Atidhi - Mahesh All the way

Movie making is an art. Some people spend all their energy on the scripting part to ensure there is a solid screenplay with twists and turns thrown in between to keep the narration engrossing and interesting. However some people start by assuming that the role would be done by a specific actor and then weave a story around him/her keeping in mind the body language of the actor and the expectations people have on the actor.

Atidhi unfortunately seems to be product from the second school of thought. It doesn't have a story worth speaking of. It relies heavily on the screenplay and the amazing screen presence of Mahesh Babu, a man who singlehandedly rescues this movie from sinking at the box office and what more! he even makes it enjoyable for most part of the movie.

It has traces of a few movies we have seen before (Pokiri, Athadu, Man on Fire) but what makes this different, and I assure you it is different, is the freshness of its screenplay. Some of the sequences are well shot and are imaginative. A case in point is the very first Fight episode. Another is the sequence with Ashish Vidyarthi in the middle of the movie. And then we have the ICICI episode towards the very end.

Sadly, such glimpses of brilliance are a minority in this three hour long saga which takes nearly an hour and a half to get into the real plot. The entire first half rides only on Mahesh' extraordinary sense of timing and Amrita Rao's Girl-Next-Door charm. Just when you begin wondering whether anything is going to happen at all, the story picks up momentum and prepares you well for the action packed second half, which is a whole lot better than the first albeit a terrible climax - or Anti climax in the last ten minutes of the movie. A climax like this in any other movie would not have seen so out of place as it does in this movie - purely because of the brilliant run up to the climax. The end did not live up to the expectations set by the director.

Coming to the performances, this is just a one man show - Mahesh Babu. He is in his elements in this movie. While the blockbusters and the superhits he has delivered so far have seen some aspects of his acting prowess, this movie exploits him to the core - bringing out the best in him. You get to experience a roller coaster ride of emotions - frustration, helplessness, confusion, love, hatred, joy - you name it - you have it. Watch out for his brilliant portrayal of anguish right at the end. It is fair to conclude that Atidhi is just Mahesh all the way - from start to finish

Amritha Rao, with her girl next door looks delivers a good performance and could match the leading guy eye to eye in most of the confrontational episodes. The new guy stepping into the shoes of the notorious Kaiser steals the show. Kudos to his efforts.

The rest do their part as required. Sunil and Brahmanandam provide a few laughs but their roles are not properly written.

Mani Sharma's music is pretty good and the songs look great on screen. Special mention to the cinematographer for his efforts on the song - Satyam Emito. Outstanding contribution. Rerecording could have been better what with some of the punch lines getting drowned in loud background music.

There was a comment by someone when the show was over. "Boss! Everything is great about this movie. Only problem is the director!". Aptly said - Surendar failed to use this opportunity. It could have been a very good thriller but unfortunately it doesn't rise to that level. Surender tried to put in twists and turns wherever possible and in the process forgot completely about the IQ of the average movie goer in Andhra Pradesh. Some of my friends who have accompanied me to the movie today could not understand some of these well shot episodes.

At the end of the day, Atidhi could have been better. For a change, do not leave your thinking cap outside the theatre when you go to this movie. You will need it very much! Just watch it for Mahesh Babu and his outstanding effort.

My opinion - Good.

The Art of Reviewing - Where to draw the line?

This is not a review of any movie but a generic take on what exactly are the responsibilities of a movie reviewer?

Let me set the context first. Suppose I am a great fan of a screen idol A, and I go to one of his movies on the day of its release - find that it was the worst movie I've seen till date - and say so in my review afterwards, am I cheating anybody?

For that matter, consider the second hypothetical scenario. Screen idol B, a rival hero to A, comes up with a movie that I find very good. If I mention this in my review, am I guilty of double crossing my favorite hero "A"?

What follows next is just my personal opinion on this issue. As a human being, I can have my own favorites - but when I don the hat of a movie reviewer, I need to approach the movie as a neutral person and judge it solely based on the movie - not based on the history of the actors in it.

Calling it a spade itself is quite an art. To do so without being bogged down by people's expectations on YOU and YOUR REVIEW is probably the toughest job you as a reviewer should take care of. Before entering the movie hall, you need to leave behind all baggages including your own favoritism.

Also you should resist from posting a detailed line by line account of the movie's plot. Avoid speculating on the movie's box office stamina because you simply are in no position to "predict" the audience response. If possible try not to get into the usual rating game (3 stars out of 5) etc because these ratings are seldom based on scientific analysis. It is often the gut feel of the reviewer. While I have nothing against the gut feel, (In fact I feel the gut feel should drive the tone of your review) it is wrong to assign a rating to the movie based on this. However you can do so by specifying clearly that it is your personal rating of the movie.

Either way - decimal points in a rating do not make any sense at all. It will only result in "Why 3.25 for this movie and 3.5 for that movie" discussions. Decimal points signify a more accurate number. When the whole rating fiasco is just a subjective take based on your gut feel, reducing the movie to a decimal point rating is doing a great disservice to the movie and to yourself.

