Aiyaa Review

Aiyaa Review

• Film : Aiyaa
• Producer : Anurag Kashyap, Viacom 18
• Director : Sachin Kundalkar
• Star Cast : Rani Mukerji, Prithviraj...
• Music Director : Amit Trivedi
• Rating :
  2.5
   

Several movies with the same cliched storyline but different movies have plagued the Bollywood but a few movies have been trying to make it out of the eclipse. Aiyaa Review is a different kind of entertainer that is not completely cliched but is also not the routine story you see. Love at first sight with a good twist, but convoluted and inarticulate at times.

Other Ratings

Average Movie Rating

  2.5

Sify

  Not yet Rated

 

• Deccan

  Not Yet Rated

• The Times of India

  Not Yet Rated

• BharatStudent

    Not Yet Rated

• Rediff

    Not Yet Rated

Story

Aiyya introduces you to the Bollywood day-dreams of Meenakshi Deshpande, Rani Mukherjee, who poses as different actresses dancing and running on the roads. The daydreamer is stuck with a family of melodrama. A chain smoker father who smokes four cigarettes at a time and a typical 80s mother who is extra dramatic regardless of the magnitude of reaction required. The blind grandmother is not normal either who whizzes across the rooms in her wheel chair with the sunglasses on inside her house. The brother is also a whacko with extreme love for dogs and espouses education completely. Welcome to the Deshpandes.

Meenakshi's parents are looking for a match for her but the suitors never impress her and the matches become a routine with no success at the end of the day. Meenakshi on the other has dreams of a filmy love in her life.
In an unexpected twist of events, Meenakshi is attracted deeply to the scent of a man, Surya (Prithviraj Sukumaran) and falls in love with the scent (or the man?) What did you expect from such a whacko family? Meenakshi is a librarian whenever she is out of her dreams of being a Bollywood celeb. Madhav a suitor falls in love with her instantly while the love of her life. Surya being a drug addict ignores her very existence in the world despite her weird ways of following him. What a jodi between a whacko daydreamer and a junkie!
The date is set for her engagement with Madhav but it is only her love for Surya that strengthens as the day approaches.

Who would she choose? You have to make it to the theaters to know the rest.

Analysis :

Stereotypes an cliches are everywhere but the mindless comedy with a decent distance from being idiotic has worked for Aiyaa. This puts this above the romantic comedy genre that we generally get to see in the movies of today. The movie however is lacking in the fluent flow of a movie as if several different pieces are sewn together; the stitches being obvious even to the untrained eyes.

Concentrating on different characters at once make it a poor vichyssoise that doesn't blend in well. The story also feels abnormally long with the songs being placed at the wrong times. The first half could be all well to many but the second half is too much of a drag. The comedy doesn't really tickle your funny bones and a song at this time makes things worse. A few parts of the movie like the scenes between Meenakshi’s brother and her ludicrous colleague Maina could have been completely avoided to speed up the pace.

Performance :

Rani Mukherjee isn't like one of those heroines who looks 18 even after a long gap. She has aged quite healthily but that doesn't stop her from some of the finest dances in the movie. Her acting skill have also been up to the mark often entertaining the crowd. It can be safe to say that she is the sole actress who took on the movie on her shoulders, the entire length.

Prithviraj is not only handsome but also a treat to watch with his well developed character. However, the movie could have been better if he stayed on the screen a little longer. Subodh Bhave does justice to his character. Most other over do their roles but they are not to blame.

The director had the wakda theme in his mind which entertained and also worked against him in the movie. With the classiest crew he worked with, he definitely should have made a better mark. Amit Trivedi's uncanny and catchy tunes are a nice addition. Dreamum Wakeuppam, Sava Dollar and Aga Bai are definitely worth a mention with great choreography to make things work better. What actually makes the movie special amid the cliched characters is the cinematography of Amalendu Chaudhary.

Final Word: Aiyaa Review Though a movie that has a few bad moments, few long minutes and dull scenes; Aiyaa is an good entertainer for the folk and a treat to fans of Rani.

(AW- Anil)

Stills from Aiyaa:

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English Vinglish Review

English Vinglish Review

• Film : English Vinglish
• Producer : Sunil Lulla, R. Balki, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, R. K. Damani
• Director : Gauri Shinde
• Star Cast : Sridevi, Mehdi Nebbou, Priya Anand, Adil Hussain...
• Music Director : Amit Trivedi
• Rating :
  3.5
   

Tired of the commonplace and extremely predictable love stories (hero loves girl, some fights, girl loves back, trouble with family, some fights, family loves guy, happy ending) I decided to try a movie that is out of the box, with a good protagonist and this was my choice. A good choice. If you want to have some comedy that is not utter nonsense, and a little sentiment that you could relate with if you are a housewife of the typical 90s this movie is for you. The refined movie style made me laugh, feel sad and clap at the end. “May I?”
English Vinglish Review, led by Sri Devi alone, doesn't go beyond the reality. She doesn't lean erudite English and make eloquent speeches like Swami Vivekananda. However she managed to make the audience break into applause at the end of the movie with two simple words, which in the everyday usage would not be clap-worthy.

