Ekk Deewana Tha movie review

Gautham Vasudev Menon brings his much acclaimed 'Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya (VTV)' to Hindi with two fresh actors - Prateik and Amy Jackson. The support actors have also matched well with the original cast. The setting of the movie has been changed for nativity sake, obviously.

The girl Jessie is a 23 yrs old Malayalee Christian while the guy Sachin is a 22 yrs old unemployed Mumbaikar. He wants to become a film maker and he falls in love at first sight with the alluring and uber sexy Jessie. Sachin befriends Anay, a cameraman and he is his mentor both in the film world and also his buddy in love matters.

Jessie is a very confused girl who isn't decisive about falling in love due to fear of troubles and parental opposition. There is indeed a lot of opposition from her parents, her brother and her own fickle nature.

In the end, Sachin makes his dreams come true by making his debut film about his own life and also accidentally manages to meet Jessie and nails his love affair for good. The magical pair unites in the end much to the delight of the viewer.

Review

• The dialogs are really on the mark and send the meager crowd into raptures on many an occasion. 
• The feeling and emotions in the original version are almost there in this version too. A job well done. 
• The way The Taj has been used in the place of the US (in VTV) is magical and adds to the involvement quotient of the climax.
• Amy Jackson is alluring. Kudos to the Brit for shining in her Hindi debut, the same way as she did in her Tamil debut. Her lip sync is admirable. Prateik is youthful, earnest and fits the role to the T. Good casting. Manu Rishi plays the cameraman to perfection. He is a competent replacement for VTV Ganesh. He is THE entertainer of the movie, by a mile. The bald Kerala uncle is a laugh riot too, with his broken Hindi. 
• The technical finesse of VTV is there in Ekk Deewana Tha too. Gautham doesn't compromise on this, one bit. 
• The climax is different from the Tamil version and is a happy ending. A feel good one, that is quite apt for the hero's efforts and heartbreak. 
• Some intense portions that were there in the Tamil version like the chat between the lovers in the backwaters of Kerala, the extended coffee shop argument etc etc. aren't there here.

VERDICT

A worthy remake that sadly hasn't struck the right chord. Do catch it before it's out of the theaters ... 

Nadunisi Naaygal (2011)

Whats it about:
The entire movie is in flashback mode narrated by a mental criminal Veera aka Samar. Samar, a young 8 yr old boy is subjected to sexual abuse by his father and his group of friends at their Bombay home. By the age of 13, he gets fed up and takes refuge at his neighbor Meenakshi's home.Meenakshi notices the shocking happenings at Samar's home and informs the police and also adopts Samar.
          Samar rechristened as Veera grows up in Meenakshi's home and by teenage starts developing feelings for his guardian. They make love on one fateful night and Samar also brutally wrecks Meenakshi's new marriage life by killing her husband and also causing a major fire ...
          Samar becomes a psycho due to his disturbed childhood, moves to Chennai, stalks girls online, kidnaps girls, brutally murders them, chops off their hair and renews his contacts with his school sweetheart Sukanya. All along we also see Meenakshi amma in a gory burnt up look living along with Samar in their Chennai farmhouse.
          As Samar is about to finish off Sukanya after a major struggle, the police get closer on his trail and we also get to know the truth behind Samar's wild instincts.  It is a combination of multiple personality disorder and hallucination. One SHOCKER indeed ...

                                                                        

Hits

• All the ingredients of a thriller are spot on. Terrific sound effects, rottweiler dogs, eerie lighting, class cinematography ... aesthetic sense written all over this Gautham product. 
• What a shocking genre bender from Gautham who usually is a director for the entire family.
• Terrific debut by Veera. Such a tough role as Veera-Samar-Meenakshi amma rolled into one ... Commendable 'Psycho' show
• Sameera as the traumatized Sukanya is adequate.
• The woman who acts as Meenakshi has a major role. Initially the caring mother like woman, later the gory burnt up avenger image ... Scary make up ... 
• The twist in the tale actually makes this product top notch and really international class. 
• A different message about male sexual abuse rather than the clichéd female sexual abuse. 

VERDICT

Just when you start thinking that Gautham is going overboard with the psycho acts performed by Samar and Meenakshi amma, he gives us a terrific shock that hits us like a bolt. A worthy tribute to all the hallucination and multiple personality based Holly classics ... DON'T MISS IT ...