Picture courtesy: webindia123.com
PHONE BHOOT
Spooky 5 a.m. calls perk up a wallflower-loser in an eerie urban-nightmare that’s terrific for the most part.
FEB 28, 2010 – THE EPONYMOUS UNDERACHIEVER in Karthik Calling Karthik (superbly portrayed by Farhan Akhtar) lives in a washed-up apartment whose walls are as bare as his life. The only people in his sad little existence are the landlord who bullies him, the boss who berates him, and the girl of his dreams (Deepika Padukone’s Shonali) who doesn’t know his name despite four years of inhabiting the same office. The film’s prime metaphor is the Rubik’s Cube that Karthik keeps shuffling between his twitchy fingers – despite endless tries, the coloured squares are all awry. He is alone, even on his birthday, and what better instrument to aid his pathetic attempts at connection than the telephone? If no one else will talk to him, if no else will be friends with him, he will speak to himself, he will befriend himself. That appears to be the subconsciously surreal conceit behind the occurrence of Karthik beginning to receive calls from a voice that sounds like his, and belonging to someone with a name like his. It’s Karthik calling Karthik.
The Karthik at the other end of the line is Tyler Durden to our meek corporate-drone protagonist — part motivational speaker, part messiah– and he delivers the Karthik at this end from the soul-crushing banality of his existence. Under his empathetic urging, Karthik transforms into something of a rock-star rebel. He subdues his landlord, squashes his boss, and he sweeps Shonali off the feet that cap her never-ending legs. Most importantly, he solves that pesky Rubik’s Cube – the pieces of his life are finally in place. The first-time director Vijay Lalwani gets a real rhythm going in these early scenes, aided by the deadpan charms of his peerless leading man (is there an actor who can put over a quip with a better sense of self-deprecation?) and Padukone’s pitch-perfect embodiment of the ice-goddess object of Karthik’s geeky affections. Lalwani is not a showy filmmaker. Like the siblings Farhan and Zoya Akhtar, he achieves his emotional effects by observing from a discreet distance – the first time we sense Karthik and Shonali are in love is not through express demonstrations but rather through the camera that rises up behind them and lingers on the golden sunset in front. The mood sets up the meaning.
And yet, you know things aren’t quite right, thanks to the low-key dread conjured up right from the opening credits, over Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s appropriately alienated score – layers upon layers of eerily disorienting machine-music. And sure enough, the placid surfaces of the story begin to ripple with quasi-existential urban nightmares, reminiscent of No Smoking. (There’s an offhand moment, early on, where Shonali lights up in her office while ignoring a sign that clearly states there’s no smoking allowed, and I wonder if that’s some sort of nod to Anurag Kashyap’s now-notorious trawl through Kafka-land.) The voice at the other end takes possessive control over Karthik – who becomes increasingly addicted to this form of self-help, delivered, seemingly, through his own self; after all, it beats listening to his brutally practical shrink (whom Shefali Shah imbues with a characteristic blend of softness and steel) – and the film crawls into a fascinating zone that’s both disarming and disturbing. Karthik’s situation leaves you at once charmed and creeped-out.
The final stretch, though, is underwhelming. The subdued scenario called for a more abstract resolution, and the big reveal is too literal. While it isn’t difficult to understand the commercial logic behind the overly explanatory deconstruction of the mysterious goings-on – who, really, wants another befuddling bomb like No Smoking on their hands? – it’s hard to shake off the sense of dismay that this is all there is to it. Lalwani is too classy a filmmaker to stoop to simplistic Freudian fixes (despite hints at a childhood trauma) and schlocky gotcha! effects – even when Karthik awakens from a sweaty nightmare, he merely opens his eyes; there’s no sitting up with a jolt to the accompaniment of soundtrack hysteria – so we’re denied the thrills that would normally accompany such a premise. It’s easier, therefore, to view Karthik Calling Karthik as a love story between two damaged souls – she’s been in too many bad relationships; he’s been in none – in an age where we’re all slave to too much technology. How are our lives impacted by the remote control studded with endless rows of buttons when all we need is the power-on and mute and channel up/down? That’s the question that may hover in a thought bubble over your head while walking out of this absorbing anti-thriller.
Copyright ©2010 The New Sunday Express. This article may not be reproduced in its entirety without permission. A link to this URL, instead, would be appreciated.
Sid
February 27, 2010
Good review, BR. Though I guess I found the film more flawed than you did. For me the biggest problem was that I just couldn’t buy the sudden transformation that Karthik undergoes after just one phone call. Detailed thoughts in my review here:
http://morethanfilms.blogspot.com/2010/02/film-review-kathik-calling-karthik.html
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Srinivas
February 27, 2010
Loved this one. The denouement was a bit of an anti climax, but the movie kept me hooked all the while.
And those legs..O MY GOD!!! 🙂
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Harish S Ram
February 27, 2010
Guess Farhan has done it again from what you have said here 🙂
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Harish S Ram
February 27, 2010
am i sensing something strange here btw? 2 films having lead as Karthik and both supposedly good .. well i saw the tami film and it was very good 🙂 though i couldnt make myself like the characterization of Trisha Had what Gautham had intended to show if he had made it perfect would have made my hair stand 😛
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brangan
February 27, 2010
Harish S Ram: Actually the character of Jessie is what really made the film for me and took an ordinary love story to an entirely different level. Gautham has always nudged the envelope when it comes to writing women (except Minnale, which I hate) — and this capricious, flighty girl who just can’t make up her mind is one of his best creations. I had problems with Trisha, but not with Jessie.
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Vivek
February 28, 2010
VTV worked very very well for me. Jessie was brilliantly written and her conflicted inner goings on were captured without any tedium. I have for some strange reason always believed that Simbu was quite capable of being a consummate actor, now if he can just stick to 1-2 good directors a year, he might just show us what he is really capable of. And I thought the choice of the hero’s sidekick was extremely interesting and kept the tone of the movie far away from the usual college gang stuff.
