TPP: Shriya Saran

Whenever I look at her I think, "OMG! SO HAWT!" I want to look like her in my next life.

Pics were snagged from the January 2010 issue of SouthScope. More images can be found behind the cut.

TPP: Galatta Cinema E-Zine

The image quality isn't the greatest, but "Go, me!" for figuring out how to do the "copy to clipboard" thing.

Sana Khan - April 2010 issue



More of Sana and others behind the cut:

SFR: Shriya Saran in Cooking With Stella

Synopsis is here. Pics were swiped from here.





Five more behind the cut:

Boss(2006)

I had ordered this movie several months ago, along with a couple of other titles, but my package either got lost in transit, or stolen by a disgruntled postal worker who decided to give him/herself an early Christmas gift. In hindsight, I should've taken my missing package as a sign that perhaps Boss wasn't really worth watching, anyway. (Same goes for Manasantha, but I don't regret reordering Preminchu Priya.) It's not that it's a bad film, it just suffers from Nenunnanu-itis in that there are several unnecessary scenes and subplots that make me reluctant to rewatch it more than once or twice.

Boss is the Tollywood version of Two Weeks Notice, but with the requisite comedy, sentiment, tragedy, songs, and fights thrown in. Nagarjuna is the boss, GK, and Nayantara is his lovelorn secretary, Anu. Romantic rivals in the form of Anu's designated replacement Sruthi(Poonam Bajwa) and GK's deceased wife Sanjana(Shriya Saran in a cameo role) complete the love rectangle. If the movie had focused on just the GK-Anu storyline and it's predictable ending(GK finally accepts and returns Anu's love), it would've been a pleasant viewing experience. However, I had to put up with a bunch of extraneous shit that kinda made me regret getting it. I should've heeded the words of the Bhavani reviewers who remarked that "the last 45 minutes goes haywire" and "I can watch the first part over and over again, but not the second".

On the plus side, Nagarjuna had his jolie-laide. I thought he looked quite handsome, and he and Nayantara made a good pair. Nayan looked stunning in her sarees, Shriya was her usual gorgeous self, and Poonam may very well become my next SLO. She has a sexy, glamourous look that sort of reminds me of Raasi/Manthra, and maybe a little Daisy Bopanna. I found myself really liking her and wanting to check out her other films.

Once I stop feeling lazy, I'll come back to this post with some screencaps.

SFR: "Kelamal Kaiyile" from Azhagiya Tamil Magan

If you're interested(or really, really bored), I posted about it here.

This song has been in my head all day. (Which isn't a bad thing, because I like it :))

TPP: Shriya Saran

A few pics from last year's hunger strike by Tamil film stars over the Hogenakkal water issue. She looks so good, I'm willing to forgive her for the hour and forty-five minutes I wasted watching Mogudu - Pellam O Dongodu.

I think pics #4 and #7 are duplicates, but I don't care enough to delete one of them :D

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.

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.

TPP: Shriya Saran

There was supposedly a kissing scene in Thoranai with Vishal and Shriya, but I think I read somewhere that it wasn't in the movie.

Not my caps. I swiped them from bollywoodupdates.com.






In these pics, she's promoting Vaseline Healthy White body lotion. I'm posting them only because I think she looks spectacular.

Thoranai(2009)

According to chennai365.com: "Thoranai looks like some Hollywood movie...[it stars] beautiful and sexy Shriya Saran opposite Vishal..[it] has been shot in exotic locales and magnificent sets built in Chennai and Hyderabad. The film has spectacular stunts, hilarious comedy track, and heart melting romance."


Wow. Sounds like the description of just about every other movie that has been or is about to be released these days. That's okay, though, because I'll watch it purely for eye candy reasons. Vishal has only 1.5 facial expressions, but he's not bad looking, and he has a nice, toned body. And Shriya is one of the most gorgeous women on this planet. I wouldn't mind trading faces with her.

Kanthaswamy(2009), part deux.

I have no idea what this movie is about, but I want to see it. I've already expressed my fondness for the trailer in this post. I hope I don't wind up disappointed with the final product.

