Lubber Pandhu

Gethu, a renowned batter in a village gets involved in an ego clash with Anbu, guest player from one of his opposition team. What happens when the clash breaks the boundaries of the field?

Initially, director Tamilarasan narrates individual stories of both the key characters. We get to see Gethu smashing bowlers across tournaments with ease and swag. In parallel, we get to see hype build around protagonist Anbu as well. Tamilarasan makes sure that the hype around the contest really pays off in the match portions.

Initially, the romantic portions in structurally follows the template of some romantic dramas where hero gets a buildup, heroine loves him without wasting much time and the core conflict is that hero and Heroine’s father won’t be in good terms. Writer smartly infuses cricket to inflame the conflict. For instance: banter between the team supporters , usage of Mankading rule and the reaction of Gethu. Execution of the key revelation is so subtly done, thanks to the measured reactions of both the characters.

Though I never expected the plot point like the one of ‘Blue Star’ movie, those portions were handled really well .The most satisfying portion in the movie was the climax. It was a wise decision to remove the usual hero winning over the opponent climax like we have seen in multiple sports dramas. It is all about the hero making sure that no one else should suffer like him. Writer made sure that other teammates do get their relevance in the match portions. For instance: Kaali Venkat’s daughter character and a character named modern Malinga. They scores really well when relevant. Writer made sure to highlight his politics in certain scenes. Final match was so gripping even if we have an idea regarding the result. Special mention to the hilarious commentary punchlines.

Background score helped the narration to handle the energy ups and downs during match and initially created the ambience giving an intimation that there is something gonna happen between the 2 key characters. Sound of the ball striking was captured superbly. Cuts could have been better, especially with the romantic subplot. Usage of retro songs were apt too.

Though Attakathi Dinesh had to become that rough and tough Gethu, I really loved the emotional side of his character. For instance: Conversation scenes with his daughter and the scene where he smells the food prepared by his wife. Swasika shines in few mass scenes and little moments with her family members. Bala saravanan scored well with banter and comic one liners .Harish Kalyan added authenticity to the transformation of Anbu who slowly tries to shed up his ego and accepts his mistake.

Lubber Pandhu shows how cricket makes different people root for a common cause and forget the world around them. Recommended for the unusual climax and cricketing moments.

Watch link: https://www.hotstar.com/in/movies/lubber-pandhu/1271335839?utm_source=gwa

HADINELENTU/ SEVENTEENERS

This movie is based on an intimate video of 2 classmates Deepa and Hari gets leaked out of nowhere and created a huge issue among the students and authorities. But things go out of their control after a point.

There are few other movies depicting issues regarding teenagers (Including OMG2) , what stands out for this movie is the way incidents unfold and the subtlety of court room scenes. Writer Prithvi Konanur shows the core incident from different point of view without villainzing the key characters. Be it the conversation between Deepa and Hari on how the video got leaked, discussion about their future, difference in their financial status or the stress of the college principal. Lack of over-aggressive parents is a good change.

Though viewers don’t get to see the actual video (There is a specific reason for it), Pritvi Konanur succeeded in highlighting the impact of that video on the lives of both the protagonists. He aptly add contributions from different characters to the development of the case and thus maintains the tension regarding the verdict of the case. Cuts were pretty sharp enough to prioritize different conversations and subplots related to the incident. Match cut towards the end was notable. I saw a ‘Part 1’ in the title when I searched about this movie. Movie ends up in note where court hearing begins. Surely waiting to know how the case progresses if they are going ahead for part 2.

In the list of performers, first name to mention for me is Rekha Kudligi as the college principal Seetha. The way she took up the responsibility and handled the situations was commendable.Sherlyn Bhosale’s intense performance added authenticity to the fight and helplessness of Deepa. Neeraj Mathew was fine as the regretting Hari, who mostly maintains his support for Deepa.

If you are still looking for drawbacks, I couldn’t find a major one. This movie is a must watch underrated teen drama with compelling storytelling and mature handling of the subject. It’s disappointing that no OTT platforms picked this movie. I really want to know if the OTT platforms consider credible names or the movie quality as the criteria for these kind of small movies. Hope the politics in the movie reaches to a wider audience.

Watch movie: https://youtu.be/TCcTQmFnlc4?si=UFkCTvUefpzMjHuP

Laapataa Ladies

Deepak, a newly married guy gets into a trouble when he took off from train by grabbing the hand of another woman with viels, by mistake. Can he reach to his wife?

