Reviews

As I sit here typing the first words of my review for Kaminey, the Dhan Te Nan theme music still rings strongly in my ears. And I had a term that I could finally coin this movie with- Royal Masala. Yes, its my own term. If I had used the term masala as it is, it would just remind of all the loads of Bollywood commercial cinema regularity, Kaminey doesn't belong in that association, it defines 'masala' in a brand new way- the Kaminey way. And its royal.

Charlie and Guddu (both played by Shahid Kapoor) are identical twins who have grown up in the slums of Mumbai. Charlie is a small time gangster who works for three Bengali brothers who fix horse races, while Guddu is a small time NGO activist about AIDS awareness. His girlfriend Sweety (Priyanka Chopra) gets pregnant with their child- and she soon pesters him into marrying her, only then does the truth show itself- Sweety is the younger sister of Bhope Bhau, a local wannabe rag-cum-politician, who after discovering about Sweety and Guddu's relationship, is after Guddu's head as the brothers are migrants from the neighboring Uttar Pradesh state, as Bhope runs an agenda for his own state of Maharashtra.Charlie meanwhile accidentally disrupts a 10-crore worth drug transaction, and after discovering what he had accidentally stolen, takes the drug in his own stride to pull of a deal and make his dreams come true, leaving the drug lords are fervently after his head for this. Charlie and Guddu's story soon collide with each other, with the drugs taking the center stage to everybody's pursuit- resulting in often comical, tragic, yet thrilling consequences.

Shahid Kapoor simply steals the show in his dual role. There is an obvious distinction between the ragged Charlie who spells every S word as an F, and the more silent, quiet Guddu who stammers heavily in his speech. This is by far the best performance of the year so far and Shahid has definitely taken his career to the next level with this film. He seemed to have grabbed with both hands the golden opportunity of working with an acclaimed film-maker like Vishal Bharadwaj and has given his soul to enacting the twin roles. Priyanka Chopra, after a streak of flops that has seen her market value plummet including her high profile break up, makes this her comeback card with a strong, commanding performance in a role where she seems to have not applied any make up to give a natural look. She is loud throughout, yet eventually lovable for her affection towards Guddu. Amol Gupte (who was the writer of the 2007 blockbuster Taare Zameen Par, which marked the directorial debut of Aamir Khan), shows that he is as good an actor as he is a writer with a great performance as Bhope. The rest of the cast just ebbs on with their roles, each fitting in perfectly.

Tassaduq Hussain gives the film an edgy look with his cinematography, with plenty of close up shots being scattered all over, and also a few hand-held shots to give more thrill to scenes, and definitely succeeds in doing so, giving the film a distinct tone that is maintained throughout.His camera-work for the Dhan Te Nan song is also fantastic,with excellent balance of colors.

Where the film wins however, in in the music department and the writing department. Now, in that two areas, are the champions. Vishal Bharadwaj is an impeccable talent. I'm resisting myself from starting all over again about how brilliant his previous works were (Omkara, an Indian adaptation of Othello, and Maqbool, and Indian adaptation of Macbeth), and not only that, also how brilliant his music was in both of the films. But however whoever thought he would only fit the art side of movie-making and music-making are on the wrong, because here this film is a money-raker, and the musics are definite chart-topper. Dhan Te Nan deserves all the applause and hype it gets, the number is sensational and the choreography is even more sensational. Fatak and Raat Ki Dhai Baaje are both highly enjoyable but Vishal's background score is simply a masterclass act, off the top shelf. Check out for Pehli Baar Mohabbat, my favorite number from the album, the only slow melodious romantic number which appears at the end credits.

The screenplay by Vishal and three other writers is brilliant. There are simply no stop gaps. Every story keeps colliding with the other, there isn't a moment in the film you'd feel is going too fast or too slow, the pace is simply an act of perfection itself, you are hooked to the screen for start to the end. There is enough action (realistic ones, no flying stuff), and above all there is enough comedy and also enough emotions to completely charge the film as the film-watching experience you'd cherish for a long time.

And of course, Vishal's direction. He is a genuine talent and it is evident for everyone to see with this film, and finally, I'm glad that he will get the commercial success that he deserves after his two Shakespearean adaptations, despite being purred on by critics, were both overlooked at the box office counters. This one, however, won't be. Because it's simply Royal Masala.

