Parineeta - The Unusual Triangle

Parineeta
Originally uploaded by theiyer.

Vidhu Vindo Chopra seems to be striking gold as a producer, more than being a director. After Munnabhai MBBS, he strikes back with Sharat Chatterjee's love story of a Bengali girl Lolita in "Parineeta" (meaning married woman). A refreshingly different love story without the usual item song - dance - fight routine of Bollywood films, the film intricately traces the lives of Shekhar (Saif), Lolita (Vidya Balan) and Girish (Sanjay Dutt) and weaves a delicate triangular plot with twist and turns that befuddles you on how the story will meander to the end.

Director Pradeep Sarkar ensures that the film bubbles with the traditional Bong tinted lifestyle, making you wonder whether the charcaters are really unreal (though sometimes Lolita reminded me of Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Manisha in 1947). Except for the dramtised climax (which can definitely be forgiven), the film is definitely worth a watch and Vidya Balan is definitely the find of the year.

The film definitely will remain etched in my memory as it was my first film with my wife-to-be. The next time I watch a film with Suchitra, she would have probably become my "Parineeta".

One More Bites the Dust..

I have decided to take the bow and walk the aisle (in the temple and not in the church) and solemnly accept to spend the rest of my life with Suchitra. An out and out arranged marriage, our first meeting at the regular jaunt of Woodlands Drive - In on May 22 will probably be one of the high points of our life. The relationship was made formalised through an engagement ceremony on June 10. Marriage is scheduled on July 1 in Vellore and the reception will be held at the Residency Towers in Chennai on July 3. This is an official "blogvitation".

Kana Kanden - A Refreshing "Dream"

kana kanden
Originally uploaded by theiyer.

Kana Kanden is truly a well crafted dream by KV Anand. I watched the movie almost three weeks back (the fact that I am writing the review only now suggests that work is screwing my happiness). Watched the movie on the first day night show just for one reason - master cinematographer KV Anand was directing the film. But the film was work watching more for its deft handling of the story and direction, rather than the more awaited camera work. The film definitely is one of the highlights of the new genre of Tamil cinema. The chemistry between Srikanth and Gopika was more than shadowed by the brilliant performance of the Malayalam import Prithviraj who played the negative protagonist's role. The twist in the film from the intermission and the taut screenplay ensured that the film flowed smoothly. Sadly though couple of songs including the item number actually took the wind out of the film at couple of points, but the director ensured that the film was back in action quickly. Really a refreshing dream. That ensures we have one more director to reckon with among the new generation filmmakers.