This story is set around early 2000s when usage of mobile phone isn’t common.Kiran rao starts this movie with a train journey where the incident leading to chaos happens.Kiran gives a clear picture of Deepak’s family, where wife never calls the name of the husband. A character mentions like “when man has a decent name, why call him a ji or o ji”. She also mentions to depend on science and not on faith. On the other hand, we get to see the changed life of Deepak’s wife Phool. She started to enjoy the success of hard-earned money. Though it takes bit of cinematic liberty, police investigation narration in parallel too helps the viewers to stay engaged. Kiran smartly used humour sporadically in the movie. (Political leader speech scene was an unexpected one).

Background score gave an important contribution in maintaining the mood of the movie. Cuts were pretty fine as there weren’t much unnecessarily added sequences while shifting the narration across the pivotal character.
The key 2 names to mention in the list of performances should be the actresses who played roles of Phool and Pushpa. Nitanshi had the naivety of Phool and the way she reacted in the initial portions showed her maturity as an actress. Pratibha was convincing as educated and confident woman with a clear vision. Special mention to the actor who played role of cop. Sparsh srivatsav conveyed the guilt of his character, along with the frustration of people judging his ability because of a mistake.

Laapataa Ladies is a delightful social drama that discusses a thoughtworthy subject with the apt placement of light humour and a strong backdrop. A good example on how to make women centric stories without bashing men. Surely deserved to reach more big screens.

Watch link: https://www.netflix.com/in/title/81760391?preventIntent=true

Anveshipin Kandethum

Anveshipin kandethum is a whodunit police procedural thriller set around events in 80s and investigation in 90s. Can our rookie protagonist Anand narayanan solve the cases with limited support from senior officials and villagers?

Darwin Kuraikose gets into crime incident without much intro. There is no scene to show the smartness of the protagonist. Audience get to see his prowess and determination throughout the investigation. Just like some of the whodunit thrillers, writer puts forward few suspects in front of the audience and keeps the viewer guessing till the final twist got revealed. It’s the gripping narration of Darwin Kuraikose that helps the tightly written screenplay to help viewers to keep engaged, despite few hiccups. Placing incident around 80s eliminates the possibility of CCTV and over-reliance on digital evidences.

Production design team deserve credit for recreating the time period (Mainly Bus, police jeep, houses). Though bit loud initially, Santhosh Narayanan’s score added the required tension for the narration (Especially Bamboo beats). Cuts ensured the adequate pace for the movie and mostly importantly remove unnecessary violence, usually seen in such movies.

Tovino was cool as the cool-headed rookie cop. Sadiq is another notable performer in the ensemble cast. Though others including Kottayam Nazeer, Madhupal and Shammi thilakan did well, there was hardly much screen space for them.

Still I won’t call this movie as must big screen watch because of few reasons. Convenient writing is evident in few scenes (Especially regarding the convict of 1st case). Also, It felt like some of the characters (Mainly Azeez nedumangad and Indrans) were speaking printed language. Baburaj’s character transforming to comic character (Similar to his various other comic characters) after all the build up, felt like misfire.
Verdict: Worth a watch mainly because of realistic and solid narration.

Rewind 2023: The most underrated movies of 2023

It’s that time of the year to rewind and look back at some of the movies from various languages that got very little attention than they actually deserved. I couldn’t include certain movies that aren’t available on any OTT platforms till the end of the year. (For instance: Joram, O. Baby, 19.20.21, Baakki vannavar, Goldfish etc.. ). Note that the list contains movies that I haven’t discussed in detail in previous posts. From my previous posts, Viduthalai part 1, 1001 nunakal, Burqa, Daredevil Musthafa and Kida will surely find their names in the list. So, let’s get started with the list:

NB: Expand the movie title to read more

Haami 2 (Bengali – SonyLiv)

Haami 2 is a breezy light hearted drama that talks about parenting and asks the relevant question: Is there any need to project children as prodigy to earn money and thus push them to big stage pressure so early?. This movie conveys the message through the conflicts of other characters including protagonist Siddharth’s brother character and his fellow competitor in reality show.

