southie southie southie!
For vierran45 and anybody interested (hence unlocked), I present you my tiny South-Indian film collection.
Alaipayuthe
Tamil, 2000. *ing Madhavan, Shalini. Dir: Mani Ratnam
It's the Tamil original of the Bollywood film Saathiya. I haven't seen that film, for the simple reason I think I'd really dislike it after loving this original film. It might be a bit problematic seeing this film if one has seen Saathiya, but maybe not. Either way, it's a very lovely romantic film with stunning songs and picturizations and the story of course deals with marrital issues in an unusually (for Indian films, that is) realistic manner. It's good and very sweet, and probably my favourite Madhavan film.
Dumm Dumm Dumm
Tamil, 2001. *ing Jyothika, Madhavan. Dir: Alagam Perumal
Another romantic entertainer (though AP is admittedly on the more dramatic side). Jyothika and Madhavan play youngsters whose parents are friends with each other and decide to get their children married to each other. Instead of agreeing or disagreeing, the two characters decide to conspire so that the marriage wouldn't happen. Everyone can guess what happens next. This film had its flaws, mainly with the way the story was told, but some absolutely adorable moments with the two leads, some funny comedy and really good-looking song-picturizations. Such as this historical one, which I love.
Thillana Mohambal
Tamil, 1968. *ing Padmini, Sivaji Ganesan, Manorama. Dir: A.P. Nagarajan
A very classic Tamil oldie starring two of the most loved Tamil actors from past years - Sivaji Ganesan especially is a legend, known for his acting. The title translates, "a thillana (tune) for Mohana" and the story is about a musician (Sivaji) and a classical dancer (Padmini) who challenge each other into a match of sorts; he'll play, she'll dance, and they'll see who has to stop first. This film reminded me of some old Finnish films (Suomifilmi!) in the acting style, style of speech, and manner - old Finnish films often had bickering couples who eventually fall in love, as well. I personally loved it but the style of make-up and the Carnatic music may not be for everybody. The comedy seems to be only funny if you understand Tamil, and the dialogue is often really very fast - can be tough to keep up with the subtitles! Either way, I really like it.
Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana
Telugu, 2005. *ing Trisha, Siddharth, Prakash Raj. Dir: Prabhu Deva
One of the cutest, most wonderful romantic films to come out of India in recent years. The story is old (boy is NRI, girl is village belle, he annoys her but is actually very sweet, they fall in love, their parents don't approve..) but the way it's told is good and refreshing. The songs are top notch and seeing as how the director is a dancer-choreographer himself, so are the dances. Easily one of my favourite Indian movies.
Dhool
Tamil, 2003. *ing Vikram, Jyothika, Reema Sen. Dir: Dharani
Don't let the romantic screencap fool you; this is Tamil masala and that basically translates as some violent scenes where the hero kicks all sorts of bad guy ass. It might not be everyone's thing but I personally adore Dhool. It's just very successful in what it tries to be. The pace is fast, the romance is adorable, the comedy is hilarious and the songs are cracky but just the right kind of hilarious.
Anniyan
Tamil, 2005. *ing Vikram, Sada. Dir: Shankar
This mass entertainer of a film is one of the most expensive in Tamil cinema history but wow, does it show. Some people will hate this movie for it's very silly and even downright stupid on some levels and it carries a questionable message but in the end of the day, it aims to entertained, and if you're not entertained by this film, I don't know understand you. Vikram (sans moustache) plays not one, not two, but three characters and Sada plays the object of his affection. It's masala all the way through, as you've got gorgeous songs, romance, comedy, action, and just a slice of thriller/political message film thrown in. A lot of it is unintentionally funny but hey, this is Indian films we're talking. I personally love this movie to death (duhh).
That's my collection. Some films I'll definitely be getting in the future are the Vikram films Pithamagan and Arul but hmmm, those will have to wait a while.
Alaipayuthe
Tamil, 2000. *ing Madhavan, Shalini. Dir: Mani Ratnam
It's the Tamil original of the Bollywood film Saathiya. I haven't seen that film, for the simple reason I think I'd really dislike it after loving this original film. It might be a bit problematic seeing this film if one has seen Saathiya, but maybe not. Either way, it's a very lovely romantic film with stunning songs and picturizations and the story of course deals with marrital issues in an unusually (for Indian films, that is) realistic manner. It's good and very sweet, and probably my favourite Madhavan film.
Dumm Dumm Dumm
Tamil, 2001. *ing Jyothika, Madhavan. Dir: Alagam Perumal
Another romantic entertainer (though AP is admittedly on the more dramatic side). Jyothika and Madhavan play youngsters whose parents are friends with each other and decide to get their children married to each other. Instead of agreeing or disagreeing, the two characters decide to conspire so that the marriage wouldn't happen. Everyone can guess what happens next. This film had its flaws, mainly with the way the story was told, but some absolutely adorable moments with the two leads, some funny comedy and really good-looking song-picturizations. Such as this historical one, which I love.
Thillana Mohambal
Tamil, 1968. *ing Padmini, Sivaji Ganesan, Manorama. Dir: A.P. Nagarajan
A very classic Tamil oldie starring two of the most loved Tamil actors from past years - Sivaji Ganesan especially is a legend, known for his acting. The title translates, "a thillana (tune) for Mohana" and the story is about a musician (Sivaji) and a classical dancer (Padmini) who challenge each other into a match of sorts; he'll play, she'll dance, and they'll see who has to stop first. This film reminded me of some old Finnish films (Suomifilmi!) in the acting style, style of speech, and manner - old Finnish films often had bickering couples who eventually fall in love, as well. I personally loved it but the style of make-up and the Carnatic music may not be for everybody. The comedy seems to be only funny if you understand Tamil, and the dialogue is often really very fast - can be tough to keep up with the subtitles! Either way, I really like it.
Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana
Telugu, 2005. *ing Trisha, Siddharth, Prakash Raj. Dir: Prabhu Deva
One of the cutest, most wonderful romantic films to come out of India in recent years. The story is old (boy is NRI, girl is village belle, he annoys her but is actually very sweet, they fall in love, their parents don't approve..) but the way it's told is good and refreshing. The songs are top notch and seeing as how the director is a dancer-choreographer himself, so are the dances. Easily one of my favourite Indian movies.
Dhool
Tamil, 2003. *ing Vikram, Jyothika, Reema Sen. Dir: Dharani
Don't let the romantic screencap fool you; this is Tamil masala and that basically translates as some violent scenes where the hero kicks all sorts of bad guy ass. It might not be everyone's thing but I personally adore Dhool. It's just very successful in what it tries to be. The pace is fast, the romance is adorable, the comedy is hilarious and the songs are cracky but just the right kind of hilarious.
Anniyan
Tamil, 2005. *ing Vikram, Sada. Dir: Shankar
This mass entertainer of a film is one of the most expensive in Tamil cinema history but wow, does it show. Some people will hate this movie for it's very silly and even downright stupid on some levels and it carries a questionable message but in the end of the day, it aims to entertained, and if you're not entertained by this film, I don't know understand you. Vikram (sans moustache) plays not one, not two, but three characters and Sada plays the object of his affection. It's masala all the way through, as you've got gorgeous songs, romance, comedy, action, and just a slice of thriller/political message film thrown in. A lot of it is unintentionally funny but hey, this is Indian films we're talking. I personally love this movie to death (duhh).
That's my collection. Some films I'll definitely be getting in the future are the Vikram films Pithamagan and Arul but hmmm, those will have to wait a while.