Hallo

Finally got to see "Hallo" yesterday, albeit on thiruttu dvd. It is still running to packed houses in Kochi, but we Chennaites are "children of a lesser god." Ever since they demolished Anand theatre life has never been the same, lots of memories, sigh! Those were the days man.

Back to the review.
The movie stars Mohanlal as a drunken lawyer Sivaraman, Parvathy Melton, looks pretty, and dances well, might find success in Malluwood after her disastrous outing in Kollywood. It also has the regular list like Siddique, Jagathy, Jagatheesh, Janardhanan, and others. The basic plot of the story is lifted from the Kim Basinger movie "Cellular."

Parvathy is the heiress to a huge fortune and is kidnapped by goons hired by some of her relatives. She makes a frantic call and reaches Mohanlal. He comes and rescues her and takes her to his house, where he drinks all the while in memory of his dead lover-Samvritha. Things happen, there are kidnappings, murders, and fights galore.

Then Mohanlal marries Parvathi Melton and settles at her house and tries to unravel the mystery. The directorial duo of Rafi-Mecartin know the pulse of the masses and have given a 100% entertainer. The songs could have been better and the climax is contrived and reminiscent of the C.B.I. movies.

Worth watching for Mohanlal's drunken act and Parvathi's eyes and dance.

My rating ***/5.

Detective-Movie Review

Movie-Detective.Cast-Suresh Gopi, Jagadheesh, V.M.C. Hanifa, Sindhu Menon, Devan, Madhu Warrier and oters.Genre-Investigative Thriller.Direction-Jittu Joseph(Debutante)When Mammootty's "Oru C.B.I. Diary Kurippu," released about fifteen years back, the Malyali audience woke up to a new genre, slow, thriller, without songs, where brain works more than brawn. If the audience remembers Suresh Gopi played the role of an officer assisting Mammootty in that movie.In the late nineties Suresh Gopi delivered a series of hits where he played the role of the tough cop. Now in Detective Suresh Gopi plays a double role of a detective and a politician(both are step-brothers). The politician is accused of killing his wife Sindhu Menon, who looks ravishing as usual.The detective is called to investigate the case. Was the crime commited by the politician, was it suicide, or another person killed the pretty lady?Watch the movie to get the answers.Vincimax's Ratings: ***/5

Vishu Release Update

So the biggies for Vishu are here. Sathyan Anthikad's Dileep starrer "Vinodayata" is going to battle wonder kid Anwar Rasheed's Mohanlal starrer Chota Mumbai.

In my previous post I wrote that Gopika would be Mohanlal's heroine, sorry, it is Bhavana who will be Mohanlal's heroine.

Chota Mumbai has an ensemble starcast-Siddique, Manikuttan, Jagathy, Indrajith and others.
It is supposed to be a laugh riot and is about small time conmen who live a life of joy and fun in Kochi by fooloing tourists.

Vinodayatra, Dileep's hope for regaining his good boy image, is about the laziness of a man, who is a qualified professional, but is allergic to work.

I am waiting for the movie to release in Chennai.

May the best movie win the box-office race.

I have a feeling this will be a bumper Vishu and all movies will do good business.

Vishu Release 2007 Preview

Another year has passed and the Malayali eagerly awaits Vishu 2007. This year has started on a bad note with lots of political unrest, bandhs and strikes, problems with Tamil Nadu over Mullai Periyar and Salem railway board formation. But the biggest threat is from Tamil movies that are eating into the business of movies from God's Own Country.

This Vishu has a number of releases-
Vinodayatra-Starring Dileep and Meera Jasmine-directed by Sathyan Anthikad.
Chota Mumbai-Starring Mohanlal and Gopika-directed by Anwar Rasheed.
Big B-Starring Mammootty.
Black Cat-Starring Suresh Gopi.

Some Kalabhavan Mani movie might also release.

So who will win the battle? My vote goes to Vinodayatra, because Sathyan knows how to lure the family audience and the remaining three are mass masala entertainers. I think Dilep's career will be revived by this movie.

Classics Revisited

Gems of Indian Cinema.

Indian cinema, has its share of classics ranging from Ray's Pather Panchali to Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Nizhalkuthu. Starting from today I will be reviewing such movies which may have been failures at the box-office but represent the theme of sensible cinema.

I will start the series with my all time favourite movie-Chemmeen(Prawns). It is based on a novel written by Thakazhi Sivasankaran Pillai. The movie became the first South-Indian movie to win the President's Gold Medal for the best movie of 1965.

Cast-Sathyan, Madhu, Sheela, Kottarakara.
Direction-Ramu Kariat.
Screenplay-S.L. Puram Sadanandam.
Music-Salil Chowdhury.
Editing-Hrishikesh Mukherjee.
Cinematography-Marcus Bartley.

The movie's music was an unprecedented hit, and the song-"Maanasa Maine Varu..," is considered to be the most popular Malayalam movie song of all time. The stunning cinematography captured the various moods of the sea and the triangular love story of Madhu, Sheela and Sathyan.

The story has its roots in a legend that the fishing community believes in, a fisherman's safe return depends on the fidelity of his wife. The story shows how a breach of trust leads to misunderstanding and sorrow. Kottarakara promises to sell his catch of fish to Madhu on credit and Madhu helps him in buying a boat. Kottarakara nets in a big catch of fish, and lured by greed, he ditches his pact with Madhu and sells his catch for ready cash to other traders. Sheela, Kottarakara's daughter falls in love with Madhu, but her father forcibly marries her off to Sathyan a fisherman from another village.

What happens to Madhu and Sheela? Does Sathyan sacrifice his wife for her true love? Is Kottarakara punished for his sins? Watch the movie to get answers for all your questions.

My Rating-4/5.