Saravana(2006)

Tamil remake of Telugu Bhadra. It's the only Simbu movie I don't own(although, I like to pretend that I never purchased Kovil). I've held off on buying it for the longest time because 1) I can't stand Vivek and 2) I don't like Simbu and Jyothika as an on-screen pair. I like them separately, but not together. In spite of that, however, I still sorta want to see this because of a rumor I read a while back on a now-forgotten forum. Allegedly, Simbu "sexually tortured" Jyothika during the filming of Manmathan and because of that, she didn't want to work with him again. She agreed to do Saravana only as a favor to the director. (For whatever reason(s), I can believe that.) I'm always intrigued whenever I hear or read about actors not getting along on-set, especially if I've watched the movie and didn't sense any animosity or discomfort between them.

I did a quick scan of some YouTube clips and from what I could see, although Simbu and Jyothika appeared in scenes together, there seemed to be--for lack of a better term--a professional distance between them. Even when they touched, I got a "Just doing our jobs" vibe. Perhaps I'm reading too much into the situation, but that's how it appeared to me. **shrug** Maybe one day I'll have to watch the uploaded parts to get a better assessment.

TPP: Ajith and waists, pt.2.

From Mugavari:

Raja(2002)

One of the reasons I've been trying to convince myself to buy this is because of Raasi/Manthra's item number(which is dumb, because I can just watch it on YouTube). The other reason is because of the Ajith-Jyothika pairing, even though Ajith looks aged and bloated, and Jo, while very pretty in her intro scene, looks not-so-great in the songs. And, judging from the parts I've watched online, they don't share a lot of screen time, either. Still, there's a part of me that thinks I "should" get it, just because it's an Ajith movie. However, I have a feeling that if I do, I'll hate myself in the morning.

ETA 07/14/09: This is why I liked Raja:









I LOVED the smooching scenes with Ajith and Priyanka Trivedi. I thought they were hilarious and hot. I adore Jo, but I preferred the Ajith-Priyanka pairing and wish they had remained together. I was seriously sad when her character got bumped off, because I felt she was the best part of the movie. In fact, I wish the entire film had revolved around just the Raja-Priya-Priya mistaken identity love triangle. Sonu Sood was a wasted character. He was only there because of the "need" for a villain. It was so anticlimatic to watch him get defeated in the end. And I wasn't feeling Ajith's sudden change of heart towards Jo. In my rewritten scenario, after saving her from Sonu, he gently turns her down and continues to pine for Priyanka.

Priyanka. She rocked in her role. She totally stole the show from Jyothika. But as a nod to Jo, I'll say that I thought she looked pretty, and I enjoyed watching her haze Priyanka.

Kushi(2000)

This is a stupid movie, but I like it, mainly because the way Jenny(Jyothika) and Shiva(Vijay) frequently cross paths and eventually wind up together reminds me of the film Lovers of the Arctic Circle(minus the tragic ending). And I love Jyothika's wildly, often annoying, OTT facial expressions and gestures. Watching her overreact to just about every situation is oddly comforting, like I'm watching a favorite relative, or a childhood BFF. Plus, I'm a sucker for the following scenes: Jenny gifting Shiva an expensive ashtray to discourage him from smoking; Jenny pouring bottled water on Shiva's soiled hands after he fixes his car, and Shiva combing Jenny's hair when she's in the hospital with both hands bandaged. Seemingly trivial things like that appeal to my mushy-gushy side.

This was remade in Telugu and Hindi with the same title. I haven't watched either version, but at one time, I wanted to see the Hindi remake solely because of Kareena. That desire has since faded, however, so I'll probably never watch it.

Mugavari(2000)

The scene I most identify with is the one where Sridhar's(Ajith) sister shows him a stack of the diaries he's kept for past eight years and teases him about how in each one, he wrote that he would one day become a famous music director. While I've never harbored dreams of becoming a music director, I do know the feeling of never reaching your goals, even after many years of trying. However, unlike Ajith's character, my dreams far outstripped my efforts, so I don't get a pep talk about a man who, if he had dug just two more feet, would've found the gold that someone else came along and discovered.

