Three Tamil Movies I Watched Recently

1. DeAr Movie
2. Vithaikkaran
3. Anveshippum Kandethun

DeAr Movie (2024)

Rating: Media 2- 2.5 out of 5 My Rating: 3/5

This one is a Tamil (2024 release) movie scripted and Directed by Anand Ravichandran, and produced by Nutmeg Productions.

The movie revolves around the sensitive relationship struggle between a newly married couple, Deepika and Arjun. The movie's title is derived from the first two letters of their names, "De + Ar". Arjun finds Deepika's snoring unbearable. Deepika had concealed her snoring issue due to pressure from her parents, who were worried about her many rejected marriage proposals. On their first night together, Deepika tries to disclose her weakness to Arjun but becomes hesitant when Arjun expresses his desire for a full 8-hour sleep to support his career in TV journalism and his dream of interviewing the Finance Minister of India. Arjun becomes increasingly irritated by Deepika's loud snores, despite repeatedly expressing his wish to get the issue resolved through mutual efforts. Ultimately, the tension leads him to decide to seek a divorce as he gets expelled by his boss on the tip of an employee who found him dozing in the toilet. Deepika does not want the divorce as she values her relationship with him.

The rest of the story is a hotch-potch of legal battles, and family concerns, mixed up with humor, gloom, and dejections. The ending is spiced up with their newborn baby found snoring.

The story lacks the real appeal as the main issue of snore gets unaddressed. Besides lacking in its narrative strength, the story fails to evoke emotional bondage. Even then, one can enjoy the entertaining court scenes to get some fun.

Vithaikkaran (2024)

Ratings: Media 2 - 2.5/5 My Rating: 3/5 (due to Sathish's role)

The movie is directed by some Venki (who directed Dejavu also) and the producer is an unknown K Vijay Pandi.

The movie revolves around the smuggling of gold and jewelry, magic/smart skills, and retrieval of withheld goods.

Sathish plays the dual roles of Vetri and Shakthi (twin brothers). Vetri believes that cheating is not wrong but getting cheated is wrong. Shakthi is entirely of the opposite view and keeps very reserved and timid.

Vetri (Sathish) is a magician-cum-thief performing entertaining shows to mesmerize the audience, and indulging in small robberies to make his living along with his sibling. Once, he gets suspected of stealing a diamond but gets free due to a temporary memory loss during the inquiry by police.

He gets engaged by some gang to perform their heists using his art of magic and intelligence. He is aided by a journalist friend, Sithara (actress Simran Gupta). But the final heist at the airport becomes much more risky. Here Vetri uses the services of his sibling Shakthi as a backup for his success. 

The movie is worth watching for its humor and entertaining. And, the final heist at the Coimbatore airport is a well-crafted scene that is entertaining and thrilling.

The Director of the movie, Venky while sharing his thoughts with The New Indian Express, revealed that that he used magic as the tool for performing heists rather than the normal fights with the enemies because he wanted something special to produce.

Ultimately, I would like to comment that the movie did not provide the desired result as it lacked proper streamlining of the scenes. Some portions are very dull and not efficiently intertwined with each other.

Anveshippin Kandethum (Malayalee 2024 Movie)

Ratings: Media 4/5 My Rating: 4.5/5 (due to confusing graphics)

This is a good movie, with a thrilling storyline and outstanding performance.

This Malayalee movie released in February 2024 is directed by Darwin Kuriakose and produced by Theatre of Dreams and Yoodly Films. It is based on some real-life incidents. So it is set in the 1993 atmosphere.

Tovino Thomas is the lead actor doing the role of an honest SI.

The movie "Anveshippin Kandethum" delves into two murder cases. The first one is a flashback murder case of a Christian girl, Lovely. The SI, Anand, was in charge of the case. He breaks upon some clues that Lovely used to visit the house of the Christian priest. When he gets to the place to question the priest, the parishioners resist him. Due to the sensitivity of the incident, Anand was removed from the investigation. But he unofficially carries through his investigation with the help of his subordinates and with the support of his senior officer, the SP. They enter the vicarage (the priest's residence) through back doors and search for the clues. With sufficient evidence, they arrested the culprit, the Priest's foreign-returned son. But, while bringing the culprit to court, he breaks the security, runs towards railway tracks, and gets crushed to death under a train. As a result, the entire team, including Anand, get suspended from service.

