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Reviews
Kannathil Muthamittal (2002)
A Great Film by a world class talent.
Mani Rathnam is seriously a World Class Talent. If he had been working in Western Countries he would be considered in the same league as Stanley Kubrick, Stephen Spielberg or Martin Scorsese.
With Kannathil Muthamittal ( A Peck on the Cheek) he has taken the two sensitive subjects of Adoption and the Civil War in Sri Lanka and linked them together to make a heart wrenching story.
The entire cast is superb. Special Mention should go to P.S. Keertana who acts like a veteran despite being so young. Simran and Nadita Das should also not be forgotten.
Mani Rathnam's directs as always with flair and purpose. He is not as flashy as in his other films but this suits the story.
Overall this is an excellent film. Mani Rathnam please make more films! Also hopefully he will soon get the international recognition he so richly deserves.
Bombay (1995)
An excellent thoughtful film with good music
This is a film about the ethnic divide in India set during the 1994 Hindu-Muslim riots in Mumbai (Bombay).
The direction is slick, the script excellent and the songs brilliant. You will not often find an Indian Commercial film which is entertaining and has a thoughtful message.
While the ending might be idealistic and slightly unrealistic, it gives us hope that one day we will set aside our differences. The message is also not rammed down our throat, so overall go and watch this movie!
Hey Ram (2000)
An Indian masterpiece.
Kamal Hasan is a truly great actor and with this film he has cemented his status a talented director. This is an epic film which is extremely thoughtful. It shows how a rationale man can turn into a prujudiced extremist. It shows that hatred for past tragic events will not solve feelings of loss of a loved one. It also shows that compassion and sacrifice are needed in politics rather that populist rabble rousing. This film has been criticized in many quarters for many reasons. People have said that the film focuses on Kamal Hasan too much and that it a self indugent vanity fest. This is unfair considering Mr Kamalji is one of the best actors in India. Also the film is about this person and the imapct on his thinking to tragic surrounding events. The film would not have worked without this intense focus. The film's storyline has been labeled inconsistent. It has been cited that the change to a anti-Islamic Hindu fundamenatlist in Kamal Hasan's character was not explained. If a muslim (who was a loyal servant and friend) had murdered your wife I think most people attitudes to your fellow man would change. The film has a consistent plot. The only critisicm is that perhaps the film was too long but overall a great film which is indeed an experiment with truth.
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998)
An Average Film that has been highly over-rated
This a well-packaged fantasy film but has nothing else to offer. Shah Rukh Khan gives a good performance but is waste as he repeats his role in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Dil to Pagal Hai. Kajol also does a repeat performance. The plot is typical, the music like DDLJ and the ending obvious. All in all it is a predictable film catered for the student audiences in India. But credit has to be given to its Director Karan Johar who has done a good job in re-packaging old storylines from various films, and presenting it in a way that has made this film a super box office hit. The problem is that now we will undoubtedly see more films of the same type invade our cinema screens. The worst thing is the greatest Actor in Indian cinema, Amitabh Bachan is going to appear in similar films.
Dil Se.. (1998)
Thoughtful thriller/love story
This film was not a hit in India. This is not surprising as it was not a typical Bollywood film. This is not to say that it is a bad film. It has a good story, good performances, mind blowing music and very good ending. Unlike most Hindi films, "Dil Se..." is not loaded with dialogues. Most of the "talking" is done through expressions. Leaving the audience to think for themselves. Perhaps this is why Indian audiences did not embrace this film and Indians living abroad did. ManiRathnam proves with this film that like Shekur Kapoor he would not be out of place in Hollywood making big budget films that captivate the audience. A must see!
Gandhi (1982)
A Historical Epic
A great film and an excellent History lesson. Eventhough the director simplifies Gandhi and the Indian Nationalist movement, he does do a good job in giving you a Idea of what Gandhi stood for. It would have helped if he also highlighted some of Gandhi's weak points. Gandhi's whole phiolsophy about human beings was that no one is perfect and each one of us must search for the truth. Gandhi is sometimes depicted as a saint. The fact is that he was not, he was one of the greatest men of the last century but not perfect. However this is a great film and should be watched by everyone.