Naan Mahan Alla ***

'Naan Mahan Alla' would have been a four starrer movie, had the 2nd half been taken care of. Karthi and Kajal Agarwal display great onscreen chemistry and look great together, though Kajal has nothing to do in the second half.

All characters fit the bill very aptly. The first half is amazing, while the second half is a dud given its off-the hook pace. At the end, one is left wondering if it was supposed to be the climax. Justified climax but handled in a very lean way. While songs are fine, this movie will go good with the college crowd.

In all its fun and watchable !

Lafange Parindhe **

Pradeep Sarkar takes us back to the movies of the 90's with 'Lafange Parindhe'. Neil Nitin Mukesh tries something different, but looks artificial in the role. Deepika has performed very well and looks stunningly beautiful. Kay Kay menon has been wasted in the short role. The songs are good and the story line has been taken care of in a better way.

This movie is timepass material and reminds of Southie hits Nuvvu Vastavani/Thulatha manamum Thullum for the theme, though it has been adapted to bollywood concepts. A hit if released in the mid 90's, but for now, can be missed, except if you are a die-hard deepika fan.

Peepli [Live] ***1/2

In a world where each 'Byte' from the lives of millions around is exploited for gains of any measure, with the news being used and skipped away without action, this Bollywood movie weaves magic with a fantastic script that mixes reality with sarcasm to bring out the 'Ugly Truth' in the society.

There are great performances from all the actors in this intelligent movie portraying ground realities in the country's politics, media and the common man's grass root problems. Humongous research, tight editing and the rustic portrayal of rural India add to making this movie a masterpiece.

Aamir once again proves why he is simply the smartest bollywood personality of the times by opting to produce a gem called 'Peepli Live'. Though the movie might not go well with all kinds of audiences, Anusha Rizvi's first directorial 'must-watch' venture will be remembered for many years to come for the experimental blend of documentary meets reel fiction !

Yem Pillo Yem Pillado *

Eetharam films sticks to its reputation, while the story is the same old repetitive one. Tanish churns out an impressive performance and has a long way to go, while Pranitha is fine. The tile track is nice.

The film reminds of nuvve kavali, anandam kind of fun mixed with routine family/village sentiments . Worth a miss.

Don Seenu **

Nothing much to offer in terms of the story, but Raviteja caters to the mass audience while Shriya looks amazingly stunning. Anjana and other actors fit aptly. Scenes between Brahmanandam and Raviteja are very hilarious. The film is a family entertainer which does not demand the moviegoer to use their brain.

A commercial movie with all the mass masala elements in the right proportions - Paisa vasool !

Aisha **

A Hollywood style meets Bollywood kind of movie with great performance from Sonam Kapoor. This lady looks stunning in the movie and Rhea has done a great movie for her sister. Aisha is a film with great fashion quotient and could have been much better.

While Abhay Deol is perfect for the role, others are fine too. The movie drags a bit towards the end to meet the Bollywood standard 'drama' but will go fine with the multiplex crowds who are looking for some timepass over the weekend.

Once Upon A Time In Mumbai ***

A movie on gangsters has always fascinated bollywood audience and 'Once upon a time in Mumbai' is yet another one based on this genre. A winner at the box office, for sure it is !!

Fantabulous dialogs, good background score and a strong screenplay hold the movie high. Ajay Devgn seems to have become the official flagbearer of Bollywood 'Don'-ism now. A good change for Emran Hashmi from his repetitive lover boy roles. Kangana and Prachi have nothing to do, but have added value with their 'beauty' in the 70's retro looks. Randeep hooda fits the bill. This is not a 'Company' kind movie and is special in its own way of portraying the human characters and the brain game for power. Many an audience would surely wish the climax was better though.

Balaji Telefilms has brought the bollywood style movies of the 70's alive for us this time. A must watch !

Maryada Ramanna **1/2

Rajamouli is at it again. A hit again with Sunil and Saloni in the lead. Wonderful comedy and a simple story woven with Keeravani's amazing music ensures that the film keeps the audience glued to the seat.

