Kandukondain Kandukondain (கண்டுகொண்டேன் கண்டுகொண்டேன்)

Kandukondain Kandukondain (கண்டுகொண்டேன் கண்டுகொண்டேன்) is one those Tamil movies from the early part of Aishwarya Rai’s movie career. Directed by Rajiv Menon, it is an adaptation of the novel Sense and Sensibility, written by Jane Austen. The protagonists are two sisters who live in an idyllic village, Tabu plays the elder sister and Aishwarya the younger. Ajith, a guy who aspires to make it big as a director in the Tamil movie industry, is in love with Tabu. Vying for Aishwarya’s heart are two aspirants, Mammoootty playing a flower farmer who has retired from the army having lost his leg to a mine and Abbas who is the poetry-spouting CEO of a financial company with murky credentials. The pleasant lives of the girls turn to turmoil when they lose their ancestral property and migrate to Chennai to eke out a living.

Kandukondain is probably one of the few movies where ice-queen Aishwarya is bearable. The adaptation from Jane Austen’s novel is nicely done and fits the South Indian context. Music by A R Rahman is quite good, but this is certainly not one of my favorites. The wild choreography of the songs do not fit the flow of the movie and are just plain jarring. Kandukondain has a good story that is adequately told and hence worth watching.

Sillunu Oru Kaadhal (சில்லுனு ஒரு காதல்)

Rating: 3/4 (Fantastic music, a star couple, an imploring romantic plot and still a letdown!)

I must have listened to the sweet songs from Sillunu Oru Kaadhal (சில்லுனு ஒரு காதல்) countless number of times! Introduced to it by my flatmate, I fell head over heels in love with New York Nagaram and Munbe Vaa. These easily rank as some of the best creations of A. R. Rahman! Add to that the star couple Surya and Jyothika and you have an enticing movie. Due to my dependence on English subtitles for Tamil movies, I could check out this 2006 movie only recently.

Sillunu Oru Kaadhal is a romantic movie starring Surya, Jyothika and Bhoomika. Goutham (Surya) and Kundavi (Jyothika) are thrown together into a wedding planned by their elders. They are both not interested in it, but settle down and in 6 years are a happy loving couple settled in Mumbai, and the parents of a charming little girl. Their cozy haven of love is rocked when Kundavi discovers that Goutham had loved and married another girl Ishu (Bhoomika) in his college years. This wedding was ripped apart by Ishu’s dad, who sends her away to Australia. In Goutham’s college diary Kundavi discovers how madly in love he was with her, poignantly asking that just one day with Ishu would fulfill his life. Wrought by love for Goutham, Kundavi seeks out Ishu and gives the college couple a day together to rekindle their love.

Though backed by fantastic music and a stunning star couple, Sillunu Oru Kaadhal disappoints. The plot is engaging and has lots of potential, but is squandered away in all departments by bad editing, cinematography, acting and sloppy dialogues. Except for New York Nagaram and Munbe Vaa, both of which have poetic lyrics and are slickly shot, I could not even stand watching the rest of the songs. The movie at a length of 3 hours, is far far too long. There is a strong chemistry between Surya and Jyothika, but their acting is nowhere close to what is demanded by their roles. Jyothika implores the viewer to connect to the plight of Kundavi, but is not supported by anything else from the movie. SOK shows lots of potential to be a romantic classic, but in the end is a letdown.

Roja (ரோஜா)

Rating: 4/4 (Must watch!)

My first brush with Roja (ரோஜா) was its music. This was the stunning movie debut for the music director A. R. Rahman. Though I could not understand a word of Tamil, I listened to the melodious songs from Roja for countless hours while in high school. Years after that I caught the movie in bits and pieces on various TV screenings and saw the movie in complete with subtitles only recently. Directed by Mani Ratnam, the movie stars Arvind Swamy and Madhoo. Rishi (Arvind) and Roja (Madhoo) are a newly wed couple. Rishi, a computer engineer who works on cryptography software visits Kashmir with Roja on an assignment. He is kidnapped there by a separatist terrorist organization and held captive for the release of their jailed leader. Roja runs around the military and political bureaucracy to get him rescued, while Rishi tries to reason with his captors.

Roja not just deals with a sensitive topic (Kashmir) but is also a highly entertaining movie. Santosh Sivan’s camerwork is a treat for the eyes, every scene begs to be frozen and admired for its composition and colors. A. R. Rahman’s music in this movie needs no introduction, it still stands as one of his best creations. Annu Aravind and Madhoo have acted well and bring in freshness and innocence to their characters. All in all, Roja is a gem from the oeuvre of Mani Ratnam.