TPP: Shobana in Siva

Some of her facial expressions and mannerisms in this movie make me think of Madhuri Dixit. I don't know why, I just "see" Madz whenever Shobana moves or looks a certain way.





8 more caps behind the cut:

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:

Nallavanuku Nallavan(1984)

I became interested in this movie as of an hour ago when I was searching for the original version of the "Vechikkava" song in Silambattam. I prefer the faster tempo of the remix, but the older version has its charms.

The other songs in the movie are equally good. I especially like "Unnaiththaane" and "Muththadhuthe", and "Chittuku Chella Chittuku" is very pretty.

The "rowdy to respectable man" storyline sounds familar, like I've already seen a movie with a similar theme, but I can't recall the title. **shrug** Oh, well. I might give it a look-see. Rajini's not my cup of tea, but in these stills from the film, I think he possesses a certain something-something that I find strangely appealing.

Ninaithale Inikkum(1979)

I remember Jayaprada's overplucked brows, drug smuggling, blood cancer, a low-key weddding ceremony, touring with the band, and death. Oh, and the beauty of both Singapore and Kamal Hassan. Plus, no littering(have to pay a huge fine), "I LOVE YOU!" in three languages, Nama Ooru Singaari, and Rajni's karate moves.

Kamal was so beautiful in his youth. His looks are half the reason I'm firmly on his team. The other half is because I think he's a good actor. (Although, he does have a tendency to overact and/or chew up all the available scenery.)

Priya(1978)

"Darling, darling, darling, I love you, love you, love you. Darling, darling, darling, I love you..."

**sigh** I miss uploading videos to YouTube. I feel like such a failure for being unable to violate copyright laws like the gazillion or so other users. Anyway...

I watched this for the umpteenth time last night. I wish I could clearly articulate why I like this movie so much. There's an explanation floating in my head, but it would make sense to only me, so I'll just say that, among other things, it makes me nostalgic for the seventies, and Sridevi is, well, Sridevi. I love her. I'm so glad Nehaflix had this in stock, because I was kicking myself for the longest time for not ordering it from India Weekly many moons ago.

Rajnikanth looked suave and every inch the hero. I'm firmly on Team Kamal, but I'll admit that Rajini is charismatic, and has star quality. I also liked him in Naan Adimai Illai, 16 Vayathinile, Ninaithale Inikkum, and Gayatri. I haven't watched any of his recent films, but at some point, I may check out Sivaji and try to focus more on Shriya's beauty than the obvious age gap between her and Rajini.

I wish I could find information about Asna, the actress who played Rajini's love interest. I thought she was beautiful, and I liked that a non-gori was cast as the foreign girlfriend. I'm not sure of Asna's ethnicity, but her character was Malay-Indian. Since my Google-fu comes up with nada, I'll assume that in real life she was at least part Malay.

Trivial blather: I think the dress Sri was wearing when she first meets Rajini is the same one she wore in Taxi Driver. And the white dress she had on in the scene when she was signing those contracts may have been borrowed from the set of Sivappu Rojakkal(or vice versa).

Gair Kaanooni(1989)

I bought it because of Sridevi and watched close to an hour of it before calling it quits. I thought the first ten minutes or so were pretty good, in spite of Shashi Kapoor's bloated face and body, and how out-of-place I thought Rajnikanth looked. But after that, I quickly lost interest. The 80s Govinda does absolutely nothing for me. I prefer the 90s version, and only when he was paired with Karishma Kapoor or Divya Bharati. There's something about Kimi Katkar's face that annoys me, and Sridevi, while I love her to bits, I vastly prefer her south films(well, with a few exceptions) to her Hindi ones.

I'll try to watch the entire movie one day, but for right now, I'll let it collect dust on my bookshelf.