Ividam Swargam Aanu

My Rating : 1/5

Roshan Andrews was planning 'Casanova' with mohanlal. Due to some problems, the project didn't take off. So they decided to make use of those dates to make a pure commercial 'formula' movie. The movie was titled "Ividam Swargam aanu"

I think the cast was decided by choosing all possible combination of actors which has worked well wiht lal in earlier movies. Like thilakan, kaviyoor ponnamma & Lal, Sreenivasan & Lal, Jagathy & Lal, Shankar & Lal.
James Albert who has written Classmates & Cycle has written the script. (In fact there is no need of a scriptwriter to make movies like this)
Mohan lal runs a 'hypothetical' farm house where he carries out 'textbook' farming (It seems the scriptwriter has watched too many episodes of krishidarsan). There are windmills(that never rotate) to generate electricity for the farm. There are three heroines (Typically mohanlal). There is jagathy, there is shankar, there is sreenivasan. Apart from these, there is nothing.
A villain (Lallu alex) who tries to grab the farm house of the hero for his real estate interests. The fight of the hero against the villain and finally the hero wins the farm house and a consolation price in the form of one of the heroines. Age old cliche.
The only plus point in this movie is Jagathy's performance.
This movie is turning out to be a hit. But it's not surprising as till date all Vinayan movies were boxoffice grossers. Malayalees should be commended for their wonderful taste of movies.

Paa

My Rating : 3/5

Cheeni Kum, the previous movie from Balki was an impressive one. Now when he comes with his second movie with Amitabh Bachhan playing a 12 yr old boy suffering from progeria (a rare medical condition that accelerates the ageing process), the expectations was high.

Auro(Amitabh Bachchan) is an intelligent and witty 12-year-old boy with an extremely rare genetic defect callled progeria. Mentally he is 12 very normal, but physically he looks five times older. In spite of his condition, Auro is a very happy boy. He lives with his mother Vidya (Vidya Balan) who is a gynecologist. Amol Arte (Abhishek Bachchan) is young, progressive and a full-of-ideals politician. He is out to prove to the world that 'politics' is not a bad word. He is a man with a mission. Auro is Amol's son however Vidya conceals this from him. When Auro does learn the truth however, he wishes to go to Delhi with his father. Auro tries to get his mother and father back together but Vidya resists, still hurt by the fact that Amol wanted her to have an abortion when they first found out she was pregnant. Amol realizes his mistake though, and proposes to Vidya, as he is still in love with her. He stays by Auro's side when he finds out that Auro is his son. Auro's health begins to deteriorate as he reaches his 13th birthday, his physical defects catching up. However, he is finally able to reunite his mother and father once again as Vidya gives in to her feelings for Amol and her motherly love for Auro. Auro, succumbing to his disease, dies happy, his last words being "Maa" and "Paa."

There are many positivies abt this movie- Amitabh, his make up, music, picturisation etc. Though this movie was not much appreciated by critics, I loved this one.

3 Idiots

My Rating : 4/5

3 Idiots was supposed to be a celluloid version of five point someone. I liked the book so much so that I completed reading the book in a few hours (pretty high speed in my standards) on my return trip in train from SHAR to Tvm.
The movie directed by Munnabhai fame Rajkumar Hirani with Aamir khan doing the lead role was more than enough for any movie buff to rush to the theatre.
The movie was awesome, though it is not a one to one recreation of five point someone, it was good (or may be better) than five point someone.
Life is all about listening to your heart and chasing your dreams. That's the essence of 3 IDIOTS

Two friends [R. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi] embark on a quest for a lost buddy. As they make their way through the perilous landscape [Shimla, Manali, Ladakh], another journey begins: their inner journey through memory lane and the story of their friend - the irrepressible free-thinker Rancho [Aamir Khan], who, in his unique way, touched and changed their lives.

It's a story of their hostel days that swings between Rancho's romance with the spirited Pia [Kareena Kapoor] and his clash with and oppressive mentor, Viru Sahastrabudhhe [Boman Irani]. And then one day, suddenly, Rancho vanishes...

Who was he? Where did he come from? Why did he leave? The friend who influenced and inspired them to think creatively and independently, even as the conformist world called them three idiots. Where is the original idiot now?

The format of the movie is very similar to the munnabhai movies except for the background of the story but it is quiet impressive.