Hawaa Hawaai Hindi Movie Review

Hawaa Hawaai

Story: Young, slumboy Arjun's only dream is to own a pair of shiny roller skates and be a champion of this sport-on-wheels. But is this little dream too big for his battered boots?

Review: Even slumdogs have dreams bundled away in their crumbling chawls, beneath piles of garbage and atop roofless homes. So what if it's not about millions and mansions, chateaus or chartered planes. Their sapna is made of strong stuff too. As kadak as the chai Arjun Harishchandra Waghmare (Partho), serves daily at the tea-stall for meager wages. Son of a cotton-farmer, he's uprooted from the village after his baba's shocking death, to the slums of Mumbai. Here, he toils long hours to support his family. One evening he witnesses a skating coach, Lucky (Saqib), eagerly training a group of privileged kids. He's besotted by a pair of shiny roller-skates and thereon, this Dharavi boy is on a dream-roll. His adorable buddies (poor kids with 'XL'-sized hearts) Gochi, Bhura, Abdul and Murugan share his dream of "wheel balance ka khel", making his passion their own. On seeing his talent and tenacity, Lucky finds a new goal - to make Arjun a champ. But will his sapna (riding high on his hand-made, red and gold wheels - called 'Hawaa Hawaai') smoothly make it to the finish line?

Amol Gupte's story is soulful, heart-breaking and hopeful - moving you from tears to deep-thought. He skillfully creates a portrait of the lives of deprived children - with profundity and playfulness. The child-like chemistry the kids share is delightful (whether it's bonding over left-over butter chicken or skate-shopping with thirty bucks). It's often stretched and over-dramatized, yet, the story is so heart-warming that the flaws seem like unnecessary details before a climax (however predictable), that's fulfilling. Gupte's children are pure gems - Partho's brilliance wins you over, backed by the rest of the bachchas who're incredibly talented. Saqib is terrific as a coach with an indefatigable spirit and Neha marvels with a motherly act.

'HH''s inspiring story is for children, for the child in all of us and for adults who need to wake up to dream again.

Laddu Babu Telugu Movie Review

Laddu Babu Review

Laddu Babu is the story of Laddu Babu (Allari Naresh) who gains 238 Kgs of weight over three weeks due to a rare mosquito bite. His father Narasaiah (Kota Srinivasa Rao) has a dispute property which can be sold only when Laddu is married off but all his attempts get failed. On the other side Laddu is in deep love with a girl Maya (Poorna). But the later rejects him due to his obesity. Laddu then determine to lose weight at any cost. It was then a kid Murthy (Atulit) enters his life. Who is Murthy? What changes arrive in Laddu Babu's life due to him? is the movie all about.

Allari Naresh tried to shoulder the entire film as always. His hardwork put in to the character is clearly visible on screen. You can only see Laddu Babu and totally forget about the lean Allari Naresh. Avunu fame Poorna is just okay. Bhumika is good as a single mother. Kota is perfect fit as Laddu Babu's father. Rest all are okay.

We can not remember Ravi Babu coming up with such stupid script. The plot is totally flawed with no logic or sense. He failed totally as a director. Audience come to Allari Naresh films for entertainment which is totally absent here.

Camera work of Sudhakar Reddy is average. Chakri's songs are of no importance to the film. Back ground music is just okay. Editing by Marthand K. Venkatesh is a blunder. There is a good half an hour which can be chopped easily. Production values are dismal.

Laddu Babu is a forgettable film for Allari Naresh and Ravi Babu. It is a clear example of a total debacle. I will not advice you to watch it even if you are dying of bore this weekend.

Samsaaram Aarogyathinu Haanikaram Malayalam Movie Review

Samsaaram Aarogyathinu Haanikaram Review

Balaji Mohan's 'Samsaram Arogyathinu Haanikaram' tells a tale set on an imaginary hillscape by the name of Thenmala. It's here that Aravind (Dulquer Salman), a door-to-door sales executive meets Anjana (Nazriya Nazim), a young doctor all ready to tie the knot. It isn't the most pleasant of times, what with a mysterious illness called H10N10 wreaking havoc on public lives. Very soon, the entire population is petrified when research proves that the disease spreads through conversation, leading the government to impose a speech ban in the hamlet.