Coming to the present day, the SP Rajagopalan unofficially provides a chance for Anand to clear his tarnished image and get justice. He hands him an open murder case of a woman named Sridevi to be solved. Anand, with his team, is smart enough to gather clues and pieces of evidence that supported the involvement of a retired police constable in the case. He corners the constable and questions him. The constable had to reveal the truth that he committed the murder in order to prevent his son from marrying that woman, who was in love with each other, as she belonged to a low caste. As Anand has no power to arrest, he provides the evidence of the case to SP Rajagopalan. He sends the police force with arrest warrants to secure the culprit's arrest. But, before their arrival, the constable hangs himself to death.

This movie is full of exciting detective scenes which are to my taste. The inquiries and breakthroughs are appealing. It portrays the reality of the scenery prevalent in police departments or other government departments where honesty is often not rewarded. The influence of bureaucrats is always there.

The title song is very nice and appealing. You can enjoy the whole movie, from beginning to end, and feel satisfied.

Five Hindi Movies I Watched in Recent Months

I am a lover of nature and reality. I watch mostly dramas and films that portray the real-life pictures so that I can feel myself one among them and experience their pains and joys. It provides a glimpse into the lives of people around you.

So, whenever I get some time to watch movies or TV series ( a 40 to 50 minutes of time per day), I look for those films that provide common man's life stories. They need not be blockbusters or commercial successes.

 

I am providing a glimpse into some of the entertaining and thrilling movies for your perusal. Most of the below-listed movies are 2024 releases except Traffic Signal & Sajini Shinde.

1. Laa-Pataa Ladies
2. Shaitaan
3. Murder Mubarak
4. Traffic Signal
5. Sajini Shinde ka Viral Video

Laa-Pataa Ladies

Rating: Media Ratings 4 - 4.5/5 My Rating 100%

Laa-Pataa means not traceable or missing. This movie delves into the plot of two newlywed ladies who go missing either due to the mistakes of their grooms or intentional escapes immediately after marriage.

The film was first premiered at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival in September 2023 and theatrically released on 1st March 2024. Directed by Kiran Rao, whose first debut was Dhobi Ghat (2010), the film was co-produced by Rao, Aamir Khan, and Jyoti Deshpande. The script is inspired from the story of "Two Brides" authored by Biplab Goswami.

It showcases the undesirable consequences of the purdah system prevalent mostly in the Indian Culture. A newly wed groom, Deepak, is travelling back to his home with his bride in a train. The bride, Phool Kumari, is clad in her wedding dress sporting a veil. It was the marriage season and many newlywed couples are there in the coach. It was the night journey and while Deepak was engaged in a toilet visit, the passengers shift their seats. He was unaware of this shifting. When his station arrives, he gets down with a wrong bride due to the confusion. His mistake is revealed only when his mother lifts the veil of the bride after their welcome ceremony. His real wife, mean while, reaches a different village with another groom being victim to the same confusion.

The rest of the story is an adventurous humor mixed with thrilling encounters and activities of the ladies and men including entertaining characters of police involved in the tracing and reunion of the real couples.

I acclaim it to be a very nice movie that is worth watchable. The actors did justice to their respective roles to make it an enjoyable movie. The scenes were shot in the villages of Madhya Pradesh.

Shaitaan Movie

Rating: Media 3.5/5 My Rating: 4/5

Shaitaan means 'Devil'. It is a supernatural horror film released in March 2024. It is a remake of one Gujarati movie "Vash" (2023) which gets translated into possession. It is directed by the Super-30 fame Director, Vikas Bahl, and produced by Devgan Films and Jio Studios.