Toby (Kannada -SonyLiv)

Character development is the most important part in a character driven drama and that’s where this movie sets up the standard. This movie explores many challenges that Toby faces, right from his childhood. Raj B Shetty’s menacing and career best show uplifts this revenge saga to next level. (Unfortunately, searching for a perfect time window to watch his different avatar in Swathi Mutthina Male Haniye, after its Prime video release).

Shiv Shastri Balboa (Hindi- Prime Video)

This feel-good slice of life drama works well mainly because of way, the 2 pivotal characters were shaped: Shiv sasthri, an ardent fan of Rocky Balboa movie and Elsa, a housekeeper who joins Shiv sasthri in a journey. Placement of few humour scenes and punch dialogues add to the merit of the movie.

Farhana (Tamil-SonyLiv)

Farhana traverses through the financial crisis of an orthodox Muslim family and how a call center job changes the life of the protagonist. Gradual narrative tone shift from emotional drama to a cat-and-mouse thriller and Aishwarya Rajesh’s anchoring performance makes this movie a compelling watch.

Kousalya Supraja Rama (Kannada -Prime video)

Many movies have explored the hardships of mother, especially in handling household activities. But this movie focuses more on the unconditional care of protagonist Ram’s mother even when she gets very minimal support in return and made the audience understand her character through others’ pov. Team deserve credit for delivering relevant emotional movie without entering melodrama phase.

Special mention

Koozhangal (Tamil- SonyLiv)

The only reason to keep Koozhangal in the special mention list is because its festival premiere started around 2 years ago. Otherwise, PS Vinoth Raj’s style of slowly and subtly building conflict around the Father and son is nothing short of a stellar master class.

800 (Tamil -JioCinema/Prime Video)

800 is a sincere attempt in showing different phases of the rough sea kind of the life of the SriLankan legend Muthiah Muralidharan. Right blend of Sinhalese-Tamil politics, rivalry and controversies around him makes this movie a genuine biopic.

Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway(Hindi- Netflix)

This movie is rooted on the struggle and lone fight for justice of a common woman against a system. Rani Mukherjee’s intense performance and some of the important dialogues in courtroom scenes are the major factors that helped viewers to connect with the protagonist and understand her conflict.

Kida

In a large pool of OTT releases, it is tough to unearth hidden gems, that too when release is on a comparatively lesser followed platform like Aha Tamil. This post is to list out different reasons to recommend Tamil movie Kida.

Premise: Chellaiah, an old man had to sell a goat , Karuppu (Which is favourite to his Grandson Kathir) to fulfill his Grandson’s wish of an expensive dress for Diwali. But things went against his plan.

Script and making: Writer Ra venkat knew that premise is more on the relatable side and nothing much fresh. Kida works mainly because of the way he added subplots. 3 subplots include the one involving Kaali Venkat’s drunken butcher characterVelachaami, a thug gang ready to steal anything and a couple ready to elope. The main similarity between Chellaiah and Velachaami is the way society looked up on them. Velachaami had to decide to part away from a shop due to ego clash with owner’s son. Chellaiah was judged based on his financial status. Both of them had something to prove.

Performances: Late Poo ram and Kaali Venkat are the pick of the seasoned actors.Late Poo ram delivered an outstanding performance in conveying the despair and helplessness of the character. Special mention for the scene where he shouted at his grandson. Another notable performance was that of Pandiyammal (Grandma role). Though scope of performance was less, I would like to specify a scene where she walks from a house with satisfaction. Though Master Deepan (Kathir) had amateurishness in his performance in the beginning (Very few close up shots I remember), it became a bit better in the pivotal scenes as the movie progressed.

Other technical side: Background score did a really good job in conveying the emotions in the journey of Chellaiah and Kathir. Credits to the editor for blending the subplots well enough to help viewers connect with the situations and bringing in humour scenes without overdoing it. Dialogues too

Any Drawbacks?: Predictability towards the end and the eloping subplot not adding anything significant to the narrative.

Summary and Final Verdict: This simplistic emotional drama is heart warming because of its genuine and grounded narration. This movie may not be an unforgettable experience, but will give happiness and satisfaction.

Prime video watch link: https://www.primevideo.com/dp/amzn1.dv.gti.41f8435c-2458-4c56-a5cb-8b7c826f23ff?autoplay=0&ref_=atv_cf_strg_wb

Saptha Sagaradaache Ello

Manu, driver of a politician decides to takes a risk to save the face of his boss, against the likes of his fiancee , Priya who is a singer. How that decision changed his life ? Watch this movie to get better idea.

