"Tamassu"- movie review

Wanted to watch this movie for several reasons. The title sounded as if it was a very "thought about" kinds. A very powerful team was behind the making of it. Along with the big names like Agni Sridhar & the likes, there are also some untapped talents which see light in the movie. Good enough, but my experience ended up being a very so - so, leaving me feeling that there must be something in the movie that is worth appreciating., I am still thinking....

TOI gives senseless reviews is a known fact. TOI gives a 4 star for Tamassu , highly appreciated, but honestly I didnt feel it was that great. Worst to add while the review said First half is great, actually, The movie makes sense only in the second half. Dunno, when TOI will give perfect reviews.

I really want to appreciate the team, their hardwork & honesty , but I find it difficult to find a valid reason. May be some more home work should have helped. The movie is a package where sometimes you feel great, sometimes, Oh No!, sometimes, may be they could have tried better.

Worth Appreciating are some flash of brilliance sequences, some good songs, some good literature. Padmapriya- is worth mentioning. She makes a mark even in her scope-less role. Hey, whoever has done her voice-over, Kudos to you, I am sure without your support Padmapriya's character// her performance wouldn't have been as effective. You make her complete/ Coming to or rather Coming back to Padmapriya - one needs to admire her ease on the screen, She is for all those who believe that heroines need not necessarily jump & make cute faces, etc. funny huh !

Shivanna is good, but lacks consistency & continuity in performance. Dunno what happens to him, you'll see him suddenly jump from the seat, turning his eyes red for almost everything. Most of the times his body language doesnt match his expressions. Shivanna - its high time you work on this. His problem is , he is a Director's actor, he can't think on his own. May be because he comes from an old school of thought, where, you come, you do what is asked of you & you are done. However, his sincerity, his belief in the movie reflects in every frame. Memorable sequences, 1> the hammer one....2> when he takes on the goons in Naazar's house - daring it is 3> His Confession scene where he rattles out a long dialogue with comfort along with a couple of monologues. Emotional scenes are best suited for you.

Finally Sreedhar sir, mixed reviews, reason is clear, The potential is there, its got a good team but somewhere it doesnt convince . The concept of a Police Officer feeling guilty and rectifying one family's problem is fine, but the connection doesn't get established appropriately. We don't come out of the theatre thinking that the problem is solved., Happy ending....nah. I feel its incomplete. Even Shivanna doesn't look all that rugged in the first half for us to believe that he is trigger happy. So, the transformation is very unconvincing.

Nevertheless, the team does offer some good experience, I am sure we may not be there but we are getting There...& Guys & gals that can happen only when good or bad, we watch it & give feedback.

What with Sudeep commenting on his very own reality show that, by the time our " Pete Hudugi's" decide to come & watch a kannada movie in the theater in its 3rd week running, Producers like him would have to hang themselves waiting for audience. Look at the statistics he shared on the same show. Today KFI makes movies for an actual market of 10 lakhs kannadigas, whereas Karnataka has a population of more than more 5 crores, so where are the rest of the kannadigas & what are they watching ? Question to ponder....Any comments anybody ?

Pruthvi - Review

A Hard core Puneeth fan that I am, I was awaiting the release of " Pruthvi". Coming from a director like Jacob Verghese who gave us "Savaari" , I defnitely had huge expectations from this one. My curiosity led me to find out a couple of details on the net that it was all about an IAS officer fighting against the Bellary Mining Politics. Uff! I thought, that looked so much like, " That 70's show". I was definitely disheartened. That was not what I expected from a sensible actor like Puneeth. All the Ambarish, Vishnuvardhan & Devraj's of the world had done it already. :( ....

I still decided to watch it for the sake that I have already given a couple of Puneeth movie's a miss, instance Raam ( I didnt want to watch a remake). Thankfully I didnt regret my decision.

