Jessie Who Made Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa So Special | Under Lens

Jessie - The Way She Was: Girls are usually confused about their emotions. So was Jessie. In VTV, as the story progresses different layers of her character opens up and how well. In first phase she is a poser who doesn’t want to open up her heart. However, later we realize that she was masking her emotions for Karthik. Born and brought up in an orthodox family, she is held back by family pressure and believes that nothing can materialize between her and Karthik. However, walking on the aisle, her independent self restrains her from saying ‘I Do’. It’s a big U-turn. She profess her love and shows the element to revolt against norms. The sinusoidal paradigm shift in her character makes her the USP of movie.

Jessie – The Way Karthik Saw Her: Obsession. Fixation. Nothing else can define what Karthik does for Jessie. Love, definitely but in a very unique abrasive way. He actually doesn’t care much about what Jessie says. He feels an eternal connect, a kind of hunch which ultimately works in his favor. When he believes Jessie loves her, he is right. For an artist an imprint on canvass is something he can envision. Similarly, a true cine-obsessed young man, his love story is something he can envision and he falls for it. Is this true blue love is subject to discussion. When he follows her to Kerala, when he kisses her in train and when he fights with her brother, he remains in his element and the little bit of arrogance as well. Even when she dumps him, he is not able to throw her away from his system. That’s why it’s an obsession.

Jessie – The Way I Felt: Rarely I feel so strongly for a character who is in very clichéd circumstances. Jessie is vulnerable character. She is not only confused, she is consumed by the choices available. She is strong but not enough to snap ties with parents and live with love of her life. Her situation is the one between rock and a hard place. Her choice can be criticized, intention is pure. In VTV, she exists in two separate levels. Imaginary one where Karthik loves her and a realistic one where her parents want her to settle with a groom of Christian beliefs. Evokes a few emotions in me as well.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Kaakha Kaakha | Critique

The punches, the kicks, the blood and the bruises… Kaakha Kaakha is all about fights. After a successful Minnale (a romantic movie), Gautham Menon’s second Tamil movie was a contrast to the first one. An action film about a cop. Nevertheless, there is a subtle love story as well which literally becomes the backbone of the plot. Despite of many handicaps, Kaakha Kaakha works because direction is strong, acting has conviction and script is tight. Music is an add-on.

There is a cop who has sworn to wipe out crime from the city. He crackdown on the biggest local goon. In a side story, he marries a simple girl who teaches in school. Now, dead goon’s maniacal brother decides to avenge death of his elder brother and he can go to any length in order to do so. He has no moral, no ethics. Now the question is… how will cop save his wife? Story has almost every masala from 60-90s. Love, romance, action, deceit and twists. Characters are extreme and most of the sequences are clichéd. Still, the treatment of each twist and even the clichés is interesting and one can still enjoy them.

The movie shot Surya to stardom. In his role of a tough cop with soft heart, he is unmatched. His eyes opens up his heart to audience and in the first look you start liking him. The nemesis played by Jeevan can cause goosebumps to young girls. He is rowdy and dangerous. Music is likeable and makes the love making scene a classic one. Editing is crisp, though in some scenes it could have been done in a better way. Script is tight, as mentioned, leaving behind very less complaints. Direction is simply awesome. Your admiration for Menon would grow manifold hence.

Rating: 3.5/5

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh