SFR: Jaganmohini(2009) trailer

I am seriously sad that this movie isn't airing on late-night cable right now. The "special effects" alone are laughable enough to bring me out of my funk. And the little of Namitha's "acting" I saw appeared equally as hilarious.

Nila, the second heroine, was apparently upset that some of her scenes were cut. I say that's a good thing, but I guess she feels sorta like that Catskills joke.



I kind of want to watch the 1978 version now, just to confirm my belief that it's not nearly as cringe-worthy. Plus, I finally remember Jayamalini from Ram Lakshman and Guru(1980). I think I have another movie she was in, but I can't recall the title.

Billa(2009)

I sorta want to watch this, even though I'm not a Prabhas fan, just to see how it compares to the 2007 Tamil version. The trailer looks pretty cool, and I like the picturisation of the "Bommali" song. I'm sure it will have a huge, or at least decent, opening, and it may even be a hit. **shrug** Who knows?

ETA 06/22/09: I feel a strong urge to pay full price for the DVD instead of waiting for it to land in the $5.99 pile. I blame my itchy fingers on the YouTube clips of Anushka. Not only did they ping my interest, they also made me seek out the whole movie. It's a near scene-by-scene rehash of the Tamil version, but with more stuff added. "Over-the-top" is the best description I can come up with right now, and I mean that in a good way.

Somebody hold me because I find Prabhas hot. I don't know if it's the shades or the gratuitous shots of his naked torso, but I actually feel something. Like, I sense myself wanting to become a fangirl and rewatch Munna and Yogi. It's downright scary.

Even Hansika Motwani appeals to me(although, I still think she looks about 23 instead of her actual age of 17). I like her item number better than Rose Dawn's.

Namitha looks prettier here than in the Tamil version. She could still stand to lose a few kilos, though. And her dancing is as cringe-worthy as ever. Anushka seems to have more oomph than Nayantara, especially in her bikini scenes. Or maybe it just seems that way because both she and Namitha were given more screen time to vamp it up.

Based on what I've viewed so far, I think I like the Telugu Billa a teensy bit more than the Tamil one, especially since Prabhas and Anushka have more interaction/flirtation than Ajith and Nayantara.

ETA 12/24/09: Having rewatched the Tamil version for the fifteen millionith time, I've now decided that I like Rose Dawn's weaving and jerking to "Sei Ethavathu Sei" better. For reasons unknown, I've suddenly developed a soft spot for her. She might become my latest "SLO", even though I have no idea what she's done since Billa.

And while I thought Prabhas looked hot, he just doesn't do it for me the way Ajith does. No matter how old, fat, bloated, and/or haggard-looking Ajith gets, I will always find him sexy on some level. He's just got it like that.

However, I still prefer Anushka's bikini scene to Nayantara's, especially now that I'm getting kind of sick of Nayan. Maybe I need to rewatch Ghajini, Vallavan, and/or Rappakal to feel the love again.

ETA 02/03/10: Anushka still looks better in a bikini but I've decided that I really don't like Hansika's item number. It's not bad, just not significantly better than Rose Dawn's. I've also decided that the Telugu Billa is an unncessarily drawn-out near-copy of the Tamil version. I do like the additional scenes with Prabhas and Anushka, but otherwise, it's like, "Why?"

I found Prabhas appealing enough to consider rewatching Munna, Yogi, and Chakram, but I'm still not totally sold on him. He looked nice, but the robotic voice and "Hasta la vista, baby!" killed it for me. Ajith doesn't have the most expressive of voices, either, but I felt his particular deadpan was a better fit for the character. Maybe I'm biased. Oh, well. **shrug**

I wonder if the 1980 Billa with Rajnikanth is available from Anytamil. It's listed, but that doesn't mean it's in stock. I liked what I saw online, and while I'm not a Rajini fan, I thought he did justice to the role. I should probably watch the original Don with Amitabh and Zeenat, just to see how it compares.

Naan Avan Illai(2007)

I watched most of this online a few days ago and liked what I saw enough to order the DVD. It's playing as I'm typing this, and the first thoughts that come to mind are:

1. Jeevan looks like a straight-up thug, yet I find him oddly appealing. I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him, but I would flirt with him a little.

2. He looks like a pimp in the "Kakha Kakha" song and when he first meets Malavika.

3. I just remembered that this is a remake of the 1974 film starring Gemini Ganesh, and IIRC, Kamal Hassan has a small role. I wonder how this compares to the original. I'm not sure I want to plunk down $20 for a custom VCD in order to find out. Maybe someone will upload it to YouTube one day.

4. All of the heroines are beautiful but Sneha looks the best :P The only reason I checked it out in the first place is because of her.

Uh-oh! I was afraid I had a defective disc on my hands, but it appears that just the song menu is wonky. When I tried to select the "Pacha Tanni" song from the menu, the disc froze and stuck. After getting it unstuck, I did a quick skip-through of all the chapters and everything seemed okay. I would hate to think that Ayngaran is now putting out shitty DVDs, because there was a point in both Kuruvi and Aaru when the disc would freeze for a couple of seconds, then play normally. Ugh! If I weren't so paranoid about viruses and spyware, I'd join the 21st century and download nearly all of my movies.

I may return to this after I've watched it a couple more times.

ETA: After I posted this, I remembered that this was remade in Kannada as Budhdhivantha, starring Upendra, Pooja Gandhi, Netanya Singh, Brinda Parekh, and another actress whose name I don't recall. I want to see it based on this video alone because it looks so delightfully cheesy and low budget.

Billa(2007)

My initial thoughts, based on Wednesday's viewing. I might add to this once I get the DVD and watch it a few more times.

With all of the hype surrounding Nayantara wearing a bikini in this movie, I was expecting something along the lines of Madhavi's bikini scene in Tik...Tik...Tik. But when I saw the bikini top-sarong combo I thought, "Is that it?" I was doubly disappointed when the camera didn't show the lower part of her body when she dropped the sarong and got into the pool. I'm guessing it was for modesty purposes. Fine. That's what I get for letting my imagination run wild.

While I'm on the subject of Nayan, I'll state that I thought she looked best in the white top, white mini-skirt, and leather jacket she wore towards the end of the movie.

Namitha didn't have anything to do except look pretty. Dancing is definitely not her forte. Her movements during the "Naan Meedum Naanaga" song looked awkward and out-of-place. Mumaith Khan would've been a better choice, IMO, because she moves well and would've added the needed "oomph!" to the number.

At first glance, I thought it was Brinda Parekh in the "Sei Ethavathu Sei"song, but closer inspection revealed that the girl--who goes by the name Rose Dawn--was slimmer in the midsection and wore far less pancake makeup. And then I realized that I saw her in an earlier scene.

Ajith was the perfect casting choice. I can't imagine anyone else in the role of Billa.

Santhanam has become the new go-to comedian, it seems. Whether or not I'll grow to dread his presence remains to be seen.

I found the ending anticlimatic. I wish there had been more of a bang, whether literally or figuratively.

All in all, I liked it. Billa's intro scene is my favorite so far. I found it both clever and comical, mainly because I would've been just as easily distracted.