Table No. 21 movie review

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2.5 / 5

A young couple, Vivaan and Siya, land up in exotic Fiji, coinciding with their 5th wedding anniversary. It is a dream-like beginning to their trip before a mystery man, Mr.Khan, enters the scene and takes them into a fantasy game by the name 'Table No.21' which is apparently seen by millions of viewers through the net.

The game involves many questions, tasks and it takes the couple through a real roller-coaster ride as some of the tasks seem to be really bizarre and psychotic. They have to test their guts and morals as each task gets progressively tougher. The couple somehow manages to reach the final round when everything begins to make sense. It's not just a mere fantasy game as each task has a particular meaning and reason to it. The couple makes it this far only due to their real thirst, lust for money and the high-life.

Vivaan's doubt in the beginning that this is not a mere game is proved in the end as Mr.Khan's tests and tasks make perfect sense. The movie really changes track in the end, from being a mere psychotic sadistic trip to being a really impactful and powerful movie.

• Rajeev Khandelwal plays another role similar to Aamir, where he is constantly under the gun and under heavy duress. But here, he isn't merely the victim. The guy pulls off the role with ease. Tena Desae is hot to the core and her bikini scene reveals her enviable curves in all their glory. It is really weird to see her without any hair in one small portion of the movie. Paresh Rawal's caliber and choice of roles are substantiated again with this movie. His unique bald hairstyle is another highlight of the movie.
• The movie just has two songs with both of them being hum-worthy. The Fijian locations are marvelous. 
• The powerful message about ragging is actually 'out of the blue' in the end. This aspect of the movie comes to light a bit too late but nevertheless a nice ending. They could have promoted the movie more on this aspect rather than being just a movie based on a dangerous game. Dhruv Ganesh shines in the flashback portions towards the end and wins our sympathy. 

VERDICT: Interesting, has hot commercial elements and a powerful message in the end 'out of the blue'

Sundattam movie review

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1.75 / 5
Sundattam is a movie set in North Madras and the period portrayed is the 1990s, a time dominated by Rajinikanth and his Rasigar Mandrams. Carrom is a core ingredient of the movie and that is a definite pat on the back for the team. We also have the hero's instant love with his sister's friend, the opposition from her brother, his bromance with his area buddies and a gang war between two prominent gangs in the area.

The vendetta induced in a drug addicted carrom champion by the hero's own carrom expertise is the main aspect of the movie though.

A better hero, than Irfan, could have made the very same movie a commercially viable venture too. Irfan lacks screen presence and his earnest efforts can do only that much. The heroine Arundhati is tall, pretty and adequate. The songs by Britto are the main highlight of the movie with Adi Unnale, Narumagaye, the gaana song among a really likable soundtrack.

But the movie has too many cliched North Madras elements like ugly bearded males, gangsters, violence, drugs, smoking and alcohol. We have already seen this in movies like Polladhavan and Pudhupettai. In fact Irfan tries to do a Dhanush act in many places in the movie, with his boy-next-door demeanor. And the shots of drug usage by the villain are quite a lot.

But the look and feel of the 90s has been brought out very well by the production team. The props used, the vehicles, the hairstyles in vogue etc. have all come out authentically on screen.

And more importance could have been given to the hero's carrom skills which are highly spoken about but rarely shown properly. Mostly only long shots are used when Irfan is playing. And the love story and gangster elements are something we have seen in many movies before. But the carrom aspect definitely gives the movie some extra brownie points. And what is it with today's directors and tragic endings. Did Brahma G. Dev run out of ideas on how to end his film?

On the whole it's not a bad film at all and you won't complain if you catch this film on a weekend on TV. But it doesn't have any major draws to attract the audience to the cinema hall.

Mathil Mel Poonai review

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1 / 5

Films which have a non-linear narrative structure and those which have more than a single story as part of the proceedings are generally interesting as we are automatically inquisitive to know whether the stories have anything in common. That point when the two stories converge is highly anticipated.