The story revolves around a victimized family finding ways and means to release their daughter from the black magic spell of a ruthless stranger, who proclaims himself to be the Almighty who can control all humanity using his black magic. They try to lure him with money offering all their possessions in exchange for their daughter's freedom. But he does not agree. Then they try to catch him unawares and overpower him. He warns  them that if something happens to his life, then no body can free their daughter from his spell. He reveals that his last command to his victim will ever be followed by the person under his black magic. Presently, he ordered their daughter to keep dancing to the tunes of some songs, to shout till her throat chokes to death, and to guard him from her parents when he is asleep. She is forced to hit her parents, keep dancing even if she wets her pants, and keep shouting even though her entire body and mind seems to blow up. It is a torture for her and her parents. None could control the situations. He demands that the only choice open to them is to send the daughter with him and never look for her return nor file any complaints against him. 

What takes place afterward is a quick series of actions and reactions. Their young son also has a part in it. To know how do they overcame from their miserable life, you should watch the movie with your sympathetic feelings toward the victims.

I hope it entertains your time, filled with some thrilling moments of horror and pain. 

Murder Mubarak

Rating: Media 2.5/5 My Rating: 3.5/5 (Due to Pankaj Tripathi)

Murder Mubarak is a mystery thriller movie, released on 15th March, on the OTT platform Netflix. The Director of the movie is Homi Adajania, whose film "Cocktail" (2012) is a popular hit. The Producer is Dinesh Vijan, the founder of Maddock Films whose films like Stree and Hindi Medium are famous hits. 

The story deals with the mysterious death of a gym trainer (a womanizer) at the Royal Delhi Club, whose members are elite citizens of Delhi adoring the British Rulers. None of them were shocked at the death of their staff and didn't care for it at all. They dismiss the case as a mere accidental death due to the barbell hitting his windpipe. ACP Bhavani Singh (actor Pankaj Tripathy) takes up the case with the assistance of one SI. The CCTV results do not provide any evidence. 

But, Bhavani Singh noticed that at one point some balloons obscured the camera. This clue and the strange behavior of a cat add to the suspicion that it is a murder case. Forensic reports of the dead body reveal presence of large quantities of a drug named Pinko Haathini in his body. It is powerful drug that makes the person very feeble and weak. He cannot lift even a pencil in such condition and there is no way of lifting a barbell. So, Bhavani Singh goes on enquiring all the members and staff about their involvements during the time of that murder period. 

During interrogations, it is revealed that Leo, the dead person, had a quarrel with one important member of the club, Maharaja Ranvijay Singh (a contestant for the President post of the Club). A person named Akash Dogra (the son of Dogras who are members of the club) acted as the mediator between them to resolve their quarrel. It is also revealed that the club members are involved in drug abuses. Some intimate relationships and love stories between the club members also get revealed. Bambi, whose husband is dead, loves Akash who is both young and smart, and Ranvijay Singh is in love with a beauty parlour lady, Ganga. All this makes up the case much interesting.

Bhavani Singh gets suspicious of the behavior of a servant, Guppie Ram, who was watering the kitchen garden excessively. He senses that he is wetting the ground with acid in the guise of water. So, Bhavaani Singh gets the place excavated to find out the secret. A rotten human skeleton was found in the excavated pit which was believed to be that of Ganga's missing husband.

The investigation procedure of ACP Bhavani Singh is the most enjoyable part of this movie. His slow, gentle, and artful approach to the case makes it all. He studies everything minutely but without any hint to the bystanders. He breaks through the investigations in a deceitful manner and captures the culprits very cleverly. So, you need to watch the movie to enjoy his role and admire his acting skills.

It is only because of the role this popular actor, Pankaj Tripathi, that the entire movie becomes enjoyable.

Traffic Signal

Rating: Media 3 - 3.5/5 My Rating 4/5

Traffic Signal is a 2007 release movie starring Kunal Khemu & Konkana Sen Sharma. The movie is Directed & Co-Produced by Madhur Bhandarkar. The other Co-Producer is a Feature Films producer, Shailendra Singh.