If you have to have a rating, have a descriptive one instead. Something like Bad -> OK -> Good -> Very Good.

Remember, you need not bash a hero to bash the movie. And you need not bash a movie to bash a hero. These are two different things and try to separate these two when you are set to write your review.

All the best for the up coming Atidhi.

Signing off....
Platy.

Alright, let me make it very clear in the first sentence itself - The only reason I picked up this book last weekend in Crosswords was the reference to IIT. And no, I am no way connected to IIT but I love campus fiction and most campus fiction these days are centered around an IIT campus.

Thanks to a very average Five Point Someone (FPS) and a bad "Anything for you, Ma'am" I was not expecting a great read when I started this novel. However it was a pleasant surprise. It did manage to surpass my meager expectations.

"Above Average" by Amitabha Bagchi was written in 2000 much before Chetan Bhagat's ground breaking novel made its way to the stands across the country. "Above Average" is all about Arindham or Rindhu as he is commonly known as inside the campus of IIT Delhi. The narration is devoid of any frills and does not pretend that it is holding you on the edge of your seat like some of the other campus thrillers do. However it manages to hold your interest.

The book has a non linear narration which seems absurdly random at times but a careful reader will be able to appreciate the jumps in the thought process of the narrator. It is the USP of the book. The book also describes the campus life in a much better manner compared to FPS.

To cut a long story short, this is a nice book to read and it stays with you long after you've finished reading it. It takes you back to your campus, your professors, your crushes and your ambitions.

At 195 rupees it is a bit steeply priced (By FPS standards) but then this is worth every paisa of those 195 rupees.

My rating: Above Average :)

I stared at the mansion.

Probably a century old house complete with a creaking wooden gate.

The drizzle just added to the effect. It was four in the afternoon and was pretty dark with low hung clouds threatening to burst anytime.

I stepped back and checked the door number again.

“Yes?” a trembling hand opened the gate slightly. A seventy year old man peered out.

“Ah my name is Vishal. Vishal Mehta. I am a grandson of…”

The old man didn’t let me complete it. “Sri Karan Mehta?”

I nodded. “I had talked to you earlier. We are planning to sell this house.”

He sighed, “Yes I remember. Come in. Come in. I am Thakur”

“I know. How are you Thakur?” I asked.

“Fine. Fine.” He said.

There was a narrow pathway from the gate to the house. Thick vegetation on either side of the pathway gave out a peculiar smell – thanks to the unnerving rains lashing the area.

The interiors of the house were well maintained. There were many rooms and many corridors. The main corridor in the first floor linking the east part of the house with the west part ran across the main hall.

“Is this the famous corridor?” I asked Thakur sipping the steaming chai.

He nodded. “The ghost walks from the east end to the west end.”

“Every night?” I asked him casually. I didn’t believe in ghosts.

“No. There is no pattern as such. But it is fairly regular.”

“What does it do? The ghost?” I was curious.

“Oh nothing. It just walks or glides. Must be a good ghost.” He laughed.

It was a week back that I received a call from Thakur about this ghost. I was supposed to go to Randheer’s house in the neighboring district this weekend to attend some function.
However this call changed my plan. I wanted to get to the bottom of this ghost business because I’d been toying with the idea of disposing of this estate as I had no use for it.

“I would like to meet it tonight.” I said.

“There is a high probability,” Thakur said, “These days it is appearing very regularly.”

That night, I took my sleeping bag and settled on the corridor near the statue of Goddess Lakshmi. I wanted to meet the ghost face to face. I also wanted divine protection just in case.

At twelve midnight, Thakur excused himself and went to sleep. At one, I was fighting to keep awake. At two I was fast asleep.

It was same old dream again; everyone was staring at me as I walked along. Some of them had a confused look; some were petrified and some expressionless. I just checked my clothing and my appearance. Everything was in order. Why were they staring then? I could see them hiding behind a row of pillars. I could see them in an open area at the far end of the hall.

I woke with sweating like a pig.

Thakur was staring at me. “Did you see it? It just went over you.”

I felt a strange chill. “No. I fell asleep.”

Next night I was determined not to sleep. I got myself a radio and tuned into Vividh Bharti. I had with me a copy of Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows. Half an hour later, I was immersed in the book completely. The ghost didn’t pay a visit till 4am. I decided to call it off and sleep.

This time I could see the pillars clearly. There weren’t many people around. Though I couldn’t recognize any of the faces, I could sense a feeling of void in their faces. It was as if they had resigned to their fate. Suddenly the pillars ended and I was walking in the open area. It was bright and I could see a tree in the middle, a big one.

I woke up.

It was eight in the morning. I ran downstairs and found Thakur smoking his pipe in the garden.

“No ghost yesterday?” I asked him.

He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

That afternoon I got a call from Randheer. “Yaar, you should come over to my village. I am sure you’d go crazy. We have a friendly ghost roaming around. It does nothing but glide from one place to another.”

I was aghast and told him about the ghost incident in my mansion. He was taken aback. The ghost probably visited us first and then moved on to Randheer’s place.

