THE GRIN REAPER
A murder mystery goes for laughs and ends up neither frightening nor funny, merely rotten.
JAN 27, 2008 – IT USED TO BE JUST DEATH AND TAXES, but I think it’s safe now to append to the list of sure things the latest brain-dead comedy from Bollywood. The trickle, these days, appears to have become a flood – we seem to be getting one every couple of weeks! – and going by the success rate of these films, I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the near future, multiplexes everywhere take to installing braincheck rooms outside the cinema halls. As we hold out our tickets to the usher, I can see us being asked to deposit our cranial matter for safekeeping through the duration of the movie, so that not a sliver of analytical process will be allowed to impede our enjoyment of the film in question. And it’s tempting to imagine the pandemonium after the screening, outstretched hands of screaming patrons intimidating the pretty girl (oh, as long as we’re dreaming, why the hell not!), pointing her this way and that: No, not that grayish lump. That one, there, next to the one with the smallish occipital lobe. Ah, yes. Be careful. Phew. Thank you very much. Have a nice day.
Until such a time, unfortunately, we have no way of fully appreciating something like Rohit Shetty’s Sunday, which only plays like a comedy, because that’s the flavour of the season, but is actually a thriller, so at any given moment you’re never sure what mood to hold on to. This is the kind of film that wants to cash in on Arshad Warsi’s comic timing by having him con a couple of foreign tourists about the see-worthiness of the nearby police station – according to him, it houses the first FIR ever filed, by Anarkali’s mother against Akbar, a bit of detail I’m fairly certain Ashutosh Gowarikar is unaware of – but almost immediately after, we see Warsi in angst about having to amass four lakhs for his kidney surgery. Sunday takes a cue from this character and keeps changing its mind about what it wants to be. One moment it tries to resemble a dark, timely thriller structured around a mysterious woman who’s shot dead in the very first scene. Then it wants us to laugh at Warsi copping a bullet in the posterior. Then it attempts to get us all white-knuckled about the heroine (the always-watchable Ayesha Takia; the one interesting thing in this film is how her inability to recollect what she did on a Sunday links back to the murder) being chased by an unknown assailant in a dimly-lit garage.
On and on it goes till your only concern is not who did it or why, but just when the lights will come back up. (Even by the feeble standards of recent comedy-thrillers like 36 China Town, the closing revelations in Sunday hit a new low.) Ajay Devgan, as the cop on the case, tries to maintain a semblance of dignity while asked to go through the motions of a stunt sequence lifted from the chase-through-the-rooftops in The Bourne Ultimatum, except that this version ends with the hero walking in defiant slo-mo towards a cloud of red chillies flying in his direction. Irrfan Khan attempts to earn a (well-deserved) commercial-film pay cheque by sprinting across a street in the guise of Ravana, while being chased by a spaniel. And cinematographer Aseem Bajaj tries to give everything a touch of class with his lovely staging of scenes in and around monuments in the capital, but even his eye for composition cannot do a thing for the moment where a drunk at a bar eyes a couple of women standing in front of him and wishes he were an airplane, so that he could crash into these twin towers. The problem isn’t one of taste – after all, one of the greatest episodes of Seinfeld was anchored to JFK-assassination humour – but what a pity a joke this inspired had to be squandered in a film this brainless.
Copyright ©2008 The New Sunday Express. This article may not be reproduced in its entirety without permission. A link to this URL, instead, would be appreciated.
Baradwaj Rangan 
Ron
January 26, 2008
death and taxes 😀 crack! will re-assemble and comment later.
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Aditya Pant
January 26, 2008
Going by the success rate of these comedy films, and the fact that I have hated (well, not enjoyed…for hate is too strong a word) alomost every single one of these I am seriously begininning to feel that I am some sort of a moron who hasn’t even the semblence of something called a sense of humour!! Of course, I laughed my guts out while watching Khosla Ka Ghosla and Bheja Fry, but they were probably exceptions. Almost all other other comedy films in the last 2 years have left me completely cold. Time for me to see a shrink???
The bright side… there are more “morons” like me in this world 😉
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Mickie
January 26, 2008
Phew! Another weekend saved! And to think I was counting down to when this film releases…Thanks You.
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brangan
January 26, 2008
Ron: “re-assemble”? Still reeling under a commando-movie hangover? And no, haven’t seen it yet?
Aditya: But Khosla Ka Ghosla and Bheja Fry weren’t exactly what you’d club under the likes of Sunday, right?
Mickie: You were actually doing a countdown for Sunday? But why?
