Madurey(2004)

I wish I hadn't bought this. I mean, I knew better than to have high expectations--or any expectations, really, seeing how it IS a Vijay movie. Even with that in mind, each of the three times I tried to watch it, I couldn't make it past the first twenty minutes or so. I don't know whether to try to give away the DVD or use it as a (very expensive) drink coaster.

I need to go back to my "try before buying" routine--i.e. watching movies online instead of purchasing sight unseen.

TPP: Movie related randomness

Because I can't bring myself to type a "real" post right now:

• I think Amrita Arora is prettier than her over-rated older sister, Malaika.


• I hated Sivakasi when I first tried to watch it, but now that I want to order it, it's not in stock. Why do I feel like I've been punk'd?


• I was going to order 7/G Rainbow Colony, solely because I've somehow developed an appreciation for Sonia Agarwal's expressionless face, and then I remembered I already had it on the 2-in-1 DVD of Kedi.


• Anita Raj looks very pretty in Zara Si Zindagi, but she's no Sridevi. I wasn't feeling her character the way I felt Sri's. (And I think I would say that even if I wasn't a Sridevi stan.)


• Speaking of Zara Si Zindagi, the songs are not pleasing to my ears. I cannot bear to listen to them. The songs in Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu are much more melodious.


• One last thing about Zara Si Zindagi: I don't hate it, I just need time(and several more viewings) to get used to it.


• I still haven't watched Abodh. (ETA 01/06/10: I watched some of it last night. Teenage Madz was so choote. I think the lead actor is the same guy who married Bhagyashree, but I'm too lazy to check(ETA 01/08/10: nope, not him). Right now, I'll declare it "a decent timepass". I'll have to view in its entirety before I make a final verdict.)


• I'm toying with the idea of randomly giving away a free DVD.


• Jaali Note isn't bad, now that I remember.


• I ordered the Ayngaran Kandaswamy DVD. Better picture quality, blah, blah, blah, and really, it's not that bad. But I still think Shriya is the best thing about the movie.


• I miss the sweetly chubby, unpolished Nayantara from 3 or 4 years ago. These days, she looks kinda jaded and used-up. (ETA 01/05/10: I'm watching her item number in Twenty: 20 and yeah, I definitely prefer the chubbier, slightly awkward-looking version of Nayan. Here, she looks kinda porny and plasticized. (Unrelated: I think Prithviraj looks better with facial hair.))

ETA 12/09/09: Got Kandaswamy today. It's 194 minutes and 27 seconds according to the back of DVD case, which means Santa didn't do me a favor and remove ALL of Vadivelu's scenes. I figured as much, but it doesn't hurt to have hope every once in a while.

ETA 12/16/09: Zara Si Zindagi is slowly growing on me. The songs are beginning to sound less jarring, too. Right now, I find the first half of the movie more interesting than the second.

ETA 01/22/10: I watched Ghajini last night and felt the Nayan love all over again. She wasn't looking her best, but I found her oh-so appealing, flyaway hair, chubby figure, and all. This is the Nayan who pricks my soft spot:



ETA 02/03/10: I think there may be a slight resemblance between the old Nayantara and my best friend from high school. That thought popped into my head when I looked at the Boss DVD cover. (Yeah, I'm weird.)

Nenjinile(1999)

Lately, I've been in a Vijay mood, which is why I ordered Sivakasi and Pokiri in spite of not having warm fuzzies about either flick. Will I hate myself in the morning? I hope not. Anyway...

I remember hunting for this movie after reading about it on Wikipedia. At the time, Isha Koppikar was the main reason I wanted to watch it. I'm not a fan but weirdly enough, I was--and still am--curious to see her in a south flick. IIRC, anytamil had only the custom VCD listed, and I was hesitant to shell out $20(which is kind of silly, considering that I've paid nearly that much for some Tamil DVDs). Today, I noticed that it's on a 2-in-1 DVD that may or may not be in stock. I'll take a chance and order it. If it's not available, I might end up walking to the post office to pick up an envelope from Malaysia(unless the mail carrier sticks it in my mailbox, like he/she has done the past few times, bless his/her heart.)

A couple of songs I found on YouTube: "Manasey Manasey" and "Anbe".

Unrelated to this post but still related to Vijay: Love Today and/or Minsara Kanna might be possibilities. I coulda/shoulda gotten the 2-in-1 with Rajavin Parvaiyile, but I didn't wanna pay $11.99. Next time I see it, I'll buy it. (And later curse my luck when I see that the price has been reduced.)

Naan Kadavul(2009)

I rewatched Aalwar over the weekend and thought of this movie whenever Ajith uttered the words, "Kadavul. Naan kadavul." (Given the lack of intensity in his voice, he might as well have said, "Milkshake. Strawberry. Milkshake." But I'm digressing.) Actually, Ajith was supposed to play the lead, but due to his "call sheet problems", he backed out of the project. That was a wise move because I think he would've been horribly miscast.