“I still haven’t seen it.” I explained him my two failed attempts.

“Me neither.” He told me.

“Let’s try to catch it this time. I will try to talk to the ghost.” I said.

That night, I was there on the corridor with my sleeping bag – under the statue of Goddess Lakshmi.

At two in the night, there was an unnatural breeze. It became very cold on the corridor. My heart beat faster and faster. I had the camera ready.

At the East end of the corridor, the wall looked as if it was split wide open. Out stepped a wavy figure emanating a blinding white light. I could just make out the silhouette of the ghost. Facial features were not visible. It was gliding towards me. I stared the ghost. Twenty eight years of utmost devotion to science and logic refusing to believe what was happening there, I felt something was churning inside my stomach.

I collapsed.

The pillars wore a deserted look this time. I could see only one person frozen in time. I went to the open space again. The tree was big. I crossed the tree and was looking for a door to get out of the chamber.

“Chai beta?”

I opened my eyes. It was bright and sunny outside.

“I saw it… the ghost.” I said weakly.

Thakur nodded. “I saw it too.”

I told him all about my dreams and about the ghost’s visit to my friend’s house. “Is there some connection between my dreams and the ghost?”

He didn’t respond for a long time. Then he said, “Why don’t you visit your friend and see if it is the same ghost?”

I boarded a bus to Randheer's village early next morning.

He received me in the bus stop and led me into his village. It was a two kilometer walk. The weather was pleasant and the walk was enjoyable. I told him about the ghost. He managed to get a fleeting glimpse of the ghost the previous night. It was exactly how I had seen it. Blinding light and only the silhouette was visible.

"I have been having some strange dreams too," I said, "I believe they have something to do with the ghost."

Randheer stopped in his tracks. "Well, that's strange! I have been getting similar dreams myself."

"Not much of detail in my dream though. I just see a big hall and then an open space in my dream. What about you?" I asked Randheer.

"Same yaar. Just a big hall but no open space!"

Randheer's folks received me with great fanfare. People in this part of the world rarely visited one another. Hence my visit was a breather for them. It also gave them a chance to talk about the Friendly Neighborhood ghost with someone who believed them.

"That ghost walks from there to here without doing anything. We just hide behind these pillars and..." I didn't hear the rest. I was staring at them. The pillars formed a corridor and I could see a bright light at the end of the corridor.

"What's there?" I pointed at the end of the corridor and asked Randheer.

"Nothing... just an open space and..."

"A big tree in the middle!" I completed his sentence. He looked at me bewildered, "How do you know?"

I was sweating. I wanted to run. I wanted to scream. I wanted to get out of there.

I also wanted to know Randheer's dream in more detail. With a trembling voice, I asked him about his dream.

He was confused, "Why... Yes I dream of an old place - I walk along a corridor from one end to the other. I see a young man sleeping by the side of a statue or something in the corridor... I don't see his face clearly..."

The End.

Sivaji - Telugu - Review

A small review on Sivaji - The Telugu version.

1. Songs are out of the world. Remaining movie is right there on par with a Gemini TV serial. Production values etc are great for the songs and are totally ignored for the talkie part. The result is a jarring disconnect between the two.

2. Missing the Shankar mark. You feel his midas touch only in the songs. Rest of the movie feels like a regular B grade Tamil movie.

3. Missing the Rajni mark. Rajni is in almost every scene of the movie and has clearly lost his comic timing. His energy levels are down and it is high time he stopped romancing eighteen year old girls. The style elements are all in place but after a while you don't actually whistle when you see the same elements repeated umpteen times.

4. The movie has no continuity. It feels like a series of incidents and stops just at that. There's no proper story or an engaging screenplay. I doubt if Shankar really had a bound script before starting the movie. It feels as if the only story he had in his mind had exactly three words: "Black Money, Rajni"

SPOILER ALERT. STOP READING IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE YET.



5. Unbelievable holes in the script: Not expected in a Shankar movie. Since when has bringing the dead back from St Peters using CPR and shock treatment started working in 100% of the cases? And by the time Raghuvaran has laid his frail hands on Rajni - it is already thirty minutes (in cinematic time). By then even rigor mortis would have set in.

6. Take a hard disk which has password protected data. Take a sledge hammer now. Hit the hard disk as hard as possible to distort it completely. Now take the remains of the hard disk to some eminent organization like RAW. They will get the data on this disk in a day. CBI trying to use mimicry artists to get into the laptop is so 1970ish.

7. Rajni amassed 250 crores (10 dollars less. I stand corrected) in the USA by working as a software system architect? That means 50 million US dollars. Even with the assumption that he took about 20 years to get to this figure - he was saving at the rate of 2.5 million USD per year. Software System Architect? Where's that job buddy?

This is the worst Shankar movie I've seen and probably one of the worst Rajni movies till date. It reaffirms my faith that big directors when teaming up with big stars mess up things pretty badly. (STALIN - Murugadoss is another example though in restrospection - STALIN is handled in a much better way by Murugadoss.)

My verdict: Yawn. Wait for the DVD