Here, we are told at the beginning that Mathil Mel Poonai is based on real life incidents. Two stories are shown in the first half – one shows a bunch of school kids who are roguish and utterly violent in their modus operandi and the other is a typical filmy love story between a beautiful girl and her driving instructor. How the two tracks converge is the interesting part of the movie which is around the interval segment of the movie.

It is actually disturbing to see small kids indulge in such violence in the first half. The director actually shocks you in the segments before the interval when the main kid by the name Johnny goes on a mad manic spree and results in a bloodbath.

Just as we expect something interesting in the second half after the interesting way in which the intermission is set up, the second half that follows is one which is mind-numbingly violent. The proceedings happen in a hilly area for the majority of this part before an inexplicable shift in terrain in the climax. How did the experienced editor duo Praveen – Srikanth miss such an abrupt transition just when we expect the movie to head towards its resolution?

Though the first half has an interesting narrative structure, the two stories if analyzed on a standalone basis are equally clichéd. The kids’ antics remind you of other movies such as Pasanga, Kalla Thuppakki to name a few. But here it is really violent and the actual reason why the kids are so fierce isn’t properly established, more than the customary blame being put on their upbringing by parents and teachers. We have a fat kid in the group as is the unwritten rule, and we have the expected farting jokes and trumpet sounds accompanying his actions.

The romance between Vijay Vasanth and Vibha has nothing new in it either and you start wondering why romance is so dumb in most of our movies. It’s a severe test of Vijay Vasanth’s capabilities as a solo hero and the sudden heroic change in his character graph towards the end is jarring. Is Vijay Vasanth better off being one among a bunch of boys, as we have seen him in movies like Chennai 600028?

The boy who has acted as Johnny really brings on the manic rage in his expressions and body language and the kid is bound to go places. The other Brahmin kid who is at the receiving end of all the violence and abuse wins your sympathy. Karthik as the elder Johnny tries to carry forward the same hyper mannerisms and rage and he succeeds partially.

Vibha Natarajan is pretty and she has been put through a strenuous physical experience in the second half. Even early in the movie the director shows that she can run pretty well and she has to do the same for majority of the second half. Towards the end she gets to indulge in some violence of her own and she even puts on a heroic visage as she spits out blood in one of the scenes. The bankable Thambi Ramiah’s clichéd comedy portions in the school portion fall flat.

Ganesh Raghavendra’s songs are pretty likable but the background music has been done in a really loud and amateurish manner. Tunes from popular movies like Kadhalir Dhinam, Pudhupettai and Nadodigal, to name a few have been used really inappropriately at places.

On the whole, the director Bharani Jayapal’s basic idea of portraying the extent to which kids can go, if they aren’t brought up in a proper way by their parents and teachers, is laudable. But we wonder if kids can go to such violent extremes just because of a few incidents which make a mockery of their self-esteem.

VERDICT: Mind-numbingly violent and farfetched.

Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Returns review

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2.5 / 5

Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Returns takes off from where the first part left off in 2011. Saheb Aditya Prathap Singh (Jimmy Sheirgill) is wheelchair bound and he has a growing number of enemies who are out to further compromise his already reducing power and influence as a king in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Politicians are out to split the state which will further push Saheb down in the power stakes. Even in his own clan, there are people who wish to see his downfall.

His wife Madhavi (Mahie Gill) is now a politician but her addiction to alcohol continues unabated as Saheb doesn’t pay much heed to her and instead sets his eyes on Ranjana (Soha Ali Khan). Sahib wishes to marry Ranjana and is prepared to go to any extent for her sake. We also have the gangster element provided by Indrajeet Singh (Irrfan Khan) who has a really old score to settle with Saheb and is also in love with Ranjana.

With so many players and a lot at stake, there is a whole lot of one-upmanship battles and scheming going on. Adultery is also a part of the game. Who survives this intense battle between human minds and hearts? Catch the flick to find out.

The film moves along at a slow clip but there is a certain tension and grip in the proceedings for sure. Mahie Gill continues being the unconventional heroine who isn’t averse to drinking and indulging in other immoral acts on screen. Jimmy Sheirgill, though wheelchair bound, is majestic and puts his gestures and voice to great use. Jimmy continues to grow in stature in film after film.