While I was mostly ok with the way Rahman’s songs were picturised, I felt his background music was too overbearing and at times completely unnecessary.
I don’t see this movie being a hit since most of the mass movie goers had started walking out well before the movie ended, guess its Gautam’s deeply personal style of film making.
I for one could totally relate to it, having successfully wooed a Jessi myself 🙂
Good cinema.
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Bala
February 28, 2010
hmm,while Farhan was good as the shy,introverted chappie, when it came to the Karthik on the phone , I thought he was laughable.(there was actual laughter in the theatre when he made his “I am so creepy” voice )About the dialogues, the less said there was better.And the character of his boss just didn’t do it for me.And as Sid pointed out his transformation took all of one day ? Nicely shot though it was, KCK was one big disappointment 😦
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Vikas Bhargava
February 28, 2010
I had placed a kind of high expectations on this one and it sadly did not fulfill its promises. It was by no means a bad movie, but certainly not a remarkable one.
Some things that didn’t work for me:
1. It was predictable for the most part. I could make out how Karthik was calling Karthik quite early, which doesnt bode well for a movie which “claims” to be more of a thriller than a love story (atleast from the promos).
2. The central conceit is, maybe new for Bollywood, but a done to death one for someone like me. Farhan was good but I felt he needed an investment akin to Christian Bale in The Machinist to bring the whole thing alive.
3. The first half of the movie was utterly “wannabe” (for want of a better word). The transformation as Harish pointed out was laughably idiotic. It could be argued that perhaps some other alter ego of Karthik kicked in abruptly to give him that makeover but I certainly felt that it was a “transition” and it was not an effective one. Too rushed.
4. Vijay Lalwani certainly needs to up his ante a bit. I felt he was piggy backing on a somewhat decent script and utterly failed to infuse the proceedings with any energy, thrills or compelling drama.
5. Too many stereotypes to digest. The slimy co workers, the illicit affair manager, the Oh so serious psychiatrist who looked like she pushed over Morpheus and stole his leather chair.
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Ramesh
February 28, 2010
is the film as unsurprising as the title sounds ? karthik is gonna call karthik, and karthik’s life is gonna get better (bruce willis , at least, aged by the time he went back in “the kid”
AIs the film also a metaphor for the empty cupboard that is farhan akhtar’s creativity? 😉
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Madhusudanan Perati
February 28, 2010
@Sid,
While KCK has a few things not explained well, I think Kartiks transformation isn’t one. I’d explain it (for the film) like this: If Karthik could imagine a non existent alter ego that suggests him what to do, he could also imagine the suggestions working for him. If he was a normal mind which is still controlled by the conscious this isnt possible but he’s already driven by some abnormal instincts, so that at times even helps him get rid of his fears, rather abnormally for the viewer’s common sense.
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Kavitha
February 28, 2010
@brangan, the comment about Gautam’s way of writing women: I agree completely iff you are referring to his heroines (somehow, to me, he doesn’t seem to take as much interest in carving the other women). His heroines definitely leave a mark. And I do think this is one of Trisha’s better movies (I usually cannot stand her). What Mani Ratnam couldn’t get out of her in Ayutha Ezhuthu, Gautam seems to have succeeded here.
Hope your snippet on VTV is not all you have to say about the movie.. you _are_ writing a full-fledged review soon, right? 🙂
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brangan
February 28, 2010
Sid and others: The transformation didn’t bother me at all, because the title does say what it’s about and so I didn’t look at it as a brand new occurrence so much as an external manifestation of a part of the subconscious. (Like Madhusudanan Perati says in his comment.)
Vivek: Reg. Gautham’s style, I was telling someone that if you liked his earlier films, you’ll probably like VTV, and if you didn’t, then you” probably react with a shrug. He’s certainly making flaws-and-all films that are personal and (barring songs and all) quite indifferent about “whether the audience will like it, whether it will work in B and C centres” and so on. That’s a very good thing IMO.
Another thing I really loved was that it was a young love story without audience-pandering “cuteness” — no one says “odipolaalama” and such. It’s an extraordinarily “grown up” film, as in you can sense a similar romance being made between a silver-haired widower who’s frustrated by the indecisiveness of the elderly single woman next door, who’s torn between attending to “her” feelings and also afraid about “what will society say.” To see this dimension in a young-love story was effing brilliant.
Vikas Bhargava: I agree that “the central conceit is, maybe new for Bollywood, but a done to death one for someone like me.” I was so hooked by most of the film that the “explanation” came as a big disappointment. The stereotypes didn’t bother me, though. They’re all on the fringes. I guess I’d have groaned if they were an integral part of the narrative, but they’re just referenced and we move on, so I wasn’t terribly upset.
Kavitha: Trisha didn’t work for me as much as I’d have liked. But yes, I’m writing a column next week.
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Null Pointer
February 28, 2010
BR – VTV was a “wannabe” grownup film ,IMHO. While one can sense the filmmaker’s attempt to convey a this grown-up love story, somehow the dialogues and everything else made it seem shallow,wannable cool and urban(which is how most GM movies are IMO). And Silambarasan and Trisha didn’t work for me.
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bart
February 28, 2010
On VTV: The film worked in first half, slipped a bit but resurrected to some extent in climax. Will wait for ur column.
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Null Pointer
February 28, 2010
Yet another thing that was pathetic and had me in splits abt VTV-all those shots that had the hero pretending to go hummin’ and strummin’ on the imaginary guitar. Even the way the guy goes abt tossing the f** word all over the place-I don’t know the way it came out ,just made me wince. Not to mention the smug attitude of the hero when he talks about how sure he is of jessi’e feelings!Sounded crass!Sorry to hijack the the comments sction of “KCK”
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santoshbhoopalan
February 28, 2010
@Vivek: Totally agree with your views on jesse’s characterisation, her psychotic shades and anxiety were so well crafted and novel to Tamil cinema.