Anyway...I've scrolled past this title numerous times while surfing bhavanidvd, but never felt compelled to buy it, not even after discovering that Pooja Umashankar is in it. Today, however, with the "Naan kadavul" line still fresh in my brain, I gave the product description another look-see. I wasn't totally convinced I should get it, though, so I watched the trailer. And I continue to feel uncertain. On one hand, it looks "different" enough that I might actually enjoy it, but at the same time I'm like, "This looks like one of those movies that seems like a good idea when you first watch it, but after a while, you get bored." I don't need any more buyer's regret. I already have a ton of crap I'm trying to will the universe to take out of my possession.

Watching it online may be my best bet. I often forget that I'm living in the 21st century and don't necessarily have to purchase stuff sight unseen.

Thoranai(2009), part zwei.

AKA "Why did I buy this again? Oh yeah, I felt like spending money."

Previous post is here.

To tell the truth, I didn't really watch this so much as I put the disc into my DVD player twice and let it run in the background while I did other things. I remember Vishal seeing someone get hurt in broad daylight, and then he spent the next hour or so chasing Shriya Saran. She's hot, yeah, but damn, what about the injured guy?

Vishal looked good, so much better minus the thick 'tache and helmet hair he was sporting in Satyam. Shriya was her usual gorgeous self. If only I could trade faces with her.

Prakash Raj had a bit of free time in his schedule, so he signed up for this flick. I've decided that I want to be his mistress. (I'm kidding, sort of.) I believe I read somewhere that Lakshmi Rai did concubine duty for him, but maybe I'm falsely remembering stuff. I do that sometimes.

For some reason, the first minute and change of this song reminds me of Shriya's item number in Munna. Apropos of nothing, I'm sad that Marmayogi got shelved. I'm sure Kamal would've tried to kiss her, and/or had her wearing the skimpiest outfits possible for that time period. Anyway...

There was a kiss, but it was brief, and played for laughs.

Even though I gave this film the barest sliver of my attention, I can see why it flopped. But I'll most likely attempt to "rewatch" it all the way to the end, just to get my $9.99 worth.

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.

Naan Adimai Illai(1986)

Sridevi's last south film. I think it's a remake of Pyaar Jhukta Nahin since it was released the following year. It's the typical "poor boy/rich girl fall in love and marry in spite of her parents disapproval" blah blah blah. It drags in places, the mandatory fight sequences could've/should've been left out, and the father's actions were too over-the-top and unrealistic for even this type of flick. Still, it's so appealingly, unapologetically melodramatic that I can't help but love it. And Sridevi looks oh-so very alluring, especially in the begining when she's laughing and drinking her spiked drink before attempting to drive home while under the influence. (Predictably, Rajini shows up to rescue her from the would-be rapists who drugged her and takes her back to his place for the night.)

The songs are really good. All three versions of "Oru Jeevan Thaan" are on YouTube, as well as "Devi Devi" and "Vaa Vaa". "Ponaa Pohuthu" is the only one that isn't available. I had ripped and uploaded it over a year ago, but took it down after I kept getting copyright violation emails.

A few caps, just 'cause:

Kanthaswamy(2009), part trois.

The previous two posts are here and here.

I watched about 80% of this movie over the weekend. As a whole, I didn't like it, but there were some bits and pieces--nearly all of them involving Shriya--that I liked. I wish I could remove those scenes and use them to create a shorter, offbeat, more enjoyable flick.

All I want for Christmas is for the Ayngaran version to be completely Vadivelu-free. That won't happen, of course, but still, if only his scenes had been left on the cutting room floor. The separate comedy track really needs to die a swift death.

Shriya was the best thing about Kanthaswamy. I'm biased, naturally, because I like her and think she's hot. Her face and body looked good. I loved her short, flippy hairdo; it suited her character, as did the deeper-sounding dubbed voice. It took a while to get used to, though.

I'm torn between kind of liking Vikram in that rooster getup and thinking he looked like a character from a MAD TV skit. I can handle a bat, a spider, and a angry green giant as superheroes, but a rooster? Hmmmm...I don't know.

"Meow, Meow" and "Excuse Me, Mr. Kanthaswamy" were my favorite tracks. "Allegra, Allegra" was okay, but it reminded me of that annoying "Whenever, Whatever" song by Shakira.

I will try to rewatch it and, if I feel like it, include additional thoughts. In the meantime, I plan to cap the scenes I liked best and post them either later tonight or sometime...whenever.

ETA: Here they are. In the interest of saving time, as well as my index finger, I refrained from making as many caps as I would've liked. I should just create a mini-movie of my favorite scenes, but I'm too lazy. Anyway...click the "read more" link(down, at the left) to see the caps.

