Madrasi Da (2017) India

What it would be like being a Madrasi!

Genre:

TV Movie, Comedy.

Length:

Approximately 3-minute read.


Review:
     I often watch stand-up comedies, following that I usually skip reviewing them. I don't know why, maybe because they look more a reality show than the cinematic products that I love. But recently I've changed my mind and did a few brief reviews. Probably this my first feature review. One of the reasons I am doing it was for I directly related to the title. No, I'm not a Madrasi nor any comedy material have something to do with me and my life, but a Tamil. Yes, if you are one too, then you would enjoy it more than anybody else, despite it is in English language. It is more like a Tanglish, just like 'Why This Kolaveri Di'

     Some jokes can't be translated in other languages with the same meaning and words. So that's where the subtitle becomes useless. But at least, with a familiar of Tamil culture and tradition, one can have a decent time with it. Never heard before the name Aravind Subramanian. Seems he had done many shows as looking at his popularity, but this is the first time I'm seeing him. Thanks to digital world. He's really good at narrating stories with humorous. Like all the Stand-up comedies, this is too for the adults. There are many sexual related comedy plots, especially breaking cultural barrier ones.

 Girls! No giggling in the class today. And boys! Hands up. 

     The best thing about it is, you should be the 90s kid to ensure you enjoy it thoroughly. Some of the topics he referred has connections with how the life has been in the 90s and the early 00s. From family to the friends and relative, all the good and bad things that happened to Madrasis during grow up were told so funnily. From how to get a girlfriend to the long distance relationship and breakups, the troubles the youth had faced reveled. In some instance comparing lifestyle with foreign land. The topics were vast, easily one of the best an hour of your life that might remind your past/childhood too.

     One of the things I liked was the sex topic. The sex education in India is still lagging behind. Many consider it a taboo. Even teachers struggling to teach their students. So when young parents or soon to be parents exposed to such comedy shows, they will break away from such religious trap. Besides, the name Madrasi was given by North Indians to almost entire South India. But in reality it is a misunderstood term. Want to know what real Madrasi looks like. I mean culturally and lifestyle, this show is a good way to learn. But most of it just for fun than to consider it a fact or believing in it. If you are a Tamil and an adult, then it is a must watch. For the rest of the Southern Indians, as well as North Indians, it'll do fine too. Viewers beyond that might struggle a bit to get, but still worth it.



Suitable for:
Tween, Teen, Adult, All


Final verdict:
Ignore, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent


Similar movies:
Russell Peters: Outsourced, Two Concerts One Ticket, Kevin Hart: What Now?


External link(s):

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Sachin: A Billion Dreams (2017) India

The face of three generations of Indian cricket.

Genre:

Documentary, Biography, Drama, Sport.

Length:

Approximately 6-minute read.


Review:
     The Indian film market is not made for documentary films. If there's an exception, that has to be not just cricket, but Sachin Tendulkar. I know you know that India is a vast cultural diverse country. Hundreds of language, ethnic, religion, caste, in so many ways, so many people split over the things. But one thing that unites north, south, northeast is the cricket. The '83 World Cup might have been the new beginning, but Sachin was the X factor for the Indian cricket to see a revolution. The sports body saw an opportunity and rebranded themselves with his presence. Because of him, the Indians started to watch cricket, learn cricket. Hence the cricket became a religion and Sachin's a god.

     This is the second biographical-sport film about Indian cricket I'm seeing after 'M.S. Dhoni: An Untold Story'. I liked that it was not a feature film. Feature films are commercialised, skips parts, alters storyline and characters. Not to forget that there's will be boring  music tracks if it is an Indian film. Besides, to see the actors in the shoes of real life achievers, not that good as I always say, why did that guy won the Oscar, who just depicted the one who struggled and achieved in the real cruel world. So hats off to the filmmakers for bringing this up in the best way possible.

     You could call it a prequel to that Dhoni film. Not just because both the films are about cricket or Indian cricket, but they both ran parallel. In a way they are connected. Except, focused on the different person, and this one had a head start like a decade earlier. Most of the achievers in the sports had began with an unexpected gift at their very young age that steered them to choose an apt career. It could be anything. A badminton racquet or a chessboard or a pair of shoes. For Tendulkar, it was a cricket bat from his big sister. He was a naughty boy till he got that bat. With his brother's support, he took the sport seriously and then everything has changed for him for the next 27 years of his life.

     At the age eleven, he first took the bat. Five years later, he was the youngest player to represent his nation. That too was against the arch-rival in their home turf. I don't remember all those, because I was just a baby then. But 6 years later, I joined the fan club of one billion. I'm not a Tendulkar fan, though I always respected him alongside a few other gentlemen like him, Dravid and Dhoni. They are not just the players with good conducts, but rewrote the history. Besides, Nobody needs to be a Tendulkar fan to enjoy his batting. There were many legends before him and after him, but he had found his own unique place that will be remembered for decades, centuries.

