It feels wrong to say that! The Hindi remake is always supposed to be the watered down less good version of the non-Hindi original. But watching this movie, I found myself missing the slight changes the put in to make it work better for the Hindi industry.
I got this DVD from Netflix and watched it a while back, and much of it went over my head. But what I could appreciate was the cool things it was doing with story structure and visuals. So that at least I can talk about!
I watched this movie months and months ago when it first arrived on American Netflix, but that was before I was blogging seriously so I didn’t pay very close attention. I wanted to watch it again, now that the remake will be releasing soon (January 13th), and think about how this film could possibly be remade.
I LOVED this movie! This is going to be my new happy making comfort food film every time I get down. Everyone is happy and good and does good happy things and has good happy things happen to them. And even if something bad does happen, not to worry! You’ll just get another chance in your next life!
I saw Nadhiya before in Mirchi, and was stunned by how the “mother” actress was so much more beautiful and interesting than the love interests. That is even more true in this film, to the point that it is almost acknowledged in the script, that Pawan Kalyan was more interested in bringing his aunt home, than in spending time with her daughter who he professed to be in love with.
As you may have picked up from my Aval Shanmughi and Ambe Sivam posts, I have a hard time with Kamal Haasan. Yes, he is a brilliant actor. Yes, he has movie star charisma. But it just seems like his characters have to be so perfect and so wonderful, that no one else is allowed to do anything. But this Kamal Haasan movie, this one I liked!
This was such a good movie. SUCH A GOOD MOVIE!!! All these cool concepts and visuals and ideas! Really, the only flaw was that there were too many good ideas, it was kind of overwhelming.
Another Mahesh Babu movie! An odd one, half comedy and half cop thriller. And sometimes comedy and cop thriller all mixed up together.
I saw Billa! Finally! After having it loaned to me months and months ago, the DVD just sitting there, taunting me and making me feel guilty for not watching it.
After watching Kabali, I had the director’s earlier films recommended to me, Attakathi and Madras (tell me in the comments if there is anything else he did that I am missing and should watch). Anyway, Attakathi was easier to find, so I watched that one first.
This is one of those silly stupid fun movies that had a couple of moments that made me go “wait, am I imagining a hidden message here, or is it actually here?” So I am going to need your help in the comments to figure this out!
I loved this movie! So sweet and funny and tender. And then, right at the end, it pulled out a message that really packed a wallop and made me go “yes! That is why these movies are important!” Not just because of the lovers at the center, but because of everyone else around the edges.
If you live in America, Rudhramadevi just made it to Netflix, and you should definitely watch it! It’s like Bahubaali, but with a feminist message and really really bad CGI. But I like the message so much, I can look past the CGI.
I saw Wanted, oh, maybe 4 years ago? Long after it came out, I think after I saw Dabangg, and got curious about the beginning of Salman’s new action era. Anyway, it was fine, I hated Salman’s hair, but otherwise it didn’t feel like anything special to me. Unlike Pokiri, which I watched after reading moviemavengal’s review, and which was WONDERFUL!!! I don’t know how they managed to mess it up, but all most of the stuff that felt interesting and unusual to me in this one just went away in the remake.
I heard about Eega right when it first came out, and I thought “how can this possibly be a hit? Not only is it kind of illogical on the face of it, it’s also super sad!” And then I watched it, and it totally works!
I saw Kabali! It was SO GOOD! Okay, the second half lost track of itself a little bit, and there were some character bits that could have been better, but overall it just had so much more depth and excitement and energy than the other movies I have seen lately!
This was such a cute movie! Everyone was just so nice to each other and supportive and not mean. Even all the family dynamics that in another movie would be the source of much drama and trauma were just kind of laughed off. By the movie, but also by the characters. No lingering resentments or quest for vengeance, just a sort of “well, that’s how they are and that’s fine.” kind of attitude.
Moviemavengal recommended this to me (you can read her review here), and I am so glad she did! Super awesome strange Rajamouli movie in the way only he can be (STILL haven’t seen Eega! I really need to get on that), but with a message that, oddly, reminded me of a British WWII classic.
I was just searching through my email for something else, and I ran across the many many many things I had to say after I watched Mirchi for the first time last year. Mirchi was my first “real” Telugu movie, not counting Bahubaali. And I loved it, and it also inspired many many thoughts in my head. So, since it is a lazy summer weekend, I am going to be lazy and just copy my emails, and split my thoughts into 2 posts over today and tomorrow.
I was watching this movie so closely! So closely! I know the drill with Ratnam films, he just drops in these little bits and then moves on so you can’t look away for a second. And yet, I was still completely lost. But I don’t think it’s my fault! Or at least, not my fault because I wasn’t watching closely enough, but because I didn’t have the expected background.
I saw Varsham! The same day as Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, which was weird since they are very different movies who share an actress playing two very different heroines. But I think I liked Varsham better. At least, “liked” as in “willing to rewatch it multiple times and happy while viewing it.” Not so much “liked” as in “thought it was actual a deep and rewarding film with multiple layers and messages.” Continue reading
Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa was one of the few non-Ratman Tamil movies recommended to me and, more importantly, was available through my library, so I watched it last weekend. And then the first song started and I went “Hey! I know this soundtrack!” Ever since Ekk Deewana Tha started being promoted 4 years ago, I have listened to the Ekk Deewana Tha/Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya/Ye Maaye Chaseve at least once a week, if not once a day. It is really really good. So that was an odd point of familiarity/unfamiliarity from which to start.
As a reward for letting Mani Ratnam make me cry again, I picked out a Telugu film that was recommended to me, and was available for free on youtube with subtitles. It did NOT make me cry, but it did make me go “wait, what’s happening now?” a lot.
I’m working through my list, and I just watched my second Ratnam movie of the week. It’s not even on purpose! I’m just looking at the films that are easily available/generally recommended. This one in particular apparently went to a bunch of international film festivals? The end result being, it is easily available from my library, and on a bunch of streaming websites. I mean, it’s also a really really good movie, but the reason I picked it to watch next was based purely on convenience.
dontcallitbollywood 