I love Shriya's shorter hair. Don't know if it's a wig or real, but I like it. I want my hair cut in a similar style.

Nuvve Nuvve(2002)

I'm just freeing this from draft mode. I've got some notes scribbled down that I'll organize later, but for now:

This kinda feels like Bommarillu, only with the genders reversed.

Shriya's got the magic, too--well, at least in this movie. In Enakku 20 Unakku 18, neither she nor Trisha could sell me on Tarun, but here, I could deal with him somewhat. (Aside: I don't hate Tarun, I just think he has a very lackluster screen presence.)

I think I might have to become a Prakash Raj fan, just because he's so damn ubiquitous.

Nenunnanu(2004)

The pace of this film is agonizingly slow. I'm not sure of the running time, but it certainly feels as if it's as long as Gone With the Wind. I wish the director had trimmed 2 or 3 songs, some of the fights and comedy, and all of the inconsequential scenes. Repeat viewings are more enjoyable when you don't have to fast-forward past a bunch of crap that only bogs down an otherwise entertaining bit of sentimental fluff.

The plot: Venu(Nagarjuna), a port contractor and an orphan since childhood, takes in Anu(Shriya Saran), a clasical music singer after she is abandonned by both her family and Arun(Subbaraju), the guy she tried to elope with. Venu protects Anu from the goons JP, Arun's father, hired to kill her. Unexpressed love blossoms. Fights, fights, and more fights ensue. Near-tragedy strikes. Oh, and there's the added angle of Anu's best friend, Sruthi(Aarti Agarwal), who also loves Venu.

Favorite scenes:

• Venu using the flat side of a hot iron to make dosas for Anu. Seeing that reminded me of a scene from an HBO special about Riker's Island where a couple of female inmates demonstrated how they made grilled cheese sandwiches using a paper bag and a hot iron.


• Venu saying to Anu, "If death were the only solution to problems, do you know how many times I would've died by now?" shortly after her failed suicide attempt.


• Venu asking Anu not to leave when he sees her packing a bag and she tells him she's only gathering clothes that need to be washed.


• Anu throwing a suprise birthday celebration for Venu and giving him his birth certificate as a present.


• Venu kicking open the door at the exact moment Anu calls him on a cell phone, and bashing up the rowdies who were harrassing her.


• Venu beating up JP's men while Anu participates in a singing competition.


• Venu rushing to Anu's hospital bed and telling her, "You must live. You must live for me. I'll become an orphan again if you die."

Best songs(IMO, of course): "E Shwasalo" and "Nee Kosam"

Why I don't regret buying this, even though I had to put up with a lot of extraneous shit: I really enjoyed watching the three leads. Shriya looked like a dream in those saris, Aarti was cute, "gas cylinder" frame and all, and I've developed a soft spot for Nagarjuna.

Arjun(2004)

If I were to have a greedy, murderous mother-in-law, I'd want it to be Sarita's character in this movie. Watching her look all crazy-eyed and ready to kill you over 10 paise was the best part of this flick. I bet if Mahesh Babu had fought her instead of Prakash Raj at the end, she would've won.

Speaking of Prakash Raj, I actually liked him in this movie. Normally, whenever I see him playing yet another villian I'm like, "Whatever." But here, I was kinda rooting for him and Sarita because they made such a good evil pair.

Shriya Saran didn't have much to do except look wide-eyed and open-mouthed, and appear in four of the six songs. Very pretty, though. Purple is a good color on her.

The sister sentiment was sweet. The scene where Arjun(Mahesh) is running down the road with Meenakshi(Keerthi Reddy) in his arms while she's going into labor made me go, "Awwww...I wish I had a brother like that!"

I also wish there had been fewer fight and action scenes to go along with the absence of a separate comedy track. With regards to the former, the cheesy graphics brought to mind a quote from Beavis and Butthead: "These special effects aren't very special!"

The picture quality isn't the greatest, either. Most of the time, I felt as though I were watching an oft-viewed rental tape. But for $4.99, I guess I can't be too suprised.