 India played themselves into a situation that was not uncommon in those days. If Tendulkar out, India is out. 

     Being young would have been his advantage, but after getting a captaincy, he had struggled. If you are a 70s, 80s kid grown up in the 90s, then you would know the exact reason. In the late 90s, the match fixing event broke out. I remember my first ever World Cup, the '99 in England. But a sad event surfaced in his life. Even I got emotional while watching that part in this film. Those videos I watched 18 years ago and watching the same clips in this film with a backstory, tell me who won't melt down. A true hero. But the film was not just highlighting his achievements, focused on his life journey through the cricket he loved. So you could see everything he had seen his own eyes, like what his teammates achieved too and he was part of it.

     The narration was hopping between the World Cups like the checkpoints. How his cricketing life, as well as personal life shaped every four years were interesting to see. Because he had started his career at a young age, he saw many teammates come and go. The generation after generation for three, the sport too saw the revolution alongside. During his final days, it was the T20 era. The fearless cricket age. Seeing lots of ups and downs, he had marked his presence to inspire the future Indian cricketers. Even the Dhoni, Kohli and many legends of todays world cricketers have said that they have got inspiration from him.

     They have recreated the his boyhood life with the actors. Only in the initial stage to have a perfect start. Because I guess they did not have video clips for those sections. Sachin Tendulkar was born in an average Indian middle class family. But once his cricketing life began, and getting a popular, at least in the Mumbai region was the turning point. Especially after that dream run-fest with Vinod Kambli. Yeah, that's the first thing everybody learns when they wanted to know him.

     This could be most successful film for the director. Well written and directed, but had missed one big thing. Where's the Sudhir Chaudhary? Anybody who is familiar with Indian cricket knows that guy. Yeah, he was there for a few seconds, but I anticipated a small brief or mention about him. My experience was good, though listening all the dialogues, even the real clips in Tamil translation looked a bit strange, but nothing wrong. I really would like to see it again in English.

     They had skipped the IPL part, just like Dhoni's film to make it a united national product. But one of the best parts of that league was, his batting was celebrated even from the opposition fans. So the India united for him, because of him when franchise based regional war were going on. Just over the two hour long, it was a well detailed biopic. If you are an Indian cricket fan, you surely would love it. Even if you are a cricket fan from overseas, there's no reason to hate or ignore it. A must see for all who love this sport, as well as who never heard of it to learn something out of it.



Suitable for:
Tween, Teen, Adult, All


Final verdict:
Ignore, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent


Similar movies:
Fire in Babylon, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, I Am Bolt, Seve the Movie.


External link(s):

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Hidden India (2016) UK, India

Indeed the other side of the India.

Season 01:

3 Episodes

Genre:

TV Mini-series, Documentary.

Length:

Approximately 5-minute read.


Review:
     After 'Wild Brasil', now BBC Earth came up with this. A three part mini-series and each one an hour long. It was focused on the wildlife of the Indian Sub-continent. From the Great Himalayas that spread out from north to northeast India to the Western Ghats in the west and southern India, all the hidden natural world revealed. As the opening of each episode say, India is the land of one billion people, if you had ever visited India, you would have seen people everywhere, spread out the entire land mass. But there are still some places where human penetrations absolutely limited, and that's where the wildlife flourishing. You are going to enter there with this documentary film.

     The first part was called 'Land of Changing'. A perfect intro for those who don't know the India's dynamic lands and the species that living there for the millions of years. From the snow mountains to wetlands, arid desert, grasslands, deep jungles, full of surprises. All the type of land mass and the animals that perfectly adopted those conditions and some of the species you might have never thought that you would find in India can be witnessed. Like the Indians who are one of the first people to migrate out of Africa, it seems these animals as well. Because being the same species, there are big difference in size and pattern compared to their counterpart from Africa.

     There are some off topic discussions like Hindu religion associated with the animal kingdom. Its done only for a slight moment to explain things.  If you understand that, it'll tell you why the majority of Hindus are vegetarians. Almost entire species found in India are linked to Hindu gods and goddesses. The rest of the world does not have to turn Hindus, but respect the animals in a similar fashion with passion, why not we the sons and daughters of Earth can live together harmoniously. Some of the documents in this episode will amaze you, how the people and animals co-existing peacefully. But animal instincts can't be predicted, so occasionally things could go wrong as well.

 You do not want to run from what you cannot see. As you may run straight into it. 

