BLOCKBUSTER!

High on Adrenaline! Energetic! Roller coaster of Emotions! FUN!

Yup those are the exact words that spring into my head when I think about the past week... Starting off with My sister's surprise birthday party to a special lunch date with a dear dear close friend of mine to Long drives to the Marina to Harry potter mania to a *friendly meeting* to two back to back truly entertaining blockbusters, my week was Perfect! Touchwood and I am hoping for a repeat telecast this week! :D

I have grown up on a heavy dose of hero worship and larger than life characters who can do no wrong and are completely WHITE! It's always the HERO who has managed to capture the attention and stay on with us long after we have seen the movie or read the book. But I have always had a soft spot for the *VILLIAN* as well... Be it Ravan from The Ramayana or Sher Khan from the Jungle Book. And lately I have been increasingly getting more attracted to the Villainous character so to say... They seem to be not only fighting the hero, but also fighting for our attention, for our appreciation and for our acceptance!!!

Last week it was the unlikely pair of killers from my July Book, *POSTCARD KILLERS* by James Patterson. Smart, Artistically inclined, severely psychotic, Proud, arrogant and sadistic, they somehow made more connection and eluded a certain charisma that was definitely missing in the main protagonist.

This week, two of the movies that I had the opportunity (Yes opportunity is the word I should use considering how difficult it is for me to even get two hours of free time in the weekend to relax let alone watch movies!) to watch were MURDER 2 and SINGHAM!!! In both of the movies the striking and commanding feature happened to be the antagonist!!! They thrilled, entertained, induced fear, captured the attention, made me wait and want to see more of them on Screen!

The ultimate Good winning over Evil movies, all ought to have the protagonist and the antagonist on the same platform. In SINGHAM, it's not just the hero, Ajay Devgan who's powerful and mighty; the villain, Prakash Raj is equally ferocious. But Unfortunately or Rather Fortunately in Murder 2, its out and out Prashant Narayan, the villain who delivers such a splendid performance in turn overshadowing the bad boy with good ideals, Emraan Hashmi who with his uncut and unruly hair and stoned face cuts a sorry figure.

With the added advantage of a superb balance of good and evil in Singham, all the conflicts are so very enjoyable and its truly a fight of equals!! Ajay Devgan with his new, improved, lean, muscular and powerfully built body is a delight to watch but My personal favorite is the egocentric, arrogant, dramatic, villainous, conceited, bigheaded and supercilious Prakash Raj! What a performer? What easy control and delivery of his dialogues and What talent? He is certainly an awe inspiring actor, one who can easily be included in the Book of Actors to be studied for their superior and brilliant interpretation of the character in hand, breathing so much more than just Life into it! Prakash Raj is simply marvelous and in fact, walks shoulder to shoulder with Ajay in dramatic scenes.

Murder 2  has the advantage of a creepy serial killer who will stop at nothing to grab his pound of flesh. As far as the bad guys, this neurotic monster, played with spine-chilling casualness by Prashant Narayanan, is in a league apart!!! His performance is so effective that you start loathing him every time he appears on screen. Even though Hashmi is fairly competent as the ex-cop, who is trying to save his girl friend and many others from the clutches of the twisted villain, he pales before Narayanan’s bravura performance and breathtaking voice! Prashant’s depiction of a self-turned eunuch who kills call girls because of his impotency is perfect – never over the top but enough to chill your bones. Not that the villain’s character is written any better than the hero’s. But Narayanan demonstrates how a gifted actor can rise above the script all thanks to  his own intelligence and skill and I am too tempted to add this his heritage. Yep heritage! Long after You have watched the movie, what stays with you is the fear generating, cringe inducing singing of the chartbuster "Bheege Hoont Tere" from Murder by our Kerala Born Delhi Bred Malayali Boy! Simply Fantastic performance!

Both Movies are embodiments of on screen MASCULINITY, though in varied and diverse fashions, Ajay Devgan enacts the central character of a righteous, strong cop with flourish bringing alive on screen a larger-than-life hero character with determined conviction, which renders you thunderstruck whereas Emraan Hashmi in Murder 2, as an ex cop battling inner demons showcases masculinity in the way he behaves and treats his girlfriend. While Singham is a remake of a Tamil Film by the same name, played by the stunning, talented and gallant Surya (Coincidently, yesterday happened to be his bday!!! Happy Belated Bday, you Pretty thing!), Murder 2 happens to be inspired by a Korean film.  What sets apart these films, besides the obvious reasons ands more, is the fact that as Expected Murder 2 are high on sexual content, which in unnecessary and looks like a forced add on! An innovative story can do without generous doses of eroticism, or can it not? Apparently NOT!

Mohit Suri, who has been entrusted with the responsibility of taking the MURDER series forward is an efficient, stylish storyteller and he leaps notches above the prequel in terms of Boldness, Gore and Heightened levels of violence. There are some scenes that may appear disturbing, but that's the strength of this movie. It's definitely not for the weak-hearted.

SINGHAM works for varied reasons: The conflicts between Ajay Devgan and Prakash Raj, the high quality dramatic scenes, the raw action and of course, it mirrors the current issues of corruption, fraudulent politicians and spineless goons, all of which is highly relevant in today's day and time. The action scenes designed by Rohit Shetty are a definitely something to look forward to. SINGHAM goes for the desi flavor much like its South Indian version  and it works luminously. The raw, hardcore action is easily amongst the high points of the movie. Rohit Shetty deserves a big pat on his back for his superb direction. His narration is remarkable and credit goes to him for making the action film so entertaining and engrossing!!! His biggest victory lies in making the action film seem like an emotional-action drama, all this because he introduced a strong emotional undercurrent which comes across loud and clear all through the action fare. I think that is the very reason that besides the Men, even girls and ladies applauded, whistled and cheered throughout the movie!

In short.... SINGHAM!!! Roared, Growled n Snarled!!!! It works as an entertainer, a complete package! MURDER 2!! Bloody, Bold and Prasanth Narayan! It works for its Shock value, Eroticism, and Gore!