very weak, unfortunately

one of my absolute favorites!

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

In this Gautham Menon's remake of his own tamil film,Sachin, a young mechanical engineering graduate, now aspires to make it to bollywood. During all of these struggles, he falls in love with Jessie, the daughter of his landlord. Now Sachin tries to strike a balance between his career struggles and Jessie's situation. But Jessie belongs to a strict, conservative family, and not only that, she belongs to a different religion. The fact that this film failed at the box office is disappointing but not entirely shocking. A relatively new cast, slow pace, nothing over the top, nothing larger than life, the film came and went and nobody seemed to notice. The only real "popular" names attached to this film are those of the maestro "ARR" and the lyrical genius Javed Akhtar. However what really upset me was the fact that this film received a lot of bashing from the critics as well. That is what compelled me to write this review. Even though the title of the film suggests that the efforts of the protagonist would be extravagant, it suggests that this film would be, just like countless other cinematic portrayals of love, flamboyant, and something which looks good on screen but would be very difficult to find in real life. However, in reality the film is simple, feel good, and quite realistic. The actions of the characters are inconsistent, but that is what makes it real. The characters are just those which each and every one of us can find all around us. A friend acting as a sidekick, middle class parents critical of one's career choice, a sarcastic dad, a confused girl, not really sure of what stance can be taken. Talking about inconsistencies, Jessie suddenly tells Sachin she doesn't love him anymore, previously she told him that she loves him immensely. Jessie can wear a sari, but at another day she can wear jeans. Sachin, who is mad for Jessie, doesn't want to leave her side for one moment, suddenly tells Jessie not to come to him, and wait for his shoot schedule to end. All these inconsistencies aren't the film's weaknesses, as what critics would think, they actually make the film realistic and believable. Because in reality we all are inconsistent with weaknesses, we all keep changing, our mindsets and attitudes. Sachin, even though a passionate lover, doesn't perform over the top acts like deciding to change his religion or his career for Jessie, just what happens in many other "epic" love stories. He, instead does what a sane person would do, try to balance things logically, and see what happens. Even the action sequences are simple and not overdone. A few punches and that's it, no blowing up of cars or "bhai's" punches. No taking off of shirts. It's simple. The cultural portrayals are good and mostly realistic. The Mumbai culture and lifestyle is shown appropriately. An office going girl and a "vela" wannabe film director boy, who has completed engineering probably due to family pressures, but whose heart belongs somewhere else. The scenes in Kerala are shot beautifully, the cinematography is brilliant. So the film, to a large deal is also filled with the ambiance of Kerala. This adds to the feel good factor of the film. Another thing which the critics tried to mock was the slow pace of the film, however it was essential, as the film wanted to show the journey, the entire path that the relationship of Jessie and Sachin took, from the point when they were strangers to the point they lived happily ever after. It is still cut down a great deal from the original Tamil version, many plot points being integrated in songs( e.g. the moving of Sachin's family to their own new house). These are small details, which add more meaning to the film, which the critics blatantly ignored or missed out. This film doesn't tell what hasn't been told before in cinema, there are countless other films which tread on the same topics and themes, e.g. parents not agreeing with marriage, an abusive brother etc. But what this film does differently is presenting all these things in a simple, feel good and realistic manner. There are a few weaknesses, e.g. a somewhat disjointed screenplay, from the moment Jessie leaves onwards. However, it is covered up as the film has a soul. The dialogues are crisp. Prateik puts in a brilliant performance, Amy Jackson is good. ARR is at his best, as both the songs and the background score are heart touching and magical. Overall, don't look at the deprecatory critic reviews or the poor box office performance, give this film a watch, it deserves one.

I have seen mixed comments on this movie - I have not seen it's Tamil Original but personally I'll rank it among one of my bests. I have a reason to do so - I could relate every bit of it to my own love life (needless to say it was in total mess at that time). Feeling it personally makes a movie good or bad to watch. For me - it touched me. Other than that - this movie has an excellent couple of good songs. Prateik and Amy have given their bests and were totally into it while shooting. Specially the scene on the park of Taj Mahal - deep down into it, Prateik have given it a real touch. Prateik danced wonderfully great, but Amy lacked in this part. Worth a watch.

