The X'mas - NewYear Season

The season is alive and kicking! After 3 months of dullness, in which the only saving grace was Prithvi's Chcolate (Yeah, Prithvi's! He deserve it this time!) the Malayalam film industry is warming up. Dileep's Romeoo have released much ahead of the seaon, might be as an attempt to evade clashes. The film has opened well and is having the same crass comedy factor which seems to be the falovour of the season. The film's fate howver depends heavily on the other relaeses of the season. Mammootty-Srini starrer Katha Parayumbol has touched the silverscreens on Friday, over concerns from the industry that the film might not be a Mammu movie after all. even the posters seem to give weightage to srini. However, if the film is made well, it can go all the way. Mohanlal's outing for the season is Sibi Malayil-directed Flash. This will be Sibi-Lal team's first work after 5 years and Mohanlsl's 5th film after 4 consecutive bombs at the BO. Can't say this will be critical for Lal because he has seen worse and came back woth a single hit. The film seems to be a psychological film and will be releasing on saturday, the 22nd of Dec. Prithvi's Kangaroo is also expected to release on the same day. The film directed by a debutant Raj Babu and has Prithvi satrring opposite Kavya after classmates. The film revolves around a baby to whom Prithvi is the guardian. Prithvi riding high on the sweetness of chocolate is expecting the film to do well. If at all the film manages to be the topper ofthe season, then Prithvi will get his seat reserved for superstardom. For chocolate, he had the company of popular people like Shafi and Roma, while here he has a debutant with Kavya, who is certainly not in her peak of popularity. Meanwhile, the star-at-risk Jayaram might show up in the season with East Coast Vijayan's directorial debut Novel. Interestingly, Jayaram's co-star Sada is also in the "danger zone". Music will be the key element in the film, with the songs being remashed versions of popular album songs released under East Coast set to score by M.Jayachandran. Suresh Gopi's Sound of Boots (err...that's the name of the film. interesting name, eh?) dirceted by show-off showman Shaji Kailas will be releasing later in the season, after the newyear. The film is an murder mystery and is produced by the money-spinners of the south Pyramid Saimira. The film is said to have shot at a very short time in meagre budget, but we know story is the king. Hope Shaji also realised that.

Kollywood and Bollywood

Tamil industry, which suffered due to the kerala film chamber's 2 week wait policy for Tamil films has superhit Billa to offer. Thala Ajith is reportedly rocking whole of TN, with collections even overcoming Sivaji in some provinces. Its also Nayan's comeback film to Tamil after a long gap. This is a remake of Rajni's Billa vis-a-vis SRK and BigB's "Don"s. Another release for the season is Shanker produced Kalloori, based on a true incident. The film however is not giving inspiring results, and reportedly the climax of the film is changed to attract audience.

Bollywood has 2 releases this friday, Aamir Khan's directorial debut Taare Zameen Par and Nadiawala films' Welcome. Welcome starring Akshay Kumar and Anil Kapoor is expected to a out-and-out commercial masala film, with Parseh Rawal also in the main cast. The quality of the film is however waited to be seen. The reviews of Aamir's TZP is out and critics are going ga-ga about it. It seems Aamir is a very good story teller himself. Reviewers acn't stop praising Aamir for the entertaining and enlightening movie. Clap clap, Aamir...

The Diwali Showdown Results

Bollywood
Just as we guessed, OSO has emerged as the winner of the season. But everything is not going on just as we thought. We thought Saawariya will be overwhelmed with critical acclaim for making such an interesting film, but its just that what is eluding the film-critical acclaim. I didn’t read a positive review of the film till now. Everybody calls SLB was 'too self/over-indulgent’! Still, the Sony hype still lives on the drop in collections is not that steep. To be more precise, I could see a moderate crowd in front of Sridhar cinema in Kochi for the film, but again it was no match for the pooram-like overcrowding in front of Shenoys. OSO got over 95% collection in the weekend and is sustaining it well. Now, the multiplexes which refused to take the high-priced OSO will be missing the heat, with Saawariya getting an opening of about 85% but losing the sheen gradually. Now the technical aspects of Saawariya are being praised and two mallus are there in the team, two SLB regulars: camera-guy Ravi K. Chnadran and sound-guy Resool Pookutty. Also, OSO's sets are made by a Farah Khan regular, the brilliant Sabu Cyril. These guys really make us proud...

