Language: Telugu
Year of Release:2008
Director: Srikanth Addala
Actors: Varun Sandesh, Shweta Prasad, Prakash Raj, Jayasudha, Ahuthi Prasad and others
Verdict: 3.75 / 5 (Don't miss it!)

2008 has had its share of ups and downs for Tollywood. There are no huge blockbusters to talk about... the success of Jalsa, Ready, Krishna, and other movies may be the only so far which has the rung the cash registers. But I wouldn't be surprised if the audience complained of some void which arises for lack of fresh stories or atleast something to talk about incessantly! Finally, the wait seems to have ended...atleast in most quarters. And it's once again from the production house of ace producer Dil Raju, who has Addala Srikanth as the chief bastion to his reputation of producing good movies! The team has definitely come up with a winner which will draw in the famillies and more particularly the teenagers and youth.

Kotha Bangaru Lokam (KBL) is the story of Balu (Varun Sandesh) and Swapna (Shweta Prasad), who meet in a Residential Junior College. Balu is the kind of guy whom you would associate any teenager...the happy go lucky guy, who believes that anything is possible and for whom life's a beautiful dream which can be led as one pleases. His life takes a new turn when he bumps into Swapna in college and is compelled to know more about her. As time progresses, love blossoms...the only problem is, they don't know if it's love or attraction. When they come across their Physics Lecturer who believes that life's all about the decisions you make at different levels, they are compelled even more to question themselves as to what exactly is the funny feeling they are enduring. After a short while, they realise that it's the love for each other which makes them restless...all's well so far! But how can life be so smooth??! Obviously, the girl's father discovers the affair and takes his daughter away from the college. Now that, with the girl gone and him being sent out of college, what will Balu do? Will he confess all this to his parents ? Will he be able to meet Swapna again? How does all this end??!--To find answers to all these questions...you must watch the movie!

It's just not the question of what happens in the latter part of the story, but the movie on a whole is an earnest attempt to portray the lifestyle of a teenager and what he thinks and does. The steps to discovering oneself are sometimes the longest and the hardest to walk. If leaving your parents hands (in a strictly Indian Sense) was so easy, there would have been no question of a struggle of conscience. At every step of your life, you have this going in your mind...how would my family react if they find out what I have done? Will my family support my decision? When will the society realise that I am mature enough to make my own decisions?!....yada...yada.

Probably a dozen more of such questions have always plagued us sometime or the other. And after having seen the movie, I can say with my hand on my heart that the writers and the director understand what it's to be like a teenager....watch out for that physics class where this concept is explained as XYZ axis! Coming back to the movie, Varun Sandesh is here to stay! He's got another good role which he performs with ease after his role in "Happy Days". Of course, his American accent doesn't seem to have completely veered of him, especially for a film where he's portraying a Konaseema lad. He has shed lot of weight...and has that funny looking mush...hehe...pretty much like how most of us used to look like back then (Of course, I personally cannot claim to be thin at any stage of my life!!! :-P...). He looks a bit like Danush in this flick...check it out yourself if you don't believe me! Shweta Prasad, the girl who earlier played the role of Iqbal's sister in Nagesh Kukoonoor's "Iqbal" is the find of the year! She's just perfect for the role and has a remarkable innocence etched onto her face all the time. No wonder, her smile and the catchy phrase "Ekkada" will stand out in the movie. Ahuti Prasad is content in his role...he's got some really funny lines. Jayasudha and Prakash Raj team up again...and leave no place for any shortcomings. Although I would say, their roles don't have much footage, but the entire film owes it to their presence and the impact which they leave in those scenes in which they appear. Another big asset to this movie is the set of friends which the hero and the heroine have! I haven't laughed so much for such spontaneous lines...and the Konaseema accent adds to the sparkling humour!

Mickey J Meyer's music is another asset...couple of songs, Nijanga...Nijanga...and Nenani will continue to be among the chartbusters for a long long time! Chota K Naidu's Cinematography is probably the strongest pillar to this movie...all those wonderful scenes across Godavari, the songs and the general scenes between the hero and the heroine are wonderfully captured. The colours are rich and they exude such brilliance...one thing in particular...most of the scenes have been shot amidst the most brilliant of the sunlighting! The golden rays of sun and the soft music are probably more than enough to make you belief that you are feeling good within for some odd reason. Kudos to the director for bringing in such a wonderful team together and bringing out a genuinely fresh product. The direction is particularly brilliant towards the final act in the movie, and I truly hope this talented director comes up with something more consistent. A final word for the producer, Raju...he seems to have got the knack of finding good talent most of the times. Have got just one thing to say-"Your Bank Balance just got multipled!!!"....:D

There might be plenty of reasons for watching this movie, but probably the most important thing would be....go for the sweet romance, sparkling comedy and some beautiful music and cinematographer. Don't miss this flick...you never know when you might come across another truly genuine piece of work like this one!

