Ala Barfi!

We all remember Anurag Basu's last outing. Named "Kites", the movie created colossal hype, only to be torn to bits at the BO. But this time, Basu has struck gold with 'Barfi!', starring Ranbir Kapoor, Ileana D'Cruz, Priyanka Chopra and several others.

Set in a timeline shifting from 1972 to today, Barfi! is the story of deaf-and-mute Murphy aka Barfi, a jolly resident of Darjeeling, who lives a trouble-free life, until Shruthi and Jhilmill come into his life, and create a sea of change. The movie is Barfi's journey through various stages of romance, and how he manages to spread love and joy to everyone around him, till his end.

The movie, has been well scripted, and the screenplay is classic - a perfect family entertainer, which is supported greatly by neat cinematography (Ravi Verman), and exceptional music(Pritam). The only major drawback of the movie, is it's length, which tends to give you the drag feeling now and then, but what makes us look over this minus, and perhaps what makes this whole movie so worth a watch are it's performances. The life of this movie, is it's performances, and each and every member of the cast - right from the lead ensemble, to the character roles, have excelled in their roles.

Ranbir Kapoor, is perhaps the most bankable star amidst the next-gen actors of Bollywood. Movie after movie, he simply keeps getting better. If he stunned us with 'Rockstar', he manages to tug our hearts with 'Barfi!'. Priyanka Chopra, is simply wonderful in her portrayal of the autistic Jhilmill. Tollywood bombshell Ileana D'Cruz, has also pulled off an amazing performance, and special mention to the costume designers(Aki Narula, Shefalina), the art direction team for taking us back to the 70s, and the make-up unit. I swear, I haven't seen such a beautiful heroine on screen, for days, and it's proof enough that going glam isn't the only way to knock men audience off their feet. Veteran Saurabh Shukla as the comical inspector Dutta pulls off a beautiful performance, and so do Aashish Vidyarthi, Haradhan Bandhopadhyay, and the rest of the crew.

Anurag Basu has made a  neat, heart-warming story, which seems to be a sure success, but we know of his tryst with Hollywood which pops up all around the movie. Since the hero of this movie, is literally silent, you tend to see a lot of slapstick Charlie Chaplin here and there, (but I guess that cliche can be overlooked), and a scene has been lifted directly off Nick Cassavetes' 'The Notebook'. But ignoring all that, Basu has delivered a cute, feel-good movie, that will leave you walking out of theaters probably with no regret. Watch it, especially for performances.

Aditya Baskaran

Why Mysskin, Why?

What happens when Bruce Lee replaces Christain Bale in The Dark Knight, which ends up turning into a half-Chinese half-American bake-up, that falls into the hands of a Tamil director with a budget not even 10% of the original TDK movie?

You would probably expect it to be pretty awesome just cause Lee's in it, but no. The legendary Bruce Lee died almost 30 years back, and nothing can replace what the Master brought to the screen. And of course, Chris Nolan is perhaps the most bankable and cerebral director in showbiz today. Ergo, Mugamoodi, starring Jiiva, Narain, Nasser, Girish Karnad and debutante Pooja Hegde fails to impress us, as a superhero movie, and unfortunately, as a Mysskin film.

Mysskin, one of Tamil cinema's rare film-makers, who bring out films that go beyond the normal scope of mind, had built a huge hype over this movie, considering the fact that his previous films 'Yuddham Sei' and 'Anjathey' were runaway hits. But, alas, he delivers us a product that is shockingly, not 'Mysskin' enough. Having carved a niche for himself with his specific way of story-telling, it is sad to see that the screenplay drags, and runs amok suddenly through the movie, lacking clarity and the usual fast pace his films have.

Mugamoodi, is the story of how Anand aka Bruce Lee, an innocent martial-arts student, intersects into the web of crime created by Anguchamy and his kung-fu trained henchmen, who go around cities, looting and murdering rich, old men, and how his costume-clad joke turns into his city-saving secret identity.

Jiiva, as Anand, and Nasser as Gaurav have done complete justice to their roles, and Pooja, though not having much to do in the film, shows promise. Selvaah, as the kung-fu master Chandru, doesn't leave around much of an impression, and it is criminal to see a veteran like Girish Karnad be wasted over a menial, ridiculous role.

And yes, Narain, deserves a special paragraph. It was Mysskin who put Narain on the map with 'Anjathey', and now the very same intellect brings Narain to dismay. While his effort is highly appreciable, we can only wonder what on earth he was trying to pull off as the sadistic Anguchamy - to be a psychotic killer, with sinister plans, or to be a parody of Heath Ledger's immortal Joker?

Sathya's cinematography shines as usual, and K's (yes, his name is screened as K) music and background scores are commendable. While the 'Bar Anthem', a Mysskin usual, is getting a bit old, 'Vaayamoodi Summa' is a definite fresh ring to the ears. Madan Karky impresses with his lyrics, and so does art director Balasubramaniam. Tony Leung, the stunt coordinator deserves special mention for his work with the kung-fu sequences throughout the movie.

You could watch this once, perhaps, for Jiiva and for Mysskin, and for the mighty effort put by the team into the making of this film. But, don't let the Marvel-inspired title frame fool you. Mugamoodi, sadly does not live up to the hype of a superhero movie. While the director has tried his best to make a superhero fit to Tamil screens, he fails in several sections, which acts as a sharp blow to the idea that Chennai could be portrayed in the likes of Gotham City.


Aditya Baskaran