Here is a director who has done the unthinkable by venturing into virgin territory, and the fantasy element that he brings in, is without doubt one that deserves appreciation. And he goes even further and renders his characters voiceless in the latter half, which is indeed the biggest gamble that any film maker has attempted in recent times. 

The stillness and the hush that reigns in the latter half is more of a challenge to the viewer, used to an incessant and deafening verbal onslaught almost all the time. However, it does have something fascinating for the more tolerant ones, and the flair of the film maker becomes all too apparent on more than a few occasions.

But the contradictions that are prevalent throughout make you wonder what the film maker must have originally had in mind, while crafting the film. Like many a viewer out there, I had developed a special liking for what the film was trying to put across in the former half - that a talkative mouth often inadvertently serves as a devil's den. 

And then the experimental bit is thrown at us -as Balaji Mohan presses the Mute button, everything and everyone around springs into actor mode, with a non-intrusive musical score blowing away in the background. And it's here that the first pebble in the rice grinds against your tooth, as the film starts talking the exact opposite of what it has been conveying till then.

Surprisingly, all the major issues on show are solved when silence prevails. For one, there is the money lender who loses his dhoti to his grandson and discovers a lost love for his son, and there is also Anjali who in a lip bound moment unearths the real affection that her step mother holds within. No words are spoken. Contrastingly, when Aravind's best buddy regains his lost voice, the choicest of expletives stream out of his mouth, with his nurse lady love dropping her first aid tray and his heart in the process.

When everyone around has found their voices, Anjana vehemently states that she has had it up to her neck with her possessive, egoistic, chauvinist fiance and shows him the door. Breezing into Aravind's room she confesses that the new light that shines in her world is courtesy the positive bundle that Aravind is. She agrees that he had always been right - that there isn't a problem in this world that cannot be solved through straight, face to face talk.

It is thus that the film goes round and round in circles, refusing to adopt a stand of its own, repeatedly confusing us with its ever changing perspectives. At the end of it all, one is never sure if it's pro-conversation or anti-conversation, since it's neither here nor there. On the other hand, it's all over the place.

It should be mentioned that the several sub-plots that take up a major chunk of the running time are feebly written, and ultimately fail to deliver the goods. The altercation between a drunkards' association and an actor's fan club might have been incorporated to bring in some laughter, but very rarely serve the purpose.

Dulquer fits into the role of Aravind with a remarkable ease and together with Nazriya who looks ethereally beautiful, makes a charming pair. Soundara Pandyan's stunning cinematography and Sean Roldan's musical score (especially in the latter half) deserve a very special mention. 

'Samsaram Arogyathinu Haanikaram' is a classic example of a fine idea having gone up in smoke. This is a film that should have been much better and yet ends up barely more than a live-action cartoon. 

Maan Karate Tamil Movie Review

Maan Karate Review

Following five back-to-back hits, actor Sivakarthikeyan seems to have become the star of escapist cinema in Tamil filmdom.

Thanks to his stardom, several wannabe filmmakers are banking on him to make films that are usually targeted at the masses. This explains why he is not considered an 'actor' anymore but merely an 'entertainer', who would work in a film only with the sole purpose of entertaining his fans.

In "Maan Karate", we see the transformation of Siva from an actor-performer to an entertainer, but at the cost of his potential going down the drain.

On a trip to a remote hill station, off Chandigarh, five friends come in contact with a saint who can foresee future. The saint hands them a newspaper from the future and every news story published in it unfolds in real life. One of the articles from the paper is that of a boxing championship with prize money worth Rs.2 crore, and the article reveals that a boxer called Peter (Sivakarthikeyan) from Royapuram will win the tournament.

To claim the prize money, the friends should befriend Peter, who turns out to be least interested in boxing. It is now the responsibility of the five friends to find reasons that will convince Peter to take boxing lessons and participate in the tournament.

"Maan Karate", which begins as a fantasy story and slowly moves into the commercial space and later gets turned into a sports drama, doesn't do justice to the multiple genres of the narrative. Filled with loopholes, the film's story by filmmaker A.R Murugadoss, known for writing films such as "Ghajini" and "Thuppakki", disrespects boxing and desperately attempts to evoke laughter by creating a caricature version of the sport on screen.

While it is understandable that all this is done for commercial reasons, but true boxing enthusiasts would find this silly attempt discouraging.

The entire boxing episode only attracts criticism. Although there are scenes where you hear the crowd cheering for Peter as he lands a punch on his opponent, but most fights, except for the final one, are extremely boring to watch.

