30 Days of Film - Day 28.

28. Favorite movie from your favorite director

It's got to be Anniyan. I paused for a while to consider who my favourite director might be, after all, I've really got a couple whose films I always anticipate and generally tend to like. I suppose in a way I might like films of somebody other than S. Shankar more, but there's something about his absolutely bizarre, overflowingly visual style of film-making that just makes me so enamoured I'll watch even the not-so-good films by him. And Anniyan was my first, and it's the one I've rewatched the most, and I can't think of a single thing I'd change about it. It's just so entertaining and big and loud and out there, and perfect as such.

Eye candy/brain melt: awesome Shankar song picturizations.

Say what you say about S. Shankar, the Tamil director extraordinaire, the man makes sure his films have interesting song picturizations. They are always worth sitting through, sometimes because they're just so odd, other times because the song is so good, but always, always because they are so amazingly visual in such interesting ways. Oh, and then there's the computer-generated special effects! Must not forget.

Here are some of my favourites.

Akkadanu Nanga from Indian


You know how hard it is to search for an Indian film named Indian? Gah, anyway. This mid-90's Kamal Hassan starrer has him sort of torn between two women, Urmila Matondkar and Manisha Koirala. This song in particular has Urmila, in all kinds of strange costumes, and thankfully the song just gets more bizarre as it goes along - the last minute is a joyfest of mid-90's computer effects. Laws of physics be damned! It's just pretty awesome.

Ale Ale from Boys



You know that bullet-time effect they invented when making The Matrix? You know what? Well, if you don't, here's an introduction video to it, in form of a love ballad. What ingenuity is this!

Kaadhal Yaanai from Anniyan (ie that song with Remo)

Watch here!

Just a link this time, as ErosTamil doesn't like embedded videos. A biased pick, since I love pretty much everything about Anniyan, so it goes without saying I also like every song from Anniyan. This one isn't even so much about sheer visuality, lavish sets or even computer-effects, though it has a bit of everything. It's just such a highlight of the film in all its wildness and hilarity and it's just awesome and I had to make it a part of this post. The song is also superb. Try watching it without getting it stuck in your head. Just try.


Vaaji vaaji from Sivaji



This is just one of those songs that defines Shankar's devotion to building lavish sets for his songs. It looks amazing, even if Rajnikanth is far from the most fresh-faced hero. Like a lot of good song picturizations that completely rip you out of the story temporarily and seem to take place on alternate plane altogether, it evokes the feeling of a story-within-a-story.

Every song from Endhiran / Robot

Why? Because I'm finding it virtually impossible to choose, or to skip over all of them. There's the incredible Kilimanjaro (shot on foreign location, duh)!, and the lovely Kaadhal anukkal that includes endless vistas of gorgeousness, and Irumbile which takes place inside a robot, with choreography and costuming that reflects just that, and Aarima aarima, which is just creepy and bizarre and perfect as is (and should probably carry a SPOILER warning to boot).

It's all good, is basically what I'm saying. Plot? Hmm, well, you probably recall my gripes...

Asku Laska from Nanban




This is the song picturization I never knew how to ask for but was clearly made for me, because it's nearly everything I love, all wrapped into one incredible package. It's a meta-song picturization with breaking-the-fourth wall, spoofs Shankar's previous song picturizations beautifully and also features the director himself. Best of all, it's set to a great, catchy song. All the parts of the songs come together fantastically, I enjoy both actors (I think Nanban really warmed me to Vijay - review pending!) in it and all the elements complement each other. It's basically four songs in one gorgeous set, and that's what makes it one of my favourite Shankar picturizations ever, if not the favourite.

So, any directors whose song picturizations you always end up loving? Any Shankar film songs I should have included in this list?

IFAC #11: Colourful Southie film picspam

Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana ; Siddharth & Trisha









Muthu ; Rajnikanth & Meena









Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtham ; Tamanna









Kaadhal ; Bharath & Sandhya












Iruvar ; Aishwarya Rai

Indra ; Sonali Bendre & Chiranjeevi

Dhool ; Vikram & Jothika

Arul ; Vikram & Jothika

Anniyan ; Sada

Aata ; Ileana

Squee-filled first reactions on Kanthasamy.

squee
1. as noun: A noise primarily made by an over-excited fangirl, however it has spread rapidly and is now widely spread among the web community. ("Squee, I love Harry Potter!")
2. as a verb: To elicit aforementioned noises and to generally fangirl something. ("I need somebody to squee over this new trailer with.")

