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Om Shanti Oshaana - Film Review Malayalam

Om Shanti Oshaana – (Film Review)

Release – 2014 (TRAILER) Language - Malyalam Leads – Nazriya Nazim & Nivin Pauly Director – Jude Anthony Joseph Writer – Midhun Manuel Thomas

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'I’m definitely pleased that this film was the first Malayalam film I watched.' 4.5/5 stars

Om Shanti Oshaana is a beautiful piece of art. By accident, I woke up on the plane to find the film and its introductory credits on my screen. My first ever Malayalam film was a surprisingly pleasant experience, and left me feeling like life had given me the biggest hug ever.

The film opens in 1983 in a small hillside town in Kerala, with the lead Pooja (Nazriya) being the retrospective narrator. Jude has done a fantastic job in setting the overall tone of the film as being a cute film that is heroine orientated, with his first credit song. Although the concept is nothing new, it has to be praised in how it aligns the audience’s mindset to a much more jovial tone – which is the overall theme of the film anyway. The story is a simple coming of age story, which is unfortunately an untapped market in the Indian film industry. It follows the tale of Pooja, a fifteen year old student, who becomes infatuated with an older (mid to late twenties, maybe?) graduate-turned-farmer, Giri (Nivin) who stands for justice, respect and righteousness, but has no time for love and certainly not with a gawky teenager. We, as the audience, follow her transition from a high school student to a junior doctor, with the selling point of the film being that even with her growth, her feelings for Giri remain the very same.

Starting off with the lead, Nazriya; she has perfectly portrayed the role to the maximum of her capabilities. This may stem from her being just nineteen, or even eighteen during filming of the movie! Her face is her best feature by far. The seamless transition of expressions throughout the film is fabulous, and if the dubbing is done by her (not too sure), then the vocals are excellent and is delivered perfectly. With the film being purely heroine orientated, I feel that one must have immense capabilities and strength to carry off a performance, and hold her stance in such a male dominated industry. Nazriya does this effortlessly, and is certainly an actress to watch for the future.

Nivin is technically the lead actor, but is contracted very little. This, however, is not a hindrance, but a strength.  The macho aura he generates certainly fills the screen, and almost proves why Pooja is so infatuated with Giri. I cannot get over the fact that he does so little, but in a way, goes over and beyond and truly encompasses his character. That is a definite skill, as it could have been very easy to get lost in a screenplay that puts Pooja on the throne. But Nivin does not get lost, and does not come second either. Infact, he is firmly beside Nazriya in terms of acting and screen presence and the depth that they both deliver to this little story. And of course, their chemistry is next to none. An absolute delight to watch, possibly because their character ages are so near to their real ages, therefore making the tale and the actors more believable. Kudos to the casting crew.

Supporting cast includes singer Vineeth Srinivasan, comedian Aju Varghese and veteran actress Vinaya Prasad to mention a few names. The relatively small cast all do justice to their individual roles, and contribute their full share to the story, which is what I think the writer/director wanted to do in the first place, so job well done. Apart from one scene where Aju and Nivin are suddenly thrown into a battlefield (probably symbolic? I’m not sure), there is no forced comedy. This is a comedy first, romance second film, and so the delicate humour is effortless, which is praise to the writer.

The music by Shaan Rahman is a treat. I for one, cannot fault any of the songs.  Jaunty, fun packed tunes like Katu Mooliyo and Mandarame, propel you back into your first teenage crush, and filled my stomach with butterflies.  The second half contains more mature songs, like Mounam Chorum Neram, Ee Mazha Megham and Sneham Cherum Neram (spoileralert). However, they aren’t to be faulted, as they fit in well with the story, and even though they are more mature in terms of pace, tune, lyrics and overall feel, they still have the floaty, ‘trance like’ emotion laced onto them, which keeps in touch with the film’s pace too. Additionally of course, they make great additions to personal playlists, and are popular with the social media generation. The background score is magical, with my personal favourite being Giri’s ‘entry theme’ dotted throughout the film, which personifies his rugged character from start to finish.

Cinematography and editing is great. The team have truly encompassed the beautiful greenery of Kerala, and there are some absolute gems of scenes in terms of editing: my favourite example being the scene in which the sky switches from dark to dawn and back again, in one take.  

Cons, I’d have to say is probably the wardrobe and hair. If I had to be picky, I would have concentrated on making the actors look more nineties, with bushy hair and highwaisted jeans etc (a ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ sort of feel to it). However, the actors do look suitable for their roles in the second half of the film, which is set in the noughties.

Overall, this film is definitely a chick flick, no doubt about that. Like I stressed before, it is not unique, but it is special in the way that the team put faith in this film at this stage of the industry. Across all regions, ‘mass heroes’ are being created, and are batting 100+ days. However, to come out with a rom-com like OSO, invest in a heroine orientated film, invest in a young cast, invest in a timeless story with no trash or lewd scenes, and win at the box office, is pretty commendable. And I only hope that this is the start of many more across all regional industries.

Suitable for all; It is a wonderfully written film, beautifully pictured, mellow tone, perfect acting, and enchanting songs. It is an absolute feel good film which is a recommended watch whenever you want to feel like the world is a good place, and there is a happy ending for everyone.

I’m definitely pleased that this film was the first Malayalam film I watched. 

disclaimer - this is purely my personal opinion. No disrespect or hate intended towards anybody involved in the film, or the audience. Please respect my views and I will always respect yours. Thankyou

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'Googly' Film Review - Kannada.