The movie received two National Film Awards for Best Director and Best Make-Up Artist.

The movie portrays the lives and toils of people living around a traffic signal in Mumbai. The people make their livelihoods during the stoppage of the traffic at the signal. There are beggars, prostitutes, eunuches, and sellers of clothes, toys and other things. The traffic manager is a kind-hearted person who is generous to these people. They adore him and respect him. But, a dangerous gangster makes use of this opportunity by befriending this manager, named Silsila.

This gangster, whose name is Haji Bhaijan, is a dangerous and wicked person dealing in illegal and criminal activities with the support of politicians and police. Silsila is unaware of this fact and carries out some jobs provided by him in good faith. He becomes aware of these facts only when he gets entangled in a murder case.

The events lead to the destruction of the Traffic Signal. Silsila has to choose between his life or the safety and protection of the Signal which is the livelihood for hundreds of people. So, that is the climax point which should be watched over screen.

The story and direction along with choreography and artistry are very good to watch and enjoy. All the characters have done their part to make the movie a success.

Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video

Ratings: Media 3.5/5 My Rating 4/5

Sajini Shinde Ka viral Video delves into a social issue faced by most woman living under the shrinked mentalities of a society. The movie showcases this factor very clearly throughout the story.

It is a October 2023 release movie directed by Founder of CineMan Productions Mikhi Musale and produced byDinesh Vijan of Maddock Films.

Sajini is a teacher in a respectable school in Pune. The story starts with Sajini enjoying her birthday party in a Singapore Bar Restaurant. Within minutes, a viral video of her dancing with shirtless men on the bartop goes viral over the internet. It is supposedly posted by mistake even to her school website also. Here start the ordeals of, what the conservative families and societies construe as, straying women of the society.

On her return from the holidays, she gets sacked by her Principal. Even her family and the neighbours disown her. She is construed as a shameless whore by the society. Her fiancee also finds fault with her who previously encouraged her to behave like a modern woman. So, Sajini goes missing after writing a letter that her family and fiancee are responsible for her suicide.

Sajini's best friend wants to get justice for her friend and tries all that can be done to turn it into a public issue and catch the media's attention. Thus it becomes a privilege issue not just related to a single Sajini Shinde but for the entire women. Police investigation starts and everybody connected to Sajini get questioned.

How the justice is served and how Sajini gets reunified with her family and her job are worthy to be watched over screen. 

Article 370 - Movie

I was watching this interesting movie titled "Article 370" recently on Netflix dealing with the abrogation process of the most sensitive and complicated Article that granted special status to the erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir Province.

The film is produced by Jyoti Deshpande, the erstwhile CEO & MD of Eros International along with Aditya Dhar, and directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale. Jambhale co-wrote the script of the movie with Aditya Dhar (known for his film Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) ).

It is set in the backdrop of an atmosphere where the lives of people living in there are witness to daily incidents of terrorism, arson, and civil unrest. The local authorities are either indifferent or corrupt.

The movie starts with the Pulwama attack that resulted in the death of 40 CRPF personnel who were traveling in an army truck to restore peace. This brutal massacre ignited ire from all corners and needed to be addressed with stringent measures.

The main scenes in  this movie are the encounter and subsequent killing of the most wanted terrorist Burhan Wani on 8th July 2016 in a remote village of Anantnag District, the Phulwama attack on 14th February 2019, the Balakot air strike that destroys the training camp of a terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed on 26th February, the death of a Dy. Commander of CRPF who sacrificed his life in fighting with Hizbul Mujahiddin, and the subsequent developments leading to the abrogation of Article 370 on 5th August 2019.

All above-mentioned scenes are worth watching if you want to deduce what happened in the back seats that lead to the Abrogation of Article 370.

Some interesting other scenes include the tie-up between the leading lady characters- Rajeshwari and Zooni, their perfect alignment in controlling the atmosphere, the ruckus in the Rajyasabha by the opposition party leader, the silent but smart show presented by the Home Minister answering every question put up by the opposition leading to the passing of the bill- all these scenes are entertaining and enjoyable.