Simbu did an exceedingly good job but I still feel he is less of an amorphous actor. While delivering his lines it was more of Simbu than the character Karthik. I can think of Surya or Madhavan who would have done it better but then kudos to Simbu for choosing this film.
On the flip side, the other characters were not so well developed,added to the quite overpowering background score.And the story overall was a bit weak.
Anyhow loved the film.
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Sid
February 28, 2010
@Madhusudanan: I do not have a problem with the transition per se — just the fact that it happened right after the first call (I think a gradual transformation would’ve made more sense).
I must admit that part of the disappointment was because I was really digging the first few scenes and I thought Farhan was doing extremely well — to me the pe-transformation Karthik was far more interesting and I wish the film would’ve spent a little more time exploring that character.
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Vishnu
February 28, 2010
I really enjoyed watching VTV. The audience reaction was pretty good too, though there was more crowd for the telugu version.. I wish the second half was a little crispier..The period during which Gowtham has to bring in a conflict between the lead pair had a repetitive feeling with earlier scenes/dialogues..The songs were awesome, though there were one too many
This is the first time I’m seeing a Simbu movie and liked his performance. Though its not because of him I went to the theater, I hope he continues to make some sensible choices..
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Vamshi
February 28, 2010
The Telugu version of VTV (Ye Maaya Chesave meaning “You have created such magic”) has got great reviews. People are going ga-ga over the new heroine – Samantha. I think even for the Tamil version, they should have tried fresh faces rather than Simbu and Trisha.
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karrvakarela
February 28, 2010
I saw VTV at the theatre tonight, my first ever Tamil movie on the big screen. Liked the slick presentation but the film was a huge disappointment. Having read so much about Gautham Menon’s work I went in expecting a complex and textured exposition and all I got was a callow, dysfunctional romance. Of course I don’t speak the language so the subtlety of the dialogue was lost on me but that was probably only part of it. A R Rahman’s music was wasted.
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Harish S Ram
February 28, 2010
Jessi character as a complex person worked fine for me till the time she starts to explain her acts … the time we get into her mind didnt go well for me (and that happens a lot in the 2nd half) … she was great through Karthik’s eyes. But then that’s how people are actually rite? they look so intellectual and all through our eyes but when we get into their mind they kinda disappoint us. I can see that is what Gautham had intended to show but why not a more deeper view on her mind than oly through Karthik’s eyes if at all you wanna show her side too.
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Ramesh
February 28, 2010
silambarasan looks like a donnai, othervice id have gone to the sunday show.
samantha ruth prabhu used to be a fb friend and is a complete cutie.
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Kiruba
February 28, 2010
VTV was such a refreshing take on love in Tamil films that Im willing to overlook all its problems. Despite choosing a lead pair with very limited potential (Simbu indeed looks like a donnai) GM makes Karthik and Jessie intensely likable and manages to weave an endearing tale. Definitely better than his much-hyped VA.
Samantha shows promise in her brief role and Iam eager to catch YMC.
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Civic
February 28, 2010
What about ‘Teen Patti? It was interesting to begin with but the movie fell apart completely in the second half wandering aimlessly. An effort wasted despite an interesting cast and a novel plot(For bollywood, of course). Btw, loved VTV but found it not-so-magical which it should have been otherwise.
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Aditya Pant
February 28, 2010
I agree with you that the subject called for a more abstract treatment, especially in the second half. The subdued, moody first half really worked for me, but the underwhelming denouement was disappointing. And that spoiled my overall experience. All in all, a good film that could have been great!
Regarding your reasoning for why the makers chickened out of a no smoking kin of treatment, I’m not sure if it holds. The subject and the treatment as it is now still caters to a small section of the audience, not sure if a more abstract treatment would have lost some of the audience.
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MoviZol
February 28, 2010
The movie is quite good, the idea of phone bhoot is also fresh so one should watch this.At last i would say it’s no more than one watch.
You can watch it online here,
http://movizol.blogspot.com/2010/02/download-watch-karthik-calling-karthik.html
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raj
February 28, 2010
Vtv probably is menon’s best effort.yes, the bgm was kind of distacting. Rahman continues to be a macro-emotion man when it comes to bgm. With such characterisation, there was opp to score character themes, bring the intrigue of jessy etc bur Rahman just kept scoring for the situation – the mustafa theme in the frenship-A irukkalama scene for instance. He might say he has an orthogonal approach to bgm but what I see is discomfort and lack of interest in characterisation(or bringing the char through bgm) and a comprehensive approach – the bgm continues to be piecemeal for individual scenes.
One thought – we know he needs a lot of time to chisel and perfect songs. How much time does he spend on bgm? Could that have something to do with this? If yes, why can’t he take more time on bgm?
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Vikas Bhargava
March 1, 2010
ooh we are really allowing illegal download links in a moderated comment post?
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KPV Balaji
March 1, 2010
So what did you think of Simbhus make over, i assume you have seen some of his earlier films (remember you mentioning watching silambattam :P). I thot he was very good and did his part really well. If he concentrates on a bit on his dialogue delivery more he could do really well.
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Ramesh
March 1, 2010
I started watching Karthik calling karthik , despite some reservation about watching bollywood films online(pirated?) . I got to about fifteen minutes, and Karthik calls Karthik , and said his problem was that he couldn’t say “no”. I sat up,in surprise and said “by George He’s got it” and switched off the film immediately.
Although I’ll never, probably completely see this film, I thank squeeky Akhtar for helping me say no….to his film. 😀
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Deepak
March 1, 2010
***VTV Possible Spoilers Ahead***
VTV certainly was an interesting movie. The fact that the movie had so few scenes of them being happy together bothered me a bit, at first. But then, on retrospect i think it was right way to go…She knew that their relationship was doomed from the start. Knew that she could never go against her father. That was always gonna be there in the back of her mind. Also interesting to note that she had the same fate in the end that befell her sister.
