Indian Cinema

M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story – Compelling first half, that falls apart in the second

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I was traveling overseas on vacation and the M.S. Dhoni movie starring Sushant Singh Rajput was one of the “international” choices on the plane movie entertainment system.  So, I took a chance on it.  I know nothing about cricket — only as much as you pick up watching Lagaan.  I knew nothing about Dhoni either — only had heard his name.

 

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The first half of the film with the story of Dhoni’s childhood and early days trying to work up to the big leagues I found very compelling.  The two romances in the film were also very well done.

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After I watched the movie, I read about how many months Sushant spent working with cricket coaches to perfect the signature Dhoni swing.  I can’t speak to how well he embodied Dhoni since I haven’t ever watched the real man play, but he did a good job acting the part.

The second half of the film just fell apart for me.  It was sixer after sixer in a highlight reel of games that didn’t mean anything to me.  I suppose they were important.  Margaret of Don’t Call It Bollywood shared with me that she saw this film in a theater crowded with Dhoni fans who anticipated every big moment, and even change of jersey colors.  I was watching it alone on a plane, so I didn’t have that to give me any sense of dramatic tension.

 

I shouldn’t have to be an expert in cricket or the man Dhoni to feel dramatic tension and be swept up in his story.  I’ve seen other films about sports I know nothing about that are some of my favorite films ever.  Asif Kapadia’s documentary about the Formula One racer Senna is incredible.  (Kapadia went on to win the Oscar for Amy.)  I was on the edge of my seat practically the whole movie.  I’m a fan of Michael Sheen so I watched The Damned United, about the short reign of a football coach for the Manchester United team.  The conflict between Sheen’s character and the team, the management, and especially his best friend and partner is an incredibly dramatic story.  Highly recommend both films, btw.

Dhoni participated in this film, doing several hours of interviews, and they used those real details to give the “untold” story.  But that meant that they glossed over some other real events to stay in Dhoni’s good graces.  He was a “consultant” or executive producer or something on the film.  There were little moments that just slid by, that you could have based the entire dramatic arc of the second half on — like his insistence as captain of the India team to force out a few older players who weren’t “fit” to start rebuilding the team toward the World Cup years in the future.  Just mentioned and then glossed over.  There were a few moments like that.  Instead we got more footage of sixer after sixer.  I actually almost dozed off watching it.

Anupam Kher is of course great as Dhoni’s father.  He’s always great.  The music montage numbers were good.  Those songs were in the charts for weeks.  And I did like the romances.

I guess I give it 2 and a half stars for the good first half.  If you’re a fan of cricket and Dhoni, this film may be for you.  If not, give it a miss.  It’s on Netflix streaming currently in the US.

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The Amazing Classic Malayalam Mohanlal film Spadikam

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I’ve been on vacation out of the country for a couple of weeks, so I’m catching up on the films in theaters.  One of the films I brought with me on my iPad was Mohanlal’s Spadikam which is on ErosNow.  I love that ErosNow lets you download films now!

 

I loved the crazy action, but especially the intense family drama between Mohanlal and Thalikan, who plays his stern father.  Devasuram is still my favorite Mohanlal film, but this one is right up there.

The film is also readily available on Youtube.  Check out how crazy the first 10 minutes of the film are.  The viewer is just dropped into the action, with no initial clue as to who Mohanlal is fighting or why.

Spoiler Free Review of the Very Entertaining DJ with Allu Arjun

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My first Allu Arjun film on the big screen, and he was great.  DJ is a very entertaining film, both a comedy and action film.  Allu Arjun’s grace as a dancer makes for very acrobatic action scenes that look super cool.

Allu Arjun’s DJ is both a priest/caterer AND a vigilante.  This is a bloodthirsty film, not for young kids, although there were plenty in the audience of my theater.  There are quite a few impalings, but what’s blurred for the censors is a crotch shot of Pooja Hegde coming out of a swimming pool in a one piece bathing suit.  I wasn’t impressed with Pooja Hegde in Mohenjo Daro, but she was quite good in DJ.  She has good chemistry with Allu Arjun, and I loved the way she puts him back on his heels by kissing him on the cheek in public.

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There are a lot of dance numbers in this film, but only one is a real show stopper even approaching the great dance moves in Allu Arjun’s Arya 2.