Without even training for a day, Peter manages to find a place in the finals of the tournament. Apparently, it is through a series of accidents such as an accidental knockout punch or the disqualification of one of his opponents, Peter makes it to the last round where he has to lock horns with defending champion, also named Peter.

Here, the filmmaker expects us to cheer for the underdog Peter, who gets beaten to pulp by the champion, in the last fight. But you don't feel like cheering on because by then you have lost interest in the film and the last fight also turns melodramatic with a lot of cheesy lines.

Siva's recent film "Ethir Neechal", which also had a sports angle to the narrative, at least managed to inspire the viewers even with its share of flaws, but "Maan Karate" is the exact opposite.

While the makers present the film as an out-and-out commercial entertainer and that's what it is, you still find "Maan Karate" meaningless because debutant Thirukumaran only tried to do justice to the hero's image by comprising on the plot.

He also takes the audience for granted and gives them a film under the assumption that they will embrace it because it has been written by Murugadoss.

Sivakarthikeyan is at his usual best in his tailor-made role, but he needs to realize that the time has come for him to take up different roles.

We don't see much of a performance from Hansika, who is nicely dolled up to play a role she's been playing ever since she turned heroine in films. While Sathish manages to generate laughter at regular intervals, Soori's cameo turns out be highly irritating.

If you want to see the entertainer Sivakarthikeyan, "Maan Karate" is for you. But if you want to see the actor Sivakarthikeyan, then you're better off away from this film.

Nee Enge En Anbe Tamil Movie Review

Nee Enge En Anbe Review

Sekhar Kammula, known for churning out light-hearted campus love stories, treads a path no other filmmaker would dare to walk on. In this process, he attempts to prove himself in a genre one could never imagine to see him make films in.

Although he struggles to emerge victorious on the chosen path, he makes us take notice his willingness to go against the grain with the Tamil remake of Bollywood film "Kahaani", titled "Ne Enge En Anbe". This is not a solid remake of one of the best thrillers in Indian cinema, yet there are moments that will persuade you to watch it.

You know for a fact that Kammula never tried to capitalize on the success of "Kahaani" because he decided not to include the pregnancy part in his story, but he still manages to surprise viewers with something equally unpredictable (as long as you don't pay attention to details).

There isn't much change in the story and akin to the original, a wife (Tamil Brahmin) lands in Hyderabad in search of her missing husband with whom she hasn't spoken to in over two weeks. She seeks the help of a local policeman, who also happens to be a Tamilian, because she can't speak Telugu.

They start investigating the case, trying to put all possible clues together to see if they can find something solid that will reveal what had happened with her husband. Will they or will they not find her husband?

Kammula was hell bent on convincing us that his version of the film is not a frame-to-frame copy of the original. It isn't for most part of the film, but all those who watched "Kahaani" are likely to be disappointed because the names of most characters are not changed in the remake. The senior police officer is Khan, the terrorist is Milan Damji and the assassin is Bob.

Whenever you hear these names in the remake, you automatically tend to compare these characters with the ones from the original and realize their performances were not satisfying. No matter how hard you try not to compare both the films, you are forced to whenever you hear these names.

Old Hyderabad becomes a crucial character in the story. Kammula does his best to capture the flavour of the local culture when his lens zooms through the small alleys of the city, from the preparations of a Durga Puja to the busy and densely populated markee.

Here's where you respect and appreciate the craftsmanship of the director for making the best use of his setting and making us realize the importance of the location from the story's perspective.

Another reason to commend Kammula is because he ensures that most of the important scenes are shot separately in Tamil. However, he seems to have ignored the fact that it's a Tamil film and has used too many Telugu dialogues, much to the disgust of the audience.

Subtitles were only used for the Hindi dialogues. How can you expect Tamil audiences to understand Telugu dialogues even though the film is shot in Hyderabad? This was one of the biggest turn-offs in the film.

Nayantara as Anamika does her best in the titular role, but she's no match to Vidya Balan. Here's a woman who is struggling to find her husband in a new place with a language barrier, yet we see her with make-up and eyelashes in close up shots. She fails to get into the skin of her character which was very important for the story. Vaibhav and Pasupathy play their parts well but the fake English accent used by the latter could've been avoided.

Keeravani's resonating background score keeps the tension of the story alive throughout. The slow first half is strongly complemented by a solid second half, but will audiences sit through the second half after a dull start?