Hemanth Rao sets the plot around 2010. Movie progresses with the couple searching to build a home near seashore to get settled after marriage. Hemanth takes the initial time before getting into the key incident because he know that the subplot is very key for the protagonist to take a risky decision.

The main difference between this movie and many of the other romantic movies is the mutual understanding between the 2 lead characters. Even when heroine shows frustration for taking wrong decision, she understands the situation of the protagonist and tries to support him without blaming him. On the other hand, he too understands her efforts of getting him out of the trouble and at a point advices not to spoil her talent for him. Hemanth also adds few supporting characters to show the dark life in jail where a person gets brutally harrassed and some shares their life experience with him.

Background score had a crucial impact in maintaining the terrorizing atmosphere inside jail and building some kind of hope within the couple. Cuts were on and off mostly . Some portions could have been avoided. Some portions were cut smartly. For instance: A portion where heroine stands in a Terrace and then cut to another location.

Coming to the performance, Rakshit shetty puts up a compelling performance in portraying the helpless nature of common man who got trapped unexpectedly and is unable to react in certain situations .Heroine too emoted really well in conversation scenes and breakdown portion towards the end. Special mention to Ramesh Indira for his menacing villain performance.

Coming to the drawback, Hemanth gave more focus on the relationship between the couples and left out the investigation part of the key incident where possibly protagonist could have a possibility of proving innocent. There wasn’t a valid justification why Achyut kumar’s character decided not to support protagonist character after a point. Part B may give better clarification. Also, I’m not big fan of the rap music added in certain portions.

I opted to watch the movie mainly because of the director Hemanth rao who directed the brilliant thriller movie Kavaludaari. For me,the wait for part B is on mainly because of the chemistry of the couples and genuine emotions that worked well in side A.

Verdict: Another impressive attempt in kannada cinema after Hostel Hudugaru Bekkagidare.

1001 Nunakal

As the name suggests, this movie, set around Dubai revolves around a group of friends starting to get into a task or game where they begin to share something they have hidden from their partners over the years. What happens when situation goes wrong?

The premise may seem similar to that of recent malayalam movie 12th man. But 12th man had more hurried approach. But here, there is a valid reason why these friends get together and starts to play the game. Initially, writer shows us the minor conflicts between two of the couples.

Later, writer organically gets into the the truth of a couple story that then led to the beginning of the game and helps the viewers to draw line between truth and lie within the couples.
The main positive of this movie is the different ways of approaching the game. There is a character who cooks up story for the game. Some revelations went away without any impact. But slowly as the game continues, conversation gets heated up. Making was good enough to capture the intensity of pain of the characters. Though some of the key plot points were predictable, Director deserve credits to keep the viewers engaged till the closure using the diverse kind of characters. Kudos to Salim Ahmed for backing the team.

Though minimally used, background score had the intensity in some of the crucial scenes. For instance: Scene showing the regret of Remya suresh’s character and the tension building in portions around a missing valuable property. There is a dialogue that Vakeel character says about Marriage and divorce (He views it like he is just helping passengers in a bus to get into another bus when one breaks down). Dialogues like that sums up the mindset of the characters. There is a character who shares the opinion that there is no need to accept blame unnecessarily for the family .

Cuts were pretty fine enough to limit the scope of every story without unnecessary exaggeration. Performance wise, Remya suresh got a short but well written character and her portrayal of pain of breaking the trust of other characters was worth mentioning. Sudheesh scaria was enjoyable as the Advocate who managed the discussion as referee. Others too fit into their respective roles.

Apart from the occasional predictability, restricted location setting becomes a key concern for the movie that takes away the x-factor. The whole story is set around a single house and its surrounding.
1001 nunakal is an emotional relationship drama that works mainly because of the relatable and effective portrayal of the scenarios within different couples where truth turns out to be lies and vice versa.

Watch link: https://www.sonyliv.com/movies/aayirathonnu-nunakal-malayalam-1000232331

Do Gubbare

Do Gubbare revolves around Rohan, an IT guy who shifts from Indore to Pune and how he creates a strong bond with his colleagues and Ajoba, the landlord of the house where he stays.