Unlike the review from Times of India, I thought that Pruthvi attempted to address a much bigger issue than just fighting against Bellary Mine Politics. I wonder why the reporter who reveiwed the movie didnt see the purpose behind the subject. Issues like Border encroachment, Money lords ruling our state, Young people giving up on education for a job in call centre rather than setting up a strong base for themselves, etc...I guess, we need to wake up about these. What Pruthvi is exactly this...open our eyes towards all these realities. Pruthvi advocates that its not only software & multinational company jobs that is there to success, a government job can also be fascinating. Today many of us are least bothered about what is happening to our state, its individuality & uniqueness. The protagonist's effort in emphasising the social responsibility of every government servant is amazing, " ಸರ್ಕಾರ ನಿಮಗೆ ಏನ್ರೀ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಮಾಡಿದೆ, ನೀವ್ ಸತ್ರೆ ನಿಮ್ ಹೆಂಡತಿಗೆ ಪೆನ್ಶನ್ ಕೂಡ ಕೊಡತ್ತೆ " is a slap on the corrupt officials who give in to bribe to make their future safe & secure. I guess, Media also needed that jolt of realising their social responsibility in the way the hero ridicules that they even telecast a child stuck in the borewell LIVE for 3 days. Above all Puneeth shines as a simple officer doing his duty & not as a star, Thankfully his character is not Stylised , nor does he appear as a hero throughout the movie.

However, my verdict in answer to the reveiw of Times of India. Guys, you need to understand that you have the power to encourage the kind of movies that will be made in the future. Your discouraging reviews for such movies can lead to good movies not being made at all. If this is your yardstick, then upcoming directors will never get an opportunity & moviemakers will have to stick to formula based stuff churning out of sandalwood. Movies like Pruthvi are needed for kannadigas who need to be aware of our current political scenario & realise our contribution to it.
So.... for heaven's sake , can we encourage some movies not because they are Puneeth or Sudeep movies, but for the content and substance.

People verdict:

Heard from people: Many said "Good movie - Puneeth is amazing", some said , " it is like Gangaajal- the one with Ajay Devgan" , " a strong sense of Kaakka Kaakka",... but we needed one for our land.

Verdict on the movie : Not for Puneeth fans but for people who are serious about the message that it carries more than the entertainment quotient. If you understand it, the movie rocks.

Verdict on Puneeth: Great performance...your genuinity/ dedication shows on screen. You prove that you are a Powerstar even with a subtle performance of this sort. Unlike your other movies, you have very few dialogues in the movie but very strong ones. In fact , we are very happy that you are walking on the lines of your father & are trying to give good movies that help create good values, people & society.

Verdict on Parvathi Menon: She is a gift to Kannada screen, I say this with utmost sincerity. We kannadigas should be extremely happy with the kind of movies she has been part of & esply. for learning kannada & dubbing in her own voice. A true mark of a performer. She is superb as a simple, educated house wife of a DC. Both Puneeth & Parvathi make a great pair on screen , portraying a beautiful picture of ideal husband- wife, simple love- support magic on screen.

Verdict on Director: Your honest efforts of making a good movie is seen , but you could have still tried to come out of the Kaakka Kaakka or Gangaajal type of influences. The climax is actually very unconvincing. But, otherwise, good movie. Thanks for not making the songs a commercial aspect, they are as it they should be , soft & subtle blending well with the flow of the movie & not stand alone points.

Finally & Finally:

A word to all kannadigas: Please encourage such movies, else, Puneeth will go back to ಲಾಂಗ್ & ಮಚ್ಚು , Directors like Jacob will be lost, Actresses like Parvathi will have to go back to being an eye candy or end up crying in a family movie.

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Tiger, Tiger burning bright ....

Tiger Tiger. burning bright,

In the forests of the night;

What immortal hand or eye.

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

This is when I fell in love with this majestic animal, while I was in school, my teacher reciting this poem by William Blake made it so beautiful, that I could not but understand what royal pride it carried in itself. Everything about it....its eyes, its look, its walk , means perfection. Fearful though, but I have always nurtured the idea of petting a tiger cub in my arms. Sounds stupid, but, I know I may not be able to touch a real Tiger, hence, the cubs. Savour this....

"When the stars threw down their spears

And watered heaven with their tears:

Did he smile His work to see?

Did he who made the lamb make thee?"

