Weekend Movies - Cheeni Kum & Satham Podaathey

Have been extremely busy at work, the last couple of weeks and hence the absence of posts here. Watched these 2 movies a long time back and had written this back then, right after watching the movie. So, here goes my 2 cents worth on the 2 movies.

Cheeni Kum - This is one of those rare movies, where as the end credits start rolling, you realize the smile on your lips. That says so much about how much I liked the movie. When you are able to relate to the sensibilities of the lead pair and the kind of conversations they have & the way their relationship grows, it becomes so much easier for you to appreciate the movie. The subtle underlying comedy in most of the conversations between Amitabh and Tabu is just what they are supposed to be - subtle :) I am no big fan of the Big B but I did feel that this is one of those roles where I can not imagine any other Bollywood actor carrying off with the poise with which AB did in this movie. Though I have great regard for Tabu as an actress, there is something about her voice modulation which just does not let me appreciate her effort & her performance fully. This has been the case with all the Tabu movies that I have watched in the past and same happens in this case too. The camera work is just too neat and sets the perfect mood for the entire duration of the movie. Then, there was the Maestro who conducts a mini workshop on how background scores should be done and who also teaches the younger crop of composers that retuning of old classics can be good thing if they were done the right way. I just could not believe myself that I was admiring the re-tuned versions of the songs 'Kuzhaloodhum kannanukku' and 'Mandram vandha thendralukku', bcos these 2 songs are so much close to my heart that any attempt at retuning those songs might have cringed me. But the Maestro proves his stuff (that only legends like him are made of) as he has delightfully re-tuned the songs. There is a freshness in those songs that is just too good. I simply loved everything about the movie, even its ending something that was not liked many of the reviewers. Paresh Rawal was at his usual best and the little kid too did her job commendably well. Usually, characters like that of the little kid tend to go overboard as in Mani Rathnam movies where kids don't behave as kids. But there was something about this little kid and her characterization that did not annoy me a tiny bit. As long as Amitabh chooses to act in movies like these, I would definitely welcome it. A movie that I simply loved.

Satham Podaathey - Rusty is probably the best way to describe Vasanth's effort in this movie. May be it is the long gap between his last movie and this one, or may be he has just lost it, I don't know, but this movie was certainly a disappointment. When a thriller movie just doesn't have your adrenaline flowing and instead makes you check your watch every now & then, then there is something seriously wrong with the movie. Songs picturization is one department where I rank Vasanth very highly but he fails very badly in this one. Yuvan's songs and background were a big plus to the movie. The whole sequence of Padmapriya not finding out the difference between Prithviraj on the phone and Prithviraj in person was a bunch of bull. Some of Vasanth's movies will find a place in my list of all-time favorite movies but then no movie has been added to that list since Rhythm happened close to a decade ago. May be, its time to place Vasanth on the washed-up directors list. But I will be only glad to be proved wrong.