Unnale Unnale - Go with your GF else it drags

Mm not bad for a romantical was my initial view.. But considering fact that I went to with lots of expectations considering the Jeeva's nack for delivering soft romanticals, but he hadn't too much to say on a 3 side romantic angle..Also having gone for a nite show despite my mom's "NO NO" glare ;) I was probably quite tired to appreciate the nuances @ 12.30 am..

First reactions from my buddies - more care should have been given to the dialogues..the repeats from Vinay like "NEE ENNAI PURINJIKAVEY MATTIYA" strains your ears and you are left shifting in the seat eyeing the EXIT before the first half.I think the script could have been more taut.Some faux paus' too..the Hero is shown in a construction site during intro's and later on is seen hanging around in Melbourne with a Laptop - with his own posh cabin(Oh C'mon)..Jeeva offcourse creates magic wielding the Camera..Melbourne really comes live(gave me lots of memories of Infy days in 2004 during my stint in Telstra @ Exhibition St..)..but 'was surprised that he never went outa City on the Great ocean drive..or the Twelve apostles..which I would expect to be a usual must to any shoot arn'd Melbourne..CAMERA WORK gets a 10/10 anyday...Best I have seen after Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu..

Actors
Vinay the new Hero is pretty decent as the soft spoken, flirty guy..He's got a sweet smile which is gonna get him good fan following for sure..but I doubt if he's gonna get similar movies with such rich production values to back him up in Tamil Cinema..Tanisha Charms with her impish smile and jovial character.. while Sada succeeds in gettin on ur nerves with "Oh here he comes again" looks..:)

Director's cut
Jeeva being influenced by Nikhil Advani and Farhan Akhtar's style of urban chic movies is quite apparent from the way, some of the scenes which are taken straight out of Dil Chahtha Hai and Kal Ho Na Ho..But if you havent seen the originals you are not likely to less appreciate anyway..

Comedy "DISAPPOINTS"

The scenes with Raju Sundaram and the other guy in chennai could have been better shaped..Comedy could also hv been better..Except for a few laughs this track was quite stale unlike "12B" and "Ullam Ketkume.."

Music Rocks..

Harris has usually delivered his best for Gautam and Jeeva..He doesn't disappoint @ all.."June Pona" and "Unnale Unnale" are my picks of the tracks..and they are my opening tracks on my car stereo these days during my daily drive to Sholinganallur..

Overall I felt it was worth seeing once for Jeeva's Camera work, the bit chemistry between Vinay and Tanisha, Harris's beats..

GETS AN 6/10 for the overall effort..

LACKS : Tight script and narration, Dialogues - bit cliched..,unenthusiastic Comedy track, Shd've got a better performance from the LEAD actors..

+Ve's: Camera Work - MUSIC - Overall Production Values in the movie..and Tanisha :)) )

ABCD - Film Review

Prelude:

I am not different from the normal film goers, only that I happen to be a serious cinema buff off work close to 6 hours post work watching , foren films on TV1000 viasat.For a change happen to see a new Tamil release today..Was pretty impressed, so thought why not blog abt it.

Lets start with a film in Tamil, titled .. ABCD. Coincidence this is my first attempt @ blogging on films..:)

Protaganists :-

A - Anand(Shaam), B-Bharathi(Nandana) , C-Chandra(Sneha) , D - Divya(Aparna)

Story revolves around these 4 characters, A, a struggling jobseeker, B , a Man hater(not eater guyz), C , a Widow post an abused married life, D - teenager exploited by typical materialist world..

Main Story line

All the female characters are shown to be people abused or hurt by men, with contempt for the other sex, but how they transform when they meet Shaam tells the story.. Film also echoes the pathos of the socialist economy(70's) in India but set in 2k.To be fair I found this odd, these days you have a booming economy, so a rank holding MBA with decent communication skills not able to find a job!! Pls gimme a break..Context would have been more opt in 70's perpective.

Portrayals

Credit does go to Shaam who does underplays a very soft role of a jobseeker(portrayal draws similarities to Vikram's AMBI in Anniyan), unlike the usual college going/fun loving persona he gets..I think its another feather in his cap after Iyarkai and Ullam Ketkume..He is one of the talented upcoming heroes but who has had his share of bad films, probably bit early in his career..But i dont think he is a struggling actor(skills per se)whatever the industry portrays him to be..Credit also goes to the director to have managed to get this performance out of him.

Sneha does a fabulous job(She had earlier portrayed a similar role in Ennavaley with Madhavan) once again as an abused woman who decides to split from her husband and wants to lead a dignified life outside wedlock..One jarring detail I find is, she starts out by mentioning her willingness to look for a job but couple of scenes later, we dont see that happening on her husband's death..Wonder why..These days just having cash doesn't really mean security, wonder what the story was trying to tell here? Anywayz need to give a round applause for her dignified portrayal..

Nandana and Aparna have done a decent job as the girls who have been spurned by Shaam(oops have i given out the climax).Nandana particularly emotes well in in the intro when she meets her suitor and in the Climax when she professes her love to Shaam..But the photographer in me, didn't find her make up upto the mark..

Vadivel's comedy acts as a light relief to the heavy story line.

Music

By Imaan, didn't find a different fanfare, but we can see a impact of Vikraman's movies on the back ground score , particularly from the manner in which we find a single background song being played through out the movie, which starts something like "Ulagamada Ulagamada un mele". This particular song sounds pleasant but creates the feel that we have heard it somewhere else before(if am not wrong its from a Hindi album, am not able to recollect the original though)..

TakeAway

Overall a admirable offering from Saravana Subbiah the director, a real change from his previous "forgettable" venture "CITIZEN".. Need more such movies with good stories and taut script.. Gets a 7/10.

Nach Scenes to watch out for - Nandana's meet with her suitor, Sneha takes Shaam out for a marriage(real teaser).