The ever dependable Irrfan Khan has another of those cunning and spiteful roles which he pulls off with ease. The baby-like Soha Ali Khan is the ice element among all the fire around and her role gains in significance towards the end. Raj Babbar as Soha’s father is also among the characters who wish to see Saheb’s fall. Mugdha Ghodse appears in an item number and her plastic expressions take the fun away from the number. And Pravesh Rana as Irrfan’s younger cop brother seems to be a promising find indeed.

There are just a few songs in the movie and Sandeep Chowta’s background music is apt for the drama that unfolds on screen. Yogesh Jani’s cinematography is functional and captures the rustic setting well.

To sum up, director Tigmanshu Dhulia is becoming an expert at crafting dramas involving characters who have shades of grey in their psyche and this one is another proof of his abilities. But since we already know what to expect thanks to the first movie, the second one doesn’t have any major spike as the template is followed consistently. Still, it is a pretty taut affair.

VERDICT: Slow paced but gripping …

The Attacks of 26/11 review

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2.5 / 5

The erratic yet legendary Ram Gopal Varma aka RGV is known for his peculiar choice of movies with flicks set around the underworld being a pet subject matter of his. He is one of those directors who can never be ignored given the love-hate relationship that fans share with him. And for his latest, he has taken a subject matter which immediately grabs our attention – the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai in 2008, one which rocked the entire nation and posed a severe test on the nation’s security capabilities.

It looks like RGV might have wanted us to experience the severity of the attacks and that’s why probably he has shown the incidents in such gruesome detail. The entire first half is dedicated to the horrific events that transpired from the moment, a group of 10 Pakistani terrorists from Karachi enter Mumbai through the shores. The shootouts at Leopold Café, at the CST station and the Cama hospital are tough to take even for the strong hearted among the audience. Beyond a point when the film moves to its halfway point, we even start wondering why the director is subjecting his audience to such horror of a bloody kind.

After the interval, Nana Patekar (playing Joint Commissioner Rakesh Maria) takes over and lords over the film, particularly in the scene in the morgue with Kasab. The dialogues play to popular mass sentiment in this segment and earn the hoots and whistles from the crowd. Early in the movie, one tends to feel that Nana is too restrained and slow in his dialog delivery in chaste Hindi. But the lion in him comes out of its den towards the end. He even uses some expletives to the desired effect and sends us into a tizzy.

The segment when Kasab is captured has also been shown in a gripping manner and so are the scenes when Kasab is interrogated by Rakesh Maria. We get to know the extent to which Kasab is brain-washed and given a falsified understanding of Islam in the name of Jihad. Nana’s wondrous reactions during this episode are marked. Such scenes show the class that RGV is capable of, even though he has been aided by the performances of Nana and Sanjeev Jaiswal as Kasab. Though the characterization of the terrorists is pretty hollow with just black shades writ all over them, Sanjeev is authentic as the evil incarnate Kasab who realizes his foibles as he is finally hung on 21st November 2012.

Acclaimed actors like Ravi Kale and Atul Kulkarni are mere pawns in the bloodbath that unfolds with Ravi playing a crucial little role in the capture of Kasab.

The movie’s production standards are lofty particularly in the shootout scenes at the CST when loads of junior artistes are packed into the station and shot cold-bloodedly. The director hasn’t spared anyone as right from an old man to small children to even a dog, are shot on screen. The scene before the interval, when a cop struggles to walk around the CST with dead bodies around and blood splattered all over, is hard to forget.

The soundtrack just complements the movie’s flow and even the customary weird camera angles of RGV have been kept at bay.

So, on final analysis, the first half of the movie is a true test of endurance thanks to the horrifying bloodbath that we are presented but the movie makes it up in the second half when good trumps evil. We also feel that RGV could have given more importance to the NSG commandos' work in bringing the situation under control post the capture of Kasab. Rather than focus completely on how Mumbai was rocked by terror, RGV could have also devoted some screen time to how Mumbai and its heroes responded to terror, more than just the shots of their sacrifice.