It's winter in Finland right now, which means picturesque views and brightness all over, but sadly it also means cold, dark mornings and slippery roads you have to careful to walk on. I had an exam today and walked home via the post office, picking up this order from Ayngaran, feeling kind of annoyed with winter already. I decided I'd watch Kanthasamy (or Kandasamy or Kanthasaamy or whatever spelling you prefer) for a post-exam pick me up, but I wasn't exactly confident whether it'd do the trick. In my heart of hearts I knew I was kind of hoping for an Anniyan 2, masalatastic big budget Vikram-starrer that would be insane, socially conscious, masalatastic with awesome music and all the works. But I was worried - it's not like anything really compares to Anniyan, which I've previously heralded as the most entertaining film ever and my friends liked it as well.

So I was purposefully lowering my expectations to meet the cold, icy ground below me. And to my great surprise, Kanthasamy actually delivers, more than I expected but also more than I could've thought to ask.

But because my brain is too fried right now from sheer love for the film, and because I don't have the time to screencap this monstrously long film (3 hours 17 minutes, yikes!), I'll just do bullet-points which I will attempt to keep as spoiler-free as possible.

1. Vikram looks amazing in this film. How blue are his eyes? Were those contacts? Am I bad fan for not knowing? Who the hell cares?

2. Shriya did great, playing a heroine that's not the typical coy, conservative Tamil heroine and gets quite a lot of time on screen, looks as gorgeous as ever, and I loved the way they kept the chemistry and dynamic between hers and Vikram's character interesting throughout the movie. It's very sexually charged, but doesn't feel sleazy because she's the sexually assertive character here -- rare fare in an Indian film! I enjoyed it a ton.

3. The songs. Oh lord. Excuse Me Mr Kanthasamy is my new favourite Tamil picturization, Vikram picturization etc etc etc. Amazingly shot, so much fun, awesomely catchy. Lovelovelove!

4. Actually the whole picture is beautifully shot but sometimes I did suspect the cinematographer being on drugs of some sort. The sheer editing pace is kind of nuts. Sometimes I love it, other times I just want the damn camera to settle down! And the filters and the effects. Well, whatever. It's a gorgeous movie, we'll leave it at that.

5. The plot. Er. Talk about complex. I mean, I understood everything but sometimes I stopped to enjoy Vi-- the scenery and was a tad confused. The forthcoming rewatches will tie the puzzle together, though, I assume. Let's just say there are a lot of players and how they all tie together is not as plain as you might think. The socially conscious message is as heavy-handed as you'd expect and as crowd-educating, too, but I liked it. Don't know much about the issue, so can't pick it apart from an economical/political standpoint, but, you know, it's there.

6. I liked how the climax was not at all what I expected. Liked it a ton, in fact.

7. The get-ups. Oh god. I died from laughter. And generally really really really liked the feathered rooster-like avatar I saw from the posters and initially thought I'd hate. Vikram is a genius when he acts like a bird. I can't believe I just wrote that sentence.

8. There's a couple of really epic fight scenes but generally the movie never descends into an adrenaline-packed gorefest. The plot is actually awesomely structured, because it keeps you on your seat - if not on the edge of it, then at least wanting to know what happens next. For a movie whose type most of us are familiar with, it manages to be predictable and yet have some moments of suspense. I have to give props, Susi Ganesan has done a tremendous job here.

9. I loved Vikram's performance so much I almost want to quote a non-me source for praise because while I am ridiculously biased, what for example Qalandari says about him in Kanthasamy, is just so spot on. If you don't mind spoilers, go read that review because his reviews are always suberbly written. But yes. I guess the fact I liked the bird costume tells you everything you need to know; a large part of why this film works is because Vikram's in it. He makes you buy into it, even when it gets goofy.

9.5. Did I mention how hot he is in this movie?

10. It's impossible not to compare this movie to Anniyan, so I'll get it out of the way. First, I love and adore both. Second, Anniyan is funnier. It's infused with Vivek's amazing comedy, whereas Kanthasamy only has Vadivelu's amusing but unbrilliant comedy track. Anniyan is also goofier, more extravagant, more unintentionally funny. Kanthasamy has those laughs as well, but it doesn't have Remo, and it is just a pinch less ridiculous. It has its own comedy, especially with the romantic track, and the comedy there is spicy - not exactly clever, but certainly funny enough for a ton of giggles. And the ending doesn't make one laugh as it does with Anniyan; it solicits a mere peaceful smile, just like it should.

