Topic started by abhinetri (@ 202.56.193.250) on Tue Nov 13 21:04:29 EST 2001.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.
This 'so-called' film critic from REDIFF.COM says 'ABHAY' (Hindi Version of ALAVANDHAAN' is a crap movie. The link is given below...
http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2001/nov/13abhay.htm
How crucial was 'music' a crucial factor for a film like ALAVANDHAAN?
Responses:
- From: Sedhu (@ 210.186.72.67)
on: Wed Nov 14 22:44:10 EST 2001
Go see it and judge for yourself.
- From: Venkatesh (@ 212.72.11.66)
on: Wed Nov 14 23:15:15 EST 2001
Alavandhan's BGM is by Mahesh (Nammavar fame). Why S-E-L has not done it?
- From: vel (@ 202.88.154.169)
on: Thu Nov 15 02:25:57 EST 2001
Mahesh did a great job in Kamal's KURUDHIPUNAL...so, ALAVANDHAAN must not find any drabacks in the BGM front i hope...But what about the songs...were S-E-L victims of "over-hype" created by KAMAL?
- From: SAARIKA (@ 203.199.231.53)
on: Thu Nov 15 12:04:03 EST 2001
PONGADA VELAI ILLADHAVANGALA.....ALAVANDHAN IS FAST PACED ENTERTAINER ALL TAMIL REVIEWS INCLUDING SIFY CONFIRMS TAMILVERSION IS WATCHABLE...A,B,C, CENTER AUDIENCES GET THEIR MONEY,S WORTH NOBODY IS COMPLAINING....JUST BECAUSE FEW HINDI REVIEWS SAY ABHY IS BAD DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE ALAVANDAN....
- From: I think, abhay is a good movie (@ 199.67.140.20)
on: Thu Nov 15 13:30:04 EST 2001
Review ratings from indiaworld.co.in
1. Mohatbatten - good
2. yeh rastha hai pyar ki - fair
3. dil chatha hai - very good
4. Yaddien - good
5. ajnabee - fair
6. kaho na pyar hai - good
7. rehna hai tera dil mein - poor
8. nayak - poor
9. virasat - fair
10. Hey Ram - No rating
abhay would be - poor
All the movies from 7-10 involved people from south. if anything, one should not too much worried about reviews from northies. They only deserve movies like mohabateen, kaho na pyar hai.
- From: veriyan (@ 202.188.228.27)
on: Thu Nov 15 14:28:44 EST 2001
Hey Ram is junk...then Alavandan is junk..but if you feel that hey ram is good.. then Alavandan is best.....
nalla rasanai ulla makkal mattume paarka mudintha padam..and those aren't satisfied with this film...aah aah what to say, tamil cinemavai antha Andavaney ninathalum munnetra mudiyathu...
- From: Isai Priyan (@ 157.95.211.50)
on: Thu Nov 15 14:43:17 EST 2001
hey ram's subject is novel and a bit complex to understand.Kamals views on Mahathma and hindu- muslim conflicts are clearly depicted in the movie and is surely a masterpiece.One of the knowledgabe comments about the failure of hey ram is that too many linguistics in the film makes the ordinary tamil fan hard to understand the important conceptual dialogues in the movie.My view is that only very few films produced in India have such dialogues and concepts and that kind of a story line.So making a film like hey ram itself is a novel attempt.
- From: ash (@ 12.5.196.254)
on: Thu Nov 15 15:15:15 EST 2001
Here is the link from tamilcinema.com which talks about aalavandan's review.
http://www.tamilcinema.com/cinenews.asp?fname=avan.htm
- From: ash (@ 12.5.196.254)
on: Thu Nov 15 15:19:09 EST 2001
This review is in the lines of Rediff's review.
One thing, any of Kamal's experimental movies has always flopped in BOX office, but the media had always hailed those movies. I guess this is an exception.
- From: ash (@ 12.5.196.254)
on: Thu Nov 15 15:43:54 EST 2001
Here's Hindu's review, which is quiet contradicting to rediff's and tamilcinema's.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/stories/2001111600670200.htm
- From: vel (@ 202.88.154.169)
on: Fri Nov 16 00:50:51 EST 2001
thank you Ash....the "hindu" review link made me feel better..
- From: cosmician (@ 194.170.1.130)
on: Fri Nov 16 02:04:43 EST 2001
Kamal's screenplay was a bit dragging and tiresome...and the film lacked a direction style and a commitment to details....the screenplay should have been handled by a young writer..it would have been a better film....
anyway hats off for trying out a very different film.
