Angamaly Diaries, The thin line separating Plagiarism and Inspiration

I saw Angamaly diaries(AD)the second time again last Sunday. Not sure if I have had enough.

The movie demonstrates that a true connoisseur, can truly be inspired by a great work of art and improve upon it by leaps and bounds.

The creativity in adapting it to the local milieu is astonishing and outstanding. 

Consider the last sequence in Good Fellas, where Ray Liotta's voice overlay resonates, "Today everything is different, there is no action, ....an average nobody, get to live the rest of my life like a schnook". 

In the translated sequence in AD, the protagonist has become a lift operator, filled with boredom, in the middle east, and is nostalgic about the action that would have happened in Angamaly on an average day. And as he is about to finish his duty with the breathtaking Dubai skyline in the background, there is the gorgeous setting sun and as the credit rolls down, the most beautiful call for prayer. A most poetic ending.

Scorsese will be proud of the conception.

I remember Deer Hunter's, a Russian orthodox wedding sequence, running to about 18 minutes(not very sure though, unable to validate), a most remarkable sequence, with two friends completely drunk,after the wedding, running out in the wee hours of the dawn, down the streets and end up lying down in a basket ball ground discussing their dreams. 

I am reasonably sure though that AD has adapted this sequence.

The wedding sequence runs for just five minutes, but the music director, Prashant Pillai, uses Chenda to such magical effect, that the it has the audience in raptures and recreates the mood of Deer Hunter sequence more efficiently. And then there is that magical walk by the two friends. A rush of Adrenalin mixed with a soft silken touch of romance and culminates with a warm hug!!!

There is so much to enjoy about AD. 

For me the hero of the film is Prashant Pillai, the music director who has freaked out. I have never heard anybody use harmonium so effectively in recent times for the background score. To Prashanth Pillai's credit, his usage of Chenda is venerable. I got intrigued by many of the sounds that has created and was trying to map it to instruments that he could have constructed to produce those sounds. 

If you are discerning film goer, and if you have not watched AD, then you are missing out on one of the most important films of our times.

Lens, An Important Film

While I think Lens, is an ordinary film, which I probably did not enjoy much, I think it is a very important film.

A movie that every adolescent and lady, from all the strata must watch, to get sensitised to the possible dangers that lurk in every corner and probably every crevice, in a digital world. 

The recommendation that every lady must see, is because the damage done to the privacy of a woman can many times be irreversible.

When so much of trash gets passed of as U/A, this movie may be 'recertified' as U/A, so that it is viewed by a larger audience. May not a bad idea for High school students to watch and have a public debate in schools.

A digital world shatters innocence much early on may be in the early teens or before and a lot of porn is anyway available. In societal interest, there is strong case for Lens being 'recertified' as U/A. If 'Pink' was certified as U/A, then there should be no problem in certifying 'Lens' as U/A.

This may be the the first Adult movie for the entire family.

Watch it, you must. Discuss it, we must.

Kuttram 23, Tamil Film

Way back around 1997/98, Shakey Pizzas had an outlet at Montieth Road, diagonally opposite to Ambassador Pallava. Dining with my family, in the lonely restaurant we had a lonely companion in Arun Vijay, who probably was basking in freshly acquired star status after the release of  Ganga Gowri. He was drumming up the table to seek some attention. But alas, as a family, we ignored him,  And yes, over the years, may be he did not get the recognition he deserved. Twenty years in the industry, he keeps his chin, spirits up, packages him well and produces a winner. Just wanted to let you know, Arun Vijay, not only got your attention now, but have always wondered, why the earnest actor in Pandavar Bhoomi did not get the break he deserved. We look forward to some great roles in the years to come.

Arivazhagan, in Tamil, loosely translates into a  A  beautiful mind/brain. Arivazhagan Venkatachalam to his credit directed the most artistic "Eeram", a horror thriller for the family audience. We had to wait for seven years for another thriller. While this may not still be in the class of "Eeram', it has all the style, an understated elegance about his narrative, a pace that almost has the audience waltz through the narrative, the dignity  of his protagonists and relationships, Intelligence that is conspicuous, and a complete control of his craft. Sir, if you can do away with the perceived mandatory sentimentality as desired by the audience, I think your movies can be several notches above. 

While I may not be a great fan of messages, but for a change, I liked the message on Adoption 

P.S:

As a professional, I liked the sequences which powerfully illustrate the necessity to research and be prepared for a meeting