Title: Good Bye Lenin!
Language: German
Year of Release: 2003
Director: Wolfgang Becker
Actors: Daniel Brühl, Katrin Saß, Chulpan Khamatova, Maria Simon, Alexander Beyer
Verdict: **** (Must Watch)

There is a general feeling I have that when God created life, he had chalked an elaborate sketch of how it would take shape. And one day, when it was time for the evolution of humans, he must have thought of who all around a human being's life would be of great influence upom him/her. He's been so generous that (or maybe I should say very sly to relieve himself from doing more work!), he didn't give himself the pinnacle position, rather he seated a lady there and named her Mother. How else can you explain the hierarchy with which we recognise the four most important people...especially in Indian Tradition....it's always...Mother, Father, Teacher and God!...it's always like that! Most of the babies seem to say "Ma" first than any other word...and especially in my part of the world, people shriek "Amma" or "Maaaaa" when they are in pain. Maybe we all owe it to her for the unconditional love, care and support she's showered on us all throughout her life. From time immemorial we have celebrated the phenomenon, which some poets have termed as "God's Greatest Gift"...Mother. Under this premise, Cinema has depicted the role of mother in various shades...sometimes she's the all caring, love, sweet and at times she's the feiry being who will do anything for her loved ones and so on. Out of all those movies from Hollywood and rest of the world that I have seen, there have been three movies so far which changed my perspective of how the West interprets emotions like Love, Marriage, Family.

The first movies about Love...was "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset". The second about Marriage was "Two for the Road", and the third about Family relations is this German flick which I saw couple of weeks ago named, "Good Bye Lenin!". I don't declare that these three are the landmark movies which changed everything, but at some level they did have a great impact on me. Now that you have an idea of what I am about to say, let me get into the skin of this movie...."Good Bye Lenin!".

Directed by Wolfgang Becker, Good Bye Lenin is set in East Germany when it was still a Socialist nation . The Socialist party in German Democratic Republic (GDR) enjoys a huge following in its populace and as it progresses towards the new millenium, even crossing a milestone of sending one of its citizen into space, Sigmund Jähn. Christiane is the mother of two, Alexander Kerner and Ariane living in East Germany. One day, Government agents storm into her house and enquire about the whereabouts of her husband, since the party suspects that he might have escaped to the west. Slowly Christiane dedicates herself completely to her children and to the cause of upliftment of the poor in the neighbourhood which earns her laurels from the Government. The younger generation of the country vexed by the growing distance with the outside world decide to protest against the Government. And this protest march is dealt with some strict force by the Police resulting in several youth being arrested, Alex being one of them. When Christiane happens to witness all this infront of her eyes, she suffers a heart attack and slips into a coma. She continues to be in that state for the next 8 months, during which some striking changes take place in East Germany...like collapsing of the current regime, people breaking the Berlin Wall, West German currency and lifestyle sweeping the whole of East Germany and so on. When Christiane finally manages to wake up, Alex suffers a serious setback when the doctor tells him that she has to be protected from the outside world because she cannot withstand anything which can excite her. All these results in a series of funny, yet warm incidents depicting a desperate trail which her son takes to keep his mother in a stable state and more importantly happy.

The reason why this movie is so remarkable is, it's got a delicate charm in its own way. It's extremely clever in its depiction of transformation; and the fact that this transformation has to do with Germany gives it a compelling authenticity. The world has seen the rapid rate of transformation happening with the fall of Berlin wall...but the theme of a son slogging along with his confidants to recreate a country and life which his mother was so fond takes you by surprise. Before his mother had gone into a coma, he approved of the luxuries which the consumerism of the west provides, but with the drastic turn of events he dreams of that life which had once existed...whose ideals were so honest, yet it wouldn't fall into place of the new age of development.

Watch the movie for some beautiful background score, brilliant story and direction...and more importantly to see how far can one go to keep his loved ones happy....trust me, if you feel what I feel...it will compel you to think a lot about the age of innocence which we once had and that special person who taught you how to interpret things and see the world with your own eyes...I am lost in my dreams...my own Nostalgia. One of the brilliant Foreign Flicks I have seen in recent years...never knew that tragic comedies could be so beautiful.

Title: Tahaan
Language: Hindi
Year of Release: 2008
Director: Santosh Sivan
Actors: Purav Bhandare, Anupam Kher, Sarika, Rahul Bose, Rahul Khanna, Victor Banerjee
Verdict: ****

There's a poem by Oscar Wilder titled "Panthea" and one of the stanza's goes like this
"....White lilies, in whose cups the gold bees dream,
The fallen snow of petals where the breeze
Scatters the chestnut blossom, or the gleam
Of boyish limbs in water, - are not these
Enough for thee, dost thou desire more?
Alas! the Gods will give nought else from their eternal store...."

A verse which describes about the beauty of things around us and our never ending quest for a little more than what we need. If only, life could be as simple as it exists in Ruskin Bond's books! But on the contrary, life's anything but that. This is probably why, "Tahaan" impresses you right from the beginning. Fiddling with an age of innocence to an unflinching friendship between a boy and his donkey, "Tahaan" is probably one of the most endearing movies to have hit the theatres in recent times.

