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Hey Ram - Breaking new ground

Topic started by cram (@ 206.103.12.102) on Fri Feb 18 04:07:04 EST 2000.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

just back from watching Hey Ram. straightaway i can say it's a must-see. the first half is simply awesome, but the second doesn't quite live up to the initial impact. highlights are of course, IR's scintillating BGM (now we know what he was talking about when he said this would be a first in Indian cinema). and it's not just violins, he's used quite a bit of percussion, synthesiser, mesmerising flute...simply magnificent.
screenplay, dialogues, song picturisation, kamal's acting (especially in certain scenes like when Rani Mukherjee is raped and murdered), cinematography, sets, editing are all top notch. rest of the cast has also done a great job, with atul kulkarni coming out with flying colours.
kudos to Kamal for such a daring attempt. wish we had more like him.

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Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: ir'rasigan (@ ptl-cache6.jaring.my) on: Sat Feb 19 11:44:04 EST 2000
  
  intha padam odanum.....must be a hit....super-duper hit...or INDIA rasigargala yarnalum thirathave mudiyathe....
  
  
• From: Jay Narayanasamy (@ 1cust227.tnt5.har1.da.uu.net) on: Sat Feb 19 11:45:01 EST 2000
  
  Ravi: You can also include "Ganhi" and "Omar Muktar" in the oscar list :)
  
  
  
• From: Jay Narayanasamy (@ 1cust227.tnt5.har1.da.uu.net) on: Sat Feb 19 11:47:09 EST 2000
  
  That should be "Gandhi"
  
  
• From: Swami (@ abdc2717.ipt.aol.com) on: Sat Feb 19 13:23:39 EST 2000
  
  Hi All,
  I'd been to Hey Ram last night. I'm very sorry to say this, but the movie as a whole is pretty confusing (note the word confusing). Its picturised very well and technically miles ahead. But when it come to what Kamal is trying to say, its absolutely leaves the viewer in doldrums. Is he trying to say Gandhi was bad or good in the end is left to us to decide. The dialogues are 50% English, 30% Tamil and 20 rest. There was too much of blood and violence. The first half moves at a real real slow pace. But 2'nd half in comparison is quite fast.
  
  Coming to the music.........there is no complete song in the movie. The songs appear in as if its played in a radio at the background. Nothing much about the BGM. There was only one distinct scene where I was able to see Raja.....the scene where Shahrukh is in his death bed and those pieces man, he rules. There was a comment in the theatre, "Kamal mottai'ya konjam music poda viduppa". Overall, IMHO, the movie won't go well with the masses. I know I'm going to be pounded. But trust me I'm honest.
  
  My 2 cents,
  Swami.
  
  PS : Kamal give me another Michael Madana Kaamarajan :-)
  
  
• From: Radhai (@ h3265.s86b1.baynetworks.com) on: Sat Feb 19 13:54:05 EST 2000
  
  Hi Guys,
  I had been to 'Hey Ram' last night and I agree with Swami to a certain extent. There is no concrete substance that Kamal is trying to say. I am not sure whether he meant to say that the turn of events in Bengal (his wife's brutal rape and murder) and his meeting with Shriram Abhayankar made him feel that Gandhi was responsible for the partition or did he genuinely feel that way. I am also not sure how he got convinced that Gandhi was a Mahatma at the end (some of the people mention that Gandhi is a Mahatma).
  
  It is a very well taken movie no doubt. But what he tries to convey is something to ponder.
  
  
• From: Sriram (@ 137.132.2.109) on: Sat Feb 19 14:05:24 EST 2000
  
  
  The first half was really well done..
  
  Second half is weak in parts, but has its moments of brilliance; The guy who plays Abhayankar is awesome; fantastic eyes. Ranee and the second wife are also great.
  