Thankfully I wasn't sucked into all the hype of this film and just watched it months after its release, after the dust had settled down with the immense flak it was receiving. But to put it succinctly, the only thing wrong about Delhi 6 is that Rakesh Mehra made it after RDB. Period. Nothing more, nothing less.

Had Rakesh opted to depart from the norm and do a completely different genre of a film- yes, then maybe, he would have pulled it off well, but a film like Delhi 6, which had the shades of RDB in it, certainly is not the wisest of choices for a follow up. Delhi 6 is like a toned-down RDB, less impacting, much more mellow, and just like anything- its expectations that would hinder one from enjoying it. From the way it had been criticized, I was expecting a heavily metaphorical film with abstract narration all over- I wasn't expecting much, and thats exactly why I give it a 9, because it exceeded my low expectations.

I couldn't help but to think that the film is receiving this flak because of the strong anti-Abhishek sentiment, with many feeling that Abhi hadn't been aggressive enough in the film. But, thats the whole point of the film. That precisely is the USP of the film. Roshan is not a participant, the entire film is a journey through Roshan's eyes as to how he transformed from a mere observer of the society and later on became an active participant. He may not be your regular society-changing hero, but that is exactly Rakesh's intentions in this film. To just show to the audiences what he himself had seen through his eyes.

The film's theme is also very self-reflective. The only major metaphor of the film is about self-reflection. It is a direct satire commentary- sending a clear message that we fail to look in the mirrors to see the evil and good inside us, and instead we believe that God will do the good, and that your neighbor or the person across the street is the evil element. It may had made some feel uncomfortable watching this film as well, as it prompts you to take a look in the mirror. One need not take a long, hard look to understand the so-called 'too metaphorical' way in which this film has been done. Yes, there is a metaphor, but its a well done metaphor, not one that is difficult to comprehend or one which is too abstract.

Admittedly, the film does have its flaws, editing could have been slicker to say the least, there are parts which simply drag the length beyond much necessity- but here I have to credit Binod Pradhan for capturing the essence of Delhi. The last time I was transported to a location in which a film is based on was in the 2006 Tamil film Paruthi Veeran, which took me to the dry, dusty, vast open village in Madurai, and Delhi 6 follows suit. I was at Chandi Chowk, or to put it simply, I felt like I was transported to Delhi 6 myself with Binod's camera-work capturing everything about the city.

Music is certainly great as usual by AR Rahman, but again, Delhi 6 required more silence than noise, thus the entire film was made in a similar way, passive characters- passive, slow music, there's something about the city that is always larger than the people, thats what Rakesh had showed in this film. 'Dil Gira Gaaftan' however, came somewhat needlessly, while 'Kaala Bandar' and 'Gehnda Pool' were shot without much fuss and just relied on Abhi's body language to be pictured, which he certainly did well. Being a Hindu, 'Arziyan' was such a serene listening experience that it became one of my favorite all-time songs, and I was glad the song came repeatedly in the whole film and was an essential backbone to the picture.

Some characters could have been developed in more depth, but the assortment of characters, especially those of Boman Irani, Atul Kulkarni, and Om Puri were all interesting to watch and definitely went well with me. Unlike many other viewers, I wasn't expecting typical Bolly romance build up between Abhi and Sonam thus I wasn't disappointed there as well. Sonam is just another assortment along with many other characters, and Roshan happens to fall in love with her- period.And i think she did well enough for the screen time she was given. And the film essentially lacked in showing the 'good people' inside the characters essentially. When Abhi says 'Indian works, the people make it work'- the second part of that phrase is eluded and underdeveloped throughout this film, and this is why I'm taking a star off my rating.

8.68/10 I would readily buy a Delhi 6 DVD when it comes out and keep it in my collection. It might be one of the very few films that is heavily criticized by the so-called pros but loved by me. But, heck, I enjoyed it, and I don't mind watching it again and again and again.

Yeh Delhi He Mere Yaar, Bas Ishq Mohabbat Pyaar.

When I first heard about Luck by Chance in the making, I already had a positive expectation of the film due to the names associated with them. Farhan Akhtar seems to be knowing very well what he is doing nowadays, and it would be interesting to see how Zoya, his younger sister fares as a director.

