week. But Yo! I don’t mind it even after watching the big hugonomous robot slamming other one with a real big ship in Pacific Rim trailer. I almost had similar moments in SINGAM 2 itself.

*Insert Hans Zimmer’s BWAAAAAAAAHRRRRRRMMM sound from TDKR*

P.S. You won’t believe me. Once the crowd got disbursed after the show, the parking bay gate was still locked and none of the theatre authorities were there to open it. Few guys barged the gate, banged the lock, yelled ‘Ondra ton weight da’, broke the lock and opened the gate. I was like “HOLY SHIT, This movie must be subbed and telecasted in Egypt as an energy booster for their Revolution”. 

DAAAAII!! IDHA SHARE PANRAAAAA. COMMMENT PANRAA. TWEET PANRA.  YENNI EZHE NAAAL LA PADATHA PAAAARDAA. ADINGAAAA!! 

*Takes Bolero jeep and rushes off *