[Movie] Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi

Last weekend I watched yet another Malayalam movie, this time a movie with a long title, but one that had a beautiful meaning. It was Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi [English: Blue Skies, Green Waters, Red Earth]

Directed and co-produced by Sameer Thahir

Cast: Dulquer Salmaan, Sunny Wayne, Surja Bala Hijam,Ena Saha, Dhritiman Chatterjee,Joy Mathew,Pearle Maaney, Paloma Monappa and Avantika to name a few. But the main stars are Dulquer and Sunny 

Over the past few months, I must have seen close to 10 Malayalam movies and I have discovered they are quite good. Especially since I began understanding the language, I looked forward to watching more of these flicks. Sunday morning 10am show at PVR was what was on the agenda. I reached the theater around 9.45, grabbed a sandwich & cold coffee at CCD and got ready to watch the movie. 

The story is losely based on 2 college guys who head out on a road trip on their bikes. Destination: unkown. Along the journey, Kasi [Dulquer] decides to head over to Nagaland in search of the girl of his dreams, and Sunny joins him on the mission. At every stage, they meet interesting people, come across challenges, are helped by random strangers, leave with lessons learnt from people of small villages, and there is a spark every now and then with the girl in the town they camp in. There is quite a bit of drama, a tinge of humour and a lot of life's valuable lessons in this movie. It basically goes to show that everybody we meet has something to teach us. All we need is an open mind to absorb these points.. 

The one thing that captured my heart in this movie was the cinematography by Gireesh Gangadharan. SImply outstanding. Even though the movie feels long, he kept me glued in with the sights and sounds captured so beautifully. I have never seen our country look so gorgeous and it left me wanting to travel and explore all these places. From the beaches of Puri, to the hills of the North East, the wide highway in the middle of nowhere flanked by red mountains, the visual were breath taking to say the least.  How can i forget the scene where a group of riders help them and take them with the group to Puri. Oh what a sight. Men on bikes- heart stopping !! :D 

The songs and background score was lovely. It blended perfectly with the rhythm of the movie. The songs that stood out were Doore Doore and Thaazhvaaram. The Manipuri actress is so delicate, while Gauri from the small village near Calcutta comes across strong willed, and the surfer chick in Puri the caring one.  But the one who stole the show has to be Dulquer-  He moves between the various roles with ease and grace, be it the playful college kid, the SFI activist protesting against commercialization  the son , the uncle who dotes on his niece and above all, the confused youngster  in search of his goal... 

Overall rating: 4.75/5 [had it been half hour shorter, would have been crisper]  

[Movie] True Grit

True Grit... Had picked up the Dvd few weeks back at my regular store and it had sat abandoned in my shelf till yesterday noon... 

The Summary on the DVD: A tough U.S. Marshal helps a stubborn young woman track down her father's murderer. 


Main Stars: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon- NOw these are names we know.. but the one that caught my attention and had me glued to the movie was Hailee Steinfeld. That little girl sure can act, and she has a voice and grit that stood out through the movie through Mattie Ross!


My Review: 
This little girl walks into town with her head held straight and conviction on her face. She is determined and ready for battle. The motive: She is looking to kill Tom Chaney, the man who killed her father....   She decides to take matter to her hands when the Sheriff just shrugs her off. Standing outside the loo where "the toughest U.S. Marshal "Rooster" Cogburn" sits, she works hard to convince him to take on her case and help her find Chaney.. A smart cookie, she also manages to make a trader part with his money for the ponies her dad had bought and for his saddle... 


Cogburn is an old, one eyed drunk, who does nothing but act as a Bounty hunter, killing scums, and making some money in the process.   He takes on Mattie, promises to help her , and sticks by her side till the mission is accomplished. 


The morning after, she wakes up to find Cogburn gone.. Racing on her horse, she finds that she is refused passage on the  ferry that took Cogburn and LaBoeuf across.. Determined, she crosses the river on her horse.. She  then learns that the two men have agreed to split the Texas reward for Chaney. Accusing him of fraud, Mattie threatens to have Cogburn arrested for breaking their agreement. Cogburn reluctantly agrees to let her come along, but does nothing to make it a comfortable one. 

More than anything, the movie is about how Mattie goes against Cogburn's wishes to stay put in town while he goes on the search, and her determination every step of the way. The trio find themselves battling through heat, unfriendly goons, and nature where their grit is put to test.  


Rate: 4/5 [absolutely amazing watch]
A true blue American Western flick.... 


Infact, this is an adaptation of the movie that was made in 1969 starring John Wayne. Am curious to see the earlier version, to see how different it was!