Jay Jay(2003)

Somewhere along the line, I learned to hate Madhavan. Okay, maybe "hate" is too harsh a word. How about "strongly dislike"? Anyway, there was a time, long ago, when I actually liked him. But now, for reasons unknown, I can't stand him, as evidenced by my inability to make it past the first few minutes of this flick. Every time I try to watch it, I give up by the time this song starts. I can't believe this is the same Madhavan I found attractive in Priyasaki. I can be so fickle with my affections, sometimes. **sigh**

Back in the day, I wanted to see this solely because of Nisha Kothari. It was her Tamil debut, and as I mentioned in this post, I have a "thing" about watching the screen debuts of the actors I like. At that time, however, the Tamil DVD wasn't in stock, so I bought the dubbed Telugu version and never watched it.

Fast forward to about two months ago when the Tamil original was available from bhavani. I ordered it, this time because of my newfound crush on Pooja Umashankar. Too bad I didn't stick around long enough to see her. If I ever decide to give Jay Jay another chance, I'll have to skip ahead to her scenes. Until then, this movie will languish in the "waste of money" pile.

Endrendrum Kaadhal(1999)

"Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet." But in this movie, not only do they meet, they also marry. (Quelle suprise!)

I loveloveLOVE Rambha. I had to stop myself from making too many caps of her.



Rambha so cute! I think she looks like a hybrid
of Britney Spears, Sridevi, and Divya Bharati



I am slowly falling in love with the 90s version of Vijay







Never pass up the opportunity to lecture a complete
stranger on how to be a proper Indian woman


"Oh, wow! What a great guy!"
"I know, right?"


"So what if we aren't married? You sleep on one
side of the bed and I sleep on the other!"

My favorite scene:


















Click here to watch it on YouTube.


I should iconize this.

Pudhiya Geethai(2003)

***SPOILER ALERT***: I'm mad that Sarathy(Vijay) didn't die at age 27 as the astrologer predicted in the beginning of the film. Yeah, I should've known better, this being a Vijay movie and all but still, I sat through the entire thing just to see how he would meet his maker, only to have a "If we all clap our hands really hard, Tinkerbell will live!"**-type moment near the end. "Even death can change its plans for a good man"? Um, no. I can think of one particular example in which that definitely wasn't the case, but I'm digressing. Anyway...

I got this solely because of Amisha Patel. I'm not a fan, but for some reason, I really like her. I think it's her unconventional looks that attract me. She didn't have much of a role, though. Neither did Meera Jasmine. But they were both cute, as was Vijay. In fact, Vijay was so cute I wish I had enjoyed this flick more. Perhaps if his character hadn't been so upstanding and perfect, and successful at everything, I would've found his "live life to the fullest" message easier to swallow. I figure, it's not that much of a struggle to enjoy life when things are going well. It's when you can remain somewhat positive and upbeat in spite of facing adversity on a regular basis that--oh, never mind. I was never good at waxing philosophical.

Maybe this film will grow on me after repeat viewings. I would hate to have wasted my money, seeing how this was strictly an impulse buy due to Amisha's presence on the DVD cover.


**Or however it goes. I didn't watch either the movie or the stage version of Peter Pan, but I heard about that particular part. IIRC, Tinkerbell died, anyway.

Dheena(2001)

I kinda wish Adhikesevan(Suresh Gopi) had taken out Dheena(Ajith) at the exact moment he refused to go after Chitra(Laila) and her family, 'cuz that would've been a totally unexpected and rather awesome--if abrupt--way to end the movie.

Overall, this was an okay flick. The brother vs. brother storyline sounded more intriguing than it really was. However, I knew better than to expect a real showdown(i.e. one or both brothers getting killed).

The sister's(Divya) death scene felt like a PSA for complying with your family's wishes when it comes to matrimonial matters: "Don't elope, because you WILL get in a car accident, and DIE!" Seriously. That's what came to mind as I watched it.

I bought this mainly for the Ajith-Laila duo. I liked them in Paramasivan, I liked their song in Thirupathi, and I liked them in this film as well. Laila mistaking Ajith for a bus conductor, then a vegetable seller was cute, as was her calling Ajith's house pretending to be Pepsi Uma. I found the "yellow overkill at the bus stop" scene humorous, particularly when Ajith refrained from beating up the guys who teased her because he thought she wasn't interested in being with a rowdy. And this part appealed to my mushy-gushy side:






It was swell how she conveniently forgot her keys so that she could go back and notice the card that Ajith just as conveniently left behind.

The songs were nice, especially "Vathikkuchi Pathikkaathuda" and "Sollamal Thottu Chellum". My only quibble with "En Nenjil" is that it looks like it was shot a few years ago for another film and used in this one to stretch the running time.

Nagma in "Vathikkuchi Pathikkaathuda":





I love her face!

From "Kadhal Website":


More eyeliner than you can shake a makeup case at



One day, just for shits and giggles, I'm going
to do a "Ajith and Waists" post


This reminds me of a photoshoot
from ANTM 3. Really.

From "Sollamal Thottu Chellum":













A few more caps:



Laila, so cute!



Product placement


**sigh**