Doubles

Movie Doubles Director Sohan Seenulal Music James Vasanthan Cast Mammootty, Nadia Moidu, Taapsee

What will happen when a director is all in awe of his hero, a way too much and tries to deify him in every possible shot? It works at times when the character demands such stuff, but in Doubles, it looks simply ridiculous. Giri (Mammootty) and his twin sister Gouri (Nadia Moidu) runs an accident rescue unit in Pondicherry. The siblings have decided not to get married as they don’t want their affection to be shared with others. But the equations suddenly changes when a young girl named Saira Banu (Taapsee) becomes part of their life, after an accident. The story goes through several topsy-turvy twists from then on, most of which are surprisingly inane. Misunderstandings, fights, comedy and of course, silly looking villains who talks big are all added into the narrative, quite generously. But all these can’t help a poorly written film that moves along aimlessly, most of the time. Debutant director Sohan Seenulal has churned out a boring saga that defies logic most of the times. Most of the scenes look unconvincing and certain comic situations which involve Mammootty as well will make you cringe. It is quite amazing that no one associated with it realized that the script (written by Sachi - Sethu) was such a meaningless farce, while planning the film or even while making it! Mammootty looks good (if you are ready to forget his rather ordinary looking wig) and tries his best, but this is one role which he can’t salvage even with his charm. Nadia Moidu, who returns to Malayalam films after a long break, has perhaps erred in choosing the right film to make her comeback, special. Taapsee, who played Dhanush’s heroine in the Tamil film Aadukalam, has nothing much to do and is seriously too young to play Mammootty’s pair. The comic department takes things from bad to worse, with Suraj Venjaramoodu, Salim Kumar, Bijukkuttan and Anoop Chandran trying every trick in the book to generate laughs but falling flat in the process. Y Gee Mahendran, Anandraj, Suresh, Avinash and Saiju Kurup have done their roles in a fine way. P Sukumar’s visuals and James Vasanthan’s music are nothing to rave about. There are no two ways about it; Doubles is a total let down. A legend like Mammootty doesn’t need roles like these to prove his heroism and we are ready to wait for more years to see Nadia Moidu comeback with that magic which she unleashed on screen in the past. This one has been a disappointment, nothing less.

Urumi- Review

Movie Urumi Director Santhosh Sivan Music Deepak Dev Cast Pritviraj, Prabhu Deva, Genelia, Jagathy, Nitya Menen

By Moviebuzz

Santosh Sivan’s Urumi is a miniature masterpiece of moods, emotions, anxieties ruled by a thirst for revenge. The film unfolds like a ballad and is a sweet and simple fairy tale. The 170 minutes film works to a large extent to its perfect casting, fantastic performances, soothing score and technical brilliance. Santosh has made it like how a period drama should be made without too much talk about freedom struggle, no bombastic dialogues or playing to the gallery for heroism. His vision and concept gives this epic the feel of a Brave Heart or Gladiator. It provides us a new insight into the hearts and minds of ancient heroes and shot in locations that reflect the period as everything looks fresh, green and clean and one can feel even the mist. Another major plus is that there are hardly any CG special effects that one would associate with a period war film. Shankar Ramakrishnan’s script is simple and straightforward and keeps the narrative absorbing and inspiring. The film starts in the present day with a modern don’t care youth Krishna Das (Prithviraj) and his friend (Prabhu Deva) having a jolly good time. A big corporate offers Krishna Das a bomb for his ancestral property in Kerala. On his arrival in Kerala to sign the papers, he learns the truth about his land and ancestors, which is told in a flashback. A brave warrior (Arya), wants to kill Vasco da Gama, the Viceroy of Portuguese Empire in India. But he is brutally killed by the invaders and his son Chirakkal Kelu Naynar (Prithviraj) is out to take revenge with a golden Urumi, that he makes with the ornaments of dead women and children who were burnt alive in a ship that was going to Mecca. It was set on fire and sunk under the instructions from Vasco Da Gama. The film is spread between the second and third visit of Gama to India and chronicles a varied version of how Gama could have met a bloody death in 1524 AD. Kelu is supported by his childhood Muslim buddy Vavvali (Prabhu Deva). In the journey he meets warrior princess Ayesha (Genelia), who has her own axe to grind against the foreign invaders. Will they be able to kill Vasco Da Gama ? The major highlight of the film is the performances of its lead actors. Prithviraj as Kelu Naynar is dashing. You cannot take your eyes of him, it’s a difficult role and he has come out with flying colours especially in the climax scene. Prabhu Deva is there in as many frames as Prithviraj, and is a real treat to watch. He does comedy and romance with ease and the chat song with Nithya is a scream. However it goes without saying that this is Genelia’s show. She has shed her bubbly image for an out of the world controlled performance and her Kalaripayattu action scenes are thrilling. Nithya Menen looks pretty and is a scene stealer, while Jagathy is outstanding. Amol Gupte, Alex, Robin and others are lifelike. There is also walk in cameo appearances by Arya, Vidya Balan and Tabu. Music of Deepak Dev enriches the film with Aaro nee aaro, Chimmi Chimmi and the theme music is haunting. A pat for Shankar Ramakrishnan for his intricately crafted script, super editing by Sreekar Prasad without any gimmicks and eye catching beautiful camera work by Sivan and his assistant Anjuli Shukla. Santosh Sivan has come out with a story of valour with an admirable degree of craftsmanship and clarity. The producers Santosh, Prithviraj and Shaji Natesan can be proud of this epic. Urumi is a fairy tale fantasy film that has a heart and technical artistry. Go for it.