Fear or Stupidity, Love or just Admiration, There's something about this wild beast that I have always loved. May be that is why I don't feel very good when I hear that we have only 1411 Tigers in India. I don't know what I could do or stop this from happening. But I know for sure, that they don't deserve this. All that I could do sitting in a city to save our neighbours in the forests, is to voice out my support online. I urge you to do it too. Join in & Roar ......

http://www.saveourtigers.com/JoinTheRoar.php

[ Caution : Be prepared for a Tigerous Roar....once you log in, scared me for sure :)]

Phir Mile Sur.....a Review

It's that time of the year that we wake up to salute our country & tell her that we are proud of being part of this wonderful nation. It's REPUBLIC DAY.... all the channels on the (no more) idiot box are weaving their own set of programs to create enough patriotic feelings amongst the viewers. While some of them did their bit with one or two patriotic movies and some songs, may be some discussions, what stood out was ZOOM tv's efforts to recreate one of the most cherished memories of our association with television industry. The Times of India group & Zoom brought to us a very beautifully recreated " Mile Sur mera tumhara" which was almost considered an anthem in those days(nearly 23 years).

The first one definitely had a much younger Amitabh & the recent one includes many more stalwarts, celebrities of today's India. Should we say, we see a much stronger India, a much bigger India, a much more stylish India. Well, we also miss some legendary faces like Bhimsen Joshi, Balamurali Krishna, Pt. Ravishanker & others but, we have the next genre artistes who are taking the legacy forward like Anoushka Shankar, Rahul Sharma, Aman- Ayaan, Shankar - Ehsaan - Loy & Louiz Banks holding up the pride of India in the video.

The video wins where it lives up to capture the strength of India in all spheres. Music, choreography, styling, conceptualisation is amazing. Hats off, to Salman who includes the hearing impaired & Shilpa Shetty who brings in the cause of Women upliftment. Unfortunately , it left me a little disappointed to see that the video doesn't capture the true essence of a kannadiga like it does with all other Indian Languages. While actors Vikram & Surya represent Tamil, Mahesh Babu represents Telugu, Mammootty, KJ Yesudas & his son Vijay represents Malayalam, Atul Kulkarni & Sonali Kulkarni represent Maharashtra. Its a treat to watch them all in their true essence of their regional flavours, Some shine in their ethnic costumes like Prasenjit- Rituparna ( Bengali), Atul- Sonali(Maharashtra), some just celebrate the sweetness of their language mouthing Mile sur in their own Language( like Vikram , Surya & Mahesh Babu). That's exactly what we miss in the kannada bit of Phir Mile Sur. I am sure the previous one where we just had a one liner with Prakash Padukone singing " Nanna danige ninna daniya.." was so much more effective than the current one. With all due respect to Dr. L. Subramniam & family who represent the Kannadigas in the video, My question to the makers is that "Didn't you find a Kannadiga amongst 5 million kannadigas who could do our bit for this National Video?"," What is so kannada about this bit?". Coming from a Cosmopolitan like Bangalore, I could relate & understand every other line in Tamil, Telugu & even Marathi, but I couldn't follow my own language in this video. The lines were "not so Kannada" coming from a set of Non Kannadiga family. Kavitha Krishnamurthy & family- we respect you yes, but , I dont think we can stand or appreciate mispronunciation of words in the little slot we have here & Sound so "not-kannada" on national TV. However, I would have appreciated if the makers would have done a little more research & checked out the talent here in Karnataka who could do justice & much better represent the Identity of Karnataka. I may be sounding very chauvinistic or very strong, but dear makers I don't think Karnataka requires borrowed talent to hold our pride. All that I want to say is , if you could have been so choosy about getting the best Gujarathi singer to feature the Gujarathi bit where he sounds Gujarathi, the audience could see Gujarat there, & likewise Kerala & culture of Kerala was so evident in its bit, but we didnt see Karnataka in the Video.

In our very own way , Karnataka's cultural space is booming with Talent which can uphold true spirits of being a kannadiga. I am sure, we would have loved to see a Rajesh Krishnan or a Hemant, Archana Udupa or MD Pallavi, Upendra, Puneet Rajkumar or even Ganesh standing in for us. Finally its not about other languages being represented well and our's not. We are aware that its about national integrity & each region getting its own chance to salute the nation in its own way, but dear makers both, Aarti Gupta & Kailash Surendranath, nothing about the Kannada piece in the video is Kannada except for the location which is Big Banyan tree.

& here's Karnataka for you - namma Naadu - My country ! I have put this together & just wanted to give you a dekko into the talent pool of our land. Needless to say, everyone who features in this video belongs to Karnataka, & the list is not exhaustive.

Happy Republic Day !!