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Aditya Pant
January 26, 2008
Of course, KKG and BF cannot be clubbed with the likes of Sunday, Welcome, Heyy Babyy, and all of Priydarshan’s films after Hera Pheri…and that gives me hope that I still retain a sense of humour, even though it might be not be remotely close to what passes off as humour these days.
I’m optimistic though…it’s only a matter of time before people will start rejecting this brand of humour just like they did the ‘jala kar raakh kar doonga’ variety of mindless action flicks of the 80s or the shallow NRI romances of the YRF kind recently.
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Zero
January 26, 2008
Baradwaj,
You should really see the Telugu original, Anukokunda Oka Roju. A superb thriller. Brilliantly written.
This one looked rotten from day one, that is since I first saw the trailers (and took quite a while to realise that this film is actually a remake of that film).
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Mickie
January 27, 2008
🙂 Thats seems to be the question of the day! You aren’t the first one to ask me that. I like the cast and haven’t seen a proper trailer, which apparantly suggests much of what you say, as to where one should leave one’s brain.. Hmmm I think I’ll give the desi scene a miss and settle for Bucket List this weekend..
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HAL
January 27, 2008
I would also recommend “Anukokunda Oka Roju.”, though it’s not all that great. But it should/would be far superior easily..
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Nandita
January 27, 2008
I came here only to see that zero has already said what I wanted to. Yup, the telugu version is quite superb. I enjoyed it considering I can only barely follow the language!
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sm
January 27, 2008
Mr. Rangan, I was waiting to read your review to see what happened to this film. The other reviews have been pretty bad, but, like Zero above, I had seen the Telugu original and thought it was a very well-done movie. I am sorry the Hindi makers felt the need to dilute the suspense of the original by marketing this as a comedy – although the Telugu version had plenty of humor, too. This brings me to the question I wanted to ask you: Why is it that, in so many instances of remakes of South Indian films into Hindi (whichever of the four languages the original is in), the spirit or authenticiy of the original is lost, usually due to an attempt at glamorizing or otherwise making the film more accessible to Hindi audiences?
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Rags
January 28, 2008
Either you make a full length suspense thriller or a full length laugh riot. This movie was neither. Our directors, try to make movies for the Indian audience and end up thumbs down all the way. I agree with Rangan that at no point in the movie, you are allowed to take a decision whether its a serious or a comic movie. I havent seen the Telugu version, but will give it a shot
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Vamshi
January 28, 2008
Agreed wtih Zero, HAL etc. Anukokunda Oka Roju was a very well crafted movie. Directed by Chandrasekhar Yeleti, who made his debut with Aithe (one of the breakthrough Telugu movie in recent times), it retained the suspense with some very delicate, middle of the road humour. Yeleti is an excellent screenplay writer as seen in Aithe. The ending was a bit of a let down. Do see it if you get a sub-titled version around. Pity that Sunday is remake of AOR.
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Raj
January 29, 2008
sm, you have said what I wanted to say. Bollywoodisation=”bradhogg’sfavouritecurse’isation?
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sureshkumar
January 29, 2008
Chandrasekhar yeleti himself is now remaking ‘Aithe’ in Hindi as ’50 Lakhs’… Aithe was remade in Tamil as ‘Naam’… though it dealt with a very serious issue… it was fun throughout..
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brangan
January 30, 2008
Zero/HAL/Nandita/sm/Vamshi: Yeah, I’ve heard good things about AOR – and actually about the “new wave” (so to speak) of Telugu filmmakers, but haven’t seen any of the films. Am curious about Happy Days now. Damn, how come these trends aren’t catching on here? Why are we stuck with Kaalai and the “commercial panjamritham” of Pazhani? 🙂
Rags: Actually, there’s surely a way to do a light thriller, in the mould of, say, Vijay Anand, but that was probably beyond the grasp of the folks in question here.
Raj: And the sad thing is even after this supposed “Bollywoodisation”, no one’s biting. The film isn’t doing well I hear.
sureshkumar: Hadn’t heard of 50 lakhs. Hopefully it will escape the “Bollywoodisation”.
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Raj
January 31, 2008
br, Bhool Bhulaiya did succesfully bollywoodise Manichitrathazhu – in commercial terms, I mean. I think, in general, remakes work on the strength of the subject in hand. A movie like Agni Nakshatram, which worked on the basis of Manirathnam’s style and the current ‘hot young star’ status of Karthik and Prabhu couldnt work as a remake in Hindi because neither the style nor the star power was replicated in Hindi. And without that, the subject/screenplay was not strong enough. That one wasnt ‘bollywoodised’ either. It eventually took a Saathiya for a succesful remake of a Mani film.