Do you think that he eventually moves on? I think he does. Why else did they write the other girl character into the film? And why does he *insist* that she act in the film? Maybe he feels that she is the closest thing to Jessie?
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D
March 1, 2010
The problem with this movie is that even anyone who has seen Fight Club on Star Movies can see the twist coming a mile off.
Just because this is one of the first psychological thrillers to hit Bollywood, that does not mean it can get away by being held to a lower standard than otherwise. Sorry Akhtar/Lalwani – FAIL!
PS: BR, seems like Farhan is going the Aamir Khan route, i.e. films not directed by him are still seen as “Farhan Akhtar films”. Think Rock On! 🙂
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Padawan
March 1, 2010
With all the talk about Trisha on…did Simbu/Karthik
work for you?
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Ramesh
March 1, 2010
farhan akhtar/ aamir khan comparison RFLMAO. the reason they call them farhan aktar films is because everybody seems to think squeeky Akhtar’s basically using baap ka paisa/ pull to make entirely undeserving films. Aamir,OTOH even if he IS connected, appears to be a perfectionist who DOES co direct most of his movies.
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Pradyum
March 1, 2010
Lot of self-references here too,just like in Rock on!! Karthik is shown watching Honeymoon Travels,another shower scene that starts off like the shower scene from Rock On!! Deepika being called Shona reminding me of Sona from the other Farhan production,Luck By Chance..
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Pradyum
March 1, 2010
Also,the fact that Karthik Subramanyam was not a stereotype south Indian pleased me.
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Udhav
March 1, 2010
I liked it a lot. Farhan Akhtar pesama Hero ayidalam.
SPOILER ALERT
BTW, The doctor leaves abruptly after taking the call, Why?
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Jaiganesh
March 1, 2010
Atleast someone in Bollywood is trying other than the usual suspects (Anurag and Vishal).
There is one cliche that needs to be broken universally.
Cliche # 3555674
Only a loser will conjure up an alter ego to add some chaska in his (mostly it is him u know – she can never be a loser) life.
Another loser meets magic movies that need to be recalled to warrant a comparison
1. RGV’s Darna Mana hai had that track with Aftab shivdasani (certified loser of Bollywood – my numerologist tells me that the last name is cursed – Shiv da Sani – shud be changed to something without sani – I tell him Dasani is a very popular drinking water brand in the world – nyways)
2. RGV went ahead and did a full blown Ghayab with Tusshar Kapoor – King of Losers in Bollywood (I wonder if there was a parallel(read anti) universe Tusshar would be the Khan troikas rolled into one);
3. Regionally we have had a very good movie on the psyche of a loser with a bit of non linear madness thrown in by the very underrated and under noticed Kudaikkul Mazhai by R.PArtheban (Thamizh).
More recently too in Bollywood there has been SRK playing the loser and his mask in Rab n bana di jodi – The losers are coming to get ya all.
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sudha
March 2, 2010
I agree that the ending was probably a little “underwhelming” like you put it… but I read roger ebert’s review of shutter island and it got me thinking – How else *could* it have ended? the way it ends is the only way for it to make logical sense and not have a good build up leading to it go kaput.
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Ramesh
March 2, 2010
but uncle ebert did not ask that question at all! he said that there are questions, but as in the case of all noir films with a flawed hero(r a hero with a flawed memory) the fim makes complete sense independent of the narrative we are given.
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brangan
March 2, 2010
bart: My experience was the exact reverse. First half, not so much. Brilliant second half and sensational climax, which kinda lifted the film to a whole different level.
santoshbhoopalan: I don’t think she had “psychotic shades.” Neurotic, perhaps, but certainly not psychotic.
Aditya Pant: I was just speculating. I too don’t think that’s a valid excuse and it should not be defended on such weak grounds — just thought it *might* be why they did what they did.
raj: “orthogonal approach-aa”? Idhaiye naan ezhudhi irundhaa, yenna “diagonal-aa” kizhichiruppeenga. Hmmm… all time 🙂
KPV Balaji: Dude, I’ve always kinda liked Simbu — not in the sense of being a huge fan or anything, but in films like Manmadhan and so forth, there was always the sense of someone with a certain screen presence. I’d take him any day over the likes of Vijay. Yes, I know it’s a left-handed compliment 🙂
Deepak: SPOILER AHEAD. Yes, I do think he moves on. This isn’t mentioned in the film, but I can see Karthik becoming less romantic, more practical once that first flush of crazylove vanishes. Just wrote this in my BR: “Losing a woman, sometimes, is the first step towards becoming a man — VTV understands this, how a personal setback can make one a better professional.”
Padawan: Simbu, yes. I don’t think it’s a performance to shatter the earth (mainly because Karthik isn’t as strongly conceived as Jessie), but his big moments worked for me. He got the part and he played it nicely. Mattravai BR-il.
Pradyum: I thought it was Karthik Narayan. And that’s not a typical “South Indian” name. Karthik Narayan-an, yes. But not Narayan. I wonder what went behind the naming of this character 🙂
Udhav: She leaves because she leaves. I don’t think there’s anything more to the moment.
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Mambazha Manidhan
March 2, 2010
In Eeram , I felt cheated cos after promising to be a murder docu drama, it became a pei padam with graphics.
Another french movie ( I forget the name) I saw at PVR,conjured up enough tension using a missing person and a serial killer but scooby-dooed everything in the end.
Same with Karthik Calling Karthik.
It is during these times,that I feel it is better to leave the mysteries unresolved rather than demystify it all.
I so wanted KCK to be a supernatural thriller after a very promising 1.5 hrs.
They had established the possibilities earlier on as :
A : Schizophrenia
B : Something to with his dead brother
It takes guys to return and say that the answer is A only,although the best answer would ve been an Option C which no one saw it coming.
