November 17, 2008

Review - Dasvidaniya, AvakayBiryani

It was a busy weekend for me now that I have started looking for actors to act in my trailer and also somehow managed to watch two films - Dasvidaniya (Hindi) and AvakayBiryani (Telugu).

Dasvidaniya is a decent attempt to make a low budget film. Vinay Pathak (Amar Kaul) is the only face that stands out in this 2 hour filck. He acted really well, especially in the dumb charades scene where he expresses his love to Neha Dhupia in rain and also in the scene where he leaves Rajat Kapoor's (Vinay's friend in the movie) house at mid-night after overhearing Rajat's and his wife's conversation.

Neha Dhupia (Vinay's childhood friend) does not have a role to talk about - a blink and miss kind of role - and the director could have used anybody for that matter. The movie lacks in pace and you might sometimes also get a feeling of boredom. Kailash Kher's music is an asset to the film. Especially the first one and the Alvida song. The lyrics are pretty decent and hold your attention throughout.

Rajat Kapoor and Gaurav Gera (Vinay's brother in the film) have played their parts really well. On the whole, it is Vinay who carries the film on his shoulders.

AvakayBiryani, I must say, is a very slow movie. he director tried very hard to push the technical aspects of the film much more than he did to engage the audience at a stretch. The story revolves around Akbar (Kamal Kamaraju), an auto driver and Lakshmi (Bindu Madhavi), who sells avakayi (Pickle) in Vikarabad. The film also touches upon communal harmony and few rural issues. The plot could have been handled better. Cinematography by Shyam is good and music by Manikanth Kadri is average except for one song.

Kamal Kamaraju was good as Akbar, but Bindu Madhavi needs to improve a lot on her expressions. On the whole,
AvakayBiryani might give a feel of telefilms aired on Doordarshan, but with good cinematography.