Kollywood
Diwali is the biggest season for Kollywood and there were 6 releases for the season. The overcrowding of releases, the blockbusters on TV, and the India-Pak cricket have affected the collections, and none of the films including VIjay's ATM are superhits. Nevertheless, ATM is obviously leading in the battle, closely followed by Surya's Vel. Interestingly, both Vijay and Surya dons double roles in their films! Dhanush's Polladhavan is at third and is the only film critically acclaimed. Its word-of-mouth publicity will make it sake in the long run. I expected Polladhavan to be in danger zone, but the films in danger zone happens to be Kannamoochi Yenada, Machakaran and the low-budget film Agra. Kannamoochi Yenada is doing moderate business in cities but elsewhere its a washout, while Machakaran and Agra have sank without trace. Another interesting fact, Yuvan Shanker Raja did music for 3 of the relaeses: Vel, Kannammochi Yenada and Machakaran and all 3 of the film music are lowest in the chart, ahead only to Agra. ATM got good initial in Kerala, because on 8th of November there were no competitors and the film was shown in Shenoys, a bigger cinema than Padma, in which it’s showing now. All other films, even Vel chose to distance themselves from the Kerala scene for the Diwali season. We can expect them here after a few weeks when the lustre of the bollywood releases and ATM dims.

Diwali Season Preview

Diwali is the biggest season for the Tamil film industry.

Kollywood: 5 confirmed releases


The season was expected to be much more bigger than in actually is. I loved to write a season preview like this:


1. Bheema- This Vikram, Trisha starrer will b vikram's come-bak wagon after the flop majaa. The music by harris jeyaraj has toppled sivaji outta the top slot in the charts.

2. Billa-This ramake of a rajnikanth starrer in the same name, which in turn is a remake of AB's don, stars Ajith & nayans. AB to srk and rajini to ajith, yeah..the evolution is clear!

3.Azhakiya Tamizh Magan- aka ATM is Vijay's nxt potboiler after the blockbuster pokkiri. And its under the banner of Navodaya. The buzz is that the distribution rights costs exceeded production costs & thus making it a hit b4 release!

4.Vel - this one, starring Surya & Asin might not b in the front row of most expected releases, bt might just turn out to b the dark horse...

5. At last bt certainly not the least, kamal's magnum opus dasavatharam might just release in the season...bt i think kamal is not going to push it too much thru the hullaballoo in the season....

But ended up with this:

5 films have confirmed for the Diwali release and only 2 among my 'expected list' features in the confirmed list!The confirmed films are:

1. Vijay's Azhagiya Tamil Magan

2. Surya's Vel

3. Pritviraj & Sathyaraj starring Kannamoochi Yaenada

4. Jeeva(kakka kakka)'s Machakaran


5. Dhanush's Polladhavan

ATM is sure to lead in the initial week with its rahman songs already topping the charts, which interestingly has a remix of old songs as well! You too, rahman? In the next weeks the picture will be clear. ATM, Vel, Machakaran & Polladhavan are formula films that audience expect for diwali. Inspite of that, pritvi's KY may attract family audience, if its made well, ofcourse.I think machakaran and Polladhavan are in danger zone and if the films are not good will suffer from the second week onwards.Billa is being delayed by distributors Pyramid saimira, who have taken ATM for distribution giving such high rates that the producers are already in profit! These Pyramis guys seems to have a lot of money and they have all of a sudden become one of the key players in tamil & malayalam industries now. They also distribute OSO in ketala & TN. Howvver, its good for swargachitra Appachan, ATM's producer. I heard he bought the Blue Diamond theatre site in kozhikode and gonna construct a cinema there. Now I know from where he got the money!

The Diwali Crackers

Diwali is not much of a big season for malayalam film industry, but it is one of the biggest seasons for bollywood and kollwood. The diwali crackers are:

Bollywood- Its OSO v/s Saawariya

Come November 9 and it will be war. India's arguably most popular actor in a new avatar and a cute and sexy debutant who is already in lotta media glare on one side. Two newcomers, both belonging to big of bollywood families on the other.

It seems like the SRK starrer Om Shanti Om (oso) have the upper hand. It has all the masala ingredients and I wont be metioning the six-pack abs again. Deepika padukone, the well established model have made such hysteria in the filmdom that till date no female debutant could pull out before the dubut itself. they are being directed by farah Khan who know how to make an entertainer, refer to main hoon naa. There's then this songs department, which is not only tops the charts but also bosts of a song featuring some 30+ stars (i mean number, not age...but upto an extent that also holds good ).

Now all these pros that oso have doesn't make saawariya a weak contestant. To start with its Sony Pictures' first Indian outing. The official website of the film hangs around among a bunch of hollywood films. Goto http://www.sonypictures.com/ and see it for yourself. Then there's this guy, touted as the biggest of directors that bollywood have offered...SLB. He showed his potential with 'black'. The pratogonists, Ranbeer and Sonam kapurs have their own families and charm to boast of. Ranbeer looks cool in promos which are not showing much of sonam. Bloody male centered industry! It will be good if both of them proves to be good actors as well. The music of the film sticks to melody genre and are my favorites over the oso songs.

So its war out there, and let's hope for the best!

Ok, here's the result...

1. Nasrani

Opened to substantial crowds, despite proper promotion. Less likely to sustain the initial due to really bad reviews. Ranjith's comeback as writer has proved horrible. Now, Ranjith is doing Mammootty exactly the same things that Shaji Kailas did to Lal.