Ek Deewana ThaThere is nothing to make you fall for this one!....if you are not already tired of watching boring big Bollywood cinema, you would certainly be after this one... Not to be too cynical about the movie, but it doesn't really live up to its make! In fact why did they remake this movie at all? And if it was hit in Tamil and Telugu, it would have surely better written dialogues.The script - is by far the most annoying! Not only does it not have any coherence, the story is also story less. There are other films which do not have a story ( Chalo Dilli), but have had better outcomes in terms of the dialogues and the direction. But this one fails in all counts. The boy falls in love with just one look, and chases the girl. She being Christian and a Malayalee, the boy ( a Hindu, from Mumbai) chases her to Allepy and witnesses her rejecting her marriage. The idea behind it was that she had something towards the boy, which she couldn't express. Finally the expression comes, and this is the part which is the most 'not thought' after. There could have been better dialogues at least. The effect of a Bollywood 'romanc-a-tainer' is just not there in this one.The Actors - are as fresh as new college students needed training. They sure light up the space, cause there is nothing else to the movie that keeps me tied to it. Pratiek has done reasonably well, and given that he is starting his career is worth the shot. Moreover, fresh faces are welcome. But fresh faces just for namesake are where the movie again fails. Amy is not at all a 'Malayalee'. She was searching for expressions the entire movie. This was not a movie where her charms would work through her super model figure! This needed expressions, and dialogue delivery. The role of Manu Rishi was refreshing and was the only well-tailored character. The direction - Barring the scenery in God's own Country, the film has little directorial skills to offer. A director's vision is something which comes out of the movie. Rather than aping the previous movies, if he would have added something which has a better context, it would have been better. If on the other hand he was not interested to change it, he could have still checked whether it is still coherent and the story flows! Alas, nothing was done, and nothing came out! For me the film has no other layers to figure out. The story could have made better sense, and had the intentions of bringing out a familial aspect to love stories, but it never reached its own aspirations. We would have to wait for 2 states adaptation for this issue to be re- screened again! Lets hope they treat it well next time.Watch More movies for now!...Don't give up so soon!

SPOILER: Ekk Dewanna Tha is a routine love story which again falls in the typical section of Bollywood love stories. As usual, Bollywood copies either Hollywood or Tollywood. And this time, its Tollywood. A hit Tamil movie is remade in Hindi. The movie is actually worth watching because it is better than all those silly action movies like Bodyguard but Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu beats this any day. The problem with the movie is the romance. Being a romantic cinema where a they can't marry because of parents, the story has clichés. The romance isn't convincing, the locations of the film are good, Kerela is a wonderful location for a romantic movie. But, the chemistry of Prateik and Amy Jackson isn't good. Pratiek has barely done any movies but his acting is natural. Here, his acting is above average but what can he do if the script is bad. The storytelling process is routine and after a few moments, the movies drags and gets boring. The climax is okay, better than most movies. But, the problem is typical and I believe the tamil cinema was better than this. Acting wise, Prateik does a damn good job, but he needs to choose better films. Amy Jackson has the looks, has the beauty, but her acting isn't at her best level, I definitely thought she could've done better. Supporting actors like Sachin Khedkar fill the bill and they provide some decent comedy when the romantic venture bore. The film is dragged too much and a few people were bored and left the hall. If Prateik wants to improve, he must choose a movie like Dumb Maaro Dumb or Dhobi Ghaat where he was awesome and the movies were good too. The movie might click but according to many critics and based on the box office opening, the movie has enough chances to be a flop. But, it won't be a disaster, it is still watchable but I don't recommend. But, the one awesome thing the movie has is the music. Hosanna is an awesome song and the Suno Lo Zaara is also pretty good. The other songs are good and this is one advantage, but the film is a bit messed up though supporting actors do a good job.