To begin with, I did not find the storyline much novel from the many films about the movie industry and stardom which I have seen before. Instead, it was a totally predictable film- almost nothing caught be by much surprise, except the final reels of the film, which culminated to a highly sensible ending. I was expecting a run-of-the-mill happy ending but the way Zoya wrote the climax has to be applauded immensely as it made the whole experience of watching this film something to cherish.

The first and final scene of this film reveals that this film is all about the development of one character- Konkona Sen Sharma's Sona Mishra. The film starts with her journey to filmdom, the wandering wannabe actor who entered her life, charmed her, and thanks to her hand, managed to make his success, and later strayed away with the usual addictions stardom provides. But amidst all this, there is Sona, finding a reason for optimism all the time, and how she finally finds happiness by just doing what she loves to do everyday and not concerning herself with the desperate chase for stardom.

Farhan and Konkona were both splendid to say the least, and Farhan should be applauded for taking up a grey role and not a typical hunk role and playing it to perfection. His is a flawed, human character in every way possible. Konkona meanwhile is someone that had always proved her acting credentials right, and she could proudly tally in Luck by Chance into her list of wonderful performances.Among others, Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia simply own their roles, while Isha Sharvani does an adequate job. However, the only flaw in terms of characterization seems to be Juhi Chawla's Minty- a character which does not have any kind of substance. Or it could be that her character is a metaphorical parody, but that parody definitely missed me by.

Javed Akhtar's dialogues are a great backbone to the film, but certainly Zoya pulls off a more than convincing directorial debut with LBC. Though she could obviously improve few more aspects of her film-making, she did a commendable job for a newcomer, and just like her brother, had the conviction to leave stereotypes and do a different film as her very first (Farhan did Dil Chahta Hai).

All in all, LBC is a mellow, meaningful drama about stardom, success, failures, and doing what you love to do. A good film laced with an important message which is not preached but instead slowly treated to the audience- definitely worth one (or two) views at least.

The last time I sat through an action movie and was completely impressed by it was back in 2006 when I watched 'Casino Royale', a James Bond flick which topped all its predecessors in terms of substance and intelligence and very strong emotional undercurrent wheeling the story instead of just plain height-jumping stunts. 'Taken' follows suit with 'Casino Royale' in that respect.

The utmost impressive fact about 'Taken' is its non-nonsense approach. Its pretty admirable that the director convincingly manages to establish the emotional undercurrent of the movie within such a short period that makes you really feel Liam Neeson's hunger and desire to find his kidnapped daughter. And the movie is only 90 minutes long. It ends before you know its ending. That's how pacy the screenplay of this flick is.

Sure, this is no masterpiece, but you can't expect much more from an action flick. Its an action movie, and it serves its purpose well, and not to forget the film also exposes sex slave trading activities (which still exists) in parts of the world. Some of the scenes depict the brutality of the business so convincingly, and unlike your typical action film, the avoids many common clichés- a silent, unspectacular start which gave more space to show you what a father-daughter relationship is like, and the stunts are not actually as much over-the-top as other action films tend to be.

Liam Neeson's performance is simply talismanic. You can simply feel the hunger and desire for revenge that beams in him, and the way he goes about with an uncompromising approach towards finding his daughter is another high point. Famke Janssen (of X-Men fame) and the rest of the cast are adequate, but its Neeson's show all the way- it simply goes down as one of his career-best performances to date. (right there with Michael Collins, Love Actually and Henri Ducard of Batman Begins). He owns this film. And its also his first action film in a long, long time and he seems fresh and fit to jump around ships like a 16-year-old again.

The film also has one of the best action monologues I've seen or heard in a long time, Neeson's 'I will find you, I will kill you' is damning, downright chilling statement of a dialogue that sets the tone for the rest of the film. Not to forget how he mentions it again when he meets Marko in person. 'I told you I would find you'.

Kudos to director Pierre Morel and the team, and of course to Neeson for making what is inarguably the best action movie of 2008.

It is fair to say that when I knew David Fincher is going to do a movie about a man aging backwards, I was expecting a film which is dark (true to Fincher's other film tones), but ends with a note like 'there is hope, there is a bright light'. When the movie came out, the grapevine had it that the film instead was trying to endorse a meaning or the nostalgia of life.