The movie's story seems to be inspired by some real-life heroes who worked hard to liberate Jammu & Kashmir from the clutches of terrorism.

The lead woman character Zooni Haksar's identity is not established till now. She could be a real field agent, native to Kashmir, who served with multiple identities in her real life to combat terrorism and establish peace.

The other woman, Rajeshwari Swaminathan from the PMO office, too misleads us. We are forced to believe her to be a real-life Joint-Secretary to Home in the PMO office. She tackles every problem so skillfully with the aide of Zooni Haksar that we are compelled to believe that they are two mesmerizing women due to whose flawless endeavors it was possible for the Government of India to abrogate Article 370 without the loss of any innocent lives.

Burhan Wani is the only real character who is popular to the world.

The Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister's portrayed are perhaps former CM Omar Abdullah and present CM Mehbooba Mufti.

Chauhan's character is thought to be that of one real-life Major Leetul Gogoi, but it may not be true.

On the whole, it is a movie worth watching by all fans of thriller dramas.

I am not sharing the whole story as it may decrease the suspense of it all to watch it in movies or on OTTs.

You need to watch it and experience the real picture of the life in Kashmir and feel sorry for them. Further, you should know and value the teamwork put forth by the actors and producers of this movie. Only then can you understand what makes a movie 'a movie worthy of watching'.

Kolai - Tamil Movie Review

Kolai is a crime-thriller-cum-psychological Tamil Movie released in the year 2023. Directed by Balaji K Kumar, it stars Vijay Antony, Meenakshi Chaudhary, and Ritika Singh in lead roles. Even though one can assume it to be based on some real incidents, it is simply a hotchpotch. It was a Box-Office Failure due to the quirky cinematic treatments and confusing tactics employed by the production teams.

The story revolves around the murder mystery of a young singer-cum-model named Laila in her house. Initial assumptions by police were that strangulation was the cause of her death. However, several suspects emerge through interrogations carried on by them. Within hours, the murder becomes sensational news. 

From this stage, the entire movie becomes a setup of a maze with lots of hectic activity leading to confusing results with no clear-cut lead. Inspite of all these oddities, I enjoyed the movie.

I am providing the story as per my understanding and deductions.

The Investigating Team

DCP Thilak Verma is in charge of the case and, as he is to be transferred from there in a couple of days, he wants the case to be solved and closed before his transfer letter arrives.  He instructs Police Officer Sandhya,  who has been appointed as in charge of the case, to seek the services of Vinayak, a reputed Detective who solved more than 200 cases in his career till then. The DCP is confident of Vinayak's exceptional skills and knows that Sandhya has been his best student during her training period.

But Vinayak is mentally disturbed, and undergoing guilt and mental tensions. His daughter Ammu met with an accident and is in hospital getting treatment for trauma and severe brain injuries. Vinayak believes that he was the cause of her accident as he took her for a drive against her will (with the belief that she would enjoy some memorable moments spent with her father before leaving for her higher studies). Another cause for worry is the rift between Vinayak and his wife Yamuna because of his excessive involvement in work to the extent of ignoring his family life.

When Sadhya seeks his help in solving the case, Vinayak does not accept her request. But his mind changes after studying the file and he agrees to involve himself in the case to seek justice for the murdered girl. He believes that his daughter will be happy if he can deliver justice.

Initial Investigations and Testimonials

Vinayak examines the place of murder and after a detailed study using his extraordinary skills, collects some important clues using the fingerprints and testimonials from the maid and security guards of the residence. He observes that many persons visited the victim before her death. One frequent visitor was her boyfriend Satish and another was her agent Babloo. Besides them, it is revealed through the CCTV footage that two more people visited her. On inquiry, they get identified as Arjun, a photographer who is supposed to be a violent person, and Aditya Koushik, an agent for a modelling agency supervised by Rekha, a business tycoon.