  Its a very brave effort.. we'll know if the audience is mature enough for Kamal's daring experiment
  
  
• From: IQ (@ nas-98-144.stockton.navinet.net) on: Sat Feb 19 14:08:42 EST 2000
  
  Ravi.k.ravi:
  
  For them oscars are founded in the themese of movies like "chariots of fire", "sound of music", "Where Eagles Dare" "Ben-Hur", "star wars", "silence of the lambs" "titanic" in which the themes are based on concepts of adventure/music/war/psychotic/mind games/romance etc.
  
  Yennenge Ravi saar...You have written down a list of all possibles genres...so what genre does Hey Ram fall into?
  I know this is not the right thread for this, but chance irukkum podhe, let me throw some names into the ring and perhaps you could classify these for me! Forrest Gump, Driving Miss Daisy, Amadeus, Kramer vs Kramer...!
  
  
  
  
• From: Sam (@ ip149.toronto23.dialup.canada.psi.net) on: Sat Feb 19 14:22:51 EST 2000
  
  There is a new review at www.chennaionline.com. The following is just the conclusion.
  
  But despite the drawbacks the actor-director should be commended for boldly venturing into new territory and lifting Tamil cinema from the routine dance - stunt - song stuff.
  
  
  
• From: a (@ user136037.dial.netline.net.uk) on: Sat Feb 19 15:09:50 EST 2000
  
  Isn't this a FILM SONG FORUM, as opposed to a FILM REVIEW forum!
  
  
• From: IQ (@ pppa72-resalesanfranciscometro2-2r7194.saturn.bbn.com) on: Sat Feb 19 15:20:21 EST 2000
  
  I set out on writing my own review and had no clue how to put it into words... But my sentiments were exactly conveyed by three people. Swami, radhai and Malini Mannath of chennaionline.com
  
  
  Music: Raja's bgm elevated the movie at many places, esp. the scene where Kamal is roaming around the streets of Calcutta in blood-drenched clothes. There is this haunting violin piece which later is played again by the flute. Excellent work, Raja! The songs are pretty much part of the movie and dont seem out of place (except maybe Ramaranallum?).
  In Ramarannalum, as Kamal&Co. are dancing, there is this guy who suddenly appears on the scene playing a violin and Raja has nicely included a piece of his own. Maybe nothing great but I am mentioning it just because I happened to notice it! Adhavadhu...In addition to lip-sync, Raja also had to sync instrument-playing in the picturisation. Another example, the piano playing scenes!
  
  
  I thought Kamal's acting was stale and you actually predict how he was going to act in every scene. The crying after Rani's death was oh-so-boring-Kamal.
  I thought the performances of Rani Mukherjee, Vasundra and the guy who played Abhyankar stood out. People like Delhi Ganesh and Nasser are wasted and Nasir Shah passed off as Gandhi. Teh special effects were really good, but sometimes seeme out of place. esp. the scene where Kamal seems to face an oncomign tornado...What is that suposed to symbolise? I am not trying to be cynical here, but asking an honest question! And the scene where Kamal carreses the photo of his mother and then the Indian map...When will our film-makers get out of this "symbolic" crap?
  
  In all, a decent effort by Kamal though his "conversion" failed to convince me in the last scenes.
  And Raja stamped his class with the background score. Hats off to him!
  
  To quote Dennis Miller..."This is my opinion and I may be wrong" :)
  
  
• From: tired (@ abdc4904.ipt.aol.com) on: Sat Feb 19 16:03:52 EST 2000
  
  
  Isn't this a FILM SONG FORUM, as opposed to a FILM REVIEW forum!
  
  Isn't this a FILM SONG FORUM, as opposed to a FILM REVIEW forum!
  
  
  
  
• From: neruppu (@ 98aa93f0.ipt.aol.com) on: Sat Feb 19 16:06:57 EST 2000
  
  IQ
  FYI, Dennis Miller says, "anyway this is JUST my opinion and I could be wrong" . theres a difference-))) also, IQ, though am not a huge fan of symbolysm myself, i should say that it is very much part of our culture-can see all our literature and arts impregnated with loads of it- as compared to the "west". so, if you are carrying a "western cinema sophistication" as your basepoint, the symbolism will sure seem like "crap".
  as for the reviews, i'm a bit confounded. there has been a 50-50 division as to which half is dragging. hmmm..i hope not both.
  