The possibility of it being Option A was never really negated in the story,maybe thats why nobody jumped at the big reveal.
After the twist,the movie was begging Farhan to go after Deepika with a knife.And I respect Lalwani for choosing not to go down that road.
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brangan
March 2, 2010
This letter came to a whole bunch of media folks from GVM’s office…
Dear friends from the media,
It gives me immense pleasure to take a moment to thank you all from the bottom of my heart. The extraordinary support let to me by you, including the amazing and honest reviews of my direction, and of Vinnai thaandi Varuvaya as a whole. It warms my heart to even acknowledge the generous accolades you have given me at this point of my career. It has been only your praiseworthy and generous support that has kept my dreams alive and even today instills in me the confidence for my further endeavours. I am now further fuelled to better myself and my films, to keep improving, and I need your continual encouragement for the same. I would love to meet all of you in the near future, in person as a token of respect for being an immense part of my success.
yours truly
Gautham Vasudev Menon
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Raj Balakrishnan
March 2, 2010
Mambazha Manidhan, the french film that you are referring too, I think, is Crosstracks (or Crossed tracks). I was terribly disappointed with the end.
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Ramesh
March 2, 2010
Re losing a woman, I lost about 300 when i lost my facebook account in december 😦 it didnt make me more professional, just very angry at facebook. 😉
More seriously, this kadal tolvi meme has haunted tamil fimmakers like nowhere else. i think it has to do with the Amma pillai nature of tamil men, who drive movie watching in TN …The reasoning seems to be : if mi mum loves me, surely its only a matter of time before this random chick loves me….like mi mum did/does…Alhough in oru talai ragam sankar seemed to love like a kuruvi would love a roja….mul…
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SS
March 2, 2010
The movie KCK was a substandard movie when it comes to the depiction of psychological evolution of a person. Comeone, in today’s world, nearly each one of us steps out of our home after already defeating such basic fears within us which were about to make Karthik take away his own life. I mean, it is all about your inside voice, something that motivates at one time, help us work hard some other time, prepare a shell against the traumatic external pressures from society, etc. etc. Why to make a big deal out of it and make an entire movie for us grown-ups. Its ridiculous. It would have done better as an animation movie for the kids. They need to prepare themselves for these common social circumstances. I mean, if you want to make a psychological movie, don’t let it fall short of the level of metaphysical experiences one gains while watching The Devil’s Advocate. I left the theatre after 30 mins. I am sorry if i am too mature to watch the sprouting and nurturing of psychological weapons against daily life mental demons in a person.
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vijay
March 3, 2010
GVM’s letter seems like pre-emptive strike to me, considering BR’s Between Reviews column is not out yet 😉
and BR, that “orthogonal approach” is not Raj’s own coinage I think. He is probably quoting Rahman here, to make his point that Rahman is mediocre at re-recording. For Raj, BGM begins and ends with Mottai 🙂
Havent seen VTV, but before you go gaga on the capriciousness of Trisha’s unprecedented character, I remind you of Sripriya’s in Aval appadithaan, 30 yrs back.
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brangan
March 3, 2010
vijay: I have indeed gone “gaga on the capriciousness” of Trisha’s character and I do think it’s “unprecedented”. We cannot compare a very niche film like AA (which only film-lovers remember) with a big, fat 20-cr commercial film. That’s like saying everything that Imtiaz Ali is doing today has been done earlier by Benegal. (Not that Benegal made upscale romances, but you get the gist.)
No one is claiming that GVM is better than, say, Mahendran. But I cannot think of another mainstream director who has so consciously pitched a love story at a Tamil audience with complete disregard to the so-called taste of non-urban audiences. And you have to remember that the audience today is not the same audience that existed in the Oru Thalai Raagam days.
I’m not saying that due to these discounting factors, you should like VTV. Feel free to hate it and slam all of us for liking it 🙂 Just pointing out that AA is not at all a comparision.
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ramesh
March 3, 2010
hey pride and joy of chennai1 I must have grown to like you or something. why else am I posting on a thread about two films I haven’t yet seen…one of which I’ll probably not see…
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Zero
March 3, 2010
And hey, Trisha’s Jessie is hardly like Sripriya’s Manju! There’s no comparison at all, as I see them.
I think people are already stretching the point about Jessi being capricious way too much. One of the reviews even talked about the “complex nature” of a woman as opposed to the “straightforward nature” of a man! I for one was able to connect to Jessie’s dilemma more than Karthik’s steadfastness. Didn’t really find her actions too odd. Somehow, I see all this as some sort of equivalent of saying “Avadhum peNNAlE azhivadhum peNNAlE.” 🙂
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Mambazha Manidhan
March 3, 2010
@ Raj : Yeah, that one wonly.It was promising for the most part though.
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KayKay
March 3, 2010
Planning to watch VTV this weekend but from the synopsis, this has shades of 500 Days Of Summer starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, a lovely, bittersweet movie that shows the consequences of a romantic (him) falling for a pragmatist(her).
And it had a killer soundtrack too:-)
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Kanika-PRelations
March 3, 2010
Hey!!
I agree. It is a very well written movie review.
Also, i don’t know if you are aware that following the release of ‘Karthik Calling Karthik’ Bausch and Lomb is giving you the chance to get a mini-makeover and still photo shoot by a Sushmendra Dubey,a leading photographer.
For more information, chech out:
http://www.facebook.com/bauschandlombindia
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Raj Balakrishnan
March 3, 2010
Mambazha Manidhan,’Tell No One’ is another over-hyped French film.
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brangan
March 3, 2010
Zero: But she *is* capricious. How else would you describe her? At least Sripriya was filled to the brim with moral outrage about aanaadhikkam and suchlike, there was that whole militant feminist layer to her. So you could actually see why she was dithering about commitment. Plus, it’s not as if the entire film is about Kamal wooing her. Plus plus, she had that bad experience with Sivachandran. So there were solid reasons all along the way. Jessie on the other hand? Only the capricious-ngaren!