50 Lakhs is a dubbed version that has already been screened on SONY MAX. No chance of that being ‘bolywoodised’ now.
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Raj
January 31, 2008
oh! and the new wave of Telugu directors arent that hot, after all. Sekhar Kammula fizzled out after Anand. Godavari was nothing but goli soda and Happy Days would put Karan Johar to shame.
Yeleti’s Aithe and AOR are just attempts at off-beat. Think Chennai-28 or oram po, and thats pretty much the equivalent of these.(I dont mean same genre)
Telugu or Tamil Cinema dont really have the system to produce the equivalents of even, say, the likes of Bheja Fries or Ghoslas – forget the Cyruses etc.
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HAL
February 1, 2008
Completely agree with Raj. I didn’t like Happy days! Godavari though a tad better, is still forgettable. But the films aren’t bad as he sounds.
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Aditya Pant
February 1, 2008
Agree with Raj about the Agni Nakshatram remake…Vansh did not have any star power…and in early 90s we just didn’t have the support system for non-star films.
Talking of Vansh, the music was also a rehash of Ilaiyaraja numbers, but the one original song by Asha Bhosle – Sard Mausam (though not as good as Oru Poongavanam from the original) – was my hot favorite in college 🙂
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Zero
February 2, 2008
I’d not sound too gung-ho about Sekhar Kammula, but I did like the couple of his films that I’ve watched. The thing with Kammula is his films are unabashedly feel-good, but he doesn’t exploit it for cheap purposes. Like Hrishida, for instance. (No, I’m not at all equating the two.) His characters come off as very real. Even in a very fancy, picture-perfect world like Godavari (not so fond of the film really), I liked the way how many of the characters come off as very real. Anand would have to be his best, I think. I haven’t seen Happy Days, it didn’t really excite me that much.
But all thumbs up for Yeleti, I say! Aithe is a good amateur’s attempt, a very watchable thriller with a good dose of humour. But with Anakokunda Oka Roju, I should throw up my hands for applause. It has some truly brilliant moments, and superbly made overall. The way we gradually unravel what happened to the girl during her wild ride that night… the audience is engaged in a perverse way throughout the film. (Is it the director who’s really “protecting” the protagonist from many grave situations? Or is it the audience which expects only grave situations to befall her on a rather innocuous night just because she’s out of her senses?) The way the director invokes terror out of seemingly normal happenings around us. The cool and unruffled narrative. This is a thriller unlike any other Indian film in many years. Like someone said, this would have made Hitchcock proud!
I’d say, the Telugu “new wave” is actually commendable. It’s not just these two filmmakers, there has been a spate of films that seem to have completely abandoned what has come to be the standard construct of Telugu films. As for those who stay around Kodambakkam, there’s no equivalent new wave as yet. But, I’m hopeful of (to pick some names from 2007) Venkat Prabhu (I know, over build-up odambukku aagaadhu, but I think Saroja is going to rock! Apparently, Venkat Prabhu is filming the different interlocked stories in the film without telling anyone the “full” story), Pushkar-Gayathri, Vetrimaran (who referred to his next ready script as a “total fireball,” but something which all his well-wishers have sincerely requested not to subject them to!) etc. Let’s see.
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raj
February 4, 2008
zero, i am not even 1/4th the film buff you are, so i darent question your pronouncement on Telugu cinema. But Kammula, Yeleti thavira vera yaarupa ‘new wave’ telugu film maker? Puri Jagannath? Can’t be,s urely? The directors of Mahesh’s films following pokkiri? Cant remember their names but surely you dont mean the directors of Athithi or Athadu?
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Zero
February 5, 2008
Raj,
No. (I haven’t seen all those Mahesh Babu flicks actually, but hey, that much of prejudice, we all deserve, I think. :))
Mohan Krishna Indraganti (Grahanam which fetched him the national award for for the Best First Film of a Director, Maya Bazar) for one. Grahanam probably owes it almost completely to its source — a short story by Chalam, one of the giants of modern Telugu literature — but it was a very powerful and well made film. I’ve been wanting to catch Maya Bazar, but never managed to.
Neelakanta (Show, Missamma, Sada Mee Sevalo, Nandanavanam 120 k.m.) is another director who comes to mind. I’ve seen two of his films (Missamma and Nandanavanam), both of which were not entirely satisfying experiences for me, but were surely interesting films (with horribly out-of-place feel-good endings though). Missamma particularly is such a weirdly constructed film (drolly funny, at times just absurd) that I found it hard to straitjacket it as a “feel-good family entertainer” though it plays out like nothing but that. I’m eager to catch his National Award-winning film Show, which I’m led to believe is his best effort.
