Modhi Vilayadu

A tale of big businessmen and the games they play, that is Modhi Vilayadu. In the world of business tycoons, money flows in millions, assets are worth even more. But, the state wouldn’t be too happy to know that so much wealth belongs to a single person. That is where the concept of ‘binami’ (pseudo ownership) comes into play; a clever way to hoodwink the government off taxes and also to mislead business competitors from one’s real assets. The ‘binami’ idea is the central theme of Modhi Vilayadu. A Saran directorial venture after three years, much was expected from this tale of big money, property and rivalries. Does Saran deliver?

Modhi Vilayadu was meant to be a gripping game of big rivals going for each other with vengeance and cunning. The premise is interesting, the games they play are intriguing, but the proceedings are not exciting. In short, the journey fails to engage you. The masked identities, the target and fate’s unpredictability interest you, but it is when Vinay begins his attempts to checkmate Kalabhavan Mani that you feel a bit let down. Some of the situations in the screenplay are highly improbable occurrences for a multi millionaire to be seen in.

Director Saran who had touched the mass commercial flicks of B and C centres has opted for a film merely for multiplex audiences. But kindly don’t mistake that if a film is shot sleek and stylish, it’s meant only for ‘A’ class. Of course, the film’s screenplay has been well-tailored gratifying for all the centres. Although, first half may not be off great likeliness for miniscule audiences with stylish love tale, the latter portions are commercially weaved catering to tastes of B and C.

Santhanam’s comedy are more enjoyable, especially the moments in second half where he imitates Arya in Naan Kadavul, Jai’s Subramaniapuram, Vijayakanth’s Ramana and as a Hollywood actor. Ramesh Khanna and Mayilsamy add furthermore to the humorous portions.

The high point of Modhi Vilayadu is its production values. No compromises have been made on the rich look of the film; each frame reflects the lifestyle of millionaires. Karun’s camera has captured the grandeur well. Colonial Cousins, Hariharan and Leslie, do not disappoint on debut. Two songs, ‘Chi Chi’ and ‘Padhi Mutham’ are pleasant to hear. Modhi Vilayadu is a pretty lavishly made tale of businessmen and the games they play.

On the whole, Modhi Vilaiyaadu is an interesting film with commercial element and right moments that will entertain the audiences

Kambakkht Ishq

Its raining biggies in Bollywood after almost 3 months of lull, New York revived the market to an extent last week and now it’s the turn of the reigning Baadshah of Bollywood Akki to show some magic with ‘Kambakkht Ishq’. Akki has had a rather lackluster 2009 with three of his releases Jumbo, Chandni Chowk to China and Tasveer that did rather shoddily at the box-office, so Kambakkht Ishq is very important for the macho man of Bollywood. Let’s see if he hits a six or misses it.

Kambakkht Ishq is a remake of Kamal Hassan’s Tamil hit ‘Pammal. K. Sammandham’ but has been changed and tweaked to suit the Hindi audience or that is what they want us to believe. They have made a movie which is full of cleavage and clichés and though cleavages rule the entire movie, during the last 20 minutes clichés take over.

Sabbir Khan, the debutant director has done a good job. He has made a movie which is entertaining almost all the way through, thanks to the lighthearted scenes which take up most of the first half and larger portions of the second too. But as a screenplay writer Sabbir Khan along with Kiran Kotrial, Anvita Dutt Guptil and Ishita Mohitra, is not up to the mark, as the foursome writers have heavily relied on skin show and sex to move the movie ahead. This might work on college youth oriented romance or sex flicks like American pie but not this kind of a genre. The Tamil original might not have had an enviable screenplay but it scored in flawless characterization as every action of the people involved had a reason but Kambakkht Ishq slips in that department as almost all the characters suffer from poor character sketch. One small unworthy dialogue will change their whole life’s principles. Yes, it is a movie which asks you to rest your brain but these are essentials for any movie and without which your heart does not go for the characters.