 

This one, though with the mundu dance, was my favorite of the first half.  It happens right after that momentous cheek kiss.

 

I didn’t like this film quite as much as Arya 2, but it’s very fun and entertaining.  The romance track isn’t the main thrust of the film — the vigilante action is the main story line.

 

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I watched both of Allu Arjun’s films Arya and Arya 2 to get ready for DJ

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Several commenters on my reaction to the trailer of Allu Arjun’s new film DJ told me I should watch Arya 2 and Arya.

I’m super excitecd for DJ now after seeing Arya (2004) and Arya 2 (2009) over the last 2 days.  Only Arya 2 is the MUST see movie, but you should watch the
opening dance number of Arya, to get a sense what a great dancer Allu Arjun is.  Arya was his breakout film, and the debut blockbuster for director Sukumar — the guy who directed 1: Nenokkadine!
Like most Indian “sequels”  Arya 1 and Arya 2 are not continuations of the same story thread, but variations on the same theme.
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Arya 1 has Arjun playing Arya, and he’s in a love triangle with Geeta and Ajay and the setting is college.  Ajay is your typical college tough stalker.  He decides Geeta will be his and threatens suicide to make her date him..  Ugh.  Arya loves Geeta but expects nothing in return.  He even helps to get Ajay and Geeta togehter, etc. when her father wants her to marry someone else.  Geeta is played by a former model, and she has only one basic expression the entire film — looking miserable.  She has the charisma of a wet dishrag.  Ajay is your basic evil boyfriend.   Arya (Allu Arjun) carries the entire movie by sheer force of his cheerfulness, charm and excellent dance numbers
Seriously, Allu Arjun is THE best Telugu dancer I have seen yet.  He dedicates Arya 2 to Michael Jackson, and he can MOVE.  This dancing ability leads to great action sequences, because he’s really acrobatic in his kicks and so on.
I thought I had to watch Arya 1 to get Arya 2, but it’s not necessary as Arya 2 is a stand alone film, and not a continuation of the first film’s story.  It’s amusing enough, and was a blockbuster hit at the time, but not nearly as enjoyable as the second film.  The heroine is just so passive you want to scream, and the plot fairly regressive — except for Arya‘s selfless love.
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It just made me appreciate Arya 2 all the more.  To see how Allu Arjun had grown as a dancer and actor and the director!  .  I’m really glad I waited until now to watch Arya 2, because it is just that much more funny to me now!
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Arya 2 is brilliant, because it is a total riff and send up of all the usual Telugu movie tropes.  And it makes fun of them all, while referencing Darr and even has a white dog at a wedding JUST like the one in HAHK!  But what the director does with the dog in the scene just had me in stitches.  The whole movie is very entertaining, if a tad long.
First off, we start with Arya and Ajay as fellow child orphans and there is something off about Arya.  He demands to be Ajay’s friend, and is a psycho possessive kind of friend.  The whole movie is taking that brotherly Dost bond to the far reaches of the extreme.
They fall in love with Geeta at the exact same moment — and she’s played by Kajal who I LOVE, so she’s a spitfire and not a dishrag.  They actually flip a coin for her, again riffing on sexist Telugu tropes over and over again, and mocking them.
There’s the forced wedding, the battling families, and on and on.  And throughout Arya is mostly completely off his rocker, and yet still mostly likeable!  It’s a great performance.  And so great of the director to make the main character with negative shadings — he has his blown up Darr sized picture wall of Geeta in his room and all.
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The whole set up is in a way similar to the first movie — Arya has a struggle between his love of Geeta and this time his possessive love of his friend Ajay.  He wants them to be happy, and works to make it possible for them to be together — while occasionally slapping his own face to remind himself, “Have to give Geeta back to Ajay, Have to give Geeta back to Ajay…)  Also, Ajay is not a cardboard villain type.  You go back and forth in and out of sympathy with his shades of gray third wheel character.  Kajal is sometimes a spoiled brat — and has a penchant for throwing down cell phones and breaking them, which I found to be a very funny running gag.
Don’t expect an emotional rollercoaster with crying and pathos.  Expect to laugh and laugh — and be delighted by the clever action scenes, and the allusions to so many other films.
That comedy uncle guy, Brahmanandam is in it as the HR manager of Ajay’s tech firm where they all work, and he has a toned down performance — and was really good!  I actually liked him in this one!
This Arya 2 number is just jaw dropping AMAZEBALLS!!   Allu Arjun’s dancing is off the chain!
I’d still say that Prabhas is my number one in Telugu films, and Mahesh second.  Alllu Arjun has the best dance skills by far, and real comedic chops, though.