More witnesses and contacts get questioned time and again to grab more details regarding the suspects's activities and their locations. Thereupon, Sandhya and Vinayak indulge themselves in building cases for and against each suspect, considering their motives or alibis in the murder.

Deep Scrutinies & Findings 

The suspicious entrance of Arjun and Aditya Koushik through back doors during that night before the murder took place, makes them as the murder suspects. On questioning them, Vinayak concludes that both of them could be merely suspects but not fit into the place of murderers. Moreover, Vinayak observes an ice cube missing from the refrigerator of Laila's room. He conducts a deep search and it struck to his mind that the ice cube must have been used to disable the alarm of the emergency exit. So, he assumes that the agent Babloo must have disabled that alarm to provide entrance to Aditya Koushik. Consequently, Babloo must have been present inside the house when the murder was committed.

Vinayak cross-examines Babloo who repeatedly denies providing any clues as to his role in the happenings, but asserts he is not the murderer. He enquires calmly whether babloo knew anything about Yamini. Yamini was a missing girl who died many years ago. It remains a puzzle in Vinayak's mind. So he asked whomever he met during the interrogations about Yamini's identity. But nobody knew her.

Twists and Turns

Meanwhile, things get worse. Babloo gets murdered in a toilet. Arjun is also murdered leading the attention towards Sathish, the lover of Laila. Vinayak cross-examines Sathish and follows his activities consistently. His smart observations lead him to the conclusion that he is the murderer. He enters his house secretly and searches for evidences. But nothing is found except the lines from a song "yaar nee..." scribbled in his diary.

Vinayak becomes perplexed. But calms himself and tries to link each development in the case. He somehow believes that Laila's case could be interlinked with Yamini's murder. So he employs his assistants to search for the location of Yamini's parents. He contacts her father, on location, and is able to get some torn pieces of a line from some lyric. He arranges the pieces in different positions and finds out that it is a line from the same song that he found in Sathish's apartment. Now, he gets confident that both murders are committed by Sathish. But, he needs to collect some proof.

In the meantime, Sandhya and Vinayak met an extraordinarily smart boy named Vinod who is closely associated with Laila. He lives in the opposite building of Laila's apartment and was saved by Laila from being crushed by a vehicle. Laila loved his nature and used to spend time with him in his home. He is, perhaps, the grandchild of a retired Justice(a strict lady) in whom Laila used to confide in. He wants to trace the murderer using his talents through computer-tracking.

Vinayak suddenly remembers that, during his interrogations, Sathish once asked for permission to retrieve a  personal album from Laila's apartment as he wants to keep her memories. He immediately gets into the place and searches for the album. While doing so, he finds some irregularity in the things kept on the racks/shelves. He searches deeply and unearths a small chip hidden therein. He immediately discovers that it was the taped voice of Laila that was heard by people while calling for her to enquire her safety. This finding proves that the case has been manipulated by Sathish. He taped her voice secretly employing some tricks and then played it after murdering her as an alibi to prove that she is not dead when he visited her the last time accompanied by the security guards.

But, Vinayak could not deliver justice by getting Sathish arrested as the case got closed by that time due to pressure on the DCP and due to the rash judgment of one Police Officer who publicly announced before media that Aditya Koushik was the murderer who later killed himself after writing on the mirror that he is the murderer of Laila.

The Final Judgment

At this stage, it is Vinod who takes charge of the entire situation. He throws the dice before Sathish inviting him to meet for some settlement. When they confront each other in the middle of a street disguised themselves in hoodies, both of them shoot each other and collapse simultaneously on the spot. Sandhya arrives there with police force only to find that both of them are dead. Vinayak, to his surprise, watches from behind the scene that his daughter "Ammu's soul" is walking away with that of Laila's. He finds relief that ultimately justice has been delivered to Laila's soul and, as a token of gratitude, she is taking Ammu with her to the heavenly abode.

You may like to enjoy this beautiful song which is the cause of Laila's attention towards Sathish that ended up in her murder.