20th October 2004

Anand

It was a cold winter morning. The sunrise was hazed by the soft grayish clouds. The yellow tinge spread all over the sky. The sun peeped over the clouds and smiled pleasantly. On behalf of the earth, I invited the sun rays to my door-step. And there, as I sat admiring the beauty of my guest, my beloved joined me with a hot cup of coffee. The smell of the vapors hmmmm.. Now, it is my inability to express out the feeling of that experience; but it was similar to that I experienced while watching the film: Anand.

The Hot Cup of Coffee: Roopa is an independent woman. And she is alone. In her childhood, she lost her parents in a mishap. When she was about to marry her boyfriend, she broke up with him. As the needles of loneliness poked her, she clung to herself in confusion of where she was leading herself to. And then, Anand entered her life. Sitting before the silver screen and seeing the woman gradually slip into the warm embrace of a responsible man is a beautiful experience of its own kind.

Smell of the Vapors: You drink your cup of coffee daily and yet, every morning, the smell of the vapors refreshes you. The story which plays on the screen is nothing unknown or unpredictable; but the beautiful moments from daily experiences bring smiles, laughs, tears and smiles again, to you. The film gives you a realization of the charm and tranquility engulfed by your daily rush, noisy life. It gives the pleasure of stopping by and observing the small beautiful things in life.

The Kitchen: Co-produced by NFDC and Amigos creation, this is software-engineer-turned-director Sekhar Kammula's second film, after his National Award winning Dollar Dreams. According to a newspaper report, this film is based on his MFA thesis (in Howard University, Washington DC). The story was simple and close to life and it was the direction that made everything special. And Sekhar surely deserves a round of applause.

The brilliantly etched characterizations were subtly performed by the artists. Roopa is a strong woman; and a strong woman's weakness (loneliness) is the most natural thing that can be considered even with the strength of a weak man. Within the extremities of a strong man and a weak man, I don't know where I fall; but I am mad about this character, played to perfection by Kamillinee Mukherji (the cute girl in Revathy's Phir Milenge).

Anand is the one who brings smiles to this lonely woman. He is rich, smart, handsome and, most importantly, strong. The characterization is treated with some amount of cinematic liberty (No man can be so perfect). Raja has done complete justice to the character.

All the others characters, including elders, friends, kids and pets have done a great job in patching up the film.

The cinematography of the film is awesome. Every shade of life (sunrise, sunset, seasons, bright moments, dull moments) has been brilliantly framed by Vijay Kumar. And Sekhar should be applauded, along with Vijay for making Hyderabad look like Switzerland.

The music score of the film, by Radha Krishnan, is a fusion of ragas and techno-based orchestration. The songs were pleasant and blended well into the film. Soaked in the mellifluous music are the rich words penned by Veturi . Unlike the bawdy lyrics of the contemporary film songs, the lyrics of this film are composed of simple realities.

But, a Big Cup may infuse Monotony: A cup of coffee is surely enough to refresh oneself. A bigger cup may introduce monotony. The film should not have been dragged in the last half an hour.

Have a Nice Day: Just break your busy schedules and spare some time to relish the charm of life. This film will entertain people of all ages. So, what¡¯s stopping you from having a nice time!

PURNESH
purnesh_k@yahoo.co.in

More My Movie experiences:

Sriram - Gudumba Shankar
Purnesh - Gharshana
Purnesh - Lakshya
Purnesh - Yuva
Leenesh - Yuva
Kis - Lakshmi Narasimha
Indian Pride - Tagore
Raj - Boys
Phani - Gangotri
Phani - Khadgam
Vikram - CKR
BKR - Indra (Singapore)
Ram - Indra (Dubai)
Ranjeet - Idiot
Rahul - Indra
King Koduri - Indra
Srilakshmi Katragadda - Mitr: My Friend