11. Oh I'm sorry, did you think this would be a short post? My first reactions are lengthy, it would seem.

12. The depiction of Mexico (yes, they friggin' go to Mexico! Vikram speaks Spanish!) is kind of half-awesome, half-weird. I'm not sure if Mexico really has that western saloon cowboy hats type of scene, but the film doesn't go for any super-offensive stereotypes and actually shows regular people, regular scenery (and interesting scenery, not just luxurious sights of this and that tourist attraction like Indian films sometimes do), which is kind of lovely. I'm mostly in love with these scenes because of the plot at that point is really awesome.

13. I'm so glad I watched this film on Friday the 13th. Screencaps and proper review later this weekend, I assume, should I have time.

A dog named Remo; stories of rewatching.

I have these friends who, bless their hearts, are very easy to talk into watching Indian movies. Maybe it's that using my DVD collection is cheaper than going out to rent a movie (and might include arguments over which film to go for), maybe it's that watching something is better than watching nothing, or maybe, just maybe, the wonderous world of Indian films is little-by-little creeping into their hearts.

So I've made them sit through the likes of DDLJ, Sholay, Dil Chahta Hai, Hum Tum with varying results, but I guess it's a triumph in itself that they are always keen to see more. They still confuse actors with one another, and have a decidedly "Western" perspective on some things (getting hung up on continuity errors is not something a seasoned Hindi film fan does!), but at least they're willing to see more, and I'm more than willing to provide more.

In the past two weeks, we've watched three films together and all of them are well worth talking about.


First up it was Anniyan, which I intuitively selected to introduce the crazy world of Tamil mainstream films to my friends. And say what you say about the shortcomings of this epic masala film, directed by S. Shankar, it simply never fails to deliver and even though it is completely and utterly over-the-top in every way, the core story, the characters and especially Vikram's acting seemed to make this nutty movie approachable to even complete beginners. They were aww'ing at Ambi, the by-the-book lawyer, and his total failure to capture the heart of his beloved, Nandini.


I once called Anniyan the most entertaining movie ever, and I stand by that to this day. The action scenes, the comedy, the social message - even when it all becomes a rather illogical mess, it doesn't get boring. My friends did start to get a little bored as the end was approaching - when the song "Andakaka" arrived, they wondered out loud about Shankar's style of loud visuals. "Why?" was a question on one of my friends' lips. I shrugged. "Because it looks good." I suppose it's the sort of perspective they still haven't quite embraced.

The real winner of the evening, however, was Remo, one of the characters Vikram plays in the movie, a rocking super-model, so hip and modern and ultra-cool it hurts. I like to think of him as mocking the "Western" life-style worship, though at the same time a very loving parody. Whatever he is, he's absolutely hilarious and after the initial shock my friends couldn't help but love him. So over-the-top and ridiculous and yet somehow, absolutely amazing.

This picture says it all.

After the movie, my friends sent me a message that the next male pet they get, will be named Remo. Whether they ever keep this promise or not, I'm more than glad I introduced them to this film.

A bit later my friend saw the gorgeous Mughal-e-Azam poster in my room and since I wanted to rewatch the film, I suggested we watch it together. It's been a while since I saw this classic, even though the DVD is the first Hindi one I ever bought. I believe I'd actually only seen it once up until that point. I warned my friend it would be a lengthy historical love story (set in the Mughal era for those three of you who weren't aware), not quite as cheery as the films I usually show her, but we ended up watching it regardless.

Sometimes the flaws of DVD's can truly ruin a film experience. I never realized the subtitles on my DVD lag. Severely. And so as if it wasn't already difficult enough to keep up with the going-on's in a film largely centered around people arguing in hyper-poetic language, we had the lacking subtitles to deal with. It's probably because of this I never warmed up to the characters on this watch - I felt very distant from them as did my friend, and our concentration was slipping dangerously. The movie bore on, scene by scene (arguing in highly poetic Urdu), song by song (singing in highly poetic Urdu about how miserable everything is), I found myself asking my friend whether we should skip some scenes. She insisted we not fast-forward a single minute, and I relented, as boring and futile as the watching seemed like.

Don't get me wrong. I love the visuals of this film. I adore the songs. When we finally see the sets in colour, their glory takes my breath away. The battle scenes are good for their time. But it was simply hopeless to get into the story when you had to wait 20 seconds for the subtitles to appear. It got to the point where, if I understood a sentence or even a bit of a sentence, I would translate out loud for my friend as we waited for the correct subtitles to come on.

