Cobra: Does not meet expectations

 Cobra started off like an extremely promising assassin story with multiple locations, multiple getups and high-fi assassination techniques. 

Alas! The joy was short lived and the story kept branching deeper and deeper into Mathi's(Vikram) personal story and his past life and traumas. At one point, the villain who was introduced in the first scene as some arrogant & cruel beast, was just left out from main plot line after a point.

There were just too many cinematic liberties the writers took that almost felt like they were writing it for children who would believe anything. For a movie that spoke so much about math and game theory, logic in the story and scenes was a basic that one would expect.

Here are a few things that kept me dissatisfied throughout the 3+ hours of watching the movie.

- The love angle between Bhavana(Shrinidhi Shetty) and Mathi(the Math teacher Vikram) was completely pointless to the whole story. The was a very weak connection via a student who is working on following Mathi's assassinations along with Interpol. At the end of the movie, I felt that we need not have seen known about this character and relationship at all. There were so many scenes and characters surrounding this love plot line that could have been cut out saving the movie a lot of money and reducing the movie length significantly.

- The mathematician student Judith(Meenakshi) who explains the Orissa CM's murder case just conveniently follows Interpol officer Aslan(Irfan Pathan) everywhere -- literally following him in interrogation chambers, shootouts, meetings with Russian defence team, etc. That character need not have been there at all, she could have disappeared after giving the theory. I do not know who in the right mind, let alone Interpol, would keep carrying civilians to all important discussions and risky operations. 

- The villain was rendered toothless and conveniently killed off when the story needed to end. There was no logic or reason as to why the villain who was initially sending assassins to kill would in the end himself go to shoot Mathi and eventually get killed. Also, I did not understand why they had to show so many naked white girls and this villain abusing some girls in the background. Just pointless and added nothing to the story!

- The movie explains that Mathi/Kathir is a genius mathematician. However, they failed to establish how a kid who has hallucinations, keeps doing math can aim and shoot at his target so well. How is he so good at hand combats and climbing large structures with such ease?

- There were so many smaller flaws that were hard to ignore like dubbing for Bhavana's and Jenny's characters was not lip synced well. There was a fight in Kolkata with Bengali goons chasing Mathi/Kathir but they were speaking fluent Tamil. They were on a conference call with Mathi/Kathir for some reason and it was baffling as an audience to understand what was happening.

In totality, Cobra is a movie with a great start which did not follow through till the end. I was very disappointed to be honest. The story had so many complex and ambitious ideas, I expected better from the writers.

Thiruchitrambalam: A Breezy watch

 

   Thiruchitrambalam is a movie that will take you back to Dhanush's VIP days. The nonchalant, emotional, boy-next-door character that everyone routes for. Yes, it is that kinda movie -- no plot twists, no jumping to long flash-backs. Just a simple story which keeps you deeply involved with all the characters till the very end. 

Here are a few notable moments from the movie that really struck a cord.

- The scene where a paralyzed Prakash Raj calls out for help to go to the bathroom. The struggle that he portrayed felt so real. The hesitation that Dhanush showed to go and help his dad in that scene with whom he hadn't spoken to in years, you could feel that emotion. This scene was very powerful and will definitely move one to tears.

- The moments that Dhanush and his grandfather (Bhaarathiraja) shared felt like eating an ice cream on a hot day.

- Dhanush and Nithya Menon's characters reminded me so much of Rahul and Anjali from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. 

- Lots of funny and enjoyable scenes through out the movie

This movie is an easy-breezy watch for a lazy Friday afternoon. Enjoy!! 

RRR : It's all about extremes

 

The movie RRR (Rise Roar Revolt) just works. Here is why I believe it worked and continues to work for so many people across the world (yes, I believe it is pan-world and not just pan-India). It is a movie about extremes - some of which you get to see in super-hero movies of the west. The Indian movie offers a lot more extremes due to the rich culture and history of India and S.S. Rajamouli's grand story-telling.

Here are some of the extremes you get to see in this extremely entertaining movie -- 

- Extreme patriotism for the country and the community : This is the obvious thread that connects Ram and Bheem - both are on a mission owing to the patriotism for their country and tribe.

- Extreme friendship : The lengths to which Ram goes to save Bheem from the death sentence and vice-versa what Bheem does to free Ram from the prison and the death sentence are what you can only see in movies which is why your heart melts seeing this extreme friendship, almost yearning for a similar friendship in your own life.

- Extreme dedication : The dedication Ram has for the job he has taken up - to put a gun in the hands of every freedom fighter and the Bheem has for his mission to bring back Malli to the Gond tribe. 

- Extreme selflessness: Without being extremely selfless, Ram, Bheem and their respective friends and buddies would not be able to do what they did in the story. Be it Ram's villagers training for years to fight back the British or Bheem's tribe capturing wild animals to help with Malli's rescue mission.

- Extreme arrogance: If not for the extreme arrogance of Governor Scott Buxton, the story wouldn't have had the same impact on the audience in rousing the emotions of anger.

- Extreme mental strength and focus: Ram and Bheem's extreme mental strength and focus on the goal was aptly portrayed when they were getting tortured by the British in the prison and beaten up with the whip.

- Extreme karma: There was some sort of poetic justice in the way Governor Scott Buxton's death was portrayed. Wrapped in a barbed wired fence and dripping blood -- the same which she devilishly subjected Bheem to when he was captured by the British - her wish for Bheem reversed onto her during her death.

Well, on the whole, RRR was as a roller-coaster of an experience emotionally which is why I believe it has enthralled audiences across the world and become the success that it is today.

Thank you S.S.Rajamouli for penning the story and Ram Charan and Jnr NTR for bringing Ram and Bheem to life. 

Piku : Just too real

 

Piku is one of my all time favorite movies. It's a comfort film that I keep going back to when I feel a little down. There is a kind of comfort in the music and story of Piku. Here are some of the reasons why I recommend everyone watches Piku at least once.

- Piku is a very relatable movie for single women living with ageing parents and grand-parents.

- There is a Baba in all our houses who is slowly getting old and grumpier and needier by the day. They ask for attention indirectly and blame you if you do not pay attention to their health condition every hour.

- As a successful woman finding a partner who respects you and understands all the responsibilities you shoulder is very hard.

- You become the parent to your parent after a point in time and get just as irritated when they do not listen to you as they did when you were an adamant kid years ago.

- There is something about long road trips or long journeys that brings people together and for a while they stop bickering with each other.

Piku is streaming on multiple OTT platforms including Amazon Prime and Netflix. Go and watch it and let me know what you liked about this movie.

Major : All heart ❤

 

Last week I had the opportunity to watch 'Major ' which is a biopic on Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan. It was a heart-melting movie. There are five things that one can takeaway or experience during the course of watching this movie.

- Life of Major Sandeep and a deep dive into his personality

- Beyond the ultimate sacrifice that a soldier is prepared for while serving the country , there are so many little things they sacrifice each day This was beautifully brought out in the movie.

- The roller coaster of emotions that goes through the family of an army man who has set out into the field. The uncertainity of not knowing whether they will get to see their son alive after the battle was one of the side tracks you get to witness in addition to the actual terror attack on the Taj Hotel.

- Performance by Adivi Sesh and the way he immersed himself into Major Sandeep's personality was a delight to watch.

- The disservice that media did to the nation during the attack by unintentionally and indirectly aiding the attackers.

The movie is currently streaming on Netflix in Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam. Go ahead and watch this movie and let me know what your takeaways were from this movie.