Googly (Film Review)

Release – 2013 (TRAILER) Language – Kannada. Leads – Yash & Kriti Kharbanda. Director/Writer – Pawan Wadeyar.

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"A watchable film for time pass. A good film for Yash fans. A film that highlights the lack of fresh stories and the niche to deliver it onscreen for the Kannada industry" - 2.5/5 stars.

Googly is a light-hearted romantic comedy, which became a cult hit across Karnataka upon its theatrical release in 2013. Declared a mass hit, I was quite excited when I stumbled across the DVD during my trip to Bangalore, but unfortunately, I was gravely disappointed with the overall film.

The film starts off with an accident, introducing the two leads into the two hour twenty four minute film. The hospital scene sees the lead Sharath (Yash) ‘gravely injured’ and in need of a blood transfusion, which is conveniently provided by the lead actress Swathi (Kriti). This then enrols onto the flashback of the pair meeting and falling in love, only to never declare their feelings to each other until its almost too late. ‘Almost’ being the key word. The rest of the film sees the pair eventually reuniting (sorry, but we all knew it was going to happen) after a tedious series of events at the cost of mutual friends.

Unfortunately, this film is completely encompassed in the uncomfortable phase of emphasis on the ‘Hero’. With Yash quite clearly having the majority of screen time, dialogues, punch lines, and heroic camera angles to emphasise his ‘mass hero’ status, this film is a treat if you are a Yash fan. If you are a neutral, or worse still, can just about tolerate Yash, then this film is a definite miss. Credit where its due, Yash delivers. He is quite reliable that way in all of his films till date, so he is certainly a good investment. Not to mention, his fan base is increasing by the second, which helps in making some of his more ‘questionable’ films a mass hit, running for 100+ days in theatres.  His dance sequences are good, dialogue delivery and expressions are good, and his onscreen presence is certainly unmissable.

Kriti is a pleasant surprise. Personally, the crop of actresses in Kannada these days are debateable, and certainly replaceable. Kriti does brilliant justice to her role. Her overall look is beautiful, and generates a real ‘girl next door’ feel onscreen. This, I feel is immense credit to the wardrobe and makeup crew. Her expressions are faultless, but I wish her dancing skills could be described the same way. Nonetheless, it was still a better job than most of the actresses currently.  Anyway, on paper, her character definitely grows, but on screen, it is quite difficult to visualise the transition that I feel the writer/director wanted us, as the audience, to acknowledge. But I feel that this is plainly due to faulty scripting and styling, and not the actress herself.

The supporting cast range from big names like Ananth Nag and Sadu Kokila, to recognisable faces like a ‘Raj Music’ presenter and a very active member of Yash’s fan club. The cast do their designated jobs well. There is no role development for any of them, which is a shame for their acting abilities, but does not hinder the film in any way.

The songs are definitely the better part of the film. Residents of Karnataka can vouch when I say that the songs of this film were a massive hit. There wasn’t an hour that went by without a song from the film being played in a radio station or television channel. Justifying it, Arjun Janya has done a neat job. The tunes are catchy, and very trendy, which is perfect for the target audience of this film, which is of course, the youth. Songs like ‘Gand Janma’, ‘Googly Title Track’ and ‘Yeno Yeno Agide’ are just the sort of fresh, upbeat and bubbly songs that become a serious success, due to the strong background score, lewd lyrics and the matching singers to go with it. My personal favourites would be the remaining two songs of ‘Neenirade’ and ‘Bisilu Kudure’. They are both very neat songs, with lyrics and music that can be enjoyed across all ages.

To accompany this, the cinematography and editing of the film is lovely. It is a very classy job and makes the film look extremely colourful and expensive. It matches up to the standards that are being set by all other regional films, which is pleasing. The scene setting is unfaultable, and is certainly a visual treat.

One of the more irritating part of the film are certainly fight sequences. Dotted around carelessly, and sequenced in an extremely dramatic, unrealistic, and laughable way. It is a complete shambles, and does not really fit into the story. It is as if the director/writer has forced it to fit in, in order for the narrative to go ahead. On paper, the story requires the fight sequences to go forth in order for the story to take place, and eventually end on a happy note. However, I wonder if Pawan could have altered the storyline, just in those places. The villains are forgettable, the reasons for it are laughable, and the overly punchy and exaggerated dialogues given to the lead actor is uncomfortable viewing – unless you are a twenty one year old, male, Yash fan.

And of course, the cigarette/alcohol usage, along with the physical assault by both the leads, and the degrading of women is unnecessary. It could have easily been changed to something milder yet feasible. This is a point to take, seeing as this film is targeted at couples aged between sixteen to mid-twenties.

Overall, this is a passable story, which could have and should have been cut by ten to twenty minutes…or replaced with better injections of scenes. The basic love story of this film is nothing special, but that allows a team to make it grow and mould it into something magical. It has not been fleshed out to its potential, and it shocked me to see how basic the film truly was. But, I guess someone’s looking down on the team, as the film did well in the box office, and has propelled everyone involved to stardom. Good luck to them, but I hope they evaluate their individual performances in this film, and grow out of it, rather than bask in the success and fail to improve.

A watchable film for time pass. A good film for Yash fans. A film that highlights the lack of fresh stories and the niche to deliver it onscreen for the Kannada industry.

disclaimer - this is purely my personal opinion. No disrespect or hate intended towards anybody involved in the film, or the audience. Please respect my views and I will always respect yours. Thankyou.