Thanks to Sajid Nadiadwala, he has given full freedom to the debutant, Sabbir Khan and has made sure in giving a rich product with more glamour and glitz than any other movie in Bollywood history. Cinematography by Vikas Shivaram is brisk but gets naughty most of the time. Action choreography by Spiro Razatas is impressive. Dialogues by Anvita Dutt Guptil are impressive but are not everyone’s cup of tea. Music by Anu Malik is fair and Kyun stands out as a quality number but the execution has too much of the ‘Tanhaae’ hang over. ‘Om Mangalam’ by RDB has been shot well but its timing in the film makes it only half as effective. The editing is crisp. Choreography by Vaibhavi Merchant has nothing much to gaga about as she uses simple steps and finishes her job.

Acting wise Akshay Kumar once again gives his best and his comic timings are spot on. He does the stunts quite well and fits the role of a stunt man quite effectively. Kareena Kapoor has acted well too and looks quite hot almost all through the movie. Aftab Shivdasani hams and is a complete let down. Amrita Arora looks hot and does a decent job in the acting department as well. Vindu Dara Singh makes you laugh but only occasionally while Javed Jaffery lightens things up with his usual antics. Kirron Kher is impressive in spite of her insipid role. Then comes a big list of special appearances, Brandon Routh - decent, Denise Richards – good, Sylvester Stallone – who gets to flex some muscles for a forced fight sequence and also a small sequence in which he gives an award to Akshay. Boman Irani has been wasted.

Overall it’s a decent entertainer, which would be enjoyed more if you grace the theatres with your friends than family. The movie is sure to get a huge opening and lack of opposition would ensure its hold at the box-office for quite a while.

New York

Instantly the innocents were tortured sans any clarifications pertaining to 9/11 incident. It’s out and most of imbecility that American Security Forces had rippled down their lives. They paved the way for turning them into terrorists. Who bears the fault? Kabir Khan elaborately blends the heart touching reality with interesting elements. He has precisely delineated the sufferings of an innocent tortured in solitary confinement that merely soaks our eyes with this picture.

Exactly there have been flicks churned out by World famous auteur on Post 9/11 trauma out of which Kabir Khan strikes Gold. A Brilliant attempt by Kabir!!!

On the pars, there are more entertaining factors set at the backdrops of college campus of fun, amusements and love. And you’ll keep singing appraisals for every star-cast on screens. Know what? It’s their biggest magnum opus in the career.

Although, it’s a pure drama that wouldn’t keep audiences adhered to seats, it has right elements. An appropriate mix of best factors does work it out perfectly. John Abraham tops-on with a different attempt as a playful Sam and a serious guy who’s so dumped-down with tortures. Kabir Khan has well handled the psychological imbalance of his characterization. On the pars, Katrina Kaif has got full-fledged space for spelling her adeptness. Thank God! She has finally done a great job. So, who’s the man of honor? Neil Nithin Mukesh is extraordinarily mind-boggling with his gesture and emotes stunningly to every situation. Getting apart from these characterizations, Irrfan has a substantial role to perform right throughout the show. Sandeep Srivastava has offered him plenty of heart-binding dialogues. Especially the one about finding fault with both USA and Sameer for making wrong decisions has a convincing thought.

Musical score by Pritham is top-notching and Kabir Khan has well-placed every song. In most of the portions, the song keeps continually going amidst of dialogues. On background score, Looks like he didn’t strain much as throughout first half it’s more and more off the ‘Hey Junoon’ Prelude. Cinematography is yet another embellishing factor with handy works of Grading (Color improvisation in post production) by Colorists. And again, posing ‘Philadelphia’ as ‘New York’ is a smart attempt by Kabir...

On the whole, New York is a collection amongst best shows of Bollywood. Although, there’s certain drift in pace during post-intermission sequences, the climax is gripping.

Distinctly, its Kabir Khan’s handling of difficult script and Neil’s outstanding performance that wins laurels for this film.