Bipasha confirms she’s single and its fun….

 

Rumours have lately been afloat about growing proximity between Bipasha and Rana Daggubati and the end of her love affair with John Abraham. But now things are pretty clear that Bips is single. Well , the actress herself has accidentally admitted that she is very much single and enjoying it.
Bips unwittingly text messaged a scribe and admitted not once but six times: “Yes, being single is great!” Apparently, the actress sent the text to the journalist by mistake. It was perhaps meant for some friend of hers with whom she shares her secrets.
However, Bipasha’s publicist maintains that Bipasha misplaced her phone and the message was sent by a fan of hers.

Aishwarya bags another Rituparno Ghosh’s project

Actress Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan is apparently doing her bit of research on the reclusive Bengali cinema diva Suchitra Sen as she is touted to step into her shoes soon. Ash, who has already worked with National Award-winning director Rituparno Ghosh twice (Chokher Bali and Raincoat), will be seen playing a bandit queen in the adapted film version of Devi Chaudhurani.
Devi Chaudhurani is a novel by Bengali writer Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1884 and is regarded as one of the most popular novels of its times. The film’s adaptation is also regarded as one of Sen’s most appreciated works.
“Aishwarya has asked for the DVDs of Suchitra Sen’s film which is about how a typical affluent housewife turns into the leader of a pack of dacoits. The film will be an adaptation of the novel which is set during the 1880s but nevertheless, Ash wanted to do some research on the actor,” says a source.
Incidentally, both of Ghosh’s previous films with Ash were also on-screen adaptations of well-known literary pieces.
According to sources, Ash has already seen the movie once and has even selected certain portions that she would like to watch again.
“Ash has always regarded Sen as one of the finest actors that Bengal has ever produced. She also wanted to meet her once but she knows that this wish is near impossible as word has it that the senior actor rarely steps out of her appartment. Ash is very interested in her though,” the source adds.
Ghosh and Ash apparentlysat over a series of meetings to discuss the storyline of the film and how it should be adapted in a modern context.
“The script has already been handed over to Ash and she is about to allot dates for the shooting. Rituparno had discussed this with Aishwarya when they were shooting for Chokher Bali itself but he finally got the nod from her when she was in Kolkata last year to accept an award for Raavan,” the source adds. The film will in all probability be a Hindi-Bengali bilingual.
Both Ash and Ghosh confirmed the news of the film being made.

Dressed as royalty, Imran and Kats….

 

Against the backdrop of the most immaculate monument dedicated to love, Katrina Kaif and Imran Khan dressed up as Salim and Anarkali to shoot for their film Mere Brother Ki Dulhan.
The duo dressed up as royals while shooting the Yashraj film at Taj Mahal in Agra. Katrina also fed grapes to Imran Khan.
In the film, Katrina is the would-be bride of Imran’s brother, played by Ali Zafar. But the duo falls for each other, despite not wanting to.