In spite of those quibbles, I liked the movie. It's not great, but it's watchable. And, unlike Heartbeats, it didn't make me go "WTF?" at the end. (More on Heartbeats in a future post, hopefully.)

Mogudu - Pellam O Dongodu(2005)

I never thought there would come a day when I would get tired of looking at Shriya Saran, but thanks to Mogudu - Pellam O Dongodu, that day has finally arrived. I guess even shallow folks like myself need more than a beautiful face to hold their attention for an extended period of time. I should've tried to watch it online first, but I was lured by the $4.99 price tag and the stills of Shriya looking absolutely fetching. **sigh** Oh, well. Maybe this will turn out to be another Satyam and I'll learn to like it in spite of my initial buyer's remorse.

The story centers around a couple's first night. The majority of the action(no, not that kind) takes place in the bedroom. The groom(Raja) is rarin' to go, but the bride(Shriya) wants their union to take place at an auspicious time, which is two hours away. While they're waiting for the clock to strike midnight, a thief(Brahmanandam)sneaks into the room and, as I type this, he's STILL hiding underneath the bed. It's been over an hour and he hasn't done anything except provide so-called comic relief. Oh, wait. Shriya and Raja have FINALLY discovered him. And in the blink of an eye, he's gone, just like that. Talk about a wasted character.

Shriya's sexy looks in the "Vayyari Bhamaa" song almost make up for the pain of sitting through this. I didn't really pay attention to the other songs because I was bored out of my mind. I was tempted to hit the fast-forward button many times, but I wanted to get my $6.98 worth.

I like that the director tried something different, but I think the setup would've worked better as a skit. The three-person cast, limited locations, and lack of activity(no pun intended) made for very dull viewing. The movie is only an hour and forty-five minutes, but it's so slow-paced, it feels twice as long.

Kanthaswamy(2009)

The trailer is too long(eight minutes), but it's wonderfully weird enough to pique my interest. 5:05 to 5:44 is my favorite part. Vikram and Shriya make a hot couple. I can't wait for this movie to be released.

Azhagiya Tamil Magan(2007)

IIRC, I bought this 2-in-1 DVD because the plot sounded interesting. Also, Pokiri was the second feature on the disc and I figured I'd save about four bucks by not buying it separately.

I checked my order history at bhavanidvd.com and I see that I ordered this movie back in January. Today is the second time that I'm attempting to watch it because the first time, I think I gave up after a half-hour or so. So far, all I can think to type is "Vijay looks cute", but--oh, Shriya looks amazing in blue!

Where was I? Yeah, it's been on for about twenty minutes and aside from Shriya's intro, nothing really jumps out at me. I think I'm gonna have to shut off my brain for this one. I'll try to watch it tonight, or at least have it playing while I'm drifting off to sleep. (I like to do that with all of my movies. I don't know why. It's just a habit I started a few years ago.)

ETA: I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe, this could be one of those "awesomely bad" flicks, the kind that I watch whenever I'm in a bad mood and need something to take my mind off the crappiness of my day/life/job/whatever.

"Bad" Vijay(or rather, "Prasad") is so over-the-top that I can't help but have a soft corner for him. Watching Vijay attempting to portray a negative character is so endearing. He tries too hard and it shows, and that's why I love it.

I'm tempted to buy the Ayngaran DVD just for the better picture quality, but I don't know if I like the movie that much. However, knowing me, I'll probably end up doing that.

ETA2: Yeah, this is definitely "watchably bad". I forsee an Ayngaran version in my near future.

ETA3: In a few days, the Ayngaran version should arrive in my mailbox. I finally decided that a movie this awesomely bad deserved to be viewed with much better picture quality. This would be the perfect bad movie if SPOILER ALERT!!!!
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Shriya and the two Vijays had died in the end. I didn't like Shriya getting saved. I didn't like bad Vijay turning a new leaf. I didn't like both of the Vijays riding off into the sunset with their respective girlfriends. In short, I didn't like the forced happy ending. Boo! **gives a thumbs down**