VERDICT: An utterly disturbing first half is redeemed by the surge of positive sentiment in the second.

Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga music review

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3.25 / 5
My Picks – Sudasuda Thooral, Konjum Kili and Oru Porambokku in that order 

Yuvan Shankar Raja has the knack of picking the numbers that he intends to sing in his album. These numbers generally go on to become chartbusters and Sudasuda Thooral ought to join that list. The song is a fast paced melody which moves you thanks to the earnest vocals of Yuvan, the cool whistle sounds and the elegant guitar presence.

Konjum Kili is an elevating melody rendered by Velmurugan and the basic tune follows from one of Yuvan’s BGM track for Aaranya Kaandam. The song is uplifting thanks to its foot-tapping rhythm and the native string instruments which pepper the song. Velmurugan earns brownie points as well, for his involved rendering.

Oru Porambokku is the new bar anthem for the youth thanks to its cheery mood, the rustic rhythm and the colloquial lyrics. Yuvan and Simbu seem to have enjoyed themselves during this song which also has a distinctive Ennio Morricone style guitar piece.

The poignant Dheivangal Ellam has the majestic Vijay Yesudas in charge. The song talks about paternal love and is totally driven by the lyrics and the vocals. Yuvan has deliberately kept the rhythm of the song low-key and has used some cute synth sounds and chimes to complement the mellow mood of the song.

The racy and rural Ulladha Naan mocks the state of contemporary politics and has an easy charm to it. The nadaswaram interlude sparkles while the rhythm is foot-tapping. Sathyan nails the song with his taunting style of delivery.

VERDICT: Yuvan proves his class and consistency yet again with Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga’s earthy score which is sure to become popular.

I, Me Aur Main movie review

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2.5 / 5

Rom-coms which talk about a self-centered man-child who slowly realizes that life is not just about the self but also about other relationships and commitments, are dime a dozen in Hollywood. Such movies are a sure-shot stress buster and are light on the senses. Hindi cinema has also had its share of such movies with Saif Ali Khan himself playing quite a few characters of that sort, inclusive of the recent Cocktail.

Here it’s John Abraham’s turn to play such a character; that of a hotshot music producer by the name Ishaan who is commitment phobic and doesn’t wish to take the relationship with his girlfriend Anushka (Chitrangada Singh) to the next level. After getting dumped for his selfish nature and after getting some life-lessons from his new bubbly neighbor (Prachi Desai), his sweet mother (Zarina Wahab) and his plain-speaking elder sister (Mini Mathur), Ishaan finally turns over a new leaf.

We are also shown Ishaan’s work as a music producer and how he has to deal with his constantly taunting boss (Raima Sen) and his protégé’s (Sheena Shahabadi) launch.

John Abraham looks smashing and is a good fit for such a rom-com, compared to his other recent appearances in action flicks and mindless comedies. The girls and ladies are sure to drool over this handsome hunk, all over again. Chitrangada Singh is typecast yet again as the urban working woman after the recent Inkaar and she is overshadowed by the fresh and ravishing Prachi Desai who is the highlight of the movie. Prachi, in comparison to her other naive avatars, is more sprightly here and even has some drunken fun. She is a natural with expressive eyes and is a charmer all the way. How we wish for neighbors as friendly and pretty as Prachi.

Zarina Wahab plays the sweet mom and she is endearing with her cute voice while Mini Mathur, Raima Sen and Sheena Shahabadi are adequate in the parts that they play.

As with other such ‘candy-floss’ rom-coms get ready for some suspension of disbelief. But ultimately, this is a decent drama with good looking leads, catchy songs by a group of composers, some really nice moments between John and Prachi and also the inevitable ‘coming of age’ of the till-then immature hero. The director Kapil Sharma has also coated the climax with some feel-good charm. In all, you will leave the hall with the feeling that you haven’t wasted your 108 minutes of the movie’s running time.

VERDICT: Decent ‘date movie’ for the multiplex audiences.