Yuvaraju(2000)

I've thought about buying this for the longest time. It's only $5.99. It has Mahesh. It has Simran. But it also has a kid, and I don't like kids. Also, it sounds verrry long and boring. And the other heroine, Sakshi Sivanand, does nothing for me. The YouTube vids I glanced at didn't sway me to buy it. While I think Mahesh and Simran make a cute couple, I believe I will give this one a pass for now.

I wish Mahesh would come out with a new movie already, even though his next sounds like it might be the Tollywood version of Collateral(remade in Hindi as The Killer).

ETA 01/22/10: I ordered it. I hope I don't hate myself. Sakshi looks annoying, but hopefully the presence of Mahesh and Simran will make up for that.

ETA 01/27/10: I had it playing in the background last night while I was doing other things, and my first impression is that while it's very looonnnnggg(or at least feels that way), it's not bad. The kid didn't get on my nerves like I thought he would, and Sakshi wasn't that annoying(facially, she reminds me of Reema Sen), although I would've preferred it if Simran had been the main heroine instead of her. Mahesh was his usual goofy-looking-but-still-cute and charming self. My $5.99 + s&h wasn't wasted. That's good. Now, I'm considering Vamsi(and watch, it'll get marked down to $5.99 if/when I buy it for $7.99).

ETA 02/08/10: I just remembered exactly why I felt compelled to order the DVD. Next time I watch it, I'll have to remind myself to keep an eye out for that particular scene.

TPP: Ajith and waists, pt.1.

From Vaalee:

NFR: Ajith and Simran

In a 2004 advert for Nestle Sunrise coffee:

Sanam Harjai(1995)

Simran's Hindi debut, which is why I bought it. I have this "thing" about hunting down and watching the first onscreen appearances of my favorite actors. Anyway, I enjoyed the utter badness of this flick. It felt like a 2 1/2 hour paternity test episode of the Maury show, but with songs and


***SPOILERS***

not one, not two, but FOUR murders! Long story, shorter version: Raj(Himanshu), alias Sunny, approaches lawyer KK Verma(Sadashiv Amrapurkar) for advice on how to rape a woman without getting convicted, as all of Verma's clients in rape cases have gotten off scot-free. Raj then uses Verma's tips to impregnate Verma's two daughters, Nillu(Saadhika) and Tina(Simran), as revenge for Verma getting Raj's sister pregnant, then killing both her and his mother when they threatened to expose his dirty deeds. All of this is revealed at a suprise party Raj throws for Verma, who is shocked to discover that the father of Nillu and Tina's respective children is the same guy he was going to represent. Verma attempts to kill Raj but Nillu steps in front of him and takes the bullet instead, staying alive long enough to blame Verma for Raj's misdeeds before firing several rounds into him.

Jump to the present and Raj's adoptive mother(Reema Lagoo) lights into him for ruining the lives of two innocent girls and tells him to man up and take responsibility for the son Tina left on their doorstep a few...weeks? months? earlier. He agrees to this, of course, and accepts both Tina and their son and everyone lives happily ever after.

I think the suprise element would've been greater if Raj's intent hadn't been made evident early in the film. The scene with him asking Verma for pointers on how to get away with raping a girl, as well as the one where Verma successfully defends one of his clients, should've been shown during the flashback episode at the party. And the...two? scenes with Verma receiving a flower bouquet with a "6-6-76" card attached should've been left out, because it was obvious(to me, anyway) that Raj was the one who sent them.

Speaking of Raj, I wish he had been played by someone other than Himanshu. I wasn't feeling him, to put it mildly.

Saadhika was lovely, and at times she sorta resembled Divya Bharati. I think it was the hair and bitchy-but-cute facial expressions.

I had a love-hate relationship with Simran's wig. On one hand, I enjoyed staring at it, but on the other hand, I was like, "Why is she wearing a wig? What was wrong with her natural hair?"

Screencappies:

Saadhika











Simran

Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuven(2000)

I thought this movie was a not-bad waste of 2 1/2 hours. I'm not an expert on military life, so I don't know how accurately it was portrayed. (My civilian guess: Not very.) What I liked most was the flashback that reveals why Surya's(Ajith) mother leaves him at an army base at the beginning of the film.

***SPOILER ALERT***

A nun and a death row inmate--need I say more? Okay, I will: What better way to make a prisoner's scheduled trip to the afterlife less daunting than by paying him a conjugal visit the day before he's hanged? Not for hedonistic purposes, mind you, but to help him fulfill his dying wish to leave behind a child who will make up for his father's acts of terrorism by serving the country. And many years later, after hearing this tale, the offspring's fiancée(Simran) will offer to keep her not-yet mother-in-law's patriotic spirit alive by also having a baby out of wedlock. Uh-huh. Yeah. In addition to being a storyline tailor-made for a soap opera, it's the kind of farfetched shit that makes me glad I'm such an easily amused viewer.

Screencaps, just because:


I thought Ajith looked aged, but still adorable



Awww...everyone gets letters from home except him




But later on in the movie, he receives
a letter from his lady love, Indhu















I capped these only because I really
--and obviously--liked Simran's facial expressions


A near-kiss in the rain


Ajith seems to have a thing for women's waists


Who's that guy?



Bitchy or sad, I love her face