A few places where the comedy is a bit off the rack, but in all, a family entertainer proving the fact that the Director is the person behind a hit more than anyone else, even the hero for that reason. Sunil has contributed with great dance moves. Saloni should be getting few nice offers for sure after this movie.

In all, a clean adaptation of  Buster Keaton's Hollywood movie 'Our Hospitality' dished out with hummable songs. Each frame has been shot with great richness, making it a supreme visual treat.

Fulltoo Mazaa !

Khatta Meetha *1/2

'Khatta Meetha' - The Hindi version of the 1988' Mohanlal starring Malayalam movie 'Vellanakalude Nadu' is a typical Priyadarshan movie that is woven around human emotions. Akshay Kumar carries the film entirely on his shoulder. Trisha Krishnan looks great in those sarees and leaves her mark, though in a not-so-significant role.

Too many characters have been pulled into the second half, making this part a mess. However, the first half is comic and enjoyable. Urvashi Sharma is wasted in the sister role. Rajpal Yadav is at his comic best. Johnny Lever fails to impress. Makarand Deshpande is apt in the role of a journalist. Couple of songs are impressive. The sad part is - one would be surprised that there are no twists that can be expected in a drama film.

A timepass film provided you have enough and enough of patience !

Madrasapattinam ***

Hats-off for recreating the Madras of pre-independence India for the current generation. A very wonderfully woven storyline combined with slick editing, and great acting. All the songs in the movie are good and the Lyrics are worth mentioning. Music by G.V Prakash is soothing. Lyrics are really spell binding and all the actors fit the roles aptly.

The story might, at places, remind one of Lagaan, Titanic or  anyother movie that has its story set in the past and especially in the times of independence struggle. But, this story has its uniqueness and the producers, art director and everyone involved in the making of Madrasapattinam are worthy of the praise.

Arya looks stunning while Amy Jackson is 'The' beauty and both have put in a stupendous performance.

A must watch !!

Red Alert **1/2

Red Alert, as the name reflects, is about the naxal movement and the steps being taken to curb it at the moment. It portrays the real incidents and theories of naxalism but the climax is hard to digest and is impractical. Everything till the climax has been handled very well by the director Ananth Mahadevan and the  great amount of research behind this idea is visible in each frame.

Bagyashree is so refreshing to watch - lets wait to see more of her soon. Sunil Shetty, Seema Biswas and Vinod Khanna are just ok, while Sameera Reddy has put up a decent performance. It is just that her deglam role was not the fulcrum of the movie. This movie would have been way too good if it was a women-centric movie with the current naxalism scenario. The background music in the beginning of the movie is awesome and the lone song in the film has nice lyrics.

Not for the regular movie watcher, this is something on the Art side !!

Happy Husbands *1/2

This malayalam movie is a poor rip-off of the hindi movie "No Entry". A family entertainer, it is to surely to go good with the crowd that has not watched the original from Anees Bazmee. Jayaram, Samvritha and Reema stand out in the picture while others fit the bill. What is disappointing is that Indrajith even wears a bracelet similar to the blue stone bracelet that Salman wears - heights of inspiration it seems to be ! Good comic timing is the only plus.

Milenge Milenge *1/2

'Old wine in a Older bottle' - that is what the film starring a non-size zero Kareena and a non-six pack Shahid is all about. The movie, if had released as per schedule in 2005, would have been a good hit in those times. 

The first half is run of the mill college romance and then as you sit through the second half, one can relate this to the 2001 comedy 'Serendipity' and to be specific to the 'Woods' in India, this is a movie inspired by the Kollywood 2003 release - 'Jay Jay' which had Madhavan and Nisha Kothari in the lead. In short, yet another Boney Kapoor movie inspired by a Tamil movie.

To recall, this hotel where the cast and crew stayed during the shooting was destroyed by the Tsunami - happy that the movie did see the light of the day atlast after so many many (and many) a hiccups including the split-up between the lead pair.

A nice time-pass film that is outdated for the current times, but a regular movie watcher can sail through it with a pinch of patience.