     The Second part was called 'Land of Mountains'. Of course, this kick starts with the Great Himalayas and moves to the UNESCO recognised world heritage site, the ancient mountain chain, Western Ghats. Many rare species like the snow leopard, Indian Sub-continent's only ape variety, hoolocks, frogs et cetera can be witnessed. Frankly, the Western Ghats are one of the less explored place on the earth. It is called the Amazon jungle of India, but the local name is Sahyadri. The 1,600 kilometers long mountain chain, a paradise for botanists, photographers and wildlife lovers. So I thought they should have got into deeper for more details about the place, it'll take you to the ancient time with your finds.

     Then the third and final part called 'Land of Rivers'. The third longest river in the world, Ganga, the sacred river of Hindus. The exploration begins from where it starts and where it is heading. The rich in minerals, that benefited by both wildlives and humans are detailed. On the opposite side, Brahmaputra, coming from the other side of the Himalayas and meets the Ganges before fall into the Bay of Bengal. I liked this episode as well, but I don't know how they have missed the Jog falls from different river, the Niagara of India, one of India's natural wonders.

     Narrated by Geraldine James, it's truly an amazing nature series. The India you would have never seen or thought of. But it is just a ten per cent, there are lots more to see the real wild side of India. The only disappointments was there were a few clips that are already seen in other BBC Earth shows. Other than that, it is a must see, particularly if you love India, visited India or going to. There are not many nature documentaries about India, so I hope it returns for the second season. But this time expecting to cover the Andaman Islands to the east and Lakshadweep to the west. Definitely worth making, if not for commercial purpose, just to investigate and keep the documents.



Suitable for:
Tween, Teen, Adult, All


Final verdict:
Ignore, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent


Similar movies:
The Story of India, Wild Brazil, Planet Earth, Frozen Planet, BBC Life.


External link(s):

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Kung Fu Yoga (2017) China, India

When two different ancient arts meet.

Original title:

Gong fu Yu Jia (Mandarin)

Genre:

Action, Adventure, Comedy, Mystery.

Length:

Approximately 4-minute read.


Review:
     This is not some film. The project was decided when two leaders of the respective nation met a couple of years ago. More like it is China's move to mend the relationship with India. So except Indian cast participation and a few Indian locations, this is completely 'made in China' and for the Chinese market. Like always any Chinese product, this is not a quality product. Just an another 'The Myth' from the same director.

     Team up between India and China is a rare thing in filmdom, so I was curious about that. It should have been a star studded cast, but from the Chinese side, it does, not on the Indian side. The worst screenplay award goes for Mr. Tong. Literally, it is a retelling story of those great treasure hunt adventure films we had seen so far in our life. Even Jackie Chan could not save it. His presence failed to do the usual magic. Like his signature, action-comedy, nothing new to appreciate either his part or the film.

     The story follows the famous Chinese archaeologist Jack, who teams up with his Indian counterpart for a new quest. Equipped with the modern technological tools, the crew heads for a frozen lake in the Himalayas. It's the first and an important clue for the rest of the treasure hunt. But it was interrupted by a group of armed men and soon the tale flies to Dubai, followed by Western India, where it comes to end with lots of action and adventures.

 'Vastu Shastra', the oldest book ever written about architectural design. 

     The opening scene sets in some thousand years ago. The graphics were very poor in that part. Even computer games have much better CGI work. So I lost the interest in the film within the first sixty seconds. The stunt choreography was unbelievably terrible. I mean too much unrealistic, I felt it like I was watching some kind of commercial Tollywood/Rajamouli film. Surely this film was not made under the art and the film-making value. It seems nobody was interested to participate or make a quality film. They made it to just to keep the promise made by the politicians, so it was wrapped up awfully.

     I thought it was a bad combination of words for a title. Kung fu and Yoga. Like the polar opposite, two different philosophies. One is violence and the other one is peace and healthy. Though not bad how those two were utilised to tell the tale. This is a watchable film, but no good at all. Might be the worst Jackie Chan film I've ever seen. Promoting the unrealistic road projects in the film was a bad idea, and enough reason to flop in India.

     There are many good actresses in India, but they have picked Disha Patani. She's a real beauty, but the performance was worse than the film's graphics. I could not stand for her dialogue deliverance. She just read them rather than expressing naturally as any actors do in the world. The end was really disappointing. An easy compromise. It's good for the real life, but not good for an entertainment film. Those who are seeking treasure hunt film, just stay away from it. Because it looks more like a parody than a distinct one. Overall the film was overwhelmed by lots bad parts. So easily a skippable film of the year, which has a big name in it.



Suitable for:
Tween, Teen, Adult, All


Final verdict:
Ignore, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent


Similar movies:
The Myth, Indiana Jones, National Treasure, Romancing the Stone, Lara Croft Tomb Rider.


External link(s):

WCA geolocation:
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