Vanaja by Rajnesh Domalpalli is another art-house effort (after Grahanam made waves). I haven’t seen the film, so can’t say much about it.
Though all these films are not outstanding efforts per se, they truly belong to a “new wave” and have completely abandoned the regular formula; not just for the sake of it, but with commendable success.
All said, I won’t put down Tamil cinema in comparison at all. The artistry of someone like Bala is simply unmatched, I’d say with the very limited exposure to Telugu cinema that I have.
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Zero
February 5, 2008
I meant to say, “Though not all these films are outstanding efforts per se…”
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Sid
February 5, 2008
One more Telugu thriller which ought to be seen is ‘A Film by Aravind’. I wonder why the others have missed out on that one.
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raj
February 6, 2008
zero, oh like that-aa…
I was thinking of mainstream telugu. Telugu stars are so far removed from even a sniff of an attempt to make good cinema. Atleast, a Vikram, a Surya here give a chance to the balas and ameers. The problem with telugu is that mainstream telugu is still in the 80’s or 70’s – only, stylish making has replaced thousand pots and pot-bellied dancers and Mahesh Babu has replaced Krishna. Just look at the recent hits – Pokiri, Yamadonga(Ah! but you never had the misfortune of watching these, did you?), even a Dr.Rajasekar movie hit the bulls eye. Atleast, Paruthiveeran succeeded here. Another gripe. Do you ever see the ‘real’ village in Telugu mainstream movies. Come to think of it, they have not even had a ’16 Vayadhinilae’ yet!!! Viswanath’s Swathi Muthyam Village was hardly real.
If you are talking Vanaja or Grahanam, dont we also make Nadhi karaiyinilae(with allits flaws), Sringaaram and Oorukku Nooru per. Adhellam kanakkula varadhu pa 🙂
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raj
February 6, 2008
I saw sadha mee sevalo and Missamma – underwhelming, both. Different, yes. Good, even average – no.
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raj
February 6, 2008
zero, none of the fils you mentioned, except Missamma, was a success.B***dy they didnt even register 1 in the richterlu scalu. And stay away from Maya bazaar.
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Zero
February 6, 2008
Raj,
Actually, I wasn’t really thinking about box-office success or the impact the films managed to make around the overwhelming majority — the thud-fests of Mahesh Babu, Junior NTR etc. I don’t have much idea about that part, and yes, I didn’t have the “misfortune” of watching those films. 🙂
I was only talking about the spate of “new” films that are being made over there (like Baradwaj) in Telugu cinema which has its typicalities lying somewhere else altogether. Telugu cinema on the whole, of course, can’t really stand a comparison with Tamil cinema. We’ve longstanding stalwarts still making films, and one has to go back to the ’80s to pick even someone as good as K. Vishwanath in Telugu cinema. (RGV is like a son who ran away from the house at a very young age, of course!)
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Zero
February 6, 2008
And, like I already noted, films like Missamma were underwhelming experiences for me too, but these films seem to have consciously rejected the mainstream cinematic form (they’re not ‘Hollywoodic’ either!) with considerable success. Missamma was a weird film for me — I did like the droll humour that runs through the film, which otherwise has a totally silly plot that gets only sillier! I also liked the lead actor’s goofy act. No kidding, I half-expected some surreal twists in the story, the cloyingly “feel-good” ending was a real turn-off for me. Nandanavanam also had a very dull ending. Have you seen Show, by the way?
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raj
February 6, 2008
zero, like I said, I am not a percent of the film-buff that you are. It just so happened that I was in hyderabad for long and saw a few films on screen and many on TV. No ‘Show’ for me. Agree that Missamma was weird and that in a non-hollywoodic way as you observe. Or for that matter non-korean or european. Which is not what you can say for most ‘different’ hindi movies:-).
But on the whole, even if you want to consider these off-maisntream movies, there is a better chance for it in tamil. One Grahanam and One Vanaja is all we have in telugu in more than 10-15 years. That is not the case in Tamil, where atleast B Lenin regularly makes movies that win national awards :-). We have had a better proportion thatn Telugu there also – and that is not coincidental. Like I said, they are yet to come out of the 70’s. This reflects in their overall setup, too. Show was possible because Krishna’s daughter indulged herself as producer. This is the only way different movies get made there. Even NFDC hardly ever makes a telugu movie, does it:-)
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