As it stands, we got to the end and I walked home, thinking about the MeA poster on my wall. I do like the film, still. Just wish I had a better copy of it so I could sit down with it and see if I'd get into it with subs that do not lag. The Mystery of Dilip Kumar for me personally is still unsolved; in other words, I've not yet understood why he is considered such an enormous acting talent of his age. But perhaps one day I shall find out..

Realizing I better keep the films masala from now on, I brought over my Amar Akbar Anthony DVD the next time I visited my friends. The story of three brothers separating and re-uniting in harmony of three faiths and three professions seemed like a nice way to reflect the friendship of the three of us, and even though the wonderous masala recipe from the 1970's didn't quite fully win over my friends (the variety of characters and plot twists left them a bit confused at times!), at the end of the film, they enjoyed it a lot!

This is Pran, or as we called him during our viewing, "Daddy'O".

Amitabh Bachchan as Anthony was another star of the evening. His signature song was both mind-boggling and amazing according to my friends and especially during the penultimate scenes, they found him a riot.

Thankfully my own favourite, Vinod Khanna as Amar, did not go unnoticed, however. My friend's verdict? "Cute."

Out of the three couples, my personal favourite is Rishi-Neetu, without a doubt, but as his storyline was the least featured in the movie, my friends might've not caught onto their cuteness that much.

I'm glad to say the fight scenes got the 'oooh's they deserved (70's masala action = insanely awesome fight moves!) and since we all began humming the last song as the movie wrapped up, I'd consider the evening a success. Masala might be a little tough on the beginners, but they handled it well.

Don't be a stranger to Anniyan no more.

If somebody was to ask me for the most entertaining film I know, I would answer Anniyan (Tamil for 'stranger') before they had a chance to finish the question.

For Anniyan, Tamil director Shankar's big budget superhit from 2005, contains everything a movie ticket ought to buy you. It has the visuals, the comedy, the action, the romance and a bit of social significance, as well. It's just a big damn movie.

And it's awesome.

The picture here is just an example of the outrageously whacky visuals you get with Shankar films. And how can you not adore them? It's nuts! It's colourful! He also abuses special effects mercilessly, which amuses me greatly.

The plot of the film tells of Ambi (Vikram), a pedantic lawyer, who annoys just about everybody around him. The girl he loves (Sada) is equally unimpressed with the way he deals with problems in society; he will not let a wrong-doing go, and will lecture at people about even the smallest things. Meanwhile, somebody is murdering people in very unusual ways. Ambi's friend (Vivek) works together with the DCP (Prakash Raj) to solve these cases..

If that sounded boring to you, don't worry. Vikram plays three characters in the film, and Vivek provides some of the funniest comedy I've ever seen. And when the film has an occasional lapse in quality, the hillarity doesn't stop there.

Just youtube the song "Remo remo". I dare you not to laugh your head off.

Yep. Anniyan is a film not to be taken too seriously. You can take in the social message, ponder it, turn it upside down, I will even discuss and debate it with you, should you want it. But at core Anniyan sets out to entertain and oh boy, does it ever. I've seen the movie nearly 10 times and never does it fail to do just that.

A round-up of sorts.

I was going to type up a post about an old favourite of mine, Anniyan, but instead got an idea to do this..

• I'm going to be in England - not just London - March 2nd-12th. The gods of Bollyluck are not on my side; the only decent Indian movie playing in theaters during that time will be Jodhaa-Akbar. Oh and Subhash Ghai's latest which will premiere on the 7th. Whoopdedoo. I'm disappointed but looking at the positives; JA is getting good reviews, and there is more to England than Indian movies. I am, after all, visiting about five locations and going to two gigs whilst there. And plenty of Indian food will be available!
• Nothing new on the Tashan front. Okay, that's a big fat lie and I now it; recently Akshay replied in an interview that he looks best with Saif. I could make this stuff up but luckily this time, I didn't have to.
• If you're tired of looking at Kareena's diet photos, Piyaara did a wonderful picspam of his favourite actresses in South-Indian films, you know, where the ladies are allowed a few pounds extra. And you know what? They still look amazingly beautiful, as this list proves.
• I'm going to be watching a Hindi oldie called Shaque (starring Vinod Khanna & Shabana Azmi) in synch with Filmi Geek tonight. Exciting!

That's it from me for now.