- From: Isai Priyan (@ 157.95.211.50)
on: Fri Nov 16 13:50:56 EST 2001
vel,
here's another one that would make you feel even better!Kudos to KamalHassan
http://www.chennaiweb.com/en/mvr/ala.php
- From: raycas (@ 212.186.40.21)
on: Fri Nov 16 14:17:09 EST 2001
kamal hassan is actually a great thing to happen to indian cinema. a true filmmaker, always trying to make something different, and i guess aalavandan is no exception. film for the classes, and not for the masses (didn't see hey ram, but i guess there it's the same).
u really need such kinds of films, they are all kind of a different genre (perhaps the kamal - genre)
how i enjoyed nayakan (am a great fan of good mafia films, like 'the godfather', so the 'indian version' of it by kamal was a great pleasure), abhoorva sahotharangal and indian (i think i need to see a lot more, kuruthi punal, dalapathi and so on...)
well, well...
raycas
- From: raycas (@ 212.186.40.21)
on: Fri Nov 16 14:18:17 EST 2001
it's actually like robert de niro in the western world....a lot of his films were more for the classes than for the masses, and that's okay so. same to kamal hassan.
raycas
- From: UV (@ 134.113.201.4)
on: Fri Nov 16 14:21:08 EST 2001
This is what Kamal has say about critics
in his own words
"You sound disillusioned with film critics.
With some of them. Their reviews are so silly. It is apparent they don’t understand cinema and some vested interest is at work. I’m not griping about people putting my work down but they should be competent to write about cinema instead of just bitching. Ask a film critic to make a film and see if it succeeds! It’s okay for a man who buys a Rs. 30 ticket to pan a film if he doesn’t like it because he’s paid to watch it. But it’s unfair for critics to play favourites and let their judgements be coloured by an actor’s ranking, the fate of his last film at the box-office and the like. A critic should be like Bhaskar Ghosh. He’s a man who knows the medium and even when he doesn’t agree with you, he does it without being deliberately offensive and insulting! "
There you go i played it fair
hope mr madhav reads it
- From: Trend (@ 216.68.113.231)
on: Fri Nov 16 15:03:55 EST 2001
raycas,
Digression:
Actually Kamal apes Al Pacino to a certain extent.
Please leave Robert De Niro out of this.
To me,Kamal is a great actor but is weak when it comes to script and direction.Outside acting he is good in selecting a theme for the movie and it stops there.He mostly flounders when it comes to screenplay and direction(or ghost-direction).Just observe the way he usually develops(?) any character(other than his) in a movie.
According to me, he doesn't realize that if he develops other characters just little more the character he is playing can look more credible.In good director's hands(if he doesn't ghost-direct)
he can truly make great or almost great films(for instance Shankar and Bharathan in recent years).
This is all IMO and I'm sure Kamal knows better.
- From: LAvan (@ 172.191.91.130)
on: Fri Nov 16 15:59:37 EST 2001
Kamal is a great actor and an asset to the Tamil movie Industry.It was more the subject of Alavandhan which has hindered it from being a big hit.
- From: vel (@ 202.88.154.169)
on: Sat Nov 17 02:20:28 EST 2001
thanks a lot Isaipriyan for the link!!!!
- From: raycas (@ 212.186.40.21)
on: Sat Nov 17 05:11:11 EST 2001
trend,
"Please leave Robert De Niro out of this"
why? how do u mean that?
yeah, u may be right concerning kamal's apeing of al pacino's acting style...hmm...it's just now i noticed it...
and yes, it's his choosing of themes which i like about him...i mean at least he dares to choose themes like in alavandhan and hey ram...while most of the others stick to mainstream-themes, just to be sure that it becomes a hit.
u know a really good and great filmmaker doesn't care about his film being a hit or his film making a lot of money...that's all secondary...the main thing is, u make a good film for urself, it's a duty u do to the art of filmmaking. if u want to please the masses and make money out of a film, then that's a relatively easy task...for example in malayalam, put mohanlal in a don's role, give him some punchy dialoges ('mone dinesha'), some excellant stunts and there u have a hit-film, everyone will watch it and u will earn a lot of money.
but, i must admit, i haven't watched kamal movies so carefully to judge if his screenplay and direction are good or not, or the way he develops the characters, so in that point u may be right.
raycas.
p.s.: please clarify that point about robert de niro...would like to know how u meant that, positively or negatively...cause other than kamal, i have indeed carefully watched almost all de niro films...