And in news from the trenches, Malini Mannath — our Tamil film critic — wrote that the film wasn’t quite the greatest thing since sliced bread, and the headline for the review said “poor direction.” (Don’t know if Malini wrote this, or some mischievous desk hand.) Anyway, some blustering buffoon from Gautham Menon’s office called and made threats that Malini would never write another review again. It’s lovely how delusional some people can get about their powers 🙂
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Zero
March 3, 2010
Baradwaj,
No, I was not arguing that she’s not capricious! She’s capricious like a lot of us are. My point is about stretching that point too much to comment on the larger scheme of things that run between a man and a woman.
My point that Jessie is nothing like Manju was not to say that the latter is in fact the capricious one. Quite the contrary. There’s so much detail to her character in the film that ‘capricious’ is too frivolous a word.
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Harish S Ram
March 3, 2010
I have been observing “female” audience aren’t quite welcoming this movie (at least the ppl i know and Malini Mannath) – is it because they couldn’t face facts or because they know they r far intelligent? or could it because all of her tribulation and traits r shown through “Karthik oda vizhi vazhiyala” … lol
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Harish S Ram
March 3, 2010
n i wont be surprised if Malathy of Hindu trashed the movie too 🙂
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Padawan
March 3, 2010
Baradwaj, you really have to talk to the people who publish the online content. Please go and read your review of MNIK on the site.
The last line reads as follows –
“Come on, Johar, be yourself.
Raise a hand and say: “My name is Karan, and I am not a the rapist.””
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Padawan
March 3, 2010
BTW, why is it that I always find two reviews of any movie on the site.
For instance, VTV by someone named IANS is here
And the one by Malini Mannath is here
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NullPointer
March 3, 2010
Is there a GVM movie where the male protagonist is not a Mechanical Engineer?
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NullPointer
March 3, 2010
And wikiepedia tells me our man also has a mech eng background!
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Adithya
March 3, 2010
Really? Then what was the whole letter from GVM to the media all about? Is GVM aware of these things(or rather is he expected to?).
I remember Gautham’s comments in older posts on this site. Wish he responded to these.
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Rakesh
March 3, 2010
Was it just me ? the guy who played Trisha’s bro in VTV remind anyone of JD Chakravarthy ? 🙂
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hawkeyeview
March 4, 2010
i think people can’t wait for Between reviewes. They will literally forced brangan to write a review here in comments section.
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Mambazha Manidhan
March 4, 2010
Saw both KCK and VTV again.Caught some things I didn’t the first time. There’s a reason why these two movies were released at the same time. Both Menon and Lalwani are geniuses for attempting this! The answer has been right in front of our eyes. How could we have not seen it before?
The answer is that the Karthik who calls Farhan Akhtar is not his subconscious. But, the Karthik character from VTV. It is right there in ‘Hosanna’ song where he is shown calling from the Phone bhoot.I had noticed a resemblance in the voice with the voice on Farhan’s phone.But, I dismissed it earlier as a mere coincidence.Now, I get it completely.
Kudos to both filmmakers for attempting this!
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Adithya
March 4, 2010
Did you see this?
http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news-1/mar-10-01/k-balachandar-gautham-menon-vinnaithaandi-varuvaayaa-03-03-10.html
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Vamshi
March 4, 2010
Here is the copy of a letter written by K. Balachander to GVM after seeing VTV/ YMC
http://www.idlebrain.com/news/2000march20/kbc-ymc.html
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brangan
March 4, 2010
Padawan: When it comes to the functioning of certain other departments, I adopt the NUEVU policy, namely Naan Undu En Velai Undu. But thanks for the big laugh 🙂
But dude, just curious – why do you seek out the online versions when the blog is right here?
Adithya: Oh, the directors themselves are (usually) cool and okay with criticism — in the sense that they may not like it, but they’re grown up enough to understand a divergence of opinion. It’s the jalra-s surrounding them that’s the big, big problem — they decide who should meet the director and who shouldn’t, and what they should write and what they shouldn’t, what should be taken offense at and what shouldn’t.
I remember, during the release of Guru, we said we wanted a Mani Ratnam interview for a cover story. We went through all sorts of channels. We even did demeaning things like send a list of questions so that *they* could decide if we were worth spending time on. But no luck. And then, much later, I run into someone from Madras Talkies who says, “You know, Mani Sir was so upset about the quality of questions. People were asking him what he had for breakfast and shit like that. Why didn’t you do an interview?” I had to resist the overwhelming urge to pound him into the ground 🙂
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Munish Gupta
March 4, 2010
I didn’t find the movie as interesting as I expected though the topic does interest me a lot. Farhan was gud n Deepika looked good but other than the movie disappointed
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ramesh
March 4, 2010
VTV : short review Sets back the cause of progressive tamil cinema by a couple of decades(to pre bharatiraja days), but what did they really think? they could transplant the french new wave in Tamil nadu without all the modhalais of the industry feasting on fresh flesh?
Re the much discussed heroine , I found her to be a surprisingly normal girl. (hypothetically) if she could have got away with having sex with simbu-karthik, she would have. She was in her zone of comfort and saw no reason to swap the good life for a less-good life.
I found simbu’s charecter more complicated and full of baggage though. (he feminized much to be acceptable to women,as the film progressed, but still) If (hypothetically) Jesse had slept with him, because she was aroused and the moment was right, he would have never stopped bringing it up..to her..or in public.
Gautam Menon made a forgettable film though..reminded me of one of those vijayakumar/sarat kumar films where veshti gets varinju kattified to a “dei naan illai nee illai up peran mupperan kalatthilum jaathi irukkumada!!”..dialog.