OK, I'll get this straight. I personally have very high expectations when a film tries to talk about life in a whole. I've read some wonderful books that taught me what my life is all about, but Benjamin Button is little more than a cinematic painting which is beautiful and runs like a small poem, has nostalgia in spurts and more. The film is beautiful in as many parts as it is somewhat depressing.

The major disappointment about this film is that the concept could have been transformed into a much better story. Instead, the writers chose to place the Curious man named Benjamin in a silent commodity of living his life like any other man outside there, instead of showing him as the miracle that he could have been. End of the day, he was just a man who lived. The miracle was missing.

I had troubles trying to get 'its talking about life' concept out of my mind till halfway through the movie, and I knew this film isn't about life, but instead it is about a man who was in many ways different yet similar to rest of human beings. The film could so easily be about a regular human being who ages just normally, because the reverse aging concept isn't blown enough to take centre stage in the whole film. What Fincher has ultimately told in this movie is that offers us similar joy and similar pain, even if we were living it in different ways.

All said and done, the movies is a beautiful painting. Exquisite camera-work, art direction, and spellbinding special effects on the older Benjamin are huge high points for the film. But what lets it down is the film's stale narrative structure, elaboration of many unnecessary scenes or events, at many points I simply don't get what message the film is trying to send out. Because, all the time, the film pretends like it has something important to say- while it doesn't have anything such.

The film's aesthetic features reminds me of both Forest Gump and American Beauty, but there seems to be a middling hand and you end up getting a slightly mish-mashed film. Despite the film's slow pace, some scenes that should have been elaborated more are instead put on an expressway train, it seems like the makers have conveniently skipped doing any scenes that could have a real pang in your heart. Very few scenes make you feel really sad, and even those aren't helped by some very silent, non-reactive acting by Brad Pitt (don't mistake me, he was brilliant in this film I think, but this is more the director's fault) or I should say the characterization. Not one scene of crying in the whole film and they made Benjamin look like young monk who knows what it is like to lose your loved ones and is used to it. The character transformation is almost non-existent.

Cate Blanchett is beautiful and adequate but as said Fincher and the team's monologue-like approach in a film where there is hardly any much dialogue doesn't help any actors show off their prowess. Tilda Swinton's character seemed to have no bearing on the story and was added just for the sake of it.

But, at the end of the day, it is a beautiful film externally but it just lacks more soul that it could have had. I couldn't hate this film, because I enjoyed it, but I couldn't love it either, because this should have been much much more.

I hardly even bothered to consider this flick at the first place because I literally thought this will be yet another over-hyped comedy, knowing that almost all of the big-budget comedies (Zohan, Dollitle to name a few) of the past year have been in truth middling films. But 'Tropic Thunder' may have just earned my earnest respect as being the best comedy I have seen in a really long, long time.

Whats good about Tropic Thunder is that the plot is not dumb or laughable. Its the actors and events within the plot that makes you laugh. The thought about having five real-life actors caught in a real-life war situation sounds serious, and Ben Stiller treats this both seriously and also with comedic panache. Not to mention the sight of Steve Coogan saying 'oh oh' and being blown to pieces after stepping on an old-mine freaked me out even more than horror movies in recent times, but how Ben Stiller tries to lick the blood mistaking it for a prop hilarious.

The fake trailers was a masterstroke, especially Kirk Lazarus' 'Satan' Alley' fake trailer and the music which appears when Tobey Maguire touches Robert Downey Jr. That said and done, it is Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Cruise who really steal the show in this film. I have become a big fan of Robert Downey in recent years (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang being the main reason), now he will go down as one of my utmost favorites with his performance here. His performance as Osiris and absolutely weird comments such as 'I don't read the script, the script reads me' gives you a 'wtf' reaction to boot with. Don't to forget his Chinese interaction with the terrorists where he mixes a 'paddy field' and a 'poppy field'. Cruise, surprisingly, has earned my utmost credit as an actor through this film. I never doubted Cruise's ability to act, but the downside is that Cruise has not taken up enough films to show off his flexibility as an actor. Weirdly enough, a superstar like him taking up a role like Les Grossman's in a film like 'Tropic Thunder' is good news for Cruise critics. Cruise was absolutely convincing in his role, and his satirical dancing and incessant bad words spurting out of his mouth in novelty (Cruise has probably cursed more in this film more than his entire career put together). That toned-down 'Go F*** yourself' is notorious.