Writer pretty much knows that this story doesn’t contain much surprise or twist in it. So, he focused more on building relatable characters (Though the count is less) and making memorable scenes. For instance: Radha who is less of a maid and more of a family member, Coimbatore based colleague, Kid who loves fish, Friend character or the ever energetic old man character Ajoba. Even viewers could recollect the moments involving the tea shop owner.

Initially, we see Ajoba as a bit of a strict landlord. Director Varun takes us through how Ajoba helps Rohit in exploring the unknown place. Varun also manages to succeed in merging the subplots to the core plot. The way of portraying the final surprise through the reactions of every character really shows the quality of the director.
Dialogues were very important in the initial set up of the plot and thus further convey the intensity of situations. In a scene when Rohit asks regarding Ajoba’s friendship, Ajoba says ‘I don’t know the number of years of our friendship. It was strong enough to forget to count’. Background score gave the pleasant feel throughout the episodes. Score helps the narration in conveying the pain within Ajoba when he starts telling about his past.

Radha’s character had the fun element in her dialogues and the jovial performance of the actress made sure that her scenes were enjoyable and spread the charisma to the viewers also. Actor who did the role of Ajoba really carries the energy of the character. He gives a standout performance in the emotional breakdown scenes as well. It is delight to watch Rohit, especially in combinational scenes with Ajoba. Actor who played that role too deserve the credit.

The 5th episode had a very key conflict where Ajoba’s family members plan to stay with him permanently and how Rohit handles it. Writers seemed to miss the opportunity in building the conflict. That episode felt more like it stretched too far unlike the other episodes.
Apart from the dull moments in the fifth episode and the predictability, Do Gubbare is a simple heartwarming tale of bonding between 2 individuals in different generations.

Watch link: https://www.jiocinema.com/tv-shows/do-gubbare/3784534

Kerala crime files

Kerala crime files follow a team of cops trying to look for a Shiju, accused of a murder in a lodge. Can they find him, just with a fake address? Watch this compelling series to know that.
The most important merit of the series is that the only hope for the team is a fake address that they have. After a point of time, that address itself becomes somewhat like joke.

Director Ahmed Khabeer is not at all in hurry to reach the crime scene quickly. He initially takes us through Sharath, a receptionist in a lodge who eventually becomes the sole eye witness and then only shows the investigation part.

Writer knows the limitation of not having much surprise moments, but still manages to add the required subplots to engage the viewers. Though the investigation continues around 2011, writer smartly limits the possibility of CCTV and mostly takes the usual straightforward path. Director complements it with a narration style compelling enough to look forward for the next episodes. Unlike few other thriller movies, build up given by other characters for villain is also minimal.
Family emotions of the cops were portrayed really well. For instance: Wait for a baby for Navas’ character, Separation of Lal’s character and limited family time of Aju’s character. Humour also worked well for the most part.

Special mention to the dialogues for delivering the message regarding the difference that society shows towards a section of people and how pressure from top differs for them and a person with celebrity status. Cuts were pretty sharp enough to combine the important sub plots effectively and avoid unnecessary template conversation scenes, especially towards the end. Hesham’s background score plays an important role in highlighting the key moments and maintaining tension in the interrogation scenes. Special mention to gripping visuals as well.
Aju Varghese puts up a brilliant performance as Manoj, who was the most desperate to catch Shiju in the cat and mouse game. Compared to the actor’s caliber, Lal had nothing much to do other than giving order and yelling at the team. Navas did his job well in portraying the conflict of completing the case and taking leave for his wife’s pregnancy. Karikku fame, Zhinz shan too did notable performance as the most experienced member of the team.

The main Drawback was that subplot involving Devaki Rajendran’s character Lathika and a union member wasn’t that necessary to the narration. That should have been shortened. Writer forgot to explore more on the antagonist character. There is a scene where Aju’s character Manoj asks his Father-in-law regarding the problems faced by a cross-eyed person. I expected that kind of a story to explain the strange behavior of Antagonist. But those portions felt bit rushed towards the end.

Nevertheless, Kerala crime files is a good start to Malayalam web series on Hotstar. This series is a perfect example that impressive whodunit thriller can be made without frequent twists and turns. Waiting for next case in the next season.

Watch link: https://www.hotstar.com/in/tv/kerala-crime-files-shiju-parayil-veedu-neendakara/1260141610?utm_source=gwa