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Padawan
March 4, 2010
Oh, I do not go about reading your writings in the online version. I just wanted to read what Malini had written after reading about the threats which is when I spotted your MNIK review too.
And, as for your review and “the rapist”, I am jobless in every sense of the word (well, actually in my notice period) – and you know “in office a man will do most anything to keep his mind occupied. It just turns that my favorite hobby is reading your articles” 🙂
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ramesh
March 4, 2010
and its somewhat rich , balachander taking S S Vasan’s name. There’s not one nandanar in Balachander’s long filmography…neer kumizzi , perhaps…or server sundaram.
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anamika
March 4, 2010
There was something innocently pretentious about KCK!-That rubik cube imagery if it was meant to make us go “aaahh” well…it didn’t.I felt the whole film was schizoprenic…trying to be something else and desperately screaming yes, I want to be commercial,no I want to be artzy…boy wish I had a cube rubick in my hands throughout the film
Farhan did a really good job with the role but deepika…there was one constant expression of emoting…and that wideeyed look if it is meant to look sexy well…
need to watch something fun and frothy after this…
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ramesh
March 4, 2010
ditto maniratnam…no “dil se”, (derivative as it is of “terrorist”) or Kannathil mutthamittal in KB either. only Apoorva raagangal…and kalki.
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brangan
March 5, 2010
got this…
Hi, Did i miss your Viinnay Thandi Varuvaya review? If you haven’t seen it. Pls do. and write.
Ps:I think A R Rahaman should read the full scripts before waisting beautiful songs on such crap.
– jaju
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ramesh
March 5, 2010
Br,
Write a review.
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mohan
March 5, 2010
I second Ramesh.
Looks like more people are discussing vtv here than KCK. It would be nice if you bring out your “between reviews” or preferably “review” of vtv soon.
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nirmal
March 5, 2010
just wanted to ask you this.. when you do a usual review, your opinion is something fresh, and you are not influenced by anyone else’s opiniojns, nor have the time to dwell upon the movie. but as in the case here for VTV, when you do a between review a week later, you are exposed to numerous different interpretations and POVs that may contradict your own .. does that affect your writing at all when you do between reviews?
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Pradyum
March 5, 2010
Ah yes! My bad! But I really liked that the people in Kochi/Cochin were not stereotyped as people without much knowledge of Hindi. I really liked Akthar’s portrayal though. Can’t wait for ‘Running with the bulls’ since it stars three of my favourites Hrithik,Abhay and Farhan and is directed by Zoya..!
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ramesh
March 5, 2010
Two completele seperate points.
1. BR is sufficiently professional to let his own voice in his review..I think…
2. As to A R Rahman picking up “such crap” his last three films were : VTV, Couples retreat and blue. ‘nough said.
(if enough hasn’t been said, I would say “sentamizz naatu tamizzacchiye selai uduttha thayanguriyeeeeeeee”
🙂
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nirmal
March 5, 2010
i had a hunch my question would be interpreted that way. after not missing a word of what he has written over the last 3 years or so, i have no doubts about his professionalism.
BR’s articles , are more POVs than reviews. he discusses something abstract and tries to make sense out of it.his “review”s are something virgin. but when it comes to ‘between reviews-review’ (BRRs:)), a discussion like what has been going on here may throw up some very different perspectives (which may not even be directly suggested) and different ways of interpreting an abstract idea, for better or for worse. he also has more time , a week at least instead of a day. i was only asking if these ideas bouncing around in the comment space has any effect on his creative process when it comes to his between review pieces? also does his knee jerk reaction to a movie undergo any change over the course of a week or so?
i have no doubts at all on BR’s capabilities of making his own point.
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Kaushik
March 6, 2010
I think the comparison between VTV’s Trisha and AA’s Sripriya is quite unjustified. AA’s Sripriya comes across as someone who knows what she wants at any particular moment (if not always). Not so with Trisha. And that’s a HUGE difference, in the context of the two movies, if you know what I mean.
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raj
March 6, 2010
Vijay/BR, I am not sure if Rahman used the word orthogonal but it was he who talked about that particular BGM philosophy
Vijay, I may have coined Orthogonal BGM, I just dont remember
But those are peripheries. This is not about Raja being the King of BGM. Judged by his own standards, to me it seems like “Orthogonal BGM” is an excuse for Rahman to hide under his limitations. A film is a director’s vision – you have got to be able to get under his skin and score BGM that complements the movie as the director intended. Rahman has this phikosophy of bending music genres to his style in his songs – which works as popular music but the same approach to BGM sucks
The Mustafa example is the best sample = that scene was not about Karthik-Jessy agreeing/wanting to be friends – that is the scene where Jessy’s complexity and Karthik’s desparation need to com eout – but just because the dialogue was lets be friends, he played strains of mustafa mustafa.
Thats like mocking at the director.
Ofcourse, since he is saleable, Gautam Menon says
“His BGM complements the movie, unlike some other MDs who say they correct the mistakes of the screenplay with their BGM”
Ridiculous dig at IR when GVM hasnt ever worked with him.
Rahman has done nothing on the BGM side to surpass Raja – only his fans can keep claiming Hard Rock for romanntic scene wah wah and such gimmickry-appreciation
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brangan
March 6, 2010
nirmal/ramesh: Actually it’s not so much about being professaional as being human. From the second you start watching a film, you are absorbing what the guy in the next seat says. [eg. the comment about Jessie’s Chakravarthy-lookalike brother” “Dhaadikulla ithunoondu moonji 🙂 ] So there’s no saying how contaminated your viewing gets because of these external factors, and the ideal way to watch films is all by yourself. (As you can see, I think the whole “communal” aspect of moviegoing is highly overrated. I’d hate to read a book with someone else looking over my shoulders. I’d hate to listen to music with someone else sharing my earphones. So too films.)