- From: jhoot (@ 61.11.74.10)
on: Sat Nov 17 06:00:58 EST 2001
a good review of aalavanthan.
http://thirai.ambalam.com/newfilm/2001/November/newfilm16_03.html
- From: Ir-Fan (@ 61.11.0.43)
on: Sat Nov 17 07:29:30 EST 2001
Just saw "Abhay" - I was in for a shock to see IR's name in the credits!
IR along with Purushottam have been listed in the Sound Effects team!
WHAT IS GOING ON ?
- From: Ir-Fan (@ 61.11.0.43)
on: Sat Nov 17 07:29:39 EST 2001
Just saw "Abhay" - I was in for a shock to see IR's name in the credits!
IR along with Purushottam have been listed in the Sound Effects team!
WHAT IS GOING ON ?
- From: Trend (@ 216.68.113.230)
on: Sat Nov 17 18:25:58 EST 2001
raycas,
What I meant was: It is more apt to compare Kamal and Al Pacino as they have more similarities(not the degree or intensity) than kamal has with any other Hollywood actor.They are similar in quite a number of things-Ghost Direction and not able to restrain when necessary and very rarely play second fiddle in the last decade(there are exceptions Kamal-Sathi Leelavathi and Al Pacino- Donnie brasco).
Also according to me,the way Kamal and Robert De niro approach movies are different.Robert De Niro is the most subtle actor(In my opinion) whereas Kamal and Al Pacino concentrate on other aspects of acting and subtlety is low(mostly) in their priority list.:)
I just think Robert De niro and kamal are two different variables.There is nothing more to this.
"u know a really good and great filmmaker doesn't care about his film being a hit or his film making a lot of money"
If you observe carefully how kamal is trying to project his image of an actor you can easily find that a lot of what he says doesn't exactly come across to be substantiated.If you want to know more about my views in detail on this or anything else here please feel free to email me.
Regarding MohanLal, I think what you are saying is superficial and one-dimensional point of view(I could be wrong here).If you claim Kamal is better than Mohanlal I can say that there are (at least)some aspects in which Mohan Lal is better.
It's getting too long and boring, so I'll stop here.
- From: raycas (@ 212.186.40.21)
on: Sun Nov 18 05:06:27 EST 2001
trend,
thanks for clearing the point. i would like to discuss thru mails, but don't have ur mail id. could u give me?
about robert de niro: what i meant with the similiarity between him and kamal was only restricted to the themes they choose, the 'weird' (not-always-commercial) tpyes of stories. for example de niro: look at films like 'raging bull': i'm not sure if that was a box-office-hit. it was shot in black and white...the character of de niro was everything else than that of a hero. and this combination scorcese, de niro, pesci made the film really great, but, if u give this film to the masses...almost no one will be able to 'enjoy' this film. all IMO. 'king of comedy': do u know this film? really a highly 'strange' film...again combination of scorcese and de niro, and jerry lewis is also there...in a different role. i remember watching this film for the first time when i was 12 or something...i only watched it for about half an hour and then turned off the tv...but then, with 18 or something i loved it for its 'difference', and de niro was just a great pyscho!, there are a lot more films from him like these two...
regarding subtle, yes that's right. but still, i think al pacino plays in the same league as de niro. even he his subtle in many films, IMO. his very old masterpiece, 'the godfather' (all 3 parts), his acting in these films is just too good. every moment and mimic in his face is well coordinated and keeps u at the edge of thinking 'what is going on in this guys head?'. dustin hoffman for example is well known for exaggerating sometimes (some say he 'overacts), and i think this also appeals to pacino a bit. for example i didn't like his character in 'heat' very much. although it was a great film, his kind of 'wild' acting i didn't like that much. but for example in 'devil's advocate' or 'carlito's way' he was again very good. but, it's right, i prefer de niro.
regarding mohanlal and kamal, no...there u got something wrong...i'm a very, very big fan of mohanlal...i grew up with his films actually...
what i was trying to say with that example is, the way people (producers) have a certain formula for making a hit movie (and money). IMO 'aaram thampuran' and 'spadikam' (of mohanlal) were great masterpieces. but if u look at the recent very popular 'narasimham', then i must say this film was just a 'producer's film', who wanted to make money out of mohanlal's popular don character. the film was nowhere upto the classes of aaram thampuran or spadikam. all IMO.
guess, this message is becoming too long...trend, just give me ur mail id...i'll write u there my views.
raycas
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