February 5th, 2010

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Movie: Striker

Director: Chandan Arora

Cast: Siddharth, Aditya Pancholi, Anupam Kher, Padmapriya

There was a time when everyone was making movies about Mumbai’s underworld. Mustard fields had given way to the badlands, creepy gallis, and the word bhai no longer meant brother. There was such a surfeit of these movies – and so many versions of the underworld crime genre (terrorism, romance, comedy, thriller), that apart from a few, most were rejected.

This one ends up being of the many-here, the differentiating factor being the combination of the humble living-room game of carrom with local crime, and the post-Ayodhya communal riots of 1992.

So you have Surya (Siddharth), rebellious youngest-of-three siblings living in his matchbox room in Malvani (an area heavily affected during the `92 communal riots that has since retained its `sensitive’ tag). He’s ambitious but guarded, unlike his friend Zaid (Ankur Vikal, Slumdog Millionaire) who proves his foolishness with every new escapade.

Surya steers clear of ghetto don Jaleel (Aditya Panscholi) who Zaid works for. Instead, he dreams of earning a lifetime’s livelihood in three years by working in Dubai. But the employment agency turns out to be fake and that leads him right to Jaleel’s door, who employs him in a carrom-betting racquet. Meanwhile, his older brother shoulders the responsibility of the house and the knowing sister warns him of getting too involved.

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Movie: Aasal

Director: Saran

Producer: G.Prabhu

Music: Bharadwaj

Cast: Ajithkumar, Sameera Reddy, Bhavana, Prabhu, Sampath

Ajith’s Aasal like the proverbial curates egg is good in parts. First and foremost at 2 hours and 5 minutes, it is racy. The combined effort of the story writer Yuhi Sethu, director Saran and co-director cum hero Ajith is to make a stylish film shot entirely in Paris with songs shot in Chennai sets. The makers have given it a rich glossy look with exotic locations and costumes, enhanced by Prasanth D Misale’s eye catching camera.

Aasal should have been called Billa-2, as whatever Ajith did in the Vishnuvardhan film is replicated with more style and élan here. The spotlight is totally on Ajith, including his cameo appearance as hero’s father (the makeup very similar to one of the characters he did in Godfather). Despite all the energy, the film falls flat due to lack of proper story and narration.

The wafer thin story line- Jeevanandam (Ajith) is an international wheeler dealer, negotiator and arms dealer based in Paris. He has two sons- Sam (Sampat) and Vicky (Rajiv) from his first wife and Shiva (Ajith) from his second wife. Jeevanandan’s favourite is Shiva who is gutsy and righteous while the other two are immature and controlled by their uncle the evil Kali Mamma ( Pradeep Rawat) and will do any shady deals.

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Movie: Aasal

Director: Saran

Producer: G.Prabhu

Music: Bharadwaj

Cast: Ajithkumar, Sameera Reddy, Bhavana, Prabhu, Sampath

Ajith’s Aasal like the proverbial curates egg is good in parts. First and foremost at 2 hours and 5 minutes, it is racy. The combined effort of the story writer Yuhi Sethu, director Saran and co-director cum hero Ajith is to make a stylish film shot entirely in Paris with songs shot in Chennai sets. The makers have given it a rich glossy look with exotic locations and costumes, enhanced by Prasanth D Misale’s eye catching camera.

Aasal should have been called Billa-2, as whatever Ajith did in the Vishnuvardhan film is replicated with more style and élan here. The spotlight is totally on Ajith, including his cameo appearance as hero’s father (the makeup very similar to one of the characters he did in Godfather). Despite all the energy, the film falls flat due to lack of proper story and narration.

The wafer thin story line- Jeevanandam (Ajith) is an international wheeler dealer, negotiator and arms dealer based in Paris. He has two sons- Sam (Sampat) and Vicky (Rajiv) from his first wife and Shiva (Ajith) from his second wife. Jeevanandan’s favourite is Shiva who is gutsy and righteous while the other two are immature and controlled by their uncle the evil Kali Mamma ( Pradeep Rawat) and will do any shady deals.

Continue

Movie: Striker

Director: Chandan Arora

Cast: Siddharth, Aditya Pancholi, Anupam Kher, Padmapriya

There was a time when everyone was making movies about Mumbai’s underworld. Mustard fields had given way to the badlands, creepy gallis, and the word bhai no longer meant brother. There was such a surfeit of these movies – and so many versions of the underworld crime genre (terrorism, romance, comedy, thriller), that apart from a few, most were rejected.

This one ends up being of the many-here, the differentiating factor being the combination of the humble living-room game of carrom with local crime, and the post-Ayodhya communal riots of 1992.

So you have Surya (Siddharth), rebellious youngest-of-three siblings living in his matchbox room in Malvani (an area heavily affected during the `92 communal riots that has since retained its `sensitive’ tag). He’s ambitious but guarded, unlike his friend Zaid (Ankur Vikal, Slumdog Millionaire) who proves his foolishness with every new escapade.

Surya steers clear of ghetto don Jaleel (Aditya Panscholi) who Zaid works for. Instead, he dreams of earning a lifetime’s livelihood in three years by working in Dubai. But the employment agency turns out to be fake and that leads him right to Jaleel’s door, who employs him in a carrom-betting racquet. Meanwhile, his older brother shoulders the responsibility of the house and the knowing sister warns him of getting too involved.

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Michael Jackson`s personal doctor Conrad Murray is reportedly set to appear in court over the singer’s death.

The medic, who was said to be facing involuntary manslaughter charges, will be arraigned at a court near Los Angeles International Airport, according to a source.

A lawyer for Murray, who has repeatedly denied any wrong doing, said the physician will turn himself in if charged.

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