I Really Liked the Romance in Sushant Rajput Singh’s Raabta

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I didn’t LOVE Raabta as much as Margaret of Don’t Call It Bollywood did, but it was a welcome couple hours of escape for me this weekend.  We have a family member that has just been put into hospice, and this movie took me away to beautiful Budapest for a bit.  Several shirtless scenes of Sushant also helped very much, the first in the very first minute of the film.

As Margaret said, it’s Magadheera, but totally different.  If you want an action film, go see Magadheera.  But Raabta is a timepass romance with some angst.

 

New Trailers for Allu Arjun, Dhanush and Rana!

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For Bollyfools, I watched a few of the new Regional trailers, which unfortunately have no subtitles!  Super frustrating.

 

I have only seen Allu Arjun in Rudhramadevi and he was amazing in that, even though he was not the lead.  I watched both the Rom Com feeling teaser, and then the full trailer, neither of which have subs.  Anyone that speaks Telugu, help me out as to what’s going on.  Is it a double role?  The action looks cool, and even though I’m not a Pooja Hegde  (ugh, Mohenjo Daro) fan, the rom com aspect looks adorable.

 

Dhanush has VIP 2 which will also have KAJOL!!  So excited to see her in a new film.  I don’t speak Tamil, and I’ve not seen VIP 1, so I have no idea what’s going on in this trailer.  That ending flying kick looks super cool.   Any translation help would be most appreciated!

 

Kartik from Bollyfools translated Rana’s new teaser for me.  The title means I am the King and I am the Minister.  Rana will be opposite Kajal for the first time, and I’m really excited to see that.  When he’s on the scaffolding with the noose, Rana says, “I will decide when I die, and I will decide when you die!”  I love that shot with him as the prisoner about a foot taller than all the guards behind him.

Mahesh Babu Spyder Teaser Trailer Reaction

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I’ve never really reacted to a teaser trailer before, but I am super excited about this one for Mahesh Babu’s Spyder, due out in September.  I went on a binge of Mahesh Babu films last year, and unfortunately, the first film of his I saw in the theater was Brahmotsavam, which was a confusing mess.  Spyder is directed by the Murugadoss who gave us Aamir Khan’s Ghajini, which is a masterpiece.  Crossing my fingers that he gives Mahesh as great a movie.  September seems very far away!!

 

Rarandoi Veduka Chuddam Video Review – Naga Chaitanya’s new family drama film with Rakul Preet Singh

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Rarandoi Veduka Chudham (Come, Let’s Watch the Spectacle) is an enjoyable family drama starring Naga Chaitanya and Rakul Preet Singh.  This I believe is their first film together, and the first time I’ve seen Rakul in a film.

This film is put out by Naga Chaitanya’s family banner, and he did well in the film, but frankly, I enjoyed his 2016 films Premam and Sahasam Swasaga Saagipo much more.  The first half of this film is slow, but it’s saved by the last hour or so of the film when the conflict comes to a head.

I also enjoyed seeing Jagapathi Babu again as Naga’s father.  He was Mahesh Babu’s father in Srimanthadu.

 

 

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Comrade In America – First Video Review together with Margaret of Don’t Call It Bollywood!

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Margaret of DontCallItBollywood and I have been friends for a couple of years, and I was the one that got her to start watching Malayalam films.  There’s only one theater in Chicago that plays them, and we meet in the middle there to watch them together when we can.  It’s a 45 minute drive for both us — but for Dulquer, it’s worth it!  I’ve started doing regular reviews on the Bollyfools Youtube channel, and this is my first joint video review with Margaret.  We filmed it quickly in the lobby of the theater, so I apologize in advance for all the background noise.

CIA didn’t blow us away, but it was an enjoyable one time watch.  Margaret’s more extensive review of CIA is posted here.

 

 

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