"Nee Enge En Anbea fails to be a mother of an adaptation.

Damaal Dumeel Tamil Movie Review

Damaal Dumel Review

Close in the footsteps of dark comedies such as "Soodhu Kavvum" and "Moodar Koodam", comes "Damaal Dumeel", which unlike its contemporaries, may not be exceptional but still has what it takes to be applauded for the effort.

The film is based on a series of accidents that pave the way to humour at regular intervals. Each of these accidents is interconnected and the film explains why one accident leads to another and another and so on until there's one last accident in the climax.

The series of accidents start when a box full of money is wrongly delivered to Moneykandan (our hero who is a firm believer of numerology), who has just lost his high-paying IT job, with his sister's wedding in the offing.

Why was the box delivered to Moneykandan in the first place? Actually, the box was supposed to be delivered to someone in flat number F6, but it gets delivered to E6 (after a cricket ball hits the E and it breaks and become an F). That's our first accident. When two men come searching for the box and break into Money's house, it leads to the second accident. The third accident happens when two more men come searching for the first two men. One accident leads to another and it eventually leads to one big accident in the climax.

I haven't seen a better Tamil film in the recent past that managed to use a single point of reference (the accidents) so effectively to narrate a story. Even though it doesn't have an impressive story, it manages to keep us hooked with its quirky narration, at least partly. It is engaging because it's as short (118 mins) as its contemporaries (all recent dark comedies in Tamil were under two hours), and therefore, never leaves room for a dull moment and even when you feel one, it's gone even before you realize it.

There's not a single unwanted scene in the film. We keep hearing and seeing the hero's mobile phone ringing every now and then, but it is not until the climax we appreciate its importance in the story, especially its ringtone which leads to the final accident.

Similarly, we also randomly see children playing cricket in a scene and we realize the significance of this scene when the cricket ball sets in motion the series of accidents. Here's where you want to appreciate director Shree, who, I agree may not have delivered an outstanding film, but has proved the difference young filmmakers like him can bring to the industry.

Law Point Malayalam Movie Review

Law Point Review

Lijin Jose's 'Law Point' should ideally have been titled 'Lie Point'. The film does not, as the title suggests dwell on a law point, and instead is all about two individuals with an incredible capacity to lie through their teeth to have their way in life.

Sathya (Kunchacko Boban) is an advocate by profession, with an already established expertise in supporting the accused in cases of women abuse. Which is why, an exasperated dad (Nedumudi Venu) seeks his help in bailing out his young son who has landed in trouble. Apparently, Maya (Namitha Pramod), the girl he was in love with has attempted suicide on being spurned by him, and now threatens to sue him for abuse, and that too of a minor.

The biggest problem with 'Law Point' is that it takes forever and ever to make a point. Thankfully, the film does not go round and round like some of those yarns that terrify us with their duration, and still when almost an hour passes by without much of a happening, you realize that something is certainly amiss somewhere. 

Perhaps it couldn't get any more silent than this in a film that ironically has no shortage of dialogues. They are rolled out one after the other, and yet it feels as if it's all a still game that is going on. Probably because it has nothing much to say. 

For one, the entirety of the first half is make-believe and as Maya and Sathya head over to Vagamon, and their car falls into a ditch, you almost expect a rain to come down. It doesn't, but instead drives by an elderly couple (KPAC Lalitha and P Balachandran), who invite them over to their farm, that is a living metaphor of paradise itself.

There is only a single knot to be untangled in this film, and it should be anybody's guess that it's hence gonna bank on its last fifteen minutes to make an impact. And then, the twists are unleashed in abundance, and if you do find some time to breathe in between, you might ask yourself as to what all the commotion was all about.

To me, apart from the very little amusing element that the shockers provided, they served very little purpose. I mean, these aren't the kind of revelations that would make you jump up and down in your seats, nor the kind that would make you twitch your head to a side and wonder why you hadn't thought of it before.

Here are two decent performances from the leading cast - a chic looking Kunchacko Boban delivering an almost methodic performance (no surprises there), and an elegantly confident Namitha Pramod doing her bit with a remarkable composure and ease.

After an impressive debut with 'Friday', Lijin moves a couple of notches downward with 'Law Point'. The only point that it doubtless makes is that a couple of odd twists and turns right at the end, do not a good film make.