Jhummandi Nadam ***

A tradition-meets-trend kind of telugu movie which would remind of the 90's movie having a goodie-good hero, his all good romance with fortune as the villain and his success at the end. A very good family entertainer to keep the audience of all ages engaged. Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures has smartly worked on a sure-shot hit formula with the 'darsakendra' Raghavendra Rao heading the movie.

Songs are wonderful and the concept of having a song for every occasion in life is something innovative. Yes, visually the songs do have our Raghavendra Rao's trademark fruits, flowers and water drops romancing the heroine every time at every possible place, but is decent enough.

Manoj leaves a mark with stupendous performance, while Mohanbabu and other artistes are adequate in their roles. Debutant Taapsee Pannu as the heroine has acted well. This new-age Rambha is one glamorous heroine to look out for in the future. The climax might be typical but otherwise, the film is a good 'time pass'.

Paisa vasool for the junta !

I Hate Love Stories **1/2

Might not be the best love story, but a very entertaining and engrossing movie which is sure to go very well with the young crowd. Amazing chemistry between Imran and Sonam weaves the magic around the audience.

Its a total 'filmy' film with a couple of good songs and one can surely connect back to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai times. A few questions - Did Karan lift this from a real life situation on the sets? Where was this touch of making happy, non-sobby movies lost? Well, good to see such a movie from Dharma productions.

A nicely thought of movie, with all the right things in place. Few comic scenes are well timed and a Karan Johar movie critic(Lover/Hater) would love to see the digs taken at his own movies that came in the past. The first half is complete fun, while the second half serves the needed sentiment in the movie.

The ratings might not be great, but the boxoffice is sure to ring this time around for Imran&Sonam's mesmerizing chemistry, and the new treatment that we get to see in the film.

Vedam ****1/2

A masterpiece. Krish, with his second directorial venture 'Vedam' has given tollywood cinema a new lease of life.

Combined with a very wonderful style of story narration and equally power packed performances from each actor who shows up on the screen, Vedam keeps you wanting for more. The story holds the audience till the end, and once out into the real world, it is to make you think for sure.

Panchakshari **

Anushka's show all the way - that is what Panchakshari is all about. She has put in good performance playing the double role in the movie. It can be compared to the other movies based on goddesses that Tollywood has produced, but has been given a different treatment. All other character artistes are just appropriate. It would have been nice if the movie had been to the current day technical standards,

Anushka looks ravishing in the 2nd half speaking telangana dialect and has acted very gracefully.Though an outdated story, its a sure shot hit with the family crowd, especially in the B&C centers.

Raavanan *** ; Raavan *1/2

This Maniratnam movie leaves you a tad disappointed with the story, but the technical areas are amazingly dealt with. One would surely be mesmerized with the visuals, lyrics and music score.

Vikram delivers a smashing performance as Veera - the leading protagonist in the Tamil version, and lives to the role of Dev in Hindi. As Beera in Hindi, Abhishek is a misfit, given his body language which does not match with the raw appeal that the character demands. Prithviraj as Dev in tamil is just ok and lacks the fierce expression that is needed. Aishwarya delivers the expected as Ragini and this surely is the best role in her career so far. Priyamani impresses with the short role she has in the movie. Other characters have been aptly chosen in both the versions of the movie.

Cinematography and background score are the things that make you sit through the movie. The techincal values of Indian cinema attain new heights with this much awaited movie - Raavan(Hindi)/Raavanan(Tamil)/Villain(Telugu).

Andari Bandhuvayya **1/2

The Telugu movie 'Andari Bandhuvayya' is a goodie-good movie about making the people around you happy. The lead actors - Sharvanand and Padmapriya have acted well. Senior actor Naresh delivers a decent performance. Couple of songs are hummable and the movie is a good family entertainer.

Singam *

The much hyped Tamil movie Singam (Yamudu in Telugu) with Surya, Anushka, Prakashraj as the main characters - from director Hari - fails to impress and looks like a ripped off version of Hari's earlier hit "Saamy". All character and situations are the same as in the latter.

Worth giving a miss, unless you are a Surya fan who just wants to see Surya and Anushka's sizzling chemistry !