Laadla (1994)

If only, IF ONLY, Sridevi had done the Telugu version (Gharana Mogudu) with Chiru. Or Chiru had done the Hindi version with her. I could only sit through Laadla because of Sridevi's powerful performance as Sheetal Jaitley, and my friend could only sit through Gharana Mogudu because of Chiranjeevi. To paraphrase Hannah Montana, we could have gotten the beeeeest of both worlds. 

Anyway, one of the first things that pissed me off about this movie was the miserably unsuccessful recreation of the 'Bangaru Kodipetta' music video from Gharana Mogudu. I feel bad about judging Anil Kapoor, because Chiranjeevi garu is a legendary dancer, and there was no way he would be able to even come close to the iconic-ness of the OG. I think they should have just not attempted it- at least my mood wouldn't have turned sour in the beginning of the movie itself.

I don't think I even have the mental capacity to delve into the class politics vs. misogyny discourse, so let me just sum it up this way- it's bad. The plot of the movie is terrible, it makes you want to slap Anees Bazmee (who wrote the screenplay), Raj Kanwar (who directed it) and of course, the makers of the OG Kannada movie, Anuraga Aralithu (1986). You want to slap all these people as hard as Anil Kapoor slaps Sridevi in that scene (trust me, once you watch it, you can never forget it). Also, I am so fascinated by the fact that Anuraga Aralithu has been remade a whopping 6 times, and the last remake was as recently as 2002, a Bangladeshi movie called Shami Strir Juddho. Even the titles of the remakes make me wonder- the Kannada translates to "love blooms"; the Telugu translates to "intelligent husband", and the Hindi translates to "beloved son". How can one story represent so many different facets of life? Is it because of the differences in language and culture? The reason why I am interested in this is because the title inclines you towards interpreting the movie in a certain way- when I watch the Hindi version, I will by default look at the relationship between Raju (Anil Kapoor) and his mother (Farida Jalal), and navigate the film through that. Similarly, if I see the Kannada version (I am very tempted to, honestly), I will be interested in the romantic angle first, and everything else second. See, this is why I love studying languages- you literally get to experience the world in so many different ways, even when the world is as unpleasant as this story. 

Watch this one for Sridevi, and only Sridevi, even though her character deserved a better script. Understand? You better understand. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shyam Singha Roy (2021)

There is honestly nothing more annoying than a movie that has flashes of being a good movie, but turns out to be a bad one anyway. Not only have you watched a bad film, but you have also been cheated of all hope and it's exhausting, to say the least.  Also, when this movie is a first day first show, you can't help but feel betrayed. Full "I trusted you!" moment only.  The first half was so tedious to sit through, I genuinely thought of leaving after the interval at one point. I didn't though, because Sai Pallavi only made her entry in the second half, and let's face it, she was the real reason for me to go watch it anyway. I mean, Nani was a huge pull factor too, but after Tuck Jagadish (2021) and V (2020), I was a little wary of trusting this man completely. As I should, because look what he made me sit through... again! (I swear to god, if the Nazriya film isn't good, I just might never watch a Nani movie ever again). Back to Pallu though- she is the onl
Read more

Aasai (1995)

My only regret is that I wish I knew absolutely nothing about this movie before watching it. I know I'm 26 years too late to the party, but honestly, not knowing the basic premise would have made things even more scary and messed up, not that there wasn't enough of those sentiments already. But to watch it unfold like the psychotic drama it was on the big screen, while innocently expecting another cute sweet love story featuring foetus Thala... I would give anything to have that experience. I know we love poking fun at Prakash Raj for being the evergreen villain, but it takes an Aasai for one to truly understand why he's earned that reputation. He really brings to life the evil but powerful psychopath who can manipulate people and situations to get what he wants, and I swear I was shaking a little when the movie ended because he is just that good at driving the point home. That's the thing about well-written thrillers- they work excellently as horror movies because you
Read more

Pokiri (2006)

Sairam, thank god I had forgotten the "twist", despite having seen Bhai's Wanted (2009) when it came out. Not only was I majorly zoned out (so much that I don't even remember for sure if I slept for sometime in the middle) but I have also actively tried to erase all memories of it. Which is why I was shocked enough to legit scream when the big twist came along.  From what I have heard about Pokiri , it sounds like some kind of cultural reset. And going by that, I must say that it totally lived up to that hype. Prince Mahesh seems to be at the peak of his career, and it's a performance that is memorable in more ways than one- he really shines through as the cool, stylish hero who outsmarts villains and beats them up. Of course, he needs a solid story and some killer dialogues as well, both of which are amply present here. I loved how understated his commitment dialogue was, especially in comparison to Bhai's exaggeration, the memory of which still gives me war
Read more