But that said, as these are more POV pieces, I think I still manage to write what I felt. Yes, the discussions here may throw up many interesting facets, especially with so many readers being as passionate and opinionated (if not more). But the deadlines take care of at least part of the problem. I don’t have a week to submit Between Reviews by the way. That page is done very early in the week, far ahead of Sunday, when the piece actually appears.
raj: Yeah, I agree that Mustafa moment was very embarrassing. I’m not at all a fan of fourth-wall-shattering music — or should I be pretentious and say “Brechtian alienation device?” 🙂 — when it comes to serious films, and this (along with the “GVM” inscribed on the ship and so on) was annoying. But I did enjoy the ‘Jessie’s been driving me crazy’ rock-song played in parts, which follows the Hollywoodian model of using pre-existing songs (though this one’s brand new) to underline a moment.
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ramesh
March 6, 2010
BR don’t worry. My suggestion was only because people who read stuff here sometimes have a tendency to put a thalaivar thondar heirarchy pretty arbitrarily,( and until I ask you for kanakku, Im not handicapping those races 😉 ).
VTV is just another minor tamil film and doesnt really deserve too much serious analysis . It’s like couple’s retreat , except in tamil. we aren’t going to dissect couple’s retreat just because A R was its MD , now, are we?
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Elizabeth
March 6, 2010
VTV really reminded me of 500 Days of Summer on a very basic level, but I enjoyed Jessie as a character far more than Summer even though I’m not exactly a fan of Trisha. I thought her indecisive nature was pretty relatable in the sense that not everyone comes built with the courage to love so absolutely. But, I guess I’ve always enjoyed Gautham Menon’s films. They’re not without their flaws, but I like the way he writes women (especially Jyothika’s character in Kaaka Kaaka). I think VTV is probably his least flawed effort yet.
I’m curious to watch the Telugu version to see whether the actress handled the role a little better than Trisha. I thought Trisha did quite well, but she does have this aura of blandness about her.
Oh and I still can’t believe THIS Simbu is the same guy from all his other movies. I had always written him off, but I guess I was wrong. I thought he handled some of the quieter/silent moments really well.
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Ramesh
March 6, 2010
‘I thought Trisha did quite well, but she does have this aura of blandness about her.”
oh i thought trisha did a perfect syrian christian girl but chennai impersonation.
Theres nothing wrong with Gautam menon’s films that an enema cant cure.
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ramesh
March 6, 2010
Re simbu,
I don’t know..
do people prefer this simbu
or this one
I think the former…but Im no chick/fan
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SheWhoMustNotBeNamed
March 8, 2010
I thought it would end like how Anniyan did.
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supichka
March 11, 2010
Karthik calling Karthik being ‘terrific for the most part’ is a bit of a stretch, no? Consider the issue being dealt with – A lonely man suffering from schizophrenia, and other mental disorders… The first 10 minutes setting up his lonely life are rushed, some forced…The only saving grace is Farhan Akhtar whose acting skills and presence compel you to ignore the glaring flaws…
Let’s also talk about cliched (not non-showy/subtle) flimmaking where a loving couple faces the golden sunset in togetherness. Subtle, really? Or just Cliched? And could the oppressive landlord/boss have been tackled differently?
As for the schizophrenia itself… Correct me if I’m wrong, but it is an ailment that continously progresses to dangerous levels of frequency and manifestations… If the telephone was no longer a means of manifesting his alter ego, then another manifestation would occur, in the mirror? or elsewhere? It wouldn’t lie waiting for the phone to be re-connected. ‘Cos the problem was never with the phone but with his head…
And the pace of progression never really picks up…it keeps hanging, waiting for the director to change gears, who seems content with tackling such a subject safely.
The only saving grace in the film is Farhan Akhtar…
The film is average if not below average… Much like the Rubik’s cube, which never really gets put right. The filmmaker seems to suffering like Karthik, to put together the pieces right, but never really managing….I expected more, perhaps others set their expectations too low, considering the general state of Indian cinema, where anything remotely different from the fluff must be good…
I was told you are one the better de-constructors of cinema in our country… I’m still waiting to be convinced, with my limited understanding of cinema…
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Ajay
March 11, 2010
BR, One correction: the background score for KCK was not Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. It was done by Midival Punditz and Karsh Kale, separately from the film’s songs which were by S-E-L.
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Radhika
March 26, 2010
Heh, the comments for this review are less for KCK and more for VTV.
I also found KCK underwhelming. And as my son put it – what – yetanother medical movie? I mean, after dyslexia, aspergers, progeria and whatnot – now we have schizophrenia? aaargh only. the rubik’s cube metaphor – didn’t you think that was laughably overdone – and the end shot (SPOILER) focusing on the completed cube – was it meant to say that his life is now in order? or that the Other Karthik is now in dominance – maybe Dr Kapadia wasn’t successful in handling this? And she said he had Multiple Mental Disorder (heh, instead of Multiple Personality) and also Schizophrenia? which was it? MPD is not the same as Schizophrenia. Also some loose ends rather patly tied up – she asks Shonali if Karthik ever had a brother and Shonali says the Didi said he was an iklauta beta (which he would be if his brother died) – which leads her to the schizophrenia assumption – but Karthik No1 would never have told her he didn’t have a brother – and if it was Karthik No 2 who was in dominance when she loved him, he wouldn’t have been conflicted about the calls in the first place. I think this was a typically bollywoodized mishmash of medical fundas – in the past they would have just said “dimaagi haalat theek nahin hai” and packed him off to a loony asylum. Now they give it a package of medical terms in order to sound more contemporary but end up making the treatment laughably facile. Sigh.
I also think that the movie couldn’t make up its mind whether to be a tightly made movie about mental disorder or a commercial thriller – and in the end it alienates both audiences. I found the movie dragging and the music got on my nerves – and the extended scenes of thudding hearts and so on got quite annoying – and the couple next to us looked shellshocked at the art-filmy ending of happy families with the heroine reading a book on schizophrenia.
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