A Tiger named Chulbul and a Cat named Puli!

Two languages - two films - two superstars and two entirely different box-office outcomes. There came a Dabangg and there came Komaram Puli, two films where the heroes are policemen. Both policemen have their own style of functioning, where Salman's Chulbul Pandey is a man who will arrest criminals but make their loot 'dizapear', Pawan Kalyan's Komaram Puli will not tolerate corruption - neither will he accept a bribe nor will he allow anyone else to do so. And the box office results that these two men produced are also completely different - while Dabangg has become the biggest opener of all times, Komaram Puli is on its way to becoming one of the biggest debacles of Telugu cinema.

There is, of course, a simple difference between the two movies... Dabangg, while being the quintessential masala movie, never takes itself seriously and leaves the audience in splits while Puli on the other hand takes itself so seriously that the audience ends up guffawing during some of the most intense scenes in the flick.

Talking about Dabangg, it is a movie which blends the romance, the family angle and the action angle seamlessly. Salman's character remains consistent through the movie - quirky and completely unpredictable - and the star's undeniable charisma in such roles makes the film a pleasant watch. Salman does all the things a superstar does, flying off roofs, bashing up an army of goons single handed, bringing his family together, romancing his heroine and the local munni - and all this he does with great aplomb. As long as you are willing to keep your belief suspended, Dabangg works wonders and you will come home repeating most of the oneliners that were written to be remembered. The support cast acquits itself well and there is nary an unwanted character in the well woven flick.

Coming to Puli, the flick is everything that a flick should not be. A sincere police officer who establishes a super hitec swanky office, travels with an escort of six motorcycle men, lives in an ultra modern house and behaves completely different from your regular policeman is the protagonist. Pawan's character behaves in the most ludicrous manner possible - tough at one moment, funny the next, foolish for a very long time and verbose for the most part. A tough man speaks very little and accomplishes a lot through his actions instead. Going by that principle, Pawan Kalyan is in no way a tough man - infact, he could probably be the softest leading man ever. He has paeans and paeans of dialogue, speaking thousands of words where a few would have done the trick. The romance in the movie looks completely forced and one wonders if Puli has a twin brother acting in the romantic track - so different is the behaviour of the character in these illogical scenes. There are many scenes in the flick that go on for so long that we are left wondering if the film had an editor at all. Like a friend said - Telugu cinemaalu choodadam maaneyyaali anipinchinappudu Puli choodocchu.

This festive season, meet Chulbul Pandey and stay as far away as you can from Puli. To use Chulbul's line - Puli dekhoge tho shareer mein itne chhed hojaayenge ki confuze hojaaoge kahaan se saas le aur kahaan se paade!

Lafangey Parindey - Classic case of miscasting!

Pradeep Sarkar is a director who had a good first outing in Parineeta, an inexplicable dud in Laaga Chunari Mein Daag and then chose to come back with an interestingly titled Lafangey Parindey. Neil Nitin Mukesh, him of the golden hair and golden hue, Deepika Padukone, the girl who will manage to look impeccable with not a strand of hair outta place even in the most adverse circumstances, made for an interesting leading pair in the promos. But how does the movie fare? Well, not half as interesting as the promos are (if you found those interesting in the first place)...

Coming to the film itself, all is well until the leads choose to deliver their first lines, which is almost immediately. Neil Nitin Mukesh speaking lingo like a streetsmart (?) Mumbai tapori... sample this - 'jab naak mein se moot ki tarah khoon bahrahaa ho, tho phat ti hai'... and Deepika Padukone says 'Chal kalti maarle, nandu bolke rakh isko'... you realize that they will not be able to pull this off. Put any amount of grime on Neil's face, he will still be the golden hued city bred boy who's spent a good part of his life under the roof with an A/C on full blast... No matter how many times Deepika wears the same dress in the movie, it is clear that she has a carefully co-ordinated wardrobe that does not belong in a Mumbai wadi. And once you find yourself unable to invest a little belief in the leads, you see the rest of the flick with nary an interest in the proceedings.

The story is a pretty rehash of a few older flicks where the destroyer becomes saviour with bits of a reality show thrown in. Compactly written, a limited set of characters playing out strictly etched roles, the flick pans out well enough for its two hours and few minutes of running time.

It could be a decent one-time watch if you are bored out of your skulls (like I was). Else, just reach for that DVD collection and watch a flick that you think deserves a repeat...

This is a start... we were enthusiastic about the whole thing, but lets face it, we need more time. So, this is where we will start posting and then we will take it further... or that is what I plan at the moment...