Jack Black and Ben Stiller follow up with good performances, but not actually excellent. Stiller instills brilliant laughter at times (the panda scene), but is pedestrian in most. Jack Black meanwhile is an actor whom I personally thought would be better off doing serious roles (he was convincing in King Kong) rather than comedic roles, where he comes across a tad too self-conscious, forced humor. But in this film, Jack's style of humor comes across as a perfect suit, him being the absolute nuisance who distracts the whole unit. The 'I'll suck your dick' comment after learning of Alpa Chino's sexual identity is brilliant timing. Jay Baruchel is good and fits his role to the T but Mathhew McConaughey seems a little out of place with his role.

Ben Stiller's brilliant direction and some great artwork and action direction makes Tropic Thunder the most epic comedy I have seen in my life.

I have always believed that a great movie only comes as a result of not only good performances plus good script plus entertainment plus novelty plus technical prowess. All this has to be complemented by what the movie is trying to say, and on that respect, Se7en is a winner all the way. I see this movie as a complete portrayal of maturation for Morgan Freeman's character. Somerset from the initial frames of this movie constantly mentions the notion of 'I've had enough of this city'. All these culminates to the scene in the bar between Freeman and Pitt where Freeman's Somerset talk about apathy and justifies his views of a trodden world. But the turning point arrives when Mills tells him that Somerset wants to believe in it so that it justifies his decision to retire. After that, we see a constant culmination of the dilemma that Freeman's character undergoes up till the final point, where he remains calm and doesn't lose his grip on the things that happen around him. It is a movie about self-realization as to how Freeman realizes for himself than he is capable to handle even the worst of situations, no matter how much they hurt him. Morgan Freeman easily delivers a performance of a lifetime, and David Fincher shows his touches of brilliance, even though its pretty apparent that a stellar star cast of Freeman, Pitt, Spacey and Gwyneth easily eluded his direction. The film would have been a normal fare had any other director taken this project, because the ending might not have been altered if not for Fincher. The alteration is beautiful to say the least, this new ending certainly separates this film from being just another well-made crime thriller to a meaningful fare with themes regarding humanity and strength.

I'm from Malaysia and studying films is a part of my academic course. If anything, a film like 'Hey Ram' only makes me feel frustrated because I firmly believe that 'Hey Ram' is out-and-out film school stuff. It should be treasured, appreciated, and studied upon time and again. I would love to get my hand on this movie's script copy. But that is the prejudice and stereotype that Indian films so often suffer from that the effort goes un-recognized. This is underlined by the fact that I had to wait for four years before i could get my hand on a DVD of this movie, so that i could add this to my collection. It is as if the film doesn't even exist in records. Would be an exaggeration to call 'Hey Ram' as a masterpiece? Definitely no. It takes a genius to create a fictional character and fit him so perfectly with what had happened for real during the Partition, make him both a victim and a murderer, also an eyewitness, later portray him as the man who wanted to kill Gandhi but retreated at the end. Ironically, his name is also Ram (the real killer was also Ram). It isn't impactful if your movie is suppose to say Gandhi's a great person and you narration from start to end only shows the positive view of Gandhian principles. But what Kamal has brilliantly done is to sketch a character which is well-reasoned and well-placed to hate Gandhi's principles, make the character feel victimized by Gandhi's ideologies, and later bring the character as close as it gets to Gandhi himself and make the character realize, with the help of his selfless Muslim friend (brilliantly played by Shah Rukh), that non-violence is indeed the answer for the communal riots. I too noticed recently that 'Hey Ram''s cover for an European edition has Shah Rukh completely on it, as if he was the star of the film. Now thats a shame because Shah Rukh was just a guest character and it insults everything Kamal has done for this film. My favourite film of all time this is.