  
• From: Karthik (@ 1cust119.tnt13.fort-lauderdale.fl.da.uu.net) on: Sat Feb 19 17:09:04 EST 2000
  
  I saw the movie ..in Hindi :-(( .. yesterday. My opinion - You can like it or dislike it, but you sure can't ignore it. (cliche, but it fits this situation perfectly).
  
  A good, honest attempt by Kamal. The move was well made and classy -- the hardwork of the crew oozes out of every frame of the movie. You can argue with the story , but the screenplay and direction were top class. I am not a particular fan of Kamal's brand of acting and so I found his performance just adequate. A particular "shottu" for the supporting cast - Everyone was just great. Right from Altaf tailor who rapes Rani Mukherji to Abhyankar even guys who had just seconds of screen time did a swell job. Good job on that Kamal.
  
  The beauty of Raja's background score lies in the fact that it was almost unnoticeable... blended right in with the movie. Personally, I feel that it his best effort ever at BGM. The songs again blended in so well, that it took a while to realize that a song had passed by. Corollary: These songs will never make it to the top of countdown charts.
  
  My take on the movie : A must see. Movies like this (for all their shortcomings) are few and far between. And for all those IR fans, dont expect WCM flourishes from the Maestro that divert your attention from the screen ... his re-recording is more like an embellishment for on-screen happenings.
  
  World class? Definitely. Oscar material? Definitely not.
  
  
  
• From: bluesy (@ 98ae8d28.ipt.aol.com) on: Sat Feb 19 17:36:45 EST 2000
  
  karthick
  liked your version of hey ram-very good comment on raaaja's bgm-the moment the viewer starts to hear those sounds alone, it then proves that either the movie or the music is out of place and is sticking like a sore thumb.
  i wish heyram revives kamal's sagging fortunes at the box office in comparison to rajani's.
  bluesy
  
  
• From: mohd ariff (@ jrc-192-231.tm.net.my) on: Sat Feb 19 21:33:57 EST 2000
  
  hey ram a mile stone in tamil movies. great effort and great acting if we look at the whole than the parts it should get A++. though slow here and there. the BGM was good but the songs were messed up . L.S would definetly have been better. sad to see that ir has again and again done a mediocre job . none of the songs had impact in the movie. i know ir 's blind fans wont agree but that is the truth.
  
  
• From: Sam (@ ip106.toronto14.dialup.canada.psi.net) on: Sat Feb 19 21:53:30 EST 2000
  
  Just back from watching Hey Ram. In one word I would say it was AWESOME. It was not a movie but an experience. I do not see any skipping between the scenes. The BGM is the best in tamil movie so far. You will not notice the BGM at all. It is so blended with the movie. There is no unnecessary songs. The songs suited to the situations very well. Everyone in this movie acted very well. Kamal was at his best in this movie. Special kudos to Shah Rukh Khan in the climax scene. The movie had started around 5 PM before I could realize the intermission was on and the time was 6:45. It was so fast. Even the second half has got a really good tempo.
  
  To conclude, in MY OPINION, this movie is like having a five course meal not a fast food. (It is already 10 PM now and I am hungry).
  
  
  
• From: Madhan (@ 202.41.117.3) on: Sat Feb 19 22:10:28 EST 2000
  
  Friends, the reasons why we all feel a discontinuity in the film is because of heavy censor cuts, real heavy ones - the song "isaiyil thodangudhammaa" paadhiyileyey banaal ! cut - yedhukku ? censorukkuthhaan velichham !
  BTW, did the Kamal becoming a Sanyasi scene appear in the US version of the film ?
  
  

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