2. Paradesi

Despite critical acclaim, opened to poor response. Even in cities, the cinemas were struggling to get packed. Mohanlal's performance is rated widely as one of the best in his career. Good word-of-mouth might pull this one ahead to comfortable position.

3. Chocolate

Just like I had implied, this comedy is clearly ahead of his competitors. Malayali's affinity to comedy and Shafi's name (I'm nt forgetting Pritvi & Roma) have helped the film to get the initial and moderate reviews have helped to sustain that. This one's the clear winner of the season.

4. Black Cat

This 'another very different Vinayan film' has turned out to be one of the usual Vinayan craps. Opened to poor response and poor reviews, this one's a loser.

5. Bhool Bhulaiyya

With a fantastic opening of abt 90% all over India, Priyan have once again cemented his position among the topmost directors in bollywood. Akki is said to be repeating his regular antics and brinngs the house down. Vidya's performance is widely acclaimed. Interestingly, Priyan didnt inject too many comic scenes in this story of a lifetime. He stuck to the original and got results.

6. Laaga Chunari Mein Daag

This Yash raj venture, showcasing their would-be family member, has opened to very poor response and mixed reviews. Rani & Konkona are said to be impressive, but not enogh to save the film from being a flop.

7. Malaikkottai

Average opening in kochi.

8. Mayakkannadi

Frankly, dont know. Rather, who cares?

The Ramzan game begins...

The off-season is off, and how!

Atleast 8 releases have touched the Kerala Silverscreen...Instead of adjusting the releases to get the max initial, the mollywood bosses have decided to have it a go, for a direct face/off. All major malayalam films of the season opens this friday. Heard nasrani wl be opening 4 noon only, seems like good news for off-beat paradesi. Shafi's Chocolate, if made well, can be the dark horse of the season. I cant understand vinayan's wit here, for he decided 2 open his black cat with the majors. Priyan's adaptation of the classic manichithrathazhu, bhool bhulaiyya and yash raj's rani mukherji show-off LCMG are the major major bollywood offerings. From the promos, it looks like that Priyan have degraded the film to the crass comedy genere to suit his audience. All remakes of the film were huge successes. Lets hope this one also do well. I dont have much hope on LCMD, for it looks like an off-beat film but then, looks can be deceptive.From kollywood, we have vishal's malaikkottai and cheran's mayakkannadi. Both film were just averages in Tn and it wil be miracle if they do anything better here.

The releases of the day are:

1. Nasrani

2. Paradesi

3. Chocolate

4. Black Cat

5. Bhool Bhulaiyya

6. Laaga Chunari Mein Daag

7. Malaikkottai

8. Mayakkannadi

Ok folks, now its time for us to sit back and watch, the Ramzan game is on...

Off season continues

None of malayalam films graced the kerala silverscreens till now during ramzan...bt there were some dubbed movies like munna starring prabhas, and hero (originally desamuduru) starring hot favourite allu arjun opens today... Munna was a flop in AP and so was here. Madhavan-Bhavana starrer Arya and Arjun's Marudhamalai also failed to make an impact. Priyan's remake of 'in harihar nagar', dhol came and went soon, the film being an above-average grosser all over India. Johny Gaddar also opens today. The film is a flop, despite good reviews and Kerala is unlikely to show any interest. The global blockbuster bourne ultimatum touches kerala silverscreens today...might make some impact as release is confined to cities, but not too much of impact, ofcourse!

Come next week, and it will be battle of sorts at the BO. Masala flick Nasrani faces off with off-beat Paradesi...No prizes for guessing which will open big, but the interesting thing will be to know which will make an impact in the long run...

I watched the movie yesterday, and was left wondering what was the fuss all about?

Its a very very ordinary film with an extra-ordinary star-cast. I'm not saying it was a complete bore, no.It had some wonderful acting, some really funny scenes and some good songs.In the acting department Anil kapoor,Juhi Cahwla, Govinda and Akshay khanna scores, but interestingly the pratagonists of the core story, salman and priyanka disappoints. salman really didn't hav to do anything. he didn't change his expression throughout the film! And I felt Priynka was acting a bit too much more than what which is actually required!

The so-called love-hexagon really don't hav 2 sides. the john-vidya side is shoe-string thin and the sohail-esha one is even thinner and sometimes disgusting! Govinda did a fantastic job to save his syory which is highly cliched. The film itself is highly cliched. It ends up in a regular STOP MARRIAGE 'COZ I LUV HER climax.

Director Nikhil Advani somehow manages to mingle the stories together, but he leaves the sohail-esha alone. He hasn't shown even half the magic of what we've seen in kal ho na ho.

shankar-ehsan-loy' music is catchy and the 2 title tracks sung by adnan sami and sonu nigam are the gem among them.

salaam-e-ishq is not a superb film; but it is certainly a good time-killer