To be honest, i wasn't expecting Hot Fuzz to be much of a movie (i was unaware of how good Shaun of the Dead was). I caught this film on HBO and i should admit, i received way, way, way more than what i expected. 'Hot Fuzz' is one of those movies that is hard to describe in common description, its not outright funny, nor is it all action. But it is what genuine popcorn cinema is, outright entertainment. The best way to describe this movie is that it is HYSTERICAL.The film is very familiar yet very different from other films that belong to the comedy-action genre. The point is, Edgar Wright doesn't take the genre too seriously here and tries to mix up a long of things. The film is odd, ridiculous, funny, and has great action sequences as well. It's a strange mix, but the director is talented enough to make that strange mix actually work big time. From the start, the movie was always going to offer something different, and the quick-paced start suddenly settles into a mundane, lazy early days for Nicholas Angel at his new town. Murders happen, but none of them were shown too seriously, and then we have the townspeople muttering them as 'accidents'. Now that's one odd thing. And the film does manage to keep the suspense going even though it never sounded as serious to be unpredictable. When the plot is revealed, it gets more ridiculous, only to serve us all up with a wonderful crescendo of an ending (The fight scene at the climax is just mind-blowing). It's everything that looks out of place coming together. A cop story, located at a small British town, the heroes are two cops, one riding on a horse armed with several shotguns so stylishly decorated over his body (dont forget that stylish cooling glasses, duh), and another being a filmi gimmick, and who are the villains? The town's old people. From a priest to the lazy police chief to a store owner even to a old lady, they are all armed and attack as if they are professional killers. Now that's something you don't see all the time. Just sit, watch and have a blast. This is what i call all-out entertainment with some creative thinking. Well written, well executed, and never pretends to be anything more than what it is.

'Iruvar' is easily Mani Ratnam's best work to date- well researched, well planned, tight screenplay, wonderful classic resembling songs, great camera-work, above all, stellar star cast and performances. The scene on the rooftop of Tamil Selvam (Prakash Raj)'s house where Anand (Mohan Lal) is urged to greet his fans is indeed, a masterpiece of a scene. I should say that 11 years has passed since this movie was made but i have loved every one who has worked on this movie. I believe Santosh Sivan is the best cameraman in India, and I am also saddened that he is not doing cemeraworks for Mani Ratnam anymore (this and Dil Se were both class). I loved Mohan Lal, and ever since then, any of his movies failed to come anywhere near as impactful as this. Above all, there is Aishwarya Rai. There are many people who doubt her acting prowess, claiming her to be nothing but glamorous and beautiful. This is, I admit, the second best all-time single film performance by an actress that i have witnessed in my life thus far (ranking first is the Clementine Wozniacki played by Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine). Ash is tremendous in enacting the role of both a village girl and a seductive actress. There is not a single scene which she fails to impress. Considering this her debut movie, i would say that she always carried great potential, i have seen rushes on the sets of the films that she has worked and i observe that she certainly is a very committed lady trying to portray the role in the best way possible. It's only sad that directors get stuck up when giving her roles. Sanjay Leela Bhansali only gave her HDDCS and Devdas where she played beautiful, exuberant young ladies but did not give her the role he gave to Rani in Black. Ash is easily the most talented of all the actresses, not only the most beautiful, her performances in Mani Ratnam's films (Guru) proves that. He seems to be the only director who knows how to use her talent and also beauty both appropriately. The thing about Iruvar is that the songs never look out of place. They are not abrupt nor mindless. This film, as i have witnessed, has changed a common perception that a good movie shouldn't have song and dance sequences. This is a good movie, and it is even a better movie for its song and dances. They are not out of place because all the songs refer to movies which Anand was acting in, and at the same time, all were gorgeously shot. 'Aayirathil Oruvan' had great locations and camera-work, so did 'Venilla', while 'Aayirathil Oruvan' too is the best shot-under-pouring-rain song i have seen so far. And i am writing this 11 years after the movie released, and five years after i watched it for the first time. I still can't erase it off my memory (I played the movie so many times that i ended up tarnishing the VCD), so i feel it deserves an IMDb review.