It's a shame Mugavari wasn't a commercial success, because I feel Ajith is better-suited for "soft-hearted lover" roles than the "action-packed, stunt hero" roles he vowed to do in this old interview. I'd rather watch him "musing with roja flower" than bashing up bad guys. But, those parts don't pay the bills, I guess, and a man's gotta eat, so...**shrug**

Mugavari isn't perfect; things like the fighting scene, Ajith getting hazed by a producer's drunk relatives, and him singing in the rain could've been either left out or toned down. But overall, it's a nice movie. I especially liked the cute romance between Ajith and Jyothika. They share great chemistry in the "Oh Nenjey Nenjey" and "Poo Virinjachu" songs. And this scene is one of my favorites:

Vaali(1999)

This post has been in "draft" mode for several days and I'm anxious to set it free. Since I have writer's block at the moment, I will make a(n admittedly lame) bulleted list in lieu of an actual entry:

• Ajith plays a dual role as identical twin brothers, Shiva and Deva. Deva, the oldest, is also deaf and mute.


• They are both attracted to the same woman, Priya(Simran), but Shiva is the one who eventually marries her, and that makes Deva angry and jealous.


• Deva continues to secretly and then not-so-secretly lust after Priya.


• When Priya realizes what Deva is up to, she tries to tell Shiva, but he doesn't believe her.


• Finally, Shiva comes to know of Deva's intentions.


• Jyothika has a small role as Sona, Shiva's make-believe former flame.


• The songs are excellent. I love the picturisation of "Vaanil Kaayuthae" because Simran looks so amazingly, unbelievably hot.


• This was later remade in Hindi as Sheesha - Some Mirrors Lie with Neha Dhupia and Sonu Sood.

I'd like to elaborate further, because I really like this movie, but my brain refuses to work. Supposedly, the cure for writer's block is to write, but that isn't working for me so far.

Mass(2004)

AKA "Where's Jyothika?"

For the longest time, I wondered if I were watching the right movie. I even double-checked Wikipedia to make sure that her name was listed in the credits. I wasn't really paying attention, so I thought that maybe she was onscreen while I was preoccupied in another browser window. Long story, short version: I slid the marker on the time bar to 1:22:25 and lo and behold, there she was, looking too cute in white and dancing with the maid.

I could be wrong, but it sounded as if Jyothika's lines were mouthed by the same person who dubs for Trisha in her Telugu movies.

While I'm on the subject, was Ileana's dubbing artist for Rakhee used for Charmi in this flick? Hmmm...maybe not, but that individual's voice sounds familiar.

Speaking of Charmi, she looked sexy in the "Mass Lallalaire" song. I especially loved the white top, skirt, and boots she wore near the end.

I preferred the Nag-Jo pairing to the Nag-Charmi one. With Jo, Nag approached the jolie-laide he had going on in Super, but with Charmi, he looked aged and horribly mismatched.

I think I'll wait for this to show up in the $4.99 and under bin. I'm not really crazy about this movie, especially since Charmi and Jyothika don't get that much screen time, but I wouldn't mind spending say, $3.99 on it if I were in one of my "Oh, I feel like wasting money on a cheap DVD!" moods.

Manmathan(2004)

When I first watched this movie, I made the mistake of expecting a sexed-up**, modern day version of Sivappu Rojakkal, the apparent inspiration for this flick. To say that I wound up disappointed would be an understatement. In short, I HATED it. I felt there were too many songs, too many shots of Simbu looking at the camera, and that both the backstory and the motivation behind the killings were stupid. I also didn't care for the gratuitous flashbacks to Jyothika getting raped. I thought, "Okay. I GET IT. You gotta keep the front benchers happy but please, I've had enough."

I've since learned, however, that this is the type of movie you cannot take seriously. Once I lowered my expectations and accepted it for what it is--a poor man's copy of Sivappu Rojakkal***--I had a more enjoyable viewing experience. Now, I just roll my eyes at the parts I find dumb or annoying, and mentally flesh out the scenes that I feel have the most promise.

Oh, and I thought Simbu looked hot, especially when he was acting(?) crazy. He's not conventionally good-looking, but there's something about him that gets to me.

ETA 11/25/09: I've been rewatching this on and off for the past couple of weeks, and I'm both amused and disturbed at how...blatantly? it enforces the "The virgin never dies" rule of slasher flicks. The one time Mythili(Jyothika) had sex(and with Madhan, no less), it was in a dream, and it was against her will, so she's still "a nice girl", and not at all like those sullied, slutty girls who willingly sleep around with guys whose sexual behavior isn't governed by the same rigid codes of morality. While that's nothing new or profound, it's just something that was on my mind while I watched this. I could go off on a tangent about how some guys can't make up their minds about female sexuality--if you don't have sex with them, you're "uptight", if you do have sex with them, you're a "slut", there's no middle ground, you can't be both a "nice girl" and enjoy sex outside of marriage--but I won't ;) I'll refrain from using this post as an online therapy session :P

ETA 12/29/09: Now that I think about it, and I meant to post this a lot earlier, the bleeding nose thing was most likely swiped from Valentine. And let me say for the umpteenth time that I got so sick of him looking at the camera and wiping his nose. Plz don't b breakin' the 4th wall, thx. I hate it when actors acknowledge the audience.

