Muddula Koduku
Man, there he is again. Doing what he is best at, acting the role of the loser who redeems hi
mself at the end. What is with Ravi Shankar that he tries to enact the role of Sad man with inferiority complex/Hero with grey shades/Loser/Fag(Sorry!! heh heh!) every time around.This time he reprises his role as Quasimodo again. Ravi Shankar is the responsible, dutiful son of Revathy who live in the same colony as Gopika. He takes up the burden of the family after his father dies in his childhood. With his helpful nature, he endears himself to people around and slowly forms a loyal coterie of well wishers.
He however has one major chip on his shoulder. One side of his face is badly burnt (yup, there go the inevitable references to Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Phantom of the Opera, Hunchback of Notre Dame....). Though he's got used to it and it doesnt matter to the people who truly care for him, he cant but ponder what life would be if things were better. How would it be if his face was normal again? What would it feel like to not have doubts, whether people really love you or just being sympathetic?
He decides to give plastic surgery a shot, and starts working round the clock to fund his dream. It goes to the point of an obsession, where he starts hurting people around him in his single minded quest. "Cant i have some happiness of my own? Dont i have the right to want what really makes me happy?" he starts bellowing when his mom asks for some extra money for his sister. He stops lending his friends money.
To lend more credence to his dreams, he develops an infatuation with a PYT (Vennela) at the Pizza place he works for. He never reveals his true face in front of her (wears a party mask around her) and starts hoping that he could reveal himself as her prince charming.
Events come to their usual finale, with Ravi realising the cliched "beauty is only skindeep; better to love the people who love you, blah blah blah".
Most of the movie was watchable. Some scenes give a sense of Deja Vu where Ravi tries his best to manipulate emotions. Some grouses though...
1, What is with the lead star trying to milk some tears everytime the discussion veers towards his face?
2. Dude, you make the pizza girl feel sorry...do you have to revel in make her cringe with guilt everytime she sees you?
3. And yes, what the heck was Prakash Raj and Gopika doing in lack luster roles.
And Ravi, u still top my list of all time losers in movies.
Anyway, worth a watch if you have nothing else to do.
BOYS
Ye
ah baby!! I must have seen this movie a bunch of times in the last 2 months and this still works for me. Whether it be the acting of Genelia, Siddarth, Bharat or the excellent music of A.R Rahman this one is still watchable. Some scenes feel overtly stale and useless by now, but hey it still rocks.Swades
The lesser said about this movie, the better. Not bcoz its bad, but a small review wouldnt do justice to this masterpiece which is one of my all time favorites. Seldom does a movie come that lingers in the back of your mind for days together. Mohan Bhargava must be a role that SRK can be really proud of than the "hams"ter gooey roles he does.
The scenes where he goes to collect rent on Kaveri-Amma's behalf and the aftermath are the most haunting of the lot.
The scene where he has a confrontation with the village elders about their hyprocritcal stance is an immensely watchable one.
Bought the DVD after watching it on DD National.
