Pretty Woman

A question I am asked ever so often is to name my favourite Hollywood Flick. I think and rethink and give myself time to be sure if my choice has changed, but, no Sir, the answers, is still “Pretty Woman”. I have innumerable favourites, but Pretty Woman tops the charts unbeatably. I love Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in this movie, they seemed so made for each other. Now I am no movie critic, I am a just innocent audience who loves that old times “Feel Good Factor” movies.

Each time I am surfing channels, I will stop as soon as I see Pretty Woman playing. It is my most loved simply for the fact that it has a perfect fairytale happy ending. Sad ending stays with us longer, I agree, but happy endings let us leave with a satisfied smile on our lips and contentment in our hearts. Now, who can deny the “Style” quotient in the movie? It oozes style and class, yes, even when Julia plays a hooker from Hollywood Boulevard. Her clumsiness throughout the movie lets us see behind that short skirt she wears and gives a real insight into her pure and innocent heart. Call me old school but I love such double shaded characters, the one that is black or white, Grey isn’t my colour, well, not most of the time.

While he was the cut throat money-minded person, she was money minded too, but with a heart that was too eager, yet, too scared to Love. There were beautiful comic moments, thanks to Julia, and her pretty smile. I thought Vivian and Richard could be just another Cinderella and Prince Charming, a more adult version, Lol.

My favourite scene? Of course the Opera scene, she looked like a stunning red rose in that dress and that Necklace, OH BOY! Any woman will lose her heart to the necklace, and any man will lose her heart to the one wearing it. Plus, Gere was so suave and polished in his ways, never laughing, always smiling earnestly. My another most loved scenes is where they haggle for money and settle on $3,000. I was taken when she says “I would have stayed for 2” and he says “I would have paid 4”. I am a die hard hopeless romantic and for me, it was a commitment made by sheer need of each other, he is ready to go that extra mile for her, while she is ready to come down for him.

Being a woman, I can’t wrap this review without mentioning the awesome shopping spree she goes on. I mean they showed every woman’s fantasy right there, her man giving her his credit card and telling her to go mad with it. Lol. And the overkill was when he tells her “Just one dress ?” It’s a woman’s dream that men would tell her, “you need to buy more, go shopping”.

It was an amusing and curious journey made by Vivian that took us all by storm. From the BellBoy to Concierge, all were smitten by the oddball couple. The cherry on the cake is the music. Especially “Oh pretty woman” and “It must have been love”, these two were absolute show stealers. Kudos to director Garry Marshall for giving us a gem of a movie.

PS: I am already looking forward to watching it one more time. 🙂

Manam : The Sweetest Gift !

 

by Sakhi

New is so refreshing. A few days ago on my friend’s suggestion, I saw my first Telugu movie. Now let me tell you, I am from Delhi and consider myself a Hollywood buff…lately I have stopped enjoying Bollywood too. Everything seems a Lil overplayed or underplayed once you start watching world cinema, and that is what happened to me. I never ventured myself into watching other Indian cinemas. But that day I was in for a very pleasant surprise.

He suggested a movie a movie named “Manam”. The credits rolled and let me confess, I was expecting some over the top stunts, overly sentimental dialogues and too much drama. But I couldn’t stop smiling when I saw it. From the very first scene, it held my interest. The actors were so mellowed, they acted so naturally and I loved the emotions portrayed in the movie. I wasn’t aware of the trivia of the Akkineni family by then, he hadn’t told me. I enjoyed it through and through, every scene had a sweet flavor, an innocence that is missing from movies today.

The village scenes were so beautiful and took me to that place, smiling with the characters and frowning with them.I was smitten by the actress Shriya Saran, she has beautiful eyes and looked apt both as the doctor and as the hard-working farm girl. She charmed me with the wedding scene, it was so aaawwww for me. I loved Nagarjuna, I knew him from the few Bollywood movies he has done. Always liked his good looks and his cool demeanor, but after Manam, I liked him as an actor too. He played the successful businessman with the childish innocence so well. He looked romantic and childlike in various scenes. Though he looked so dashing in the traditional attire. The character I loved was Radha Mohan/Nagarjuna. He was so charming in his I-don’t-give-a-damn character. I smiled at his naughty dialogues in both roles. Samantha Ruth Prabhu as Krishna Veni and Priya is the one who absolutely stole my heart. She has looked perfect in the bubbly but the golden-hearted girl. She has the fresh look which is ethnic in its own way. Loved her dance scenes. And the old man….hahaha….I was totally taken by his acting. The ailing yet enjoying life character, he was apt for the role. His eyes have wisdom and a mischief in them which was suiting his role really well. Loved the scenes with all three male characters present. And last but not the least….the very end scene where the Akhil makes the special appearance on his bike…that was WOW. He looked a total stud and I was like……EYE CANDY.

Jokes apart, the story was so intricately interwoven that you need to pay attention to scenes, yet, the story is so uncomplicated. I lost track a few times with the scenes fading into flashback and then coming back in the present, but I loved that variation. And when I came to know the trivia that they are all family members with their real names exchanges in between characters, I was like, brilliant thinking on the family’s part .Making the son the father in one duo and the father the son in another was superb. I loved the scenes where Nagarjuna will treat his son Chaitanya like his father and Nageswara Rao(the old man) treated Nagarjuna, his real life son like his father. The women have done a great job, making Manam even sweeter.

Not only that but it has some very nice add-ons, like the reincarnation factor, the vintage car fetish I got, the soft music and simple locations, the simple sweet comic moments, the fact that some things are beyond logic and reasoning. A movie beyond skeptical questionings and rational explanations.. a cinematic experience you have never ever experienced before.

I am thankful to my friend for showing me such a heartwarming movie and making my acquaintance with Telugu cinema, I will be watching more movies in Telugu now on, and there will no prejudice this time. His purpose for showing me this movie even more special, the message in there was the most sweetest of all. That those we love and never truly lost and forgotten, we never know in what form and what way they will cross our paths again and touch our lives in the best possible way.

PS : I will doubt everyone who tells me “Ladies First” from now on….one drawback of Manam.