Other Ratings

Average Movie Rating

  3.5

Sify

  Not Yet Rated

 

• Deccan

  Not Yet Rated

• The Times of India

  Not Yet Rated

• BharatStudent

    Not Yet Rated

• Rediff

    Not Yet Rated

Story

Shashi (Sri Devi) is the typical Indian wife, with a south Indian touch, May I say, who runs a catering business with two kids, a daughter and a son who love her just as much as she does. English is her worst nightmare. Her daughter's too since it would be a great embarrassment to her at the PTA meetings since her mother fails to articulate the simplest of sentences in the foreign language. Her daughter along with the father mock her language skills behind her back.
The biggest challenge to appears before her at this point of the movie. Her neice's wedding. The wedding is set in US and Shashi has to help her sister plan for the wedding. In USA and that too for five weeks.
After a humiliating experience in a cafe, Shashi is more determined than ever to master the language and signs up for the tutorials but keeps her family including her sister in the dark bringing her more troubles. A judgmental family on one hand and a completely new trouble with another student having a big crush on her in the class, how would the story turn in the end despite all the help from her cutest niece (Priya Anand)
Will she be able to get the classes after her husband and children join her for the wedding? Is the crush going to crush her life? Does she succeed in learning the language?
Nothing is free these days; if you are further interested make haste for the box office.

Analysis :

Though Sri Devi is the finest actress in the industry, I could not help but worry initially about the movie going over-the-top. Indian learning English in a movie and the end that you picture in your mind would be a glib speaker. Gauri Shinde knows how you think and makes it different. A highly refined storyline and a poesy screenplay.
You are not smothered with sentimental dialogues, but on the contrary you see fewer dialogues in many scenes negating the need for a narration behind the screen. Without a dialogue, Gauri manages to make the people understand that Shashi is a loving and humble wife who is the perfect half to her husband finishing his unfinished half of works.
Instead of dialogue after sobbing dialogue, you see Shashi run behind her husband with a water bottle, close the fridge after him: you don’t need a voiceover or dialogue reinforcing her status here. But I must admit, I did feel that Sri Devi was a bit preachy at times though the dialogues were good.
A slower pace of the movie is not something that bothers me when the rest of the movie does justice to the speed. Only thing beyond the logic is why would a shy and humble wife set out to the world seeking English tutorials? Gauri should have made sure that the reasoning were stronger.
Gauri also tries to force emotional tears into the audience’s eyes at a few points. After being disowned by the family, she unnecessarily portrays the husband and children with a bad character. The should have been more loving.
Coming to the direction, Gauri Shinde made a movie much better than many in the industry who fail to take original movies. For a debut, her effort is fabulous. Amit Trivedi's music keeps the movie going. Songs like Navrai Majhi come right at the time they are required. Editor Hemanti Sarkar did what he does best. What adds vibrancy to the movie is Laxman Utekar’s cinematography. Every technical aspect of the movie accentuates the positives of the movie.

Performance :

Sri Devi is known to be an actress who could handle a film all by herself and she does her job in the movie. She portrays herself as a mother (I would not add great or good because there is no mother that is not). A good wife, and also a humble student. Such subtle shades could be put on only by an actress of her caliber. She truly is the hero of the movie. A few times she seems to be going over-the-top with her humility but very few.
Mehdi Nebbou as Laurent did a great job trying to grab the attention of Shashi. Whether he succeded in it or not, he definitely succeeded in wooing the audience. Priya Anand is lovely as Shashi’s niece covering up for her and being the ballast. Sulbha Deshpande, the mother-in-law and Sujata Kumar, her sister, do a fine job in their roles. Real life bro-sis Shivansh Kotia and T Navika Kotia play their roles well as the brother and sister. As a spoiled brat, Navika along with the father Adil Hussain make you curse them at times. Cory Hibbs is makes for a fine English teacher, David Fischer.
I would have loved if Amitabh Bachchan's cameo role had been restricted to be minimal. It turns a bit annoying when the director tries too hard to be cute. Other than that it was very articulate yet effortless.

Final Word: English Vinglish Review A good flick that takes you into the life of the new mothers of today who constantly have to face criticism from kids for not being able speak English whilst also showing the difficulties of the mothers. The right mix of lightheartedness and sentiment. (AW- Anil)

 

Stills from English Vinglish:

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