It's the story of a Kashmiri boy named Tahaan (Purav Bhandare) who can't imagine without being with his dear friend, the donkey named "Birbal". His family consists of his mother Haba (Sarika), his sister Zoya(Sana Shaikh) and grandfather (Victor Banerjee). His father has been missing for over three years - and ever since the family has been in deep financial crisis. One fine day, when Tahaan's grandpa passes away, his mother decides to sell all the valuable items in the house and pay off the debt to some extent. In this process Tahaan's "Birbal" is sold off to the moneylender who inturn sells it off to another old man Subhan Darr (Anupam Kher) who carries supplies across mountains. What follows is a young boy's heart warming and persistent effort to get his friend back...there is no point in telling the story in two lines, it would be a blatant injustice to this visually brilliant poem.

The first thing about the movie is that it's one of the first films to have been entirely shot in Kashmir after a gap of 18 years. (Source: Wikipedia). And since it's one of the most respected Cinematographers of contemporary Indian Cinema, Santosh Sivan handling the camera, you could definitely expect some breath-taking shots. And he doesn't disappoint...:-). I wonder how much of research must have gone into a movie of such beauty...the reason why I say is, the environs in which this movie is set brings back some painful memories. It's a question of your convictions and ideas which are at stake. If ever your heart goes out to the people of Kashmir who are caught between the crossfire of India and Pakistan, there's a lesson to be learnt from this movie. Every time there's a scene where people are lined up by the army under the premise of investigation, you begin to think...is is right to suspect everyone with a beard or anyone who reminds you of some miscreant! And to mercilessly beat up innocent people under the pretext of suspicion....:-( ....With this as the background, if there's someone who brings a smile to your face, then imagince the impact of that character....this is exactly what's going through my mind right now. Disconnecting himself from the reality to a large extent, all Tahaan cares about is his Birbal. And he wouldn't tolerate being away from him even for a moment. So, when the very thing he cares and loves so much is under the danger of being taken away from him, he embarks on an extra-ordinary journey and doing everything and anything he can, to get his Birbal back.

Purav Bhandare is a revelation, certainly among one of the best child artist's to have hit the screen in recent times. His expressions, dialogues, innocence, vulnerability make him a big asset to the film. Check out everything he does to convince Anupam Kher to let him be with his donkey and that brilliant sequence of the race is sure to bring a smile onto your face. Anupam Kher is as good as he usually as, with almost a father like figure to those around him but at the same time nudging Tahaan and Zafar (Rahul Bose) who work for him. Underneath that stiff looking personality lies a soul which has taken a beaten with all these years of violence, a fact which is best described in a scene when they go to meet a old friend of his, a Kashmiri Pandit, who's hiding himself from the world around him. Coming to Rahul Bose, I must say, it's kinda hard to play the role of a duffer...but Rahul Bose does it with ease. Although one would expect him to have a longer footage, but this film isn't about him...it's about Tahaan. Among other roles,
Sana Shaikh impresses with her ever complaining attitude, but at the same time the warmth she shares with her brother leaves a good impression upon the family dynamics during testing times. Sarika (she's mute in the flick) as the mother of Tahaan, emotes a lot more with her eyes, radiating a lot more things than what she expresses through her hands. Check her out in all those scenes when she has to go to the police station searching for her husband...and you will realise what I am saying.

The film has some breathtaking shots of various locales of Kashmir, although most of the sequences are shot in snow (which quite a few of you might find repetetive), but kudos to the team who's scouted for these locations...it provides a great deal of authenticity to the whole story. The snow covered mountains, trees covered with snow, frozen lakes, mountains filled with fog and mist, and sun which throws the snow into a blinding glaze...it's all there, in almost every frame. Adding to that is a good background score which is in a way funny...not sure if there's any other way to describe it...maybe you can suggest me after you see the movie! The film also packs in good message about hope, dream and conviction to be good no matter how much life tests you....oh! just in case if I have missed saying the main point in the flick...I didn't wanna reveal how a ticking time bomb feels like...go check it out yourself.

A good story with some great acting and stunning cinematography make it a compulsive watch. I highly recommend this movie to all those who like good cinema, and if are among the ones who don't have a taste for plots which aren't fast paced...all I can say is, you are missing a gem of a movie..a true Made in India...one!...:D

Again another stanza from Oscar Wilde's "Panthea"....
"...O we are wearied of this sense of guilt,
Wearied of pleasure's paramour despair,
Wearied of every temple we have built,
Wearied of every right, unanswered prayer,
For man is weak; God sleeps: and heaven is high:
One fiery-coloured moment: one great love; and lo! we die..."

I think that's what life's about...we expect too much out of it...and end up doing so little! Time to buckle up and do everything thing we can to right every wrong...we could start with ourselves...lets work with our own thoughts and ideals...ask ourselves what if things are not the same?! Would all this be still the same? I don't know what the answer will be...but I see Hope...I see a life...I see Tahaan. It means Merciful. God.

P.S: For Complete version of Oscar Wilde's "Panthea" click here.