I know people love Rajini, i know people love Sivaji because it is tailor-made for Rajini fans with style, and i know Shankar's product has given more grandeur to Rajini's superstar status. I could rate this movie higher because i did enjoy the fun element in it, but i guess my expectations were way above this. Well, why shouldn't they be high? Th director is Shankar, and the last thing i expected is for him to come with a wafer-thin storyline (the story's no show at all). Next is two disturbing facts. As a movie-goer of Tamil films, i'm getting concerned because of Shriya's inclusion in this movie. She, i have to say, is crap. She is not a proper actress, and the biggest problem, she only has skin show and can't modulate in Tamil. Tamil cinema will only progress further if they start paying respect to their own language and start at least hire actresses who can modulate the language properly, instead of giving tax exemptions to Tamil titles. Secondly, this is the MOST expensive Tamil movie ever to date (Dasavatharam is more expensive, and will take over once it releases), so what if an avid movie-goer asks 'what is the most expensive movie you guys ever made?'. I'd have to show him or her 'Sivaji', which by production, theme, storyline, and quality, and even performance, is not at all a good movie. This is not a movie that can make an Indian hold his head high up and shut the mouths of Westeners who stereotype us as being unable to make real quality products. It's like Shankar flushed all the 70 crores given to him? Where is the money gone? Songs of course...

Many rule out this movie as a non-masterpiece just because its a remake....I stick to what Ram Gopal Verma said, 'nothing is original'. In Hollywood, people make movies inspired sometimes by small or Eastern/European movies, then much of the time it is an adaptation of a novel. The director gets a huge team of writers to fine-tune the script. The result, a masterpiece. Here, Kamal single-handedly carried and executed this film. He was inspired by a Hollywood movie which was a slapstick comedy. Did the original say "God is Love" and tackled communist views? This should never be called a remake. Kamal's detail in acting proves he can beat any given actor in this world, I dare to bet. Even in scenes which does not highlight him, he reacts perfectly. Even the minute details was taken care of in his movements and face reactions, the muscles, and the handicap. The best part of this movie is actually the depth of characterization in Kamal and Madhavan, they lived as Nalla and A. Ars throughout the screening in my mind. I have never seen the depth of characterization as much as this movie in the recent past. Deserves to be in the top 250. Is this Internet Movie Database or American Movie Database? I hardly saw a move with a richer context than this. Indian movies do provide masterpieces once at a time, and please do recognize these efforts.

Ever since 'Nayakan' and 'Thalapathy', Mani has had something extra about him while making films, he told what goes comes around in 'Nayakan' and 'Thalapathy', and 'Crime does pay', but not everyone took that fact in those movies. Everybody have had their reviews, I don't want to get excited about Guru or be an idiot to find faults. Shyam Saxena was after Gurukant's blood for such a long, long time, and only after he earned the proofs through Ghanshyam Bhai, he managed to drag Guru to the court. Remember,Shyam has not managed to get enough proofs to convict Guru all time. Only when Ghanshyam Bhai revealed about the spinning lines and so on, he earned the proofs. Gurukant kept saying this to Shyam; "can you prove all these?'...That's the point, Shyam threw the accusations, but was unable to prove all of them, that's why only 2 out of the 29 convictions were proved. The commission did not go easy on him bcoz he compared himself to Gandhi, but its rather due to this fact. Sorry, but many see it the other way. I think Mani's moves in this movie is well-justified. Some say Vidya's character is useless, but her character shows that Guru is not a selfish, hard-hearted businessman, it shows that he has equal affection to the people he care for. He cares for Meenu, and that's why the character was there, as a bridge between the businessman Guru and the human Guru. Affection towards wife and kids are normal, but affection towards Meenu is what makes Guru a good human being, not so bad. Maybe her caharecter could be expanded, but still the necessity is there. Watch Mani sir movies repeatedly, and you'll find a lot of things you did not recognize the first time. Most Indian movies are good the first time watching, and slowly, the flaws surface, but Guru is not such case. I have watched it five times, and as a film-making student, not only me, but my friends (who have hardly watched Indian cinema before, they are all from Indonesia, Chinese peoples etc.) have found the movie worth its ticket. And I did learn a thing or two from the movie (from a film-making perspective that's it), and as an audience, I say it big time (sapana dekh)...dream all you want..you can achieve it, and the movie does have its cult impact on me...until my friends have started calling me 'Guru'. Good, only idiots would say its no nice, and those people don't deserve to intellectually play critique roles in IMDb. But my gratitude to those who tell its not as good as expected, you are pretty true. I enjoyed Yuva more than this. But still, its special, and one cant ignore it.