ETA 02/08/10: I've developed a liking for the scene where Madhan kills Vaishu and Seenu. Before, I didn't really give it much thought, but lately, I've been rewatching that particular scene and finding it humorous in a dark, politically incorrect way. What really makes the scene for me is the way Madhan clucks his tongue a la Ajith in Vaali and says, "Vaishu waiting" before ramming Seenu's head into the wall(or was it on the stairs?). I also liked watching him slam that blunt object(a vase? a trophy?) on Vaishu's head. (Yes, I have a sadistic streak.) It makes me chuckle because, if I were to discover that my best friend and boyfriend were screwing around behind my back, I can imagine myself behaving--or rather, wanting to behave in a similiar manner. In reality, I wouldn't react one-tenth as violently, but I'd sure feel like it, especially if I didn't fully rage, as I'm wont to do. (I'm one of those "slow to anger" types. I don't truly get pissed-off sometime after the fact.)

ETA 03/24/10: I'm already going to hell, so I feel no shame in admitting that I liked the rape scene. I didn't like the frequent flashbacks to it, because I'm a "once is enough" kinda gal, but the first time? Yeah. I'm convinced that scene is one of the reasons this movie was so successful.

Jyothika was so pretty. One reviewer remarked that she looked more like Simbu's mother. Eh, maybe, but I consider her type of "matronliness" to be of the "warm, comforting" variety. Like, she would just give you a big ol' hug and nice, hot meal if you were having a bad day. Or maybe I'm just giving this way too much thought.

Anyway, Jo seems like the kind of person I'd want to hang out with in real life. She has such a likeable screen presence. Yeah, she can be OTT, but I find her histrionics endearing enough to kind of forget their headache inducing-ness.


**It was certainly "sexed-up", but not in the way I hoped--i.e. more implied, less in-yer-face. For the most part, I don't mind getting hit over the head with the sexuality hammer, but there are times when I find it sexier to have to use my imagination.

***While SR is one of my favorite films, I don't think it's necessarily great, but what makes it so appealing to me is Kamal's eerie performance and the chemistry between him and Sridevi.

Shock(2006)

I don't want to get too excited, especially since I viewed only the first few minutes--thanks to the effed-up audio--but I think Jyothika may have been able to do what Ileana and Trisha couldn't, and that's make Ravi Teja bearable. Again, I didn't watch the entire movie, but during the time he was onscreen, his presence didn't trigger an allergy headache or my "Ugh!" reflex the way it did when I tried to watch Khatarnak and Krishna, respectively. However, I won't be able to reach a final verdict until I watch the entire film.

ETA: Which may be never, because I just peeped the "Madhuram Madhuram" song on YouTube and immediately felt that familar tingling in the back of my neck. Nope, not even Jo can sell me on Ravi Teja. He's just one of those actors who will never appeal to me. I don't hate him, I just don't want to watch any of his movies.

Kaaka Kaaka(2003)

Impulse buy. Got it yesterday. I'm not really a Surya fan, although I do think he's attractive, and he and Jyothika make a good pair, both on and off camera.

It was remade in Telugu as Gharshana.

More thoughts later.

ETA: The picturisation of the first song is weird, but I kinda like it. Jyothika has amazing eyes. Lavendar is a good color on her.

The font for the subtitles is different.

I remember these opening scenes in Gharshana. Who looks better in the uniform, Surya or Venkatesh? I'm leaning towards Venky, because I thought he looked more authoritative. Of course, he's older than Surya, so maybe that has something to do with it.

For the role of Maya, I like Jyothika better. Asin looked too much like a college girl, whereas Jyothika, depending on how she's made up and styled, can look either youthful or mature.

ETA 2: I liked it better--well, most of it, still haven't watched it in its entirety--on the second viewing. Yes, this will be one of those movies that takes a while to grow on me. I find the songs unnecessary. Maybe the first one works, but only because I like the picturisation. The rest, however, could've been removed, because they interrupt the flow of the film, IMO.

ETA 3: I think I like Gharshana better. I'm not sure why. I'll have to watch it a couple more times and try to type a post about it.

Poovellam Un Vaasam(2001)

I was watching this earlier, but ditched it in favor of listening to Iman hawk her handbag line on HSN.

If I don't think too hard, I can kind of enjoy it, but it's not on my "frequently rewatched" list. The reason I gave it a whirl today is because I felt guilty about not watching it as often as some of my other DVDs.